“<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sex Is a sin</Emphasis>”: Afro-Caribbean Parent and Teen Perspectives on Sex Conversations

This study characterized (a) mothers’ childhood and teenage experiences with sex conversations and (b) families’ perceptions of current parent–child sex conversations within two underserved Afro-Caribbean communities in the U.S. Fourteen dyads comprised of Haitian and Jamaican mothers and teens (aged 14–18) living in Miami, Florida, completed semi-structured interviews sharing their experiences with sex conversations. Researchers analyzed data using thematic content analysis. Mothers’ mean age was 41.85?years, (SD?=?5.50) and teens’ mean age was 16.35?years, (SD?=?1.31). Most mothers reported forbidden or little childhood experiences with parent–child sex conversations. They affected their sexual attitudes, behaviors, and ability to discuss sex with their children. Although some mothers benefited from educational and skill development others shared fear-based messages with their children that some teens believed adversely affected the mother–child relationship quality. Culturally appropriate, skill-based approaches are necessary to improve families’ communication self-efficacy for healthy sex conversations to occur in Afro-Caribbean families.     

Adherence to a Vitamin D Supplement Intervention in Urban Schoolchildren

Vitamin D supplementation is an important strategy for preventing low levels of serum 25OHD and improving bone health and consequent associated health risks, especially in children at risk of deficiency. Although vitamin D supplements are recommended, there is limited research on the factors that influence adherence to taking them. In a cross-sectional sample of 256 child (aged 9 to 15 years) and parent pairs in the Boston, MA, area during January to March 2012, analysis of covariance was used to determine associations between health beliefs about vitamin D, parental vitamin D−containing supplement use, and the individual responsible for pill administration with supplement adherence measured by pill counts. Mean and median supplement pill count adherence over 3 months were 84% and 89%, respectively. Adherence was positively associated with parents’ use of vitamin D−containing supplements (7% higher, P=0.008) and with combined child and parent responsibility for administration of the supplement compared with child only (9% higher, P=0.03). Parents’ beliefs about vitamin D neither predicted their children’s beliefs nor positively influenced children’s adherence. Adherence was higher when parents took vitamin D−containing supplements and when parents and children shared responsibility for administering the supplement. Promoting child supplement use through parent involvement and role modeling may be a practical solution for registered dietitians who are aiming to improve vitamin D adherence in at-risk youth.     

Linkage Methods for Connecting Children with Parents in Electronic Health Record and State Public Health Insurance Data

The objective of this study was to develop methodologies for creating child–parent ‘links’ in two healthcare-related data sources. We linked children and parents who were patients in a network of Oregon clinics with a shared electronic health record (EHR), using data that reported the child’s emergency contact information or the ‘guarantor’ for the child’s visits. We also linked children and parents enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan (OHP; Oregon’s public health insurance programs), using administrative data; here, we defined a ‘child’ as aged <19 years and identified potential ‘parents’ from among adults sharing the same OHP household identification (ID) number. In both data sources, parents had to be 12–55 years older than the child. We used OHP individual client ID and EHR patient ID numbers to assess the quality of our linkages through cross-validation. Of the 249,079 children in the EHR dataset, we identified 62,967 who had a ‘linkable’ parent with patient information in the EHR. In the OHP data, 889,452 household IDs were assigned to at least one child; 525,578 with a household ID had a ‘linkable’ parent (272,578 households). Cross-validation of linkages revealed 99.8 % of EHR links validated in OHP data and 97.7 % of OHP links validated in EHR data. The ability to link children and their parents in healthcare-related datasets will be useful to inform efforts to improve children’s health. Thus, we developed strategies for linking children with their parents in an EHR and a public health insurance administrative dataset.     

HLA antigen frequencies in flax byssinosis patients.

Not all workers exposed to flax dust contract byssinosis. It is not known what determines susceptibility or insusceptibility. This study is an attempt to establish whether the incidence of histocompatibility antigens is involved in susceptibility to the disease. Forty patients suffering from flax byssinosis were tissue-typed for HLA-A and -B antigens. HLA-B27 was significantly more common in the patients (22.5%) than in the controls (5.5%); P = 0.029 after correction for the number of antigens compared. HLA-A11 was present in twelve patients (30%) compared with 14% in the controls; after correction for the number of comparisons, this is not a statistically significant increase. Because HLA-B27, though significantly more common in flax byssinosis, is not necessary for its occurrence (77.5% of our patients did not have it), it is possible that the increase in the frequency of HLA-B27 is attributable to an association with other genes, perhaps those regulating the immune response or coding for antigens at other HLA loci.     

HLA antigen frequencies in flax byssinosis patients.

Not all workers exposed to flax dust contract byssinosis. It is not known what determines susceptibility or insusceptibility. This study is an attempt to establish whether the incidence of histocompatibility antigens is involved in susceptibility to the disease. Forty patients suffering from flax byssinosis were tissue-typed for HLA-A and -B antigens. HLA-B27 was significantly more common in the patients (22.5%) than in the controls (5.5%); P = 0.029 after correction for the number of antigens compared. HLA-A11 was present in twelve patients (30%) compared with 14% in the controls; after correction for the number of comparisons, this is not a statistically significant increase. Because HLA-B27, though significantly more common in flax byssinosis, is not necessary for its occurrence (77.5% of our patients did not have it), it is possible that the increase in the frequency of HLA-B27 is attributable to an association with other genes, perhaps those regulating the immune response or coding for antigens at other HLA loci.     

HLA antigens and acute rheumatic fever: evidence for a recessive susceptibility gene linked to HLA

From 60 probands with acute rheumatic fever (ARF), 19 multiplex families segregating for ARF were ascertained. The parents and rheumatic and normal sibs of the probands in these 19 families were also studied. HLA typing using the microlymphocytotoxic assay was then performed on the 60 unrelated probands, the multiplex families, and 234 unrelated controls using 23 antigens from the HLA-A and -B loci. The controls lacked a past history of ARF and were from the same geographic locality. Calculations of relative risk demonstrate an increase of HLA-B5 antigen in the 60 patients, but the result might not be significant from the point of view of multiple comparisons. Nevertheless, affected sib pairs from the multiplex families show 93% concordance for both or one HLA haplotype. A formal linkage analysis demonstrates that a recessive etiology is most likely (lod score of 3.3) with approximately 68% of cases being due to a gene closely linked to HLA and in linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B5. The remaining 32% of cases are due to other familial factors such as polygenic inheritance or common environmental factors. The results confirm a strong genetic predisposition to ARF and its heterogeneous nature in families.     

Primary care of overweight children: the importance of parent weight and attitudes about overweight: a MetroNet study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the association of parents' weight and attitude about their child's weight with the child's body mass index (BMI) status. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, clinic-based study in a practice-based research network. METHODS: One hundred seventy-one parents or adults accompanying children aged 5 to 17 years to a primary care visit in 4 family medicine centers completed a questionnaire. Parent/adult overweight status and attitudes were compared with child overweight status. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent of children were overweight or obese (BMI >or= the 85th percentile) as were 56% of mothers and 77% of fathers (BMI >or= 25 kg/m(2)). Child and parent overweight were significantly associated, as were mother overweight and beliefs about child overweight status. Children aged 5 to 13 years were more likely to be overweight than those aged >or=14 years. CONCLUSIONS: Parents of overweight children are often overweight and many do not recognize that their children are overweight. Suggestions are made for primary care physicians to engage parents of overweight children in family weight control efforts.     

Talking with Children About Natural Disasters: Maternal Acknowledgment,Child Emotion Talk,and Child Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Background

Talking about past experiences with parents is generally thought to promote positive psychological adjustment in children. Less is known about parent–child co-reminiscing when discussing past traumatic experiences, such as natural disasters, a unique type of shared trauma that can have long-lasting, and variable, psychological impacts on children and families.

Objective

The current study examined the association between qualities of parent–child co-reminiscing and children’s posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) following exposure to a devastating tornado.

Method

Forty-nine children ages 8–12 years (49% female; 78% White/Non-Hispanic) and their mothers who experienced a category EF-5 tornado in May 2011 participated in this study and provided joint recollections about their tornado experiences approximately 14–18 months post-tornado. Children also provided individual recollections about their tornado-related experiences. Individual recollections were coded for negative and positive emotion words and parent–child conversations were coded for maternal acknowledgement of child generated content.

Results

Maternal acknowledgement moderated the link between children’s use of both positive and negative emotion words and child tornado-related PTSS, such that children’s use of both positive and negative emotion words was associated with higher levels of PTSS but only at lower levels of maternal acknowledgment.

Conclusions

Maternal acknowledgement of child expressions may be a protective factor for disaster-exposed children. Understanding how children and parents discuss trauma experiences, and how aspects of discussions are associated with youth mental health, may ultimately inform interventions to help children and parents communicate following disaster exposure in a way that promotes optimal growth and recovery.

     

Preschoolers' Perceptions of Parental Roles in Single-Earner and Dual-Earner Families

Preschoolers were interviewed and parents were surveyed to examine the division of labor for household management and caregiving tasks in single-earner and dual-earner families. Children with nonemployed mothers underestimated mother's responsibilities both in home management and in child care. They also believed their parents shared more caregiving tasks than their parents reported sharing. Children in both family types believed parents shared more housework responsibilities than parents acknowledged sharing. Daughters in dual-earner families believed their fathers engaged in more caregiving than parental reports indicated.     

School meals and the start of secondary school

The article draws on empirical data from a study of children'shealth in the context of children's transition to secondaryschool. It focuses upon the school food practices of childrenin the context of changes which have occurred in recent yearswithin the UK secondary school meals service, i.e. a move from‘meal provision’ via Local Education Authoritiesto the individualized, commercial system of ‘food choice’.The study draws upon: (1) extensive data from a questionnairesurvey (N = 536) with children which was conducted in threestate secondary schools in West London containing a high proportionof ethnic minority (Asian origin) children; and (2) intensivecase study data from a subsample of 31 households, drawn fromthe survey according to the following criteria: mothers' employmentstatus (full-time and non-employed), sex of child, householdcomposition (single mother and two parent households) and ethnicorigin of parents (UK origin and Asian origin). The childrenand their mothers and fathers were separately interviewed. Drawingon both the quantitative and qualitative data, the article describesthe school as a site of food consumption and identifies differentkinds of food practices of children in their first year of secondaryschool which are mediated by a variety of factors. These include:the sex of the child, household resources via parental employment,the decisions and choices of children themselves, and the strategiesthat parents (mothers) employ to control their children's diet.The option available to children to make choices about foodemerges as an attractive and novel feature of moving to secondaryschool, but one that may have consequences for children's healthbecause of the mode of food supply and the nature of the foodon offer.     

Child and parent characteristics related to parental feeding practices. A cross-cultural examination in the US and France

Although cross-cultural research between France and the United States has contributed to our understanding of adult eating habits, no research to date has considered differences in the way that French and American parents feed their children. American mothers (n=59) and fathers (n=38) and French mothers (n=72) and fathers (n=50) provided information about the feeding practices that they use with their children. U.S. parents reported higher levels of non-nutritive feeding practices and child control over feeding, whereas French parents reported greater monitoring and restriction of their child's food intake for weight reasons. Feeding practices were linked to child Body Mass Index (BMI) in both socio-cultural contexts.     

Preferred Child Body Size and Parental Underestimation of Child Weight in Mexican-American Families

Objective To determine whether parents who prefer a heavier child would underestimate their child’s weight more than those who prefer a leaner child. Methods Participants were Mexican-American families (312 mothers, 173 fathers, and 312 children ages 8–10) who were interviewed and had height and weight measurements. Parents reported their preferred child body size and their perceptions of their child’s weight. Parents’ underestimation of their child’s weight was calculated as the standardized difference between parent’s perception of their child’s weight and the child’s body mass index (BMI) z-score. Demographic factors and parental BMI were also assessed. Results Although 50 % of children were overweight or obese, only 11 % of mothers and 10 % of fathers perceived their children as being somewhat or very overweight. Multiple regressions controlling for covariates (parental BMI and child age) showed that parents who preferred a heavier child body size underestimated their children’s weight more, compared to those who preferred a leaner child (β for mothers = .13, p < .03; β for fathers = .17, p < .03). Conclusions for Practice Parents who preferred a heavier child body size underestimated their child’s weight to a greater degree than parents who preferred a leaner child. Attempts by pediatricians to correct parents’ misperceptions about child weight may damage rapport and ultimately fail if the misperception is actually a reflection of parents’ preferences, which may not be readily amenable to change. Future research should address optimal methods of communication about child overweight which take into account parent preferences.     

Maternal exposure to paternal HLA does not explain the postpartum increase in rheumatoid arthritis

The postpartum period, particularly after the first pregnancy, represents a time of increased risk for the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The present study was undertaken to investigate whether this increase in risk may be due to maternal exposure to fetally inherited paternal HLA-DR antigens that were either 1) similar to their own or 2) had an increased likelihood of being one of the two specific types, HLA-DR1 and DR4, implicated in the etiology of RA. We recruited 94 families where the mother had developed RA within 12 months of a pregnancy, and HLA typed the mother, father, and relevant child of each family. Mothers were not more likely to share HLA-DR genes with their partners than would be expected, and children whose parents shared one HLA-DR gene were not more likely to inherit the shared gene from their father as opposed to the non-shared gene. Further, those children whose fathers were heterozygous for HLA-DR1 or DR4 were not more likely to inherit these genes as opposed to the non-DR1/DR4 gene. In conclusion, maternal exposure during pregnancy to either fetally inherited paternal HLA-DR1 and DR4 genes or to paternal DR genes similar to their own does not appear to contribute to postpartum maternal susceptibility of RA. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The relationship of childhood adiposity to parent body mass index and eating behavior

OBJECTIVE: To better understand risk factors for the development of obesity in early childhood, we examined the association between children's adiposity and their parents' eating behavior and body mass index (BMI). RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Parents of 85 white children 36 months of age (49 boys and 36 girls) completed the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire measuring three dimensions of parent eating behavior: disinhibited eating, cognitive restraint of eating, and susceptibility to hunger. Parent BMI (kg/m2) was calculated using self-reported height and weight. The children's percentage body fat was assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-six percent of parents were obese (BMI > or = 30 kg/m2). Both maternal and paternal BMI were associated with higher scores for disinhibition (r = 0.69 and r = 0.68, p < 0.001), and maternal BMI was also associated with higher scores for hunger (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). There were no significant relationships between children's percentage body fat and parent eating scores, and the correlation between children's percentage body fat and parent BMI was significant only between mothers and daughters (r = 0.35, p = 0.04). Obese parents were no more likely to have a child who was fatter (upper quintile of percentage body fat for gender). DISCUSSION: Among 36 month-old white children, parent eating behavior was related to parent BMI, but not to children's adiposity. There was only a weak relationship between parent BMI and child adiposity. Despite the aggregation of adiposity within families due to shared genes and environments, children may not express differences in susceptibility to obesity by 3 years of age.     

Parent–child role reversal in ICT domestication: media brokering activities and emotional labours of Chinese “study mothers” in Singapore

ABSTRACT

The adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the domestic sphere has the potential to challenge the existing power hierarchy and relational structure of the household. In particular, new dynamics of parent–child relationship may emerge due to different accessibility to, experiences of, as well as values about ICTs between adolescents and their parents. Becoming proficient with a variety of ICTs since an early age, adolescent children in many contemporary families serve as technological experts on whom their parents rely to access and survive the digital world. This “role reversal” between parents and children indicates the detraditionalization of parental authority and parent–child interactions, which could strengthen family cohesion in some households, while triggering tensions and conflicts in others. Drawing on technology domestication theory and theory of emotion work, this article proposes an in-depth investigation into the multi-dimensional technological role-reversal activities of Chinese “study mothers” and their children, with special focus on subjective attitudes and invisible emotional labours of both mothers and children. An innovative “content-context diary” cum participant observation was employed to obtain a comprehensive and profound understanding of parent–child interactions in the process of household ICT domestication.     

Relationships between the eating behaviors of parents and their 18-month-old children: A laboratory study

Twenty-nine 18-month-old children and their parents participated in a laboratory study during which eating behavior was directly observed. Each of the parents selected food from a standard buffet and ate alone on separate occasions. The child ate at another time assisted by his or her mother who did not eat at the same time. Principal Components Analyses revealed three eating behaviors shared by parents and their children: caloric intake (meal content); active feed time (eating duration); and bite frequency (eating style). Mothers' eating style and fathers' duration of eating were correlated (r = .55). A pattern of rapid eating in mothers and prolonged eating in fathers was associated with a higher caloric intake in their child. Thus children's caloric intake was significantly correlated with mother's eating style (r = .49) and with father's duration of eating (r = .54). A weaker relationship was found between the caloric intakes of family members, and there was also a tendency for similar behaviors of parents and their children to be related. The implications of these findings for family-based weight control programs are examined.     

297例先天愚型额外21号染色体的来源和环境因素分析

【目的】 分析先天愚型患儿的额外21号染色体的双亲来源和部分环境因素与先天愚型的相关性。 【方法】 1)应用染色体核型分析技术确定患儿及双亲的染色体核型;2)应用短串联重复序列连锁分析(STR-PCR)技术分析额外21号染色体双亲来源;3)通过问卷调查分析父母的环境因素。 【结果】 1)在297例先天愚型中三体型、易位型和嵌合型分别占90.2%、5.4% 和4.4%。其中男性191例,女性106例,男女比为1.8∶1。患儿就诊年龄在1个月内为23%,1岁内63%,3岁内80%,6岁内达到92%。2)在22例能提供遗传信息的家系中母亲来源的21号额外染色体共21例,占 95%(21/22),其中14例能够明确是来源于母亲卵细胞的第一次减数分裂不分离;父亲来源的21号额外染色体仅有1例,占5%(1/22)。3)80例患儿中有71例的母亲生育年龄＜35岁,占88.8%(71/80),仅有9例患儿的母亲生育年龄≥35岁,占11.2%(9/80)。父亲吸烟和饮酒在先天愚型组与对照组间的差异无统计学意义(P均>0.05);父母亲化学物质接触在两组间的差异有统计学意义(P均＜0.05)。 【结论】 1)先天愚型的额外21号染色体主要来源于母亲;2)母亲生育年龄不是我国现阶段先天愚型出生的主要因素。3)父亲吸烟和饮酒、父母亲化学物质接触似乎与先天愚型的发生没有直接的关联。     

Self-reporting versus parental reporting of acute respiratory symptoms of children and their relation to pulmonary function and air pollution.

BACKGROUND: Studies of acute effects of outdoor air pollution on acute respiratory symptoms in children generally rely on reports by parents. Little is known about the validity of parental reporting of symptoms of their children. We therefore compared symptoms reported by the parents with self-reported symptoms and measured pulmonary function of 741 7-11-year-old Dutch children. We also analysed the association of symptoms reported by the child or parent and outdoor air pollution. METHODS: The parents of the children completed a daily diary of symptoms of their children for about 3 months. The children reported presence of acute respiratory symptoms in the preceding week before a pulmonary function test was conducted (6-10 test days). RESULTS: Children reported between 80% and 220% more acute respiratory symptoms than their parents for them in the same period. The agreement between symptom reports by the parent and the child was low to moderate (Kappa between 0.22 for eye irritation and 0.43 for fever). Presence of cough reported by child or parent was associated with similar small decrements in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1.0) and especially peak expiratory flow (PEF) and maximal mid-expiratory flow (FEF25-75). The largest pulmonary function decrements were found when symptoms were reported by both parent and child. Symptoms reported by either child or parent were not associated with air pollution. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom reports of the children were more prevalent but did not agree well with parental reports. The similar association with pulmonary function suggested that self-reported symptoms were neither superior nor inferior to symptoms reported by the parents.     

Prosocial behaviors of young children related to parental childrearing attitudes

Thirty preschool children from 3 to 6 years of age whose parents had shown congruence or lack of congruence in their attitudes toward adult control were observed in their homes on three occasions. Prosocial behaviors of children were observed and parent attitudes were measured by a revised Parent as a Teacher Inventory. While the chi‐square was not significant, data show that 5 of the 6 children with the lowest percentages of prosocial behaviors had mothers with scores which represented a high need for adult control. Likewise, all eight of the children who exhibited the lowest level of prosocial behavior had fathers whose scores were all below the factor mean. There is a need for further investigation of the effects of congruence between parent attitudes, parent behavior and child behavior.     

Prosocial behaviors of young children related to parental childrearing attitudes

Thirty preschool children from 3 to 6 years of age whose parents had shown congruence or lack of congruence in their attitudes toward adult control were observed in their homes on three occasions. Prosocial behaviors of children were observed and parent attitudes were measured by a revised Parent as a Teacher Inventory. While the chi-square was not significant, data show that 5 of the 6 children with the lowest percentages of prosocial behaviors had mothers with scores which represented a high need for adult control. Likewise, all eight of the children who exhibited the lowest level of prosocial behavior had fathers whose scores were all below the factor mean. There is a need for further investigation of the effects of congruence between parent attitudes, parent behavior and child behavior.