Family Bonds Research Articles

Cruel optimism of waiting: precarity experiences of young adults in Turkey

ABSTRACT This paper examines young adults’ everyday experiences of precarity. Defining precarity as a socioeconomic and affective condition, it offers waiting as an analytical tool to explore the intersection of precarity and the family as a locus of social security and dependency. Based on the in-depth interviews with young adults (N = 52), it investigates the affective and temporal dimensions of precarity that play out in the waiting practices of young adults in Turkey. Focusing on these practices, we show how conditions of precarity foster an entrepreneurial mindset and never-ending self-enterprise while establishing forms of cruel attachments and dependencies. Following Berlant’s notion of cruel optimism, we demonstrate how young adults become paradoxically dependent on their familial bonds and temporary job market to become independent individuals. We conclude that the family as an agent of individualization and normalization of precarity (re-)emerges as the backbone of neoliberal restructuring. However, such familial bonds within the context of fragmented biographies reinforce cruel attachments in which sustaining the aspirations for independence makes precarious young adults more dependent on their families.

A measurement equivalence study of English and Spanish versions of the Family Bondedness Scale

Abstract The purpose of the current research was to translate the Family Bondedness Scale (FBS), a recently developed scale for measuring the extent to which pet owners are emotionally bonded with their pets in a manner commensurate with their emotional bondedness with human family members, into Spanish and test the measurement equivalence, or measurement invariance, of scores from the English and Spanish versions. This study was intended to address the need for Spanish versions of human-animal interaction (HAI) and human-animal bond (HAB) measures given the rapid increase in Latinx pet owning families in the United States. The FBS was first translated from English to Spanish using the back translation method. A measurement equivalence study was then conducted. A total of 732 responses on the FBS were obtained, 511 on the English version and 221 on the Spanish version. Readability analyses suggested both versions require a second grade reading level. Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analyses, with and without covariates, were used to test for three forms of measurement equivalence: configural, metric, and scalar. Results were consistent with full configural and full metric invariance, and with partial scalar invariance. The results suggested the item intercepts of seven FBS items were not the same for the two versions. Further analyses suggested the practical importance of the lack of full scalar invariance of these seven items was minimal. Results were also consistent with the equivalence of reliabilities of scores on the two versions. These findings support the use of the Spanish version of the FBS in HAI and HAB research. The results also have implications for future research on the Spanish version of the FBS.

Statelessness and (il)legitimacy in Al Bassam’s Petrol Station and Shakespeare’s King Lear

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Kuwaiti British playwright Sulayman Al Bassam’s Petrol Station (2017) draws on themes, tropes, and motifs from Shakespeare’s King Lear (1606) to dramatize the plight of stateless people worldwide. Al Bassam’s use of King Lear hinges on the fact that it is a play that depicts fraught family bonds against the backdrop of national concerns, a question that Petrol Station vividly dramatizes. First, both plays open with an old patriarch making an important decision. Although the two patriarchs propose that their decisions will ensure justice and integrity, ironically, the decision taken by each patriarch wreaks havoc, augments sibling rivalry, and eventually creates a chaotic situation that exacerbates divisions and frictions. Second, in both plays a patriarch has a legitimate son and an illegitimate one whose relationships are marred by continual conflicts and clashes. However, while in Shakespeare’s play, the illegitimate son is Machiavellian and malevolent, in Al Bassam’s play, the illegitimate son is helpless and even naïve. Furthermore, some characters in Al Bassam’s play can be viewed to have traces of Shakespeare’s characters, particularly the Fool, who critically comments on the course of actions. Finally, both plays end tragically with people committing suicide or being killed and carried to the stage. Overall, Al Bassam’s play draws our attention to the harsh conditions that stateless people, represented by the illegitimate son of the petrol station’s owner, endure daily. In this sense, Al Bassam’s play draws on Shakespeare’s representation of violence to depict how stateless people are subdued and oppressed.

Personalization as a Strategic Political Tool on Social Media: The Curious Case of VP Kamala Harris on Twitter

Social media have reinvigorated the shift of focus from a party-centered politics to a personality-based one. This has made how politicians personalize on social media, especially in government, consequential for them and their administration. Vice presidents across the globe, especially in the United States, play crucial constitutional roles central to the country’s political discourse. Though they are ignored in the extant literature, their rhetoric has ramifications for contemporary democracy. Using a multimodal rhetorical approach, I analyze Vice President Kamala Harris’s tweets (n = 357) in her first year of office to understand how she constructs her public image through personalization. Results indicated that she displayed strong family bonds, reflected on her education and its influence, her historical accomplishments, as well as her emotional moments. I discuss the implications of the image she constructs in this present study.

Between Sufism and Marxism: Social Religious Movements in Twentieth Century Minangkabau

<h2><span lang="EN-US">The Sufi movement in Minangkabau in the 20th century was influenced by Marxism. In some Muslim scholars' views, Marxism could not possibly be in line with Islam. On the ground, Islam and Marxism were able to act in dialectic as a weapon against colonialism that hit the entire Muslim society at the time. In Minangkabau, which has an Islamic view of life, the ideology of Marxism spread rapidly and captured the attention of the public, including the Sufis. To analyze this study uses the theory of social action by Max Weber, which is divided into four types, traditional action, affective action, instrumental rationality, and value rationality. Based on the traditional type, the Sufi tried to follow their teachers, as well as the tradition of the Padri, who went against colonialism. Through affective actions, the Sufis demonstrated a strong emotional bond to the system that exists in the Sufi tradition. Using instrumental rationality, they were consciously able to carry out the resistance rationally after seeing the available resources. In terms of rationality of value, the Sufis want to receive the reward for their <em>jihad</em> (<em>mujahada</em>), as had been done by the other Sufis before them</span></h2>

Chosen Family? Rethinking “Relationship Status” in LGB Cognitive Aging Research

AbstractBackgroundExisting studies have shown the importance of marital status and quality on later‐life cognitive health, including dementia risk and likelihood of timely dementia diagnosis. Yet, much evidence comes from different‐sex couples’ experiences, for whom marriage remains the norm and unmarried persons face social and material costs. In contrast, where same‐same marriage is legal in North America and Europe, marriage has not yet become the norm: same‐sex couples (SSCs) have lower marriage rates than different‐sex couples. SSCs also tend to structure their relationships differently across a range of domains, from household labor to sexual nonmonogamy. Throughout Europe and North America, older lesbian and gay people are also more likely to be single, to live alone, and to have no living children than straight or bisexual people; as a result, the former tend to rely less on partners or biological family to meet their social needs. Unlike straight men, for example, gay and bisexual men tend to rely less on their partners or daughters to forge and maintain social and community connections, instead relying on “chosen families”.MethodGiven their unique prominence for sexual minorities, this paper uses population‐based surveys from the US (HRS) and Europe (ELSA and SHARE) to investigate measures of non‐biologically familial social bonds, including whether measures of friendship, social connectedness, and community involvement function similarly to marital status.ResultIn the US, which has the highest marriage rates and a deeply entrenched “marriage culture”, LGB participants in the HRS (1998‐2018; n = 23,035) who indicate having never been married perform better cognitively at baseline than married LGB people (β = 1.5; p = 0.05), while never‐married straights perform worse (β = ‐0.9; p <0.01).ConclusionRelationship factors have a different association with cognitive health for LGB people than straight people, yet these remain unexplored in their effects on cognitive aging and queerer pathways to good cognitive health.

Shepard’s Political Economy: Curse of the Starving Class in Neoliberal Capitalism

Through a close reading of Sam Shepard’ Curse of the Starving Class (1977), this article examines how the playwright’ work responded to the neoliberal economy as it began to deform and reorganize the lives of working Americans in the 1960s and 1970s by figuring neoliberalism as a nihilistic form of capitalism that cannot be adequately depicted via dramatic realism. Drawing inspiration from the work of Samuel Beckett, Curse engages neoliberalism through three formal devices: ceremonial monologues, objects that appear to magically proliferate, and elements of sacrifice – a lamb, fattened for slaughter. These three motifs are shown to subvert the causal logic of normative dramatic narrative to depict instead the new mode of neoliberal capitalism in which competition destroys familial bonds, creating only isolated individuals. It is precisely by integrating such Beckettian techniques within a realist envelope that Shepard made his family plays into a formidable demonstration of what it means to live within late industrial capitalism.

Building Resilience to Reduce Mental Health Illnesses: Guidelines for Government Actions

Childhood and adolescence are crucial stages for the development of mental well-being. Despite this significance, about 20% of U.S. children experience mental health disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic has further heightened this concern. This study investigates the intricate interplay of biological, psychological, and social mechanisms in shaping resilience towards mental health disorders. It also examines the implications of this analysis for future U.S. government actions in fostering resilience among children. After an in-depth analysis, biological, psychological, and social mechanisms are all proven to have profound impacts on the development of mental health resilience. But social mechanisms (e.g., parent-child bonds) emerge as the most influential ones, as they can determine the extent to which biological (e.g., oxytocin hormone) and psychological mechanisms (e.g., optimism) play in resilience development. This discovery highlights the importance of social dimensions in bolstering mental health resilience. As a result, effective government measures should prioritize these aspects to optimize the synergistic potential of the three mechanisms (biological, psychological, and social). Potential measures include enhancing school-based mental health services and improving living standards in low-income areas.

Internet gaming disorder and its varied impacts on adolescent age group

This comprehensive review article examines the multifaceted impacts of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) or gaming addiction on individuals, with a particular focus on adolescents and young adults. It begins by defining IGD based on criteria from the American Psychiatric Association and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The review highlights the global prevalence of IGD among adolescents, emphasizing the need for further research and intervention strategies to address this growing concern. It delves into the psychological impacts, including depression, anxiety, cognitive impairments, social isolation, and poor impulse control. The behavioral impacts encompass irritability, academic problems, social withdrawal, financial issues, poor time management, and neglect of responsibilities. Additionally, the review discusses the familial and parental impacts, such as strained family relationships, insecure attachments, family environment disruption, conflicts, and weakened family bonds. The physical health impacts are explored, including sedentary behaviors, sleep disturbances, musculoskeletal problems, dietary issues, and eye strain. Overall, this review underscores the complex and far-reaching consequences of IGD, highlighting the urgency of addressing this issue to promote the well-being of affected individuals.

Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Strains to Last Resort Human Antibiotics Isolated from Healthy Companion Animals in Valencia Region.

Failure in antibiotic therapies due to the increase in antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria is one of the main threats to public and animal health. In recent decades, the perception of companion animals has changed, from being considered as a work tool to a household member, creating a family bond and sharing spaces in their daily routine. Hence, the aim of this study is to assess the current epidemiological situation regarding the presence of AMR and multidrug resistance (MDR) in companion animals in the Valencia Region, using the indicator bacteria Escherichia coli as a sentinel. For this purpose, 244 samples of dogs and cats were collected from veterinary centres to assess antimicrobial susceptibility against a panel of 22 antibiotics with public health relevance. A total of 197 E. coli strains were isolated from asymptomatic dogs and cats. The results showed AMR against all the 22 antibiotics studied, including those critically important to human medicine. Moreover, almost 50% of the strains presented MDR. The present study revealed the importance of monitoring AMR and MDR trends in companion animals, as they could pose a risk due to the spread of AMR and its resistance genes to humans, other animals and the environment they cohabit.

The Relationship Of Employment Status And Educational Status Of Prospective Brides On The Incident Of Early Marriage In The Kua Region Of Jombang District

Abstract
 Early marriage is an movement to tie two individuals of the inverse sex who are still young people into one family bond. Cases of early marriage in Jombang Rule are still tall. January-November 2022 alone, there were 920 individuals. Pudji Umbaran, Head of DPPKB-PPPA Jombang, said the information is up to November. The overall number of women's to begin with relational unions until November 2022 is 9,270 individuals. This inquire about strategy employments an expository study with a Case Control investigate plan and a Review approach. The information investigation utilized is univariate investigation utilizing recurrence dissemination and bivariate investigation. The information were analyzed factually utilizing the Chi-square test employing a certainty level of 95% with an α of 5% so that in factual calculations the P esteem <0.05 shows that there's a relationship between the autonomous variable and the subordinate variable. The results of the examination of business status have a p-value of 0.000, showing that there's a relationship between employment status and the event of early marriage. In the mean time, work status features a p-value of 0.000, there's a relationship between instructive status and the event of early marriage. From the comes about of this inquire about it can be concluded that there's a relationship between instructive status and business status and the frequency of early marriage.

Impacts of Caregiving for Individuals with Autism in Low-Resource Settings, a Report from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Caring for children with different developmental trajectories brings various challenges, which are often exacerbated in low-resource settings. International research has shown that raising a child with autism strongly impacts family caregivers, particularly mothers. There is a dearth of information regarding caregiving for individuals with autism in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and for fathers as well as mothers. This study examined the similarities and differences in caregiving for mothers and fathers of a child with autism in KRI using validated rating scales to measure various aspects of their general well-being.Over two years, a sample of 118 parents of individuals with autism (81 mothers and 37 fathers) self-completed the rating scales, which were further discussed through individual interviews with service personnel mainly known to them.The findings indicated that mothers and fathers were similarly impacted. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the ratings of their general health, sources of stress, family functioning, and satisfaction with caregiving, the majority of parents had elevated ratings on all the measures. In addition, parents who rated their children higher on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist had significantly higher scores on their general health issues and were less satisfied with their caregiving role. Parents of female individuals with autism were also significantly more stressed compared to the male individuals with autism and parents of children who received a diagnosis before three years of age, reported fewer behavioral problems with their child compared to the parents who received a diagnosis when the child was older.In this sample, mothers and fathers seem to be similarly impacted by caring for a child with autism, which is contrary to findings from other countries. However, in this region, family bonds between couples and the wider family may have had an influence which further cross-cultural research in low-resource settings could help elucidate, notwithstanding the challenges this poses. The findings have policy implications for health authorities in the KRI to improve the support provided to both mothers and fathers who care for children with autism, which presently is rarely available to them.

Accommodations of private and family life and non-traditional families: the limits of deference in cases of cross-border surrogacy before the European Court of Human Rights.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law on cross-border surrogacy establishes that a 'general and absolute impossibility' of obtaining recognition of the relationship, legally established in another country, between a surrogate-born child and their intended parents will violate the child's right to respect for private life. This approach requires States to accommodate familial bonds created through cross-border surrogacy and limits the margin of appreciation available to States to determine their national response. In recent case law, the ECtHR has adopted an interventionist approach in respect of national decision-making and has gone further than might be expected under the principle of subsidiarity. Examination of the emerging body of jurisprudence on cross-border surrogacy, however, reveals a preference for 'traditional' family formations, with the ECtHR tending to adopt a less interventionist and more deferential approach to national decision-making where the family at the centre of the case deviates from the structure of the family reflected in the seminal cross-border surrogacy case of Mennesson v France App no 65192/11 (ECtHR, 26 June 2014). This approach leads to inconsistency in the cross-border surrogacy case law as it creates something of a moving target for the vindication of children's rights in 'less traditional' family forms.

Solutions-Based Approach to Urban Cat Management—Case Studies of a One Welfare Approach to Urban Cat Management

Urban free-roaming cats create concern about their impacts on wildlife and human health, leading to the use of trap–adopt–kill methods to manage these populations. This method is ineffective at decreasing the free-roaming cat population and has a negative impact on cat caregivers’ well-being. Using semi-structured interviews, this study explored the relationship that semi-owners (people who feed cats but do not perceive ownership) and owners of multiple cats have with the cats they care for, and the social and psychological impacts of an alternative assistive-centered approach to urban cat management. This approach to semi-owned and owned cats provided free sterilization and preventative healthcare. Our findings demonstrate that the caregivers had a strong emotional bond with the cats they cared for. The caregivers also experienced a positive impact on their quality of life, and indicated an improvement in the cats’ welfare after having the cats sterilized through this program. Additionally, the cat caregivers indicated that they had a negative view of agencies, such as the municipal council. It is recommended that an assistive-centered approach to urban cat management be prioritized by local councils and welfare agencies to improve caregivers’ quality of life and psychological well-being, whilst also improving cat welfare. The implementation of this assistive-centered management approach could improve the relationship between communities and the agencies involved, leading to the continuous reporting of free-roaming cats for sterilization. This assistive-centered approach has the potential to reduce the free-roaming cat population, their effects on wildlife, nuisance complaints, and council impoundments, and is aligned with the One Welfare philosophy.

Between- and within-person effects of affective experiences on coping in CBT: Direct effects and interplay with therapeutic alliance and resource activation

Objective The role of affective experiences (AE) in cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) has rarely been investigated. We examined between- and within-person effects of AE on coping in CBT for family caregivers and interactions with therapeutic alliance and resource activation. Methods 67 family caregivers rated AE, therapeutic alliance, resource activation, and coping after each of 12 sessions of telephone-based CBT. We examined direct session-to-session effects of AE on coping in structural equation modeling and interactions of AE with therapeutic alliance and resource activation in multilevel models. Results AE did not directly predict coping. Instead, within-person effects of AE interacted with simultaneous within-person emotional bond. Given strong emotional bond, AE positively predicted coping, whereas given weak emotional bond, AE negatively predicted coping. Further, cross-level interactions of between-person AE and within-person agreement on collaboration and resource activation indicated that these positively predicted coping only in dyads with high between-person AE. Conclusion AE may enhance coping when complemented with strong emotional bond. Further, within-person effects of agreement on collaboration and resource activation seem to rely on a certain degree of between-person AE. Results are discussed in relation to current findings on emotional processing in CBT.

Intimate Partner Violence, Animal Maltreatment, and Barriers to Safety for Survivors with Companion Animals and Livestock: Findings From a Qualitative Study.

This article examines the co-occurrence of violence against women and violence against animals based on interviews with 15 survivors in Saskatchewan, Canada. The qualitative data reveal complex dynamics of the human-animal bond for victims/survivors. Insufficient social supports exacerbate barriers for leaving relationships with animals when experiencing intimate partner violence; nonetheless, the participants perceived animals as crucial to their well-being. Care of horses and livestock is further complicated by financial issues and difficulty evacuating large animals. Survivors emphasized the need for social programs to assist survivors who care for companion animals and large animals.Content warning: This article contains descriptions of violence and abuse toward companion animals, horses, and livestock, as well as examples of animals being killed.

The impact of pet ownership on healthcare access and utilization among people with HIV.

Though bonds with pets can be health-promoting for people with HIV (PWH), recent studies indicate that owning pets may complicate healthcare access, especially for those with fewer economic resources, poorer social support, and a strong human-animal bond. In this study, we make a case for considering pets to be an important element of the social environment that can influence healthcare access and utilization among PWH. Pet-owning PWH (n = 204) were recruited at healthcare and community sites throughout Florida as part of a larger survey study (the “Florida Cohort”). We developed a 12-item index of pet-related barriers to healthcare, which was designed to assess whether the participants experienced or anticipated any barriers to accessing and/or utilizing timely healthcare or health-related services due to pet caregiving or concerns about pet welfare. We estimated a series of regression models (negative binomial, logistic regression) to assess the effects of comfort from companion animals, human social support, healthcare needs, and sociodemographic characteristics on 1) the total number of pet-related healthcare barriers endorsed, 2) previously experienced pet-related healthcare barriers, and 3) anticipated pet-related healthcare barriers. Thirty-six percent of the sample reported at least one experienced or anticipated pet-related barrier to their healthcare; 17% reported previous healthcare barriers and 31% anticipated future healthcare barriers. Greater comfort from companion animals, greater healthcare needs, and poorer social support were associated with a greater probability of experiencing or anticipating any pet-related healthcare barriers. Those who identified racially as Black were less likely to anticipate future healthcare barriers than those who were White. Income was associated with pet-related healthcare barriers in all models. Given the importance of health maintenance for PWH and previous research suggesting pets may be an important emotional support for this population, social safety net programs and community partnerships that support multispecies families are strongly recommended.

Parents' Roles in Children's Games and Toys

Games and toys are important elements that facilitate children's adaptation to the world. Games are an effective learning method that supports children's social, physical, and cognitive development. Children's games and the toys they use are greatly influenced by the people around them. Especially in the preschool period, parents’ game the most crucial role for children. Children often explore their first games and toys with their parents, and these initial toys are usually provided by parents. The level of knowledge that parents have about games and toys determines the games children will Game and the toys they will use. The aim of this study is to identify the roles of parents in the game’s children play and the toys they use. A qualitative approach was adopted using semi-structured interviews in the research. Twenty families with children participated in the study. The collected data were analysed using descriptive analysis. When the research results are examined, it is observed that parents pay attention to children's preferences, toy quality, and children's developmental level when choosing toys. It is believed that these toys contribute to children's cognitive, emotional, and physical development. In addition, computer games, ball games, chess, hide-and-seek, and other games are among the preferred games parents Game with their children. According to parents, these games not only increase children's happiness but also strengthen family bonds, boost self-confidence, and contribute to their socialization.

The COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for work-privacy-conflict and parent–child-bonding in mothers and fathers

During the COVID-19 pandemic, working parents have been faced with a double burden by struggling to satisfy their children’s needs as well as dealing with altered working requirements at the same time. In the unprecedented context of a pandemic, the present study extends the existing literature to investigate the association between work-privacy-conflict (WPC) and parent–child-bonding in families with children aged 0–34 months old. Additionally, the potential moderating role of working from home is considered. Data of the present cross-sectional study (n = 385) were collected in Germany between May and June 2020 as part of the DREAMCORONA study. Mothers (n = 165) and fathers (n = 220) currently working completed the Work-Privacy-Conflict Scale and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire. A hierarchical linear regression analysis including the confounders sex, working from home, working hours per week, age of index child, and childcare revealed a significant association between higher WPC and poorer parent–child-bonding (ß = 0.154, 95 % CI [0.02, 0.28]). In a second linear regression analysis stratified by sex, only the association within the sample of men remained significant (ß = 0.240, 95 % CI [0.07, 0.39]). Working from home had no significant moderating effect on the association between WPC and parent–child-bonding. Given our results, it seems particularly important for working parents to maintain a balance between work and private life as it could not only affect themselves but also the emotional connection to their child. Future research should consider additional factors, such as mental health, parenting, and couple dynamics when investigating the interference of WPC with parent–child-bonding. Additionally, a longitudinal approach will be necessary to establish causal relations between WPC and parent–child-bonding.

Romance-Themed Novels: Influenced on Relationship Satisfaction

This paper was conducted to explore romance-themed novels that influence relationship satisfaction. It further described the perception of the reasons given by participants for reading romance-themed novels, the lived experiences of the participants that made them engage in reading romance-themed novels, and the impacts of reading the romance-themed novels on the relationship satisfaction of the participants. This study utilized the qualitative research method. This study's sixteen (16) participants were selected through a case study method. The researcher’s semi-structured interview guide was used in data gathering through interviews. The thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke was used to analyze the qualitative data. Codes, categories, and common themes were identified from the transcript of in-depth interviews. Ten (10) emergent themes were established from the participants’ responses that were classified under three (3) overarching themes that provided answers to the sub-problems. The emergent themes were extracted from the significant statements of the key participants. For the reasons given by participants for reading romance-themed novels, the overarching theme, Reasons of the Informants in Reading Romance-themed Novels, has five (5) emergent themes that were classified as Align Interest, Entertainment, Social Influence, Educational, and Therapeutic. For the participants' lived experiences that made them engage in reading romance-themed novels, the overarching theme, Lived Experiences in Engaging Reading Romance-themed Novels, has two (2) emergent themes classified as On-time availability and Baseline for real-world situations. For reading romance-themed novels on the relationship satisfaction of the participants, the overarching theme is the Impacts of Participants' Relationship Satisfaction; two (2) emergent themes were created, namely Establishing Strong Emotional Bonds and Enlightened Disposition. The findings and recommendations derived from the study were used to disseminate the positive impact of reading romance-themed novels on students' relationship satisfaction.