Nurturing Relationships Research Articles

Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample

Associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and risks for adult depression, poor mental health, and insufficient social and emotional support have been documented. Less is known about how positive childhood experiences (PCEs) co-occur with and may modulate the effect of ACEs on adult mental and relational health. To evaluate associations between adult-reported PCEs and (1) adult depression and/or poor mental health (D/PMH) and (2) adult-reported social and emotional support (ARSES) across ACEs exposure levels. Data were from the cross-sectional 2015 Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, a random digit-dial telephone survey of noninstitutionalized Wisconsin adults 18 years and older (n = 6188). Data were weighted to be representative of the entire population of Wisconsin adults in 2015. Data were analyzed between September 2016 and January 2019. The definition of D/PMH includes adults with a depression diagnosis (ever) and/or 14 or more poor mental health days in the past month. The definition of PCEs includes 7 positive interpersonal experiences with family, friends, and in school/the community. Standard Behavioral Risk Factor Survey ACEs and ARSES variables were used. In the 2015 Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Survey sample of adults (50.7% women; 84.9% white), the adjusted odds of D/PMH were 72% lower (OR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.21-0.39) for adults reporting 6 to 7 vs 0 to 2 PCEs (12.6% vs 48.2%). Odds were 50% lower (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.36-0.69) for those reporting 3 to 5 vs 0 to 2 PCEs (25.1% vs 48.2%). Associations were similar in magnitude for adults reporting 1, 2 to 3, or 4 to 8 ACEs. The adjusted odds that adults reported "always" on the ARSES variable were 3.53 times (95% CI, 2.60-4.80) greater for adults with 6 to 7 vs 0 to 2 PCEs. Associations for 3 to 5 PCEs were not significant. The PCE associations with D/PMH remained stable across each ACEs exposure level when controlling for ARSES. Positive childhood experiences show dose-response associations with D/PMH and ARSES after accounting for exposure to ACEs. The proactive promotion of PCEs for children may reduce risk for adult D/PMH and promote adult relational health. Joint assessment of PCEs and ACEs may better target needs and interventions and enable a focus on building strengths to promote well-being. Findings support prioritizing possibilities to foster safe, stable nurturing relationships for children that consider the health outcomes of positive experiences.

A Health Twofer: Nurturing Relationships Are Associated with Lower Odds of Obesity-related Mental Health Comorbidities in Adolescence (P04-173-19)

ObjectivesThis study proposes to identify dietary behaviors associated with two obesity-related mental health comorbidities (depression, and suicidal ideation), and examine whether a nurturing relationship with an adult at school can introduce protective effects against both comorbidities for adolescents. MethodsStudents enrolled in 37 Chicago public high schools participated anonymously in the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students (n = 1883) were asked about 1) dietary behaviors, such as if they ate fruits and/or vegetables at least once per week, drank milk and/or soda at least once per week, and ate breakfast daily and 2) mental health comorbidities, such as feeling sad or hopeless, or considered attempting suicide within the past year. There was an additional social support question that inquired whether there was at least one adult at the school that the student could consult with about an issue. Overweight or obesity (BMIP > 85th) were estimated using self-reported weight and height. Two sample-weighted logistic regression models, adjusted for physical activity, sleep, sex, age, race, and ethnicity, were used to examine factors associated with the co-occurrence of 1) overweight or obesity with depression, and 2) overweight or obesity with suicidal ideation. ResultsOf the total sample, 13% had co-occurrence of depression with overweight or obesity and 7% were overweight or obese and experienced suicidal ideation. Having a nurturing relationship with an adult in school was associated with lower odds of obesity with comorbid depression (odds ratio (OR): 0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI):0.28–0.70) and lower odds of obesity with comorbid suicidal ideation (OR: 0.35; 95%CI: 0.23–0.52). Odds of obesity with comorbid depression were associated with soda (OR: 5.45; 95%CI: 3.76–7.90), and breakfast intake (OR: 0.32; 95%CI: 0.20–0.51). Odds of obesity with comorbid suicidal ideation were associated with milk (OR: 8.12; 95%CI: 4.77–13.83), and vegetable intake (OR: 3.38; 95%CI: 1.93–5.91), but no other dietary behavior. ConclusionsFurther research is needed to examine the mechanisms through which nurturing relationships with adults at school introduced protective effects against the coexistence of obesity and mental health disorders for Chicago public high students. Funding SourcesMs. Aguayo is supported by an American Heart Association Strategically Focused Research Network Award; Ms. Lin is supported by a NCI T32 Training Grant.

Metasynthesis: Dying adults' transition process from cure-focused to comfort-focused care.

To describe and explain the process of transition from cure-focused to comfort-focused health care as perceived and reported by patients, family members, and healthcare providers. Moving into the last phase of life due to advanced illness constitutes a developmental transition with increased vulnerability for patients and family. Qualitative metasynthesis. Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo databases searched from inception through March 2016. Primary research reports published from 1990 to 2015, using qualitative designs to report transition experiences of patients, family members, and/or healthcare providers were included. Key elements were extracted and organized into matrices. Findings from each report were analysed using qualitative coding. The sample was 56 unique reports from 50 primary studies. Patients and families emphasized the importance of receiving understandable information, emotional support, respect for personhood and control. The critical juncture of 'realizing terminality' preceded a transition to comfort-focused care. Subsequently, a shift in goals of care emphasizing comfort and quality of life could occur. Continued provision of information, effective support, respect and control promoted 'reframing perceptions' and capacity to embrace a changed identity. Reframing allowed patient and family to find meaning and value in this last phase of life and to embrace the opportunity to prepare for death, nurture relationships, and focus on quality of living. Understanding the developmental process that can be engaged by patients and families at the end of life provides a theoretical basis that can inform choice and timing of interventions to reduce suffering and enhance positive outcomes.

A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Strength-Based Career Workshop with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® in Taiwan

This study aimed to explore the applications and effects on strength-based career workshop with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP). The researcher adopted a single group of experimental design and a group LegoViews to collect qualitative and quantitative data for cross-validation. The researcher facilitated LSP strength-based career workshop with seven Taiwanese adults. Then, the researcher adopted “career hope scale,” “positive and negative affect schedule”, and “critical positive ratio checklist” to evaluate the effectiveness of workshop. The previous three scales were utilized for surveying at three time points, respectively, which were before the workshop started 3 days ago, after the workshop finished 3 weeks later, and after the workshop finished 3 days later, as pretest, posttest, and follow-up test. The researcher adopted repeated measures one-way ANOVA for measuring the effects of change. Finally, the researcher applied the Group LegoViews for 1 hour to explore the connotations of change by content analysis method. According to the research results, participants significantly presented delay effect in negative affect and immediate effect in critical positive ratio, but no significant differences in positive effect and career hope. Furthermore, the textual information collected from the LegoViews revealed LSP strength-based career workshop could improve positive emotional effects of “Concreting Construction, Promoting Positive,” “Multiple Linking, Broadening Thinking,” and “Perceiving Displacement, Eliminating Negative”; and career hope constructions of “Calling Original Intention, Career Anchoring,” “Multiple Trade-offs, Dreams into Reality,” and “Linking Nurturing Relationships, Deepening Empowerment.”

Stewardship, credibility and political communications: A content analysis of the 2016 election

Public participation in the democratic process and trust in elected leaders are both declining. Drawing on research from the fields of public relations and communications, this content analysis examines political communication through the lens of credibility and stewardship, both concepts central to predicting favorable relationship maintenance outcomes. In this analysis of all presidential, Senate and congressional candidates in the 2016 election, findings indicated that candidates more commonly communicate ways to provide support for the campaign (relationship nurturing), than demonstrating that they are worthy of being entrusted by the public. In addition, candidates’ communication primarily centered on the candidate being a credible source, neglecting other strategies for demonstrating credibility (digital and content). While there were no significant differences by party affiliation, incumbents and presidential candidates were more likely to communicate some forms of stewardship and credibility.

Transforming Rehabilitation and Approved Premises

This article considers the impact that Transforming Rehabilitation has had upon Approved Premises (APs) since the process began following the publication of the National Probation Service Review Paper, E3 Blueprint (the three Es being Effectiveness, Efficiency and Excellence), in November 2015. This paper outlines what service delivery across the organisation will look like in the near future. At the time of writing we are in the consultation phase, which has yet to be concluded. I have drawn upon quality assurance information from a number of National Probation Service (NPS) North West Region Approved Premises documents published between 2009 and the dissolving of Probation Trusts in 2014. This has enabled some analysis of the efficacy of existing group work programmes and purposeful activities in place at each AP. The paper reflects the personal experiences of the author, including experiences from a previous change process, and how the initial transfer from Trusts to the NPS altered the practice and political landscape for an innovative and creative AP team. The paper concludes by considering the potential consequences for APs as their rehabilitative regimes will inevitably change. It considers how this could be a constructive process as each hostel is measured against quality improvement and assurance measures determined by an external body – the Royal College of Psychiatry (RCP). This is as a consequence of each hostel working towards or having achieved the RCP Enabling Environment Award (EEA) status, involving full team training in the Knowledge and Understanding Framework to better understand and respond to residents who have emerging or diagnosed personality disorders. Reaching and then retaining this EEA standard is likely to be an ongoing challenge. Refreshingly, creating an enabling environment demands high levels of engagement, coupled with the development of understanding, nurturing and caring relationships for residents and staff alike.

Bach, Beethoven, and benefactors: Facebook engagement between symphonies and their stakeholders

This study analyzes Facebook engagement among the nation's symphonies and their stakeholder publics. Factors such as reliance on donor contributions, program revenues, government grants, investment income, and total assets are proposed as contributing factors in predicting effective stakeholder relations. Public relations scholarship emphasizes the significance of relationships between the organization and its stakeholders and argues that positive relationships are integral to organizational success. Stewardship theory suggests nonprofits rely on a number of tools, including relationship nurturing, to sustain relationships with supportive publics. Scholars have increasingly identified stewardship as an effective method by which to build and maintain relationships. This study assesses one particular aspect of stewardship – relationship nurturing – and the attributes of nonprofit organizations that are successfully cultivating relationships with their stakeholders via social media. We find that benefactors matter. As dependence on stakeholder contributions increases so does stakeholder engagement via Facebook. Findings regarding program revenues and total assets are also significant. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Nurture Relationships With Local News Media

Nurture Relationships With Local News Media

Becoming grown-ups: a qualitative study of the experiences of peer mentors

Peer mentoring is the most common type of peer support framework used in English secondary schools, involving a one-to-one supportive relationship between pupils. Interpersonal benefits have been found for pupils who provide support to others, but there has been little exploration of the experience of being a peer mentor. This qualitative study aimed to provide an initial in-depth look at young people’s experiences. A semi-structured focus group was conducted with seven pupils aged 16–17 years in an English secondary school, who were acting as peer mentors to younger mentees or were becoming a mentor. Central thematic categories were identified using abbreviated grounded theory analysis. The central category Becoming grown-ups reflected the way the peer mentors felt the role helped to prepare them for adulthood. Other categories revealed that the role involved a nurturing relationship which benefited mentors but was also challenging. These findings extend the literature by revealing that these pupils may experience personal growth due to both positive and negative aspects of the role. It is recommended that further qualitative exploration of the experiences of peer mentors across multiple settings should be conducted, with findings used to enhance pupil training.

Trayvon Martin

Excerpt of the content: Jewish activist communities have historically been allies to communities of color in the fight for racial justice and equality in our country. Jews were among those who worked to establish the NAACP in 1909. In the early 1900s, Jewish newspapers drew parallels between the Black movement out of the South and the Jews' escape from Egypt, pointing out that both Blacks and Jews lived in ghettos, and calling anti-Black riots in the South "pogroms." Historically, Jewish leaders stressed the similarities rather than the differences between the Jewish and Black experience in America, and emphasized the idea that both groups would benefit the more America moved toward a society of merit, free of religious, ethnic, and racial restrictions. In more recent history, Blacks and Jews fought side by side in the Civil Rights Movement. The kinship and relationship between the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel has been regularly and continually celebrated. What has been less often discussed is the relevance of the social circumstances that created and, in some cases, still sustains a rift between Black activists and white Jewish anti-racism activists. In the late 1960s, the birth of the Black Power movement shifted the emphasis in Black activist communities toward self-determination, self-defense tactics, and racial pride. While this shift was crucial to the evolution of Black consciousness and identity in America, the expansion from the singular nonviolence and racial integration approach espoused by King left many white Jewish activists with little input in the Black community and an anti-racism movement that seemed to be moving on without them. Click for larger view "Blacks and Jews fought side by side in the Civil Rights Movement," the author writes. Here, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth march alongside Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965. Since the 1960s, efforts at coalition building and solidarity work for justice between white Jewish and Black communities have suffered and never reached the pinnacle that was reached during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. The rapid decline of American anti-Semitism since 1945 (alongside the nation's continuing and pervasive anti-Black racism) and the increasing gap in accumulated wealth and education between Black and Jewish communities have widened the rift of perceived shared interests between Black and Jewish activists. Many of the civil rights struggles that joined Blacks and Jews in the middle of the last century--i.e., anti-lynching, desegregation, voter registration, etc.--were typically organized around divisions in society that easily identified injustices between persecutors and their victims (a division in which Jews could also identify as victims). Between the late 1960s and the present, much of the anti-racism work that has galvanized Black activists has shifted and come to be concerned more specifically with disparities in access, privilege, and power between those with and without white skin privilege in our country. Click for larger view Members of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue pray alongside Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Jr. of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, California, after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer. Disappointingly few synagogues nationwide engaged in similar expressions of Jewish-Black solidarity. A Weakened Coalition In 2013, the lack of deep and abiding connections between Black and Jewish communities of activists became apparent to me in the disparate responses I encountered to the events surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent acquittal of George Zimmerman. Here's a quick summary for any readers who need a reminder of what happened: in July 2013, after more than sixteen hours of deliberation, a jury of five white women and one Latina woman found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Previously, on a drizzly February night, Zimmerman had shot Martin, an unarmed seventeen-year-old, in a gated community in Sanford, near Orlando. Citing Florida's stand-your-ground law, Sanford police originally did not charge Zimmerman or take him into custody. Only after social media outrage and civil rights protests alleged racial profiling and discrimination did Governor Rick Scott appoint a special prosecutor, who brought the charges against Zimmerman six weeks after... Language: en

Vulnerabilidade da criança diante de situações adversas ao seu desenvolvimento: proposta de matriz analítica

This theoretical study presents a conceptual matrix built to analyze the vulnerability of children in adverse situations to their development. It proposes that the vulnerability of children is analyzed by means of the following dimensions: individual , which is related to ongoing nurturing relationships, physical protection and security; social , which concerns the social insertion of family and access to rights of social protection and promotion; and programmatic , which involves the political-programmatic scenario and the guidelines and political-programmatic implementation. The practical application of this matrix allows apprehending the health-disease process beyond the individual dimension, enabling the articulation of public policies and actions of professionals to achieve effectiveness in meeting the needs of children. The use of this conceptual matrix can provide to health teams a specific understanding of the adverse situations to child development as well as subsidizing intervention plans based on the analytical dimensions of vulnerability.

Vulnerabilidade da criança diante de situações adversas ao seu desenvolvimento: proposta de matriz analítica

This theoretical study presents a conceptual matrix built to analyze the vulnerability of children in adverse situations to their development. It proposes that the vulnerability of children is analyzed by means of the following dimensions: individual , which is related to ongoing nurturing relationships, physical protection and security; social , which concerns the social insertion of family and access to rights of social protection and promotion; and programmatic , which involves the political-programmatic scenario and the guidelines and political-programmatic implementation. The practical application of this matrix allows apprehending the health-disease process beyond the individual dimension, enabling the articulation of public policies and actions of professionals to achieve effectiveness in meeting the needs of children. The use of this conceptual matrix can provide to health teams a specific understanding of the adverse situations to child development as well as subsidizing intervention plans based on the analytical dimensions of vulnerability.

Effects of Parent Effectiveness Training Program on Family Communication and Flexibility of Korean Parents

This study examines the effects of an 8‐week Parent Effective Training (PET) program on family communication and flexibility. Forty‐two pairs of Korean parents were randomly assigned to either an experimental group that provided the PET program or a control group that did not offer the program. The two groups were compared on pre‐, post‐, and follow‐up measures of PAC(Parent‐Adolescent Communication), ENRICH(Enriching and Nurturing Relationship Issues, Communication and Happiness), and FACES(Family Adaptability Cohesion Evaluation Scale), while controlling for the effects of socio‐demographic variables. Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significant improvements in family communication between parents and children and between the husband and the wife but no such improvements in family flexibility. These findings suggest that the PET program is a useful short‐term tool for Korean parents wishing to enhance family communication.

Early Intervention, IDEA Part C Services, and the Medical Home: Collaboration for Best Practice and Best Outcomes

The medical home and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Part C Early Intervention Program share many common purposes for infants and children ages 0 to 3 years, not the least of which is a family-centered focus. Professionals in pediatric medical home practices see substantial numbers of infants and toddlers with developmental delays and/or complex chronic conditions. Economic, health, and family-focused data each underscore the critical role of timely referral for relationship-based, individualized, accessible early intervention services and the need for collaborative partnerships in care. The medical home process and Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Part C policy both support nurturing relationships and family-centered care; both offer clear value in terms of economic and health outcomes. Best practice models for early intervention services incorporate learning in the natural environment and coaching models. Proactive medical homes provide strategies for effective developmental surveillance, family-centered resources, and tools to support high-risk groups, and comanagement of infants with special health care needs, including the monitoring of services provided and outcomes achieved.

Virtual stewardship in the age of new media: have nonprofit organizations' moved beyond Web 1.0 strategies?

Stewardship has been identified as an important relationship cultivation strategy. The four dimensions of stewardship—reciprocity, responsibility, reporting, and relationship nurturing—consist of one‐way and two‐way messaging strategies that can be carried out in a variety of manners on the Internet using both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technologies. Through a content analysis of the Nonprofit Times 100 organizations, this study found that nonprofit organizations overwhelmingly prefer to use their website to cultivate relationships with their stakeholders with stewardship strategies. Despite the hype of social media technologies, including Facebook, there remain many significant questions and obstacles to seeing nonprofits truly embrace social media communication.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fatherhood, furniture and the inter-personal dynamics of working-class homes,c. 1870–1914

ABSTRACT:Drawing on life stories, this article considers the relationship between urban working-class men and domesticity. Focusing on the spaces, objects and rites of men's homecoming, it questions perceptions of working-class men as peripheral to the inter-personal dynamics of family life and assesses how men's occupation of domestic space and time could be invested with emotive meaning by adult children. The article suggests that fathers were not simply figures of authority or masculine privilege but, rather, that the domestic interior was a space where men and their children navigated family roles and filial obligations to enjoy nurturing and intimate relationships more commonly associated with mothers. In doing so, the article stakes a claim to reconsider the idea that working-class homes were ‘a woman's place’ and view them more dynamically as inter-personal domains.

Connecting Adolescents With Their Geographically Separated Parents: Videoconferencing for Reading Support

Prolonged separation from a parent has been linked to emotional and academic consequences among children. Therefore, in this article, the authors used free videoconferencing to (a) deliver parental support for a student struggling with reading and (b) maintain a nurturing relationship between a geographically separated father and son. The authors explain how to set up and conduct the parent–child videoconference with information gleaned from trying the procedures. In addition, the authors suggest how to use the practice to foster better home–school partnerships in education. The use of web technologies seems to be a promising means of making a student resilient to the potential academic and emotional consequences of separation from a parent.

Selection of individuals to serve on major gift fundraising teams: a study of membership choice criteria

Major gift fundraising (MGF) is a crucial activity for large UK charities and is one that is normally undertaken by teams. This paper examines the criteria that the managements of large charities apply when selecting individuals to serve on MGF teams. It also explores possible connections between team composition and MGF success. A questionnaire exploring this matter was distributed to a sampling frame comprising 500 of the UK's largest fundraising charities, resulting in 151 replies. It emerged that MGF teams which contained people who had been chosen on the basis of their commitment to the MGF function, their communication and relationship nurturing abilities, and their wide‐ranging connections throughout an organisation were reported to perform better than teams that were not deliberately assembled in this way. The more background research was completed into an MGF prospect's circumstances and preferences and the more diverse an MGF team's composition, the higher the probability of success. However, team size did not exert significant effects on performance nor did (i) the personal status of any of a team's members or (contrary to expectations) (ii) the inclusion of individuals who knew a prospect personally. Teams with members who possessed extensive experience of MGF did not perform substantially better than others. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Viewpoint: let's teach medical students what patient partnership in clinical practice can be, with the involvement of educationally engaged patients

AbstractAs highly influential health consumers, the importance of the patient's voice is portrayed in the literature, leading to new directions in heath policy and practice. The authors' experience of patient partnership in the context of medical education has provided us with an opportunity to develop an understanding of what patient partnership in education should be about and how this can be implemented in a sustainable manner within undergraduate curriculum.This viewpoint outlines the context for our philosophy of providing students with the opportunity to engage with patients' stories and needs, and to graduate students ready to conduct consultations in a patient centred manner. The Patient Partner Program is the vehicle by which this teaching and learning approach occurs.The Patient Partner Program recruits actual volunteer community patients to be educationally engaged with senior medical students, participating in regular weekly small group teaching encounters. The contribution of these patients is significant and there is evidence that patients themselves recognize the importance of their role in the programme. We believe the strength of the Patient Partner Program lies in the nurturing of relationships and the engagement of those involved.The challenges of achieving and maintaining true patient partnership are acknowledged including the students' perception of their learning needs as they move towards their junior doctor role, and providing students with meaningful formative feedback. These challenges should not be deterrents for pursuing partnership with patients in an educational setting.

Psychotherapy with a Narcissistic Playboy Facing the End of His Life: A Self-Psychology and Object Relations Perspective

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is considered to be one of the most tenacious and stable types of personality organization. It usually presents a challenge to clinicians and is often resistant to treatment. The continuous search for the affirmation by others of the grandiose self and the devaluation of others in an attempt to stabilize their self-esteem is typically seen in individuals with narcissistic personality organization. On the other hand, corrective life events such as personal achievements, long-term nurturing relationships, and the management of loss and disillusionment can contribute to a more realistic realignment of the person's Ego Ideals and self-esteem. One such example is the case of Don Joaquin, a 69-year-old playboy who was facing death from leukemia. This article will describe the supportive and psychodynamic psychotherapy treatment approach that was utilized, and how Self-Psychology and Object Relations Theory provided a useful framework to bring help and relief to this patient, as he prepared to face the end of his life.