Marilyn A. Sher, Lucy Warner, Anne McLean, Katharyn Rowe and Ernest Gralton
The purpose of this paper is to explore the validity and reliability of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV) to determine if it has…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the validity and reliability of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability: Adolescent Version (START:AV) to determine if it has predictive accuracy in relation to physical aggression, severe verbal aggression, property damage and self-harm, in a medium secure setting. In addition, the authors hoped to provide some of the first descriptive data available for the START:AV among a UK adolescent population in a medium secure adolescent unit.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 90 female and male adolescents, with and without developmental disabilities. It was important to explore the measure’s predictive accuracy across specific population groups, such as between males and females, as well as those with developmental disabilities, and those without.
Findings
Some significant relationships were found between the START:AV and adverse outcomes. For instance, total strength and vulnerability scores were predictive for verbal and physical aggression. Differences in predictive validity were evident when comparisons were made between males and females, with relationships being evident amongst the male population only. When splitting the male sample into developmental disability and non-developmental disability groups, significant relationships were found between strength and vulnerability scores and verbal and physical aggression.
Practical implications
A number of practical implications are considered, such as the START:AV is relevant for use with adolescents in hospital settings and the significant inverse relationship between strength scores and negative outcomes supports the importance of considering protective/strength factors when working with at risk youths.
Originality/value
There is currently limited validation data for the START:AV in the UK or elsewhere.
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Marilyn A. Sher and E. Gralton
The purpose of this paper is to establish gaps in training, involve staff in the implementation process by incorporating their views on what is helpful and what can be improved…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish gaps in training, involve staff in the implementation process by incorporating their views on what is helpful and what can be improved, as well as provide information that might be helpful to other sites who are considering implementing the START:AV.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study is the first to examine a START:AV implementation and survey a multi-disciplinary team on their views about implementation in a medium secure service for adolescents in the UK. The survey was adapted from the one used by Collins et al. (2008). Once surveys were received the qualitative information was collated to explore themes, and frequency analysis was undertaken on the quantitative information.
Findings
The staff survey on the implementation of the START:AV highlighted a number of strengths and challenges. There was significant support for the START:AV in relation to it being a dynamic assessment to measure change, that focuses equally on strengths and vulnerabilities, making the process individualised. Users of the START:AV reported that the process of rating the START:AV as a team improved communication, teamwork, generated discussion and improved the detailed understanding of the patient being rated. Staff felt it was generally straightforward to use in terms of strengths and vulnerability ratings, but some difficulties emerged regarding making finer distinctions in ratings as well as completing risk formulations, highlighting further training needs. There was also some confusion about differentiating between certain strengths and vulnerabilities, leading to “double ratings”. Other difficulties highlighted centred on time and increasing workload.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the study relates to the low response rate to the survey (31 per cent).
Practical implications
Recommendations for implementation and evaluation of new risk assessment procedures are made.
Originality/value
The current study is the first to examine a START:AV implementation and survey a multi-disciplinary team on their views about implementation in a medium secure service for adolescents in the UK.
Details
Keywords
Few librarians think of U.S. documents as a source for professional reading, growth, and information, yet several agencies of the government are involved with library programs…
Abstract
Few librarians think of U.S. documents as a source for professional reading, growth, and information, yet several agencies of the government are involved with library programs, services, and research. This bibliography is a compilation of some of the most recent documents about libraries published by these agencies. It is an eclectic group, ranging from scholarly research studies to descriptions of model programs. Most of these studies are known only to a small segment of the library profession and have not received wide distribution in the field. The quality of the documents is quite good, particularly the research reports being done out of the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Library Programs Office. Much of the information contained in the surveys and research reports is not available in any other form.
Claire Camilleri and Marilyn Clark
The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise about the desistance process of Maltese mothers who previously used drugs. The study unpacks how initial and continued…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise about the desistance process of Maltese mothers who previously used drugs. The study unpacks how initial and continued desistance from high-risk drug use (HRDU) is impacted by being a mother within the Maltese context and identifies contingencies for desistance and examines how they are negotiated along the desistance pathways.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a symbolic interactionist-inspired career framework and involved in-depth exploration of trajectories of mothering and desistance of eight Maltese women with a history of HRDU. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analysis used an evolved grounded theory methodology.
Findings
Four explanatory categories were identified in the interview data to document the role of mothering in the various pathways to desistance recounted by the women. These are: becoming a mother; differing pathways of desistance in relation to mothering; the lived experience; identity negotiation and transformation. This study highlights how identity fluidity and transformation is central to the desistance process.
Practical implications
The paper aims to inform policy and practice with mothers who use drugs and their families and has important implications for the development and delivery of gender transformative interventions.
Originality/value
This study challenges taken-for-granted beliefs about the influence of mothering on desistance and identifies the complexities involved.
Details
Keywords
Clark N. Hallman and Lisa F. Lister
This bibliography of multidisciplinary periodical literature focuses on white supremacy ideologies and on several groups that espouse white supremacy, including the Ku Klux Klan…
Abstract
This bibliography of multidisciplinary periodical literature focuses on white supremacy ideologies and on several groups that espouse white supremacy, including the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi groups like Aryan Nations and The Order, and skinheads. In compiling both scholarly and popular periodical material, the authors were surprised by the relatively low number of recent scholarly articles in the social sciences literature. Nevertheless, some important scholarly sources are cited. Also, although there is voluminous published material covering racism, the authors included only material judged specifically related to white supremacy, a sometimes difficult distinction because the roots of racism and current white supremacist thought are so intertwined.
Arnold Moyo and Sothini Natalia Ngwenya
This research sought to empirically identify context specific dimensions of service quality at Zimbabwean State Universities. The study also sought to measure the…
Abstract
Purpose
This research sought to empirically identify context specific dimensions of service quality at Zimbabwean State Universities. The study also sought to measure the ‘university-wide’ overall service quality at National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and to explore differences in service quality perception based on selected students’ demographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study strategy was used. Focus group discussions were used to qualitatively identify service quality variables; which were then subjected to quantitative evaluation through the administration of questionnaires on a sample of 294 students. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to reduce the service quality variables into service quality dimensions.
Findings
Five dimensions of service quality were identified, namely: General Attitude, Facilitating Elements, Access, Lecture Rooms and Health Services. Results also showed that most students (48.3 per cent) perceived overall service quality at NUST to be average while 28.6 per cent and 23.1 per cent had a negative and positive perception of overall service quality respectively. Perceived overall service quality at NUST was found to differ significantly based on ‘students’ year of study’ and ‘faculty group’. Differences based on gender were found to be insignificant.
Originality/value
Identification of the five dimensions was a progressive step in developing a relevant service quality measurement instrument for a Zimbabwean State University context; and in so doing, contributing to literature on relevant service quality dimensions and measurement instruments in Zimbabwe and Africa in general. This was the first such study in Zimbabwe to address the context specific literature-gap on relevant service quality dimensions.