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Programs such as 'Scared Straight' involve organized visits to prison facilities by juvenile delinquents or children at risk for becoming delinquent. The programs are designed to deter participants from future offending by providing firsthand observations of prison life and interaction with adult inmates. This review, which is an update of one published ...

This review aimed to assess the impact of infant massage on mental and physical outcomes for healthy mother-infant dyads in the first six months of life. A total of 34 randomised trials were included. Twenty of these had significant problems with their design and the way they were carried out. This means that the we are not as confident as we would ...

Self-injurious behaviour (SIB) among people with intellectual disability is relatively common and often persistent. It is difficult to treat, and presents challenges to those with caring responsibilities and to clinicians. Several types of drugs have been used by clinicians to help with this problem but none is licensed for self injury. In this review ...

Women who have experienced physical, psychological or sexual violence from an intimate partner (for example, husband, boyfriend, ex-husband or ex-boyfriend) can suffer poor physical and mental health, poor pregnancy outcomes and premature death. Their children and families can also suffer. The effects of violence often result in women attending healthcare ...

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect more than 1% of children and is usually evident in behaviour before the age of three years. A child with ASD lacks understanding of how to interact with another person, may not have developed language or understand other people's communication, and may insist on routines and repetitive behaviours. This early pattern ...

People with borderline personality disorder often have difficulties controlling their emotions and impulses, and find it hard to keep relationships. They can experience feelings of emptiness, suffer quick changes in mood and they may harm themselves. Problems coping with abandonment and a rapidly changing view of other people can form part of their ...

The number of young people who commit offences remains an area of concern in many countries, particular considering the high rate of those who then go on to reoffend. An increasingly popular technique used with young offenders, as an alternative to normal court proceedings, is to conduct a Restorative Justice Conference. This conference involves a meeting ...

Infantile colic is a distressing problem, characterised by excessive crying of infants and it is the most common complaints seen by physicians in the first 16 weeks of a child's life. It is usually considered a benign disorder because the symptoms generally disappear by the age of five or six months. However, the degree of distress caused to parents ...

Around 5% of English speakers have a significant problem with learning to read words. Poor word readers are often trained to use letter-sound rules to improve their reading skills. This training is commonly called phonics. The primary aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of phonics training for improving eight literacy skills in English-speaking ...

Sexual offending is both a social and a public health issue. Victim surveys show that sexual abuse is common and that much of it is never brought to the attention of criminal justice systems. Psychological interventions are generally based on behavioural or psychodynamic theories. Interventions might be designed to change an offender's thoughts, feelings ...