This experimental study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of multicomponent reading intervention and a no treatment comparison condition on the reading comprehension of adolescent students with adequate word reading and low reading comprehension. The sample consisted of 44 students in 9th grade who were randomly assigned to an intervention treatment offered as an elective course (N=25) or a no treatment comparison (N=19). Reading intervention teachers, trained by experienced research staff provided instruction for 90-min sessions two to three times per week during for approximately 80 sessions. Treatment effects for each outcome measure were estimated using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results indicate no statistically significant differences between conditions. Effects, which were calculated with partial eta squared (η2), ranged from -.26 to .23 with two of the three measures favoring the treatment condition. Three separate repeated measure of analysis of variance (RM-ANCOVAs) were conducted using the Kaufmann Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT) as a covariate for the following measures: (1) Woodcock Johnson Passage Comprehension subtest (WJIII-PC); (2) Test of Sentence Reading Efficiency (TOSRE); (3) Gates MacGinitie Reading test (GM-RT). An additional ANCOVA was conducted for the GM-RT using the pretest scores from the GM-RT as a covariate. Results indicate that the treatment condition was not favorable to a no treatment comparison for students with adequate word reading and low comprehension. More research into ways to make reading comprehension instruction more effective for Adolescent students with low reading comprehension is warranted. / text

The purpose of this report is to increase counselor’s competence about military culture and the effects on adolescents in military families. This paper will address the developmental needs of the adolescent as it relates to their experience of familial deployment and how school counselors can develop programs to best support these students. Specifically it will a) identify unique military stressors and the subsequent impact of developmental milestones, b) identify available treatment models, c) identify out-of-school support systems, and d) identify ways to support the military adolescent population in the future. / text

Early-onset major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with significant morbidity in adolescence. The interview-dependent diagnostic process used in psychiatry leaves a subset of adolescents with MDD undiagnosed. Sleep disturbances are a central feature of depression and adolescence is a period of rapid change in sleep physiology. The aim of this study was to test physiological features of sleep and circadian rhythms as markers of adolescent MDD. Adolescents completed a two-week protocol that included a formal psychiatric interview, polysomnographic (PSG) assessment, actigraphy, salivary melatonin sampling, and holter monitoring. Depressed adolescents (n = 18) differed from controls (n = 15) on features of sleep macroarchitecture measured by PSG, and on autonomic nervous system functioning measured by 24-hour heart rate variability. Depressed adolescents had shorter REM latency and decreased stage 4 sleep. Adolescents with MDD also showed decreased parasympathetic activity over 24-hours and during the day, and decreased sympathetic activity during the night.

No description available.

The primary aim of the current study was to examine cyberbullying and risk taking behaviours in adolescents and their relation to parenting styles. Research aims included examining the prevalence of cell phone ownership, and the development of a parenting scale to assess modern parenting patterns, such as Helicopter and Uninvolved. Adolescents (n = 85) aged 13-16 years from a range of secondary schools, and their parents (n = 58), were assessed on measures of cyberbullying, risk taking behaviour and parenting. Results indicated that the majority of adolescents own or have access to a cell phone and predominantly use it to contact friends. Support was found for the proposed parenting scale, assessing Helicopter and Uninvolved parenting. Further examination of parenting styles within the current sample indicated that Authoritative parenting was the most common parenting style. The current study found that 98% of adolescents engaged in one or more cyberbullying behaviours with an average frequency of 17 times per month. Written-Verbal forms of cyberbullying were found to be the most common type. Cyberbullying was found to be associated with the time per day spent on a cell phone, household annual income, age, parental employment and risk taking behaviours. Results also indicated that 72% of adolescents engaged in one or more risk taking behaviours, with the average frequency of three per month. Authoritative parenting was found to predict lower levels of cyberbullying, while Permissive parenting predicted higher levels of risk taking behaviour. The findings that parenting styles are predictive of cyberbullying and risk taking behaviour may have important implications for the advocacy of appropriate parenting practices through imparting advice, knowledge and support to families and ensuring early intervention, support and monitoring, to safeguard the well-being of adolescents.

No description available.

No description available.

Serious safety concerns have been raised recently about the use of second generation antipsychotics (SGAs), in young patients. In this population based study, utilization of antipsychotics use in the youth population of Manitoba between 1996 and 2011 was determined. Rates of adverse events (diabetes, hypertension, EPS) were compared among the users of SGAs. School enrolment and high school completion rates were evaluated for young users. Databases from the Population Health Research Data Repository, housed at the Manitoba Centre of Health Policy were accessed. Increased utilization (prevalence: 2.3 to 9 per 1,000 persons; incidence: 1.2 to 2.7 per 1,000 between 2001 and 2011) of SGAs was observed in the youth population of MB. The most common diagnosis recorded were Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (56.8%), Conduct Disorders (38%) and Mood Disorders (22.7%). Olanzapine therapy seemed to be associated with a higher risk of hypertension compared to risperidone users (HR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.20 – 5.29). Risperidone users seemed to be at higher risk of EPS than quetiapine users (HR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.26 – 0.82). School enrolment of SGAs users appeared to be comparable to those reported for the general population. High school completion rates may be lower than those of the general population.

ADHD medication use has grown substantially, yet, little is known about treatment-seeking and prescription practices in the absence of ADHD diagnoses. This project utilized data from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement, a survey of adolescent psychiatric disorders in the U.S. Rates of medication use, and the influence of prescriber specialty and treatment encouragement, on medication use were investigated among adolescents with ADHD, sub-threshold ADHD, and without ADHD. Findings showed that a small but notable proportion of adolescents in the sub-threshold and no ADHD groups took medication for ADHD. Encouragement from psychiatrists but prescriptions from family doctors were associated with medication use. These findings suggest that adolescents with minimal symptoms may be medicated for behaviour within the range of normal, whereas those with numerous symptoms may not be receiving adequate treatment. Second opinions may assist in proper dosage and treatment. The influence of encouragement from psychiatrists and prescribing physicians is discussed.

In this thesis, an exploration of the factors that prohibit and/or contribute to counsellors incorporating spiritual conversations in their practice with adolescent (10-15yrs) clients takes place. Through a narrative inquiry method participants from the University of Victoria in a masters level program in Child and Youth Care or Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies describe personal and professional reasons to support the inclusion or exclusion of spirituality in counselling practices with adolescents. Results indicated that practitioners’ personal experiences of grappling with spirituality and religion, professional policies outlining if a practitioner can or cannot converse with their client regarding spirituality, and the lack of educational training to incorporate spirituality for soon-to-be practitioners all strongly played into a practitioners’ reasoning to refrain from or engage in spiritual conversations with their clients. In order to move forward it is vital that practitioners begin to recognize that children and youth are spiritual beings, that educational programs within the helping professions include spiritual training, that practitioners are supported by supervisors when they feel that the inclusion of spiritual conversations is vital in their practice, and that organizational policies are adapted to allow practitioners the necessary time and space to engage in spiritual conversations with adolescent clients. / Graduate