Family Problem-solving Communication Research Articles

Risk and Protective Factors of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Children with Stuttering: Unraveling Familial Dynamics

Purpose: The current study aimed to explore the role of familial conflict, psychological distress, and problem-resolution techniques on the prevalence of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in stuttering children. Methodology: This investigation employed a correlational research design. The sample comprised six-year-old children and their mothers from Mashhad. The study included 196 preschoolers (106 girls and 90 boys) selected through convenience sampling. The Oppositional Defiant Disorder Rating Scale (ODDRS), Family Environment Scale (FES), Family Distress Index (FDI), and Family Problem-Solving Communication (FPSC) were utilized for data collection. A linear regression analysis was performed with SPSS version 27 to assess the interrelations among the variables. Findings: The analysis identified family conflict (β=0.35), distress (β=0.39), and problem-solving strategies (β=-0.40) as significant predictors of ODD symptomatology. Notably, family conflict and distress were positively correlated with ODD symptoms, whereas problem-solving strategies were inversely related. These factors collectively accounted for 49% of the variance in ODD symptomatology. Conclusion: This research contributes to the existing literature by amalgamating various familial elements—conflict, distress, and problem-solving strategies—into an integrated framework to better comprehend the etiology of ODD in children.

Effectiveness of Gatekeeper Training for Families of People With Mental Disorders in Korea: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Given the high suicide risk among people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders and the significance of intervention in the daily life setting, tailored gatekeeper training is necessary for families of people with mental disorders. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a suicide prevention education program for families of people with mental disorders (SPEM-F), developed by the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Fifty-nine family members of people with mental disorders were recruited from eight community psychiatric rehabilitation centers in Korea and enrolled in a cluster randomized controlled trial. Four facilities were randomized to the experimental group (n=30) and four to the control group (n=29). The study parameters were measured at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up; the effects of SPEM-F (90 minutes, conducted offline) were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. The dependent variables were suicide-related knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, preventive behavioral intention, and family problem-solving communication. The experimental group showed significant increases in suicide-related knowledge (p<0.001), self-efficacy (p<0.05), and preventive behavioral intention (p<0.01) compared with the control group until the 1-month follow-up, including an upward trend in improved family problem-solving communication (p=0.069). The results confirm that SPEM-F is an effective evidence-based gatekeeper training program for families of people with mental disorders, as it focuses on knowledge, self-efficacy, preventive behavioral intention, and communication improvement. As families of people with mental disorders including schizophrenia, are both highly motivated and close to people at high risk for suicide, SPEM-F can effectively promote suicide prevention and gatekeeper activities.

Family adaptation in families of individuals with Down syndrome from 12 countries.

Our current understanding of adaptation in families of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is based primarily on findings from studies focused on participants from a single country. Guided by the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation, the purpose of this cross-country investigation, which is part of a larger, mixed methods study, was twofold: (1) to compare family adaptation in 12 countries, and (2) to examine the relationships between family variables and family adaptation. The focus of this study is data collected in the 12 countries where at least 30 parents completed the survey. Descriptive statistics were generated, and mean family adaptation was modeled in terms of each predictor independently, controlling for an effect on covariates. A parsimonious composite model for mean family adaptation was adaptively generated. While there were cross-country differences, standardized family adaptation mean scores fell within the average range for all 12 countries. Key components of the guiding framework (i.e., family demands, family appraisal, family resources, and family problem-solving communication) were important predictors of family adaptation. More cross-country studies, as well as longitudinal studies, are needed to fully understand how culture and social determinants of health influence family adaptation in families of individuals with DS.

Economic strain and quality of life among families with emerging adult children: The contributions of family rituals and family problem-solving communication.

Young people and their families around the world are especially vulnerable to macroeconomic hard times. This study sought to provide a more comprehensive view on how families with emerging adult children can successfully overcome economic distress. Specifically, we examined the links between economic strain-that is, the subjective perceptions of one's current and future financial situation-family ritual meaning, family problem-solving communication, and quality of life, as reported by emerging adults and their parents. Data were collected from 1017 individuals nested in 334 families living in Portugal in 2016/2017. Results from multilevel modeling provided evidence for a negative impact of economic strain on family members' quality of life (β = -0.30, p < 0.001); and for the role of family ritual meaning (β = 0.01, p = 0.022), but not family problem-solving communication, as a buffer against the negative effect of economic strain on quality of life. Findings also suggested that the subjective evaluations that family members formulated about their financial situations played a greater role than objective economic conditions (e.g., income) in establishing a deeper understanding on the impact of economic demands on individuals and families' lives in today's complex financial world. This study provides a significant contribution to family economic stress research, advancing family ritual meaning as a key family dynamic contributing to positive adaptation to economic distress. The implications of these findings for clinical interventions include the potential benefits of symbolic forms of family communication in the work carried out with economically stressed family members.

Do spouse burden of care, family resilience, and coping affect family function in gynecologic cancer in Korea?: a cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to investigate family functioning among spouses of gynecologic cancer patients in Korea. McCubbin and McCubbin's Family Resilience Model (1993) guided the study focus on burden of care, family resilience, coping, and family functioning. An online survey collected data from 123 spouses of gynecologic cancer patients through convenience sampling from online communities for gynecologic cancer patients in Korea. Burden of care, family resilience (social support, family hardiness, and family problem-solving communication), coping, and family functioning were measured by self-report. The patients (44.7%) and their spouses (47.2%) were mostly in the 41 to 50-year age group. Stage 1 cancer was 44.7%, and cervical cancer was the most common (37.4%) followed by ovarian cancer (30.9%) and uterine cancer (27.6%) regarding the cancer characteristics of the wife. Family function, burden of care, family resilience, and coping were all at greater than midpoint levels. Family functioning was positively related with social support (r=.44, p&lt;.001), family hardiness (r=.49, p&lt;.001), problem-solving communication (r=.73, p&lt;.001), and coping (r=.56, p&lt;.001). Multiple regression identified significant factors for family functioning (F=25.58, p&lt;.001), with an overall explanatory power of 61.7%. Problem-solving communication (β=.56, p&lt;.001) had the greatest influence on family function of gynecologic cancer families, followed by coping (β=.24, p&lt;. 001) and total treatment period of the wife (β=.17, p=.006). Nurses need to assess levels of family communication and spousal coping to help improve gynecologic cancer patients' family function, especially for patients in longer treatment.

The Effects of Mental Health and Family Problem Solving Communication on Cancer Adjustment of Women with Cancer in Nursing Hospital

The Effects of Mental Health and Family Problem Solving Communication on Cancer Adjustment of Women with Cancer in Nursing Hospital

Validation Study of the Portuguese Version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index

Within family stress theories, the way in which families communicate about their hardships and issues is crucial for the family’s stress management and functioning. In the current study, we sought to validate the Portuguese version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index and examine its psychometric properties. Developed within the context of the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation, the FPSC is a ten-item self-report measure that assesses the family communication patterns that are likely to play a role in the family’s coping with hardships and difficulties. The participants were 332 individuals between 18 and 76 years who completed the FPSC and self-report measures of family hardiness and family functioning. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the original FPSC bifactorial structure, indicating the presence of two dimensions, Affirmative Communication and Incendiary Communication. Correlations between the scale’s total score and its dimensions with the measures of family hardiness and family functioning attested to its convergent validity. Furthermore, the index demonstrated respectable to very good internal consistency and temporal stability. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the FPSC is a valid and reliable instrument that can support the development of future empirical studies focused on family problem solving communication, especially with regard to family adaptation in different contexts of adversity.

Predictors of Resilience in Adolescents with Cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the predictors influencing on resilience in adolescents with cancer.METHODS: The participants consisted of 107 parents and 107 adolescents who aged ten and eighteen diagnosed with cancer more than six months and currently receiving outpatient treatment or further management after off-therapy. Data was collected using self-report questionnaires and analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression.RESULTS: Resilience was significantly different by religion (t=2.472, p=.045) and number of cancer treatment regimens (F=3.155, p=.047). Family problem-solving communication was also significant by number of cancer treatment regimens (F=3.582, p=.031). The higher social support showed the stronger family hardiness and the better family problem-solving communication. In addition, a positive relationship was found between Family Hardiness Index (FHI) (r=.193, p=.046), Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) (r=.226, p=.019) and resilience of adolescents with cancer. FPSC (beta=.356, p=.045) and religion (beta=.441, p=.002) were predictive factors at ages 10-12, FHI (beta=.509, p=.029) and FPSC (beta=.503, p=.037) were predictive factors at ages 13-15 on resilience of adolescents with cancer that explained 16.0% and 24.3% respectively.CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that nursing interventions should focus on enhancing family resilience and resilience of adolescents with cancer.

Effects of the Family Resilience Enhancement Program for Families of Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Family Resilience Enhancement Program (FREP) on family hardiness, family sense of coherence, family problem solving communication, family crisis oriented personal evaluation, and adaptation in families of patients with chronic schizophrenia. The study design was a nonequivalent control group prepost test design. Study participants were 17 families in the experimental group and 17 in the control group. Ten sessions of FREP were provided over 5 weeks. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0. There were statistically significant differences in family hardiness, family sense of coherence, family problem-solving communication, family crisis-oriented personal evaluation, social resources, and family adaptation between the experimental group and the control group. FREP based on the family resilience model developed in this study, shows the effect of leading the families to positive family adaptation.

Resilience in Families Adapting to Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study explored adjustment and adaptation in families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data on family resilience were collected from 19 biological mothers of children with ADS. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to yield information on factors that enable these families to bounce back from the diagnosis and accompanying challenges with regard to ADS. The findings from the qualitative analysis indicate that social support, the spousal relationship, and family time, togetherness and routines are the most important resilience-promoting factors with ASD. Family hardiness, family problem-solving communication, and family time and routines were significant resilience resources.

Families of Children with Down Syndrome: Responding to “A Change in Plans” with Resilience

The purpose of the present investigation, which was guided by the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation, was twofold: (a) to describe maternal perceptions of parental and family adaptation in families raising a child with Down syndrome, and (b) to examine linkages between family demands, family resources, family problem solving and coping, and family adaptation in families of children with Down syndrome. Seventy-six mothers completed mailed questionnaires. Seventy percent of the mothers rated their family's overall functioning as either a 4 or a 5 on a 5-point scale (1 = poor; 5 = excellent). In their written comments, most mothers reported that their family was doing well or very well. Three family variables (i.e., family demands, family resources, and family problem-solving communication) were significantly associated with family adaptation. These results provide support for the belief that many families of children with Down syndrome respond to "a change of plans" with resilience. That is, they are able to endure, survive, and even thrive in the face of ongoing challenges associated with raising a child with Down syndrome.

Family Variables Associated With Well-Being in Siblings of Children With Down Syndrome

The purpose of this research was to examine relationships among family demands, family resources, family problem-solving communication, family coping, and sibling well-being in 41 families of children with Down syndrome. The guiding framework for this research was the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation. Mailed questionnaires were completed by mothers and siblings closest in age to the children with Down syndrome. Results indicate that, as a group, the siblings in this study had favorable self-concepts. In addition, maternal reports typically indicated that these siblings were socially competent, with a low incidence of behavior problems. All four family variables were significantly associated with at least one of the indicators of sibling well-being. This research adds a critical piece, the sibling piece, to a fascinating puzzle concerning how families respond to the multiple challenges associated with raising a child with Down syndrome.

The retirement transition and the later life family unit.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine to what extent family worldview and problem-solving communication style influence individual and family unit adaptation during retirement. A cross-sectional correlational survey design utilized Pearson correlations and stepwise multiple regressions. The sample consisted of 368 individuals representing 184 later life family units. Operationalized as family unit data, family worldview and family problem-solving communication style were examined in two series: (1) with outcome variable of family unit adaptation and (2) with outcome variable of individual adaptation. Scoring of family unit data was conceptually, procedurally, and analytically congruent. The investigation extended McCubbins' work into the later life family unit giving empirical support for two propositions of the Resiliency Model (M.A. McCubbin & H.I. McCubbin, 1993). This investigation also extended A. Antonovsky's (1987) work as the second study to apply the Antonovsky Sense of Coherence Scale to a family measurement. Conclusions are that although the way the family views the world is important during retirement, being affirmed by family members is more important. The investigation highlights the importance of a positive problem-solving communication style for a positive level of family adaptation. Individual adaptation during retirement was more influenced by family worldview.