Parents In Taiwan Research Articles

Dissecting neuromyths in education: an analysis of educators, students, and parents in Taiwan

ABSTRACT The seductive allure of neuroscience explanations (SANE) causes individuals tend to believe in information that claims to have support from neuroscience evidence, even when such information does not provide explicit sources of evidence. Consequently, citizens may harbour a significant proportion of neuromyths, which could potentially lead to behavioural biases. The present study explored neuromyths and their origins among preservice teachers, in-service teachers, students, and students’ parents. In addition, this study analyzed correlations among participants’ age, belief in neuromyths, their understanding of neuroscience, attitudes toward neuroscience, and intention toward the choice of educational strategy. Both neuromyths and attitudes toward neuroscience were associated with behavioural intention. Efforts should be made to enhance citizens’ neuroscience literacy, promote positive attitudes toward neuroscience, and foster media literacy through both formal and informal education. This will enable individuals to critically assess information from various media platforms.

Risk factors for cerebral palsy in children in Taiwan.

To determine the significant risk factors of cerebral palsy (CP) in Taiwanese children and the associations between infant-related and parent-related factors. Data from 1 459 093 infants and their parents in Taiwan's national databases collected between 2009 and 2016 were used. The cohort with CP included children diagnosed with CP between birth and age 3 years; a total of 3254 children with CP were included in the final analysis. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio for the risk factors of CP. The hierarchical logistic regression models indicated that significant risk factors associated with CP are suburban location, low income, maternal and paternal diabetes mellitus, paternal substance abuse, paternal seizure disorder, male sex, birth by Cesarean section, singleton birth, low birthweight, being born extremely and very preterm, intraventricular hemorrhage, and periventricular leukomalacia, as well as tube feeding, ventilator use, and dopamine administration within 6 months of age. In addition to common maternal and infant risk factors, we identified significant paternal risk factors associated with CP, including diabetes mellitus, seizure disorder, and substance abuse. The combination of maternal, paternal, and infant risk factors in CP holds great promise for early identification and intervention.

Exploring Coping Strategies of Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Taiwan: A Qualitative Study.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairments in their social interactions, language communication, and stereotypical patterns of behavior. Parents of children with ASD experience higher levels of stress and more depression and anxiety than parents of children with other disabilities or typically developing children. Parents of children with disabilities develop coping strategies to counteract the stresses associated with raising a child with special needs. Understanding coping strategies to help counteract the stresses associated with parenting a child with ASD may enhance well-being in parents of children with ASD, improve the quality of care provided to these children, and foster better parent-child relationships. The purpose of this study was to explore the coping strategies used by parents in Taiwan parenting a child with ASD. In this descriptive qualitative study, thematic analysis was conducted on data collected during face-to-face interviews. Fourteen parents of children with ASD were recruited using purposive sampling. Researchers employed a teamwork approach for data analysis to increase the dependability and consistency of the transcribed interviews. Team members discussed coding and identified the themes collaboratively. Taiwanese parents of children with ASD coped with the psychological impacts of parenting by employing problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies. Problem-focused strategies included communication, support, and management, whereas emotion-focused strategies included acceptance and adaptation. Findings showed that both coping strategies were useful in addressing specific situations and circumstances. Social and clinical support improved parents' mental health and children's external behaviors. Healthcare providers should evaluate how parents are coping with the stresses related to raising a child with ASD and consider the cultural factors that might influence how they accept and adapt to parenting children with ASD. Understanding these variables may be used to tailor strategies appropriate to reducing stress and improving the well-being of parents and their children. Support and resource referrals should be considered, including parent support groups, books, web-based services, and recommendations for professional consultations with social workers or therapists.

Parent and adolescent emotional variability and adolescent psychopathology.

Emotional variability has been posited as a risk factor for adolescent psychopathology. However, it is unclear whether parent emotional variability may also function as a risk factor that heightens adolescent mental health problems. To fill this gap, the present study examined whether parent and adolescent emotional variability in both positive emotion (PE) and negative emotion (NE) is associated with adolescent psychopathology and potential sex differences in these associations. Participants were 147 adolescents and their parents in Taiwan who completed a baseline assessment, a 10-day daily diary study, and a 3-month follow-up assessment. The results indicated that parent NE variability was associated with risk for adolescent internalizing problems and depressive symptoms, after accounting for baseline levels, adolescent NE variability, parent internalizing problems, and mean levels of parent and adolescent NE. Adolescent PE variability was also associated with the risk for adolescent externalizing problems. Furthermore, higher parent PE variability was associated with more internalizing problems only for female but not male adolescents. The findings highlight the importance of assessing emotion dynamics in both parents and adolescents to better understand the development of adolescent psychopathology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parents’ willingness to pay for their children’s COVID-19 vaccine in Taiwan, China: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Most COVID-19 studies aim to assess factors influencing willingness to pay for vaccines between the public and medical staff. However, few studies focus on parents’ willingness to pay for their children’s COVID-19 vaccine. The current study aimed to assess parents’ willingness to pay for their children’s vaccination against COVID-19 and its influencing factors. This population-based cross-sectional study used a self-administered questionnaire. The inclusion criterion was parents with at least one child younger than 18 years. The final analysis included 384 valid data points. A total of 89.1% of the parents indicated that they are willing to pay for their children’s vaccination against COVID-19. Among them, both fathers’ and mothers’ willingness to pay for their children’s COVID-19 vaccine was 89.6%. The mean and median willingness to pay were% would pay for their children. Excluding other confounding factors, willingness to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and hesitation to vaccinate their children were significantly associated with parents’ willingness to pay for their children’s COVID-19 vaccine. We found that 89.1% of the parents in Taiwan would pay for their children’s COVID-19 vaccine. Parents’ willingness to pay for themselves and hesitation to vaccinate their children were associated with willingness to pay. Reducing hesitation about vaccines and developing policies for vaccine payment may have a positive impact on willingness to pay for vaccines and promoting COVID-19 vaccination.

Intergenerational coresidence living arrangements of young adults with their parents in Taiwan: The role of filial Piety

Young adults throughout the world today, including those in Taiwan, are permanently leaving their parents' homes at a much later age compared with their parents' generation, a situation labeled as the failure-to-launch or boomerang generation. What role do filial piety beliefs play in East Asian especially in Chinese societies concerning intergenerational coresidence? Most studies on filial piety have examined older adult children and post-retirement parents, and have not simultaneously considered the viewpoints of both generations, which was investigated by using a two-level nested logit model. A sample of 657 families was selected from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD), conducted in Taiwan from 1999 to 2007. The young adult factors of having fewer economic resources and being unmarried were more important than their parents’ having greater economic resources and other demographic characteristics, and the filial piety beliefs of young adults were less significant, but still associated with intergenerational coresidence.

Parental Beliefs and Actual Use of Corporal Punishment, School Violence and Bullying, and Depression in Early Adolescence.

Prior studies on adverse outcomes of parental corporal punishment on children have focused on examining one of two broad domains of parental corporal punishment: parental beliefs or actual use. Recently, researchers have argued that parental belief and actual use of corporal punishment should work jointly to contribute to children’s depression and involvement in school violence. Yet, studies supporting this proposition are lacking. This study examined the indirect link from parental attitudes towards corporal punishment to children’s depression and school violence involvement through actual use of corporal punishment. Four hundred and thirty-three elementary school students and their parents in Taiwan participated in this study. The results indicate that positive parental attitudes towards corporal punishment do not predict children’s depression and involvement in school violence. However, parental attitudes towards corporal punishment had significant indirect relationships with depression and involvement in school violence through the actual use of corporal punishment. These findings applied to both genders. This study supports the proposition that parental attitudes and the actual use of corporal punishment could work together to predict children’s depression and school violence. Future intervention programs for decreasing children’s depressive symptoms and involvement in school violence might need to tackle corporal punishment in the family.

The role of mindful parenting in the relationship of parent and child mental health in Taiwan Chinese

ABSTRACT Parental stress increases child behaviour problems, and mindful parenting is suggested to be a potential moderator. The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting (IM-P) scale in Taiwan Chinese and investigate the relationship of mindful parenting with parent and child mental health. Exploratory factor analysis and moderation analysis were examined in a sample (N = 201) of parents in Taiwan. A three-factor structure was found with adequate internal consistency. Significant correlations were found between mindful parenting, parental stress, child behaviour problems, and social support from family. Non-judgmental acceptance of the child as a sub-scale of mindful parenting was a significant moderator of the relationship between parental stress and child behaviour problems. Mindful parenting should be further promoted in social work practice and research so that more Chinese families can benefit.

The Exploration of the Sources of Parenting Beliefs in Taiwan

This study aims to explore the different sources of parenting for preschool parents in Taiwan, and whether these parenting sources vary according to the parent’s background. 18,972 young preschoolers from Taiwan were selected as research subjects. With an approximation of 0.5% random selection, 949 young children were selected, and 709 valid questionnaires were received back, with a valid retrieval proportion of 76.2%. The outcomes were concluded as follows: (1) The parenting sources of preschool parents are categorized as friends, education professionals and books, newspapers and broadcast TV, and life experiences or other influences. Among these factors, life experiences and other influences play the most significant role. (2) When compared with fathers, there is a significant difference with mothers placing more emphasis on “friends” and education professionals”. Parents younger than 34 years old emphasize newspapers and broadcast TV” and “life experience or others influences” more than parents older than 45 years old. (3) The higher the parents’ educational degree, the more emphasis on “education professionals and books”, and “life experience or others influence”. These conclusions can serve as references for academia. Suggestions for future research are also proposed.

Parental Support in Taiwan that Promotes Children’s Physical Activity

In Taiwan, children’s physical activity (PA) levels have been declining, which leads to a higher risk for chronic disease in adulthood. Children’s PA habits are formed within environmental and social contexts in which parents play a fundamental role. Most studies that evaluate parental factors are Western and use single or unidimensional measures. There are few Asian studies, especially of young children, on this topic. Hence, we developed a culturally sensitive and multidimensional scale to determine how parents in Taiwan can effectively promote children’s PA. We based our scale on the Activity Support Scale (ACTS) and processed it using a World Health Organization (WHO) protocol. We recruited 428 parents of school-aged children and used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test its content validity. We then distributed the verified scale to a new group of 615 parents for criteria-related validation using multivariate logistic regression. We finally developed a multidimensional scale comprised of three major factors of parental support for children’s PA: (1) modeling, (2) logistic support—the first two are based on the ACTS—and (3) parental regulation, a newly found factor. This scale provides a culturally sensitive measure of parental influence on children’s physical activity.

Explaining the immigrant-native gap in parental involvement in Taiwan: the role of parents’ education and students’ prior achievement

This study examines whether parents’ education and students’ previous achievement affected parental involvement and whether they mediated differences in parental involvement between new immigrant and native parents in Taiwan. Two dimensions of parental involvement were measured: parent–child discussion and school-based involvement. The sample comprised 582 new immigrant parents and 8228 native parents whose children are fourth graders. This study analyzed two-wave data by using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that both parents’ education and students’ prior achievement significantly increased parent–child discussion, but did not affect school-based involvement. In mediation analyses, all three indirect effects on parent–child discussion appeared to be significant. The results indicate that the association between immigrant status and parent–child discussion is partially mediated by parents’ education rather than by students’ prior achievement. To narrow the immigrant-native gap in home discussion, results suggest that encouraging new immigrants to return to school, regardless of whether they obtain a degree, may be a promising approach.

The Effect of ICT Acceptance on Kindergarten Parents’ Empowerment: Deliberative Belief as the Mediator

The primary aim of this study was two-fold: 1) to identify information communication technology (ICT) acceptance of kindergarten parents that influence parents’ deliberative belief and empowerment by applying the socio-technical systems theory as theoretical framework; and 2) to examine the mediated effect of deliberative belief between ICT acceptance and empowerment. A total of 949 elementary school and kindergarten parents in Taiwan were asked to complete questionnaire about their ICT acceptance, deliberative belief, and empowerment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to evaluate the validity of structural/ latent model. The results revealed that deliberative belief, mediate the relationship between the ICT acceptance and empowerment among parents. ICT acceptance had effect on deliberative belief, and deliberative belief had the effects on empowerment. According to this information, it is recommended that school administrators should encourage parents and teachers together to improve and enhance their deliberative belief, ICT acceptance that may lead to more positive parents’ empowerment in school governance.

The Relation of Career Adaptability to Work–Family Experience and Personal Growth Initiative Among Taiwanese Working Parents

This study aimed to explore the effect of career adaptability on 598 working parents in Taiwan. The results showed that career adaptability served an important role in moderating and mediating the effects between work–family conflict, work–family strength, and personal growth initiative.

The Effectiveness of Two Positive Career Counseling Modules for Working Parents in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of 2 positive career counseling modules—the strength-centered career counseling (SCC) module and the goal-oriented career counseling module—for working parents in Taiwan (23 men and 28 women). The study used an experimental design, and the instruments were the Personal Growth Initiative Scale, Job Satisfaction Inventory, and Career Self-Efficacy Scale. A within-subjects analysis of variance indicated that both modules were effective in personal growth initiative and career self-efficacy, and SCC particularly had continuous effects on both of them. Advanced versions for the 2 modules and implications for future practice are discussed.

How Taiwanese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder experience the process of obtaining a diagnosis: A descriptive phenomenological analysis

An autism spectrum disorder can result in considerable stress and confusion for parents as they attempt to understand their child's problems and obtain a diagnosis. Few studies have explored the parental experience in the context of Chinese culture. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of parents in Taiwan of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. In total, 15 parents, 1 father and 14 mothers, were recruited by purposive sampling. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews and descriptive phenomenological analysis. The findings indicated that parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder underwent five coping experiences during the diagnostic process: (1) uncertainty and difficulty understanding their child's behaviour, which occurred during the pre-diagnosis phase; (2) obligation to obtain professional services; (3) anxious searching for a second opinion, which occurred during the diagnosis phase; (4) acceptance and fortitude and (5) further adjustment during the post-diagnosis phase. Our findings add to our understanding of how parents experience the diagnostic process, which could improve medical professionals' counselling and support for parents at the stage of obtaining a diagnosis for their children.

Housing the Intergenerational Families

This study uses recent survey data from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics to examine factors relating to married couples coresiding with parents in Taiwan. We investigate how both factors from parents and married couples influence the continuity of intergenerational coresidence by using longitudinal data. The familiar support to aged parents certainly is a key factor for coresidence. Also, the needs of the married couples are closely related to coresidence, especially the need on housing. The finding indicates that those coresiding young couples in the early family life stages are more likely to keep living in parents’ homes.

Relationship Between Parental and Adolescent eHealth Literacy and Online Health Information Seeking in Taiwan.

This study examined the relationship between parental and adolescent eHealth literacy and its impact on online health information seeking. Data were obtained from 1,869 junior high school students and 1,365 parents in Taiwan in 2013. Multivariate analysis results showed that higher levels of parental Internet skill and eHealth literacy were associated with an increase in parental online health information seeking. Parental eHealth literacy, parental active use Internet mediation, adolescent Internet literacy, and health information literacy were all related to adolescent eHealth literacy. Similarly, adolescent Internet/health information literacy, eHealth literacy, and parental active use Internet mediation, and parental online health information seeking were associated with an increase in adolescent online health information seeking. The incorporation of eHealth literacy courses into parenting programs and school education curricula is crucial to promote the eHealth literacy of parents and adolescents.

The Efficacy of a Family-Based Intervention Program on Childhood Obesity

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the efficacy of a family-based (FB) weight-loss and behavior-modification intervention among overweight/obese children (age 9-11 years) and their parents in Taiwan. The intervention group (52 child-parent dyads) participated in an FB program for 7 weeks. The control group (55 child-parent dyads) received an educational pamphlet about obesity prevention. The children's body mass index (BMI) z-scores were the primary outcome variable. The parents' BMI, high-calorie (HC) food-intake behaviors, screen-related behaviors, and restrictions on children's consumption of HC foods and screen-related behaviors and the availability of HC foods at home were the secondary outcome variables. Outcome variables were measured at baseline (T0), at the end of the intervention (T1), and 4 weeks after the end of the intervention (T2). A linear mixed model was used to assess the efficacy of the FB program. Results indicated that the children's BMI z-scores decreased significantly more from T0 to T2 in the experimental group than in the control group. The decreases in parents' HC food-intake behaviors and availability of HC foods at home and the increase in parental restrictions on children's consumption of HC foods were significantly greater in the experimental than in the control group from T0 to T1 and T0 to T2. The FB program was effective in modifying parental behaviors and the weight of overweight/obese children in a Taiwanese population.

An integrative model of work/family interface for Chinese employees

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating roles of four aspects of work and family interface (WFI: work-to-family conflict, WFC; family-to-work conflict, FWC; work-to-family enrichment, WFE; and family-to-work enrichment, FWE) in a Chinese context in Taiwan. Included in the integral model are demands and resources from the work and family domains as antecedents, and role satisfaction and burnout as consequences.Design/methodology/approach– Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 499 full-time working Chinese parents in Taiwan.Findings– Structural equation modeling results showed that antecedents had cross-domain and within-domain effects on all aspects of the WFI; and conflict and enrichment also had cross-domain and within-domain effects on job satisfaction and family satisfaction, while influences from the work domain (WFC and WFE) had a significant impact on burnout. Overall, the partial mediation model was supported, showing that antecedent variables having both indirect (through the WFI variables) as well as direct relationships with the outcome variables.Originality/value– This is the first study testing a comprehensive model of the whole loop of antecedents-WFI-consequences with a non-Western sample. One unique contribution of the study is that the authors extended Western-based resources theories to Chinese employees, confirming that all four aspects of the WFI are important mediators linking up antecedents with consequences from both the work and family domains. Basing upon the findings, the authors suggests that both managers and employees should endeavor to break the destructive flow of conflict→dissatisfaction/burnout and to initiate the constructive flow of enrichment→satisfaction/free of burnout, by considering not only demands but also resources from both the work and family domains.

Transnational Kinscription: A Case of Parachute Kids in the USA and Their Parents in Taiwan

This study uses ‘parachute kids’ in the USA and their parents in Taiwan as a case study to examine how cross-border kinship networks shape child-rearing strategies. The author argues that cross-border kin ties activated by parents are central to understanding the familial and cultural belonging of their children who are sent to study abroad. Drawing on 40 interviews with parachute kids and their parents, the author uses the concept of ‘transnational kinscription’ to demonstrate how non-migrant parents reconfigure kinship ideologies and relations to raise the next generation across borders. This article also highlights how parachute kids' emotional responses to growing up in their relatives' households often offset or even invalidate their parents' efforts to establish multiple homes transnationally.