Australia is a culturally diverse country with many migrant families in need of support and assistance from clinical psychologists. Yet, surveys indicate that migrants do not feel comfortable in accessing community mental health services, due to the lack of cultural sensitivity and understanding of our current practices. Despite this finding, there remains a paucity of research on migrant families, their different values and needs, and how they adjust to the Australian culture. The present article reviews research on migrant children, their characteristics, and the factors that help or hinder healthy adjustment to a new culture. This review focuses particularly on anxiety, which is not only the most common form of childhood psychopathology, but also frequently coincides with stressful life events such as migration. Our review concludes with recommendations for the development of assessment and intervention protocols, and areas of future research.

Mental health professionals in forensic settings are increasingly called upon to assess the probability of dangerous behaviour, or level of risk, that certain individuals pose to the community. These assessments may inform decisions concerning the containment and management of violent offenders within forensic settings, sentencing options, and whether or not to grant bail or parole. In this paper we provide an overview of the key issues associated with the assessment of dangerous behaviour. Specifically, we briefly consider the debate on clinical versus actuarial assessments of dangerous behaviour and risk, and provide a synopsis of the current research on dangerous behaviour, focusing on the key areas of mental disorder, psychopathy, and substance use. Finally, we outline guidelines for addressing specific content areas in the clinical risk-assessment process and discuss areas for future research.

This study reported on the efficacy of Reciprocal Skills Training (RST), a family-based treatment modality for childhood externalising disorders. Children (N = 57) ranging from 7 to 12 years old who fulfilled diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant disorder were randomly allocated to RST (in either a hospital or clinical setting) or a waiting-list control group. At posttreatment, no significant differences were observed across the two treatment settings. Results indicated that 95.5% of children in the hospital setting and 72.2% of children in the clinical setting no longer met criteria for oppositional defiant disorder, compared to 30% of children on the waiting list. Children in the treatment groups also obtained significantly lower scores on the Externalising scale of the Child Behaviour Checklist, compared to the waiting-list group. In addition, mothers' levels of stress and depression were significantly reduced at posttreatment, compared to mothers of children on the waiting list. These findings suggest that RST is an effective treatment modality for children displaying externalising behaviours, as well as for their mothers. The results are discussed in terms of limitations of the current study and future directions for research and clinical practice.

Young immigrants frequently experience anxiety as a consequence of the stress associated with migration. Despite being at high risk for the development of psychopathology, culturally sensitive assessment and intervention procedures for use with ethnic minority groups residing in Australia have yet to be developed and validated. The aims of the current study were to (a) investigate the level of anxiety in a sample of former-Yugoslavian teenage refugees; (b) appraise the efficacy of the FRIENDS program, a validated Anglo-Australian anxiety-prevention program, for use with this high-risk group; and (c) obtain information from both the program participants and facilitators regarding how the intervention could be modified to better meet the needs of this growing refugee population in Australia. Twenty female former-Yugoslavian youths completed standardised measures of internalising symptoms. Participants were allocated to either an intervention (n = 9) or a waiting list (n = 11) condition. In spite of the small sample size, post-assessment indicated that participants in the intervention condition reported significantly less internalising symptoms than participants in the waiting list condition. Social validity data indicated that, overall, participants were highly satisfied with the intervention. Suggestions for assessment and treatment program modifications are discussed.

This overview examines the nature, prevalence, and impact of child sexual abuse. Associations and potential risk factors are identified, thus showing that child sexual abuse is not randomly distributed through the population. Finally, we discuss the ways in which clinicians and researchers have conceptualised the impact of child sexual abuse. A social and developmental model is outlined.

Sharing is an important social behaviour for promoting reciprocal interaction and interactive play among peers, but previous studies have only trained giving and accepting behaviours. We trained appropriate asking in addition to giving, and tested for functional independence. Three socially isolated children were first trained either to ask appropriately for their turn with a toy, or else to offer the toy to a confederate child, and this was reversed after stability. There was an immediate increase in whichever behaviour was trained, but the other behaviour showed no increase until it was directly trained. This was replicated with two nondisabled children. Follow-up assessments on all five children showed some maintenance up to a month after training. These studies demonstrate that appropriate giving and asking are functionally independent, at least in this experimental setting; that this is not restricted to socially isolated children; and that asking does not emerge from training giving alone. It was argued that, while these results could be due to instructional control rather than the more natural consequences of sharing, such social rules or norms are typically taught as instructions from teachers and parents.

Many children are reported by parents to exhibit problems of conduct at home, and similarly many children are reported by teachers to exhibit conduct problems at school. Surprisingly, very little research has examined the extent to which children exhibit behavioural problems in the clinical range at both home and school. The current study examined the co-occurrence of problems at home and school in a sample of 189 children in schools in Victoria. The total sample consisted of (a) 124 children whose parents responded to invitations to participate distributed through schools, and (b) 65 children who had been referred to various agencies because of conduct problems. The occurrence of problems at home was assessed using the Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983), and problems at school were assessed using the Teacher Report Form (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1986). For the school sample, 7 children (5.6%) exhibited conduct problems in both settings (scores in the borderline/ clinical range), with 27 children (21.7%) exhibiting them in one setting only. For the clinic sample, 39 children (60.0%) exhibited problems in both settings, with 21 children (32.3%) exhibiting them in one setting only. The results of this study indicate the need for interventions that can be used consistently across home and school settings, as well as independently in single settings when warranted.

Test anxiety in children has long been recognised to be a significant and challenging educational problem. Recent advances in diagnostic interviewing, cognitive assessment, and physiological recording have facilitated a considerable amount of research on test-anxious youth. This research has yielded important clinical insights about test-anxious children and adolescents of interest to teachers and psychologists. We describe and evaluate the findings of these investigations. Finally, we discuss the implications of the research findings for intervention in school settings. Cognitive-behavioural strategies are tentatively recommended for the treatment of test-anxious children and adolescents.

The assessment of sexual offenders consists of the systematic collection of clinically relevant information in order to detect clinical problems and to provide clear treatment targets. A key but neglected issue in the area of sexual offending concerns the role of individual case formulations in the determination of offenders' treatment needs. In this paper, we investigate the relative strengths and weaknesses of manual-based treatment (MBT) and formulation-based treatment (FBT) for sex offenders. On the one hand, FBT has the advantages of greater flexibility and a more individualistic focus, and arguably is better equipped to deal with more complex clinical presentations. On the other hand, MBT has the advantages of standardisation and less reliance on clinicians' (flawed) judgement, and may be a more efficient use of scarce resources. We conclude that clinicians should initially provide manual-based treatment rather than that based on individualised case formulations. However, we also suggest that there are at least four situations where FBT represents a valuable strategy, namely when confronted with particularly complex or unusual cases, when standardised treatment has failed, or when there are significant threats to the therapeutic relationship. Finally, we briefly discuss some possibilities for research, and caution that our mixed model is only proposed as a temporary solution and that ultimately any model concerning treatment selection needs to be empirically based and conceptually defensible.

A great deal is at stake for children who are sexually abused; not only in the here-and-now, but also the possibility of long-term blight in their future relationships and mental health. This puts a heavy responsibility on the professionals who are required to investigate, and further assess for treatment or other interventions, cases where sexual maltreatment is confirmed or suspected. The multidimensional, multicomponent elements that make up an assessment (in particular, the ASPIRE process) are described here in terms of their practical and theoretical implications. The difficulties of finding reliable and valid methods (be they interviews or psychometric instruments) for this onerous task are discussed.

Twenty, fifth- and sixth-grade students who reported mild depressive symptomatology were placed into a brief intervention program. The program was conducted over eight, weekly, 90-minute sessions and aimed to teach students depression management strategies and positive coping skills. Significant reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety and externalising behaviour were found and maintained for six months. The results lend support to the effectiveness of this brief program for early intervention in depression. The potential for the program to prevent the later development of clinical depression and related problems is discussed.

Obsessional thoughts or “pure” obsessions and overvalued ideation represent two salient phenomena within obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that remain somewhat treatment-resistant. Treatment issues regarding these phenomena are discussed in the context of two clients attending a state health community psychiatry clinic. Both clients displayed significant improvement over the course of treatment on measures of OCD and depression. Pertinent issues are raised concerning the timing of specific treatment components, measurement processes, and the general direction of treatment research in this area.

This case study reports a brief cognitive-behavioural intervention with a 10-year-old child who presented in a clinical setting with an adjustment disorder which has been rarely discussed in the literature. The focus of the paper is on the intervention which was individually devised to suit the child, the particular presenting problems, and the family context of the child. Although there were no quantitative data collected, the outcome as reported by the client and her carer, together with clear behavioural indicators, attested to positive effects of therapy. Relevant factors that contributed to the outcome are discussed.

The Adolescent Risk-taking Questionnaire (ARQ) was developed to comprehensively assess adolescent risk-taking beliefs and behaviours. Research has shown that it is a reliable instrument with strong construct validity. The current study investigated the convergent and discriminant validity of the ARQ by comparing responses of a sample of 52 male adolescents from a juvenile justice centre and 211 school-attending male adolescents. Consistent with past research, the juvenile justice centre youth reported significantly higher levels of depression and less optimal levels of parent attachment compared to school-attending youth. Convergent validity of the ARQ was demonstrated through significant relationships between attachment and risk-taking. Specifically, those adolescents with less optimal parent attachment were more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour and were less likely to perceive the behaviours included in the ARQ as risky compared to those with more optimal levels of parent attachment. Discriminant validity of the ARQ was demonstrated through significant differences between the two groups on risk beliefs and behaviours. Responses on the ARQ indicated that youth from the juvenile justice centre were significantly more likely to engage in risky behaviours, if given the opportunity, than school-based youth. They also perceived the behaviours to be less risky. It was concluded that the ARQ has good convergent and discriminant validity.

Child sexual abuse is a highly prevalent problem that frequently occasions the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder in the victimised youngster. Given the success of cognitive-behavioral interventions with adult trauma victims, it has been suggested that this treatment approach be applied to sexually abused children. We review the empirical support for the efficacy and acceptability of cognitive-behavioral strategies in the treatment of sexually abused children. Several clinical practice and research issues are also noted.

This study investigated the relative contributions of risk-taking behaviour (RTB), parental attachment, and depression to delinquency. Data were gathered from 108 university students and youth group members, aged between 17 and 23 years (M = 19 years). Each participant completed four self-report questionnaires: the Australian Self-report Delinquency Scale, the Adolescent Risk-taking Questionnaire, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The three predictor variables were significantly related to each other, and risk-taking behaviour and depression uniquely predicted total delinquency. While parent attachment was not a significant predictor of delinquency, when the subscales of parent attachment were assessed individually, parental trust and communication inversely predicted delinquent behaviour. Although based on a nondeviant sample, the findings suggest that adolescents who display poor parent attachment, depression, or high risk-taking behaviour, singularly or in combination, are more prone to engage in delinquent behaviour. The results hold a number of potentially important implications for both further studies and the design and provision of intervention and preventative programs.

The current study demonstrates the efficacy of using a behavioural contingency contract in conjunction with family-selected reinforcers to increase appointment keeping among low income families in a child and family therapy clinic. Three families with similar presenting problems participated. A multiple baseline across-subjects design with the addition of a reversal component was utilised. Upon treatment implementation, contracts were signed by family members stating that they would receive coupons valuing $30.00 after attending four consecutive clinic appointments. These coupons were selected by the family from a diverse menu. Results indicated increases in appointment keeping following implementation of the behavioural contract. The cost effectiveness of using a behavioural contract in conjunction with economic incentives with low-income families is discussed, and suggestions for future research on appointment keeping are made.

This article describes the application of cognitive behavioural therapy to three sexually abused young people. We emphasise developmental influences and the nuances of the therapeutic approach. An exposure-based treatment approach was used with the youths. A multimodal assessment evaluation was conducted at pretreatment and posttreatment, and at a 3-month follow-up. Results on outcome measures indicated a positive therapeutic effect for the youths.