The present study examined inter-rater agreement on the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule DSM-IV Child and Parent Interview (ADIS-IV-C/P) in youth with autism spectrum disorder and if age and ASD diagnosis moderated agreement. Diagnoses established for 70 7-16-year-old youth with ASD during a live administration of the ADIS-IV-C/P were compared to diagnoses identified by a second rater after listening to audiotaped recordings of the interviews. Inter-rater agreement on parent and child reports was excellent (k=1.00). Inter-rater agreement on principal diagnoses (k=0.91), individual anxiety diagnoses (k=0.85-0.97), and other comorbid diagnoses (i.e., major depressive disorder, dysthymia, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-Inattention/Hyperactivity/Combined Type) (0.89-1.00) were excellent; agreement did not differ as a function of ASD diagnosis or age. Results suggest that the anxiety disorders and comorbid disorders assessed by the ADIS-IV-C/P can be diagnosed by pairs of clinicians with good reliability.

Många studier har gjorts inom området familjeterapi men sällan har barnens egna upplevelser utvärderats. Studiens syfte är att utforska barns erfarenheter av familjeterapi. Frågeställningarna behandlar barnens förväntningar inför terapin, men även deras skildringar av familjesamtalen och situationen efter avslutad terapi. I studien, som har en kvalitativ ansats, har åtta barn i åldrarna 5-12 år intervjuats med hjälp av semistrukturerade frågor och "tjejpingmetod" (Soltvedt, M. 2005). Resultaten visar att de flesta barn, trots sina positiva förväntningar innan terapin, upplever familjesamtalen i första hand som "vuxensamtal" där det är föräldrarna som får stöd och hjälp. De tycker att det har varit svårt att förstå och göra sig förstådda i samtalen. Barnen uttrycker en önskan om deltagande i samtalen men upplever ofta ett utanförskap, obehag och osäkerhet gällande sin roll i terapin. De flesta av barnen ser sig själva som "ensam problembärare", vilket är en bild som föräldrarna ofta bekräftar. Syskons deltagande lyfts fram som en tryggande faktor för barnen, liksom de icke-verbala inslagen i terapin. De barn som haft BOF (Barnorienterad familjeterapi) som behandlingsmetod eller andra icke-verbala inslag i terapin är nöjdast och har upplevt störst delaktighet. I studien visar barnen prov på sin kapacitet som informanter om sin situation. En förbättrad förståelse för barns upplevelser av familjeterapi möjliggör utvecklingen då det gäller terapeuters kompetens och terapeutiska metoder som på ett tydligare sätt är till gagn för både barn och vuxna. / Many studies have been done in the field of family therapy but the children's own experiences are rarely evaluated. The aim of the present study is to explore children's experiences of family therapy. The research questions addresses the children´s expectations before family therapy but also their descriptions of the family conversations and the situation after finished therapy. In the study, which has a qualitative approach, eight children (five boys and three girls) between 5-12 years of age, have been interviewed by using semi-structured questions and "tape method -playful conversation" (Soltvedt, M. 2005). The results shows that most children, despite their positive expectations prior to family therapy, experience family conversations primarily as an "adult conversation" where it is the parents that get support and help. They think it has been difficult to understand and make themselves understood in the conversations. The children expressed a desire to participate but often experienced exclusion, discomfort and uncertainty regarding their role in therapy. Most of the children see themselves as "single problem carrier", which is an image that parents often confirm. Siblings involvement is highlighted as a securing element, as well as the non-verbal elements of therapy. Those children that had BOF (Child-Oriented Family therapy) as a treatment method or other non-verbal elements of therapy are most satisfied and have experienced the greatest participation. In the study the children demonstrated their capacity as informants about their situation. An improved understanding of children's experiences of family therapy enables progress regarding the therapist's competence and therapeutic methods, which clearly is beneficial to both children and adults.

Master's thesis follows on bachelor thesis Specifics of children's testimony from the point of view of Psychology, expanding chapter about suggestibility. Theory involves phenomenon of suggestibility with emphasis put on Gudjonsson's concept of suggestibility in conjunction with interrogative events. Further chapters delve into scientific findings regarding hazardous factors enhancing or decreasing suggestibility of young witnesses, among others are age, cognitive and psychosocial factors. Thesis also presents the very own types of discovered and described interrogation techniques utilizing elements of suggestion like stereotype induction, leading questions, positive and negative consequences or peer pressure. Paper presents results of empirical research, reproduced experiment which was used as tool mapping suggestibility dangers among Czech children. Focused on pre-school children subjected to heavily suggestive interrogation about event they experienced, through later interviews it was measured to which extent highly suggestive interviews altered perceived reality.

There are hundreds of thousands of children living in foster care in the United States on any given day. Mental health professionals may be called upon to assist with evaluating the parental capacity of these children’s parents in order to inform reunification decisions. One of the key parental capacity domains to be evaluated is the relationship between parent and child (Schmidt et al., 2007). The Working Model of the Child Interview coding scheme (WMCI; Zeanah et al., 1996) is one tool for evaluating this relationship. There is a significant practice-to-research gap with this measure. To date, no peer-reviewed studies have established the WMCI coding scheme’s psychometric properties; the need for such research with this measure has been cited in the literature (Sprang, Clark, & Bass, 2005). In this dissertation, the literature was reviewed on attachment theory and internal working models of caregiving, the WMCI and other measures of similar constructs, the importance of establishing a measure’s construct and criterion-validity, and forensic standards for measures. Then, it outlined a series of research questions aimed at exploring the psychometric properties of the WMCI Coding Scheme with mothers who have maltreated. Next, the methodology was described. Based on the results of the 403 biological mothers who completed the WMCI as part of court-appointed evaluations following child maltreatment, the items of the WMCI Coding Scheme were best conceptualized using two-factors: Quality and Content. This finding was consistent with the manual. Significant differences in item-level scores existed for all three WMCI descriptive classifications and for overall factor scores. Due to the instability of the two-item Content factor, this dissertation explored the use of a WMCI Total Score (combining the two factors) and using only the WMCI Quality factor and items. No significant relationships existed between any demographic characteristics and WMCI factor scores. Weak, negative correlations with other measures provided some evidence of convergent validity. In conclusion, some potential clinical/research implications for the WMCI Coding Scheme were made and limitations and future directions were described.

There is an apparent problem with children being abused in different ways in their everyday life and the lack of education related to these issues among working adults in the vicinity of these children, for example as social workers or teachers. There are formal courses in child interview training that teach participants how to talk to children in a correct manner. Avatar-mediation enables new methods of practicing this communication without having to involve a real child or role play face-to-face with another adult. In this study it was explored how a system could be designed in order to enable educational practice sessions where a child interview expert can be mediated through avatars in the form of virtual children. Prototypes were developed in order to evaluate the feasibility of the scenario regarding methods for controlling the avatar and how the avatar was perceived by the participants. It was found that there is a clear value in the educational approach of using avatar-mediation. From the perspective of the interactor it was found that using a circular radial interface for graphical representation of different emotions was possible to control a video-based avatar while simultaneously having a conversation with the participant. The results of the study include a proposed design of an interface, description of underlying system functionality and suggestions on how avatar behavior can be characterized in order to achieve a high level of presence for the participant.

This thesis expands on previous research and designs of avatar-based child interview training software. The goal of the thesis was to identify requirements, identify technologies and evaluate the likelihood of acceptance of a distribution ready software that would enhance role-play training exercises commonly used for child interview training. After identifying the requirements needed to create this type of application the needed technologies for solving those requirements were identified and one prototype and two production ready applications were developed. The production ready versions were distributed in an official capacity through AvBIT Labs Ab. Each version was evaluated using the technological acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine likelihood of acceptance in relevant industries. The TAM survey, USE survey and correspondence with experts were used to evaluate missing requirements and the likelihood of software acceptance. The research conducted in this thesis directly contributed to the founding of AvBIT Labs AB and the distribution of the AvBIT application to both governmental and non-governmental organizations, seeking to enhance their child interview training, throughout Europe.