Exploring the interagency collaboration between a pediatric oncology health care setting and community schools.

Globally, approximately 400,000 youth are diagnosed with pediatric cancer each year. Treatment-related side effects, psychosocial challenges, and frequent school absences may adversely impact learning and the education experience among these youth. Efforts to enhance interagency collaboration between health care settings and community schools are imperative to facilitate school reintegration. The Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer and Their Families outline specific guidelines related to the continuity of education for students impacted by pediatric cancer. In particular, the Academic Continuity and School Reentry Support and Monitoring and Assessment of Neuropsychological Outcomes standards of care highlighted within this article align with extant programmatic efforts for transitioning hospitalized school-aged children back into community schools. This article aims to describe systematic programmatic efforts within hospital-based psychosocial programs that are consistent with the Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer and Their Families, as well as interagency collaboration with community schools to support student-centered education for youth impacted by pediatric cancer. Resources for school psychologists, teachers, hospital-based programs, and others involved in student-centered education for pediatric cancer patients and survivors are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychometric properties of the Spanish Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5-Self-Report in El Salvador.

Conducting research in global applied settings necessitates the use of easily administered, brief, and evidentiary measures. One widely used, brief self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children and adolescents is the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5-Self-Report (CPSS-5-SR). The present study examined the factor structure, measurement invariance, reliability, and convergent validity of the Spanish translation of the CPSS-5-SR in a sample of 1,296 third- through 12th-graders in El Salvador (Mage = 12.73 years, SD = 2.67, 55.2% female, 100.0% Latinx). This sample was collected as part of a government-led initiative to conduct broad school-based psychopathology screening, with the wider goal of introducing trauma-informed services into El Salvador's school system. Consistent with prior research, confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four-factor DSM-5 model displayed a strong fit with the data. Measurement invariance by gender was also examined, with results showing invariance at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, indicating strong evidence that participants' patterns of response did not differ by gender. The results also indicated strong reliability, Cronbach's α = .91, and convergent validity with measures of commonly comorbid psychopathology, rs = .43-.68. Total scale norms derived from the current sample are provided. These findings highlight the considerable levels of posttraumatic stress experienced by Salvadorian youth and the importance of establishing evidentiary measures of psychopathology that can be used in diverse global populations. In particular, psychometric research represents the first step in augmenting efforts to screen, refer, and treat youth impacted by violence across the globe.

Racial, ethnic, and neighborhood income disparities in childhood posttraumatic stress and grief: Exploring indirect effects through trauma exposure and bereavement.

Previous findings suggest that experiences with systems of oppression that disproportionately affect individuals based on race and neighborhood residency (e.g., systemic racism, neighborhood income disadvantage [NID]) can be associated with higher odds of developing psychological problems following traumatic events. Although race/ethnicity and NID residency are often associated, they are separate concepts that play unique roles in mental health outcomes among youth. Residents of Black, Latinx, and income-disadvantaged communities also have an increased risk of exposure to polyvictimization and the loss of multiple loved ones. Studies have not carefully delineated the potential relations between race/ethnicity and NID residency, polyvictimization, accumulated losses, and trauma and grief outcomes in youth. We examined mediation models to investigate whether polyvictimization, the loss of multiple loved ones, and exposure to violent death were potential mechanisms through which race/ethnicity and NID would predict trauma and grief outcomes in youth. Participants (N = 429) included Black (19.9%), Latinx (36.0%), and White (27.3%) children and adolescents who were assessed through a routine baseline assessment at a trauma and grief outpatient clinic. Black youth reported significantly elevated posttraumatic stress and maladaptive grief symptoms through higher polyvictimization and violent death exposure relative to White youth, ßs = .06-.12, ps <.001. Latinx identity and NID were positively and directly associated with specific domains of maladaptive grief reactions, ßs = .10-.17, ps < .001. If replicated longitudinally, these findings suggest that polyvictimization and violent death exposure may be mechanisms through which Black youth develop more severe traumatic stress and grief reactions.

Initial Validation and Measurement Invariance of the Active Inhibition Scale Among Traumatized and Grieving Youth.

The Active Inhibition Scale (AIS; Ayers, Sandler, & Twohey, 1998) is an 11-item, self-report measure of emotional suppression among children and adolescents. Previous research with the AIS has linked emotional suppression to several clinically significant outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and suicide, among trauma-exposed and bereaved youth; however, there are no published evaluations of its psychometric properties. We examined the factor structure and criterion validity of the AIS in two samples. Sample 1 included youth (M = 12.22 years, SD = 2.96, range: 6-18 years; 55.4% female) referred to an outpatient psychology clinic specializing in childhood trauma and grief. Sample 2 included youth (M = 13.18 years, SD = 2.58, range: 8-18 years; 61.8% female) referred to a community grief counseling center. Confirmatory factor analytic results supported a one-factor solution, Cronbach's α = .94. Additionally, AIS scores correlated positively with PTSS, depression, and maladaptive grief, rs = .43-.64. Evidence of factorial invariance was found across gender, race/ethnicity, and age group. Emotional suppression scores were higher among girls compared to boys, Black and Hispanic youth compared to White youth, and older compared to younger age groups. The magnitude of correlations between AIS and symptom measure scores was comparable across groups. These results support the reliability and criterion validity of the AIS with diverse youth populations and underscore the role that emotional suppression may play in explaining group differences in mental health symptoms.

Associations between dimensions of religiousness and psychosocial functioning among bereaved youth.

Using a sample of recently bereaved youth (N = 2,425; Mage = 15.31, SD = 1.50), this study examined associations between dimensions of religiousness and current functioning. Youth reported on their religious service attendance, religious coping, and the importance of religious beliefs and substance use, academic achievement, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Greater religious service attendance was associated with lower substance use and the greater importance of religious beliefs was associated with lower substance use and greater self-esteem. Greater religious coping was associated with greater academic achievement. Findings suggest distinct dimensions of religiousness may have differential implications for adolescent functioning after experiencing loss.

Validation of the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5: A Developmentally Informed Assessment Tool for Youth.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the test construction procedure and evaluate the internal consistency, criterion-referenced validity, and diagnostic accuracy of the Child/Adolescent Self-Report Version of the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5 (RI-5) across 2 independent samples. METHOD: Study 1 examined the clarity, developmental appropriateness, acceptability of individual RI-5 items, and internal consistency and criterion-referenced validity of the full test. The study 1 sample included 486 youth recruited from 2 major US cities who completed the RI-5 and a measure of depression. Study 2 evaluated the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of the RI-5 in 41 treatment-seeking youth who completed the RI-5 and a "gold standard" structured diagnostic interview, the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5-Child/Adolescent Version. RESULTS: RI-5 total scale scores showed excellent internal consistency in the 2 samples. Study 1 provided evidence of criterion-referenced validity, in that total scale scores correlated positively with depressive symptoms. Study 2 provided evidence of diagnostic accuracy (including discriminant-groups validity). RI-5 total scores discriminated youth with from youth without PTSD as benchmarked against the structured diagnostic interview. Further, receiver operating characteristic analyses using a total score of 35 provided excellent diagnostic classification accuracy (area under the curve 0.94). CONCLUSION: The developmental appropriateness and diagnostic accuracy of the RI-5 support its utility for clinical assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment planning in different child-serving systems, including schools, juvenile justice, child welfare, and mental health.