Biomedical subjects

Thomas H Ollendick

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas H Ollendick.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Evaluation of child therapy and caregiver training in the treatment of school refusal.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relative efficacy of (1) child therapy, (2) parent/teacher training, and (3) the combination of child therapy and parent/teacher training in the treatment of anxiety-based school refusal. METHOD: Sixty-one school-refusing children (aged 7-14 years) from throughout Melbourne, Australia, were randomized to a child therapy program, a parent and teacher training program, or a combination of the two. Children were assessed before and after treatment, and at 4.5-month follow-up, by means of attendance records, self-report of emotional distress and self-efficacy, parent and teacher reports of emotional distress, and clinician ratings of overall functioning. RESULTS: Statistically and clinically significant pretreatment-posttreatment change occurred for each group. Immediately posttreatment, child therapy appeared to be the least effective in increasing attendance. By follow-up, the attendance and adjustment of those in the child therapy group equalled that of children whose parents and teachers were involved in treatment, whether on their own (parent/teacher training) or together with their children (combined child therapy and parent/teacher training). CONCLUSION: Contrary to expectations, combined child therapy and parent/teacher training did not produce better outcomes at posttreatment or follow-up.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Post-traumatic stress in children following motor vehicle accidents.

BACKGROUND: This study examined children's experiences following a motor vehicle accident (MVA). METHODS: Approximately 9 months following the accident, children (n=50) and their parents (n=50) participated in extensive interviews about the accident and in comprehensive, structured diagnostic interviews concerning overall psychological functioning. Additional assessments included post-traumatic stress questionnaires, archival police report records, and emergency treatment medical records. RESULTS: Of the 50 children, 7 children (14%) met criteria for PTSD diagnosis, and an additional 5 children met criteria for specific phobia (10%) related to the automobile accident on the structured diagnostic interview (DICA-R-C; total of 24%). Degree of physical injury predicted more PTSD symptoms, and previous accident experiences predicted fewer symptoms, before and after controlling for other variables. Holding degree of physical injury and age constant revealed that social support predicted fewer PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest the possible inoculating role of previous accidents and the importance of social support following MVA injury.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2002

Peer victimization, global self-worth, and anxiety in middle school children.

Examined relations among peer victimization, global self-worth, and anxiety, with particular interest in the potential mediating and moderating effects of global self-worth in the anticipated relations between peer victimization and anxiety. Sixth-grade children (N = 279) from a public middle school in southwestern Virginia participated. Reported levels of peer victimization were similar to those reported in previous studies, as were levels of anxiety. Sex differences were noted on measures of peer victimization and anxiety with boys reporting more victimization but less anxiety than girls. All subsequent analyses were conducted separately by sex. Significant relations were found among all variables of interest. For girls, global self-worth was found to mediate the peer victimization-anxiety relation, suggesting that victimization experiences negatively influenced girls' views of themselves and helped explain elevated levels of anxiety reported by them. For boys, global self-worth moderated the peer victimization-anxiety relation. Boys with higher global self-worth reported fewer anxiety symptoms than boys with lower global self-worth. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Consequences of divorce on the adjustment of children in China.

Explored the consequences of divorce on children in China. In contrast to Western countries, divorce in China is relatively rare, occurring in approximately 10% to 15% of the population. Children from divorced families (n = 174) and matched intact families (n = 174) were selected from a larger sample of 1,294 children between 8 and 14 years of age. Divorce was relatively low in this sample (13.45%) of participants, consistent with rates observed in epidemiological studies in China. Mothers of divorced children reported higher levels of education but lower levels of income than mothers in intact families. Children in divorced families reported higher levels of anxiety and depression, and their mothers and teachers rated them as possessing more behavior problems on the Achenbach (1991) Child Behavior Checklist scales. Regression analyses revealed that rejecting and inattentive parenting styles, along with family status (divorce or intact), high maternal depression, and sex (boys) predicted significant amounts of variance associated with these negative outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of familial and cultural issues associated with these findings.

Adolescent↗