Differential impacts of participation in organized activities and maltreatment types on adolescent academic and socioemotional development.

Participation in organized activities has been largely regarded as beneficial for academic and socioemotional development for adolescents, but the impacts of various types of organized activities for adolescents at risk for maltreatment have been rarely tested. In this study, we investigated the differential impacts of five types of maltreatment exposure (physical maltreatment, sexual maltreatment, neglect, other type, and multiple types) on the associations between four types of organized activities (mentored groups, art and music clubs, sport clubs, and academic clubs) and academic and socioemotional development (school engagement, delinquency, depressive symptoms, and trauma symptoms) of adolescents who were investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS) for maltreatment exposure. Data came from a national, longitudinal sample of 790 adolescents in contact with CPS in the U.S. After controlling for demographic characteristics of participants and prior levels of each outcome, multiple linear regression models were fitted to the data with interactions between the organized activities and the maltreatment types. The main findings of this study included: 1) adolescents who participated in mentored groups, sport clubs, and academic clubs reported higher levels of school engagement; 2) adolescents who participated in academic clubs reported fewer depressive symptoms; 3) adolescents who participated in art and music clubs reported more trauma symptoms compared to non-participants; and 4) the effects of participation in mentored groups on delinquency and trauma symptoms differed by maltreatment type. These results indicate both possible benefits and risks of organized activity participation for adolescents with certain maltreatment exposures.

Functional evaluation of orthopedic and orthodontic treatment in a patient with unilateral posterior crossbite and facial asymmetry.

An 8-years old boy with facial asymmetry and unilateral posterior crossbite on the left side received orthopedic and orthodontic treatment. During the first phase of treatment, the narrow maxillary arch was expanded using an acrylic plate. Then, the acrylic plate was used as a bite block with occlusal indentations from the construction bite that was obtained with the incisors in a coincident dental midline. After the position of the mandible was stabilized, the second phase of orthodontic treatment was initiated using fixed appliances for detailing of the occlusion. Skeletal symmetry, ideal occlusion, and coincident dental midlines were thus achieved. Functionally, occlusal force balance and masticatory muscle activity were improved, and the chewing patterns were normalized.