Impact of sibling death on children's behavior

Abstract

Research has indicated that siblings of deceased children demonstrate a variety of behavioral problems as a result of the death. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of selected factors and children's behavior during the first year following the siblings' deaths.

The sample included 33 boys and 32 girls ages 4 to 16 years who were the siblings of deceased children. Data on their behavior was obtained by an interview with the mothers using a standardized tool, the Child Behavior Checklist. Results showed that the bereaved children displayed significantly more behavior problems in comparison to standardized norms. The variables of age, place of death, family size, ill child's diagnosis, sex and age of deceased child, and funeral attendance were related to behavior problems in the surviving children.     

Impact of sibling death on children's behavior

Research has indicated that siblings of deceased children demonstrate a variety of behavioral problems as a result of the death. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of selected factors and children's behavior during the first year following the siblings' deaths.

The sample included 33 boys and 32 girls ages 4 to 16 years who were the siblings of deceased children. Data on their behavior was obtained by an interview with the mothers using a standardized tool, the Child Behavior Checklist. Results showed that the bereaved children displayed significantly more behavior problems in comparison to standardized norms. The variables of age, place of death, family size, ill child's diagnosis, sex and age of deceased child, and funeral attendance were related to behavior problems in the surviving children.     

Grief and social support after the death of a spouse

The death of a spouse is one of the most stressful events in a person's life. Social support has been shown to be widely beneficial in moderating the effects of both chronic and acute stress. The answers of Finnish widows and widowers (n=318) were analysed in order to investigate the sources of social support, what is the nature of support received, and whether social support is connected with coping with grief. The Hogan Grief Reactions Checklist was used to describe the grief as well as answers to open-ended questions about what helped the widowed persons cope with their grief. Kahn's theory of social support was used as a framework in the content analysis of the open-ended answers. The results showed that Finnish widows and widowers receive social support most often from their own family and friends. They perceived the received support most helpful, but also the support that the grieving person can give to other family members is seen as important. Results suggest that those who had had social support were able to grieve by allowing themselves to disorganize and experience panic behaviour.     

Korean immigrant discipline and children's social competence and behavior problems

The goal of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between Korean immigrant discipline (e.g., positive, appropriate, and harsh discipline) and children's social competence and behavior problems. Self-report data were collected from 58 mothers and 20 fathers of children aged from 3 to 8 years. Only paternal harsh discipline was positively correlated with children's behavior problems. Among specific discipline strategies, maternal physical affection, correcting misbehaviors, and reasoning were positively correlated with children's social competence. Paternal physical punishment (e.g., spanking, hitting, and raising arms) was positively correlated with children's behavior problems. Immigrant fathers need to learn alternative ways of managing children's misbehaviors.     

Life events,emotional support,and health of older people

The effects of life events, emotional support, interaction of life events and emotional support, and age on indices of physical and psychological health were examined within a hierarchical multiple-regression design. Fifty older people who were randomly selected from among the residents of a high-rise apartment building provided retrospective data on their life events and emotional support. These same subjects provided more recent data on their functional health, distress arising from chronic health problems, and four indices of morale (agitation, attitude toward own aging, lonely dissatisfaction, and a combined index of the morale dimensions). As expected, significant multivariate effects were demonstrated on all but two measures: distress arising from chronic health problems and attitude toward own aging. Examination of the independent contributions to these effects showed variations depending on the health index of focus. Expected moderations of the effects of life events by emotional support effects were not demonstrated. Results are discussed in relationship to previous research and the theoretical expectation that emotional support would moderate the effects of life events on health.     

Parents' perception of their children's development, perception of satisfaction, social support and level of depression.

The purpose of this study was to describe how parents and guardians in rural South Africa reported on the development of their children, their perception of social support and satisfaction, their level of depression, and the relationships that exist among the variables. The data from a larger research study were used to answer these questions: Is there a relationship between the child's development status and the parents/guardians level of satisfaction and social support? Is there a difference in the educational level of the parents/guardians and their perception of social support and the level of satisfaction? What is the percentage of parents/guardians working/not working? Is there a relationship between the status of work of the parents/guardians and the level of depression? Is there a relationship between the age of the parents/guardians and their level of depression? A convenience sample of 198 parents/guardians was recruited. Interviews were conducted using a structured interview guide. Relationships and differences were analyzed using Pearson's r correlation index, paired t-tests and regression analysis. The majority (73.7%) of the respondents were unemployed. No significant relationships were found between the child's developmental status and the parents/guardians perceived level of social support and satisfaction. However, the difference between the educational level of parents/guardians and the level of perceived social support was significant. Additionally, as the amount of family strains increased so did the parental level of depression.     

Effects of traumatic events, social support, and self-efficacy on adolescents' self-health assessments

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adolescents' exposure to traumatic events and their self-health assessments, and to examine the protective effects of social support and self-efficacy on this relationship. Survey results (N = 1,427) indicated that experiencing violent and nonviolent negative life events and being exposed to a disaster were inversely associated with adolescents' positive health assessments. As social support and self-efficacy decreased, adolescents' health assessments worsened. Female and Black adolescents had less favorable health assessments than their male and White counterparts. Findings suggest that traumatic events are predictive of adolescents' health assessments and that social support and self-efficacy prevent adolescents' health assessments from declining following traumatic events.     

老年抑郁症与生活事件及社会支持的关系

目的:探讨老年抑郁症与生活事件及社会支持的关系。方法:对44例60岁以上首次发作患者(抑郁组)、42名健康老年人(对照组)使用自制调查表、生活事件量表和社会支持评定量表评定。结果:抑郁组精神疾病家族史(χ2=6.157,P=0.026)、现患躯体疾病(χ2=11.993,P=0.001)和长期困境(χ2=23.242,P=0.000)明显高于对照组。抑郁组负性生活事件总分(19.2±15.9)高于对照组(10.1±7.0)(u=2.531,P=0.011)。抑郁组社交问题得分(3.4±6.9)高于对照组(1.1±3.5)(u=2.226,P=0.026)。两组负性生活事件数的差异无显著性意义(P>0.05)。抑郁组社会支持总分(38.9±6.6)明显低于对照组(43.5±4.9)(u=3.308,P=0.001)。抑郁组对支持利用度(5.9±2.7)明显低于对照组(8.4±1.7)(u=4.444,P=0.000)。两组客观支持分和主观支持分的差异无显著性意义(P>0.05)。结论:阳性家族史、慢性应激和社会支持不足是老年抑郁症发病的重要危险因素。     

Hiding and healing: resolving the suicide of a parent or sibling.

The purpose of this study was to describe the long-term effects of suicide of a parent or sibling during childhood or young adulthood. A grounded theory approach was used to discover the respondents' perceptions of the meaning of the event and the effects that it had on them. The themes that emerged from the data were experiencing the pain, hiding the pain, and healing the pain. The need to hide the pain often interfered with the process of healing the pain. Findings indicate that many survivors of suicide during childhood experience painful, unresolved grief that affects their well-being in adulthood.     

Life stress, social support, and anxiety in mid- and late-pregnancy among low income women

The stability and multivariate effects of life stress, social support, and anxiety from mid to late pregnancy in a sample of low-income women were examined. The sample of 190 was approximately equally divided among black, Hispanic, and white groups. Scores from the two time periods were highly consistent. The multivariate effects of life stress and social support on anxiety were similar at the two time periods, explaining 30% to 34% of the variance in anxiety, over and above the effects of ethnicity or marital status. The prospective test (Time 1 variables predicting Time 2 anxiety), however, explained only 22% of the variance in anxiety. Significant stress-buffering effects from social support were found for both the Time 1 regression and the prospective test. The combination of high life stress and low partner support was associated with the highest anxiety. The findings confirmed that mid-pregnancy measures of these psychosocial variables were valid indicators of their level over the course of the remainder of the pregnancy, allowing for early assessment and intervention to improve perinatal well-being.     

Patient and parent sleep in a children's hospital

Although sleep complaints during pediatric hospitalization are common, few studies have examined different aspects of sleep or the impact of pediatric hospitalization on parent sleep. This study examined multiple aspects of sleep for 72 non-intensive care pediatric inpatients and 58 rooming-in parents who completed a self-report survey of sleep at home and in the hospital, and sleep disturbances in the hospital. Younger children reported later bedtimes, later wake times, more night wakings, and shorter total sleep time while hospitalized. Adolescents had later wake times, more night wakings, and longer total sleep time during hospitalization. Parents reported later bedtimes, later wake times, and more night wakings when rooming-in. Sleep was significantly disrupted during hospitalization, more so for younger children and parents. Sleep disturbances due to noises, worries, pain, and vital sign checks were related to longer sleep onset latency, increased night wakings, and earlier wake time. Interventions that reduce these disruptions, many of which are amenable to nursing influence, are needed to improve child and parent sleep in hospital.     

Life after sudden death: the development of a support group for automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator patients

Sudden cardiac death is one of the major public health problems in the United States today. Although the implementation of the automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator has been shown to improve the survival in patients resuscitated after sudden cardiac death, it has also resulted in a new clinical population with unique psychosocial needs. A support group may assist cardiovascular nurses in meeting these psychosocial needs. This article describes the experience in developing a support group for automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator recipients and their families in one medical center.     

Needs of children during the critical illness of a parent or sibling.

The needs and significance of well children in the family typically have not been considered when addressing family-centered care. Health care providers and overstressed parents may have little awareness of or insight into the needs and concerns of these children. Without informed and sensitive interventions, however, these children may be at risk for significant long-term negative effects. This article discusses some of the needs and responses of well children who have a critically ill parent or sibling. Using a developmental framework, the author suggests interventions that may benefit these often forgotten but very vulnerable family members.     

生活事件、应对方式和社会支持与胃癌发病的关系

目的:探讨生活事件(lifeevents,LE)、应对方式和社会支持与胃癌发病的关系,寻求干预的可能性。方法:经临床、影像学和病理诊断确诊的胃癌患者(胃癌组),按相同年龄、性别、民族、职业、文化程度、婚姻状态和居住地区与正常对照组1:配对,并调查入选对象发病1年前遭遇的LV(杨德森,LV量表),评估应对方式(Feifel,医学应对方式问卷中文版)和社会支持(肖永源,社会支持评定量表)。结果:共配成65对,胃癌组发病前1年有61例遭遇不同LV,遭遇率94%,而对照组分别为28例和43%,前者明显高于后者(χ2=18.717,P<0.001)。胃癌组遭遇的LV频度(3.64±1.14)件/例、强度(20.40±7.66)/例,正性生活事件频度(0.80±0.19)件/例、强度(2.88±0.47)/例,负性生活事件频度(2.84±1.07)件/例、强度(17.52±8.2)/例均明显高于对照组(t=2.832～3.265,P均<0.01)。在应对方式评估中,胃癌组的面对应对方式评分明显高于对照组(5.23±1.62和4.09±0.87;t=2.234,P<0.05),而屈从和回避应对方式评分无明显区别(P均>0.05)。胃癌组的客观支持(9.83±2.65)、主观支持(21.52±4.71)、支持利用(6.54±2.80)和社会支持总分(40.26±11.75)均明显低于对照组(t=2.183～2.390;P均<0.05)。结论:LV、应对方式与社会支持与胃癌发病有密切联系。