Predictors Of Family Functioning Research Articles

Family Functioning and Community Resilience During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period in Turkey

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 outbreak has left families with many adverse effects that can disrupt functioning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between family functioning and community resilience during the COVID-19 lockdown. An online survey was conducted with community-dwelling adult people (n= 411) based on quantitative descriptive-correlational research. According to the results, families show dysfunctional trends during the COVID-19 outbreak (%56), especially in affective involvement, problem-solving, and behavior control categories. Community resilience was positively associated with family functioning. Also, income dissatisfaction, use of social services, and social trust were determined as predictors of family functioning in the COVID-19 lockdown. Further research and social work practices in public health to address the family system as a whole should be evaluated and interventions aiming at community resilience should be designed to increase families’ functioning during the pandemics.

Trajectory and predictors of family function in caregivers of stroke survivors: A longitudinal study of the first 6 months after stroke.

This study aimed to investigate the trajectory and predictors of family function in caregivers of stroke survivors during the first 6 months after the first episode of stroke. Longitudinal study. A total of 288 primary caregivers of patients with first-time stroke were recruited from seven tertiary hospitals in China between July 2020 and March 2021. The following characteristics were assessed by caregivers at hospitalization (T0) and at 1 month (T1), 3 months (T2) and 6 months (T3) after the stroke: family function, general self-efficacy, social support, coping style, caregiver burden, and sociodemographic and clinical data. Family function scores among caregivers of stroke survivors were highest in the resolve dimension and lowest in the growth and adaptation dimensions within the first 6 months. The percentages of families with low functioning were 34.7%, 33.3%, 24.8% and 17.7% at T0, T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The generalized estimating equation model revealed that family function in caregivers increased over the first 6 months (Exp(B) = 1.415-2.689, p < .05). The following factors were identified as predictors of family functioning: caregiver's age, education, residential district, self-efficacy, social support utilization and caregiver burden. Family function of caregivers of stroke survivors gradually increased during the first 6 months after stroke. However, some families demonstrated poor functioning. Caregivers' age, education, caregiver burden, self-efficacy and social support utilization could predict family function over time. Empirical data on family function in families of stroke survivors are important for developing psychosocial interventions that can help families adapt to stroke. This study found that families of stroke survivors were likely to be dysfunctional in the first 6 months after stroke, particularly in family growth and adaptation. Therefore, reducing caregiver burden and promoting self-efficacy and social support utilization can help restore family functioning early after stroke. Stroke caregivers from seven hospitals in China were involved in this study and had the right to be informed of the main findings. A few patients were informed of the research results, who contributed to the dissemination.

Oral health as predictors of family functioning: A cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Hindi version of family impact scale – A cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The effect of individuals oral disease patterns on the family has been too little explored. Despite awareness of the importance of the family unit for personal health and health care system, the family unit has been infrequently studied from the public health point of view. Objective The specific aim of the study was to evaluate children's oral health as predictors of family functioning and to validate psychometric properties of Hindi version of family impact scale among 12-15-year-olds. Material and methods A total of 225 parent-child pair participated in the study. A cross-cultural translation, adaptation and validation of Hindi version of family impact scale (FIS) was conducted. Test-retest reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) using a two-way mixed-effect model. Discriminant validity was verified by family impact scores among parent-child pair with and without oral diseases. Construct validity was corroborated by association between the scale scores with global indicators of oral health and overall well-being. Clinical examinations were conducted using modified WHO criteria (1997). Influence of independent variables on the FIS were assessed using regression analysis. Results Mean impact score was 25.16 ± 5.96 with almost non-existent floor effect (4%) and no ceiling effect in the population. Inter Class Correlation for FIS scale was 0.86 indicating perfect agreement. Parents of children with dental caries and poor oral hygiene reported higher overall FIS scores (p Conclusions This study provides evidence that oral disorders have a significant impact on family functioning. The Hindi version of the FIS exhibited good psychometric properties, with acceptable validity and reliability. Future research needs to explore the consequences of higher family impact scores and focus on strategies to reduce the impacts of oral conditions on the family.

There's no place like home: The associations between residential attributes and family functioning

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which actual (e.g., density) and perceived (e.g., crowding and distance) elements of the spatial home environment act as predictors of family functioning. Data were gathered from 164 families whose child was attending a university's preschool/kindergarten facility in a mid-sized community in the Western United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM, AMOS 19.0) was employed to examine the strength of the relations within the model. Results showed that though actual elements of the home (i.e., density) affect family functioning outcomes, perceptions of the home environment (e.g., crowding and distance) were especially influential as mediating the link between density and aspects of family functioning. Findings suggest that how individuals perceive their home environment has more of an effect on family functioning than actual home characteristics.

Associations Among Behavioral Sleep Disturbance, Family Functioning, and Controller Medication Adherence in Children with Asthma.

This study examined the associations among child sleep disturbances, family functioning, and asthma controller medication adherence in school-age children with persistent asthma. Thirty-four children aged 6 to 11 years and a parent independently reported on asthma control and controller medication adherence. Parents also reported on family functioning (behavior control) and child sleep disturbances (bedtime resistance, daytime sleepiness). Hierarchical linear regression models tested sleep disturbance variables as predictors of family functioning and medication adherence. A mediation model tested behavior control as a mediator between sleep disturbance and medication adherence. Seventy-nine percent of the children had well-controlled asthma. Despite a mean of 9.48 hours of child sleep per night, 73% of the children had clinically significant disturbed sleep. Controlling for child age, bedtime resistance accounted for 32% of the variance in family behavior control (F(1,31) = 14.75, p < .01). Behavior control also significantly mediated the relationship between total sleep disturbance and medication adherence, with a standardized indirect effect of β = -.17 (95% confidence interval [CI], -.47 to -.03) for parent-reported adherence and β = -.12 (95% CI, -.36 to -.01) for child-reported adherence. Child behavioral sleep disturbances significantly predicted family behavior control. Although child sleep disturbances did not significantly predict asthma controller medication adherence, there was a significant indirect effect of sleep disturbance on medication adherence through compromised family behavior control. Developmentally appropriate behavioral sleep interventions may improve family functioning and child asthma controller medication adherence. Family functioning may also be an entry point for intervention to improve medication adherence.

Boundary Ambiguity and Ambivalence in Military Family Reintegration

Although more than 2 million service members have experienced deployment since 2001, predictors of postdeployment family functioning remain unclear. Utilizing the Contextual Model of Family Stress (Boss, 2002), this study examined military‐related factors (e.g., rank, component, combat exposure, postdeployment time at home, cumulative length of deployments), boundary ambiguity, and family‐ and deployment‐related ambivalence as predictors of family functioning during reintegration. Service members (N = 228) from multiple branches of the U.S. military participated in a national survey related to family relationships and support programming. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that service members from lower ranks, who were home for longer periods of time, and who endorsed higher degrees of boundary ambiguity and family‐related ambivalence reported poorer family functioning. Results emphasize the relevance of boundary ambiguity and family‐related ambivalence to the reintegration process and can inform prevention and intervention efforts that promote family well‐being in the military population during the critical postdeployment period.

Predictors of family functioning in carers of individuals with anorexia nervosa

The objective of the present study was to determine influences on caregiver distress and family functioning in AN using the stress process model. Using a cross-sectional design, self-report measures were disseminated to 63 family members of inpatients with long-term AN. Outcome measures included the Family Assessment Device and the General Health Questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis of family functioning resulted in a model predicting 38% of the variance. Burden, conflict regarding AN and the caregiving role, attitudes and actions of other family members toward the person with AN, family stigma, and social support were predictive of family functioning. In contrast, caregiver psychological distress was poorly predicted by the independent variables, with only 11% of the variance explained. These findings demonstrate the utility of the stress process model for predicting family functioning in this population, and suggest potential targets of intervention for clinicians working with caregivers.

Praying, Playing, and Successful Families

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family religiosity, family leisure, and family functioning. The sample consisted of 121 parents and 99 youth from various religious groups. Results indicated a positive relationship between family religiosity and family leisure. Both family religiosity and family leisure had a significant relationship with family functioning in this sample. Data collected from both parents and youth provided insight into the influence of family religiosity and family leisure on family functioning. Family religiosity was the strongest predictor of family functioning for parents. For youth, both family leisure and family religiosity were significant predictors of family functioning. Findings provide specific implications for future family leisure research, as well as for parents and professionals who work with families.

Current and past depression as predictors of family functioning: A comparison of men and women in a community sample.

The association between family functioning and parental depression has primarily been studied in samples of women. In particular, very little research exists that examines how parent gender and past diagnoses of depression are related to family functioning. The family relationships of 469 couples from a community sample were examined using self- and partner report measures of the marital relationship and youth report and interviewer-rated measures of the parent-youth relationship. Both currently and formerly depressed men and women were shown to have poorer family functioning than nondepressed and never depressed individuals, respectively. Interactions of gender and depression status indicated that depression and poorer marital functioning were more strongly related for women than for men, but there were few gender differences in the parent-youth relationship. The results highlight the need for further research on men's family functioning and suggest that targeting current depressive symptoms in treatment may not be sufficient to resolve marital and parent-youth difficulties that endure after depressive episodes remit.

Personality and family functioning in families of depressed patients.

In this cross-sectional study, the authors attempted to identify correlates of family functioning in 86 couples with a depressed member during the acute phase of the patient's depression. Demographic variables, psychiatric status, and personality traits of both the patient and spouse were investigated as potential predictors of family functioning. Regression analyses indicated that lower levels of personality pathology in the patient, higher levels of patient conscientiousness, and less psychological distress in the spouse were associated with healthier family functioning. Future research implications and clinical importance of these findings are discussed.

Individual and dyadic predictors of family functioning in a chinese context

The links between individual well-being and dyadic relationships and family functioning were examined in 378 Chinese parents and their children at two time points. Results showed that measures of individual well-being (life satisfaction and midlife crisis in parents, and adolescent life purpose, esteem, hopelessness, and general psychological health) and dyadic relationships (marital adjustment, marital satisfaction, parent-child relationship, and parent-adolescent conflict) were concurrently and longitudinally related to parents' and children's views of family functioning. Relative to measures of individual well-being, dyadic measures were found to exert stronger influence on family functioning perceived by parents and adolescents.

Levels of family assessment: II. Impact of maternal psychopathology on family functioning.

The association of maternal and contextual risk factors with whole-family, marital, and parent-child levels of family functioning was examined. Matemal mental illness and multiple contextual risk best predicted whole-family functioning, but each was related to marital and parent-child levels as well. Nonspecific indicators of maternal illness, rather than diagnostic category, were the better predictors of family functioning. The multiple contextual risk index was the variable most associated with all levels of family functioning, more so than any indicator of maternal illness. These results indicate (a) that maternal mental illness and family functioning are strongly associated and (b) that variation in the conceptualization and measurement strategy for risk and family functioning affects the conclusions of research. The importance of clear conceptualization of family levels and psychopathology risk in families of young children is discussed.

Family Members’ Perceptions of Palliative Cancer Care: Predictors of Family Functioning and Family Members’ Health

We studied family members' care experiences during the palliative care phase as predictors of family members' health and family functioning during the palliative care phase and three months following the death of the patient. Eighty family members of advanced cancer patients participated in the study at time one (T1) (palliative care phase) and 64 family members completed the data collection protocol at time two (T2) (three months bereavement). Data were also obtained from 36 of the patients within one month of their deaths. Fulfillment theory accounted for 31% of the variance in family care satisfaction and Discrepancy theory accounted for 72% of the variance in family care satisfaction. Discrepancy theory predicted family functioning in the bereavement period (r = -0.33, p < 0.05). Patients' quality of life scores were moderately correlated with family members' health during the palliative care phase (r = -0.38, p < 0.05). Family members' scores on the health index (symptom of stress scale) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than normative scores reported in a study using a healthy population. The strongest predictor of family members' health scores in the bereavement period was their health score at T1 (r = 0.71, p < 0.01). As well, family functioning at T1 was strongly correlated with family functioning at T2.

Predictors of family functioning and change 3 years after traumatic brain injury in children

Objectives: To examine changes in family functioning from injury to 3 years after pediatric traumatic brain injury; to determine factors most predictive of family outcomes at 3 years and variables that promote positive outcomes and changes over time. Design: Prospective cohort study Setting: Two regional tertiary care centers; cases followed for 3 years into community. Participants: Families of 81 children, ages 6 to 15 years, who sustained closed head injury and loss of consciousness (mild = 43, moderate = 20, severe = 18), consecutively enrolled over 15 months. Main Outcome Measures: Family Environment Scale, Family Assessment Device, Family Inventory of Life Events, Health Insurance Survey—General Well-Being, NYU Problem Checklist for Significant Others, Family Interview Rating Scale, Family Global Assessment Scale. All were obtained initially and at 3 months, 1 year, and 3 years postinjury. Predictor variables were selected from the instuments above, as well as from the parent and teacher versions of the Child Behavior Checklist, socioeconomic status, and injury severity. Results: Preinjury functioning was the best predictor of 3-year outcomes. Fewer changes in family functioning were reported over 3 years in the mild or moderate groups, whereas more deterioration occurred in the severe group. At 3 years, one third to one half of parents in either the moderate or severe groups reported medium to high strain in 19 of 34 problem areas. Low levels of family control and high levels of expressiveness correlated with better outcomes for severe group. Positive change for the severe group was marked by better preinjury levels of communication, expressiveness, problem solving, use of resources, role flexibility, greater activity orientation, and less conflict, control, and stress. Preinjury variables and severity explained from 26% to 69% of the variation in 3-year outcomes. Conclusions: Families at risk for poorer outcomes can be prospectively identified and should be supported and encouraged in their efforts to develop new coping resources.