The experiences of young witnesses and caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand's Sexual Violence Pilot Courts.

New Zealand's Sexual Violence Courts Pilot was established in late 2016, intended in part, to reduce the stress experienced by complainants. Young witnesses who testified in the specialist courts and their caregivers were interviewed about their experiences of court involvement. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis and the following themes were identified: The period between reporting an alleged offence and the trial is far too long and stressful; moving forward with life is difficult until the trial has concluded; cross-examination is distressing; feeling comfortable and supported when at court is important; safety and distance from the defendant when at court is important; separation of young witnesses from their caregivers at court is difficult; information is lacking throughout the process; and parenting young witnesses through the court process is challenging.

Service-user efforts to maintain their wellbeing during and after successful withdrawal from antipsychotic medication.

Background: It is well-known that attempting antipsychotic withdrawal can be a fraught process, with a high risk of relapse that often leads people to resume the medication. Nonetheless, there is a group of people who appear to be able to discontinue successfully. Relatively little is known about how people do this.

Interviews with health professionals about the National Child Protection Alert System.

Aim: The New Zealand National Child Protection Alert System is administered by multidisciplinary teams in every district health board. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence multidisciplinary child protection teams' (MDTs') decisions about whether to place a child protection alert.

Method: Members of the Child Protection Alert System teams were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews.

Health professionals' perception of the New Zealand National Child Protection Alert System: An online survey.

Aim: To describe the multi-disciplinary child protection teams which administer the National Child Protection Alert System in District Health Boards in New Zealand and the understanding and perceptions of that system held by team members.

Methods: This is a mixed-method observational study. In December 2016 and January 2017, all child protection alert system multi-disciplinary team members were invited to participate in an online survey.

Attempting to discontinue antipsychotic medication: Withdrawal methods, relapse and success.

Few studies explore subjective experiences of attempting to discontinue antipsychotic medication, the withdrawal methods people use, or how their efforts affect their outcomes. People who take antipsychotics for off-label purposes are poorly represented in the literature. This study investigates experiences of attempting to discontinue antipsychotics in a cross-sectional sample and explores potential associations between withdrawal methods, relapse, and success.

Attempting to stop antipsychotic medication: success, supports, and efforts to cope.

Purpose: To explore supports and coping strategies used during attempts to discontinue antipsychotic medication and test for associations with success.

Method: 144 people who were taking or had taken antipsychotics completed The Experiences of Antipsychotic Medication Survey. Among them, 105 people had made at least one discontinuation attempt and answered a series of questions about their most recent attempt to stop.

The Experiences of Young Complainant Witnesses in Criminal Court Trials for Sexual Offences.

For effective provision of justice it is important that young witnesses are involved in criminal trials, yet participation may be detrimental to their well-being and presents challenges for gaining full and accurate evidence from them. Innovations in court processes intended to support the well-being of young witnesses should, amongst other considerations, be informed by the perspectives and experiences of those whom they are intended to assist. The participants in the current study consisted of young complainant witnesses who were involved in criminal court trials for sexual offences, along with their parents or caregivers.

Caregiver Needs Following Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse.

Caregiver support is vital in improving outcomes for child sexual abuse victims; however, the disclosure can significantly affect caregivers, thus impacting their ability to meet their children's needs. To maximize the support from caregivers, their own needs following disclosure need to be met. This study investigated the impact of child sexual abuse disclosure and associated needs as identified by caregivers.

Offending behaviours of child and adolescent firesetters over a 10-year follow-up.

Background: To assess the postintervention arson recidivism and other offending rates of a group of 182 firesetting children and adolescents referred to the New Zealand Fire Awareness and Intervention Program (FAIP) over a follow-up period of 10 years. To investigate predictors of offending behaviour as well as variables associated with previous involvement in firesetting behaviour and offending severity.

Method: Data collected at the time of the FAIP intervention was provided by the New Zealand Fire Service and the offence histories of the sample were accessed from the New Zealand Police database (NIA).

Interventions for caregivers of children who disclose sexual abuse: a review.

The importance of interventions for non-offending caregivers following the disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA) is increasingly recognised in the literature. These interventions are particularly important given what is currently known about the impact of CSA disclosure on non-offending caregivers and the value of caregiver support in assisting their children's recovery. This review provides summary background information on the prevalence and short-term impact of CSA on children, with a particular focus on variables that mediate outcomes including caregiver support.

Measuring outcome in child and adolescent mental health services: consumers' views of measures.

Background: Outcome measurement in child and adolescent mental health services in New Zealand became mandatory in 2005 and little is known about how this is perceived by service users.

Aims: This study aimed to ascertain what service users think about routine outcome measurement in child and adolescent mental health services.

Method: Nine semi-structured focus groups of child and adolescent service users (n=34) and family members (n=21) were held in different sites in New Zealand to determine their views on outcome measures.

Young people and caregivers' perceptions of an intervention program for children who deliberately light fires.

A significant number of children and adolescents engage in deliberate fire setting, beyond the scope of curiosity and experimentation. Interventions developed to respond to the needs of such fire setters generally involve educational and/or psychosocial approaches. Research evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions is dominated by outcome studies which rely on recidivism rates determined by either official records or parent reports.

Community reintegration of sex offenders of children in new zealand.

Reintegration of offenders following incarceration is most successful if matched to the needs of offenders, victims, and the community. This study explored child sex offenders' expectations for and experiences of reintegration into the community. A longitudinal design was used in which semistructured interviews covered issues identified in the literature as being related to reintegration.

A parent-focused early intervention program for autism: who gets access?

Background: The EarlyBird program is a psycho-educational early intervention program for parents of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). It aims to provide parents with skills to increase their child's communication and manage challenging behaviour using behavioural techniques.

Method: Two interlinked studies examined access to the EarlyBird program and barriers which may affect uptake.

Resiliency in the victim-offender cycle in male sexual abuse.

The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in child molesters is considerably higher than that in the general population. This finding had led to the "victim-offender cycle" being popularized as an explanation for sexual offending. However, not all child molesters were victimized as children, so it is of interest to examine the factors that contribute to the victim-offender cycle or, conversely, resiliency.