Families Of Children Research Articles

Strategies to Implement a Community-Based, Longitudinal Cohort Study: The Whole Communities-Whole Health Case Study.

This paper discusses the implementation of the Whole Communities-Whole Health (WCWH) initiative, which is a community-based, longitudinal cohort study. WCWH seeks to better understand the impact of location on family health and child development while also providing support for families participating in the study. Implementing a longitudinal study that is both comprehensive in the data it is collecting and inclusive in the population it is representing is what makes WCWH extremely challenging. This paper highlights the learning process the initiative has gone through to identify effective strategies for implementing this type of research study and work toward building a new model for community-engaged research. Through iterative testing following the Plan-Do-Study-Act model, three main strategies for implementation were identified. These strategies are (1) creating a data collection schedule that balances participant burden and maintains temporality across data types; (2) facilitating multiple opportunities for qualitative and quantitative input from faculty, families, and nonparticipant community members; and (3) establishing an open-door policy for data analysis and interpretation. This paper serves as a guide and provides resources for other researchers wanting to implement a multidisciplinary and community-based cohort study.

THE DYNAMIC CHANGES OF PARENTS’ ROLE IN WORK-FROM-OFFICE MOTHER AND WORK-FROM-HOME FATHER

Currently, a man is more flexible in carrying out his role as a breadwinner either outside the home or from home. This research aims to further understand the factors underlying these changes and their implications for family dynamics, gender roles, and societal norms surrounding decision-making processes in modern families. This research explores the decision-making process in a dynamic family consisting of a mother who works in the office (work-from-office mother) and a father who works at home (work-from-home father). This research uses a phenomenological and qualitative approach to look at the phenomenon of the role of fathers who work at home and mothers who work in the office. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews with eligible couples. This research examines how gender roles influence decision making regarding family economic issues, children's education and family planning. These findings reveal important shifts in decision-making dynamics, with women taking more significant roles in these key areas. In particular, women show higher consideration and involvement in family economic decisions, children's educational choices, and family planning strategies. This shift highlights a shift away from traditional gender norms and underscores the evolving roles and responsibilities within contemporary family units.

A CEO’s Childhood Family Decline and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of Long-Term Orientation

A CEO’s Childhood Family Decline and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Mediating Role of Long-Term Orientation

Genetic Analysis of 17q Terminal Partial Trisomy.

Chromosomal trisomy syndrome is associated with diverse clinical phenotypes, including intellectual disability. Partial trisomy of the distal 17q is a rare anomaly with similar clinical features, including psychomotor and growth deficits, facial dysmorphism, and microcephaly. Here, we describe three patients from two unrelated families with terminal trisomy 17q. We performed G-banding karyotype and chromosomal microarray analyses. The child in Family 1 had a 31.3 Mb mosaic duplication on chromosome 17. Family 2 comprised dizygotic twins with a 263 kb deletion on chromosome 15 and a 9.2 Mb duplication on chromosome 17; however, normal karyotyping results were obtained for both parents. We also analyzed the genetic mechanisms underlying the occurrence of these chromosomal aberrationsand summarized the literature describing known genotype-phenotype correlations. Given the rarity of partial trisomy of terminal 17q, these cases will provide new insights into the diagnosis of this condition and genotype-phenotype correlations, which can aid in the detection of such conditions and genetic counseling.

Why Do Families of Children with Disabilities Discontinue Using Rehabilitation Services? A Qualitative Study in Rural Mainland China

Why Do Families of Children with Disabilities Discontinue Using Rehabilitation Services? A Qualitative Study in Rural Mainland China

Особливості психологічного благополуччя молодших школярів з різними рівнями сприйнятого стресу

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the relationship between the psychological well-being of primary school students and the levels of their perceived stress. The relevance of the research is substantiated, which is due to the expediency of researching the level of perceived stress by primary school students as a significant indicator of their life satisfaction and, as a result, psychological well-being. An analysis of the results of an empirical study of the psychological well-being of elementary school students with different levels of perceived stress is presented, according to which, in particular, it was established that a significant number of primary school students are characterized by an average and high level of such stress, which can negatively affect children's health and their experience of social support This is indirectly evidenced by the differences in the levels of perceived stress depending on the number of children in the families of the studied elementary school students. At the same time, data analysis shows the peculiarities of perceived stress depending on the belonging of primary school students to a new social group, namely internally displaced persons (IDPs), which is associated with their relocation in war conditions, and the modality of relationships in children's families. The results of a study of the levels of perceived stress depending on the gender of primary school students are presented, the analysis of which allowed us to assume the influence of gender stereotypes on the perception of stress. According to the results of variance analysis, statistically significant differences were found in the features of the psychological well-being of primary school students with different levels of perceived stress. As an indicator of such well-being, the indicator of life satisfaction as such, which most closely corresponds to the age characteristics of primary school students, was used. As a result, the hypothesis about the inverse nature of the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of the studied primary school students was confirmed. The expediency of developing and approving a program for developing the ability of primary school students and other participants in the educational process to master perceived stress as an important factor in their psychological well-being has been established

Shaping Gender: The Role of Family in Children's Identity Construction

Shaping Gender: The Role of Family in Children's Identity Construction

Family Resilience in Families of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Ecological Systems Theory Perspective.

Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (1992), we asked how certain resources contribute to family resilience in families of children with ASD: family quality of life (FQOL; family resources), sense of community and loneliness (informal resources), and family-centered support provided by the state (formal resources). One hundred and twenty-one Israeli parents of children with ASD completed an online survey. Path analysis using AMOS was conducted. FQOL contributed to increased family resilience. Path analysis showed loneliness, sense of community, and services use contributed to family resilience through FQOL. Overall, the research model explained 68% of the variance in family resilience. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Associations among parents' math anxiety, math-related leisure activities, children's early numeracy interest and skills

Parents play a pivotal role in early numeracy development. It however remains unknown whether parents' math anxiety and math-related leisure activities concurrently contribute to children's early numeracy skills through numeracy interest. This study thus fills this research gap. One hundred eighty kindergarteners were tested on their numeracy skills; their parents were surveyed about their math anxiety, frequency of math-related leisure activities, and their children's numeracy interest. Using structural equation modeling, we found that, after controlling the effects of children's gender, age and family income on numeracy skills, parents' math anxiety had direct negative links with both numeracy interest and skills, but no mediation was found. Parents' math-related leisure activities were positively associated with numeracy skills via numeracy interest. These findings indicate that additional numeracy support may be provided to children with parents who show high levels of math anxiety and a relative little participation in math-related leisure activities. Educational relevance and implications statementThis study demonstrated that parents' math anxiety was negatively associated with their young children's numeracy interest and skills, respectively. Additionally, their frequency of participation in math-related leisure activities was positively associated with their young children's numeracy skills through numeracy interest. Thus, results suggest that parents' negative attitudes towards math may exert impacts on their young children through the home math environment they create. These findings imply that early childhood educators may provide extra support to parents showing high math anxiety or low participation in math-related leisure activities. Parents should also be reminded not to promote young children's numeracy skills at the expense of their numeracy interest.

Role of Social Cash Transfers Among Children in Child-Headed Households: A Case of Jacha Area of Epworth in Harare, Zimbabwe, in the Face of Austerity Era

AbstractCash transfers are some of the social protection systems for reducing risks and vulnerabilities among children in child-headed families. There are limited academic studies that interrogate the role of social cash transfers among children in child-headed households (CHHs) in the Jacha area of Epworth, Harare, Zimbabwe, in the face of austerity era. A qualitative case study design was adopted to have an in-depth and detailed understanding of the lives of children in CHHs. The resilience theory was used to understand and analyse the realities of these children. Research findings suggest that social cash transfer programmes are very crucial in upholding the human rights of the children in child-headed households of the Jacha area in Epworth, Harare. As a result of social cash transfer programmes, some children in child-headed households enhanced their resilience in many ways. Some of them were rescued from the incidences of abuse, violence, and exploitation through cash transfers. The children in child-headed households were able to meet their basic needs such as food, education, health, clothes, having time for playing, and peer interactions. The article concludes by lobbying and advocating for more social protection programmes towards children in child-headed households in urban informal settlements of Epworth, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Family events and child behavior in late childhood: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundChildren’s social behavior develops through diverse experiences. However, the relationship between children’s experiences of celebratory events and their behavioral development has not been previously quantified. Therefore, this study aimed to quantitatively explore this relationship.MethodsIn 2020, a self-reported questionnaire was completed by 653 sixth-grade students (aged 11–12 years) and/or their caregivers in Nagoya, Aichi, a major metropolitan area in Japan. The main items surveyed were children’s experiences with events celebrated by their family and their behavioral development. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess children’s behavior. This questionnaire identifies behavioral and emotional problems and prosocial behavior. Multiple regression analysis was conducted with the number of family events experienced by children as the explanatory variable and their emotional and prosocial behavior as the objective variables.ResultsChildren from families who participated in fewer family events tended to have higher problematic behavior risk scores and lower prosociality scores compared with their counterparts. Compared with children who participated in more than 20 family events, those who participated in fewer than 10 family events had more than three times the risk for exhibiting problem behaviors (odds: 3.558, 95% CI: 1.252–10.111, p = .017) and prosocial problems (odds: 3.184, 95% CI: 1.726–5.876, p < .001). Conversely, children from families who participated in more family events tended to have lower problematic behavior risk scores and higher prosociality scores.ConclusionsA higher number of family events may reduce the risk of behavioral problems in children and increase their prosociality. Enjoying family events may be beneficial for social adjustment.

Immigrant Generation, Ethnicity, and Early-life Education Outcomes: Evidence from the Born in Bradford Family Cohort Study

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between ethnicity and immigrant generation in relationship to early educational outcomes and their potential determinants. Using Born in Bradford, a large longitudinal birth cohort, and its linked education and health records, we investigated the associations between ethnicity, immigration generations and education measures (Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and National Curriculum Key Stage One). We looked at the children of both first- and second-generation immigrants and compared them with White British non-immigrant children. Logistic regressions were used to examine the explanatory factors of the differences. On the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, children of first-generation Pakistani immigrants did less well than White British non-immigrant children. This was largely related to language barriers. There were no significant differences between the children of second-generation Pakistani families and children of White British non-immigrant families. In Key Stage One results, there were no differences in reading and maths between children of first-generation Pakistani immigrants and the White British children, however, children of first-generation Pakistani immigrants had better scores in Key Stage One writing. Children of second-generation Pakistani immigrants had better odds of achieving expected standards in most models for reading and writing (but not maths) than the White British children. This might be attributed to better socioeconomic circumstances. Immigrant generation is an independent predictor for early educational outcomes. There are different patterns associated with different immigrant generations. Early life policy interventions to help children of first-generation immigrant with their English language before school could improve these children’s school readiness.

The relationship between personal networks of parents and children's behavioral and school‐related problems in family interventions

AbstractStudies in the field of child welfare services have shown that children's externalizing problems are linked to the immediate social relationships in which they are embedded. However, most studies that examined this association focused on specific dyads or general social support, ignoring more diverse and complex patterns of relationships in which children are embedded. Therefore, this study used Social Network Analysis to analyze how compositional and structural properties of parents' personal networks predict externalizing problems of children in vulnerable family contexts. The sample consists of 70 parents who were enrolled in a home‐based family intervention in Switzerland. A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed three clusters based on the network composition: mixed, child‐oriented, and family of orientation. Child behavior problems were associated with the network clusters; school‐related problems, on the other hand, were additionally linked with support density in the personal networks of parents. The results show that children in vulnerable families are embedded in diverse network compositions and relational structures, which influence their externalizing problems in different ways.

What's missing? A multi-method approach to gaining a fuller understanding of early care and education decision-making

In the absence of large-scale investments of public resources, families in many communities are faced with making early care and education (ECE) decisions within a set of limited options. There is a need to better understand how families make decisions in these environments, the factors that influence their decisions, the information they need and how specific program or community characteristics may play a role in their decisions. This study used a mixed methods approach, integrating administrative, survey and qualitative interview data to provide an in-depth look at family decision-making and access to ECE within one community. We found that families were using multiple types of ECE arrangements for their children. Families considered many factors and engaged in multiple activities. These factors and activities included informal networks and formal local resources, often used simultaneously to garner access to the ECE situations needed. Complicating the decision-making context is that decisions about care change over time, and across children in families with more than one child. In addition, families found accessing information to make their decisions challenging, time consuming, and that universal information was limited. These findings have implications for policy and practice as well as for how the field continues to study ECE access and decision-making. We found that all three data sources alone provided insights, each with their own benefits and limitations. However, deep understanding of a family's ECE decision-making over time and across the family was only gained through multiple data sources and with important insights gleaned through in-depth qualitative interviews. Future research can consider different combinations of methods to use to study ECE decision-making while weighing what is gained and lost when different methods are used.

A Study on Adverse Effect of Broken Families on Children’s Well-being

Family structure affects the emotional and psychological development of children, and whenever family breakdowns such as separation, divorce, or conflict between two parents occur, children are usually thrown into navigating complex landscapes that lead to worst developmental outcomes. This research seeks to investigate harmful effects brought by broken families to the well-being of children about stability of their emotions, mental health, social relationship, and academic performance. These children are often more predisposed to emotional problems, psychological disorders, and social isolation-the effects of which extend to their academic prowess and social relationships. This study points to the need for interventions and interventions that will help children weather the emotional fallout of family breakup. Findings highlight children of dysfunctional families are most affected in various contexts such as emotional distress, anxiety, and depression with problems of attachment that greatly challenge healthy social relationship and also the ability to deal with behavioral needs. Instability associated with family breakdown often leads to decrease in academic performance and participation in school.

유아의 놀이성과 창의적 인성이 또래 유능성에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of children's playability and creative personality on peer competence. Methods To this end, a survey was conducted on 300 homeroom infant teachers aged 4 to 5 working at kindergartens and daycare centers located in Gwangju Metropolitan City. The collected questionnaire was analyzed using the SPSS 24.0 program. Cronbach's a coefficient, t-test, one-way variance analysis and post-test were conducted to verify reliability, and data was processed through Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Results As a result of the study, first, as a result of analyzing the mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis of the research variables, all satisfied the normality. Second, there was a positive correlation between children's playability, creative personality, and peer competence. Third, it can be interpreted that children's playability and creative personality have a significant influence on peer competence. Conclusions Through the results of this study, the purpose of this study is to provide basic data to understand the value and meaning of early childhood play and creative personality in the connection between early childhood education institutions and families, and to improve peer competence in order to enhance children's peer competence, along with programs for creative personality in the revised Nuri course that emphasizes early childhood-led play.

Food preferences in schoolchildren

Introduction. Understanding children’s eating behaviour is crucial for promoting healthy nutrition. Objective. To assess the food preferences in schoolchildren. Materials and methods. A mixed-mode survey was conducted in one hundred twelve 6 to 17 years schoolchildren, including 72 (70.5%) boys and 81 (72.3%) girl from Moscow. The average age was 12.23 ± 3.69 years (median = 13.0 years), with no significant age differences between genders (p = 0.855) or between Moscow and other regions (p = 0.690). The survey (α Cronbach = 0.891) included demographic and eating behaviour questions. Data were analyzed with SPSS using Spearman’s rank correlation, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and χ2 test, given the non-normal distribution of variables (p ≤ 0.001). Results. Daily, 11 (9.8%) of the respondents eat vegetables, 14 (12.5%) eat fruits or berries, 18 (16.1%) have breakfast, and 87 (77.7%) consume sweets. Additionally, 62 (55.4%) often skip main meals due to sweets; 81 (72.3%) always have sweets at home; and 51 (45.5%) favour of fast food. Children in families where sweets are always available are more likely to skip main meals and breakfast, consume sweets, and prefer fast food, but eat vegetables, fruits, and healthy breakfasts less frequently (p ≤ 0.001). Daily sweet consumption is linked to lower fruit intake (p ≤ 0.001). Demographic characteristics did not impact food preferences (0.068 ≤ p ≤ 0.946). The highest index of correct eating habits, equal to 0.86, was in 2 (1.8%) children. There is no relationship between the number of correct eating habits and age (p = 0.379) and gender (p = 0.172). The criterion of “correct eating habits” is (p = 0.046) higher in Moscow schoolchildren than in children from the regions. Conclusion. Unhealthy food preferences in children reflect parents’ non-compliance with healthy eating recommendations, which underscores the need for family initiatives in the field of healthy nutrition.

Parental visual dysfunction and its associations with early childhood development in a community sample of families in Beijing, China

While research has associated parental visual functions with child vision, little is known about whether parental visual dysfunction is related to early childhood development (ECD) outcomes other than vision. Considering that parents with visual dysfunction conditions may encounter difficulties in engaging in some daily activities, the children of these parents possibly have fewer opportunities to acquire and refine certain ECD skills. This research explores associations between parental visual dysfunction conditions and different ECD outcomes in a community sample of families from Beijing, China. Participants were parents of 2140 young children (44.4% girls; age range = 0.75–63.25 months). Parents reported concerns about their visual dysfunction and responded to the Chinese version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-C). Family demographics and child health indicators were controlled for as covariates. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) tests were used to compare group differences in the ASQ-C scores. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine the relative risk of suspected developmental delays in the ECD domains for children with parents with different visual function conditions. Results showed that children whose parents had visual dysfunction scored lower on the gross motor domain. Specifically, children whose parents had visual dysfunction conditions other than myopia had lower scores on the gross-motor and problem-solving domains relative to their counterparts. This group of children was prone to suspected developmental delays in the problem-solving domain. In conclusion, our findings suggest that having parents with visual dysfunction conditions other than myopia may be a risk, potentially compromising ECD in China.

Current investigation of neurocognitive functioning in preschool children with cancer: A cross-sectional study from western China.

Cancer and its treatments may cause neurocognitive impairments in preschool children, but there is limited research on the neurocognitive outcomes of this population. This study, which assessed the neurocognitive function of preschool children with cancer and analyzed various influencing factors of neurocognitive functioning, is of significant importance. We aimed to investigate neurocognitive function and related risk factors in preschool children with cancer to inform preventive and intervention strategies. From September 2023 to May 2024, we recruited 100 preschool children with cancer. The Chinese version of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, the Spence Preschool Anxiety Scale Chinese Version, and the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children were used to collected data. Binary logistic stepwise regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of neurocognitive function in preschool children with cancer. 49% of the preschool children with cancer had abnormalities in at least one neurocognitive dimension. The majority of children had abnormalities in gross motor dimension, accounting for 30%, which was related to age and frequency of participation in neurocognitive activities. Communication dimension was related to father's education level, dietary habit, and frequency of participation in activities. Fine motor dimension was associated with age, sex, and father's education level. Problem-solving dimension was associated with age and dietary habit. Personal-social dimension was related to age and radiotherapy. Nearly half of preschool children with cancer experienced neurocognitive impairment. The Chinese version of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires is a simple and effective tool for screening children with possible neurocognitive impairment. It was found that children's neurocognitive function was significantly influenced by family environment, dietary habit, cognitive activities, and cancer treatment. Therefore, it is recommended to strengthen family and social support, and to formulate personalized intervention such as cognitive therapy and dietary adjustment based on children's age and family background, which are important for promoting neurocognitive recovery.

Pathways from Childhood Emotional Neglect to Traditional Victimization among Secondary Vocational School Students: The Roles of Family Functioning, Psychopathy, and Socioeconomic Status.

Considering the high prevalence and detrimental developmental outcomes of traditional victimization, it is imperative to explore the influencing factors and mechanisms of traditional victimization to formulate targeted prevention interventions. Previous studies have shown a significant and positive association between childhood emotional neglect and traditional victimization. To our knowledge, there is a limited understanding of the mechanism of this association. To fill this gap, this study examined the relationship between childhood emotional neglect and traditional victimization, as well as the roles of family functioning, psychopathy, and socioeconomic status (SES) among secondary vocational school students. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 605 secondary vocational school students from grades 10 to 11 (Mage = 16.19, SD = 0.79). Participants provided data on demographic variables, childhood emotional neglect, traditional victimization, family functioning, psychopathy, and SES by answering anonymous questionnaires. The findings showed that childhood emotional neglect was not directly related to traditional victimization, but it was indirectly related to traditional victimization through the mediation of family functioning, the mediation of psychopathy, as well as the chain mediation of family functioning and psychopathy among secondary vocational school students. Additionally, SES could not moderate the relationships between childhood emotional neglect and family functioning, psychopathy, as well as traditional victimization among secondary vocational school students. These findings suggest that interventions for decreasing traditional victimization among secondary vocational school students should not only focus on reducing childhood emotional neglect but also target family functioning and psychopathy. Besides, these findings also imply SES cannot remediate the negative effects of childhood emotional neglect on secondary vocational school students.