Parental Care Research Articles

Psychotropic medication prescribed for children and young people with eating disorders in mental health in-patient services: a quality improvement programme

ABSTRACT The aims of this quality improvement programme were to enable providers of mental health in-patient services for children and young people in England to review their prescribing practice alongside the views and experiences of children, young people and their parent carers. Three online tools were developed. First was a medication census tool to be completed by provider clinicians to capture prescribing practices around psychotropic medication. The two other online tools were questionnaires that provided an opportunity for inpatient children and young people and their parent carers to express their views of the medication. 193 children and young people had a primary diagnosis of eating disorders. Antidepressants were the most widely prescribed (56%), followed by antipsychotics (41%), benzodiazepines, and antihistamines as sedatives (18%) and hypnotics (11%). Of those receiving regular psychotropic medications, 67% were prescribed two or more. Both the children and young people and their parent carers expressed concerns about the high level of psychotropic medication, the number of prn administrations, the number of psychotropic medications prescribed and the extent of side effects. Psychotropic medications are widely prescribed both on a regular and on a prn basis for children and young people with eating disorders in mental health in-patient services.

Effects of development and parental care on Hamilton's force of selection.

The force of selection describes the sensitivity of population growth to changes in life history parameters, with a focus usually on the survival probabilities from one age class to the next. Importantly, according to Hamilton the force of selection generally decreases after the onset of reproduction, thereby providing a possible explanation for patterns of senescence. A second characteristic feature is that the force of selection remains constant up to the age of first re- production. This latter observation, however, rests on the assumption that offspring become independent from their parents right after birth. I show here in a minimal model that if offspring are fully reliant on their parents, either during early embryonal development or via parental care at later stages, and during this time prevent their parents from entering a new bout of repro- duction, the force of selection on offspring survival generally increases up until the age at which offspring become independent. This provides a possible explanation for the commonly observed pattern of decreasing mortality during early ontogeny. Further, genes acting during recurrent life stages are observed to experience a heightened force of selection compared to genes that act strictly age-specifically, demonstrating the need to develop a mechanistic understanding of gene activation patterns through which to consider life history evolution.

Policy and practice recommendations for services for disabled children during emergencies: Learning from COVID-19.

To seek consensus on recommendations for the delivery of services to disabled children in England during future emergencies. Candidate recommendations were drafted based on our related mapping review and qualitative research related to experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Iterative workshops with professionals and parent carers helped to refine the recommendations. A Delphi survey, rating the importance of each recommendation, was conducted with (1) parent carers of disabled children, (2) disabled young people aged 8 to 19 years, and (3) health, education, and social care professionals. A consensus meeting was convened online to discuss the findings and ratify the recommendations. Twenty-eight recommendations were included in the Delphi survey. There were 141 participants in round 1 and 91 in round 2. Seven recommendations reached the agreed consensus criteria for being critical across all stakeholder groups, while 21 recommendations did not reach consensus across all groups. Fourteen participants ratified 23 recommendations, which when aggregated and refined further produced our final 19 recommendations. Reductions in services for disabled children and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic had serious and lasting consequences. This study enabled parent carers, disabled young people, and health, education, and social care professionals to agree recommendations on services for disabled children during future emergencies.

Perinatal loss: attachment, grief symptoms and women’s quality of life

ABSTRACT Aims/Background Perinatal loss may cause intense distress even psychiatric issues, affecting the woman’s quality of life. Attachment may provide a useful perspective in understanding the outcomes of the mourning process. Thus, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate perinatal grief symptoms and the psychological and general quality of life among 137 Italian women (mean age 36,9. ± 6,88 years old) in relation to attachment, specifically measured through parental care and control. Design/Methods About 79.6% of the participants had miscarriages and 20.4% had stillbirths. About 45.3% were childless. The women completed the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Perinatal Grief Scale and the Psychosocial General Well-Being Index online most frequently between 3 and 6 months (56.2%) after the perinatal loss. Results All the study participants showed intense grief and severe grief reactions to loss. Moreover, women experiencing optimal bonding towards their own mothers had a more positive effect on perinatal grief and psychological and general quality of life. Conclusions Attachment-based, tailored interventions for women who have experienced perinatal loss should improve their psychological and overall quality of life.

Confucian filiality revisited: The case of contemporary China

The ideal of filiality ( xiao) – care and reverence for elderly parents and ancestors – is one of the central values in Confucianism. It has been hugely influential in Chinese society. However, it has often been misused and vulgarized in practice, leading to significant human suffering. Hence, there is a need to articulate a morally defensible and realistic interpretation of filiality that is appropriate for the Chinese context. In this article, I articulate an account of filiality that can be deployed to enhance understanding of the ideal, criticize misuses and promote healthy relations among family members. I argue that filiality comprises five parts that have been influential in Confucian philosophy and Chinese society. For each component, I demonstrate that a morally defensible and realistic interpretation must be sensitive to the age and health condition of family members, as well as the particularities of modern Chinese society such as the legacy of the one-child policy. I support my argument with empirical research findings from China. I do not deny the possibility that my argument may be valid outside of China, but I leave it as an open question.

Disaggregating animal welfare risks in aquaculture.

Aquaculture, fueled partly by claims of supporting food security, is experiencing unprecedented growth. Framing aquaculture as a monolith, however, overlooks its extreme taxonomic diversity. This paper assesses the welfare risks associated with that diversity, establishing seven species-level risk factors from involved parental care to long lifespans. Investigating these welfare risks across all aquatic species reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed an uneven distribution of risk, with extreme species-level risks in chordates, crustaceans, and cephalopod mollusks. Compared to species with fewer risks, species with extreme welfare risks were found to cost more and contribute the least to global production. This work challenges the notion that prioritizing animal welfare is incompatible with addressing food security and creates the possibility of identifying certain plant and invertebrate species, like seaweeds and bivalves, that minimize welfare concerns while providing affordability and accessibility. Going forward, proactive welfare approaches are needed to inform consumer choice and shape just and sustainable aquaculture policy.

A fine line between attack and care.

Oxytocin neuron projections from two brain regions involved in parental care regulate both parental care and infanticidal behaviors in virgin mandarin voles.

Критерии нуждаемости в постинтернатном патронате: разработка методологического подхода

<p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The article is devoted to the analysis of the concepts of “independence”, “adaptation” and “socialization”, as well as to the identification of definitions of the need for post-institutional patronage of persons from among orphans and children left without parental care in normative legal acts and the formulation of conclusions about the criteria of need, taking into account the regional aspect. The article uses a comprehensive approach, including an analysis of theoretical sources, regulations of the Russian Federation and Moscow, as well as the practical experience of specialists. As a result of the study, it was found that “independence” is defined as a generalized personality quality manifested in initiative and responsibility for one’s actions, “adaptation” is considered as an individual’s ability to assimilate the requirements of the environment, whereas “socialization” is understood as the assimilation of social roles and norms. The analysis showed important dynamic aspects of socialization, including the dependence of its success on external factors and the compliance of social skills with age requirements. The article substantiates the introduction of the concept of “desocialization” and criteria for identifying the risk of desocialization in the context of determining the need for post-institutional patronage of this category of citizens.</span></p>

Оценка добровольческих практик студентов-наставников по сопровождению детей-сирот и детей, оставшихся без попечения родителей, методом Photovoice

<p style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The article presents a procedure for assessing the volunteer practices of student mentors based on the participatory approach. The focus of the students’ practices is on supporting orphans and children without parental care through mentoring. In the project, students developed and conducted events for orphans, a specialized thematic shift, and a regional festival involving delegations from 8 regional institutions. The article analyzes the concepts of social practice, theoretical approaches to project assessment, and provides an overview of the Photovoice method. The novelty of the study lies in evaluating the impact of volunteer practices of student mentors on their professional and personal development. The assessment was carried out using the Photovoice method. The use of this method allowed the researchers to obtain high-quality information presented in the form of photographic images and cases containing students’ evaluative judgments. The results of the study can be used to motivate students by revealing how volunteer practices influence the formation of professional and social competencies, as well as the personal development of students.</span></p>

PROTECTING OF CHILDREN’S RIGHTS BY THE PROSECUTOR THROUGH REPRESENTATIVE MEANS: SEARCH FOR THE INTERESTS OF THE STATE

The article highlights some peculiarities of the legislative regulation of the prosecutor’s protection of children’s rights by means of representative means through the prism of court practice on determining the State’s interest in this area. The purpose of the article is to highlight the peculiarities of legislative regulation of the prosecutor’s function of representing the State’s interests in court in the area of child protection and also to make proposals for improving the efficiency of the mechanism of protection of children’s rights by means of prosecutorial representation. The author notes the imperfection of the legislative regulation of the representative function of the prosecutor’s office, which narrows its human rights protection potential. It is proved that imperfect legislation and the lack of consistent and unambiguous judicial practice create difficulties in the prosecutor’s office’s function of representing the interests of the State in the field of child protection. The author formulates the author’s own concept of prosecutorial representation in the field of child protection, which is proposed to be understood as the activities carried out by specially authorized subjects - juvenile prosecutors - with a valueoriented social focus on the realisation of a child’s rights to life, healthcare, treatment, recreation, education, social security, comprehensive development and upbringing in a family environment, as well as on the protection of the State’s interests in this area as a strategic national priority. In order to increase the effectiveness of representative activities and the efficiency of protection and enforcement of children’s rights in this area, it is proposed to introduce appropriate legislative changes to the mechanism for calculating and making appropriate payments to orphans and children deprived of parental care.

Effects of parental care on skin microbial community composition in poison frogs.

Parent-offspring interactions constitute the first contact of many newborns with their environment, priming community assembly of microbes through priority effects. Early exposure to microbes can have lasting influences on the assembly and functionality of the host's microbiota, leaving a life-long imprint on host health and disease. Studies of the role played by parental care in microbial acquisition have primarily focused on humans and hosts with agricultural relevance. Anuran vertebrates offer the opportunity to examine microbial community composition across life stages as a function of parental investment. In this study, we investigate vertical transmission of microbiota during parental care in a poison frog (Family Dendrobatidae), where fathers transport their offspring piggyback-style from terrestrial clutches to aquatic nurseries. We found that substantial bacterial colonization of the embryo begins after hatching from the vitelline envelope, emphasizing its potential role as microbial barrier during early development. Using a laboratory cross-foster experiment, we demonstrated that poison frogs performing tadpole transport serve as a source of skin microbes for tadpoles on their back. To study how transport impacts the microbial skin communities of tadpoles in an ecologically relevant setting, we sampled frogs and tadpoles of sympatric species that do or do not exhibit tadpole transport in their natural habitat. We found more diverse microbial communities associated with tadpoles of transporting species compared to a non-transporting frog. However, we detected no difference in the degree of similarity between adult and tadpole skin microbiotas, based on whether the frog species exhibits transporting behavior or not. Using a field experiment, we confirmed that tadpole transport can result in the persistent colonization of tadpoles by isolated microbial taxa associated with the caregiver's skin, albeit often at low prevalence. This is the first study to describe vertical transmission of skin microbes in anuran amphibians, showing that offspring transport may serve as a mechanism for transmission of parental skin microbes. Overall, these findings provide a foundation for further research on how vertical transmission in this order impacts host-associated microbiota and physiology.

Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Parents Caring for Children with Disabilities and Long-Term Illnesses

Objective There is a growing body of evidence on suicide risk in family carers, but minimal research on parents caring for children with disabilities and long-term illnesses. The aim of this study was to conduct the first dedicated research on suicide risk in parent carers and identify: (1) the number of parent carers experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and (2) the risk and protective factors for suicidality in this population. Method A cross-sectional survey of parent carers in England (n = 750), co-produced with parent carers. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors were measured with questions from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Frequencies summarized the proportion of carers experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Logistic regressions identified risk and protective factors. Results 42% of parents had experienced suicidal thoughts and behaviors while caring for a disabled or chronically ill child. Only half had sought help for these experiences. Depression, entrapment, dysfunctional coping, and having a mental health diagnosis prior to caring, were significant risk factors. Conclusion Parent carers contemplate suicide at levels that exceed those of other family carers and the general public. There is an urgent need, in policy and practice, to recognize parent carers as a priority group for prevention and intervention.

Fulfillment of parents’ obligation to carry out child education (germany’s experience)

In the scientific article, the author conducted a scientific study of the peculiarities of parents’ fulfillment of the obligation to raise a child in accordance with German family law, the grounds for the emergence and termination of this family obligation, the elements of rights and obligations that make up the content of parental care. On the basis of the conducted research, the author came to the conclusion that the concept of «parental custody» is used in German family law. as an obligation and at the same time - the rights of parents to take care of their minor child. Parental custody includes such powers of the child’s parents as: representation of the child’s interests in legal relations in which he is the subject, the duty and right of the parents to take care of the child, raise him and supervise him, as well as determine his place of residence , not to apply punishments that encroach on the dignity of the child, the duty and right of parents to help the child in obtaining an education and a profession, taking into account his abilities and inclinations, the right of parents to demand the handover of a child from another person who illegally deprives his parents or one of his parents of the opportunity exercise parental care, certain rights related to medical intervention. For the obligation to raise a child to arise, German family law establishes several legal facts: the presence of the child’s parents in marriage, when the presumption of paternity applies to the person who is the husband of the child’s mother; an application to take care of the child submitted to both parents who are not married; adoption of a decision by the family court to establish parental custody over the child to its parents who are not married, with determination of the limits of such custody for each parent. The fulfillment of the obligation to raise a child in accordance with German family law is carried out with the mutual consent of both parents in the interests of the child; if the parents cannot agree on the exercise of parental custody, their dispute is resolved by the family court, which may grant the right to one of the parents to make an appropriate decision related to the exercise of parental custody.

Experiences of parents with very premature-born children at risk of neurodevelopmental disorders: A qualitative study.

Premature birth is a traumatic and stressful situation for parents who are immediately separated from their infant because of the newborn's need for specialized care. The staff of these units are in charge of following the principles of family-centred care and practices for neonates at risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including providing training to the family during their hospital stay and after being discharged. The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of parents of premature children at risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in regard to care, interventions and assistance provided during the first months of their child's life. A qualitative descriptive study was carried out through individual interviews. The data analysis was conducted through a thematic analysis. The methodology and results were reported following the standards for preparing qualitative research reports and recommendations. Twenty-one parents of premature children were interviewed. From these interviews, three main themes emerged: (i) parents' perspectives on preterm birth risk communication, (ii) navigating parental support and early interventions in preterm birth and (iii) perceptions of preterm birth protective and challenging factors. The parents of premature children need to receive better communication about the care and interventions for their child, and it is necessary that health personnel are better trained in terms of management and administration of public resources. Strategies must be implemented that continuously guide parents on the follow-up and care of their premature child not only during their first moments of life but also after being discharged from the hospital. This study highlights the need to improve care for parents with premature infants at risk, emphasizing the necessity for health care system reforms and support structures, allowing health care professionals to enhance attention and care.

Effects of Nest‐Site Availability on Male–Male Competition and the Foraging Costs of Egg Attendance in an Arachnid With Exclusive Paternal Care

ABSTRACTNatural cavities are monopolizable resources used as nest sites across many species exhibiting exclusive male care. However, our understanding of how the availability of this type of reproductive site influences male–male competition and the foraging costs associated with parental care is limited and based on studies of fish. The harvestman Magnispina neptunus offers the opportunity to explore these questions in invertebrates because males defend natural cavities used as oviposition sites and provide exclusive parental care. We hypothesized that low nest availability would increase male–male competition and the foraging costs of egg attendance. To test this hypothesis, we collected observational data in the field and conducted a laboratory experiment with two groups, low and high nest availability. Field data indicate natural cavity scarcity, as only 50% of the males were nest holders. Larger males were more likely to hold nests in the field, but body size did not predict nest ownership in the laboratory. In the field, nests with openings smaller than average were equally occupied by small and large males, while nests with openings larger than average were occupied almost exclusively by large males. The nest opening in the laboratory experiment was adjusted to be equal to the average found in the field, which may have increased nest defensibility, regardless of male size. Thus, prior residency may outweigh body size in determining nest possession. Because nest owners seem to have an advantage over intruders, the costs of abandoning a nest are likely high. This may explain why the frequency of nest takeovers and foraging outside the nests did not differ between experimental groups. In conclusion, although underexplored in empirical studies, external factors, such as the opening size of cavities defended by males of many species with resource‐defense mating systems, may play a key role in the defensibility of nest sites.

The effect of experimental warming on reproductive performance and parental care in the burying beetle Nicrophorus nepalensis.

Rising temperatures can adversely affect parental care and reproductive performance across a range of taxa. However, the warming impact is contingent upon understanding how temperature affects the spectrum of parental behaviours and their interplay. Here, we assessed how temperature affects parental care and reproductive success in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus nepalensis, which exhibits complex parental care behaviours. We exposed breeding pairs of N. nepalensis, to three temperature regimes (18°C, 20°C and 22°C) and assessed changes in parental care, and the subsequent development and growth of their offspring. Our findings show that 22°C disrupts carcass nest building by the parents and results in smaller clutches. Moreover, no eggs successfully hatched in the 22°C treatment. A milder increase to 20°C did not affect the hatching rate but resulted in smaller broods and lighter offspring, even when considering brood size, suggesting a change in post-hatching care quality. Our research suggests that warming may weakly affect parental care but has strong detrimental effects on offspring performance. These findings highlight the necessity of investigating the effect of ambient temperature across a diversity of traits and behaviours and across a range of life-history stages to fully assess species vulnerability in the face of future climate change.

GPS-telemetry as a method to assess nest attendance by a female broad-snouted caiman Caiman latirostris

Crocodylians exhibit parental care, guarding their eggs during incubation to ensure offspring survival. We present the first description of nest attendance of a wild broad-snouted caiman using GPS-telemetry. During the reproductive season of 2022, we tracked a 1.8-metre female in the Tapacurá reservoir, a water source bordered by Atlantic Forest remnants and human settlements in north-eastern Brazil. Telemetry data revealed that 75.8% of the female’s position records were near the nest, suggesting parental care and nest protection. However, the female periodically returned to water. We observed no differences in proximity to the nest between day and night-time, which could be possibly related to different egg predators in the area foraging at different times of the day. Furthermore, the period when the nest was unattended could be associated with either feeding activities or avoidance of human presence. This research brings light on an important part of the reproductive behaviour of broad-snouted caimans in their natural environment, highlighting the importance of GPS-telemetry as a tool for monitoring reproductive behaviour of crocodylians, while contributing to understanding their biology under human-influenced settings. Keywords: Atlantic Forest, crocodylian, movement, parental care, reproductive biology

Parental care reduces parasite-induced mortality in a coral reef fish

Settlement patterns of juvenile fish shape coral reef communities. During the recruitment process, predation rates are extremely high. However, the role that parental care plays in reducing mortality, especially by cryptic natural enemies such as parasites, remains largely unstudied. We investigated whether parental care in the spiny chromis damselfish ( Acanthochromis polyacanthus ) protects juveniles from parasite-induced mortality by gnathiid isopods ( Gnathia aureamaculosa ). Using laboratory experiments, we found that survival of recently hatched juveniles when exposed to gnathiids was higher when parents were present (77%) than when parents were absent (25%). Investigation of their faeces in the field and laboratory indicates that adults consume gnathiids. Together, our data suggest that parental care plays a key role in reducing parasite-induced mortality of juvenile spiny chromis via parental consumption of gnathiids. This highlights the overlooked role of parasites as a source of high mortality in juvenile coral reef fishes and the composition of coral reef fish communities.

Institutionalization Of Children And Their Overall Development

The ideal environment for children's physical, psychological, and emotional development is within a family. All children should live in supportive, protective, and caring settings that enables them to achieve their full potential. Those with inadequate or no parental care are especially at risk of missing out on such nurturing environments. Many children in India lack a stable home and family. These include abandoned, surrendered, and orphaned children, as well as destitute children with families. These children are particularly vulnerable in terms of their right to survival, development, and protection. The State is accountable for protecting the rights pertaining to these children and ensuring appropriate alternative care through its competent authorities, such as nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations. The Government also enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, which serves as the major legislative framework for child protection in India, ensuring the security, protection, education, welfare, and development of children in need. The paper attempts to explore the institutionalization of children, the shortcomings of such a process, and the felt needs of the children. It focuses on the concerns of institutionalization and the overall development of children, access to their rights, welfare provisions, and relevant legislations. It also looks at adoption as an alternative to institutionalization. The paper thus examines child care institutions from the perspective of the child and argues that institutional care should be the last resort. It also discusses contemporary social work and advocates for alternative care, along with comprehensive welfare measures to guarantee the protection and overall development of children in need

Legal personhood and care for elderly parents in Indonesia

In one of her last articles, K. von Benda-Beckmann explores the notion of embeddedness of persons in their social world and how this relates to their duty of care (2021). She found that there may be different degrees of embeddedness; that some people are not only bounded to their social relations and environment, but also that their selves extended to include their social world. She suggested a differentiated analysis that could account for these differences and expects this to benefit in understanding care relations and, on a practical front, to offer unexpected strategies in dealing with injuries. This paper continues this framework by looking into legal pluralism and the relinquishing of legal personhood of elderly parents across different levels of social organizations, from the decision-making within families and into the courtrooms. What are the reasons for- and how are individuals being declared as no longer having agency or legal personhood (legal competency)? How does this relate to extending proper care to family members and (or in opposition to) others? And in more abstract terms, how is law translated from cognitive conception to become institutionalized or systematized? Through an analysis of court decisions and interviews, this paper demonstrates the relationship between social security and dependency. It studies the complex ways in which individual and collective human agency relates to social security structures and institutions.