Contents

Research articles

146
Interdisciplinary teams and decision making in child protection systems: The experience of Catalonia
Ferran Casas & Carme Montserrat

159
Learning disabilities in dropout delinquent adolescents. Differentiating between characteristics of dropout delinquent and school going adolescents
Shlomo Romi, Varda Sharoni, Shlomit Ben-Zion & Mierav Fishbein

Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine and compare the occurrence of specific learning disabilities as they appear in dropout delinquent adolescents as compared with adolescents enrolled in regular school.  he work is based on research that indicates that specific learning disabilities may exist in dropout delinquents. The study examines the evaluation records of two populations with learning disabilities treated in a psycho-educational center in Israel — delinquent dropouts and school-going adolescents. Our research hypothesis was that the characteristics of learning disabilities would be different between the two groups, and that this difference would be expressed in the frequency in which specific characteristics were present in dropout delinquent adolescents in comparison to the same characteristics in the school-going  pupils. The findings indicate significant differences between the two groups in the frequency of certain types of disabilities in visual perception, reading, and language. This research does not address the causality of these differences but rather uses them as approaches for designing therapeutic intervention for the dropout delinquents population.

170
Comparison of the results of children with psychiatric disorders on two tests measuring motor abilities.
Afroditi Theofili & Johan Simons

Abstract: The relationship and the differences with respect to the norms between two popular motor tests in children with psychiatric disorders ages 4,6 to 14, 11 years were investigated. A group of 85 children with psychiatric disorders completed the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Moter Profieciency (BOTMP) and Körperkoordinationtest fϋr Kinder [Body Co-ordination Test for Children] (KTK). The participants were 55 boys and 30 girls with mean age 9.91 years (SD=3.05 years). The pearson product moment coefficient of correlation between the total score of BOTMP and he total scores of KTK was r=.75. Significant statistical differences were found between the performance of the participants and the norm group in both tests on the 1-% level of significance. No significance differences between boys and girls were found.

181
Effects of child abuse on general health and personal beliefs in adulthood: A case study
Katy Cigno, John Gosnold & Michelle Robson

Abstract: The aim of this study, involving one General Hospital in the North of England, was to investigate how adult survivors from a hospital sample of children previously diagnosed as abused compared on standard psychological measures of Locus of Control, Self-Esteem and General Health when matched with controls who attended hospital for paediatric assessment or investigation. Our findings suggest that, overall, abuse survivors do not differ significantly on standard psychological measures from controls. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Hospital records provide an important database for further study of the long-term effects of identified abuse and health problems in childhood.

Practice report

195
Working with families of children in care
Fop Verheij

Abstract: If at the start of day-care or resdential care of a child or adolescent it is acknowledged that a request for help does not equal assessment and diagnostics — at least not for some time — then it follows logically that there needs to be a wide variety of parent guidance.
In this article first attunement between requests for help and defining goals for intervention is discussed in case of multi-problem child.
next, the various methods of working with parents and/or remaining nuclear family in combination with intensive care or treatment of a child are discussed. Sometimes certain methods of working result logically from one another and growth is being marked. Sometimes a certain method of working is the most feasible one in a given situation and should be regarded as static.