Changes In Family Environment Research Articles

Psychological Influence of Covid-19 Pandemic on Chinese Infants and Toddlers

While the Covid-19 pandemic brings a brutal hit to social members, it also affects child development. Nevertheless, there is still a research gap about how the pandemic has influenced Chinese infants and toddlers development. Under such a circumstance, this quantitative research aims to identify and evaluate the psychological influence exerted by the pandemic. Based on practical developmental screening tools such as ASQ-3 and ASQ: SE-2, the survey was oriented to 9 participants in their infancy or early childhood from Baby Friendly East, a China-based early childhood education organization. The descriptive analysis of these survey takers scores and the thematic analysis of their parents interviewee responses reveal crucial findings: 1) the pandemic has exerted negligible influence on five aspects related to ASQ-3; 2) the pandemic obviously adverse influence on the seven areas of social-emotional development; and 3) interviews oriented to parents of sampled infants and toddlers underlined specific ways for the pandemic to take effect on child development, including changes in family environment and parent-kid bond, reduction in outdoor activities, and emotional regulations and childrens susceptibility to sleep problems. These findings are supposed to bring positive implications for policy makers, communities and parents to work out feasible and effective interventions to offset negative pandemic-related influence on infants and toddlers development.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy–Child With Youth Who Have a Parent Diagnosed With Bipolar I Disorder

Youth who have parents with bipolar I disorder appear to be most at risk for developing early-onset bipolar symptoms. The current study examined how one group counseling intervention, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy–child, may improve emotional awareness and influence the family environment over a 12-week treatment interval for a group of youth aged 11–16. Improving emotional awareness and the family environment may help slow symptom expression for youth at risk for developing bipolar I disorder. Changes in depressive symptoms for each participant were assessed using a single-case research design method to help better understand the mechanisms of change throughout treatment. While results indicate changes in emotional awareness, the majority were statistically nonsignificant. Notably, participants’ perception of control significantly changed, and participants reported significant positive changes in family environment. Some participants experienced decreases in depression over the course of the intervention.

Family Dysfunction of Out-of-Control Teenage Girls: A Preliminary Study

Changes in family environment impacted by globalization and technology advancement posed a challenge in teenagers’ self-development. As the core agency concerning children protection, rehabilitation and care, the Malaysia Social Welfare Department is constantly being referred to by parents facing the problem of having to deal with their children’s out-of-control behaviour. This preliminary study utilises the qualitative case study approach aimed at exploring the social dysfunction elements of the families of teenage girls who are beyond-control. All informants were purposefully selected. Selection is limited only to those out-of-control teenagegirl cases. All selected informants are at the range of 13 to 18 years old and living under one roof with their families at the time when this study was conducted. Data were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis method. Our study reveals two dysfunctional family characteristics (i) ineffective communication within the family; and (ii) lack of care and love in the family. This study concludes that family dysfunctional elements are found to be closely related to out-of-control risk factors. The teenagers were found to be facing great challenges living in dysfunctional families. As such, the role of family social workers becomes very critical in helping teenage girls live more positively and in enabling them to deal with their problems so as to live a more meaningful and prosperous life.

Concept Analysis of Stress in Siblings of Patients with Childhood Cancer

Purpose: This study was conducted to define the concept of stress in siblings of childhood cancer patients. Methods: The hybrid model was used to perform the concept analysis of stress in childhood cancer patients’ siblings. Through reviews of 16 studies in the theoretical phase and interviews with 20 siblings in the field phase, the derived results were brought together in the integration phase. Results: The concept of stress in siblings of patients with childhood cancer was found to have 6 attributes and 28 indicators in 3 domains. Personal factors included 2 attributes (fear about childhood cancer and immature coping skills), and family factors had 2 attributes (changes in relationships with family and changes in family environment), social factors had 2 attributes (changes in relationships with friends and in the school experience, and insufficient social support). Conclusion: The stress of siblings of childhood cancer patients was defined as a state of tension associated with personal, family, social factors that can be related to their siblings’ childhood cancer. The findings in this study provide the base for the development of a tool for measuring siblings’ stress and/or the development of nursing programs for these siblings.

A randomized controlled pilot study into the effects of a restricted elimination diet on family structure in families with ADHD and ODD.

Behavioural improvements of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) following a restricted elimination diet (RED), may be due to concurrent changes in family environment. Twenty-four children with ADHD, were randomized to either a 5-week RED intervention, or a control intervention consisting of healthy food advices in a pilot study. No differences in family environment were found, neither at baseline nor when comparing the start and end measurements of both groups. In this pilot study, the effects of an RED on ADHD and ODD are not mediated by improvement of family environment in families motivated to follow an RED. Replication of this preliminary study in larger groups of children is advised.

How Large Are the Effects from Temporary Changes in Family Environment: Evidence from a Child-Evacuation Program During World War II

During World War II, some 50,000 Finnish children were evacuated to Sweden and placed in foster families. The evacuation scheme limited sharply the scope for selection into foster care based on background characteristics. A first-come first-served policy was applied where the children were assigned a running number and processed anonymously. Using register and survey data, I examine the extent to which the foster environment affected later life outcomes of the Finnish child evacuees. The results show that nurture, the socioeconomic environment at early stages of life, has important effects on schooling. (JEL I21, J13, J24, N34, N44)

Strengthening Families Program (10-14)

This study examined whether parent-youth dyads participating in the Strengthening Families Program 10-14 (SFP 10-14) would demonstrate greater postprogram family cohesion, communication, involvement, and supervision and if youth would report less alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs involvement in contrast to a comparison group. From 16 randomly selected schools, we recruited 167 parent-youth dyads: 86 from intervention and 81 from comparison schools. The intention-to-treat analysis found one significant change in family environment. Considering dose, it was found that among dyads receiving a full dose, all the outcomes were in the expected direction and effect sizes were moderate. Among dyads receiving a partial dose, 10 of 18 outcomes were in the direction opposite that expected. Youth participation in alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs was very low and did not differ postprogram. Although the expected outcomes were not realized, findings descriptive of dosage effects make a valuable contribution to the field. Study of factors that distinguish intervention completers from noncompleters is recommended.

Trends in Sexual Experience, Contraceptive Use, and Teenage Childbearing: 1992–2002

Purpose To examine how cohort trends in family, individual, and relationship characteristics are linked to trends in adolescent reproductive health outcomes to provide a better understanding of factors behind recent declines in teenage birth rates. Methods We examine a sample of three cohorts of females and males aged 15–19 in 1992, 1997, and 2002, based on retrospective information from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. We identify how family, individual, and relationship characteristics are associated with the transition to sexual intercourse, contraceptive use at first sex, and the transition to a teen birth. Results Cohort trends and multivariate analyses indicate changes in family and relationship characteristics among American teens have been associated with positive trends in reproductive health since the early 1990s. Factors associated with improvement in adolescent reproductive health include positive changes in family environments (including increases in parental education and a reduced likelihood of being born to a teen mother) and positive trends in sexual relationships (including an increasing age at first sex and reductions in older partners). These positive trends may be offset, in part, by negative changes in family environments (including an increased likelihood of being born to unmarried parents) and the changing racial/ethnic composition of the teen population. Conclusions Recent increases in the U.S. teen birth rate highlight the continued importance of improving reproductive health outcomes. Our research suggests that it is important for programs to take into consideration how family, individual, and relationship environments influence decision-making about sex, contraception, and childbearing.

How Large are the Effects from Changes in Family Environment? A Study of Korean American Adoptees

I analyze a new set of data on Korean American adoptees who were quasi-randomly assigned to adoptive families. I find large effects on adoptees' education, income, and health from assignment to parents with more education and from assignment to smaller families. Parental education and family size are significantly more correlated with adoptee outcomes than are parental income or neighborhood characteristics. Outcomes such as drinking, smoking, and the selectivity of college attended are more determined by nurture than is educational attainment. Using the standard behavioral genetics variance decomposition, I find that shared family environment explains 14 percent of the variation in educational attainment, 35 percent ofthe variation in college selectivity, and 33 percent of the variation in drinking behavior.

Explaining Demographic Trends in Teenage Fertility, 1980-1995

The teenage birthrate rose sharply in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then declined in the 1990s. Attempts to explain these changes have failed to account for the changing environment in which adolescents live. Data from the 1995 cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth are used to compare the experiences of three cohorts of teenage females in the 1980s and 1990s. A life-course framework is used to examine trends in characteristics of adolescents and adolescent mothers over time, and event-history analyses are conducted to determine which characteristics are associated with the risk of a teenage birth in each cohort. A comparison of the predicted probabilities from hazard analyses shows how changes in the context of adolescence across the cohorts help explain changes in the probability of a teenage birth over time. Factors associated with the increase in the teenage birthrate in the 1980s include negative changes in family environments (such as increases in family disruption) and an increase in the proportion of teenagers having sex at an early age. Factors associated with the recent decline in the teenage birthrate include positive changes in family environments (such as improvements in maternal education), formal sex education programs and discussions with parents about sex, stabilization in the proportion of teenagers having sex at an early age and improved contraceptive use at first sex. Sexually experienced teenagers in the mid- 1990s were younger, on average, at first sex than were their counterparts in the 1980s, and thus are at an increased risk of a teenage birth. Partner factors, including nonvoluntary first sexual experiences, were not associated with the risk of a adolescent birth in any cohort. Programs to further reduce the teenage birthrate should take into account the role of family stability, parent-child communication, sex education programs and engagement in school, as well as attempt to reduce the proportion of adolescents having sex at an early age and to improve contraceptive use. The increasing risk levels among sexually experienced teenagers suggest that current programs may be reducing sexual activity among adolescents already at a low risk of a teenage birth, without addressing the needs of those at highest risk.

Temporal Influences of Family Structure and Family Risk Factors on Drug Use Initiation in a Multiethnic Sample of Adolescent Boys

This study examines the effects of family structure and family environments on the initiation of illicit drug use among a sample of U.S.- and foreign-born Hispanic/Latino, African American, and White non-Hispanic adolescent boys (N = 3413). Bivariate and multivariate analyses with longitudinal data, three years, were used to assess transitional/temporal influences of family variables on the initiation of illicit drug use. Findings revealed large differences in family structure among the three race/ethnic groups. African American adolescents report the lowest incidence of illicit drug use initiation, and the weakest effects of family structure and environment on substance use. Cumulative effects of family risk factors were strongly associated with increased probabilities of illicit drug use initiation, but there were temporal as well as race/ethnic variations on these effects. Deteriorating changes in family environments were stronger predictors of the initiation of drug use among Hispanic immigrants than nonimmigrants, and family socioeconomic status was a predictor for immigrant Hispanics only. The relationship between family structure and drug use initiation varied in the context of temporal indicators of family environments, and the accumulation of family risk factors was a stronger predictor of illicit drug initiation than family structure.

The marital context of end-stage renal disease: illness intrusiveness and perceived changes in family environment.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with illness-induced disruptions (i.e. illness intrusiveness) that challenge patients and their families to accommodate and adapt. We advance previous research in ESRD by examining the extent to which illness intrusiveness extends to marital, non-marital, and family life among patients and their spouses. We also investigate whether gender and mode of renal replacement therapy moderate these effects. A sample of 19 ESRD patients and their spouses completed the Illness Intrusiveness Ratings Scale and the Family Environment Scale (FES) (completed with reference to two time frames, currently and before ESRD) in structured individual interviews. As hypothesized, ESRD patients reported significantly higher illness intrusiveness than their spouses, but this discrepancy was greater in relation to aspects of non-marital as compared to marital life. Significant moderating effects were observed for gender on the FES Relationship subscale and mode of renal replacement on the FES Personal Growth subscale. Spouses reported significantly more family emphasis on norms and the regulation of family members' behavior (FES System Maintenance) than patients. A pattern of significant correlations linked patient ratings of illness intrusiveness with both premorbid and current family environment. The pattern of findings is consistent with previous clinical reports that women and spouses are more likely than their male and patient counterparts to shoulder much of the burden of adapting family environment to accommodate life with ESRD and renal replacement therapy.

An Exploration of Family Environment, Adolescent Perceptions, and Home-Based Intervention

ABSTRACT Home-based family intervention has become a successful approach to treatment in the field of social work and family therapy. Studies in this area have usually focused on the outcome of nonplacement as the measure of success; few studies have reported specifically on changes in family environment and adolescent perceptions following home-based intervention. Using the family life cycle as a theoretical framework, this study assessed changes in family environment and adolescent perceptions from pretest to post-test in families receiving home-based family intervention. Findings indicate that the family environment improved in cohesion, conflict, and independence; and adolescents improved in self-concept and peer security from pretest to posttest. Suggestions for aftercare are presented.

Security, emotionality, and parental depression: A commentary.

New studes suggest that changes in family environments due to parental depression increase children's risk for spychopathology. However, some aspects of family and child functioning may not be adversely affected. Future derections include (a) more precise definition of the response processes that are at risk in children and (b) differentiation of response processes linked with different dysfunctional family processes (e.g., parenting, marital conflict). Lottle elaboration of conceptual models has occurred in response to recent findings. Emotional security provides an explanatory construct for how certain family environments assocated with parntal depression increase children's risk for psychopathology. New derections are outlined for the study of relations between family environments associated with parental depression and children's emotional security