Mental health, parental rules and sleep in pre-adolescents.
(73/2108)
A health-sleep model concerning the relationship of mental health and parental rules with time in bed and sleep quality has been developed on the basis of survey data collected from 448 children in the first trimester of the regular school year. The children had a mean age of about 11 years and were attending last two grades of primary school. The relations between mental health characteristics, parental rules concerning sleep, sleep environment, sleep quality and time in bed are analysed using a structural equation model. In addition to a latent variable for 'mental health', two uncorrelated latent variables had to be introduced for sleep to achieve a satisfactory fit. One latent variable is related to sleep quality (restorative sleep), and the other relates to lying awake in bed prior to sleep (awake in bed). Restorative sleep shows a strong relationship with mental health, and awake in bed is related to having an own bedroom. (+info)
Family adjustment to childhood developmental disability: a measure of parent appraisal of family impacts.
(74/2108)
OBJECTIVE: To develop the Family Impact of Childhood Disability Scale (FICD) to assess subjective interpretation or "primary appraisal" of parents regarding the impact of a child with developmental disabilities on the family. METHOD: A random sample of 87 families was assessed while children with developmental disabilities were in the preschool years. After 7 years had elapsed, 64 of these families were interviewed again when the children were in the preteen years. A set of standardized self-report measures provided mother and father views of child, parent, and family functioning. RESULTS: The FICD demonstrated adequate internal consistency, with some evidence of discriminant and predictive validity. The FICD total score, based on the discrepancy between positive and negative subscale scores, was found to be a significant predictor of future parenting stress of mothers and of fathers, even when controlling for other important explanatory variables such as marital adjustment and level of disability in a child. CONCLUSIONS: The 15-item FICD offers a brief assessment of both positive and negative parent appraisals, with a total discrepancy score that predicts long-term parenting stress. (+info)
Parenting and psychosocial development of IVF children: a follow-up study.
(75/2108)
BACKGROUND: This report details a follow-up study of the parent-child relationship and the child's psychosocial development after IVF. The pilot study compared 31 IVF families and 31 families with a naturally conceived child when the children were aged 2 years. Twenty-seven IVF and 23 control families participated again when the children were aged 8-9 years. METHODS: Fathers and mothers completed questionnaires assessing parenting variables and the child's behaviour. For most children, behavioural ratings were also obtained from the child's teacher. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between IVF and control parents' reports of child behaviour, parenting behaviour, parenting stress and most of the parenting goals. The parenting goal adjustment was significantly more important for IVF than for control fathers; religion was more important for IVF than for naturally conceiving mothers. Teacher ratings of the child's behaviour did not differ significantly between the IVF and control groups. All couples but one had talked to other persons about the IVF conception; 75% of the IVF parents had not yet informed their children. IVF parents who had informed their child observed more (internalizing and for fathers also overall) problem behaviours in their child, compared with IVF parents who had not yet disclosed the IVF conception. CONCLUSIONS: Parenting and the children's psychosocial development do not differ significantly between IVF families and control families. (+info)
Predictor variables associated with positive Fast Track outcomes at the end of third grade.
(76/2108)
Progress has been made in understanding the outcome effects of preventive interventions and treatments designed to reduce children's conduct problems. However, limited research has explored the factors that may affect the degree to which an intervention is likely to benefit particular individuals. This study examines selected child, family, and community baseline characteristics that may predict proximal outcomes from the Fast Track intervention. The primary goal of this study was to examine predictors of outcomes after 3 years of intervention participation, at the end of 3rd grade. Three types of proximal outcomes were examined: parent-rated aggression, teacher-rated oppositional-aggressive behavior, and special education involvement. The relation between 11 risk factors and these 3 outcomes was examined, with separate regression analyses for the intervention and control groups. Moderate evidence of prediction of outcome effects was found, although none of the baseline variables were found to predict all 3 outcomes, and different patterns of prediction emerged for home versus school outcomes. (+info)
Between parent and child: negotiating cancer treatment in adolescents.
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Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital, founded the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center. The Schwartz Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care delivery, which provides hope to the patient, support to caregivers, and sustenance to the healing process. The center sponsors the Schwartz Center Rounds, a monthly multidisciplinary forum where caregivers reflect on important psychosocial issues faced by patients, their families, and their caregivers, and gain insight and support from fellow staff members. Cancer in adolescents presents an extra dynamic of psychosocial complexity. The case of a 19-year-old woman with acute myelocytic leukemia is discussed. Her disease was refractory to allogeneic transplantation, and she died with severe graft-versus-host disease. Ms. P and her mother established very different relationships with the team which supported them through the transitions in her care, and Ms. P was able to die at home, with hospice care. The personal connection with the team enabled a degree of positive adjustment through the nightmare of loss. The epidemiology of cancer in adolescents and paradigms of care are reviewed. Psychosocial aspects of adolescence, opportunities for personal growth and support, and the challenge of end-of-life care are discussed. (+info)
Correlates of wellbeing of spousal and children carers of disabled people over 65 in Spain.
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BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between carer's wellbeing and stressors and to assess if these associations are different for spousal and children carers of disabled elderly. METHODS: Information was collected by home interviews of a population sample of carers (N = 195), who were providing assistance in activities of daily living to a community-dwelling population over 65. Associations between indicators of wellbeing (number of depressive symptoms, number of physical symptoms, self-perceived health and life satisfaction) and caring stressors were examined, controlling for carer's socio-economic characteristics and health status. Hierarchical logistic regressions were used to fit the data. Religion and social support were included as resources and spousal and children differential associations were tested. RESULTS: The four indicators of wellbeing are moderately correlated, indicating a common underlying concept. Spousal carers have lower socio-economic status, poorer health and lower levels of wellbeing than children carers. However, children carers bear a significantly greater burden. In the multivariate analysis of the associations between wellbeing and stressors, the similarities between spouse and adult child carers are more striking than the differences. Emotional support was consistently associated with higher levels of wellbeing while the associations of religiosity and instrumental support with wellbeing did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: As formal care services are being developed in Spain, their ability to work in a supportive way with family networks should be taken into account. Research should be carried out on patterns of formal care interventions that use the resources in the natural support network of the family. (+info)
Which fourth-grade children participate in school breakfast and do their parents know it?
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OBJECTIVE: To explore fourth-graders' school breakfast participation by gender and race (black, white) and examine the extent to which parents' responses to "Does this child usually eat school breakfast?" reflected their children's participation. DESIGN: Parents answered "yes" or "no" to the questions printed on consent forms. Observers documented which children participated in school breakfast on 26 to 51 randomly selected days per school during 24 weeks in the 1999-2000 school year. SUBJECTS: 357 children recruited from all 22 fourth-grade classes from 6 schools in 1 public school district. VARIABLES MEASURED: Participation rate, participation rate grouping [usually participated (>or=50% of days observed), did not usually participate (< 50% of days observed)]. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Komolgorov-Smirnov tests, McNemar's test. RESULTS: Median participation rate was 37.5% overall. Distribution of participation rates differed significantly by race (K-S test, P <.001) but not gender. There was a significant difference in the percentage of parents who said "yes" or "no" compared to children's usual participation grouping (McNemar test, P <.001). Of parents who said "yes," 66% of children usually participated; of parents who said "no," 92% of children did not usually participate. IMPLICATIONS: Children, not parents, must be the source for learning about what children eat at school. (+info)
A longitudinal study of pubertal timing, parent-child conflict, and cohesion in families of young adolescents with spina bifida.
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OBJECTIVE: To study longitudinal associations between perceived pubertal timing and family conflict and cohesion during the transition to adolescence in 68 families of children with spina bifida and 68 matched families with able-bodied children. Children were 8 or 9 years old at Time 1 and 10 or 11 years old at Time 2. METHODS: Family conflict and cohesion were assessed with observational data and maternal, paternal, and child reports on questionnaires. Perceived pubertal timing was assessed with maternal report. RESULTS: Consistent with the literature on typically developing young adolescents, prospective longitudinal analyses revealed that early maturity was associated with higher levels of conflict and decreases in cohesion in families with able-bodied children. Contrary to these findings, perceived pubertal timing had less of an impact (or the opposite impact) in families of children with spina bifida. Findings were robust across respondents and methods of data collection. CONCLUSIONS: Findings based on multimethod and multisource data suggest that familial response to developmental change differs across context (spina bifida vs. able-bodied). Possible reasons for differential responses to the adolescent transition are reviewed. Services are likely to be enhanced if health professionals routinely discuss adolescent developmental issues with parents and youths during clinic visits. (+info)