Brezo, J., Paris, J., Vitaro, F., Hebert, M., Tremblay, R. E., & Turecki, G. (2008). Predicting suicide attempts in young adults with histories of childhood abuse. British Journal of Psychiatry, 193(2), 134-139.
Childhood abuse has been linked with suicidality in the research literature. The aim of this study was to explore potential correlates and moderators of suicide attempts in adults reporting either childhood physical abuse, contact sexual abuse, or both. From an initial group of 4488 participating children, two subsamples were selected: (1) a random group of 1001 boys and 999 girls, and (2) a group oversampled for children exhibiting disruptive behaviours composed of 593 boys and 424 girls. Three waves of assessment were conducted when participants were children (yearly assessments from ages 6-12), adolescents (average age 15.7 years), and adults (average age 21.4 years).
Results revealed that participants with no history of childhood abuse had the lowest probability of non-fatal suicidal behaviours (i.e., ideation and suicide attempts) while those reporting physical abuse, sexual abuse, or both types of abuse had a progressively higher probability of such behaviours. Satisfying criteria for a disruptive disorder (e.g., conduct disorder, ADHD) tripled the likelihood of a suicide attempt history for those adults reporting physical abuse only. Female gender and low parental education was associated with suicide attempts for participants who reported both types of abuse.
Brown, J. D. (2008). Foster parents' perceptions of factors needed for successful foster placements. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 17(4), 538-554.
There have been several studies exploring challenges for foster parents and factors related to placement disruption. This study sought to describe foster parents' perceptions of the supports they needed to make placements a success. Sixty-three foster parents were recruited from a membership listing of the Manitoba Foster Family Network and were asked "What do you need for a successful foster placement?" After all statements had been collected and edited for clarity, a group of twenty willing participants were asked to group the statements according to common themes. These data were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis techniques.
Eight clusters describing participants' identified needs for placement success were derived from the statements: community support, foster family network, supportive family, personalized services, relationship with agency, information about child, personality and skills, and looking after self. Many of the responses were similar to those in the existing literature; however, parents in this study also indicated a need to be part of the service provider team and a formal organization/association for foster parents as essential for placement success.
These findings are constrained by the small sample size and the lack of generalizability to the larger foster parent population.