The prevalence of conduct problems in children impacts upon families, educational settings, and broader society within Australia. Conduct problems develop early in an individual's life and can lead to more serious problems including substance abuse and delinquency in adolescence and adulthood. Given the high incidence of conduct problems in children, the need for prevention and early intervention strategies to target the onset and development of this phenomenon is paramount. This thesis focuses on early intervention strategies for reducing the incidence of conduct problems in children and explores a multi-modal early intervention and prevention program targeting children and families at-risk of the development of conduct problems. A randomised controlled trial involving 455 children was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of this program. Participants were drawn from ten Education Queensland primary schools in the Mount Gravatt district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The 455 children were randomly assigned to either experimental or control conditions for the purposes of the program's evaluation. From this initial cohort, an indicated sample of 1 52 participants was identified through a universal screening process. This sample included children who were considered more at-risk of conduct problems. Participants designated to experimental conditions engaged in the school component of the program, with 66 of the experimental group receiving an additional indicated component facilitated in the school setting. Further, a selection of parents of children in the experimental group participated in the home component of the intervention. The retention rate for families engaged in the study was high with 96% of participants remaining engaged in the study throughout the evaluation process. The findings that emerged from the study revealed significant differences between participants who engaged in the intervention program compared with those designated to control conditions. Positive changes in the behaviour of students reported at the school level were statistically significant. However, while some changes were identified in the home setting, the treatment effects of the program were not significant. These findings were sustained at the six-month follow up period. Conclusions drawn from this study were conceptualised within the framework of current advances in the social science literature that focus on conduct problems and early intervention and prevention. The outcomes of the research emphasise the significance of comprehensive interventions programs for children and families at-risk that focus on both school and home settings and that are easily implemented in, and cost-effective to, community populations. Recommendations from this research serve to inform ftiture research agendas in early intervention and prevention and specialists in the fields of psychology and education.

Regional Family Policy Focused on Families at Risk Veronika Burešová Introduction: Diploma thesis deals with the activities of regional authorities focused on support of families at risk, in context of the process of transformation of the alternative care system for children at risk in the Czech Republic. The goals: The main goal of the thesis is to explore the approach of regional authorities to the issue of families at risk and what forms this approach. Methods: The research was divided into two parts. Firstly the case studies of thirteen regions (except Prague) were elaborated. Based on these studies, 4 regions were chosen, 2 as examples of good practice, other 2 as examples of bad practices. In these four regions, qualitative semi-structured interviews were done. As respondents a councillor and an officer of regional authority office were chosen. 7 interviews were finally made, 2 respondents answered by email. Outcomes: We can find family as a target group in most of regional plans for the development of social services, but it is usually not a priority. The family regional strategy papers were elaborated only in 5 regions, but not all of them are focused also on families at risk. The scale of the support of families at risk in regions depends on political will and political vision of...

This thesis examines policy and service delivery issues in the development of health and support for families at risk. The research focuses on families with children less than 7 years of age living in some of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of metropolitan Adelaide. The thesis draws on evidence of (a) barriers to service support perceived by these families and (b) their strengths and resources in order to identify and develop arguments related to key issues of policy and service delivery.

The thesis concentrates on the issue of sexual abuse in childhood. The work is divided into four main chapters. The first and second chapter characterizes the development of a role of child from past to the present, particularly in legal terms. The author's focus is dedicated to the term definition of sexual child abuse, data and incidence of sexual abuse in context with other countries. Supported by viewpoint of other authors, a description of different views on sexual abuse of children is presented with specific forms of abuse (contact and non-contact). The third chapter deals with specific risk factors, related to children, the perpetrators (aggressors) and families. Autor´s focus is on the offender (deviant and non-deviant) and their degree of threat. The data is supported by research results published in the Czech Republic and statistical data from OSPOD MLSA. The last, fourth chapter is considered by the author to be of a great importance as it discusses the implications derived from sexual abuse in childhood. This traumatic experience may have crucial impact on further development and quality of life of the victim. The work is concluded with offers of preventative methods and the role of social worker in the process of uncovering a case of sexual abuse of a child.