Fatal child maltreatment: characteristics of deaths from physical abuse versus neglect.

This study examined victim, family, and alleged perpetrator characteristics associated with fatal child maltreatment (FCM) in 685 cases identified by child welfare services in the state of Oklahoma over a 21-year period. Analyses also examined differences in child, family, and alleged perpetrator characteristics of deaths from abuse versus neglect. Case information was drawn from child welfare investigation records for all FCM cases identified by the state Department of Human Services. Fatal neglect accounted for the majority (51%) of deaths. Children were primarily younger than age 5, and parents were most frequently the alleged perpetrators. Moreover, most victims had not been the subject of a child welfare report prior to their death. A greater number of children in the home and previous family involvement with child welfare increased children's likelihood of dying from neglect, rather than physical abuse. In addition, alleged perpetrators of neglect were more likely to be female and biologically related to the victim. These results indicate that there are unique family risk factors for death from neglect (versus physical abuse) that may be important to consider when selecting or developing prevention efforts.

Therapists' attitudes toward evidence-based practices and implementation of parent-child interaction therapy.

Child abuse and neglect affects many families each year, but evidence-based parent training programs can be instrumental in reducing maltreatment. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, a parent training program developed for treatment of disruptive child behavior, has demonstrated effectiveness with families at risk of or exposed to child maltreatment. However, methods for disseminating this evidence-based intervention in community settings are not well understood. This study examined the association between community-based therapists' attitudes toward evidence-based practices (EBPs) and their participation in an implementation research project in which they received two forms of consultation. Results showed that therapists' self-reported unwillingness to diverge from EBPs was positively associated with their use of phone consultation and satisfaction with consultation. The degree to which therapists found EBPs appealing was positively associated with satisfaction as well. Open therapist attitudes toward EBPs were associated with greater attendance for online consultation. The next step in this line of research is to examine how therapists' attitudes toward EBPs can be improved, if changing attitudes affects therapist acquisition of treatment skills, and if such improvements enhance implementation efforts.

Low-level lead exposure and contingency-based responding in preschoolers: an exploratory study.

Two reversal paradigm tasks (spatial reversal and spatial reversal with irrelevant color cues) originally designed to assess contingency-based responding in primates were adapted for use with 139 preschool children with a mean peak blood lead level (BLL) of 4.2 microg/dl (SD = 2.2). Sixty-nine children with BLL > or =5 microg/dl and 70 children with BLL of <5 microg/dl were included. Results indicated that preschool children with low-level lead exposure take longer to learn associations than preschool children with very low levels of lead exposure, and this difference cannot be attributed to increased distractibility or perseverative responding. These results support the use of these measures to assess specific cognitive functions in preschool children.