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This qualitative study explores the youth-initiated mentoring (YIM) approach for youth at risk for out-of-home placement. In this approach, a youth nominates someone from within their social network, and positions this person as a YIM to function as an ally for the youth and as a partner for parents and professional caregivers. Through interviews with six youth, six YIMs, and seven parents ( N = 19), we examined the positioning of a YIM and sustainability. The results indicated that attitudes from participants toward asking someone or being asked to become a YIM varied from enthusiastic to cautious. Participants reported increased contact intensity and relationship quality. Two parents did not experience YIM as beneficial. Most participants expected that the YIM–mentee relationship lasts after professional care terminates. The results reveal that YIM is experienced as an ally, but it also has the potential to increase relational conflicts between social network members.

In order to work on qualitatively good residential care it is important to monitor group climate and to act on clients' feedback. The present study describes how two youth care organizations in the Netherlands implemented group climate monitoring instruments for children (GCIC 4–8 and 8–15) as part of the broader ‘You Matter!’ project (in which N = 15 teams, and N = 274 children participated), and aims to answer the question how these monitoring instruments can help to improve group climate when routinely embedded in daily care. The results indicated that, in the age group 8–15 (n = 171), negative group climate aspects diminished over two years using feedback from the children. Evaluating the ‘You Matter’ project, it appears to be worthwhile to invest in the monitoring of group climate. According to the interviewed group workers (N = 5), group climate improvements were instigated most when the feedback was discussed soon after the measurement, when teams were facilitated to reflect together and when they kept working on their shared vision. Trends in children's answers on the open-ended questions of the monitoring instrument provided further important information about how to stay focused on creating a safe and positive context for vulnerable children in residential care.

The present study examined the relation between juvenile delinquents’ responses to social problem situations and empathy in secure juvenile institutions. The sample consisted of 79 delinquent boys (62%) and 49 delinquent girls (38%), aged 12 to 19 years. Results showed problems with accepting authority to be negatively related to both affective and cognitive empathy. Inadequate coping with competition was negatively related to cognitive empathy, whereas problems with receiving or giving help were negatively related to affective empathy. The central role of authority problems suggests that group workers could influence adolescents’ empathy development by helping them to learn to cope with social problem situations.

Two separate meta-analyses were conducted to examine (1) the effects of training programs on the behaviour of direct care staff working with clients with ID who present challenging behaviour problems (predominantly aggressive and violent behaviour), and (2) the effects of staff training on the challenging behaviour of their clients with ID. A 3-level random effects model was used for both meta-analyses to account for both within and between study variance. Results showed that staff training was moderately effective in changing staff behaviour, but no convincing evidence was found for an effect on the reduction of challenging behaviour of persons with ID. The type, content and goal of training did not moderate the effects of staff training, whereas sample and study characteristics (e.g., sex participant or year of publication) did. The way a training program is delivered to staff may be much more important than characteristics of a training.

Background: Little is known about the nature and reactions to sexual abuse of children with intellectual disability (ID). The aim was to fill this gap.Method: Official reports of sexual abuse of children with ID in state care were examined (N = 128) and compared with children without ID (N = 48).Results: Clear signs of penetration or genital touching by male (adolescent) peers or (step/foster)fathers were found in most ID reports. Victims often received residential care and disclosed themselves. Type of perpetrator seemed to affect the nature and reaction to the abuse. Cases of children with and without ID seemed to differ in location and reports to police.Conclusions: Screening of (foster)homes seems crucial. Residential facilities should find a balance between independence of children and protection. Care providers should be trained in addressing sexual issues and sexual education, accounting for different types of perpetrators (peers/adults). Uniform reporting guidelines are needed.

Responsive–Aggression Regulation Therapy (Re-ART) Outpatient is a cognitive behavioral–based intervention for adolescents and young adults (16-24 years) with severe aggressive behavioral problems. This pilot study ( N = 26) examined the level of program integrity (PI; that is, the delivery of the intervention as it is originally intended) of Re-ART. We also investigated the pre- and post-test changes in several outcome variables, and the relation between the level of PI and these changes. Participants were recruited from three different outpatient forensic settings. Results showed that the PI of half of the treatments was not sufficient (e.g., the intensity of the program was too low and some standard modules were not offered). In addition, this pilot study demonstrated that sufficient PI was related to positive changes in aggression, cognitive distortions, social support, coping (reported by therapist), and distrust (responsiveness to treatment).

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are negative childhood events occurring in a child&rsquo, s family or social environment, that may cause harm or distress. Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their families are underrepresented in international ACEs research, while current insights can also contribute to the improvement of their health and well-being. Deficiencies in intellectual and adaptive functioning and living circumstances can increase their vulnerability to adversities. In the present exploratory study 69 case-files of children referred to a Dutch national center for residential youth care for children with ID were analyzed to assess the prevalence and associations of ACEs. It was found that almost half (49.3%) of the children experienced 2 ACEs from the original ACEs framework or more (M (mean) = 2.1, SD (standard deviation) = 1.8) and that the number of ACEs in children was related to the presence of ACEs in parents. Both child and parental ACEs were also related to attachment- and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. Finally, living circumstances and multiple ACEs from the expanded ACEs framework, especially related to parental characteristics, were found to be related to ACEs in children with ID. This implicates the importance of a transgenerational approach when further investigating the impact of ACEs on mental and physical health in children with ID (intellectual disabilities).

BackgroundAggression in residential youth care institutions is a frequent problem.ObjectiveThe present short-term longitudinal study examined individual and institutional predictors of aggression in a group of 198 adolescents placed in open, semi-secure and secure residential institutions from the perspective of the importation and deprivation model.MethodsA total of 198 adolescents in residential youth care filled in questionnaires regarding group climate and aggression with a 3 month interval. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to test the degree to which individual and contextual factors predict aggression.ResultsVery limited support was found for the effect of contextual factors; only repression showed a trend, predicting direct aggression, while gender composition of the living groups yielded a small effect. Girls placed in same-gender groups showed lower levels of indirect (relational) aggression compared to adolescents placed in mixed-gender or boys-only groups, even when controlled for gender and initial levels of aggression. Type of institution (i.e., level of security) did not predict differences in aggression. In particular individual characteristics of the adolescents were associated with later aggression, including initial levels of aggression, showing substantial 3 months stability, age and gender of the adolescents.ConclusionsThese findings are in line with research showing that aggression is relatively stable. Very limited support for environmental effects was found.

It is assumed that group climate can have an effect on aggressive behavior in adolescents living in residential facilities, but it is largely unknown whether there are climate differences between the various types of residential institutions, and whether group climate differently affects aggression incidents among adolescents placed in institutions that differ in levels of security (and openness). In current research, the differences in perception of group climate between open, semi-secure, and secure residential youth care facilities were examined as well as the association between group climate and aggression. In total, 159 adolescents (96 males, 63 females) completed the Prison Group Climate Instrument (PGCI), and (aggressive) incidents were recorded during a period of 3 months. Perception of group climate—including support from staff, group atmosphere among adolescents, possibilities for growth, and repression—did not differ between the various types of residential care, except for possibilities for growth. Adolescents in open and semi-secure institutions experienced more possibilities for growth than their peers in secure institutions. A more positive perception of group climate in open institutions proved to be related to less aggressive incidents at the living group. For semi-secure and secure institutions, no relation between group climate and aggression was found. Also, the longer adolescents stayed in residential youth care, the more aggressive incidents occurred.

Background The aim of the present study was to examine the internal structure and reliability of the Attachment Insecurity Screening Inventory (AISI) 6–12. The AISI 6–12 years is a parent-report questionnaire for assessing the parents’ perspective on the quality of the attachment relationship with their child aged between 6 and 12 years. Methods The sample consisted of 681 mothers and fathers reporting on 372 children (72.3% adoption parents, 14.9% non-biological primary care takers including foster parents, and 12.8% biological parents). The internal structure was assessed with multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and the reliability of the scores with Cronbach’s and ordinal alphas. Results Multilevel CFA confirmed a three-factor model of avoidant, ambivalent/resistant and disorganized attachment. Multi-group CFA indicated full configural and metric measurement invariance, and partial scalar and strict measurement invariance across mothers and fathers. Reliability coefficients were found to be sufficient. Conclusions This study showed the potential of using parental reports in the initial screening of attachment related problems, especially considering the practical approach of parental reports. However, further development of the AISI 6–12 years seems important to increase the validity of the AISI 6–12 years. In addition, future studies are necessary to replicate the current findings, and to strengthen the evidence that the AISI 6–12 years is appropriate for the use in middle childhood and validly assesses the parents’ perspective on attachment insecurities in their child. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-018-1608-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Despite the assumed importance of the residential environment for treatment outcomes, there is a gap in research examining the relation between therapeutic alliance and group climate. Therefore, this prospective study examined the association between positive and negative group climate and child–mentor therapeutic alliance in residential youth care in two mixed gender samples, with two measurement occasions at a six-month interval: N = 43 children (58% boys, 42% girls) in age category 4–8 (M = 6.11 years; SD = 1.19; Min = 4.09; Max = 8.79), and N = 72 children (72% boys, 28% girls) in age category 8–15 (M = 11.48 years; SD = 1.69; Min = 8.31; Max = 14.73). We found moderate six-month stability in children’s ratings of group climate and alliance, although stability was weaker for the 4–8 year olds compared to the 8–15 year olds. In addition, positive group climate was rated higher by boys than girls in the group of 8–15 year olds. No effects were found between group climate and alliance ratings over the two measurement occasions. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

The present study examined the association between living group climate and aversive reactions to social problem situations (e.g., getting angry, bullying or not cooperating with staff) in adolescents in secure residential facilities. The sample consisted of 128 adolescent boys and girls. Results showed an open living group climate—designated as a structured, safe and therapeutic environment—to be associated with less aversive reactions to social problem situations. Living group climate had a negative relation with aversive reactions to social problem situations (β = −.632, p < .001). It is argued that group workers should be trained in providing an open living group climate in order to diminish aversive responses to social problem situations in detained adolescents.

The aim of the present study was threefold: to examine (1) the relation between both cognitive and affective empathy and prosocial behavior, (2) the relation between both cognitive and affective empathy and offending, and (3) the role of cognitive distortions in the relation between cognitive empathy, affective empathy and offending in a sample of adolescent girls with lower SES and education (N = 264). Results showed that both cognitive and affective empathy were positively related to prosocial behavior. Furthermore, cognitive empathy was positively related to offending, whereas affective empathy was not related to offending. Finally, no support was found for our hypothesis that cognitive distortions play a moderating role in the relation between empathy and offending.

Purpose: This study describes the development and validation of the Group Climate Instrument for Children aged 8 to 15 years (GCIC 8-15), which purports to measure the quality of group climate in residential care. Methods: A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on data of 117 children in Dutch residential youth care. Reliability analysis was performed and concurrent validity was tested. Results: An adequate fit of a two-factor model indicated construct validity of the GCIC 8-15. Reliability coefficients were good, and a significant correlation between perceived group climate and treatment motivation supported concurrent validity. Discussion: The GCIC 8-15 can be used to identify positive and negative aspects of group climate in residential youth care and enables further group climate research with children.

This study examines the reliability and validity of the “Brief Irrational Thoughts Inventory” (BITI) in a sample of 256 justice-involved youths. The BITI is a questionnaire used to determine the nature and severity of irrational thoughts related to aggressive (externalizing), sub-assertive (internalizing), and distrust-related behavior in adolescents with conduct problems. The results of this study demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability and supported validity of the BITI in terms of construct, convergent, concurrent and divergent validity. Construct validity was assessed using a confirmatory factor analysis. The BITI proved to be measurement invariant for sex and ethnic origin, i.e., the results indicated that items were interpreted in a similar way by boys and girls as well as native and non-native Dutch respondents. The BITI also proved to be insensitive to intelligence, education, and age (divergent validity). However, weak to moderate correlations were found between the degree of social desirability and irrational thoughts related to aggressive (externalizing) and distrust-related behavior (BITI). Finally, concurrent validity was satisfactory, with the exception of thoughts related to sub-assertive (internalizing) behavior.

This article describes a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study of the effectiveness of Responsive Aggression Regulation Therapy (Re-ART), a Dutch intervention for 16- to 21-year-old juveniles. Re-ART aims to decrease severe aggressive behavior using a cognitive behavioral approach combined with drama therapeutic and mindfulness techniques. Re-ART differs from other mental health interventions in criminal justice settings in its combination of individual therapy and group training, and in the flexibility to adjust the intensity and content of the treatment to the specific individual needs of juvenile delinquents. The sample consisted of violent offenders treated in a juvenile justice institution: 63 were in the experimental group (Re-ART) and 28 in the Treatment-As-Usual (TAU) group. Results indicate that Re-ART is significantly more effective than TAU in reducing the juveniles' recidivism risk, aggressive behavior, irrational cognitions, poor coping skills and improved responsiveness to treatment. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

BACKGROUND: Juveniles with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more often victims of maltreatment and more often perpetrators of abuse than juveniles without ID. Because previous research on the relationship between maltreatment victimisation and subsequent offending behaviour was primarily performed in non-disabled samples, the present study aimed to examine differences between juvenile offenders with and without ID in the relationship between maltreatment victimisation and sexual and violent offending. METHOD: The sample consisted of juvenile offenders with ID (n = 102) and without ID (n = 526) who appeared before the courts for a criminal act and for whom the Washington State Juvenile Court Assessment (WSJCA) was completed. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the strength of the relationship between maltreatment and offending, Fisher's z tests were calculated to assess the significance of the differences between the two groups in the strength of the correlations, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the unique contribution of maltreatment victimisation to the prediction of violent and sexual offending. RESULTS: Seventy per cent of the juvenile offenders with ID and 42% of the juvenile offenders without ID had experienced abuse and/or neglect. Both sexual and violent offending were more common in juvenile offenders with ID than in juvenile offenders without ID. Moreover, the relationship between different forms of maltreatment and sexual offending was stronger in juvenile offenders with ID than in juvenile offenders without ID. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high rates of abuse and neglect victimisation and the strength of the association between victimisation and sexual offending, especially in juvenile offenders with ID, treatment should focus on potential trauma and other problems associated with the abuse. Language: en

Data were collected from 121 staff members (20 direct support staff teams) on background characteristics of the individual staff members and their teams (gender, age, years of work experience, position and education), the frequency and form of aggression of clients with an intellectual disability (verbal or physical), staff members’ attitudes towards aggression, and the types of behavioural interventions they executed (providing personal space and behavioural boundary-setting, restricting freedom and the use of coercive measures). Additionally, client group characteristics (age of clients, type of care and client's level of intellectual disability) were assessed. Multilevel analyses (individual and contextual level) were performed to examine the relations between all studied variables and the behavioural interventions. The results showed that for providing personal space and behavioural boundary-setting as well as for restricting freedom, the proportion of variance explained by the context (staff team and client group characteristics) was three times larger than the proportion of variance explained by individual staff member characteristics. For using coercive measures, the context even accounted for 66% of the variance, whereas only 8% was explained by individual staff member characteristics. A negative attitude towards aggression of the direct support team as a whole proved to be an especially strong predictor of using coercive measures. To diminish the use of coercive measures, interventions should therefore be directed towards influencing the attitude of direct support teams instead of individual staff members.

Objectives: We evaluated a new attachment-oriented intervention aimed at improving parental mind-mindedness, promoting positive parent–child relationships, and reducing child psychopathology in families with adopted children. Method: The sample consisted of 20 families with adopted children (2–5 years of age). After the pretest, the intervention was conducted, followed by a posttest, 6 months later. Results: Positive medium-to-large changes between pretest and posttest were found in children’s insecure attachments to their mothers, disorganized attachments to both their parents and conduct problems. Finally, mothers who had spent more time with their adopted children perceived less peer problems in their children after the intervention. Conclusion: Basic Trust is a promising intervention for improving parent–child relationships in adoptive families and decreasing attachment and conduct problems.

Background and aimTo explain direct care staff's attitudes (responsive or rejecting) towards aggression of clients with intellectual disability (ID), data were collected about client characteristics as well as individual and team characteristics of 475 direct care staff members, working in 71 teams.Method and resultsMultilevel analyses revealed that a positive team climate was positively associated with both a rejecting and responsive attitude towards aggression. Senior staff members and females showed a less responsive attitude towards aggression, whereas a relatively high percentage of females in a team and a positive attitude towards external professionals were associated with a more responsive attitude towards aggression. Unexpectedly, staff who experienced less verbal and/or physical aggressive incidents of their clients with ID showed a more rejecting attitude towards aggression. Finally, characteristics of the clients with ID accounted for the largest part of the variance in the attitude towards aggression of direct care staff, in particular psychiatric diagnoses.Conclusions and implicationsFurther research is necessary in order to understand how team processes affect the attitude towards aggression of direct care staff. Further it is recommended to provide direct care staff with knowledge about mental disorders in clients with ID.

According to the risk-need-responsivity model of offender, assessment and rehabilitation treatment should target specific factors that are related to re-offending. This study evaluates the residential care of Filipino juvenile offenders using the risk-need-responsivity model. Risk analyses and criminogenic needs assessments (parenting style, aggression, relationships with peers, empathy, and moral reasoning) have been conducted using data of 55 juvenile offenders in four residential facilities. The psychological care has been assessed using a checklist. Statistical analyses showed that juvenile offenders had a high risk of re-offending, high aggression, difficulties in making pro-social friends, and a delayed socio-moral development. The psychological programs in the residential facilities were evaluated to be poor. The availability of the psychological care in the facilities fitted poorly with the characteristics of the juvenile offenders and did not comply with the risk-need-responsivity model. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Background The aim of the present study is to examine whether the patterns of association between the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship on the one hand, and aggression and delinquency on the other hand, are the same for boys and girls of Dutch and Moroccan origin living in the Netherlands. Since inconsistent results have been found previously, the present study tests the replicability of the model of associations in two different Dutch samples of adolescents. Method Study 1 included 288 adolescents (M age = 14.9, range 12-17 years) all attending lower secondary education. Study 2 included 306 adolescents (M age = 13.2, range = 12-15 years) who were part of a larger community sample with oversampling of at risk adolescents. Results Multigroup structural analyses showed that neither in Study 1 nor in Study 2 ethnic or gender differences were found in the patterns of associations between support, autonomy, disclosure, and negativity in the parent-adolescent relationship and aggression and delinquency. The patterns were largely similar for both studies. Mainly negative quality of the relationship in both studies was found to be strongly related to both aggression and delinquency. Discussion Results show that family processes that affect adolescent development, show a large degree of universality across gender and ethnicity. © The Author(s) 2009.

Contains fulltext : 90656.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This study examined the role of peer acceptance and perceived popularity in bullying and victimization in early adolescent peer groups. Peer acceptance is the degree to which adolescents are well liked by their peers; perceived popularity indicates visibility, dominance, and prestige. It was hypothesized that acceptance negatively predicts bullying, whereas popularity positively predicts bullying, and that both acceptance and popularity negatively predict victimization. Interactions between acceptance and popularity were tested as well. Participants were 1,207 13-to 14-year-old adolescents who completed sociometric assessments in their classrooms. Both bullying and victimization were predicted by the interaction between acceptance and perceived popularity. Bullying was positively associated with popularity, and this association was stronger for adolescents with lower levels of acceptance. Victimization was negatively associated with popularity, and this association was also stronger for adolescents with lower levels of acceptance. Linear and curvilinear main effects and interactions were found; some were further moderated by gender. The discussion focused on the role of individual status and group dynamic factors in the occurrence of aggression among early adolescents.

The first aim of the present study was to examine associations between different aspects of adolescent friendship relations (i.e., frequency of contact with friends, trust in friends, and perceived friends' deviance) on one hand, and adolescent problem behavior and self-esteem on the other hand. The second aim was to determine whether the findings hold for adolescents from three different ethnic groups and for boys and girls. A sample of 508 Dutch, Turkish, and Moroccan adolescents living in the Netherlands filled in a battery of questionnaires at school. Having contact with deviant friends was the strongest contributor to both aggressive and delinquent problem behavior. Trust in friends was the strongest contributor to self-esteem. In general, gender differences were more pronounced than differences among the ethnic groups.

Dit artikel beschrijft een onderzoeksproject dat vier deelstudies omvat, waarin het belang van ouders en vriendschapsrelaties voor het functioneren (zelfwaardering, agressief en delinquent gedrag) van adolescenten uit verschillende etnische groepen in Nederland centraal staat. Voor het project werden op school vragenlijsten ingevuld door 541 adolescenten (vmbo, gemiddeld veertien jaar) met verschillende etnische achtergronden: Nederlands (59%), Turks (20%), Marokkaans (15%) en Surinaams (6%). Daarnaast zijn vragenlijstgegevens van 175 ouders gebruikt. De resultaten duiden op meer overeenkomsten dan verschillen tussen de etnische groepen. Zo gaan, ongeacht etnische achtergrond, goede vriendschapsrelaties samen met een hogere zelfwaardering van adolescenten. Een negatieve relatie met ouders gaat in alle groepen gepaard met een lagere zelfwaardering en een hogere mate van delinquent en agressief gedrag. De etnische verschillen lijken meer betrekking te hebben op de generatie ouders dan op de jongere generatie.

The present study examined whether self-esteem mediates the relationship between two aspects of ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity commitment-affirmation) and externalizing problem behaviour in Dutch, Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch adolescents living in the Netherlands. A total number of 345 adolescents (115 Dutch, 115 Turkish-Dutch, 115 Moroccan-Dutch) with a mean age of 14.5 filled in questionnaires at school. Turkish-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch adolescents reported higher levels of both aspects of ethnic identity than their native Dutch counterparts, but there were no ethnic differences in self-esteem and externalizing problem behaviour. Only in the Moroccan-Dutch group was support found for the mediational model: stronger ethnic identity commitment-affirmation was related to a higher level of self-esteem, which, in turn, was related to a lower level of externalizing problem behaviour.

Objective The outcome of institutional youth care for children is heavily debated. This multilevel meta-analysis aims to address the outcome of institutional youth care compared to non-institutional youth care for children of primary school age and early adolescence in economically developed countries. A gain of knowledge in this area may help the decision for referral of children to institutional youth care or other types of care (e.g., foster care or community-based care), and improve outcomes for children in youth care. Methods Of 19 controlled studies (15.526 participants), 63 effect sizes of behaviour problems (externalizing, internalizing, and total), skills (social and cognitive) and delinquency were computed based on comparisons between institutional Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT), institutional Care As Usual (CAU), non-institutional EBT, and non-institutional CAU. Results Institutional CAU showed a small-to-medium negative significant effect compared to non-institutional CAU ( d = − 0.342). Furthermore, children in institutional care showed slightly more delinquent behaviour compared to children in non-institutional care ( d = − 0.329). Significant moderating effects were also found for study design, year of publication and sex of the child. Conclusions Children receiving non-institutional CAU (mostly foster care) had slightly better outcomes than children in institutional CAU (regular group care). No differences were found between institutional and non-institutional care when institutional treatment was evidence-based. More research is needed on the conditions that make established treatment methods work in institutional care for (young) children.

This meta-analysis, including six studies (13 effect sizes) and 164 adolescents, examined the effectiveness of individually oriented treatment (which means that the intervention contained at least an individual component, possibly in combination with group and/or family therapy) with CBT-elements for adolescents with severe aggression problems. A large and homogeneous overall effect size was found (d = 1.139) indicating consistency across studies. The included studies examined the effect of three interventions, namely, mode deactivation therapy (MDT; four studies), stress-inoculation therapy (1), and the cell-phone program (1). This multilevel analysis demonstrated that only few individually oriented interventions have been developed and evaluated, while four of the included studies used a weak research design. Effective individually tailored interventions for youths with severe aggression problems (who are unsuitable for group treatment) are scant. There may be added value if group interventions are supplemented with more individually tailored evidence-based interventions.

The current paper provides a narrative review of the literature on sexual abuse, involving children with Intellectual Disability (ID). The thirteen articles that were found and met our criteria vary in their definitions of sexual abuse and in how ID was determined. Still, they do paint a general picture concerning (1) the extent of sexual abuse, (2) the nature of the sexual abuse, and (3) the institutional reactions following sexual abuse of children with ID. Our findings confirm the greater vulnerability of children with ID to become involved in sexual abuse both as a victim and as a perpetrator, and we discuss ways to help strengthening prevention and intervention methods. Nevertheless, more research is needed, as it is still a rather unexplored topic, which is striking in light of the high vulnerability of this group.

The cross-ethnic similarity in the pattern of associations among parenting behavior (support and authoritative and restrictive control), the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship (disclosure and positive and negative quality), and several developmental outcomes (aggressive behavior, delinquent behavior, and global self-esteem) was tested. A sample of 541 Dutch, Moroccan, Turkish, and Surinamese adolescents living in the Netherlands (mean age 14.43) completed questionnaires at school. The results showed ethnic similarities in the mean levels of support, authoritative control, disclosure, positive quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, delinquent behavior, and self-esteem. The quality of the parent-adolescent relationship, especially a negative quality of the relationship, showed significant associations with each adolescent outcome in all ethnic groups. For both aggressive behavior and self-esteem, the same model was applicable to all ethnic groups. The links between the quality of the parent-adolescent relationship and delinquent behavior were also similar. The links between parenting behavior and delinquent behavior, however, differed across groups.

We examined the cross-cultural equivalence of a widely used instrument that assesses perceived parental rearing, the EMBU-C, among native Dutch and immigrant adolescents living in The Netherlands. The results of a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the factor structure of the EMBU-C, consisting of three latent factors (Warmth, Rejection, and Overprotection), and reliabilities of these scales are similar in both samples. These findings lend further support for the factorial and construct validity of this instrument. The comparison of perceived child rearing between native Dutch and immigrant adolescents showed cultural differences in only one of the assessed dimensions: Immigrant adolescents perceive their parents as more overprotective than do Dutch adolescents.

The dominant theories about the development of antisocial behaviour during adolescence are based almost entirely on research conducted with mainstream, white, middle-class adolescents. The present study addresses this significant gap in the literature by examining whether the same model of family and peer influence on antisocial behaviour is applicable to adolescents belonging to different ethnic groups. The sample included 603 adolescents (318 females and 285 males) from four ethnic groups: 68% of adolescents were Dutch, 11% were Moroccan, 13% were Turkish and 8% were Surinamese. The questionnaires assessing antisocial behaviour, quality of parent-adolescent relationship and involvement with deviant peers were completed by adolescents individually at schools. Results show few ethnic differences in the mean level of the assessed constructs: adolescents from different ethnic groups show similar levels of antisocial behaviour, are to a similar degree satisfied with their relationships with parents, disclose as much information to them, and do not differ in their involvement with deviant peers. However, the associations of parent and peer relations with antisocial behaviour differed across the ethnic groups.

A meta-analysis of k = 38 studies (60 independent effect sizes), including 6631 participants, was conducted to investigate whether differences in cognitive and affective empathy exist between offenders and non-offenders. Cognitive empathy was more strongly associated with offending (d = .43) than affective empathy (d = .19). Moderator analyses revealed that various study and participant characteristics (i.e., year of publication, impact factor, age and sex of the participant, and assessment instrument) influenced the strength and direction of the association between cognitive empathy and offending. Type of assessment instrument, the number of variables on which the offender and comparison group were matched, age and sex of the participants influenced the strength of the association between affective empathy and offending.

The number of aggressive incidents committed by patients in (secure) mental health care is high. The present study examined the relation between institutional climate (support, growth, atmosphere, and repression) and aggressive incidents using data of 72 patients in a secure (forensic) mental health clinic and a clinic for prolonged intensive care. Longitudinal analyses showed that support from nurses was negatively associated with aggressive incidents. The relation between growth and aggressive incidents was mediated by support. Mental health nurses could have an important contribution to decreasing aggression incidents in secure mental health care facilities by offering support and possibilities for growth to the patients.

The present study examined the validity and reliability of the Adolescent Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (ATMQ) in a sample of 264 adolescents in Dutch secure juvenile facilities. Confirmatory factor analysis of a single-factor model of “treatment motivation” showed a close fit to the data, indicating construct validity of the ATMQ. Concurrent validity was supported by significant relations between treatment motivation and living group climate. Internal consistency reliability in terms of Cronbach’s alpha was good (.84). The ATMQ proved to be insensitive to the tendency to provide socially acceptable or desirable answers, which supports discriminant validity, and was unrelated to sex, age, and self-reported aggression of the adolescents. The ATMQ is a parsimonious instrument (11 items) enabling future research on treatment motivation in secure juvenile facilities.

The study shows how explanations for school success are expressed and dialogically constructed during teacher-parent conferences at school. Attribution theory is used to conceptualize the various explanations for school success that were expressed. However, instead of only looking at attributions as beliefs which individuals or groups ‘have’, the aim of this study is to show how attributions are part of co-constructed processes in which multiple partners impact upon each other’s attributions over the course of a conversation. The results indicated that in the conversations between teachers and minority parents, school performance is more often attributed to effort while in conversations with majority parents, psychological attributions were more common. Besides these differences in content, the process through which these accounts were constructed was different. While the diagnosis on what went wrong was more commonly constructed in case of the conversations with majority parents, they were more characterised by opposition or a passive position by the parent in case of the conversations with minority parents. The analyses show that instead of a simple mismatch between explanations of the home and the school, these explanations are interactionally co-constructed as both parents and teachers necessarily ‘re’-act on each other’s claims and understanding of school success. The results ultimately reveal how the interactive process impacted upon the construction of the attributions and the possibilities this creates for partnerships between parents and teachers to create an understanding of the child’s academic potential across home and school.