Family-centered Behaviors Research Articles

The Effects of an Online Training on Preservice Speech-Language Pathologists' Use of Family-Centered Skills.

Purpose Despite the recognition that family-centered services are best practice in augmentative and alternative communication services, many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are lacking in their acquisition and implementation of family-centered skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of online instruction in a family-centered, relational skills strategy on preservice SLPs use of family-centered skills. Method A switching replications design was used to evaluate the effects of an online training on the use of family-centered behaviors by 15 preservice SLPs who were randomly assigned to two groups. The online training taught the students a four-step relational skills strategy (summarized by the acronym LAFF): (a) Listen, empathize, and communicate respect; (b) Ask questions; (c) Focus on the issues; and (d) Find a first step. Participants were videotaped during interactions with simulated parents before and after the training. Results After an average of 61 min of instruction via the online module, all of the preservice SLPs significantly improved their demonstration of relational skills. Additionally, one parent of a child who used augmentative and alternative communication viewed the video recordings and chose 14 of the 15 postinstruction role plays as more family-centered. Conclusion The findings from this study provide support for the use of an online environment to teach preservice SLPs family-centered relational skills. In order to prepare future SLPs and ensure the delivery of family-centered services, future research is necessary, including investigations to determine whether other family-centered skills can be effectively taught through an online environment. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12462344.

Barriers and enablers to nutrition and physical activity in Lima, Peru: an application of the Pen-3 cultural model among families living in pueblos jóvenes

ABSTRACT Objectives Childhood obesity is increasing in Latin America as nutrition status and economies transition. Peru is one such country with an emerging childhood obesity epidemic. The Peruvian Ministry of Health established goals for achieving reductions in overweight and obesity prevalence among children 5 years and younger by 2021. However, specific intervention strategies for achieving these goals are lacking. Culturally appropriate interventions guided by evidence-based theories are needed to address the emerging problem of overweight and obesity among young children. This study utilized the Pen-3 model, a culture-based conceptual framework to explore barriers and facilitators to healthy diet and physical activity for parents of young children in pueblos jóvenes communities. Design A qualitative investigation was conducted as part of a larger cross-sectional survey study of parents of three and four-year-old children at five school sites in the peri-urban slum neighborhoods of southern Lima. Parents were asked to describe barriers and facilitators of healthy diet and physical activity for their preschoolers and families. Thematic analysis guided by PEN-3 model constructs assisted in identifying emergent themes. Results Two domains of the Pen-3 model guided the elucidation of barriers and facilitators of health behaviors deemed essential to healthy diet and physical activity. Parental perceptions about neighborhood safety, lack of community resources, such as parks and recreation spaces, and lack of information about appropriate serving sizes and healthy recipes were identified as barriers. Facilitators to healthy behaviors included mothers’ views on their role as nurturers, and personal values for family-centered health behaviors. Conclusions Parents identified specific barriers and facilitators of eating healthy and physical activity for their preschoolers and families living in resource poor areas of Peru. Health promotion professionals can utilize findings to inform the design of culturally appropriate family-based interventions in Peru’s pueblos jóvenes.

Sibling Gender Composition and Women's Wages

We examine the impact of sibling gender composition on women's adult earnings. Using data from Add Health, we find that women with any brothers earn roughly 10 percent less than women with no brothers in their late 20s and early 30s. This effect is primarily due to lower earnings within broadly defined education and occupation groups. We then explore mechanisms that may explain this result. We do not find strong evidence that differences in parental investment, cognitive ability, self-reported personality traits, or parental expectations drive our results. However, we find that more family-centered behavior (including family responsibilities, being in a committed relationship, and intention to have children) among those with brothers partially explains the result. We then confirm our results with data from the NLSY-CYA.

What Is the Relationship between Family-Centered Behaviors and Children's Severity of Obesity Index (SOI)?

What Is the Relationship between Family-Centered Behaviors and Children's Severity of Obesity Index (SOI)?

Socialization goals of first-generation immigrant Indian parents: A Q-methodological study.

This research utilized Q methodology (Stephenson, 1953) to uncover first-generation immigrant Indian parents’ (N 18) socialization goals for their children. Participants carried out the Q-sort task in response to two questions. Through the first question, we explored participants’ socialization goals for their children in the United States, whereas through the second question, we explored participants’ perception of the socialization goals of parents raising children in India. We also conducted follow-up semistructured interviews with a representative set of participants. Factor analyses of the participants’ Q-sorts yielded two dominant patterns. The first pattern—blended— was a combination of autonomy and family-centered socialization goals, whereas the second pattern—traditional—emphasized ethnic behaviors and family-centered values. Taking the combinations of ways that the parents could sort in response to the two questions, there were four viewpoints among the Indian immigrant community. Parents in the first group integrated children’s autonomy and family-centered behaviors in their goals and believed that parents in India did the same. Parents holding the second and third viewpoint endorsed ethnic behaviors and family-centered values for their own children. Whereas parents in the second group perceived parents in India to have goals similar to their own, parents in the third group perceived Indian parents’ goals as blended. Participants holding the fourth viewpoint emphasized their children’s autonomy and family-centered behaviors, but believed that parents in India put greater emphasis only on family-centered values and ethnic behaviors. The discussion includes the implications of the four viewpoints for parental and child well-being.

Evaluation of an Occupational Therapy Mentorship Program: Effects on Therapists’ Skills and Family-Centered Behavior

ABSTRACTThere is growing interest in understanding the usefulness of mentorship programs for children's rehabilitation service providers. This evaluation study examined the effects of an occupational therapy mentorship program on the skills and behaviors of 8 new and 17 experienced occupational therapists practicing at a regional children's rehabilitation center. Self- and peer-report measures of family-centered behavior, critical thinking ability, listening/interactive communication skill, and clinical behavior were collected before and after an 11-month facilitated, collaborative group mentorship intervention. Significant pre–post changes associated with intervention were found on 9 of 12 outcome measures, including information provision, respectful treatment, self-confidence, and listening and clinical skill. Changes were not found on the more trait-like variables of open-mindedness, interpersonal sensitivity, and interpersonal skill. Experienced therapists had higher scores than new therapists on most variables, including family-centered behavior, listening skill, and clinical skill. Implications regarding the utility of mentorship programs in children's rehabilitation centers are discussed.

Family-Centered Care for Children With Special Health Care Needs: Are We Moving Forward?

Family-centered care (FCC) is widely acknowledged as supporting positive outcomes in children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and their parents. The intent of this mixed-method research was to enhance understanding of family-centered behaviors in professionals who had received specialty training in the principles of FCC and to explore provider perceptions of challenges to FCC implementation. Eighty-nine professionals who had completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) training program at a large, urban university were mailed an anonymous survey containing a self-report measure of FCC, the Measure of Process of Care for Service Providers, and an open-ended question on barriers to FCC. Thirty-three participants returned the survey (37% response rate). Descriptive analyses of MPOC-SP subscales indicated that the interdisciplinary professionals were providing care consistent with the principles of FCC in the areas of treating people respectfully, communicating specific information to families, and showing interpersonal sensitivity but were less active in providing general information to CSHCN and their parents. Content analysis of the qualitative data revealed five themes reflecting individual and contextual barriers to FCC: (1) institutional culture, (2) absence of care coordination, (3) insufficient training, (4) policy factors, and (5) family factors. Study findings indicate that change at the systems level is paramount for family-centered practices to be fully realized.

Relationship of therapists' attitudes, children's motor ability, and parenting stress to mothers' perceptions of therapists' behaviors during early intervention.

Federal law mandates family-centered care as the service delivery model in early intervention programs for children from birth to 36 months of age. This study investigated the relationship of therapists' attitudes, children's motor ability, and parenting stress to mothers' perceptions of physical therapists' family-centered behaviors during early intervention. Twenty-five physical therapists and 75 mother-child dyads (3 from each therapist's caseload) participated. The mean chronological age for the children was 21.2 months (SD=7.3, range=6-35). Mothers participated in a structured interview using the Measures of Processes of Care (MPOC-56), and they completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and a questionnaire. The Bayley-II Motor Scale was administered to the children. Therapists completed a modified version of the Measures of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) and a questionnaire. Scores for mothers on the MPOC-56 and for therapists on the MPOC-SP indicated strong positive perceptions and attitudes toward family-centered behaviors. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that parenting stress explained a considerable amount of the variance in mothers' perceptions of family-centered behaviors, whereas therapists' attitudes explained a considerable amount of the variance in mothers' perceptions of respectful and supportive care. Children's motor ability was inversely related to parenting stress. Findings suggest that mothers perceive that physical therapists are using family-centered behaviors in early intervention. Findings from the questionnaires suggest that some early intervention policies may be barriers for therapists and prevent them from actualizing attitudes toward family-centered behaviors.

Family-Centered Professional Behavior

This article reports on a study assessing parents' perceptions of the importance and frequency of family-centered behaviors. A nationwide sample of caregivers of children with emotional and behavioral disorders, developmental disabilities, or chronic health problems completed the Family-Centered Behavior Scale, a measurement of the construct of family-centered service delivery. The differences in ratings between caregivers of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and parents of children with other disabilities on the frequency and importance of behaviors exhibited by professionals are described. Results indicate strong agreement between the two groups on which behaviors they consider to be most important, but those behaviors are performed much less frequently, according to caregivers, by professionals serving children with EBD. These results indicate that more intensive training of service professionals and more research about the effectiveness of family-centered practices may be necessary if long-standing professional approaches to this population are to be reversed.

The child care worker in the family: Some case examples and implications for the design of family-centered programs

A family-centered behavior modification project is described in which child-care workers served as the prime therapists. The paper shows how straight-forward operant-conditioning procedures can be used to solve difficult problems. It also points out some of the complexities involved in this type of work. The outcome of the project offers general support for the idea that child care workers should provide help to the child in the context of his natural social environment. Various suggestions are offered for the benefit of workers involved in this type of program.