Family Bonds Research Articles

Can intergenerational relationships mitigate digital exclusion among China’s elderly population?

ABSTRACT In the burgeoning grey economy, the elderly have been widely praised for their digital readiness dividends. However, there remains a significant gap in the literature regarding solutions to the critical issue of digital exclusion faced by the elderly. This study utilizes the microdata from three waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2016, 2018, and 2020 to explore how intergenerational relationships influence the digital exclusion of older adults and identify the mechanisms. The findings reveal that strong intergenerational bonds significantly narrow the digital divide for the elderly. The analysis highlights that such relationships have a more pronounced impact on mitigating elderly digital exclusion among early-aged parents, males, residents of rural areas, and families where parents and offsprings cohabit. The mechanisms through which these relationships exert their influence include promoting intergenerational support exchanges, providing digital guidance from children to parents, and enhancing the elderly’s acceptance of digital technology. Furthermore, this paper employs the ‘one-child policy’ as a quasi-natural experiment to examine the moderating role. The findings underscore the value of nurturing parent-child bonds in reducing digital exclusion among the elderly, offering strategic insights for addressing this issue in societies experiencing both ageing populations and declines in birth rates.

The Role of Animal Assisted Therapy in the Rehabilitation of Mental Health Disorders: A Systematic Literature Review

Mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia significantly reduce the daily functioning and quality of life of individuals. Traditional treatments often fall short, thus opening interest in complementary therapies like animal assisted therapy (AAT) which encourages the human-animal bond and gives emotional and psychological support. This review evaluated the efficacy of AAT in treating mental health disorders, and understanding its mechanisms and benefits. A comprehensive literature review was conducted (using databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate) focused on peer-reviewed articles, systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in the last 2 decades. Studies indicated that AAT improved mental health outcomes for people with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and schizophrenia. Interaction with therapy animals reduced cortisol levels, increased oxytocin, lowered blood pressure, and increased social engagement and emotional regulation. Benefits included reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and improved social functioning and quality of life. AAT offered a complementary treatment for mental health disorders, providing emotional comfort, improving mood, and serving as a nonpharmacological option for individuals. However, challenges such as individual preferences, allergies, ethical concerns for therapy animals, and logistical issues must be addressed. Future research should focus on the long-term effects and mechanisms involved to optimize the application of AAT in the clinical setting, and alternatives like robotic companion pets could also be explored.

Digital and other forms of contact between older European parents and children: the role of internet use, digital skills, emotional and geographical distance

ABSTRACT Guided by the intergenerational solidarity model and leveraging rich data from the European Social Survey round 10 (2020–2022), we examine the role of internet use, digital skills, emotional and geographical distance in influencing various forms of contact between parents aged 60 or above and their children. Emotional closeness emerges as a universal driver of contact of all forms. Geographical proximity is positively associated with face-to-face interactions, but negatively with video calls. Internet use and digital skills positively associate with digital contact. Our findings suggest that fostering digital inclusion among older adults is crucial, emphasizing the role of digital literacy in maintaining family connections in a digital world. Overall, our study provides insights into adapting familial bonds amidst the digital transformation.

Funeral services, interaction with grieving clients, and human-animal bond in animals’ Heaven Cemetery, Romania: an exploratory qualitative analysis

ABSTRACT This study explores the significance of funeral services for animal companions, focusing on grieving clients and the human-animal bond. Reflections of employees at the Animals’ Heaven Cemetery (Cimitirul Raiul Animalelor in Romanian) on the motivations, emotions, and reactions of clients who used the cemetery’s post-mortem animal care services are examined. Findings revealed differing responses from owners, ranging from open expression of emotions to silence; acceptance of loss, desiring to honor their animals’ existence with a final gesture even posthumously. Participants also reported occasional situations arising from distance or situational challenges when clients offer no assistance in their animals’ burial or cremation. The results suggest the necessity of formal qualifications in therapy, psychotherapy, psychology, or a related profession to enhance funeral service providers’ ability to communicate with grieving clients. The concept of an animal companion cemetery as a park, perceived as “a place of hope” and “a spiritual place” is suggested.

Predictors of Desertion: Analysis of the First Michigan Colored Infantry in the American Civil War

AbstractOver 180,000 black soldiers served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. They endured horrific deprivation and disease, and also substantial institutional discrimination in such areas as wage and promotion. Nevertheless, most never deserted their duties as soldiers. However, it is not clear what distinguished those who did desert from their counterparts. The present case‐control study fills this gap. It applies social bonds theory to explain desertion among blacks. The general hypothesis is the greater the bonds or stakes to the military unit, the lower the risk of desertion. Data refer to the First Michigan Colored Infantry (First Michigan) and are from the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. They refer to the population of all 189 deserters in the First Michigan and a comparison group of non‐deserters. Available measures of social bonds include substitute status (substitutes received a bounty upon completion of service), receiving a wound (having “skin in the game”), and noncommissioned officer status. In addition, loyalty to family is framed as a risk factor. The dependent variable is desertion, a dichotomy (0,1). Results are adjusted for other measurable variables. A multivariate logistic regression analysis determined that measures of military social bonds were protective factors against desertion. Substitutes were 73% less apt, wounded soldiers 93% less apt, and noncommissioned officers were 79% less apt to desert than their counterparts. However, family bonds were a risk factor. The model correctly classified 77.95% of the cases. The results largely support a social bonds theory of deviance, but also may support views of the conflicting bonds between family and state as increasing desertion. The investigation is the first quantitative study of desertion among blacks in the Civil War.

Eating Problems in Young Adults: The Role of Unbalanced Family Cohesion and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation

Strong emotional bonds with the family often result in many positive consequences for human functioning, including emotional regulation and eating patterns. The study aimed to determine the relationship between unbalanced family cohesion, emotion regulation, and eating problems in young adults. A correlation research design was used with a non-probability purposive sampling technique to recruit a sample consisting of 300 university students, 50% men and 50% women, with an age range from 18 to 25 years ( M = 21.60, SD = 1.95) from the four universities of Lahore. Demographic performa, Family Cohesion Scale (FCS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Eating Problem Scale (EPS) were used to explore the study variables. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21. Pearson product-moment correlation indicated a significant positive relationship between unbalanced family cohesion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and eating problems. It also revealed that a positive relationship was found among unbalanced family cohesion, difficulties in emotion regulation, and eating problems in young adults. Mediation analysis shows that emotion regulation fully mediates the relationship between unbalanced family cohesion and eating problems in young adults. The findings will help students and family counselors identify risk factors of eating problems and its impact on their transition into marriage life. They will contribute to a deeper understanding of unbalanced family dynamics, difficulties in emotion regulation, and eating problems.

Looking Back When Moving Forward: Researching Sites of Former Disability Institutions

This article discusses an inclusive research program where colleagues and co-researchers (with intellectual disability) guide and inform future research practice to ensure research is targeted to areas of significance and relevance to them. The research program is about sites of former disability institutions. Many people with intellectual disability in Australia were segregated and forced to live in disability institutions until deinstitutionalisation efforts became mainstream in the late 20th Century. We are a team of four people based in New South Wales, Australia. Our team includes disability advocates and researchers who have contributed to a program of research exploring connections between sites of former disability institutions and contemporary disability rights. In this article, we reflect on conversations about our research undertaken so far and where the research goes from here. We explore five pillars of action informing how research relating to disability institutions can progress: 1. Current use: research exploring erasure of experiences of institutionalisation communicated through educational resources and maps about current use of sites of former disability institutions; 2. Reparative planning processes: research developing frameworks for alternative approaches to planning and heritage processes supporting alternative uses of former sites of disability institutions; 3. Official recognition and redress: research exploring perspectives on governments formally recognising and remedying experiences of people with disability who were institutionalised; 4. Community-led repair and remembrance: research identifying practices for both celebrating advocates with disability and reckoning with and repairing familial and social bonds broken through institutionalisation; 5. Community-inclusive practices: research exploring endurance of institutional practices in disability accommodation in community settings. These five pillars are underpinned by three foundational layers: advancing disability human rights; reckoning with intersections between disability institutions and settler colonialism, other dynamics of oppression, and eugenics; and using inclusive practices.

Whose Egg, Whose Sperm, Whose Household Registration? Reproductive Decisionmaking Among LGBT Parents in China

This article examines how LGBT individuals and couples in China make reproductive decisions in a sociopolitical context characterized by homophobia and an absence of LGBT familial rights and legal recognition. The existing literature on LGBTQ+ childbearing and family formation, based primarily in Euro-American countries, tends to focus on the central role of same-sex marriage legalization and features marriage as the core intimate bond that bestows parental and other familial rights. This article argues that China’s household registration (hukou) system is an equally, if not more, salient regulatory system that determines daily life opportunities, access to state-subsidized schooling and health care, life-long social welfare, and placement in a hierarchy of urban versus rural citizenship. LGBT intending parents in China make reproductive decisions with a child’s hukou in mind, treating genetic contributions, gestational labor, and legal parental status as flexible resources to achieve desired hukou outcomes. The hukou system encourages reproductive strategies that make and unmake LGBT kinship, securing family bonds that otherwise lack legal and social recognition while potentially risking parental precarity. The article suggests new directions for LGBT rights advocacy by focusing on the governing systems and statuses that determine access to key citizenship resources and family rights.

The role of the human-canine bond in recovery from substance use disorder: A scoping review and narrative synthesis

Abstract Recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is a personal journey that includes connection with self and others, including animals – known as the human-animal bond (HAB). Research shows that canines are the most common type of animal integrated into animal-assisted interventions to support people with SUD. Yet, to our knowledge, there has been no review of the evidence on the role of canines in SUD recovery. The scoping review’s objective was to examine the literature on the human-canine bond’s role in recovery from SUD among adolescents and adults, including how the bond may help or hinder recovery. The review considered records that described the human-canine bond with respect to recovery in any recovery- or therapy-related setting globally. Eleven databases were searched, and 32 sources met inclusion criteria that involved companion dogs, therapy dogs, service/assistance, dogs and others. The thematic analysis across records identified three key benefits of the human-canine bond in SUD recovery: (1) a source of social connection and a conduit for human-to-human social connection, (2) a calming and comforting effect on individuals with SUD that can reduce stress and anxiety, and (3) the human-canine bond as a motivating factor for positive change. Through these themes, the bond may help divert substance use-related thoughts and reduce cravings, bolster engagement in treatment and recovery, and help to decrease and prevent substance use. However, a few articles found no role or a limited role of the human-canine bond in recovery, and challenges and considerations were reported, particularly for marginalized populations (e.g., related to obtaining and maintaining housing, employment, and SUD treatment). Most of the records discussed canine welfare in some capacity. Calls were also made for improved policy, public awareness, and animal welfare.

A qualitative study of psychological stress and coping among persons using crack cocaine

BackgroundResearch has identified a strong link between stress and drug use behaviours. Also, it has been established that the prolonged use of crack cocaine stimulates emotional, cognitive, neurological and social changes. This paper explores the psychological stressors that occur from crack cocaine use and the coping mechanisms used to mitigate them. This will provide an understanding of the intricate relationship between substance use and psychological well-being.MethodologyThe study is qualitative and uses a descriptive phenomenological approach. The coping circumplex model is the theoretical model that underpins the study. Data was collected through 26 face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews with people who use crack cocaine. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Participants consisted of 15 males and 11 females between the ages of 24–57 years, guaranteeing multiplicity within the study sample.ResultsCravings, financial burdens, relationship breakdown and emotional /cognitive stimulation were revealed as psychological stressors. Maladaptive coping which includes self-harm, isolation, not speaking about/not dealing with emotions and using substances were adopted by study participants. Also, positive coping such as seeking help and keeping busy were adopted by study participants. Social and environmental factors such as stigma, easy accessibility of crack and flashbacks served as barriers to positive coping. Positive coping was linked to the availability and easy accessibility to social support and strong family bonds, underlining the importance of accessible support systems in managing the challenges linked with crack cocaine use.ConclusionThe challenges faced by study participants in coping with the psychological stressors linked to their crack cocaine use highlight the importance of adopting personalised and comprehensive strategies to tackle the intricate dynamics between psychological stress, coping and crack cocaine use.

Disenchanted comradery: The social process of persistent mistrust among North Korean refugees in the United Kingdom

AbstractPrevious research on refugees demonstrates that low interpersonal trust impedes their social adaptation in host countries. However, a pervasive sense of low trust among refugees, particularly within their own communities, remains less understood. Using survey and interview data from North Korean refugees in London, United Kingdom, this study probes the social processes that foster mistrust towards their in‐group peers. The quantitative findings show that refugees have created a close‐knit, in‐group community bounded by strong emotional bonds that, counterintuitively, do not necessarily develop into mutual trust. The interviews show that the asylum‐seeking experiences and the cultural norms they bring from North Korea continue to shape how they perceive in‐group contacts as potential threats. Additionally, interactions with locals, especially South Korean immigrants, amplify perceptions of inferiority and mistrust towards in‐group members. These findings illuminate the complex social process through which mutual mistrust continues to persist among refugees, offering insights into the multifaceted challenges refugees face in resettlement.

A visual ethnography of parent-child interactions during ‘story-time’ in Chinese family settings

ABSTRACT Story-time serves as an interactive linguistic tool through which parents encourage their children to share narratives. Grounded in sociocultural and narrative theories, this study employed a visual ethnographic approach to explore how parents perceive and engage in story-time interactions within 33 Chinese families. Data were collected through video recordings of story-time sessions and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that story-time may function as a play-based educational tool, fostering positive parent–child relationships and supporting child development through activities such as child-centered reading and role-playing. Parent–child interactions were categorized into two primary types: those involving print-based materials and those centered around oral storytelling. Parents emphasized the importance of respecting their children’s preferences by allowing them to choose stories and by developing effective storytelling techniques to maximize the benefits of family story-time. Through these sessions, parents and children engaged in meaningful interactions that strengthened family bonds and contributed to the children’s holistic development.

Psychosocial Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Women’s Mental Health

Women mental health and impact of psychosocial factors on it, is highlighted in various psychological & clinical studies, due to pandemic made it a matter of more focus. Studying the long-term impacts of the coronavirus on society, our mind, body and its analysis perhaps will take more time. Out of the total population, a number of people felt a disrupted sleep as a hallmark of the pandemic, and suffered from depression, insomnia, irritability, violence including domestic violence, distress, work pressure due to online culture of work, and other related negative mental health symptoms as idiosyncratic attributes especially in covid sufferers. Covid-19 pandemic has altered family dynamics. More screen time, unended & fluctuated routines, for working women dissolving boundaries in workplace and personal life altered & flicking habits, all impacted mental health adversely. The human brain is evolved to live in social groups & wired for social interactions, epidemiological studies conducted on covid survivors, convalescents & victims shows altered brain biochemistry due to various psychosocial factors including financial losses, social isolation, intimate partner’s negative mental state, discrimination, disrupted sleep & routines, etc. Pandemic might has altered the romantic and loving relationships, and adversity of such psychosocial factors impacted people. Psychological strengths and resilience mainly depend on social determinants like social support, social culture, respect, engagement at workplace, parenting style in childhood & emotional attachment, society & family bonds, self-regulation & behavior controlling, and collective efficacy, all these determinants are positively associated with self-esteem that have direct impact on enhancing psychological strengths. Population for the study as participants were females in early adulthood & studying, professional and housewives. For data analysis, the statistical tools, descriptive, co-relational and regression analysis is used. The study focuses on effect of adverse aspects of adversity like pandemics financial crises like job losses, allowances or salary deductions, led to economic abuses, and somewhere gender discrimination, sexual abuse, household workload, escalation in family members expectations and responsibilities, adverse impact of these psychosocial factors on women’s mental health and role of education, knowledge, skills, and aptitude i.e. abilities & cognitive competencies in coping and managing the adversities like pandemic.

Digital family bonds are strengthened through effective communication dynamics on YouTube in Indonesia

General Background: Family communication plays a critical role in maintaining healthy relationships among family members, promoting openness, support, and understanding. Effective communication strengthens family bonds, especially during shared moments such as gatherings. Specific Background: Fadil Jaidi's YouTube channel provides an intriguing case study of family communication, showcasing how members interact and resolve issues. These video interactions offer valuable insights into the dynamics of family communication, particularly in the digital age. Knowledge Gap: Despite the extensive focus on communication in family studies, few have explored how family interactions are represented in social media content, especially YouTube channels, where family moments are broadcast to the public. The role of these platforms in influencing family communication patterns remains underexplored. Aims: This study aims to describe and explain the family communication patterns that occur on Fadil Jaidi's YouTube channel, focusing on openness, support, empathy, positiveness, and equality through content analysis. Results: A qualitative content analysis of five selected videos revealed that family communication on Fadil Jaidi’s channel runs smoothly. The interactions were characterized by 24 scenes: 8 scenes showing openness, 5 scenes of support, 2 scenes of empathy, 6 scenes of positiveness, and 3 scenes of equality. These categories were identified using thematic and syntactic analysis. Novelty: This study is among the first to analyze family communication within a public YouTube context, applying Eriyanto's content analysis framework. It highlights how online platforms can both reflect and influence real-life family dynamics. Implications: The findings suggest that public displays of family communication on social media platforms, like YouTube, can serve as examples for fostering positive interactions in real-life family settings. This research contributes to the understanding of how digital platforms can be used to promote healthy communication in family contexts. Highlights: Family communication on YouTube shows openness, support, empathy, positiveness, equality. Fadil Jaidi’s videos highlight effective family interactions in everyday scenarios. The study reveals digital platforms’ role in shaping family communication dynamics. Keywords: family communication, YouTube analysis, content analysis, social media, qualitative research

Foster care adoption recruitment methods: A review of the literature amid calls for reform in the United States

Over 113,000 children in the child welfare system have had their parent’s rights terminated in America. Family preservation and reunification should be priority goals for child welfare systems to prevent termination of parental rights and lessen the need for foster care adoptions. Systemic change is needed to preserve family bonds and lower the number of children aging out of foster care each year without family. Until that change occurs, foster care adoption is one of the options for permanency for children when returning to family is not possible. Millions of dollars are spent yearly on adoption recruitment strategies to find adoptive homes. There is little research on the outcomes of these models. This scoping review examines the state of the literature on foster care adoption recruitment efforts. The review found a small number of adoption recruitment studies (n = 15). More research should be implemented to better focus child welfare professionals’ effort, time, and funding on the most effective strategies to create permanent homes while also continuing to work on system reform to lessen the need for such adoptions in America.

Work-life conflict: A study based on nurses in general hospitals in Galle district Sri Lanka

Work–life conflict has become a significant area of research due to the pressures of modern competitive lifestyles, due to that both men and women must earn to support their families. Balancing work and family responsibilities, while maintaining organizational commitment, is especially challenging for nurses, who play a major role in the health sector and often work long hours.This study focuses on the relationship between work-life conflict and organizational commitment among nurses in public sector hospitals in the Galle district in Sri Lanka. The primary objective is to investigate this relationship and understand the factors contributing to work-life conflict, its outcomes, and solutions.The research is quantitative, also use both primary and secondary data. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the random sample of 120 nurses, and the data were analyzed using Excel 2013, with results presented tables, charts and graphs.Findings show a significant negative relationship between work-life conflict and organizational commitment. Nurses must balance their work and family roles to strengthen their psychological bond with their hospitals. Hospital administrations should enhance organizational support to help nurses manage both domains, leading to increased commitment. It is beneficial not only the organization but also the broader society by improving healthcare outcomes.

Measurement of attachment in human-animal interaction research

Abstract Researchers in the field of human-animal interaction often investigate the construct of the human-animal bond in order to measure contextual information about companion-animal relationships beyond simply living with a pet. This practice allows researchers to go beyond a simple manifest variable (e.g., dog-owning vs. cat-owning participants) to investigate how specific relationships with companion animals may impact outcomes. However, the current measures of the relationship between people and their pets (i.e., attachment) are flawed. Specifically, their initial validations were based on homogenous samples, the original conceptualizations of the human-animal bond were fragmented, and some used improper statistical techniques in determining the underlying factor structure of the measure. The current study utilized confirmatory factor analysis ( n = 589) to examine the factor structure and underlying psychometric properties of the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale and the Short Attachment to Pets Scale. The factor analysis revealed that the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale and the Short Attachment to Pets Scale both have issues with model fit in a sample of undergraduate students at a public Southwestern University. This article offers recommendations for future research investigating the human-animal bond.

Factors Affecting the Happiness of Learners in Higher Education: Attitude, Grade Point Average, and Time Management

Student well-being is essential for academic achievement and personal growth. Fostering happiness among university students is crucial for individual development, strong family bonds, a harmonious society, and national progress. This study aimed to identify key determinants of student happiness in higher education. Eight factors, including GPA, workload, family support, university environment, attitude, motivation, time management, and social relationships, were examined among 388 Thai students using an online survey. Students were categorized into distinct groups based on these factors using k-means clustering. ANOVA was employed to assess whether these factors significantly differentiated the groups, and significant factors were further analyzed using regression analysis to confirm their impact on student happiness. A neural network analysis was also utilized to evaluate the relative importance of each factor. The results revealed that attitude, GPA, and time management significantly affected student happiness. A positive attitude fosters a sense of opportunity and achievement, a high GPA reflects academic success and enhances self-confidence, and effective time management reduces stress while allowing more time for enjoyable activities.

Exploring the human-bearded dragon animal bond: A qualitative content analysis of Reddit posts

Abstract The impact of companion animals on humans has been extensively investigated. Previous and current literature has overwhelmingly focused on traditional companion animals, such as cats and dogs. Despite many individuals living with non-traditional companion animals, the research surrounding the impact they have on our lives remains understudied in comparison to traditional companion animals. Bearded dragons are currently the most popular type of reptiles as non-traditional companion animals, yet the perceived biopsychosocial impacts they may have on individuals remain relatively unexplored. The present study aimed to answer the following research questions: (1) What topics do people post to a subreddit forum dedicated to bearded dragon guardians? and (2) What do posts to the bearded dragon subreddit forum suggest about the human-bearded dragon bond? The website Reddit was systematically searched for relevant online subreddit communities targeted toward people with bearded dragons. Posts made by individuals to the chosen subreddit were collected. A conventional qualitative content analysis was performed on 2903 posts, producing five overarching categories: (1) The human-animal bond between bearded dragons and humans; (2) Use of bearded dragon Reddit forum; (3) Health and medical concerns; (4) Psychological effects; and (5) Social effects. Findings provide insight into how individuals with bearded dragons used and engaged with the online Reddit forum as well as how they reported the human-bearded dragon animal bond. The novel findings reported in this study warrant further research to explore the unique bonds formed between humans and non-traditional companion animals, including further investigation regarding bearded dragons and the various effects they may have on human life.

A One Health Approach to Public Safety: A Review of Police Canines in the United States.

Working dogs are an essential part of modern society, and police canines (K9s) in the United States are amongst the most recognizable of all working dogs. Given the dearth of published data on active police canines in the U.S. and the calls for police reform, an interdisciplinary effort is necessary to comprehensively understand how these dogs are best used for the benefit of society. This review paper relies on veterinary public health expertise to present a comprehensive overview of police canine use by municipal law enforcement in the United States, including known impacts and gaps in knowledge. The existing literature from animal-assisted interventions (AAI) provides evidence to ensure working dog well-being, while human-animal bond research contributes to officer safety and canine partnership. Lastly, law enforcement and public health agendas (LEPH) assure the team's successful efforts in built environments and local neighborhoods. These frameworks acknowledge the complexity of police dog use, spanning from punitive to public relations, which mirrors the role of law enforcement in U.S. society. This paper proposes the use of a One Health framework to ensure police canine contributions to society, including suggested approaches to partner municipal police with veterinary medicine and public health, and integrate One Health in promoting public safety for local communities.