Proficient reading competencies are considered one of the most important basic skills for functioning in society. Unfortunately, research has shown that the reading skills of Dutch students have...Show moreProficient reading competencies are considered one of the most important basic skills for functioning in society. Unfortunately, research has shown that the reading skills of Dutch students have significantly declined in recent years, and reading motivation also deteriorated sharply. To reduce current reading deficits and stimulate reading motivation, additional measures are necessary, such as providing effective, targeted, and intensive individual guidance. Therefore, this study investigated whether a tutor reading intervention with guided reading or rather a tutor intervention based on explicit direct instruction, the UIL, is most effective for improving the technical reading skills of students with reading deficits. The study was conducted based on data from 50 students in grades 6 and 7 with reading deficits. The students, all from regular education, were randomly assigned to the guided reading group, the UIL group or the control group. The intervention consisted of eight online tutor reading lessons. To assess the growth in students' reading skills, a pre- and posttest was conducted using CBM Word Reading as the measurement instrument. The repeated measures ANOVA’s revealed that both tutor reading interventions are effective in stimulating the technical reading skills of students with reading problems in grades 6 and 7. The students who received explicit direct instruction had slightly more growth than the students with the guided reading method, however this difference was not significant. Further research with a larger sample size is required to determine whether the guided reading method and the UIL actually differ significantly in effectiveness or not. Based on the current research, it was concluded that both tutor reading interventions can be utilized within education to effectively support students with reading deficits in their development into independent readers.Show less
Abstract Out-of-home placement decisions are complex due to unpredictable nature of the cases, major impact on the family and the involvement of professionals from multiple disciplines. Previous...Show moreAbstract Out-of-home placement decisions are complex due to unpredictable nature of the cases, major impact on the family and the involvement of professionals from multiple disciplines. Previous research on agreement regarding placement decisions shows inconsistent findings. Case factors have previously been investigated in studies for risk assessment instruments, risk factors and protective factors in families. In addition, the mindset towards change can play a role in making a placement decision. The current study investigated whether (1) there is a difference in the weight of the various case factors (child factors, professional support factors and family factors), (2) there is a relationship between the weight of the case factors and professional background and (3) there is a relationship between the weight of the various case factors and the mindset towards change. 22 children's judges, 31 youth care workers, 36 Master's students Youth Law and 38 Master’s students Pedagogical Sciences participated in the study. Participants read 4 vignettes and filled in questionnaires on the weighting of the case factors after reading each vignette. Mindset towards change was measured once with a questionnaire. The results showed that the weighting of case factors differed significantly. Child factors weighed most heavily in the decision, followed by professional support factors and family factors, respectively. Professional background was unrelated to the weighting of the case factors. There was an interaction effect for the Master's students in Pedagogical Sciences, who seemed to weigh Professional Support Factors and Child factors with almost equal value while the other groups distinguished between the two factors. Weighting of the case factors and the mindset towards change were unrelated. Future research is needed to provide tools and points for improvement for better final decisions. Keywords: out-of-home placement, decision-making, mindset, case factors, child factors, care factors, parent factors, family factors, vignettesShow less
Decision-making regarding out-of-home placement can be regarded as a high-stake decision with negative consequences for the child when erroneous decision-making occurs, and in some cases even when...Show moreDecision-making regarding out-of-home placement can be regarded as a high-stake decision with negative consequences for the child when erroneous decision-making occurs, and in some cases even when the non-erroneous decision is taken. Paradoxically, scant research is available on what contributes to decisions regarding out-of-home placement. The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the main factors that contribute to decision-making, specifically focusing on case characteristics. In doing so, the paper draws on two important theories within decision-making, namely the Decision-Making Ecology, and the capacity-to-change model. The sample consisted of maltreating families in Dutch family residential clinics awaiting either a placement decision or a reunification decision (N = 56). Three different case characteristics in the form of overarching factors were investigated. Firstly, the parent factor (psychopathology and parenting stress), which was measured through self-report questionnaires. Secondly, the child factor consisting of active externalizing behavior and disobedient behavior, which was measured through observations. Lastly, the parenting capacity factor (the change in sensitivity, intrusiveness, and disciplining behavior during the residency in the family residential clinic), also measured through observations. Moreover, the role of a previous out-of-home placement measure within the family was researched. Multiple logistic regression models showed that solely the parent factor (psychopathology and parenting stress) marked a statistically significant contribution to the advice regarding the decision of out-of-home placement. The child factor and parenting capacity factor did not make a significant contribution to the advice regarding this decision and neither did previous out-of-home placement moderate the relationship between the case characteristics investigated and this decision. Future research should focus on all factors of the Decision-Making Ecology and their interplay, preferably in a wider sample of families entering the youth protection system.Show less
In 2022, 35.710 Dutch children were placed out-of-home. The decision to place a child out-of- home is complex and has an enormous impact on children and parents. Two different types of...Show moreIn 2022, 35.710 Dutch children were placed out-of-home. The decision to place a child out-of- home is complex and has an enormous impact on children and parents. Two different types of professionals are involved in the decision making of placing a child out-of-home, child welfare professionals and children’s court judges. Despite the impact of the decision, there is limited previous research on the relationship between personal factors of professionals and out-of-home placement decisions. There was no previous research about the relationship between the amount of out-of-home placement decisions in the daily work of the professionals and their current decisions. A moderation- effect of the job on the previously defined relations have not been researched before. Therefore, this study examined personal factors of professionals and their out-of-home placement decisions. The sample consisted of 31 child welfare professionals and 23 children’s court judges. Participants received different vignettes based on child protection cases and reported if they would place the child out-of-home. A questionnaire was used to measure attitude towards the effectiveness and harmfulness of out-of-home placements and professionals were asked to report in what percentage of their recent out-of-home placement cases their decided to place a child out of home. Results showed that there was no significant association between the percentage of out-of-home placement decisions in their daily job, the attitude of the professional and their current advice to place a child out of home. Furthermore, there also was no moderation-effect for the job of the professional. This study adds knowledge to a not much researched but very important and complex field. For future research, it is recommended to make the procedure more comparable to the guidelines professionals use in practice, by including an intercollegial consultation in the research design.Show less
Especially young children who directly or indirectly witness domestic violence are vulnerable for harmful consequences. The aim of the present study was to gain knowledge about the relationship...Show moreEspecially young children who directly or indirectly witness domestic violence are vulnerable for harmful consequences. The aim of the present study was to gain knowledge about the relationship between mothers’ traumatic childhood experiences and children’s internalizing problem behavior within families who are victims of severe domestic violence, and if mothers’ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms reinforce this relationship. Based on previous research it was expected that mothers’ traumatic childhood experiences and children’s internalizing problem behavior were correlated and that this correlation was reinforced when mothers showed more PTSD symptoms. The sample consisted of mother-child dyads (N = 12) who lived in women’s shelters in the Netherlands. Children (NBoys= 7, Ngirls= 5) were aged between 1.5 and 6 years old. The Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1.5-5, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF) and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) were used to measure children’s internalizing problem behavior, mothers’ traumatic childhood experiences and mothers’ PTSD symptoms respectively. Contrary to the hypothesis, mothers’ traumatic childhood experiences did not correlate to children’s internalizing problem behavior. Thereby, there was no significant moderation of mothers’ PTSD symptoms in the relationship between mothers’ traumatic childhood experiences and internalizing problem behavior in young children. However, the results did show that the majority of the mothers who stayed in women’s shelters suffer from PTSD symptoms. It could be argued that there was no significant correlation and moderation due to a lack of statistical power and mothers’ mental state. Therefore, the current study can be considered as a valuable pilot study that gained more knowledge about families in women’s shelters who are victims of severe domestic violence. These insights implicate that further research, with a larger sample size, is necessary.Show less
The current research focuses on the connection between the traumatic childhood experiences of the mother and the behavioural problems of their children. In this study this is examined by looking at...Show moreThe current research focuses on the connection between the traumatic childhood experiences of the mother and the behavioural problems of their children. In this study this is examined by looking at the relationship and if this is mediated by two separate factors. This study uses data from a Dutch sample of mothers and children who stay at a women’s shelter and all have suffered from interparental violence. The participants were twelve mother-child-dyads with a variety of nationalities. The mothers were between the ages of 26 and 48 years old (M = 32.75, SD = 6.02) and their children between the ages of 1 and 6 years old (M = 3.5, SD = 1.57). The current study uses the data from the first research-appointment, in which the mothers filled out some questionnaires about themselves and their children. The relationship between mothers’ childhood trauma and the behavioural problems of their child is examined while also exploring if this relationship is mediated. It is expected that this relationship is mediated by the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder-symptoms (PTSD) of mothers and by traumatic life events. The results show no significant relationship between mothers’ childhood trauma and the behavioural problems of their children. The mediation by traumatic life events is also not found in this study. At last, the relationship is also not mediated by PTSD-symptoms in this study. While this study doesn’t have any significant findings, the possible explanations and implications for further research and practise are discussed.Show less
There is still a lot unknown about the impact of complex trauma on parents and their young children, especially after interparental violence. When this knowledge is expanded, interventions can be...Show moreThere is still a lot unknown about the impact of complex trauma on parents and their young children, especially after interparental violence. When this knowledge is expanded, interventions can be designed accordingly to treat the effects and prevent impact of trauma for future generations. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of different trauma-related symptoms of mothers on a specific domain of problems their young children might be facing after interparental violence. The main question was: ‘How are symptoms from the four different posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters of mothers related to the attention and hyperactivity symptoms of their children after experiencing interparental violence?’ To answer this question, surveys were issued to fourteen women victimized by interparental violence living in Dutch women’s shelters. They reported on their PTSD symptoms and the attention and hyperactivity symptoms of their youngest child, aged between one and six years old (M = 3 years and 6 months, SD = 1 year and 9 months). Social workers of most of the children also completed questionnaires on the attention and hyperactivity symptoms of the child. It was found that the PTSD symptoms of re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal, as well as the overall severity of PTSD symptoms, were not significantly related to the attention and hyperactivity symptoms of the child. Small but unsignificant differences were found between the different PTSD symptom clusters. It is recommended to direct future research to the impact of the different trauma-related symptoms of parents after domestic violence on specific child outcomes. When these relations are understood more thoroughly, interventions can be deployed where help is needed most and intergenerational transmission of the effects of complex trauma will be challenged.Show less
