Disturbed Family Relationships Research Articles

Exploring the interplay of abstinence self-efficacy, locus of control, and perceived social support in substance use disorder recovery.

Substance use disorder (SUD) poses a significant public health challenge globally, with substantial impacts on physical and social well-being. This study investigates the interplay between abstinence self-efficacy (ASE), locus of control (LOC), perceived social support (PSS), and various socio-demographic and psychosocial factors among individuals undergoing SUD rehabilitation. Researchers obtained permission from drug rehabilitation centers in Assam, India, and conducted orientation programs for prospective participants. A total of 144 participants, aged 18-65 years, predominantly from rural areas participated in the study. Data was collected through one-to-one interviews, covering socio-demographic history, drug abuse, and administering scales for ASE, LOC and PSS. Collected data underwent digitization and subsequent descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Significant associations were found between ASE and socio-demographic variables, family dynamics, and drug use history, highlighting the importance of considering these factors in SUD rehabilitation. Disturbed family relationships were linked to diminished ASE and higher risk of relapse, emphasizing the role of family support in recovery. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between ASE and LOC, suggesting that individuals with higher ASE tend to have a more internal locus of control, which positively influences recovery outcomes. Moreover, positive correlations were found between ASE and PSS, particularly from family members, underscoring the importance of social support in fostering recovery. Regression analysis further elucidated the relationships between ASE, LOC, and PSS, emphasizing the predictive value of LOC and the impact of family support on ASE. Findings of this study have several implications for developing targeted interventions aimed at strengthening ASE, promoting internal locus of control, and enhancing social support systems.

From Theory to Therapy: A Review of Anti-Social Personality Disorder

Treatment of anti-social personality disorder in clinical practice is difficult because of the condition's complex etiology, enduring nature, and significant societal impact. This review summarizes evidence-based therapy approaches, comorbidities, and biopsychosocial variables related to ASPD, by indicating the state of the field. Twin studies and neuroimaging research arguing for structural brain anomalies provide clear evidence that genetic predispositions and neurobiological abnormalities play a role in ASPD. Psycho-social variables also participate in the development and characteristics of the condition, such as maltreatment in childhood and disturbed family relationships. Emerging therapeutic approaches such as Mentalization-Based Treatment, Psychodynamic Art Psychotherapy, Transference-Focused Psychotherapy, Schema Therapy, and Mindfulness-Based Interventions show promise, though their efficacy varies and requires further investigation.

UNDERSTANDING THE CRIMINAL PERSONALITY OF CONVICTED RAPISTS IN PAKISTANI PRISONS

In order to deal with the recent surge in rape crimes in Pakistan, there is a dire need to understand the factors that shape the criminal personality of rape convicts. Current study conducted an in-depth analysis of the lives and experiences of convicted rapists to deepen our understanding of their personality development. Fifteen convicted rapists were interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed that rape is a deliberate choice of a person regardless of situational factors. Disturbed family relations, self-victimization, poor impulse control, resentment towards power figures, and gender-based hate are the key contributing factors in shaping their criminal personality. These psychosocial factors best explain poor impulse control, and gender based hate in rape convicts. The findings of the present study indicate a completely different view of convicted rapists for the policy makers, criminologists and forensic psychologists, who can use this knowledge in their professional endeavor.

Adolescent perception of family dysfunction in Serbia and Montenegro by gender and age

In this study, the authors use a specially constructed Family dysfunction Scale to examine the spread and structure of familial disorders on samples of 2803 respondents from Serbia and 1123 from Montenegro. Given that it is about a normal, non-clinical population, more than 4/5 of respondents report good or very good family relationships, while 15% of cases report disturbed family relationships. In order to examine family dysfunctionality, we subjected the 17-item scale with answers in the form of a five-point Likert-type scale, to Varimax factor analysis. The scale, which is being used for the first time, has shown excellent metric properties. Two factors stood out; the first, much stronger, which carries 55.64% of the variance and the second, much weaker, which carries 8.19% of the variance. On the first factor, 8 items were singled out with very high saturations, which provide a picture of cohesive and functional families. On the second factor, also with high saturations, six items describing weakly cohesive, emotionally disturbed and alienated families stood out. Using the T test between the samples of Serbia and Montenegro on the Scale of family dysfunction statistically significant differences were found on 8 of 17 items. In the sample from Montenegro, quarrels, physical conflicts, stressful situations, alienation and lack of understanding between family members are significantly more common. The authors find the reasons in a prolonged chronic socio-economic crisis that led to atypical distributions of family roles and authority, synergistically with some anachronistic collective-psychological patterns in Montenegrin households in the last three decades.

The psychosocial needs of parents of adolescents who attempt suicide

This qualitative study explored and described the psychosocial needs of parents of adolescents who had recently attempted suicide. Ten purposively selected parents (females = 10; age range 29 to 59) participated in semi-structured individual interviews on their lived experiences after their child attempted suicide. Thematic analysis of the data revealed the parents’ psychological needs after the attempted suicide by their minor child to be characterised by emotional turmoil including feelings of regret, self-blame, guilt, fear, and anxiety. The parents’ social needs included resources for rebuilding their disturbed family relationships and coping mechanisms. Mental healthcare providers to parents of adolescents who survive suicide attempts should aim to help parents manage the complex feelings they experience and improve their self-awareness and parenting skills to prevent future adolescent suicide attempts.

Fatigue in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease.

AIMTo identify factors other than active disease and anemia that contribute to fatigue in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).METHODSWe performed an electronic search in Medline and EMBASE from their inception to May 2017 using the search term “fatigue” or the related keywords “physical impairment” and “inflammatory bowel disease” with the filter “child” (age 0-18 years). Cross-sectional and case-control studies were included. We restricted our search to studies published in English. We used the PRISMA checklist and flow diagram. Duplicate articles were manually deleted in End Note. To identify further relevant studies, we checked the reference lists of the selected articles.RESULTSWe identified 149 papers, of which 19 were retrieved for full text review. Eleven studies were subsequently excluded because fatigue was not evaluated as an outcome measure. Eight papers focused on the desired topic and were discussed in the final analysis. A lack of uniformity of outcome measures made the pooling of data impossible. In all but one study, questionnaires were used to evaluate fatigue. In the remaining study, an accelerometer was used to measure daily activities, sleeping time and their relationships with fatigue in a more quantifiable manner. Adolescents with IBD are significantly more fatigued than healthy controls. In addition to active disease, increased anxiety or depression and disturbed family relationships were frequently reported predictors of fatigue. Quantitative measurement of physical activity in patients with Crohn’s disease showed a reduction in the number of steps per day, and patients with ulcerative colitis had a shorter duration of physical activity during the day.CONCLUSIONFatigue in pediatric IBD is related to a combination of biological, functional and behavioral factors, which should all be taken into account when managing fatigue.

Demographic and family-related predictors of online gaming addiction in adolescents

Abstract Introduction. Dependence on the Internet and online games is a growing problem worldwide. Aim. The aim of this study was to determine the differences between girls and boys as well as between adolescents living in urban vs. rural areas in regard to prevalence of playing online games, the amount of time devoted to playing games, the severity of symptoms of online gaming addiction, and preferences for game genres. Also, significant predictors of online game addiction in the studied group of young people were identified. Material and methods. The study involved 827 adolescents aged 14 to 19 years. When it comes to 488 (60.02%) of them, they lived in the countryside and 325 (39.98%) in a city. The following instruments were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Online Gaming Addiction Questionnaire and the Disturbed Family Relations Questionnaire, all developed by Pawłowska and Potembska. Results. Statistically significant differences were found between girls and boys and between adolescent urban and rural dwellers in prevalence of playing online games, severity of online gaming addiction symptoms, preferences for specific game genres, and the amount of time spent playing online games. Conclusions. 1. Significantly more boys than girls played online games. Boys devoted more time to playing and had more severe symptoms of addiction to online games. 2. Adolescent city dwellers spent significantly more time playing online games, mainly to relieve boredom and experience new sensations, than young people living in the countryside. 3. Major predictors of online gaming addiction included male gender, urban residence, domestic violence, mother’s child-raising rules being challenged by the father, and the child’s sense of responsibility for his/her parents.

Interactions of School Bonding, Disturbed Family Relationships, and Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents.

Substance use, gambling, and violence represent a great risk for adolescent health. Schools are often referred to as the "best" places for health promotion and prevention, where positive school bonding serves as a strong protective factor for the development of risk behaviors and poor school bonding is associated with various risk behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the risk effect of disturbed family relations, the protective effect of school bonding, and the extent to which school can compensate for the negative effect of an adverse family environment related to the risk behaviors of the adolescents. A self-reported questionnaire was administered to a random sample of students in grades 9-11 from 30 high schools. A total of 1519 respondents were included in the analysis. Covariance analysis was used to test the impact of sex, school year, school bonding, and family relationships on risk behaviors and the interaction effect of school bonding and family relationships. Both dimensions of school bonding, attachment to school, and commitment to schooling, were found to be significant predictors of risk behavior, with a commitment to schooling being an even more significant predictor than disturbed family relations. Students with greater school bonding and unfavorable family circumstances reported fewer risk behaviors than students of equal family circumstances but weak school bonding. These findings emphasize the role of the school as a social compensator for the adverse effects of a disturbed family environment.

The Biochemistry of Schizophrenia

For many years there have been two schools of thought concerning the aetiology of Schizophrenia. Some psychiatrists have been impressed by the disturbed family relationships and early upbringing that is commonly seen in cases of schizophrenia and have felt that the condition is largely psychogenic: that is that anyone subjected to these malign influences would develop the disease. Other psychiatrists have felt that schizophrenia results from a genetically determined metabolic disorder and that the disturbed behaviour results from a brain with specific faults in its biochemical mechanism. Two recent studies of what happens to the children of schizophrenic mothers who have been removed from their mothers shortly after birth and reared in foster homes have provided powerful, and I believe conclusive, evidence in favour of the latter view. This work was carried out by Heston in Oregon and by Rosenthal and Kety in Denmark. The results showed that these children in foster families nevertheless developed schizophrenia at the same rate (about 12% — as compared with the normal expectancy of 0.8%) as do the children of one schizophrenic parent reared by their biological mother. A control group of adopted children of normal mothers reared in similar foster homes showed no increased incidence. Then the foster families in which these children actually developed schizophrenia were compared with those in which the children remained normal, and no difference could be detected between them. Both lots appeared to be ordinary families. Thus what counts for the development of schizophrenia appears to be the genes and not the early family environment.

Nonfatal Suicidal Behavior Among Chinese Women Who Have Been Physically Abused by Their Male Intimate Partners

Three hundred fifty-three women (median age = 32 years) admitted to the emergency rooms of nine general hospitals serving rural areas in China were interviewed for nonfatal suicidal behavior. Spousal conflict was the most commonly reported cause for their suicidal behavior and one third of respondents reported being victims of physical abuse by their spouses. Compared to non-abused women, abused women were younger, had more disturbed family relationships, and experienced less financial hardship and more divorce. No differences were found between the groups in the proportion who reported psychiatric symptoms or in the level of suicidal intent; however, abused women were less impulsive and expressed more sadness at not having been successful in ending their lives.

Young, single and not depressed: Prevalence of depressive disorder among young women in rural Pakistan

Background The prevalence of depression is very high among adult women in Pakistan but it is not known whether such a high prevalence occurs in younger women. We aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of depression in 16 to 18-year old unmarried women in Pakistan. Method Population-based survey of all 16 to 18-year old unmarried women in one rural community in Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan. Depressive disorder and psychological distress were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID) and Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) respectively. Results 337 eligible women were identified of whom 321 (95%) were interviewed. Fourteen (4.4%) had depressive disorder; one third scored 9 or more on SRQ. On multivariate analysis a high SRQ score was associated with childhood experience of poverty, father's education, stressful life events, disturbed family relationships and mother's depression. Limitations The sample was derived from one rural community only and the results should be generalised with caution. Conclusion Depressive disorder is not common in young women in rural Pakistan though distress appears common and is associated with early and recent adversity and family difficulties. These results suggest future work might aim to understand onset and prevent chronic depression.

Schoolchildren's health as judged by Swedish school nurses — a national survey

To use school nurses' knowledge and experience for a better understanding of schoolchildren's health problems and their association to socioeconomic background and gender. Mail questionnaires were sent to a nationally representative, random sample of Swedish school nurses (n=129). The questionnaire included structured and open-ended questions asking for school nurses' judgement of schoolchildren's health status; changes over the previous two years; estimation of schoolchildren's most common reasons for consulting the school nurse; and estimation of factors influencing schoolchildren's health. Swedish school nurses judged schoolchildren's mental health to have deteriorated during the previous two years with increasing health complaints, especially among girls and in disadvantaged housing areas. Disturbed family relations were considered as one important explanatory factor. Girls were more inclined to consult school nurses with subjective health complaints. Boys more often consulted the nurses with physical injuries. School nurses work closely with the children and meet them continuously during the school age period. They have a genuine knowledge of schoolchildren's health, which should be used even more, both in research and practice. The results may be applicable in other countries with similarly organized school health systems.

Living with a Mother with Chronic Depression: To Tell or Not To Tell?

Background: While there is mounting evidence that children of mothers with depression are at risk for increased psychopathology and disturbed family relationships, it is not yet known what the children's lives are like growing up with their mothers' depression. The purpose of the study was to understand children's experiences of living with mothers who have depression: specifically, how these children understand disclosing their experiences to others. Method: Eight interviews were conducted with adult children of mothers with depression. Grounded theory methodology was used to collect and analyze the data. Results: We identified three types of disclosing: self-disclosing, first disclosing, and selective disclosing. As the children grew up and began to understand their mothers' differentness as an illness, then as depression, their ways of disclosing changed, as did what they disclosed, where, when, and for what purposes. Most significantly, what is disclosed changed remarkably over time, depending on the offspring's perceptions of their mother's problem, the safety of disclosing, and the purpose and anticipated consequences of disclosing. Conclusion: The results indicate that disclosing is not a single event but rather occurs in various forms, repeatedly, over time and in response to several factors.

Family therapy for chronic asthma in children.

Psychosocial and emotional factors are important in childhood asthma. Nevertheless, drug therapy alone continues to be the main treatment. Treatment programmes that include behavioural or psychological interventions have been developed to improve disturbed family relations in the families of children with severe asthma. These approaches have been extended to examine the efficacy of family therapy to treat childhood asthma in a wider group of patients. This review systematically examines these studies. Recognition that asthma can be associated with emotional disturbances has led to the investigation of the role of family therapy in reducing the symptoms and impact of asthma in children. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of family therapy as an adjunct to medication for the treatment of asthma in children. We searched the Cochrane Airways Group trials register, Psychlit and Psychinfo. Searches are current as of January 2005. Randomised trials comparing children undergoing systematic therapy focusing on the family in conjunction with asthma medication, with children taking asthma medication only. Two reviewers assessed the studies for inclusion in the review. Two trials with a total of 55 children were included. It was not possible to combine the findings of these two studies because of differences in outcome measures used. In one study, gas volume, peak expiratory flow rate and daytime wheeze showed improvement in family therapy patients compared to controls. In the other study, there was an improvement in overall clinical assessment and number of functionally impaired days in the patients receiving family therapy. There was no difference in forced expiratory volume or medication use in both studies. There is some indication that family therapy may be a useful adjunct to medication for children with asthma. This conclusion is limited by small study sizes and lack of standardisation in the choice of outcome measures.

Family therapy for asthma in children.

Psychosocial and emotional factors are important in childhood asthma. Nevertheless, drug therapy alone continues to be the main treatment. Treatment programmes that include behavioural or psychological interventions have been developed to improve disturbed family relations in the families of children with severe asthma. These approaches have been extended to examine the efficacy of family therapy to treat childhood asthma in a wider group of patients. This review systematically examines these studies. Recognition that asthma can be associated with emotional disturbances has led to the investigation of the role of family therapy in reducing the symptoms and impact of asthma in children. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of family therapy as an adjunct to medication for the treatment of asthma in children. We searched the Cochrane Airways Group trials register, Psychlit and Psychinfo. Randomised trials comparing children undergoing systematic therapy focusing on the family in conjunction with asthma medication, with children taking asthma medication only. One reviewer applied the study inclusion criteria. Two trials with a total of 55 children were included. It was not possible to combine the findings of these two studies because of differences in outcome measures used. In one study, gas volume, peak expiratory flow rate and daytime wheeze showed improvement in family therapy patients compared to controls. In the other study, there was an improvement in overall clinical assessment and number of functionally impaired days in the patients receiving family therapy. There was no difference in forced expiratory volume or medication use in both studies. There is some indication that family therapy may be a useful adjunct to medication for children with asthma. This conclusion is limited by small study sizes and lack of standardisation in the choice of outcome measures.

Children’s Social Representations in Dolls’ House Play and Theory of Mind Tasks, and their Relation to Family Adversity and Child Disturbance

Five‐year‐old children of depressed and well mothers were assessed on theory of mind tasks, and enacted scenes from their family lives in dolls’ house play. Performance on theory of mind tasks was only weakly related to family circumstances and child distur‐bance, but was significantly associated with measures of the child’s general and verbal intelligence. In contrast, children’s social representations elicited during dolls’ house play showed systematic relationships with family adversity (maternal depression and parental conflict) in interaction with the child’s gender: girls exposed to difficulties depicted particularly harmonious mother‐child relationships, and their accounts showed a high degree of narrative structure; while boys so exposed depicted poor parenting, and their accounts were relatively incoherent. The children’s dolls’ house play was also associated with several aspects of their wider experience, including objective assessments of mother‐child interactions, and behavioural and emotional adjustment in school. This technique may usefully elucidate the basis of child behavioural problems and psychopathology in the context of disturbed family relationships, and provide a route for therapeutic intervention.

Youth Victimization and Symptoms of PTSD and Depression

Some research has linked youth victimization with subsequent symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. But retrospective cross-sectional analyses in which preexisting psychopathology and disturbed family relationships significantly attenuated the association have raised questions about the link between victimization and symptoms. This longitudinal, prospective study examined this relation …

The Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia

A nationwide Finnish sample of schizophrenics' offspring given up for adoption was compared blindly with matched controls, who were adopted offspring of non-schizophrenic biological parents. The adoptive families were investigated thoroughly using joint and individual interviews and psychological tests. The biological parents were also interviewed and tested. Among the 155 index offspring, the percentage of both psychoses and other severe diagnoses (borderline syndrome and severe personality disorders) was significantly higher than in the 186 matched control adoptees. This supports a genetic hypothesis. However, notable differences between these two groups only emerged in the families which were rated as disturbed. Thus the genetic effect (i.e. the differences between high and low genetic propensity) was only manifested as a psychiatric disorder in the presence of a disturbed family environment. The impact of disturbed family relations was strongest in the presence of the appropriate genotype.

The rheumatic patient's early needs and expectations

During the last few years, studies have revealed that the need for psychosocial support and concrete social services are great in the early stages of the treatment of rheumatic diseases. The ability to keep a job, to do household chores, to participate in leisure activities and to maintain social relations is clearly impaired. Anxiety and depression are not unusual and often associated with weak support from relatives, loneliness and disturbed family relations. Nevertheless, the patients report resilience and determination to cope with the impacts of illness. Crisis intervention, vocational guidance and counselling about problems concerning the disease should be available and offered to the patients. As the patients seem to be unaccustomed to talking about their psychosocial problems, an empathetic and information-seeking attitude on the part of the health care staff is essential.

Medea or the mother who kills her children: Some aspects regarding family murder

This article looks at the phenomenon of the killing of children within the context of family murder. An analysis of the case studies in the Human Sciences Research Council Report on family murder published in 1991 suggests that the parent who carries out the family murder is usually the 'mother’ figure of the family. This is also the case when the father is the perpetrator, who is then the parent most emotionally involved with the children. This phenomenon is examined against the background of other theories regarding the killing of one’s children. The case of the mythological figure Medea, a mother who also took the life of her children, is also analysed. It is suggested that the underlying cause of a parent killing his or her children is a distorted perception of motherhood. This perception causes the 'mother' to take the nurturing aspects associated with motherhood to an absurd extreme which is totally out of touch with reality and could be termed as a kind of ‘deluded motherhood’. This phenomenon is discussed within the context of disturbed family relationships indicating how different interacting factors lead to the destruction of the family system.