Low levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms and psychiatric symptomatology among third-generation Holocaust survivors whose fathers were war veterans

There is an ongoing debate regarding the intergenerational transmission of Holocaust trauma to the third generation (TGH). However, due to the rareness of this population, there are no studies that have examined TGH individuals whose fathers were also victims of war-related trauma and captivity. This prospective study aimed to assess the role of parents' Holocaust background, fathers' posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and adult offspring's anxiety sensitivity (AS) in adult offspring's PTSS and psychiatric symptomatology. A sample of 123 Israeli father-child dyads (42 TGH and 71 non-TGH), that included 80 former prisoners of war (ex-POWs) dyads and a comparison group of 44 veteran dyads, completed AS, PTSS and psychiatric symptomatology self-report measures. Fathers were assessed 17 years following the Yom Kippur War (T1: 2008) while offspring took part in T2 (2013–2014). Surprisingly, results show that TGH participants reported lower levels of PTSS and psychiatric symptomatology than non-TGH participants, regardless of their fathers' captivity status. Interestingly, a moderated mediation analysis indicated that offspring's AS mediated the association between Holocaust background and participants' PTSS and psychiatric symptomatology, only among ex-POWs' offspring. This study provides evidence for relatively lower levels of PTSS and psychiatric symptomatology among TGH individuals whose fathers were war veterans. Ex-POWs' adult offspring who are grandchildren of Holocaust survivors reported lower levels of AS that was related to lower levels of PTSS and psychiatric symptomatology.     

Temperament, family environment, and behavior problems in children with new-onset seizures

Children with epilepsy, even those with new-onset seizures, exhibit relatively high rates of behavior problems. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among early temperament, family adaptive resources, and behavior problems in children with new-onset seizures. Our major goal was to test whether family adaptive resources moderated the relationship between early temperament dimensions and current behavior problems in 287 children with new-onset seizures. Two of the three temperament dimensions (difficultness and resistance to control) were positively correlated with total, internalizing, and externalizing behavior problems (all P<0.0001). The third temperament dimension, unadaptability, was positively correlated with total and internalizing problems (P<0.01). Family adaptive resources moderated the relationships between temperament and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at school. Children with a difficult early temperament who live in a family environment with low family mastery are at the greatest risk for behavior problems.     

Behavioural and emotional problems in children of alcoholic mothers and fathers

 The Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) was used to compare a sample of 103 Danish children of alcoholics (CoA) to a Danish population-based sample (N = 780). The CoA had a significantly greater incidence of symptoms on 17 of the 118 CBCL items. Compared to the reference population, daughters of alcoholics were more impaired than sons of alcoholics on most CBCL measures. In families with maternal alcoholism daughters had higher internalising and depression scores than sons, and in families with paternal alcoholism, sons had higher internalising and depression scores than daughters. The CoA also had a significantly greater risk of scoring above the 95th percentile on internalising behaviour, depression symptoms and socially deviant behaviour. On all CBCL dimensions, almost half of the CoA samples functioned as well as the average of the reference population. The results from this study suggest that CoA should be regarded as a risk group but with very heterogeneous consequences in response to parental alcoholism. Accepted: 29 November 1999     

Home environment,family adjustment,and the development of mentally retarded children

This study describes the relationships between home environment, family adjustment and the social competency of TMR and EMR children. The home environmental variables included parental behavior and attitude, psychosocial climate, and demographic and structural characteristics of the families. The measures of family adjustment included the mentally retarded child's impact on the family and the family's capacity to cope with mental retardation. The child characteristics were described in terms of adaptive and maladaptive behavior, psychological and social adjustment, and self-concept measures. Canonical correlation analysis revealed conceptual and statistical linkages between home environment, family adjustment, and the competency of mentally retarded children.     

The relationship between family functioning and behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorders

Although it is well known that families of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk for increased stress and other problems, little is known about what child characteristics may mediate that risk. To address the impact of child behavior problems on family health, we examined data collected from 136 families raising children with ASD. Children were divided into groups based on parent responses to the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL): low versus high internalizing and low versus high externalizing behavior problems. Family functioning was measured using the Family Impact Questionnaire, Revised (FIQ-R). Results of ANCOVA analyses indicated significant group differences in FIQ-R domains of Negative Attitudes About Parenting, Social Relationships, Sibling Impact, and Impact to Marriage when comparing externalizing behaviors. None of the FIQ-R domains demonstrated group differences when comparing internalizing behaviors. Correlation coefficients indicated moderately strong associations between higher externalizing behaviors and poorer family functioning, with the most significant associations among child behavior and increased negativity in parenting perceptions and poorer social functioning. This study provides information regarding co-occurring behaviors that have the strongest negative association with family functioning and the domains of family functioning most vulnerable to the severity of such behaviors.     

Parental adjustment, marital relationship, and family function in families of children with autism

This study aimed to investigate the psychopathology, marital relationship, and family function in parents of children with autistic disorder (autism) as compared to parents of typically developing children. We also compared these measures between the mothers and the fathers. We assessed 151 families with at least one child with autistic disorder and 113 families of typically developing children in Taiwan. Both parents completed the self-administered questionnaires measuring psychopathology, marital dyadic adjustment, and family function. Both parents of children with autism suffered from more psychopathology and less dyadic consensus than parents of typically developing children; mothers of children with autism, perceived less marital satisfaction, affection expression, family adaptability and cohesion than mothers of typically developing children. We also found that mothers of children with autism displayed more psychopathology and marital maladjustment than did the fathers. These findings highlight that parents of children with autism encounter more psychological problems, marital difficulties and family dysfunction, particularly their mothers.     

Recurrent seizures and behavior problems in children with first recognized seizures: a prospective study

PURPOSE: Children with epilepsy have high rates of behavior problems. The purpose was to describe prospectively the association of seizures and behavior problems in children with new-onset seizures. METHODS: Subjects were 224 children with new-onset seizures (aged 4-14 years) and 159 siblings (4-18 years). Caregiver's ratings of the behavior were collected 4 times: at baseline, and at 6, 12, and 24 months. During the 2-year period, 163 (73%) children had at least one additional seizure, and 61 (27%) had none. Data were analyzed by using repeated measures analysis of variance both with and without covariates [site, age, gender, race, caregiver education (years), and seizure medications]. RESULTS: On average, children had higher CBCL Total and Internalizing Behavior Problems scores across all times when experiencing recurrent seizures than when not experiencing recurrent seizures (Total Problems, p = 0.041, controlling for demographics and seizure medications). Siblings had significantly lower Total and Internalizing Problems scores than both children experiencing (Total Problems adjusting for covariates, p = 0.0001) and not experiencing recurrent seizures (p = 0.0004). Externalizing Problems scores were not significantly different among children with recurring seizures, children without recurring seizures, and siblings. CONCLUSIONS: Recurrent seizures significantly predicted behavior problems very early in the course of a seizure condition, even when key child, demographic, and seizure variables were controlled. Explanations for these findings include the possibilities that both seizures and behavior problems are caused by an underlying neurological disorder, that seizures per se disrupt behavior, or that children have negative psychological responses to seizure activity.     

Sleep, sleepiness, and behavior problems in children with headache

The purpose of this study was to assess sleep, daytime sleepiness, and behavior problems in children suffering from headaches and in controls, with a special focus on the role of gender. A clinical group of 28 children with persistent headache complaints and a control group of 108 healthy children were included. Sleep was assessed by actigraphy and diaries. Behavior problems were assessed by parental reports. In comparison with the control group, the sleep quality of the clinical group was poorer and they complained more about excessive daytime sleepiness. Children suffering from headache showed higher levels of internalizing behavior problems. Gender was found to be a moderating factor for the relationships between headache and sleep. Compared with control girls, girls suffering from headaches had poorer sleep quality, whereas the opposite was true for the boys. The results highlight the importance of assessing sleep, daytime sleepiness, and psychologic adjustment in children complaining about headaches as an integral part of their routine assessment.     

Parental cancer--parents ways of coping, family functioning, and psychosocial adjustment of dependent children

Children exposed to parental cancer have an increased risk of mental health problems. However, the parental illness itself and its features do not predict children's psychological adjustment. Parent- and family-related factors are more predictive for children's well-being and the incidence of psychopathological symptoms, respectively. This study focuses on parental ways of coping with illness from both, the ill and healthy parent's perspective, and the relationship with family functioning and children's adjustment. Results show a significant impact of parental coping styles on children's health-related quality of life and psychopathological symptoms and, furthermore, that this relationship is mediated by aspects of family functioning. This study support the importance of family systems approaches. Implications for further studies and practical issues are discussed.     

Associations between child behavior problems,family management,and depressive symptoms for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder

PurposeThe purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between child behavior problems and mothers’ depressive symptoms and to determine whether family management mediates this relationship.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of parents in a southeastern state. Mothers of children with ASD (n = 234) completed self-reported measures of child behavior problems, depressive symptoms, and family management using ad-hoc questions, CES-D-Boston short form, and family management measure (FaMM), respectively. We used a parallel multiple mediator model to address the study hypotheses.ResultsChildren’s behavior problems were significantly associated with mothers’ depressive symptoms and with all five subscales of the FaMM. However, only the Family Life Difficulty subscale was a significant predictor of parent depressive symptoms, suggesting that Family Life Difficulty was the only mediator of the association between child behavior problems and mothers’ depressive symptoms. After accounting for the mediators, the direct effect of child behavior problems on parent depressive symptoms was non-significant.ConclusionAs the severity of child behavior problems increased, mothers of children with ASD perceived a greater impact of ASD on their family life, which in turn increased the levels of the mothers’ depressive symptoms. Family Life Difficulty assesses parent perceptions of the extent to which their child with ASD influences family relationships and routines, suggesting a need for family-centered services that assist the family in maintaining or adapting to their routines.     

Parental adjustment,parenting attitudes and emotional and behavioral problems in children with selective mutism

The present study investigated emotional and behavioral problems in children with selective mutism (SM) along with the psychological adjustment and parenting attitudes of their mothers and fathers. Participants included 26 children with SM (mean age = 8.11 ± 2.11 years), 32 healthy controls (mean age = 8.18 ± 2.55 years) and the parents of all children. Children with SM displayed higher problem scores than controls in a variety of emotional and behavioral parameters. They predominantly displayed internalizing problems, whereas aggressive and delinquent behavior was described among a subsample of the children. Significant differences existed between the SM and control groups only in paternal psychopathology, which included anxiety and depression. They did not differ with respect to maternal psychological distress or mother or father reported parental attitudes. Another important result of the present study was that the severity of emotional and behavioral problems of children with SM was correlated with maternal psychopathology but not paternal psychopathology.     

Perspectives of fathers and mothers of children in early intervention programmes in assessing family quality of life

Background Family quality of life (FQOL), as a family outcome measure of early intervention and other services, has increasingly drawn attention of researchers, policymakers and service providers. Developing an index of family QOL requires a measure suitable for use with multiple family members. The purpose of this study was to test whether mothers and fathers similarly view the conceptual model of FQOL embodied in one measure. Method This study involved fathers and mothers of 107 families who have a young child (birth to five) with a disability enrolled in an early intervention programme. Data from couples completing the Beach Center FQOL measure were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to determine similarities or differences between fathers and mothers with respect to their assessment of FQOL. Results The analysis of measurement invariance of the FQOL construct across the father and mother groups indicates that the Beach Center FQOL Scale measures equally the underlying FQOL construct across fathers and mothers in this sample. Fathers do not differ from mothers in perceived importance of factors related to FQOL items, nor did they differ in their overall satisfaction with FQOL. Conclusion These results suggest that fathers and mothers respond similarly to the latent constructs within the Beach Center FQOL Scale; therefore, it holds promise for use with both fathers and mothers in assessing FQOL across multiple family members. Further implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Ritual behavior in children and mothers' perceptions of family patterns

This study examined the relationships between family patterns and the characteristics of rituality and fears in children. The study assessed mothers' perceptions of two family characteristics: adaptability, which refers to the ability of the family system to change its power structure, role relationships and relationship rules, and cohesion, which refers to the emotional bonding of family members. Data were collected from 108 mothers of children aged 5-7, drawn from kindergartens in Northern Israel. Participants completed the Adaptability and Cohesion Scale, the Childhood Rituality Inventory (CRI), and the Fear Scale for Children. Family cohesion was positively related to "Just Right" and to Repetitive Behaviors. In addition, children's "Just Right" behaviors were highly correlated with fears of harm and death, and children's Repetitive Behaviors were highly correlated with fears of noises and night terrors, fear of strangers, and fears of harm and death.