A literature review reveals that homeless adolescents are at extremely high risk for acquiring HIV infection. Sexual and drug use behaviors that put these adolescents at risk are described. New models of social, health, and mental health services for these youth are outlined. (GLR)

Because young children have difficulty comprehending abstract ideas and generalizing information presented in sexual abuse prevention programs, and because of their dependence on adults, the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs for young children is questionable. (BB)

Reports the results of five years of analysis examining the impact of the service of the Youth Support Project, a systems-based approach to improving the functioning of youths entering the juvenile justice system and their families (N=95). Results indicate that relationships exist between the various blocks of predictor variables and the different…

A survey of 289 Chinese American and 138 White college students examined perceptions of and experiences with dating violence, gender role beliefs, and the influence of gender role beliefs on definitions and contextual justifications of dating violence. The sociocultural context of dating violence and implications for social work practice are…

Objective: To explore factors that facilitate the receipt of mental health treatment among juvenile crime victims. Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with a national sample of 157 caretakers whose children had suffered a serious sexual or physical assault in the previous year. Results: Twenty-two percent of caretakers had thought about…

Objective: This study from Norway examines the relative influence of child sexual abuse (CSA) and family background risk factors (FBRF) on the risk for current mental disorders and the quality of current intimate relationships in women with CSA treated for anxiety disorders and/or depression. Women with these disorders frequently seek treatment,…

Objective: To examine family risk factors associated with dissociative symptoms among homeless and runaway youth. Method: Three hundred and twenty-eight homeless and runaway youth were interviewed using a systematic sampling strategy in metropolitan Seattle. Homeless young people were interviewed on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers…

This case study presents a theoretical analysis of implementing mode deactivation therapy (MDT) (Apsche & Ward Bailey, 2003) family therapy with a 13 year old Caucasian male. MDT is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that combines the balance of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) (Linehan, 1993), the importance of perception from…

Victim empathy is a widely used component of sex offender treatment throughout North America and Great Britain. Yet, it has been controversial over the past few years. One of the complications involves giving empathy a solid definition. Empathy was defined as the capacity to express compassion for victims. A multi-level system was developed to…

The purpose of the present study was to measure attitudes towards sex offenders held by professionals and paraprofessionals and to evaluate an introductory training workshop aimed at increasing knowledge and improving attitudes to this client group. Eighty-five residential hostel workers and probation officers attended an intensive two-day…

Background: The extensive research on prediction of risk in offenders has developed a number of reliable static risk predictors. There is also a developing body of work on proximal, dynamic risk factors and their importance in predicting violent and sexual offending. Although this work has not been done specifically on offenders with intellectual…

This report provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. Some of these indicators document that student safety has improved. For example, the victimization rate of students ages 12-18 at school declined from 73 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2003 to 55 per 1,000 students victimizations in 2004. However, other…

This book examines the developmental functions of social pretend play (SPP), asserting that SPP is salient in the formation of both social interaction skills and friendships from the toddler period into middle childhood. Part 1 discusses the mastery of the communication of meaning in SPP and presents three studies on the relationship between…

While some researchers question whether women can be more vulnerable to sexual assault because of personal characteristics and/or behavioral styles, typical research designs into this question draw on retrospective comparisons of victims and non-victims, making it difficult to determine whether the observed differences are causes, correlates, or…

Peer-to-peer sexual harassment is rampant in elementary and secondary schools. While sometimes identified and curtailed, it is usually tolerated and characterized as normal. Regardless of the ways school authorities regard sexual harassment, it interferes with a student's right to receive equal educational opportunities and violates Title IX. This…