Parent Domain Research Articles

Parental Burnout Across the Globe During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all societies worldwide. The heightened levels of stress that accompanied the crisis were also expected to affect parenting in many families. Since it is known that high levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to a condition that has severe consequences for health and well-being, we examined whether the prevalence of parental burnout in 26 countries (9,923 parents; 75% mothers; mean age 40) increased during COVID-19 compared to few years before the pandemic. In most (but not all) countries, analyses showed a significant increase in the prevalence of parental burnout during the pandemic. The results further revealed that next to governmental measures (e.g., number of days locked down, homeschooling) and factors at the individual and family level (e.g., gender, number of children), parents in less (vs. more) indulgent countries suffered more from parental burnout. The findings suggest that stricter norms regarding their parenting roles and duties in general and during the pandemic in particular might have increased their levels of parental burnout.

Potential effects of Land Use Land Cover Change on streamflow over the Sokoto Rima River Basin

This research investigated the effects of Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) over the Sokoto Rima River Basin (SRRB) using a setup of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric model to generate the parameters to force WRF hydrological (WRF-Hydro) model which comprises of a parent domain at 12km horizontal resolution with an updated MODIS Land Use (LU) data and the nested domain at 4km resolution which focuses on the SRRB. The calibration of the model was done by modifying the infiltration and the Manning's roughness parameters. WRF-Hydro model was used to run simulations with the control LU and five different LU scenarios generated for Urban (Ur), Grassland (Gr), Savanna (Sa), Forest (Fr) and Barren (Ba). For the period analysed, simulation with Gr scenario increased streamflow in all the forecast points, while the Sa decreases it. A strong correlation was noted between the input precipitation and streamflow for all LU scenarios, and a significant Specific Discharge to Rainfall (SDR) for Ur, Fr and Ba scenarios. There was an increase in streamflow in the dry period due to afforestation and a decrease due to deforestation. Areas where grasslands were converted into savanna showed a little increase in evapotranspiration ET. There was more ET for the Sa scenario than the Gr scenario in the wet period, while there was more ET in the dry period for Gr scenario than it is for the Sa scenario. The study has shown that ET is a major factor to changes in streamflow due to LU changes over the basin. The sensitivity of the model to LULCC is reasonable, but more research is recommended to compare results with different hydrological model popularly used for LULCC impact studies.

The Road Not Taken: What Developmental Psychology Might Learn From Darwin's Insights Concerning Sexual Selection.

Developmental Psychology is the branch of psychology that studies, not only human behavior, but how and why human behavior changes over time. This essay seeks to review to what extent Developmental Psychology has failed to perceive human behavior through the lens of evolutionary theory in general, and in particular sexual selection as first described by Darwin and later elaborated on by many, including Robert Trivers and Geoffrey Miller; the essay asserts that this failure has resulted in many wrong turns and missed opportunities. In some cases, major developmental theorists (e.g., Freud, Erikson) were bedeviled by sex-based differences which they saw but could not explain and which compromised the parsimony of their stage theories. In the case of stage theories of moral development, some major theorists (e.g., Piaget, Kohlberg) were able to offer simpler explanations of moral development only by limiting their studies to male subjects. And, while Developmental Psychology textbooks thoroughly describe sex differences in the timing of morphological changes in puberty, writers seldom discuss why the timing is different in the two sexes, universally, and functionally. On the other hand, several domains of developmental focus, including play, mate choice, parenting, and spatial cognition, have seen successful research efforts that utilized sexually selected predispositions as foundational assumptions. The essay concludes with a discussion of how a more evolutionary and functional view of human behavior might move the field of Developmental Psychology to an even more robust and accurate understanding of how humans change over the course of a lifetime.

Quality of life of Brazilian families who have children with Williams syndrome.

This cross-sectional and descriptive study examined the family quality of life (FQoL) among 72 Brazilian families who have children with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder in which most individuals have an intellectual disability, usually mild. Data were collected using sociodemographic and clinical data forms and the Beach Center FQoL Scale. The overall FQoL score was 3.90 ± 0.45, below the limit of four points considered satisfactory. Families felt more satisfied with the family interaction (4.11 ± 0.57), parenting (4.07 ± 0.42), and disability-related support (3.94 ± 0.62) domains, and less satisfied with the family's emotional (3.49 ± 0.73) and physical/material well-being (3.73 ± 0.74) domains. Paternal education, children's cardiopathy and autonomy in activities of daily living explained 24.5% of the variance in the overall FQoL. Measures are necessary to improve the emotional and physical/material well-being of families to reduce the family burden. Monitoring the child's cardiac condition and promoting independence in activities of daily living are also the main procedures.

Psychosocial functioning deficits impact and are impacted by suicidal ideation in post-9/11 women veterans.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether changes in work, intimate relationship, and parental psychosocial functioning domains were associated with suicidal ideation severity, over time. This secondary data study was conducted on Veterans Administration data. Participants were 183 women veterans who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Fixed effect multiple linear regressions were used. Declining work and relationship functioning increased suicidal ideation severity whereas increasing suicidal ideation severity decreased relationship functioning. The use of a single item to assess suicidal ideation is a study limitation. Services that support work and relationship functioning in women veterans may benefit suicide prevention efforts.

The Mediating Effects of Maternal Parenting Stress on the Relationships Between Behavior Problems of Infants With Mental Disorders and Maternal Anxiety Symptoms

This study investigated the mediating effects of maternal parenting stress on the effect of the behavior problems of infants with mental disorders on maternal anxiety symptoms. To this end, research data were collected from 119 mothers and their children aged between 18 and 71 months who had been diagnosed with mental disorder. For the research, the mothers evaluated the problem behaviors of their children using K-CBCL 1.5-5 and themselves with K-PSI and MMPI-2. The results of this study were as follows. First, as a result of analyzing the correlations of major variables, the infants’ behavior problems had significant positive correlations with the total scores of maternal parenting stress child and parent domain stress and maternal anxiety symptoms. The total score of maternal parenting stress and child and parent domain stress also showed a significant positive correlations with maternal anxiety symptoms. Second, as a result of verifying the mediating effect of maternal parenting stress on the relationship between the infants’ behavior problems and maternal anxiety symptoms, the mediating effects of the total score of parenting stress and a sub-factor, parent domain stress, were significant on the relationships between the behavior problems and maternal anxiety symptoms. This study has significance in exploring the mediating effects of maternal parenting stress on the relationships between the behavior problems of infants with mental disorders and maternal anxiety symptoms and expanding research on maternal anxiety symptoms by specifying parenting stress.

Robust numerical integration on curved polyhedra based on folded decompositions

We present a novel method to perform numerical integration over curved polyhedra enclosed by high-order parametric surfaces. Such a polyhedron is first decomposed into a set of triangular and/or rectangular pyramids, whose certain faces correspond to the given parametric surfaces. Each pyramid serves as an integration cell with a geometric mapping from a standard parent domain (e.g., a unit cube), where the tensor-product Gauss quadrature is adopted. As no constraint is imposed on the decomposition, certain resulting pyramids may intersect with themselves, and thus their geometric mappings may present negative Jacobian values. We call such cells folded cells and refer to the corresponding decomposition as a folded decomposition. We show that folded cells do not cause any issues in practice as they are only used to numerically compute certain integrals of interest. The same idea can be applied to planar curved polygons as well. We demonstrate both theoretically and numerically that folded cells can retain the same accuracy as the cells with strictly positive Jacobians. On the other hand, folded cells allow for a much easier and much more flexible decomposition for general curved polyhedra, on which one can robustly compute integrals. In the end, we show that folded cells can flexibly and robustly accommodate real-world complex geometries by presenting several examples in the context of immersed isogeometric analysis, where involved sharp features can be well respected in generating integration cells.

The Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Well Parent Japan for Japanese Mothers of Children With ADHD: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder associated with numerous functional deficits and poor long-term outcomes. Internationally, behavioral interventions are recommended as part of a multimodal treatment approach for children with ADHD. Currently, in Japan, there are limited interventions available to target ADHD. Well Parent Japan (WPJ), a new hybrid parent-training program, provides a culturally acceptable and effective way to help support Japanese children with ADHD and their parents.ObjectiveThis pragmatic multicenter randomized controlled trial aims to provide preliminary evidence about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WPJ evaluated against treatment as usual (TAU) within routine Japanese mental health services.MethodsMothers of children (aged 6-12 years) diagnosed with ADHD were recruited from child and adolescent mental health care services at three hospital sites across Japan (Fukui, Fukuoka, and Okinawa). The mothers were randomized to receive immediate treatment or TAU. The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of WPJ over TAU at the end of the intervention and at 3-month follow-up will be evaluated. The primary outcome is maternal parent domain stress in the parenting role. The following secondary outcomes will be explored: child behavior, including severity of ADHD symptoms; parenting practices; emotional well-being; and the parent-child relationship and maternal child domain parenting stress. Data analysis will follow intention-to-treat principles with treatment effects quantified through analysis of covariance using multilevel modeling. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio will be used to analyze the cost-effectiveness of the WPJ intervention.ResultsStudy funding was secured through a proof-of-concept grant in July 2018. Approval by the institutional review board for the data collection sites was obtained between 2017 and 2019. Data collection began in August 2019 and was completed in April 2022. Participant recruitment (N=124) was completed in May 2021. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses are expected to be completed by July 2022 and December 2022, respectively. These timelines are subject to change owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsThis is the first multisite pragmatic trial of WPJ based on the recruitment of children referred directly to routine clinical services in Japan. This multisite randomized trial tests the effectiveness of WPJ in children and families by comparing WPJ directly with the usual clinical care offered for children diagnosed with ADHD in Japan. We also seek to assess and compare the cost-effectiveness of WPJ with TAU in Japan.Trial RegistrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN66978270; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN66978270International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/32693

Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) in Different Hispanic Countries: An Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

Parental burnout is a unique and context-specific syndrome resulting from a chronic imbalance of risks over resources in the parenting domain. The current research aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) across Spanish-speaking countries with two consecutive studies. In Study 1, we analyzed the data through a bifactor model within an Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) on the pooled sample of participants (N = 1,979) obtaining good fit indices. We then attained measurement invariance across both gender and countries in a set of nested models with gradually increasing parameter constraints. Latent means comparisons across countries showed that among the participants’ countries, Chile had the highest parental burnout score, likewise, comparisons across gender evidenced that mothers displayed higher scores than fathers, as shown in previous studies. Reliability coefficients were high. In Study 2 (N = 1,171), we tested the relations between parental burnout and three specific consequences, i.e., escape and suicidal ideations, parental neglect, and parental violence toward one’s children. The medium to large associations found provided support for the PBA’s predictive validity. Overall, we concluded that the Spanish version of the PBA has good psychometric properties. The results support its relevance for the assessment of parental burnout among Spanish-speaking parents, offering new opportunities for cross-cultural research in the parenting domain.

부모가 시행한 PECS 사용이 ASD 아동의 의사소통 및 부모의 양육스트레스에 미치는 효과

This study examines the effects of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) used by parents through parent training for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have limited speech on children's independent picture exchange and spontaneous speech, and parenting stress levels. The participants were children with ASD aged three to five years old and four parents each; the study was conducted at their homes. This study used a changing criterion design, and Tau-U analyzed the effect size. As a result of the study, two of the four children (whose overall developmental age of PEP-R was over 16 months) completed the PECS phase four within 40 sessions. The effect size were very productive during the intervention. For spontaneous speech, we confirmed that children with high verbal imitation skills learned to speak easier. We also confirmed that spontaneous speech increased during the PECS phase four, but the effect size had little impact during the intervention. All four children maintained the acquired phase and were able to generalize. The parents implemented the PECS according to protocol, and we confirmed that the parenting stress was partially reduced in the parent domain for parents who used the PECS method with their children.

OP030: Parenting stress raising children with sex chromosome aneuploidies: First year of life results from the eXtraordinarY Babies study

OP030: Parenting stress raising children with sex chromosome aneuploidies: First year of life results from the eXtraordinarY Babies study

Adolescents\u2019 proxy reports on obesity-related parenting practices: factorial validity and reliability across four behavioral domains

BackgroundAdolescents’ energy balance behaviors are precursors to obesity shaped by the practices or strategies that many parents implement. Although key stakeholders to their families, adolescents are rarely considered to report on these obesity-related parenting practices. The aim of this study is to assess the factorial and predictive validity of adolescents’ proxy-report of parents’ obesity-related parenting across four behavioral domains.MethodsThis study used data from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study. This study tests whether adolescents’ proxy reports about their parents’ obesity-related parenting are significantly associated with parents’ responses on their own obesity-related parenting, as well as whether these reports are significantly associated to parent-adolescent energy balance behaviors. Factorial validity was assessed using linear regression and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), whereas predictive validity was assessed using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling (APIM).ResultsRegression results indicated that adolescents’ proxy report is significantly associated with parents’ report of their own parenting in all four domains (β = .59—.71; p < 0.05). CFA results indicated a final factor structure that loaded significantly onto hypothesized obesity-related parenting domains (β > .30) in both adolescents and parents. APIM results indicated that both parent- (β = .32; p < 0.05) and adolescent-(β = .21; p < 0.05) reported obesity parenting for fruit and vegetable consumption were associated with their own fruit and vegetable intake. In addition, adolescent-reported physical activity parenting was significantly associated with adolescent physical activity (β = 0.23; p < 0.05). Regarding partner effects, only parent-reported parenting for fruit and vegetable consumption were significantly associated with adolescent intake of fruit and vegetables (β = 0.15, p < 0.05) and adolescent-reported physical activity parenting was significantly associated with parental physical activity (β = 0.16, p < 0.05). Neither adolescent nor parent reported parenting were significantly associated with screen time or junk food intake outcomes. Each final obesity-related parenting scale had good internal consistency (a = .74-.85).ConclusionsWe found that adolescent- and parent-reported obesity-related parenting were significantly associated, while adolescent-reported parenting were more explanatory of fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity than parent-reported parenting. These findings suggest that adolescent proxy reports may be a valid source of information on obesity-related parenting.

Relationships between parental borderline symptom severity, empathy, parenting styles and child psychopathology

ABSTRACT Objectives Children of parents diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at greater risk of psychopathology compared to children of healthy controls and parents diagnosed with another mental illness. Parental and child psychopathology are likely to be related via multiple pathways. The current study explored relationships between parental borderline symptom severity, parental empathy, parenting style, and child psychopathology. Methods Parents diagnosed with BPD were recruited to participate in an anonymous online survey. Sixty-four parents completed questionnaires assessing borderline symptom severity, parental empathy, and parenting style. Parental reports of child psychopathology were obtained for 64 children (aged 4–17) utilising the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were calculated to investigate the relationships between variables. Two three-path serial mediation models were tested. Results Parental borderline symptom severity was negatively associated with parental empathy, and positively associated with maladaptive parenting styles. Parental borderline symptom severity was related to child psychopathology via two indirect pathways 1) authoritarian parenting style and 2) through parental empathy’s relationship with authoritarian parenting. Conclusions Future research is recommended to develop and evaluate parenting programme for parents experiencing borderline symptoms and their school-aged children. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: While many people with borderline symptoms are capable parents, difficulties in some domains of parenting have been identified. The extant literature has a heavy focus on the perinatal period while studies of school-aged children of parents with borderline symptoms are limited. Evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions specific to this population of parents and children remains a gap in the literature. What this topic adds: Borderline symptom severity was related to child psychopathology via parental empathy’s association with authoritarian parenting. Children of parents who experience severe borderline symptoms may benefit from screening for internalising and externalising symptoms to aid early intervention. Interventions for this specific cohort of parents and children may consider parental psychopathology, parental empathy and maladaptive parenting styles as treatment targets.

“You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf”: Realized mindfulness in practice for parenting women in recovery

BackgroundThe opioid crisis is a public health issue, contributing to poor maternal child health outcomes. A Mindfulness Based Parenting (MBP) intervention, part of the “Practicing Safety Mindfulness Project for Mothers in Drug Treatment” (PSMDT) study, was previously tested as an intervention to mitigate stress and improve parenting domains in a sample of parenting women in treatment for substance use disorder. MethodsQualitative data from focus groups and Mindfulness Based Parenting group teacher process notes were analyzed to understand how participants applied mindfulness to their daily lives and how mindfulness affected their relationship with their child(ren). ResultsThematic analyses revealed three overarching major themes: 1) Supportive Tools to Assist with Bringing Mindfulness into Daily Living; 2) Application of Embodied Tenets of Mindfulness to Perspective and Behavior and 3) Mindfulness Based Parenting and Recovery.Transference of mindfulness skills to parenting was evident through both focus group and process note data, illustrating how mindfulness behaviors were incorporated into family life. Data also revealed how tools utilized in the MBP intervention affected participant recovery. ConclusionsMBP intervention shows utility in improving parenting and recovery domains. Data from this study will inform future iterations of this intervention and this contextual analysis can be used to inform other recovery programs looking to utilize mindfulness as an adjunctive treatment.

Prof K C Dube Poster Award

Introduction:The role of the family in the context of substance use among adolescents has been documented both as a risk and protective factor. However, Indian studies on parenting and family dynamics in adolescent substance use are limited. This is despite the difference between Western and Indian family systems, that emphasise collectivism and interdependence with limited individualism and autonomy. Our study aimed to assess family functioning and parenting practices in adolescents who used substances and to compare them with families of healthy adolescents.Methodology:This study employed a cross-sectional, comparative design. Forty adolescent-parent dyads were selected from adolescents registered for substance use treatment and compared with 40 healthy adolescent-parent dyads of matching age and socio-economic statusBoth adolescents and parents were screened for symptoms of psychiatric illnesses and detailed assessment was done by applying the following instruments: Adolescent Drug Abuse Diagnosis (ADAD), Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), Family Assessment Device (FAD) and Parenting Style 4 factor questionnaire.Results:Both groups had mostly nuclear families of upper-lower socio-economic status. Adolescents who used substances perceived a significantly poor functioning in their families in terms of problem solving, communication, roles, affective responsiveness, affective involvement, behavioral control and general functioning along with lower parental involvement, lesser positive parenting, poorer monitoring and greater inconsistency in discipline. Significantly greater number of parents of healthy adolescents were authoritative as compared to substance users, who were more permissive and neglectful. Substance use severity had a significant positive correlation with dysfunction in role-setting, affective involvement and general family functioning and negative correlation with positive parenting.Conclusion:Our findings indicate that several domains of parenting and family functioning bear significant effect on substance use in adolescents, and further in-depth research is required from similar family systems in order to call for inclusivity and trans-cultural applicability for existing family interventions.

On the Relationship Between Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting Behaviors and Children’s Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to clarify and elaborate the concept of implicit self-esteem by identifying parenting domains that are related to implicit self-esteem as well as by comparing the correlation between parenting behaviors and children’s explicit and implicit self-esteem (ESE &amp; ISE). Furthermore, based on previous studies’ emphasis on the functions of self-esteem discrepancies, 4 groups of self-esteem types were included in the analysis: secure self-esteem, defensive self-esteem, damaged self-esteem and congruent low self-esteem.Methods: Participants were 279 Korean middle school students (114 boys and 165 girls). Children’s ESE and ISE were measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Name-Letter Task (NLT), respectively, and the parenting behavior measure consisted of 8 domains: monitoring, reasoning, inconsistency, over-involvement, over-expectation, neglect, physical abuse, and affection. Considering the effect of gender on the parent-child relationship, analysis was conducted according to gender.Results: Comparison between the correlations revealed that among 32 factors, differences in ESE and ISE were significant in 13 factors and not significant in 19 factors. Further, most of the parenting domains were significantly related to both daughters’ and sons’ ESE, while only a few of father and mother’s parenting domains were related to ISE. Boys’ ISE was negatively related to fathers’ over-involvement and mothers’ reasoning, while girls’ ISE was positively related to both parents’ monitoring and negatively related to neglect. Additionally, the group with secure self-esteem (characterized by high ESE and high ISE) mostly reported high levels of positive parenting behaviors and low levels of negative parenting behaviors, while the group with congruent low self-esteem (characterized by low ESE and low ISE) mostly reported low levels of positive parenting behaviors and high levels of negative parenting behaviors.Conclusion: This study contributes significant findings to the understanding of ISE. Based on the current study’s results, it is plausible to conclude that ISE performs a similar function to ESE, yet weaker. Moreover, the importance of measuring mothers’ and fathers’ parenting behaviors separately could be more emphasized. Further discussions are suggested regarding areas of contention over the formation and the concept of ISE.

Correlation of the Chinese velopharyngeal insufficiency-related quality of life instrument and speech in subjects with cleft palate.

ObjectiveAssessment of the hypothesized correlation between the Chinese Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI) Effects on Life Outcomes (VELO) instrument and measured speech parameters.MethodsA cross‐sectional study was conducted in the Oral Clefts Center of West China Hospital of Stomatology between January 2019 and December 2019. Speech parameters including speech intelligibility deficit, VPI severity, VP gap, and need for speech therapy were evaluated by speech‐language pathologists. All patients and their parents completed the VELO instrument. The correlation between aforementioned speech parameters and VELO scores was examined utilizing Spearman correlation coefficients. The reliability of VELO test–retest and parent proxy assessment was estimated utilizing intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate the cutoff VELO score.ResultsOne hundred and forty patients with their parents were enrolled. The mean age was 12.58 ± 3.72 years. Both parent and youth VELO total and domain scores recorded moderate to strong correlations with all speech parameters (r > −.40, P ˂ .001) except the swallowing domain. Most VELO domain items have shown significant correlations with at least one speech parameter. Moreover, the scales of all speech parameters showed different VELO scores (P ˂ .001). The ICC reported test–retest correlation >.73 in all domains, and parent proxy correlation >.63 in most domains except the emotional and perception domains. The cutoff VELO score was 79.04 in parent version and 85.77 in youth version.ConclusionsThe correlations between VELO scores and measured speech parameters have provided evidence for test–retest and parent proxy reliability and criterion and construct validity of the Chinese version of the VELO instrument. A VELO score ≥79.04 (in parent version) or ≥85.77 (in youth version) mostly reflects proper speech‐related quality of life. Hence, this instrument could serve as a simple tool to help clinicians understand the social, emotional, and physical influences of VPI.

How do reproduction, parenting, and health cluster together? Exploring diverging destinies, life histories and weathering in two UK cohort studies.

Life history theory researchers often assume reproductive, parenting and health behaviours pattern across a fast-slow continuum, with 'fast' life histories (typified by short lifespans, early maturation and investing in quantity over quality of children) favoured in poor quality environments and/or when resources are scarce. Some researchers further reduce this down to a simplistic 'fast' versus 'slow' dichotomy. Some of these ideas, with different theoretical motivations, are echoed in the 'diverging destinies' and 'weathering' frameworks developed in the social sciences. Whether clustering of reproductive, parenting and health traits exists has rarely been empirically tested, however. Using latent class analysis on data on mothers from the UK's Millennium Cohort (MCS) and Born in Bradford (BiB) studies, we explored whether reproduction and parenting traits clustered into 'diverging destinies', whether 'weathering' effects tied together health and reproduction, and whether all three domains were combined into either 'fast' vs 'slow' life histories, or into three groups more indicative of a fast-slow continuum. We leveraged ethnic diversity in these samples to examine four groups of mothers separately: 1. MCS White British/Irish (n = 15,423); 2. MCS Pakistani-origin (n = 923); 3. BiB White British (n = 3937); 4. BiB Pakistani-origin (n = 4351), and explored whether faster 'weathering' was evident amongst Pakistani-origin mothers. Both two and three class models emerged as potential descriptions of latent subgroups, potentially providing support for fast and slow life histories or a continuum of traits. However, response profiles provided only limited support for theoretical predictions of which traits should cluster together, with inconsistent and restricted clustering of traits both within and between the domains of reproduction, parenting, and health. In addition, trait clustering was more pronounced amongst White mothers and we found no clear evidence supporting faster 'weathering' amongst Pakistani-origin mothers; the observed clustering instead suggested that cultural constraints may influence linkages between traits. Our results therefore provide some limited support for models which suggest certain traits cluster together in predictable ways, but it is also clear that theoretical frameworks should not emphasise very rigid clustering of large numbers of traits and should allow for contextual influences on clustering.

An evaluation of a combined psychological and parenting intervention for HIV-positive women depressed in the perinatal period, to enhance child development and reduce maternal depression: study protocol for the Insika Yomama cluster randomised controlled trial

BackgroundThe combination of poverty, HIV and depression in the perinatal period represents a major public health challenge in many Southern African countries. In some areas, up to a third of HIV-positive women experience perinatal depression. Perinatal depression is associated with negative effects on parenting and key domains of child development including cognitive, behavioural and growth, especially in socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Several studies have documented the benefits of psychological interventions for perinatal depression in low- and middle-income countries, but none have evaluated an integrated psychological and parenting intervention for HIV-positive women using task-sharing. This randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of a home-based intervention, combining a psychological treatment for depression and a parenting programme for perinatally depressed HIV-positive women.MethodsThis study is a cluster randomised controlled trial, consisting of 48–60 geospatial clusters. A total of 528 pregnant HIV-positive women aged ≥ 16 years who meet the criteria for depression on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, score ≥ 9)) are recruited from antenatal clinics in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The geospatial clusters are randomised on an allocation ratio of 1:1 to either the intervention or Enhanced Standard of Care (ESoC). The intervention group receives 10 home-based counselling sessions by a lay counsellor (4 antenatal and 6 postnatal sessions) and a booster session at 16 months. The intervention combines behavioural activation for depression with a parenting programme, adapted from the UNICEF/WHO Care for Child Development programme. The ESoC group receives two antenatal and two postnatal counselling support and advice telephone calls.In addition, measures have been taken to enhance the routine standard of care.The co-primary outcomes are child cognitive development at 24 months assessed on the cognitive subscale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Third Edition and maternal depression at 12 months measured by the EPDS.AnalysisThe primary analysis will be a modified intention-to-treat analysis. The primary outcomes will be analysed using mixed-effects linear regression.DiscussionIf this treatment is successful, policymakers could use this model of mental healthcare delivered by lay counsellors within HIV treatment programmes to provide more comprehensive services for families affected by HIV.Trial registrationISRCTN registry #11284870 (14/11/2017) and SANCTR DOH-27-102020-9097 (17/11/2017).

Development of Cloud-Based Co-Parenting Strengthening System

Co-parenting emphasizes how couple manage their relationship in the parenting domains and carry out their role as parents. Based on research conducted by Feinberg and colleagues (2012), there are four overlapping domains of co-parenting: (1) child rearing agreement; (2) support/undermining partner’s parenting; (3) joint family management; and (4) division of labor. The interference of mobile-based technology is needed on the co-parenting relationship between the couple with reference to the four domains of co-parenting. The method used was the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) model. It was divided into six stages of the process: requirement analysis, system design, implementation, system testing, system deployment, and system maintenance. In implementation, the system at an early stage has four main features: (1) child’s activity scheduling and reminder; (2) co-parenting’s education contents; (3) partner’s feedback; and (4) co-parenting’s assessment. The results that are proven by experts, agreed that educational content in the application is very necessary for more knowledge for parents, UI/UX design that is friendly and easy to understand by users, as well as the use of the latest reliable and flexible technology.