Communities coping with change: A conceptual model

Changing economic, political, environmental, and social conditions continue to have a cumulative impact on Australian regional communities, and in many instances, rural communities are being forced to initiate their own strategies in order to remain economically and socially viable. However, while communities respond in differing ways to similar change events, as do individuals, research examining the change process has largely been undertaken at the individual level. This article reports on an investigation of the characteristics that moderate a community's ability to manage change and the types of collective coping strategies communities employ to deal with change events. A model of community change process was used as the framework to examine the links between community characteristics, appraisal of change events (forest restructuring and tourism), and the use of collective strategies in three communities in Western Australia. Findings suggest that a community's mobilization of strategies is dependent on the collective assessment of the change event, the nature of the event, and the characteristics of the community. The implications for intervention through policy and community development are discussed briefly. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 201–216, 2004.     

Parents’ Nonstandard Work Schedules and Child Well-Being: A Critical Review of the Literature

This paper provides a comprehensive review of empirical evidence linking parental nonstandard work schedules to four main child developmental outcomes: internalizing and externalizing problems, cognitive development, and body mass index. We evaluated the studies based on theory and methodological rigor (longitudinal data, representative samples, consideration of selection and information bias, confounders, moderators, and mediators). Of 23 studies published between 1980 and 2012 that met the selection criteria, 21 reported significant associations between nonstandard work schedules and an adverse child developmental outcome. The associations were partially mediated through parental depressive symptoms, low quality parenting, reduced parent–child interaction and closeness, and a less supportive home environment. These associations were more pronounced in disadvantaged families and when parents worked such schedules full time. We discuss the nuance, strengths, and limitations of the existing studies, and propose recommendations for future research.     

Australian parents’ work–family conflict: accumulated effects on children’s family environment and mental health

Purpose

Many parents struggle to balance their work and family responsibilities. Yet, little research in the field of social psychiatry has explored the emergence of work–family conflict (WFC) as an important social determinant of mental health, particularly for children. The current study used longitudinal Australian population-based data to investigate the impact of parents’ accumulated experiences of work–family conflict on children’s mental health. Levels of parent psychological distress, marital satisfaction and parenting irritability were examined as potential explanatory factors within the family environment.

Methods

The study used five waves of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), a representative community sample of Australian children and their parents. Analyses were restricted to coupled, employed mothers (1903) and fathers (1584) who reported their WFC levels in all five waves. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to examine the association between accumulated experiences of work–family conflict across all time-points (AWFC) and children’s mental health at wave 5. Family environment factors were assessed as possible explanatory mediators.

Results

There was a significant association between AWFC and children’s mental health at wave 5. Parent psychological distress, marital satisfaction and parenting irritability were all found to significantly explain this association (accounting for 66% of the total effect).

Conclusions

Children whose parents have ongoing or accumulated difficulties managing their work and family responsibilities are more likely to have poorer mental health. This has important implications for family-friendly work arrangements and demonstrates the need to further understand the intergenerational impacts of parents’ jobs on their children’s psychological wellbeing.

     

Randomised trial of the effects of four weeks of daily stretch on extensibility of hamstring muscles in people with spinal cord injuries

The aim of this assessor-blind randomised controlled trial was to determine the effect of four weeks of 30 minute stretches each weekday on extensibility of the hamstring muscles in people with recent spinal cord injuries. A consecutive sample of 16 spinal cord-injured patients with no or minimal voluntary motor power in the lower limbs and insufficient hamstring muscle extensibility to enable optimal long sitting were recruited. Subjects' legs were randomly allocated to experimental and control conditions. The hamstring muscles of the experimental leg of each subject were stretched with a 30 Nm torque at the hip for 30 minutes each weekday for four weeks. The hamstring muscles of the contralateral leg were not stretched during this period. Extensibility of the hamstring muscles (hip flexion range of motion with knee extended, measured with a 48 Nm torque at the hip) of both legs was measured by a blinded assessor at the commencement of the study and one day after the completion of the four-week stretch period. Changes in hamstring muscle extensibility from initial to final measurements were calculated. The effect of stretching was expressed as the mean difference in these changes between stretched and non-stretched legs. The mean effect of stretching was 1 degree (95% CI -2 to 5 degrees). Four weeks of 30 minute stretches each weekday does not affect the extensibility of the hamstring muscle in people with spinal cord injuries.     

Virtual Dementia Tour helps sensitize health care providers

A review of the literature on sensitivity training among caregivers for the elderly revealed that no programs focused specifically on the cognitive changes that occur due to aging. Second Wind Dreams, a national nonprofit organization committed to improving society's perception of aging, conducted a study in which degenerative physical symptoms common for this population, such as impaired vision and motor skills, were simulated in a group of 146 subjects who worked in the field of elder care to give them a broader sense of the patient's perspective. Overwhelmingly, participants in the study came away with heightened awareness of the plight of confused elders and a strong sense that the high behavioral expectations caregivers have for dementia patients are unrealistic and need to change.     

MINORITY IN THE MAJORITY: COMMUNITY ETHNICITY AS A CONTEXT FOR RACIAL BULLYING AND VICTIMIZATION

The present study explored the relationships between individual ethnicity and community ethnicity factors and the prevalence of racial bullying. It was hypothesized that individuals belonging to the majority ethnic group in a community were less racially victimized than in a community in which they were minority members. Data were collected from 20,021 students in Grades 6 to 10 as part of the 2009/2010 Health Behaviour in School‐aged Children Survey, from Geographical Information Systems data, and from census data. Community diversity was associated with prevalence of racial victimization, although relationships differed by type of religious organization. Those of East/Southeast Asian, Caucasian, and South Asian ethnicity were more likely to be racially victimized in communities in which they were the minority ethnic group than when they were in the majority group. The importance of considering ethnicity characteristics that are related to racially focused bullying in the community context is discussed.     

Molecular and morphological analysis of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast with synchronous tubular adenosis

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is a rare tumour. Its recognition as a special type of breast carcinoma is very important because its prognosis is better than the not-otherwise-specified invasive ductal carcinoma and its treatment may not include axillary dissection. Tubular adenosis (TA) is a very rare condition of the breast that is histologically benign; however, it has been described in association with invasive ductal carcinoma. There are scant data regarding the molecular genomic alterations in ACC of the breast and no data has been presented on TA. Herein, we provide a morphological characterisation of TA arising synchronically with ACC in the breast. To characterise these lesions, we performed ultrastructural analysis, three-dimensional reconstruction and molecular analysis using immunohistochemistry and comparative genomic hybridisation. The copy number alterations found in ACC were restricted to small deletions on 16p and 17q only, whereas the TA harboured gains on 1q, 5p, 8q, 10q, 11p and 11q and losses on 1p, 10q, 11q, 12q, 14q, 15q and 16q. These molecular data highlight the genomic instability of TA, a benign florid proliferation intermingled with ACC, and do not provide evidence of molecular evolution from TA to ACC.     

Health Attitudes, Beliefs, and Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

Decision making about engaging in health-promoting and health-compromising behaviors among adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes is an important but understudied topic. The purpose of this study was to describe the health attitudes, beliefs, risk behaviors, and general psychological functioning of adolescents and young adults with diabetes and to compare these psychosocial aspects of health to those of adolescents and young adults without diabetes. Fifty-three adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes and 53 demographically matched controls were recruited from 2 pediatric teaching hospitals and administered a confidential self-report questionnaire consisting of individual survey items and standardized scales. Compared to healthy adolescents and young adults, adolescents and young adults with diabetes had more frequent thoughts about health and sickness, rated their health as poorer, viewed smoking as less addictive, reported greater symptoms of depression, and reported greater exposure to smoking in their households, but less smoking experimentation. Poorer metabolic control was associated with decreased physical activity. Additional research on the design and implementation of diabetes-specific cardiovascular disorder and tobacco control programs for adolescents and young adults is warranted.