Intergenerational Associations Between Parental Incarceration and Children's Sexual Risk Taking in Young Adulthood

Purpose

Research on parental incarceration and the health of offspring is relatively scarce despite studies linking childhood adverse experiences to a range of physical and mental health conditions. This study aimed to estimate the associations between parental incarceration and sexual risk outcomes (early sexual onset, inconsistent condom use, and sexually transmitted infections [STIs]) in young adulthood.

Saturday Morning at the Jail: Implications of Incarceration for Families and Children*

Little is known about the experience of families affected by incarceration, yet current trends indicate that millions of children have a parent who is imprisoned. Using a conceptual framework that acknowledges the losses associated with a parent's incarceration, 56 caregivers visiting an incarcerated family member during children's visiting hours were interviewed. The interview gathered information about family, health, economics, and the legal aspects of the inmate's situation. Overall, families were at risk economically before incarceration, and the most vulnerable became even more financially strained afterward. Other problems believed to be created by incarceration included parenting strain, emotional stress, and concerns about children's loss of involvement with their incarcerated parent. Implications for family practice and policy are discussed.     

Reducing the Impact of Uncontrollable Stressful Life Events Through a Program of Nurse Home Visitation for New Parents

The current study examined whether the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP), an intervention in which mothers received home visitation by registered nurses pre- and postnatally, reduced mothers' vulnerability to the effects of stressful life events several years after the program was completed. Data from a randomized trial of the NFP were examined for mothers (N = 324) who were generally low-income, young, and unmarried at the time of the birth of their first child. Structured interviews were done with mothers about 15 years after the program began. Results showed that experiencing uncontrollable stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one, led to fewer negative outcomes (fewer mental health problems, less binge drinking, and better parenting practices) among nurse-visited mothers than among mothers receiving no visitation. Furthermore, the program's effect on reducing vulnerability to the negative impact of life events was particularly evident among parents who were younger or had a lower sense of personal control at intake. These findings suggest that, in addition to preventing the occurrence of negative outcomes that were direct targets of the intervention, the NFP more generally enhanced mothers' ability to cope with future stressful life events.

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Children as Next of Kin: A Scoping Review of Support Interventions for Children Who have a Parent with a Serious Physical Illness

Young children and adolescents who have a parent with a serious physical illness require information and support to cope with their everyday lives. The purpose of this scoping review was to summarise and disseminate the research findings of interventions that support children in families with a serious physically ill parent. The review also aimed to identify research gaps in the existing literature. Following a comprehensive search, only nine support interventions from 12 studies were identified, indicating that a dearth of intervention research has been conducted in the area. Although positive results were reported from all interventions at some stage, many of the studies were small pilot studies that did not show robust proof of the effectiveness of the interventions. However, the scoping review revealed that the main aim of most interventions is to enhance family functioning for all afflicted families by helping parents to communicate with their children. Further, some interventions offer a comprehensive support for identified “at risk” families. Few interventions examined the improvement within the everyday lives of families facing a serious physical illness other than cancer or HIV. The measures of effectiveness for children were limited to internal psychological symptoms of stress and depression, behavioural problems and issues regarding communication within the family. Few studies evaluated external measures; for example, effects on children's care burden, improved support from social network or school achievements. Implications for practitioners include gaining inspiration from the programmes to enhance communication between parents and children and also, wherever possible, to ask children themselves to evaluate the effectiveness of the support offered to them.     

Parental Nativity is an Important Factor Associated with Where Children Usually Go for Health Care

Purpose Few studies of children's access to care account for the independent effects of parental immigration characteristics. To address this gap in knowledge, we examine the association between parental nativity and where children usually obtain health care. Data source The 2002 National Survey of America's Families (N = 34,332). Results Fourteen percent of the sampled children had only foreign-born parents. Most of the sampled children used physician's offices or HMOs (69%) and clinics or other hospital outpatient settings (24%) as usual sites for health care; few used hospital emergency departments or other care providers (1.4%). After adjusting for confounders, using multinomial logistic regression, both citizen [OR = 1.92 (1.44-2.56)] and non-citizen [OR = 5.21 (3.33-8.15)] children with foreign-born parents were more likely to lack a usual site for health care, compared to children with at least one US-born parent-regardless of the mother's citizenship and duration of stay in the US. After accounting for parental nativity, lack of citizenship and shorter durations of US stay among mothers were associated with children's greater use of public clinics or other hospital outpatient settings, rather than physician's offices or HMOs. The effect of parental nativity persisted for minority, but not white, children; however, non-citizen children lacked a usual site for health care regardless of their race and ethnicity. Conclusion The immigration characteristics of parents are important to disparities in where children usually go for health care. These results suggest that increasing the "biomedical acculturation" of immigrant mothers may improve access to care for their children.     

The Reindeer of Hope: An Occupational Therapy Program in a Homeless Shelter

SUMMARY

This article describes a successfully designed and implemented program created for mentally ill homeless men by Level II occupational therapy students from Eastern Kentucky University. Outcomes for the clients, the staff and the students were extremely positive and have contributed to the appreciation and acceptance of occupational therapy as a discipline that can contribute to the health of this underserved population. This model demonstrates the effectiveness of University sponsored fieldwork in introducing occupational therapy to the community, creating awareness of what occupational therapy has to offer and developing a climate to bring needed services to clients and provide community-based employment for occupational therapists.     

医学高职高专新生心理健康状况与父母养育方式的关系分析

目的探讨医学高职高专大一新生心理健康状况与父母养育方式的研究。方法使用症状自评量表(SCL-90)和父母教养方式评价量表(EMBU)对某医科大学临床医学和口腔医学专业高职高专大一新生进行调查。结果男女大一新生症状自评量表各因子分数均高于全国常模;相关分析表明SCL-90各因子与EMBU的父母严厉惩罚、父亲过度干涉过度保护、父母亲拒绝否认等呈显著意义的正相关;父母偏爱与SCL-90中的强迫、人际关系敏感、抑郁、敌对、恐怖、偏执等因子呈显著意义的正相关;母亲偏爱与SCL-90中的人际关系、抑郁、敌对、恐怖、偏执等因子呈显著意义的正相关。结论高职高专大一新生的心理健康状况较差,且与父母教养方式有密切关系。     

医学生心理健康状况影响因素分析

目的 评价家庭社会经济状况(SES)与生活事件对医学生心理健康的影响.方法 采用症状自评量表(SCL-90)、青少年生活事件量表(ASLEC)及自制基本情况调查表对整群随机抽取的1 753名医学生进行调查.结果 各影响因素对SCL-90的9个因子分的多元逐步回归分析显示,家庭月收入、父亲职业、母亲文化程度、父母离异进入了方程.将ASLEC总分也引入分析时,则方程中只有父亲职业和ASLEC总分2个影响因素,且方程的决定系数增加了5~6倍;影响SCL-90总分共有8项生活事件(R²=0.511,P=0.000),其中有5项与学业压力有关.结论 生活事件与家庭社会经济状况相比,对心理健康有着更强的影响.     

人格特性在外派员工负性事件与心理健康之间的调节效应

目的 探讨不同负性事件对外派员工心理健康的影响,并分析人格特性在其两者间的调节效应。方法 采用问卷调查法,收集202—2022年某企业5个海外地区5573名员工的数据。心理健康包括自我肯定、抑郁和焦虑3个维度,使用一般心理健康量表(GHQ)进行调查。负性事件包括工作关系冲突、家属重病、家庭冲突、亲友离世、睡眠质量下降、遗失重要物品、职场压力、重病外伤和子女学习困难9项,使用修订后的生活事件量表测量。人格特征包括神经质(沉稳性差)、严谨性、宜人性、外向性和开放性5个维度(也称“大五人格”),使用中国“大五人格”问卷简版(CBF-PI-B)测量,采用SPSS 20.0软件对数据进行描述性统计、相关性分析、多元线性回归分析和调节作用分析。结果 9 项负性事件均与心理健康存在负相关(P<0.01),神经质(沉稳性差)在睡眠质量下降、家庭冲突、工作关系冲突、子女学习困难、家属重病等负性事件对心理健康的影响中具有负向调节作用(P<0.01);外向性在睡眠质量下降、工作关系冲突和子女学习困难对心理健康的影响中具有正向调节作用(P<0.01);严谨性在睡眠质量下降、家庭冲突和家属重病对心理健康的影响中具有正向调节作用(P<0.01)。结论 睡眠质量下降、家庭冲突、工作关系冲突、子女学习困难和家属重病对心理健康有负向影响;神经质得分越高(沉稳性越差),外向性和严谨性得分越低,负性事件对心理健康的负向影响越明显;宜人性和开放性在其中的调节作用不显著。     

深圳中学女生心理卫生状况及影响因素分析

目的：分析初中、普高及职高等不同类型学校中学女生的心理卫生状况及影响因素,为学校健康教育和心理咨询开展针对性心理卫生工作提供依据。方法采用SCL-90症状自评量表和青少年生活事件量表（ ASLEC）对1168名中学学生（其中高中女生204名、男生217名,初中女生263名、男生198名,技校女生152名、男生134名）的心理卫生状况进行了分析。结果调查女生的心理卫生问题检出率（55．43％）高于男生,且差异具有统计学意义（χ^2＝10．131,P＜0．05）。女生在强迫（ t＝2．998, P＜0．05）、人际关系敏感（t＝12．662,P＜0．01）、抑郁（t＝2．624,P＜0．05）、焦虑（t＝7．581,P＜0．01）、敌对（t＝5．091,P＜0．01）、精神病性（t＝3．025,P＜0．05）等因子上的得分与常模相比的增高均有统计学意义。初中、普高、职高女生的强迫和抑郁因子得分依次增高,职高女生躯体化、恐怖、偏执、精神病性等因子得分最高,普高女生的人际关系敏感因子得分最高。 SCL-90总分和焦虑、抑郁及强迫各因子的得分与学习、受惩罚、人际关系存在正相关。结论深圳中学女生的心理卫生问题发生率及其程度较全国成人水平偏高,也高于同比男生,表现出自身特色,有必要对其开展针对性的心理卫生工作。     

Being visible: PhotoVoice as assessment for children in a school-based psychiatric setting

Background: Recovery-oriented mental health services empower all clients, including youth and their families, to be actively involved in directing their own care. In order to develop person-driven interventions, clinicians must understand what matters from their perspective. Thus, recovery-oriented assessments need self-report measures that adequately capture the domains and content that matter to a range of particular persons.

Aim: This study examined if and how PhotoVoice, a participatory research method used to empower and highlight the unique experiences of vulnerable groups, could be used as a recovery-oriented self-report measure for children with a mental health disorder.

Methods: We used PhotoVoice to engage four children with mental health related disorders at a day hospital program for severe behavioural disorders. The children, as co-researchers in this participatory approach, created life books from photographs and images of what mattered to them across nine sessions. To examine the PhotoVoice process, we used ethnographic methods, including child interviews and participant observations in their classes and at recess before, during and after the weekly sessions. Our overarching narrative-phenomenological theoretical framework focused data collection and analysis on what mattered most to the children.

Results: The PhotoVoice method engaged and empowered the children in articulating what mattered in their everyday lives from their perspective that resulted in a novel, child-generated domain of ‘mattering to others’ for future self-report measures, and facilitated changes that generalized outside of the group. We illustrate these results by drawing a particularly illustrative case example from the study.

Conclusion: The PhotoVoice method foregrounded children’s perspectives on what matters more explicitly than clinical or parent perspective on function.

Significance: The participatory philosophy and methods of PhotoVoice provides a viable approach to recovery-oriented self-report measures as well as an occupation-based assessment and intervention.     

Drug use and other problems of residents in projects for the young, single homeless

One hundred people who make use of an organization housing the young, single homeless were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. There was a high prevalence of problems, including substance abuse and dependence, other mental health problems, extensive use of health services and extensive experience of crime both as victim and perpetrator. Most people said they had become homeless because they did not get on with their parents. Since becoming homeless, most had not spent more than a month sleeping rough, but most had spent time staying with friends or staying in other hostels for the homeless. It is concluded that most young, single homeless people who seek help have problems beyond a lack of permanent shelter. The extent to which the sample is representative of all homeless people is considered and implications for service provision are discussed.     

Parental Distress as a Mediator of Problem Behaviors in Sons of Alcohol‐Involved Families*

Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis that parental distress would mediate the relations between parental lifetime alcohol and physical health problems and child behavior problems. Participants were 182 alcohol‐involved families and 83 matched controls with 3‐ to 5‐year‐old biological sons. Results show that sons of parents with alcohol and physical health problems are at elevated risk for behavior problems, partly related to the increased levels of distress their parents are experiencing.     

Tensions Between Career and Interpersonal Commitments as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease Among Women

For professional women, the tension between the career world and the world of interpersonal commitments to spouses, children and friends is thought to be particularly stressful, and a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The Career-Life Balance Inventory (CLBI) was created to survey a wide variety of these tensions among a group of 202 professional women. In a discriminant analysis, two scales from the CLBI (Career-Sacrifices and Interpersonal Sacrifices) appeared to play an important role in distinguishing those women experiencing serious cardiovascular disease. This model for the discrimination of cardiovascular disease was significant to the .01 level. This result suggests the need for more refined study of the tensions between career and interpersonal commitments, as these may relate to risk for cardiovascular disease.     

The heterogeneity of vulnerability in public health: a heat wave action plan as a case study

The concept of vulnerability is frequently used in public health policies to develop tailored interventions or dedicate proportionately more resources to certain sub-populations. However, once segments of the population are identified as vulnerable, they are rarely consulted regarding whether this label is acceptable before instituting interventions. Instead, it is implicitly assumed that the targeted individuals identify themselves as vulnerable and experience an unambiguous and consistent need for public health assistance. In this paper, using public health interventions during heat waves as a case study, we question such assumptions. A qualitative study was conducted in Montreal, Canada involving two focus groups among populations specifically targeted by the heat action plan as vulnerable: one composed of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, and one composed of individuals who have alcohol or drug addictions. Findings revealed significant heterogeneity in the definition and experience of vulnerability as it is used in the context of a heat action plan in Montreal. We found differences between the two focus groups in several areas including sources of information they had access to within the heat action plan measures and their perspectives regarding the appropriateness of specific measures in the heat action plan. We then observed differences within each of the focus groups in several areas including their social networks relationships. The concept of vulnerability is often used in public health policies. Yet, while this concept may be convenient for shaping policies to reduce inequalities in health, the heterogeneity of populations defined as vulnerable should not be underestimated.