Racial/ethnic minority children recently placed in the child welfare system: the impact of sociodemographic, medical and mental health factors on overweight /obesity.

Children in the child welfare system have greater rates of obesity and are more prone to overweight/obesity as adults compared to other children. There is limited research on how ecological, biological and developmental factors impact the trajectory of overweight/obesity in this group. This retrospective study examined these factors among children entering the child welfare system. Overweight/obesity was highest among children 12-18 years. Children with diagnoses indicative of poor nutrition, and limiting exercise, were more likely to be overweight/obese. Ecological risks often were not disclosed. Barriers to obtaining information to address overweight/obesity reflect challenges to addressing chronic disease more broadly.

Safely surrendered infants in Los Angeles County: A medically vulnerable population.

BACKGROUND: As a means to provide safety for a population at great risk of harm through abandonment, every state in the United States now has laws and practices for the safe relinquishment of newborns and infants. However, there is no national database tracking the population of infants surrendered through such programmes, and few states monitor these numbers. The primary aim of this study was therefore to examine the descriptive characteristics of infants who have been safely surrendered in a large, socio-economically diverse urban area. The secondary aim was to compare them with local population norms to determine whether differences exist and to begin exploring what implications such differences may have for the treatment provided to these infants. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among safely surrendered infants. RESULTS: Over half of the infants had medical issues, and the majority of the infants were surrendered in communities characterized by low median income. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary information highlights potential economic, social, and medical risk factors, suggesting that these infants may require increased monitoring and/or specialized care.

How do graduate student therapists incorporate diversity factors in case conceptualization?

Researchers interviewed 17 psychotherapists in training in an analogue study of psychotherapists' use of broadly defined diversity factors in conceptualizing clients and cases. Each therapist watched two 5-minute staged videotapes of clients who varied along dimensions of race and ethnicity, age, and gender. Each acting client described problems in an initial psychotherapy interview, and then participant therapists responded to questions. Participants demonstrated varying levels of multicultural competence. Many exhibited knowledge in the areas of culture-specific values, and family and gender roles; awareness of their own cultural background and its effects on the therapeutic relationship; and skills in treatment planning, including assessment of levels of acculturation and culturally appropriate treatment methods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).