Assessing parenting capacity: are mental health nurses prepared for this role?

Mental health nurses in the UK are involved in the assessment of the parenting capacity of mothers with a serious mental illness in psychiatric facilities. There is evidence that child and family social workers, as the frontline professionals in safeguarding children, rely heavily on the mental health parenting assessment. Parenting assessments have potentially major implications for mother and baby and can lead to the separation of mother and baby. However, there is little or no provision for mental health nurses to undertake this role. In the UK, as in many other countries, there is currently no data as to which psychiatric facilities are conducting parenting assessments nor about the quality of the assessment. There are significant tensions for mental health nurses undertaking parenting assessments and there is no specific training for the role. This paper challenges existing practice, highlights the need for an audit of the current services and recommends the development of a recognized training programme.     

Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Psychoeducational Intervention With Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents: A Pilot Study

PROBLEM: Little is known about the effectiveness of a comprehensive psychoeducational intervention on depression, self-esteem, and parenting attitudes/beliefs of at-risk pregnant and parenting adolescents. METHODS: Adolescents (N = 41) attending either a residential treatment facility (RTF) or a rural alternative school (RAS) participated in a psychoeducational parenting group using Bavolek's Nurturing Program during Phase I. Phase II included health promotion issues, infant massage, and CPR. FINDINGS: Using the Parenting Semantic Differential and the AAPI-2, there was significant improvement in parenting attitudes and beliefs. No significant change was found in self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive psychoeducational parenting group can be effective in changing parenting attitudes and beliefs, which suggests an ultimate improvement in health promotion and disease prevention in adolescent women and their children.     

A different view on parenting: automatic and explicit parenting cognitions in adolescents’ drinking behavior

Aim: The aim of the present study was to document the relationship between automatic and explicit parenting cognitions and alcohol use in adolescents. In addition, we examined whether this relationship was dependent on parental alcohol use.

Method: A convenience sample of 59 parents (57.63% mothers, 59.32% younger than 50 years) with children between 14 and 18 years (58.93% girls) completed the Relational Responding Task (RRT) prior to a paper-and-pencil questionnaire.

Results: The relationship between automatic parenting cognitions as measured by the RRT and the frequency of adolescent alcohol intake among drinkers was significant, χ²(1) = 7.74, p < 0.01, even after controlling for the predictive validity of explicit parenting cognitions. The prevalence of alcohol use was related to explicit parenting cognitions (OR = 0.223, p < 0.001) but not automatic parenting cognitions.

Conclusion: This study is the first to demonstrate that automatic parenting cognitions as measured by the RRT can be used as a predictor of alcohol use in adolescents who have initiated drinking, even after controlling for explicit parenting cognitions. This study provides the starting point of a much broader research program aimed at uncovering the relationship between automatic parenting cognitions and offspring behavior, also beyond the domain of alcohol use.     

The effectiveness of parenting programmes facilitated by health visitors

AIM OF THE STUDY: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of parenting programmes that are facilitated by health visitors and offer practical and emotional support to parents in the Down Lisburn Trust, Northern Ireland. METHODS: All parents (n=78) taking part were given a self-administered questionnaire both before and after attending a 'Positive Parenting' programme. The questionnaire contained items gathering demographic information, standardized measures of clinical anxiety/depression, personality states and coping styles and participants' experience of being a parent and what they wanted from the parenting group. Two items adapted from the Parent Stress Index looked at participants' ratings of themselves as parents, and if they enjoyed this role. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: All statistics were computed using the SPSS for Windows (version 7) statistical package. The parametric paired-samples t-test was used with the ratio data generated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire. It is used to test the difference between the means of the pre and postsets of scores for significance. The nonparametric Wilcoxon test was used to find if there was a significant difference between the pre and postprogramme related samples by ranking the means. The Wilcoxon was chosen firstly because the data were ordinal in nature, hence it cannot be assumed that the findings follow the normal curve of distribution and secondly because it cannot be assumed that the data have homogeneity of variance. FINDINGS: At the end of the 8-week parenting programme, findings demonstrated significant statistically reduced levels of clinical anxiety and depression. Parents demonstrated an increase in more positive ratings of personality states such as not shouting at their children and being more calm and energetic at the end of the programme. Adaptive problem focused coping strategies were reported as being used more often subsequent to the programme, although some of the less adaptive emotion focused strategies had also increased in use. However, no change was evident in their ratings of how good a parent they were or if they enjoyed being a parent. CONCLUSIONS: Health visitors have the skills and are in the position to be preventative agents of inadequate parenting, and advocates of positive parenting. Factors relevant to the realm of positive parenting are highlighted as possible avenues for future research.     

Relationship of working mothers' parenting style and consistency to early childhood development: a longitudinal investigation

Title.  Relationship of working mothers' parenting style and consistency to early childhood development: a longitudinal investigation.
Aim.  This paper is a report of a longitudinal study of the relationship of working mothers' parenting style to their children's social competence and vocabulary/motor/intellectual development.
Background.  With an increasing number of women choosing to remain in the workforce after starting a family, there has been a concomitant increase in use of non-parental childcare facilities to help look after the child while the mother is at work. This increase in non-parental care has led to a dramatic change in the traditional child-rearing environment.
Methods.  Long-term investigations were conducted over a period of 2 years in 41 Japanese government-licensed childcare facilities. Child development was evaluated by childcare professionals and parenting style was assessed by questionnaire. A total of 504 children and their mothers participated in the study. Data collection was carried out in 2004 and 2006.
Findings.  We found that the changes in parenting style were statistically significantly related to children's development after 2 years. For instance, changes in the parent-child playing routine contributed to the child's social competence (odds ratio = 11·088). Variation in working mothers' disciplinary practices was also associated with children's vocabulary development after 2 years (odds ratio = 2·246).
Conclusion.  Working mothers should increase interactions with their children in their free time to reduce the risk of developmental delay. Daily childcare support provided by family members or social organizations for long-term working mothers is helpful in mediating the negative relationship of mothers' working with children's development.     

Parenting Style and the Vulnerable Child Syndrome

TOPIC:  Vulnerable child syndrome (VCS) refers to the combination of the parental view that their child is at increased risk for death despite the child's objective health and the resulting behavior problems in the child. Although risk factors for the development of the syndrome have been outlined, the variability in the development of VCS has not been explained.
PURPOSE:  A theoretical explanation for the variability in the development of VCS utilizing Susan Calkins' model is explored. By considering the development of VCS in light of Calkins' model, variability may be explained and preventative interventions may be instituted.
SOURCES USED:  Relevant literature pertaining to child development and VCS was reviewed.
CONCLUSIONS:  By recognizing the risk of the role that parenting sensitivity plays in the development of VCS, team-based interventions involving a developmental approach may be employed, and the long-term behavioral sequelae of the disorder may be prevented or alleviated.     

Integrative Review of Parenting in Nursing Research

PURPOSE: To synthesize and critically analyze parenting research in nursing. DESIGN: Qualitative, integrative review of nursing research studies about parenting 1993-2004. METHODS: Studies published by nurse researchers in peer-reviewed journals were systematically searched using CINAHL and Medline databases. Data were organized and analyzed with a sample of 17 nursing research studies from core nursing journals. FINDINGS: The majority of parenting research has been focused on mothers, primarily about parenting children with physical or developmental disabilities. Research about fathers as parents is sparse. Parenting across cultures, parenting in the context of family, and theoretical frameworks for parenting research are not well developed. CONCLUSIONS: The scope of nursing research on parenting is limited. The roles, functions, and contexts of parenting are not well defined. Further research is required to describe parenting and how parenting affects the health of individuals and families.     

Effectiveness of the rehabilitation for addicted prisoners trust (RAPt) programme

Alcohol and drug use are major health concerns on university and college campuses. It has previously been found that parental rearing patterns are related to the frequency of substance use. Further, perceptions that drug use is dangerous have been found to be related to less substance use. However, little research has directly examined the impact of parental rearing patterns on substance use by university students, and no research has examined the effects of both risk perception and parenting on substance use. Therefore, this research surveyed the frequency and extent of alcohol, cigarette and illicit drug use by students (N = 336) at a Canadian university residence, classes and health services and examined the relationship between the results with parental bonding and risk perception. It was found that “affectionless control” parenting patterns in the mother, but not the father, were related to greater drinking and drinking problems and to the use of illicit substances. Lower perceptions of risk were related to greater use of alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis and other illicit substances. Unexpectedly, there was little relationship between parental rearing and risk perceptions, suggesting that there are other avenues whereby parenting leads to greater alcohol use. Implications are discussed.     

Parents Plus parenting programme for parents of adolescents with intellectual disabilities: A cluster randomised controlled trial

Objective

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Parents Plus Special Needs (PPSN) programme, a seven-week parenting group intervention for parents of adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

Method

In a cluster randomised controlled trial, 24 intellectual disability services supporting families of adolescents with an intellectual disability were assigned to PPSN (12 services; 141 parents) or waitlist control group (12 services; 136 parents). Primary outcomes were parent-reported parenting practices, family adjustment, problem behaviours, emotional problems, and prosocial behaviours. Secondary outcomes were parental satisfaction, parental self-efficacy, and goal attainment.

Results

Compared to the waitlist group, participants in the PPSN group reported improvements in parenting practices, problem behaviours, parental satisfaction, parental self-efficacy and goal attainment, which were retained at 3-month follow-up. There were additional gains for family adjustment at follow-up.

Conclusion

The PPSN is effective in improving parenting behaviour, family relationships, and problem behaviours in adolescents, but not in improving emotional difficulties.     

The experience of parents implementing authoritarian parenting for their school-age children

Objective

To explore families’ experiences who use an authoritarian parenting style in caring for school-age children.

Homeless Parents'Perceptions of Parenting Stress

PURPOSE. To describe homeless parents' perceptions of parenting stress as potential indicators of needs for support in parenting roles.
SAMPLE. Forty-seven homeless parents (30 mothers, 17 fathers).
METHODS. Subjects completed the Parenting Stress Index to measure perceived parenting stress in the areas of child domain, parent domain, and life stress.
FINDINGS. Homeless mothers and homeless fathers both identified the child domain as the most frequent source of stress. T tests showed a significant dierence between groups only in the parent domain sub- scale of competence.
CONCLUSIONS. Findings from this study indicate the need to include parenting stress questions in an initial nursing or health assessment.     

Anticipatory Guidance of Parents of New Infants: Potential Contribution of the Internal Working Model Construct

Although anticipatory guidance for parents of young children has been well subscribed to as a clinical strategy for over half a century, it has little theoretical substance to guide its practice and to direct research that would develop and test the practice. The assumptions and definitions of the traditional practice of anticipatory guidance focus on providing information about what to expect and how to deal with unwanted or challenging events or conditions related to developmental or life change. In this paper, the potential contributions of social cognition theory, including the construct of internal working models, to the theory of anticipatory guidance are explored and implications of the revised theory are illustrated.