Social Support,Family Empowerment,Substance Use,and Perceived Parenting Competency during Pregnancy for Women with Substance Use Disorders

Background: Parenting self-efficacy has been linked to positive parent and child outcomes however, little research exists on factors that influence parenting self-efficacy among pregnant women with substance use disorders. Objectives: This study explored substance use severity, social support, and family empowerment as predictors of parenting self-efficacy among pregnant women (N = 71) entering SUD treatment. Methods: The study used a quantitative cross-sectional design. Results: Statistically significant positive correlations emerged between social support and parenting self-efficacy as well as family empowerment and parenting self-efficacy. Family empowerment and social support were also correlated. A backward elimination regression analysis revealed family empowerment to be the strongest predictor of parenting self-efficacy. No relationships were found among substance use severity and the study variables. Conclusions: When promoting parenting self-efficacy, both social support and family empowerment are important domains to consider for treatment planning and resource development among pregnant women with substance use disorders.     

Thinking families: A study of the characteristics of the workforce that delivers family‐focussed practice

Parenting with mental illness is not uncommon and is often associated with a range of challenges for parents, children, and the family unit. Family‐focussed practice involves the provision of services to the wider family system, including children. While family‐focussed practice is important to consumers and their families, adult mental health practitioners do not routinely discuss parenting or children with their clients, nor work closely with the whole family. In the present study, we aimed to examine the characteristics of practitioners from Australian adult mental health services associated with family‐focussed practices. Characteristics included sex, years of experience, location, and previous training in child and family‐focussed practice. A total of 307 adult mental health practitioners from Victoria, Australia, responded to the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire and a series of demographic items. The results indicated that particular practitioner characteristics predicted the delivery of family‐focussed practice. Practitioner experience, sex, working in a rural location, and previous family‐ or child‐related training were found to be important in the provision of family‐focussed practice. More experienced, female, rurally‐located, and well‐trained practitioners undertake most family‐focussed practice. These results suggest that training in family‐focussed practice needs to be promoted, with considerations made for differing needs according to the characteristics of the adult mental health practitioner.     

产褥期妇女育儿胜任感的影响因素

目的了解嘉兴市产褥期妇女育儿胜任感的现状,并研究其影响因素,为制定有针对性的护理干预措施提供参考依据。方法采用自制一般资料问卷、中文版育儿胜任感量表(Chinese version of parenting sense of competence scale,C-PSOC)及社会支持评定量表(social support rating scale,SSRS)对嘉兴市293名产褥期妇女进行调查。结果嘉兴地区产褥期妇女的育儿胜任感量表总得分为(72.25±2.51)分;社会支持评定量表的总分为(42.21±2.23)分,其3个维度得分分别为主观支持维度(24.45±4.17)分、客观支持维度(10.14±3.23)分、社会支持的利用度维度(8.11±2.57)分。社会支持评定量表总分及其各维度与产褥期妇女育儿胜任感呈正相关(P0.05)。多元逐步回归分析显示:社会支持评定量表总得分、籍贯、产次、职业、是否足月产、社会支持利用度以及文化程度是产褥期妇女育儿胜任感的影响因素(均P0.05)。结论嘉兴市产褥期妇女产后育儿胜任感得分较低,影响因素较多,医疗保健部门应针对不同人群采取有效措施,制定合理方案,提高产褥期妇女社会支持利用度,从而促进其母亲角色的完好达成。     

Family processes among Latino Early Head Start families: Understanding the role of caregiver acculturation

The Family Stress Model (FSM) provides a framework for how economic pressure can impact family processes and outcomes, including parent's mental health, parenting, and child problem behaviors. Although the FSM has been widely replicated, samples disproportionately impacted by poverty, including early childhood samples and in particular Latino families with young children, have been largely excluded from FSM research. Therefore, among a sample of Latino Early Head Start children (N = 127), the current study evaluated a modified FSM to understand the direct and indirect pathways among economic pressure, parental depression, parenting self‐efficacy, the parent–child relationship, child problem behaviors, and parental acculturation. Results showed that the majority of the direct FSM pathways were well‐replicated among Latino caregivers of young children. Further analyses illuminated how some pathways were replicated among more but not among less‐acculturated Latino parents. Implications for future FSM research with Latino families as well as for parent‐focused interventions are discussed.     

Matched follow-up study of 5 8-year-old ICSI singletons: child behaviour, parenting stress and child (health-related) quality of life

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial follow-up of ICSI children is scarce. We compared child behaviour, parenting stress and quality of life for singletons aged 5-8 years born after ICSI, IVF and natural conception (NC). METHODS: All singletons born between June 1996 and December 1999 after ICSI in the Leiden University Medical Center were invited (n = 110). Matched singletons born after IVF and NC were recruited. Parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (measures problem behaviour), the Parenting Stress Index (Nijmeegse Ouderlijke Stress Index) and two quality of life questionnaires (Dux25 and TACQOL). Children completed the Dux25 Child form. RESULTS: Eighty-seven ICSI children (79%), 92 IVF children (73%) and 85 NC children enrolled. Prevalence of behavioural disorders-as reported by the parents-was comparable in the three groups. Three of 87 ICSI children had autism or an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Problem behaviour scores were similar for ICSI and NC children; IVF children (mainly girls) scored less problem behaviour (P < 0.05) and their scores were less often in the (borderline) clinical range. Parenting stress was similar for ICSI and IVF, but lower for NC than ICSI parents, mainly on the child scale. Quality of life scores were similar in the three conception groups. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of autism/ASD seemed higher after ICSI, but this unexpected finding should be confirmed by future studies with larger group sizes. ICSI parents experienced more stress than NC parents, although selection bias cannot be ruled out. The majority of ICSI singletons assessed at age 5-8 years showed a normal psychosocial well-being.     

Early parenting predicts hippocampal subregion volume via stress reactivity in childhood

Rodent models indicate that parenting shapes offspring outcomes by programming the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to stress and, ultimately, altering brain structure and function. The present study tested this hypothesis and explored possible timing-dependent associations in a longitudinal sample of children (N = 63). At Time 1 (M = 4.23 ± 0.84 years) and Time 2 (M = 7.20 ± 0.89 years), children completed parent–child interaction tasks and a laboratory stressor after which salivary cortisol samples were collected. At Time 2, children also completed a structural MRI. Analyses revealed timing- and region-dependent associations between early and concurrent parenting and cortisol reactivity and hippocampal subregion volumes. Moreover, greater negative parenting during early childhood predicted greater cortisol reactivity three years later, which, in turn, led to reduced left hippocampal tail volume. Findings suggest that the hippocampus is sensitive to environmental influences during early childhood, a result that parallels findings from rodent models.     

Maternal behavior predicts neural underpinnings of inhibitory control in preschoolers

Separate lines of research have revealed that the rapid development of inhibitory control in the preschool period is closely tied to normative brain development and influenced by early mother–child interactions. One potential theory is that maternal behavior in the context of early interactions influences the neural underpinnings of inhibitory control in development, with implications for child behavior. The purpose of this paper was to examine whether maternal emotional support, measured during a mother–child problem‐solving game, predicted child neural responses (frontal‐central N2 event‐related potential) and behavioral performance (discrimination index, d′) in a go/no‐go task of inhibitory control in a large, diverse sample of mother–child dyads (N = 276) observed in children's last year of preschool (mean age = 56 months). Results of a structural equation model revealed significant direct effects from maternal emotional support to child right hemisphere frontal‐central N2 responses to no‐go (inhibitory control) trials; greater observed emotional support predicted larger N2 responses. Larger right hemisphere N2 responses to no‐go trials were also associated with better overall observed task performance (d′). A test of indirect effects from maternal emotional support to child observed performance via right hemisphere N2 responses was significant, suggesting that underlying neurophysiology is one mechanism through which maternal emotional support is associated with a child's rapidly developing inhibitory control behavior in the preschool period. This work joins a growing literature demonstrating that caregiver behavior within a “normative” range is an important environmental factor contributing to the development of neural processes supporting child functioning.