The relationship between child abuse and adult obesity among california women

BACKGROUND: Despite clinical studies suggesting that child abuse is associated with adult obesity, very few studies have been conducted with large community or state-based samples. This study examines the relationship between child abuse and adult obesity, relative to other risk factors such as demographics, food insecurity, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical inactivity, in a representative sample of California women. METHODS: Data are from the California Women's Health Survey, a state-based, random-digit-dial annual probability survey of California women. Participants included 11,115 nonpregnant women aged 18 or older, who provided complete data for all study variables. The telephone interview included assessment of child abuse (abstracted from the Traumatic Stress Schedule), food insecurity, perceived stress, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, height, and weight. Data were collected in 2002, 2003, and 2004, and analyzed in 2006. RESULTS: Obese (body mass index [BMI] of 30 or higher) women were significantly more likely to report exposure to child abuse (odds ratio [OR]=1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.23-1.42). In a multivariate model adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, food insecurity, inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, physical inactivity, and perceived stress, women exposed to child abuse remained significantly more likely to be obese than unexposed women (adjusted OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.13-1.40). The population-attributable fraction of obesity associated with any type of abuse was 4.5% (95% CI=2.28-6.55). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to child abuse is associated with adult obesity among California women, even accounting for other relevant variables. This supports the notion that child abuse and its sequelae may be important targets for public health intervention, particularly in subpopulations where the prevalence of child abuse is known to be high.     

A meta-analytic examination of the relationship between child sexual abuse and eating disorders

OBJECTIVE: This study had two goals. The first was to assess the magnitude and consistency of the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) and eating disorders (ED). The second was to examine methodological factors contributing to the heterogeneity of this relationship. METHOD: Meta-analysis was used to examine both questions. Fifty-three studies were included in the analysis. RESULTS: A small, significant positive relationship between CSA and ED emerged. The relationship was marked by heterogeneity. Effect sizes were largest when CSA was the grouping variable, the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) or the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) was used as the measure of eating disorders, and nonclinical groups were compared with clinical samples. DISCUSSION: Models of CSA and ED need to more clearly specify what aspects of ED (e.g., body image or binge eating) are most influenced by which types of CSA. These specific relationships then need to be examined empirically.     

The relationship between menopausal symptoms and sexual function

Sexual function could be affected by several factors in postmenopausal women. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between the severity of menopausal symptoms and sexual function. The study was conducted among 405 postmenopausal women aged 40–65 years, in Chalous and Noshahr, Iran, from October 2013 to May 2014. The participants were selected using a multistage sampling method. The instruments used for data collection were the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), and a demographics questionnaire. The relationship between the severity of menopausal symptoms and sexual function was examined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear and logistic regressions. The mean unadjusted FSFI and MRS scores were 24.11 and 12.45, respectively; and 61.0 percent of the participants had female sexual dysfunction (FSD) (FSFI ≤26.55). A significant negative correlation was observed between the MRS scores (total and all subscales) and the total scores for FSFI (p < 0.001). The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that with every unit increase in the total score of MRS, the likelihood of sexual dysfunction was 9.6 percent greater. We conclude that menopausal symptoms need to be considered in the design of health initiatives aimed at postmenopausal women’s sexual function.     

The mothers' participation in the child malnutrition program

This study aims to show mothers' and health professionals' conceptions and perceptions related to their participation in the Child Malnutrition Program. Thus, we particularly explore the mothers' participation, as a means of making them aware of the individual and social reality and their decisions about it. Our analysis of the maternal participation process is guided by Imogene King's conceptual framework. This study was conducted in Crato, Ceará State, Brazil. Study participants were mothers and professionals. We used semi-structured interviews and adopted Bardin's Content Analysis for organizing and analyzing the collected data. This study did not find evidence of strategies for the conscious participation of social actors in the child malnutrition program.     

The current prevalence of child sexual abuse worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

Systematic reviews on prevalence estimates of child sexual abuse (CSA) worldwide included studies with adult participants referring on a period of abuse of about 50 years. Therefore we aimed to describe the current prevalence of CSA, taking into account geographical region, type of abuse, level of country development and research methods.

Methods

We included studies published between 2002 and 2009 that reported CSA in children below 18 years. We performed a random effects meta-analysis and analyzed moderator variables by meta-regression.

Results

Fifty-five studies from 24 countries were included. According to four predefined types of sexual abuse, prevalence estimates ranged from 8 to 31 % for girls and 3 to 17 % for boys. Nine girls and 3 boys out of 100 are victims of forced intercourse. Heterogeneity between primary studies was high in all analyses.

Conclusions

Our results based on most recent data confirm results from previous reviews with adults. Surveys in children offer most recent estimates of CSA. Reducing heterogeneity between studies might be possible by standardized measures to make data more meaningful in international comparisons.     

Hospitalized children: mothers' perception of the affective bond between child and family

This purpose of this research was to verify the perception of the mother who has her child sick and hospitalized, about the importance of her permanence during the hospitalization time for the maintenance of the affective child-family link. Empiric data were collected with mother's of hospitalized children, who were accompanying the hospitalization of their children in a public hospital at the Cascavel city in the West of Paraná, Brazil, through semi-structured interviews. The analysis of these data demonstrated that the mothers recognize the importance of staying with their children in such a stress time like the hospitalization time, however, the external facts that influence their daily life, often do not allow them to stay with their children.     

我国老年人支持子女状况与老年虐待的关系研究

目的 探讨我国老年人支持子女状况与老年虐待的关系,为防控老年虐待提供依据。方法 选取中华全国妇女联合会、国家统计局第三期中国妇女社会地位调查数据中7 159名年龄≥65岁的老年人,调查内容包括一般特征、支持子女状况以及老年虐待状况等。采用 χ²检验、logistic回归模型对老年人支持子女状况与老年虐待的关系进行分析。结果 老年虐待发生率为6.71%。不同支持子女状况的老年人遭受虐待的风险不同：控制混杂因素的影响后,与同时支持儿子和女儿的老年人相比,仅支持儿子、仅支持女儿、同时不支持儿子和女儿的老年人受虐风险更高,OR值（95%CI）分别为1.99（1.56～2.54）、2.07（1.51～3.79）和2.32（1.72～3.13）。支持子女的性别差异与老年人受虐风险不相关：仅支持儿子OR值为1.00,仅支持女儿OR值（95%CI）为1.04（0.63～1.71）。支持子女状况与老年虐待风险之间存在城乡差异。结论 我国老年虐待状况不容乐观,支持子女状况与老年虐待存在相关关系,对子女支持状况差的老年人受虐风险高。     

The impact of mothers' perception of child care services and utilization

To examine the impact of mothers' perception of the roles of pre-primary institutions and what motivates them to choose a particular child care service, 138 working mothers and 20 proprietors of nursery schools and day care centers were interviewed. The facilities available to children in the centers studied was also assessed.

The results suggested that these mothers' expected these institutions to play custodial functions as well as to provide early childhood education. This knowledge could guide proprietors and other interested organizations in the provision of appropriate child care programmes to meet the needs of mothers and their children.

The demand for nursery/day care services in Nigeria has become very high due to the increasing number of women in the workforce.     

The associations between laxative abuse and other symptoms among adults with anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between laxative abuse and other symptoms and features among adult patients presenting with anorexia nervosa. METHOD: One hundred and seventeen patients with anorexia nervosa were studied. Laxative abusers and nonabusers were compared. RESULTS: Compared with nonabusers, laxative-abusing patients had higher ratings on the Ineffectiveness, Body Dissatisfaction, and Drive for Thinness subscales on the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI), as well as more depressive and somatization symptoms. There was an association between laxative abuse and low self-esteem. DISCUSSION: Laxative abuse appears to be associated with especially severe psychopathology and low self-esteem among subjects with anorexia nervosa.     

The effect of child hyperactivity on mothers' expectations for development

Summary Mothers of hyperactive (M-Hyp) and control children (M-NHyp) estimated the age at which their child and children normally would reach a number of significant developmental milestones. M-Hyp and M-NHyp had similar timetables for normal development while their judgements about their own child's development were different. M-Hyp saw their children as delayed relative to normal development and M-NHyp saw theirs as advanced. This group difference spanned the social, communicative, cognitive and self-care domains. The generality of this effect was particularly surprising as the two groups of children had similar IQ scores. A number of explanations for this are discussed, including the possibility that this finding represents an Important generalization of low expectations from the purely social to the communicative/cognitive domains. The implications of this possibility for hyperactive children s development are discussed.     

The relationship between parent and child self-reported adherence and weight loss

OBJECTIVE: Better adherence to treatment strategies in family-based behavioral weight control programs may lead to greater weight reduction and improved weight maintenance in youth. This study assessed the influence of child and parent self-reported adherence to behavioral strategies on changes in 2-year child and parent percentage overweight. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants included 8- to 12-year-old children in >or= 85th BMI percentile and their parents from 110 families taking part in two family-based randomized controlled weight control studies. This study examined whether self-reported adherence to behavioral strategies measured at 24 months increased prediction of child and parent percentage overweight change through 24-month follow-up after accounting for other factors that may influence weight change. RESULTS: Child adherence to weighing and to preplanning for celebrations where high-fat foods are served and parent adherence to praising the child and modeling healthy eating habits predicted 24-month child percentage overweight change (p<0.001). Child adherence to recording food and calories and parent adherence to modeling healthy eating habits predicted 24-month parent percentage overweight change (p<0.001). In hierarchical regression models, child weighing and preplanning and parent modeling were significant (p<0.01) incremental predictors (r2 of 24.8%) of 24-month child percentage overweight. Child recording and parent modeling were significant (p<0.01) incremental predictors (r2 of 14%) of parent 24-month percentage overweight change. DISCUSSION: Child and parent adherence to specific components of family-based behavioral weight control treatment are independent predictors of long-term child and parent percentage overweight change.     

Resilience and child abuse

The article discusses the resilience concept from a critical review. It prioritizes texts produced by organizations with leading roles in the field of child and adolescent health (PAHO, Pan-American Health Organization; ASBRA, the Brazilian Association for Adolescence). The main definitions of resilience are discussed, along with a debate on the contributions and limitations of the current literature. Furthermore, the conceptual and operative possibilities of resilience when confronted with child abuse are discussed, specifically using intra-familial sexual abuse as an example. The authors conclude that the concept of resilience presents polarization around certain axes: "adaptation/overcoming process", "innate/acquired" "permanent/circumstantial". However, they all point to a common ground: the singularity and delicacy of micro-social health-promoting relationships.     

大学生虐待经历与创伤后应激障碍关系

目的 了解虐待经历与大学生创伤后应激障碍的关系。方法 随机整群抽样广州某大学大一和大二的学生800名,用创伤后应激障碍自评量表(PTSD-SS)进行调查。结果 回收有效问卷757份,有效率为97.2%。有虐待经历大学生占被调查大学生的30.9%;男生及有生理缺陷的大学生更易受到虐待(P<0.05),虐待经历与年龄、是否独生子女、户籍所在地、父母亲文化程度、家庭经济收入及是否单亲家庭无明显关联;遭受虐待的大学生PTSD总分及5个因子分均高于未遭受虐待者(P<0.01),其中,>90%受虐者认为创伤事件对精神有不同程度的打击,近80%的大学生表现出学习或工作受到影响、注意力不集中、看到或听到与事件有关的事情担心事件再度发生。结论 有虐待经历的大学生创伤后应激障碍的症状更明显。     

梅毒现症感染与体液免疫水平的关系

梅毒螺旋体感染人体后可使患者产生终身抗体.由于梅毒容易复发,所以临床上常用快速血浆反应素环状卡片试验(RPR)来区分是现症感染还是既往感染.但是RPR检测的是非特异性抗体[1],可在多种疾病中出现假阳性的结果,例如麻风、结核、红斑狼疮、类风湿关节炎和猩红热等,并且正常人群中阳性率0.1％[2],因此如何准确判断梅毒的现症感染急需辅助的诊断手段.本文研究梅毒现症感染的外周血清IgG、lgA、IgM浓度及补体C3、C4水平,探讨体液免疫水平与梅毒现症感染的关系,现报道如下.     

Unplanned childbearing and family size: their relationship to child neglect and abuse

Mothers from 198 low-income, female-headed families enrolled in child protective services because of child abuse or neglect were compared with an equal number of age-matched controls, to determine if unplanned childbearing and family size increase the risk of child neglect or abuse. Logistic regression analyses suggest that unplanned childbearing increases the risk of child abuse but not of child neglect. Large family size significantly raises the risk of both types of maltreatment, although this factor had a greater effect on the risk of abuse than on the risk of neglect. Finally, unplanned childbearing appears to be indirectly related to abuse through its effect on family size.