Parental Tasks Research Articles

“When Will Your Program Be Available in Spanish?” Adapting an Early Parenting Intervention for Latino Families

This paper describes the Spanish adaptation of PACE —Parenting Our Children to Excellence. Successfully offered in preschools and daycare centers since 2002, PACE is a research-based preventive intervention to support families in their parenting task through discussions and activities that address practical childrearing issues and promote child coping-competence. Developed in response to community calls, the new program is known as CANNE – Criando a Nuestros Niños hacia el Éxito. The paper makes the processes linking original and adapted versions explicit by accounting for the conceptual and practical decisions that were made as CANNE was being developed. We begin by summarizing the challenges of adapting and translating a behavioral intervention, and by describing the coping-competence model that informs both versions of the program. We turn then to a detailed account of the adaptation itself and of its results. Specifically, we describe: (a) the consultation process at the origin of this adaptation, (b) the adaptation of the manual and the steps taken to establish the extent to which the English and Spanish versions correspond (adaptation fidelity), and (c) the translation of the manual and the cross-language comparison of measures to demonstrate that they yield comparable data when administered in English and Spanish.

The time and effort in taking care for children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: a study on care load and support

Accessible summaryIt is not easy for parents to care for a child with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). But we do not know how much effort it actually takes. If we want to help the parents, it is good to understand what it is they need to do and how much time that takes.We asked parents with what basic care tasks they had to help their child. And how much time that took them. We also asked parents if they had help from friends and relatives. We also wanted to know if professionals could really help to make the lives of parents a bit easier. There were 133 parents who answered all those questions.What they told us was important. They said: Our children are very dependent on us. We have to help them with getting up, getting dressed, eating and drinking, and so on. And that will never stop, even if they grow older. Some of us still have to get up night after night to look after the child. This is very tiring. To be up every night is really a burden. We learn to live with the needs that our children have. It is more difficult for younger parents than it is for parents with an older child. The support of professionals from special educational centre’s is very important for us. To us, it is even more important than help from friends. SummaryRaising children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities is considered to be extremely difficult for parents, but figures on the content and amount of time needed for the caring task of parents is lacking. Data on what the caring task actually means (in terms of amount of time and type of task) is needed to be able to understand the parents’ support needs. A questionnaire was developed in order to collect information about both the caring task and the level of parental burden concerning health‐related tasks and basic need tasks such as eating and drinking, dressing and sleeping. Furthermore, the level of support parents experience from friends, relatives and special services is included and the use of special aids and resources is taken into account. A total of 133 parents completed the questionnaire. Most children are dependent on them for meeting all their basic needs and have several health problems. Significant relationships were found between the number of times parents have to get up at night and the level of burden at night, and between the days a child stayed in hospital and the level of parental burden. The results indicate that the caring task places heavy demands on parents. Professional support is alleviating and extremely important for parents. The caring task is not necessarily indicative for the subjective burden parents experience. Parents of young children express higher levels of burden than parents of older children.

List scheduling with duplication for heterogeneous computing systems

Effective task scheduling is essential for obtaining high performance in heterogeneous computing systems (HCS). However, finding an effective task schedule in HCS, requires the consideration of the heterogeneity of computation and communication. To solve this problem, we present a list scheduling algorithm, called Heterogeneous Earliest Finish with Duplicator (HEFD). As task priority is a key attribute for list scheduling algorithm, this paper presents a new approach for computing their priority which considers the performance difference in target HCS using variance. Another novel idea proposed in this paper is to try to duplicate all parent tasks and get an optimal scheduling solution. The comparison study, based on both randomly generated graphs and the graphs of some real applications, shows that our scheduling algorithm HEFD significantly surpasses other three well-known algorithms.

Relationships between responses to visual Go/Nogo task and daily physical activities in preadolescent male and female children

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between cognitive functions and daily physical activities in primary school children. Subjects were 153 pupils (Age 6-12 years old), and visual Go/Nogo task for cognitive functions and parents questionnaire for daily physical activities were used.As results, male children exhibited negative correlation between duration of exercise and information processing time, and positive correlation between duration of exercise and the number of false response. Female children exhibited positive correlation between time of indoor play and number of false response. All these correlations were statistically significant. Further in females, those who spent longer time in playing video games exhibited statistically shorter reaction time.These findings suggested that the cognitive functions evaluated from visual Go/Nogo task were related to daily physical activities, especially the exercise and the indoor play. Further these factors and relationships could be different between males and females in preadolescent children.

Alles wie gehabt? Zur Aufteilung von Hausarbeit und Elternaufgaben in Partnerschaften

This article focuses on the division of housework and parental tasks within partnerships. Taking as a basis established theoretical explanations of the influence of time budgets as well as resource and power relationships within partnerships, on the one hand, and normative orientations on the other, the interaction of these influencing factors of the division of domestic tasks on the basis of the first wave of the “Generations and Gender Survey” (2005) is subjected to an empirical examination. The analytical and empirical distinction that is made between routine housework and parental tasks is essential here, given that both dimensions of the division of domestic tasks follow different mechanisms with regard to certain aspects. The available results show that women continue to take on the lion’s share of routine housework and parental tasks today. It was not possible to document an egalitarian division of tasks within partnerships in any of the groups observed. A tendency towards an equal sharing of everyday housework was recorded most commonly when no children were living in the household, when the partnership had not yet been in existence so long, when the woman was highly committed to work and made a corresponding contribution towards the household income, as well as where the partners had egalitarian ideas with regard to gender roles. By contrast, the number of children and the time spent living together tell us little with regard to the sharing of parental dren tasks within a partnership. A balanced division of tasks in this field was most commonly achieved in non-marital co-habitation, if the woman was highly committed to work, and among women and men who held modern ideas when it comes to roles. It is revealed as a whole that none of the established theories is able by itself to comprehensively explain the division of tasks within partnerships.

The Perfect Family: Decision Making in Biparental Care

BackgroundPrevious theoretical work on parental decisions in biparental care has emphasized the role of the conflict between evolutionary interests of parents in these decisions. A prominent prediction from this work is that parents should compensate for decreases in each other's effort, but only partially so. However, experimental tests that manipulate parents and measure their responses fail to confirm this prediction. At the same time, the process of parental decision making has remained unexplored theoretically. We develop a model to address the discrepancy between experiments and the theoretical prediction, and explore how assuming different decision making processes changes the prediction from the theory.Model DescriptionWe assume that parents make decisions in behavioral time. They have a fixed time budget, and allocate it between two parental tasks: provisioning the offspring and defending the nest. The proximate determinant of the allocation decisions are parents' behavioral objectives. We assume both parents aim to maximize the offspring production from the nest. Experimental manipulations change the shape of the nest production function. We consider two different scenarios for how parents make decisions: one where parents communicate with each other and act together (the perfect family), and one where they do not communicate, and act independently (the almost perfect family).Conclusions/SignificanceThe perfect family model is able to generate all the types of responses seen in experimental studies. The kind of response predicted depends on the nest production function, i.e. how parents' allocations affect offspring production, and the type of experimental manipulation. In particular, we find that complementarity of parents' allocations promotes matching responses. In contrast, the relative responses do not depend on the type of manipulation in the almost perfect family model. These results highlight the importance of the interaction between nest production function and how parents make decisions, factors that have largely been overlooked in previous models.

(En)Gendering Responsibilities: Experiences of Parenting a ‘Young Offender’

Abstract: This article discusses how parenting a ‘young offender’ involves specific additional responsibilities for parents who are already under scrutiny for apparently not taking their parenting responsibilities seriously. With reference to empirical data, three specific parental tasks are considered: managing the family's involvement in the youth justice system, waiting on ‘standby’ for police and schools, and reporting the child's offences to the police. In doing so, this article highlights the ways in which gender is implicated, and performs a regulatory function, in the day‐to‐day lives of mothers and fathers who are parenting a ‘troublesome’ child.

On Holding the Situation: Parental Affect Tolerance, Limit Setting, and the Transition to Object Usage

The relationship between parental affect tolerance and a distinct form of parent-child interaction that is located at the relational contact boundary, the limit, between the child and the adult is examined. Through the presentation of a parent therapy case of a 13-year-old girl, the paper suggests emotional self-awareness as a crucial mediator in one's ability to set limits consistently and parent effectively. Effective limit setting is highlighted as the critical parental task involved in seeing a child through the developmental phase that Winnicott referred to as the transition from object relating to object usage. Clinical approaches utilized to support this developmental process are presented with the aim of integrating theory and practice.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Fairness and Power in Family Organization

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Fairness and Power in Family Organization

2009 Focused Update Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA 2005 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure in Adults

published online Mar 26, 2009; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Lynne Warner Stevenson, and Clyde W. Yancy Ganiats, Marvin A. Konstam, Donna M. Mancini, Peter S. Rahko, Marc A. Silver, Abraham, Donald E. Casey, Arthur M. Feldman, Gary S. Francis, Theodore G. Silver, Lynne Warner Stevenson, Clyde W. Yancy, Mariell Jessup, William T. Konstam, Donna M. Mancini, Keith Michl, John A. Oates, Peter S. Rahko, Marc A. M. Feldman, Gary S. Francis, Theodore G. Ganiats, Mariell Jessup, Marvin A. Transplantation, Sharon Ann Hunt, William T. Abraham, Marshall H. Chin, Arthur Force on Practice Guidelines, International Society for Heart and Lung American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure in Adults 2009 Focused Update Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA 2005 Guidelines for the This information is current as of March 27, 2009 http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/j.jacc.2008.11.013v1 located on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is

2009 Focused Update: ACCF/AHA Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Heart Failure in Adults

2009;53;1343-1382; originally published online Mar 26, 2009; J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Rahko, Marc A. Silver, Lynne Warner Stevenson, and Clyde W. Yancy Francis, Theodore G. Ganiats, Marvin A. Konstam, Donna M. Mancini, Peter S. Mariell Jessup, William T. Abraham, Donald E. Casey, Arthur M. Feldman, Gary S. Heart and Lung Transplantation Developed in Collaboration With the International Society for Guidelines Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Management of Heart Failure in Adults: A Report of the American College of 2009 Focused Update: ACCF/AHA Guidelines for the Diagnosis and This information is current as of August 30, 2010 http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/53/15/1343 located on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is

Gender differences in the psychosocial experience of parents of children with cancer: a review of the literature

To build a descriptive literature base of investigated and identified gender differences in the psychosocial experience of parents of children with cancer, in order to guide future research in this area. An extensive literature search was conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL and EMBASE databases. Thirty papers were included in the review. Themes from these papers were identified, and on this basis, the review findings were grouped according to five main outcome categories: role perceptions, illness beliefs, psychological distress, coping strategies and perceptions of marital, family and child functioning. Few gender differences were found in perceptions of marital, family and child functioning. There was a tendency toward traditional gender roles in the division of parental tasks. Findings in relation to parent psychological distress and preferred coping strategies were mixed, with trends toward increased distress, more emotion-focused coping and greater social support-seeking in mothers. Further studies using longitudinal designs with solid theoretical groundings will provide valuable information on the unique psychosocial experiences of mothers and fathers throughout the child's illness, which may in turn guide the development of evidence-based interventions.

The Dying Neonate: Family-Centered End-of-Life Care

There is a need in the NICU for an end-of-life care guideline that nurses can follow when working with dying infants and their families. Maintaining intravenous access to relieve the infant's pain, communicating sensitively to the family, and creating precious, everlasting memories are goals that should be part of every dying infant's care. The nurse's ability to partner with the family in caring for the infant is integral to helping the family take the first steps in their grief journey. Evidence-based literature provides NICU nurses with the knowledge that they are the facilitators of end-of-life care for dying infants. New mothers and fathers are not aware of the caring parental tasks they can perform for their dying baby. They look to and depend on their infant's nurses to encourage them. The guideline included here provides nurses with a tool for ensuring that families have the opportunity to create memories that will not only help them with their immediate pain, but also comfort them for a lifetime.

It Takes a Village: Assets for Parent Education

Social and cultural changes in the 21 st century have impacted the task of parenting, and in response to these challenges, the role of parent education has taken on increased importance. The National Extension has defined skills for effective parenting titled Parent Education Model of Critical Parenting Practices, which provide guidelines for educators. Search Institute has identified 40 developmental assets that all children and youth need to aid them in successfully navigating to adulthood. The theoretical question addressed in this paper is whether the Parent Education Model and Asset Development used together would enhance parent education. A review of the Parent Education Model and Asset Development, as well as results from two focus groups, informed the theoretical question. Implications for practice include curriculum suggestions for use in a variety of parent education, social service, and youth settings.

La participation des pères aux soins et à l’éducation des enfants [L’influence des rapports sociaux de sexe entre les parents et entre les générations

The participation of fathers in caring for and raising children. The influence of the social relations of gender between parents and between generations. Demographic and legislative developments, along with changes in attitude and behaviour, since the 1970’ s have helped bring about a new image of the father who is more involved in his relation with his children and in assuming parental activities. However, the ideal of an equal division is not substantiated in reality. After highlighting the division of parental tasks in couples, the research attempts to explain paternal under-investment by focusing both on social relations of gender in effect in the parents’ generation and on those defining relations between parent-child generations. The analysis based on the Gender and generation survey (GGS) by the Institut d’études démographiques (INED France) demonstrates the inequality in paternal investment by type of task (dressing, putting to bed, accompanying journeys, leisure and homework) and the underlying factors at stake in social relations of gender.

Making Sense of Sibling Responsibility for Family Caregiving

As the population in the United States and around the globe ages, families are faced with decisions about caregiving for elderly parents. Research suggests that daughters often take on these stressful caregiving responsibilities, with varying levels of help from siblings. In this article, we examine these sibling relationships within the caregiving context, considering the ways in which siblings negotiate the division of tasks for elderly parents and make sense of siblings who provide little help in caregiving activities. Our content analysis of interviews with 25 family caregivers indicated that there was little negotiation of caregiving tasks. Furthermore, family caregivers make sense of sibling participation in caregiving in three ways. First, some caregivers account for caregiving as an individual activity for which they are especially suited. Second, some caregivers see caregiving as stemming from values about family life, but excuse nonparticipant siblings by defining them as outside family boundaries. Finally, caregivers with strong family values who could not make sense of siblings through an exclusionary frame engaged in verbal backtracking during the telling of their stories as a way of making sense of personal caregiving responsibilities.

Mindful Parenting and Care Involvement of Fathers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

There are few data addressing psychological variables that may explain some variation in parenting by fathers of children with intellectual disabilities. In the present study, we hypothesized that fathers who were more mindful in their parenting role (specifically, fathers who reported more present-centered attention in their relationship with their child) would use less avoidance in relation to their child with intellectual disability and that this would be reflected in increased father involvement in childcare. In a questionnaire survey 105 fathers completed a mindful parenting measure and a measure of parental involvement. Regression analyses revealed that fathers who reported being more mindful as a parent also reported more involvement in child-related parenting tasks and roles related to child socialization. These data suggest that mindfulness in the parenting role may be an important predictor of parenting in families of children with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, interventions designed to increased mindfulness should improve parent–child relationships and ultimately child outcomes.

Parents' attachment styles, mental representations, and institutionalization of children in Bulgaria.

We first summarize the history, extent, and characteristics of institutionalization of non-orphan children in Bulgaria. Then we describe a study of certain psychological characteristics of mothers who use institutionalization compared with mothers similar in ethnicity and close-to-poverty circumstances, those using state daycare programs, and those using weekly care programs for their children. Institutionalizing mothers had been institutionalized themselves far more often than had the other mothers. On two attachment measures, as expected, institutionalizing mothers were less secure and more insecure than daycare mothers, with weekly care mothers intermediate. On a parental representation task, results were somewhat more equivocal. Results suggest that psychological characteristics, especially attachment style, are important in decisions to use institutionalization as a means of child care.

Child Welfare Service Plan Compliance: Perceptions of Parents and Caseworkers

Child welfare practice and decision making center around service plans, but few recent studies have focused specifically on service plans and their use in routine child welfare settings. This qualitative study involving interviews, case record reviews, and court observations illuminates parent and caseworker perceptions about the meaning of service plans and service plan compliance, and about influences on compliance. Parents and caseworkers similarly perceive service plans as directives and service plan compliance as parental task completion and cooperation. But whereas caseworkers perceive a motivation to parent as the primary influence on service plan compliance, parents perceive multiple influences. Findings contribute to ongoing work to develop theories that can explain client service participation and its connection to positive child welfare outcomes.

ACC/AHA 2008 Guideline Update on Valvular Heart Disease: Focused Update on Infective Endocarditis

ACC/AHA 2008 Guideline Update on Valvular Heart Disease: Focused Update on Infective Endocarditis