Faculty Bibliography

Despite decades of research, both understanding and availability of pharmacological interventions for autistic people are limited. We examined characteristics of pharmacological trials on ClinicalTrials.gov (N = 235) to elucidate trends, identify gaps, and suggest future research directions. We observed that trials predominantly sampled school-aged children and adolescents and focused largely on core autism symptoms, neglecting younger children and adults as well as associated symptom domains often identified by stakeholders as treatment priorities. A variety of intervention agents were trialed, with nearly 60% appearing in just one study. Notably, in line with previous research, there was little consistency in outcome measures used, with the majority (58.9%) used in only one trial. Innovation in research strategies is urgently needed; potential directions for such changes are discussed.

Objective: This review aims to provide a brief introduction of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) and discuss the role of psychology for the integration of CDSSs for child mental health into pediatric subspecialty care. Methods: A review of literature regarding CDSSs used for physical and mental health services was conducted to lay the foundation for our recommendations. Results: Children with chronic physical illness are twice as likely to suffer from mental illness as compared to healthy controls. These mental health problems are often discovered in pediatric subspecialty care. Yet their mental health needs are often unaddressed when the sections of pediatric subspecialty care and mental health are not well coordinated. CDSSs could help subspecialty providers with evidence-based decision-making regarding mental health screening and referrals. That is, CDSSs could enhance the access to most effective mental health treatment for children. However, the implementation of CDSSs in pediatric subspecialty care is very limited. Conclusions: Psychologists could assist subspecialty providers with advocating CDSSs to administrative and information technology staff, as well as build, customize, evaluate, and update CDSSs.

Despite an increased focus on trauma-informed care within the juvenile justice system, we still know very little about the impact of trauma on juvenile justice professionals or their perceptions of trauma-informed interventions. To fill this gap, this study used an organizational assessment to examine perceptions of trauma-informed care among juvenile professionals in a juvenile detention setting. Participants included 204 staff members in two secure juvenile detention facilities. Staff who reported greater availability of trauma-informed practices were more likely to perceive that youth and families felt safe and those who reported that the facility was taking steps to address secondary trauma were more likely to report a sense of staff safety. Regarding individual factors, only age and gender were related to perceptions of youth and family safety. Frontline staff were more likely than supervisory staff to feel they had received adequate training in trauma and had the skills necessary to deescalate youth. These findings suggest that staff are open to trauma-informed practices in juvenile detention, but a greater focus on supervisory staff is needed. Shifting from individual-level strategies to facility-level improvements could have a greater impact on enhancing staff members"™ perceptions of safety, which improves their ability to care for youth.