Innovation in Sexuality and Relationship Education in Child Welfare: Shifting Toward a Focus on Ongoing Conversations, Connection, and Consent.

Youth in foster care experience disproportionate rates of abusive relationships, teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Extant research points to the need for interventions at multiple levels of the social ecology, however, there is a lack of evidence to guide the development of coordinated interventions for youth, foster parents, and child welfare professionals. The Texas Foster Youth Health Initiative (TFYHI) convened a multidisciplinary learning community to build a foundation for intervention development. The intentional learning and innovation process engaged several groups of stakeholders: young adults with lived experience (n = 41), foster parents (n = 14), and child welfare professionals (n = 52). Interviews, community listening sessions, and reflection exercises were designed to capture tacit and experiential knowledge and explore challenges and desired outcomes from different perspectives. Based on a thematic analysis of stakeholder perspectives, we identified overarching needs to normalize conversations about sexuality and relationships and shift away from risk-based and stigmatizing approaches. We also identified key strategies for designing coordinated interventions targeting youth, foster parents, and child welfare professionals: (1) Reflect on values about sexuality and relationships. (2) Validate youths' need for connection. (3) Focus on strengthening youth-adult relationships and ongoing conversations. (4) Build healthy relationship skills including communication about consent, condom use, and contraception. (5) Identify teachable moments and model problem solving. (6) Use interactive approaches for sharing health information and empower youth to choose methods that fit their needs.

Evaluation of the expect respect support group program: A violence prevention strategy for youth exposed to violence.

In the present study, we assess the effects of the Expect Respect Support Groups (ERSG) on frequency of teen dating violence (TDV) and general youth violence. ERSG is a school-based violence prevention program for youth who have been exposed to violence in their home, school, or community. Boys and girls (N=1,678, Mage=14.3, S.D.=1.7, Range=11-17) from 36 schools in Texas participated in this accelerated longitudinal (7-year trajectory) study beginning in 2011. Latent growth curve analyses were conducted using three waves of data from three cross-sectional cohorts of adolescents. Among boys, the number of ERSG sessions attended related to incremental declines in psychological TDV perpetration and victimization, physical TDV victimization, sexual TDV perpetration and victimization, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression. Girls attending ERSG demonstrated reductions in reactive and proactive aggression. The present findings suggest ERSG may be an effective cross-cutting strategy to reduce TDV and other forms of violence among high-risk boys and possibly girls. This information provides valuable understanding of TDV and youth violence in high-risk populations and may be useful in tailoring future prevention efforts to different groups of teens.

Promoting Healthy Relationships in Foster Care-"If I Had Seen What a Healthy Relationship Looks Like, that Would Have Changed My Perspective".

High levels of intimate partner violence among youth and young adults with history in foster care can perpetuate the cycle of violence and abuse. It is therefore important to understand how the experience of growing up in foster care impacts youths' understanding and formation of intimate relationships. This qualitative study centered the perspectives of young adults and investigated what they learned about relationships through interactions with foster caregivers and child welfare professionals. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 young adults and used Consensual Qualitative Research methods to identify critical experiences in foster care and formulate strategies for promoting healthy relationships.

Genome sequences of the biotechnologically important Bacillus megaterium strains QM B1551 and DSM319.

Bacillus megaterium is deep-rooted in the Bacillus phylogeny, making it an evolutionarily key species and of particular importance in understanding genome evolution, dynamics, and plasticity in the bacilli. B. megaterium is a commercially available, nonpathogenic host for the biotechnological production of several substances, including vitamin B(12), penicillin acylase, and amylases. Here, we report the analysis of the first complete genome sequences of two important B. megaterium strains, the plasmidless strain DSM319 and QM B1551, which harbors seven indigenous plasmids. The 5.1-Mbp chromosome carries approximately 5,300 genes, while QM B1551 plasmids represent a combined 417 kb and 523 genes, one of the largest plasmid arrays sequenced in a single bacterial strain. We have documented extensive gene transfer between the plasmids and the chromosome. Each strain carries roughly 300 strain-specific chromosomal genes that account for differences in their experimentally confirmed phenotypes. B. megaterium is able to synthesize vitamin B(12) through an oxygen-independent adenosylcobalamin pathway, which together with other key energetic and metabolic pathways has now been fully reconstructed. Other novel genes include a second ftsZ gene, which may be responsible for the large cell size of members of this species, as well as genes for gas vesicles, a second ß-galactosidase gene, and most but not all of the genes needed for genetic competence. Comprehensive analyses of the global Bacillus gene pool showed that only an asymmetric region around the origin of replication was syntenic across the genus. This appears to be a characteristic feature of the Bacillus spp. genome architecture and may be key to their sporulating lifestyle.

"Like a family but better because you can actually trust each other": the Expect Respect dating violence prevention program for at-risk youth.

Expect Respect, a teen dating violence prevention program, was among four programs selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to participate in an empowerment evaluation project. As one aspect of this project, a qualitative study was designed to investigate the effects of Expect Respect support groups for at-risk youth. The goal was to understand the "how and why" of the program's impact on participants. Group interviews were conducted with five boys' and five girls' support groups after completion of the program. Settings included public middle and high schools and alternative schools in juvenile detention. Participants were asked to describe significant learning experiences in support groups as well as changes in their relationships resulting from program participation. Youths across all groups reported learning new skills including improved communication, anger control, and alternatives to violence. They reported increased knowledge about healthy relationships and warning signs of dating violence and expanded awareness of their own and others' abusive behaviors. Changed relationship norms were uniquely expressed by a boys' group in juvenile detention. Findings indicate that the experience of emotional safety in groups and positive relationships among group members were instrumental in the learning process.

Adoption, adaptation, and fidelity of implementation of sexual violence prevention programs.

Little research examines the organizational and contextual dynamics that affect decisions to adopt evidence-based programs as well as the feasibility of implementation with fidelity to the original model when new users adopt established programs. To understand how promising strategies can be disseminated widely, this study examines the adoption and implementation of two sexual violence prevention programs in new settings. Interviews were conducted with stake-holders to investigate the factors and dynamics related to the adoption and implementation of these programs. Additionally, the research team worked with the program developers to create measures of the fidelity of implementation, which were then administered at each site. The findings suggest that adoption decisions were based on perceived fit between the program and the adopting organization's values, goals, and local setting. After adoption, new sites were able to implement the program with fairly high levels of fidelity, given moderate investments in training and technical assistance.

Factors contributing to the effectiveness of four school-based sexual violence interventions.

This study extends past research by examining factors associated with changes in attitudes, knowledge, and intended behaviors related to sexual assault. This study included 1,182 participants from four unique multiple-session school-based sexual violence interventions. Implementation and participant factors examined include single- versus mixed-gender groups, group setting versus classroom lecture setting, and participant gender. Participants completed self-administered, paper-and-pencil pre- and postsurveys. A significant desired overall effect was found on participants' reports of positive attitudes, beliefs, and behavior regarding sexual harassment and personal boundaries and positive dating relationship norms (from pretest to posttest). There were steeper increases over time in both measures, with larger mixed-gender/single-gender differences among boys than among girls. Differences in the impact of participating in mixed- versus single-gender groups depended on classroom versus small group settings. The implications of these findings are discussed for sexual assault prevention programs.

In Search of Teen Dating Violence Typologies.

PURPOSE: The goal of the present research was to identify distinct latent classes of adolescents that commit teen dating violence (TDV) and assess differences on demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal correlates. METHODS: Boys and girls (N = 1,149; Mage = 14.3; Grades 6-12) with a history of violence exposure completed surveys assessing six indices of TDV in the preceding 3 months. Indices of TDV included controlling behaviors, psychological TDV, physical TDV, sexual TDV, fear/intimidation, and injury. In addition, adolescents provided demographic and dating history information and completed surveys assessing attitudes condoning violence, relationship skills and knowledge, and reactive/proactive aggression. RESULTS: Latent class analysis indicated a three-class solution wherein the largest class of students was nonviolent on all indices ("nonaggressors") and the smallest class of students demonstrated high probability of nearly all indices of TDV ("multiform aggressors"). In addition, a third class of "emotional aggressors" existed for which there was a high probability of controlling and psychological TDV but low likelihood of any other form of TDV. Multiform aggressors were differentiated from emotional and nonaggressors on the use of self-defense in dating relationships, attitudes condoning violence, and proactive aggression. Emotional aggressors were distinguished from nonaggressors on nearly all measured covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence indicates that different subgroups of adolescents engaging in TDV exist. In particular, a small group of youth engaging in multiple forms of TDV can be distinguished from a larger group of youth that commit acts of TDV restricted to emotional aggression (i.e., controlling and psychological) and most youth that do not engage in TDV.

Implementing a targeted teen dating abuse prevention program: challenges and successes experienced by expect respect facilitators.

PURPOSE: Expect Respect Support Groups (ERSGs) are a targeted 24-week dating abuse prevention program tailored to middle and high school students who have been exposed to violence. As part of a controlled evaluation, this qualitative study was designed to examine facilitators' experiences with program implementation and generate a deeper understanding of factors that enhance or challenge implementation and program outcomes. METHODS: Semistructured interviews with Expect Respect Support Group facilitators (three males and four females) were conducted at the midpoint and endpoint of the school year. Interview topics included working within the school system, strategies for establishing a productive group process, and individual- and group-level responses to the program. RESULTS: Facilitators indicated that school counselors' awareness of students' exposure to violence increased their ability to refer eligible students. Within a supportive school environment, successful groups harnessed the protective qualities of a positive peer group, supported members in questioning the normalcy of abuse, and provided opportunities for building healthy relationship skills. Challenges resulted from impediments to group cohesion including insufficient referrals, inconsistent attendance, and low levels of school support. Students who were frequently absent and disengaged from school were particularly challenging to engage in a school-based program. CONCLUSIONS: This research demonstrates that successful implementation of a targeted school-based dating violence prevention program relies on building school support and awareness of teen dating violence, especially for appropriate identification and referral of at-risk students. High levels of school support enhance the development of a supportive group process and attitudinal and behavioral changes among participants.

Expect respect support groups: preliminary evaluation of a dating violence prevention program for at-risk youth.

Expect Respect support groups, a selective prevention strategy, are designed to prevent and reduce dating violence among at-risk middle and high school students. This preliminary, uncontrolled evaluation examined changes in healthy relationship skills and emotionally and physically abusive behaviors in participants' peer and dating relationships. Self-reports (N = 144) showed significant increases in healthy relationship skills from baseline to program completion, whereas levels of victimization and perpetration remained unchanged. A subgroup of students who reported baseline levels of victimization and perpetration with means at least one standard deviation above the group mean reported significantly less victimization and perpetration at program completion.

Considerations for the definition, measurement, consequences, and prevention of dating violence victimization among adolescent girls.

Violence experienced by adolescent girls from their dating partners poses considerable threat to their health and well-being. This report provides an overview of the prevalence and consequences of heterosexual teen dating violence and highlights the need for comprehensive prevention approaches to dating violence. We also discuss some considerations and future directions for the study and prevention of dating violence. We begin with a discussion of the definition of dating violence and also discuss measurement concerns and the need for evaluation of prevention strategies. Although women and men of all ages may be the victims or perpetrators, male-to-female dating violence experienced by adolescent girls is the main focus of this article. We incorporate research regarding girls' perpetration of dating violence where appropriate and as it relates to prevention.