Parental Representations Research Articles

Parents’ representations and glycemic control among adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Parents of adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) experience major challenges as they cope with the adolescent-child disease. The current research investigated maternal and paternal representations of parents of adolescents diagnosed with T1DM, specifically, the association between parental representations and adolescents’ glycemic control (A1C level). Seventy-five mothers and fathers of adolescents (13–18 years of age) diagnosed with T1DM (disease onset ≥ 12 months) were recruited from a large medical center in Israel. Data were gathered from a demographic questionnaire, a blood test for A1C level, and the Parenting Representations Interview. No significant correlations were found between A1C level and maternal representations or balanced narrative. However, for fathers, a negative correlation was found between A1C level and paternal representations of the self, representations of the child, and positive relationships; and between A1C level and balanced narrative. The association found between paternal positive representations and glycemic control and the lack of any significance association within mothers point to the differences between motherhood and fatherhood in the context of an adolescent with T1DM. Therefore, fathers should be addressed as significant caregivers in treatment at the clinical practice.

La médicalisation de la procréation en Transjordanie. Trajectoires féminines à l’époque du Mandat

The article focusses on the medicalisation of procreation promoted by the colonial governement in Transjordan and on the consequent transformation of birth practices in the local society. It specifically investigates the impact of public health policies on colonised women’s lives considering the ways the former changed local procreation practices and the new life trajectories they elicited for the women who chose to train as birth attendants. Transjordanian midwives and nurses trained in the newly imposed biomedical system became at the same time objects and agents of social change contributing in the long term to the transformation of birth, parenting and family representations.

Inhibited symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder: links with working models of significant others and the self

ABSTRACTTo better understand Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), the current study tested whether emotionally and behaviorally disordered children with versus without RAD differ with regard to the quality of their interpersonal behavior during interactions with teachers and with regard to their representations of self and others. Therefore, 77 children were screened for RAD symptoms and 22 likely cases of inhibited RAD were identified. To measure quality of the interactions with teachers, we observed children’s trust and positive affect in dyadic interactions with teachers. For the representations of others, we measured self-reported trust in parents and teachers. For the representations of the self, two self-esteem assessments were individually administered. Results showed that, compared to children with other emotional and behavior disorders, RAD children’s behavior reflected less trust in their teachers. At the level of representations, children reported less trust in teacher care. Instead, no links were found with self-report measures focusing on representations of parents and of self. These findings will be discussed in light of the ongoing discussion about whether or not attachment disorder and insecure attachment are associated concepts.

Language Hierarchisations and Dehierarchisations

This article describes how Nordic societies have become more diverse with regard to languages presented at school. However, strong language hierarchies can be identified, which position majority, migrant and minority languages in the schools differently. This article will present some findings from the DELA-NOBA project which focus on parents' perspective on plurilingualism and language awareness. In the project, a set of teaching activities focusing on language awareness and diversity were developed in schools in the participating countries in order to contribute to language dehierarchisations. The theoretical framing for this study is based on a conceptualisation of language hierarchisation and dehierarchisation, and the data used are from parents' pre- and post-questionnaires in Denmark, Iceland and Finland. An important aim of this study was to investigate parents' choices and representations concerning plurilingualism and plurilingual education. The results indicate that plurlingualism is strongly appreciated by the parents, but the recognition of language hierarchies needs more attention.

MUSIC THERAPY IN EARLY INTERVENTION - A FAMILY PERSPECTIVE

Background Music Therapy (MT) in Early Intervention currently works with children with disabilities or at risk of developmental delays in a family-centered model. Within a family centered approach the way parents receive and understand all the intervention is crucial, but has not been properly considered. Objective This paper aims to identify the role and value of MT in the perspective and representations of parents that attended therapy sessions with their children in the context of an Early Intervention Program. Methods Grounded Theory methodology is used to analyze data collected through interviews with 7 mothers and fathers of children with severe disabilities. Results Results show the significant value families set on Music Therapy specific interventions to facilitate motor areas, social and interpersonal relationships and engagement with music and sounds. Three large categories show that families are able to understand MT in Early Intervention context: what is Music Therapy, what are its benefits, and the effects it has on early development. Conclusions Music Therapy can be applied in the practice of Early Intervention teams and is compatible with a family-centered programs. It has the capacity to provide an effective contribution to improve nonverbal communication in primary relationships, particularly in more severe disorders when communication is unconventional. This work also allows to broaden current concepts on the clinical practice of MT in Early Intervention, moving from a traditional clinical approach to a family-centered one.

MODEL PENGEMBANGAN LAYANAN BIMBINGAN DAN KONSELING DALAM MEMBENTUK TINGKAH LAKU REMAJA BAGI ORANG TUA TIPE PERMISIF

The purpose of this study was to describe: 1) the representation of permissive parents in shaping adolescent's behavior. 2) the impact of permissive parents in shaping adolescent's behavior. 3) the developmental model of guidance and counseling services in shaping adolescent's behavior as a result of the permissive parenting. This study was descriptive qualitative approach. The key informants were two parents, two teenagers with one of their sister. The instrument used was structured interview and technique of data analysis was data reduction, data presentation and conclusion inductively. The results showed that: 1) the representation of permissive parents in shaping adolescent's behavior; it strongly needs to give them freedom to do many things without control and guidance. 2) the impact of permissive parents in shaping adolescent's behavior was they frequently use the freedom given without responsibility. 3) the developmental model of guidance and counseling services in shaping adolescent's behavior as a result of the permissive parenting was using an improved communication model and implementing counseling reality. The implication of this study is to apply the various types of parenting so that the control and guidance have a good impact for the adolescents. Furthermore, parents need to give the adolescents freedom in order to develop their positive behavior.Keywords: Guidance and Counseling Services, Adolescents’ Behavior, Parents’ Permissive Model

Newspaper coverage of childhood immunisation in Australia: a lens into conflicts within public health

Public health efforts to lift childhood vaccination rates can be supported or undermined by media representations of parents. Polarising representations neglect the large range of ‘middle-ground’ positions people occupy, potentially alienating parents. In recent years, Australian public health actors have tried to better engage journalists to avoid this. As these efforts have unfolded, the main national immunisation policy lever has become more punitive. This paper examines whether Australian newspaper representations of parents have changed, by comparing 153 newspaper articles from two periods: 1997–1998 (prior to the development of a public health lobby targeting the media; when the first national childhood immunisation policy was introduced) and; 2015–2016 (5 years after advocacy groups began working with the media; and when the national policy took a punitive turn). We analyse patterns and shifts (between 1997–1998 and 2015–2016) in the portrayal of parents as complacent, alternative, hesitant and as choosing. Australian newspaper portrayals of parents are broadly aligned with the policy targets of the day. In 2015–2016, there was less negative representation of parents who occupy the ‘middle-ground’ between vaccine acceptance and rejection. However, coverage of alternative parents (vaccine objectors) intensified in quantity and negativity. Concurrently, there were new (minority) portrayals of vaccine objectors as invisible, and as victims being denied choice. This signals that reporting may simultaneously align with national policy targets and destabilise public health efforts to avoid polarising misrepresentations of parents, characterisations likely to undermine trust in public health. Rather than ‘blame the media’, this analysis illuminates conflicts within public health.

Parenting Today: A State-Wide Representative Survey of Contemporary Parenting Experiences

This article describes the study design of Parenting Today in Victoria: a representative survey of contemporary parenting experiences, behaviours, concerns and needs of parents. The aims of the study, sample design, survey content development processes, including pilot survey administration, data collection procedures and demographic characteristics of the sample are described. The survey was administered via computer assisted telephone interviewing using random dialling of landline and mobile phone numbers in 2016 to parents of children aged 0–18 years who were living in Victoria, Australia. The response rate was 57% with 2600 parents surveyed (40% fathers). The sample was broadly representative of the Victorian population on major demographic characteristics when compared to data from the Australian Census of Population and Housing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011). However, adjustments were made for over representation of younger parents (16–34 years), more highly educated parents and for those living outside major cities. This survey provides rigorously collected, accurate and up-to-date information about the experiences, preferences and concerns of a large and representative sample of parents. Findings will provide vital new insights to inform policy decision making, service planning and future research aimed at understanding parents’ attitudes and behaviours, and the psychology behind their help-seeking.

Is Mindful Parenting Associated with Adolescents' Well-being in Early and Middle/Late Adolescence? The Mediating Role of Adolescents' Attachment Representations, Self-Compassion and Mindfulness.

There is some evidence that mindful parenting, a parenting approach that involves the practice of bringing mindful awareness to the parent-child relationship, is associated with several positive psychosocial outcomes in adolescents. However, only a few studies have investigated the mechanisms that may underlie that association. This study explores whether the link between mindful parenting and adolescents' well-being is mediated by adolescents' attachment representations, self-compassion and mindfulness skills. The sample comprised 563 parent-child dyads (95.6% mothers). Adolescents (61.5% girls) had a mean age of 14.26 years (SD = 1.66, range = 12-20). Parents completed a measure of mindful parenting, and adolescents completed measures of attachment representations, self-compassion, mindfulness, and well-being. Mindful parenting was indirectly associated with adolescents' self-compassion and mindfulness through a more secure perception of the relationship with the parents, and was indirectly associated with adolescents' well-being through perceived attachment security, self-compassion and mindfulness. The path model was invariant across stages of adolescence but some relations in the model varied across gender. Self-compassion and mindfulness seem to develop within a parent-child relationship characterized by affection, self-regulation, and mindful awareness. These two resources, along with mindful parenting and positive representations of the parent-child relationship, are associated with adolescents' well-being.

Представления о справедливости и стили воспитания родителей как фактор морального развития подростков

Interrelations between representations of parents of justice and features of moral development of the senior teenagers are investigated. The statistical analysis of interrelation between representations of parents and teenagers of justice where positive correlations concerning level of indicators of sensitivity to justice from four positions are found (the victim, the perpetrator, the observer and the beneficiary) is submitted. Positive significant interrelation between the level of conscience of teenagers and fathers are shown; between components of style of education of parents and indicators of sensitivity to justice of teenagers and also representations of teenagers of style of education of their parents. In style of education of parents the most significant were following components: level of a patronage, requirements, satisfactions of needs and projection of children’s qualities to the teenager. Differences in influence of an educational position of mothers and fathers on sensitivity to justice are found in teenagers, in particular negative impact of a maternal infantilization.

Family cumulative risk and at-risk kindergarteners’ social competence: the mediating role of parent representations of the attachment relationship

ABSTRACTSecure attachment relationships have been linked to social competence in at-risk children. In the current study, we examined the role of parent secure base scripts in predicting at-risk kindergarteners’ social competence. Parent representations of secure attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between lower family cumulative risk and children’s social competence. Participants included 106 kindergarteners and their primary caregivers recruited from three urban charter schools serving low-income families as a part of a longitudinal study. Lower levels of cumulative risk predicted greater secure attachment representations in parents, and scores on the secure base script assessment predicted children’s social competence. An indirect relationship between lower cumulative risk and kindergarteners’ social competence via parent secure base script scores was also supported. Parent script-based representations of the attachment relationship appear to be an important link between lower levels of cumulative risk and low-income kindergarteners’ social competence. Implications of these findings for future interventions are discussed.

Maternal Representations and Parenting Style in Children Born With and Without an Orofacial Cleft.

To investigate the evolution of maternal representations (ie, the way parents perceive their child in term of temperament, character, behaviors, etc) of children with a cleft at 3 major milestones: before/after reconstructive surgeries and at school age. Parenting style was also analyzed and compared with parents of children born without a cleft. The sample was composed of 30 mothers of children with an orofacial cleft and 14 mothers of children without a cleft. Maternal representations were assessed when the child was 2 months (before surgery), 12 months (after surgery), and 5 years of age (when starting school) using semistructured interviews that were transcribed and coded according to the subscales of the Working Model of the Child Interview and the Parental Development Interview. At the 5-year appointment, mothers also completed a questionnaire about parenting style. Results showed no difference across groups (cleft/noncleft) in maternal representations at the 2-month, 12-month, and 5-year assessments. In the cleft group, significant differences were shown between 2 and 12 months in caregiving sensitivity, perceived infant difficulty, fear for the infant's safety, and parental pride, all factors being higher at 12 months. Those differences in parental representations over time were not found in the noncleft group. Additionally, mothers of the cleft group were significantly more authoritarian than mothers of children without a cleft. The absence of differences across cleft and noncleft groups suggests that having a child with a cleft does not affect maternal representations and emotions between 2 months and 5 years of the child's age. However, parenting style seems to be influenced by the presence of a cleft in the present sample.

Représentations des pratiques éducatives parentales et estime de soi chez des enfants placés en fratrie versus séparément

Despite abuse, children placed in childcare homes have parental representations which are marked by ambivalence. This ambivalence is characterized by the coexistence of negative and positive representation towards their biological parents. However, the fact that positive representations towards neglecting parents persist can possibly harm self-esteem. Placement aims not only to protect the child, but also to offer him the possibility of reconstructing his self-image with more secure attachment figures. When a placement is decided, the children are entrusted to Child Welfare and are placed either with their siblings or separately. This study aims to examine the parental representations and the self-esteem of 33 children that are placed with siblings and 25 children that are placed alone; all children were between the ages of 10 and 18. Then, the relation between parental representations and self-esteem was examined in each group. Those two dimensions have been respectively measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). The results show that participants placed with their siblings were less depressed and had a better self-esteem than participants placed separately. Moreover, although the two groups had neglecting parents, the participants placed with their siblings had significantly better parental care representations. This study also put into light that the links between parental representations and self-esteem are significantly different whether the participant is placed with his siblings or not. Among children placed with siblings, the more positive the images of the father and the mother, the lower the self-esteem level. These results confirm the hypothesis according to which a positive parental care representation could reinforce the negative image those children have of themselves. The results also question the effects (positive or negative) of the defensive exclusion process on the evolution of self-representations among placed children. Finally, from a therapeutic point of view, they stress the importance of working on self-esteem with placed children.

Ettan, le petit accordeur des filiations – Ou la nécessité de penser l’altérité en consultation d’adoption internationale

This article explores the dynamic of a therapeutic group setting addressed to adopting families. On the basis of a case study, the problematics presented by the adopting family are analyzed in reference to the collective, intersubjective and individual perspectives. From a collective perspective, the problematics question the parental representations of their child's cultural belonging. From an intersubjective perspective, they shed light on the family's dynamic, notably the couple's difficulties. From an individual perspective, the problematics shed light on intrapsychic dynamics of each parent. Finally, the case study highlights the multiple scenes of the child's otherness display that necessitate a multidimensional analysis. Systemic, psychoanalytical and transcultural perspectives are needed to better understand the complex intertwining of the collective, intersubjective and individual dynamics underpinning the suffering in an adopting family.

Association of Asthma Illness Representations and Reported Controller Medication Adherence Among School-Aged Children and Their Parents

This study examined the relationship between asthma illness representations and reported controller medication adherence of school-aged children (6–11 years) with persistent asthma and their parents. Thirty-four parent–child dyads independently reported on asthma controller medication adherence and asthma illness representations. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test parent and child illness representation domain variables as predictors of reported medication adherence. Parent beliefs about medication necessity versus concerns was a significant predictor of parent-reported adherence (β = .55, p < .01), and child treatment control was also a significant predictor of parent-reported adherence (β = −.50, p < .01). Child beliefs about medication necessity versus concerns was a significant predictor of child-reported adherence (β = .50, p < .01), and no parent variables reached significance. Although there are similarities between parent and child asthma illness representations, findings indicate that school-aged children develop illness representations somewhat independently from their parents and, therefore, are critical participants in both asthma care and research.

Situations critiques : une approche clinique spécifique est nécessaire

In November 2013, French health ministry notified a device “critical situations” to compensate for the situations “with no solutions” of welcoming and caring for persons disabilities. The existing specialized already saturated devices (for rare diseases, rare handicaps, autism) not being able to assure them, existing institutions were endowed with additional ways to answer these emergencies. In Nîmes (France), a team of Medical Educational Institute (MEI) welcomed, from 2013 to 2015, 12 “Critical situations”. The families’ disturbances intensity imposed creation of a new device: the transitional unity. First, we describe all the peculiarities of social isolation impacts and the need of care for families and children: their confinements at home, the stopping of the educational project, the installation of negative parental representations on the child, couples who isolated themselves socially, and sibling great difficulties. For the disabled child, preexisting disabilities got more complicated or deteriorated. With family adaptation came along relational handicaps (tyrannical/powerful child, attachment disorders: insecure, avoiding or ambivalent). It is difficult to discriminate what returned to the appropriate child disorder, or to the lack of care, expressed with the effects of family adaptations. We explain then the necessity of developing a specific device to restore parents confidence in the system of care and accompany this confined child: 1 – not to neglect course of parents and child during all this period, to collect it, to understand and to recognize the efforts of parent's adaptation, to estimate their capacity to get loose from it; 2 – to individualize the child welcoming, to sequence his activities, resting on the experiment of the parents and on what he can bear of a new frame; 3 – to accompany the child home and modify interactions between him and his family. This device implies an individual frame for the child and a personalized support by the teams until he can benefit from the more classic care in the MEI group.

School wellness team best practices to promote wellness policy implementation.

Schools with wellness teams are more likely to implement federally mandated Local Wellness Policies (LWPs, Local Education Agency-level policies for healthy eating/physical activity). Best practices have been developed for wellness teams based on minimal empirical evidence. The purpose of this study is to determine, among schools with wellness teams, associations between LWP implementation and six wellness team best practices (individually and as a sum score). An online survey targeting Maryland school wellness leaders/administrators (52.4% response rate, 2012-2013 school year) was administered that included LWP implementation (17-item scale: categorized as no, low, and high implementation) and six wellness team best practices. Analyses included multi-level multinomial logistic regression. Wellness teams were present in 311/707 (44.0%) schools, with no (19.6%), low (36.0%), and high (44.4%) LWP implementation. A sum score representing active wellness teams (mean=2.6) included: setting healthy eating/physical activity goals (66.9%), informing the public of LWP activities (71.4%), meeting ≥4times/year (45.8%), and having school staff (46.9%), parent (25.4%), or student (14.8%) representation. In adjusted models, goal setting, meeting ≥4times/year, and student representation were associated with high LWP implementation. For every one-unit increase in active wellness team sum score, schools were 41% more likely to be in high versus no implementation (Likelihood Ratio=1.41, 95% C.I.=1.13, 1.76). In conclusion, wellness teams meeting best practices are more likely to implement LWPs. Interventions should focus on the formation of wellness teams with recommended composition/activities. Study findings provide support for wellness team recommendations stemming from the 2016 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act final rule.

The contributions of boundary dissolution and trust in the romantic partner to young mothers’ parenting representations

ABSTRACTThe aim of the current study was to explore the contributions of both boundary dissolution (i.e. guilt-psychological control, blurring boundaries, parentification, and triangulation) as experienced in childhood, and trust in the romantic partner to young mothers’ parental caregiving representations. The findings, based on a sample of 80 young Israeli first-time mothers, indicated negative correlations between types of dissolution and their representations. Trust in the romantic partner made a distinct contribution to the formation of mothers’ representations above and beyond mothers’ boundary dissolution. These results are suggestive of the important role of young mothers’ relational history with their own mothers as well as their relationship with their romantic partner in shaping their parenting representations.

Searching for the Roots of Overprotective Parenting in Emerging Adulthood: Investigating the Link with Parental Attachment Representations Using An Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM)

The present study aims to examine why parents engage in overprotective parenting in interaction with their emerging adults. Specifically, this study used an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine associations between parental attachment representations (both maternal and paternal attachment anxiety and avoidance), parental separation anxiety, and parental overprotection. Additionally, we examined whether maternal attachment, separation anxiety, and overprotection predicted the emerging adult’s actual living situation (at home / away from home) 1 year later, and maternal negative affect regarding emerging adults’ home-leaving. The sample consisted of Caucasian participants and included 246 adolescents in their final year of secondary school (mean age Time 1 = 17.14) and their parents (242 mothers, 218 fathers). Results showed that both maternal and paternal attachment anxiety related to more maternal and paternal separation anxiety, respectively (p’s < .001). In turn, separation anxiety in mothers and fathers related to respectively maternal (p < .001) and paternal overprotection (p < .05), as perceived by the emerging adult. There was one significant partner-effect between maternal attachment anxiety and paternal separation anxiety (p < .05). Further, higher scores on perceived maternal overprotection related to a higher likelihood that the emerging adult would still live at home 1 year later (p < .01), as well as to more negative maternal affect related to the process of home-leaving (p < .05). In sum, the current study revealed the importance of attachment and separation anxiety as significant parental factors related to parental overprotection.

Bridging the Gap across the Transition to Coparenthood: Triadic Interactions and Coparenting Representations from Pregnancy through 12 Months Postpartum.

Most family researchers agree that the coparenting relationship emerges some time during the transition to parenthood, though it is unclear whether it originates in pregnancy. Previous studies demonstrated that couples' positive representations of their future coparenting relationship and harmonious coparenting behaviors observed during prenatal triadic interactions predicted better postpartum functioning. However, previous studies did not simultaneously assess prenatal coparenting behaviors and representations as predictors of postpartum coparenting. If the coparenting relationship originates during pregnancy, these behavioral and cognitive aspects of prenatal coparenting should show associations with their postpartum counterparts. Based on family systems-, attachment-, and social-learning theory, the first aim in this study was to explore whether prenatal coparenting representations and behaviors are associated with postpartum coparenting, which would suggest that both cognitive and behavioral aspects of the coparenting relationship emerge during pregnancy. A second aim was to determine whether parental coparenting representations are consistent with concurrently observed coparenting behaviors. A sample of 55 couples expecting their first child was observed during triadic interactions during pregnancy and at 3- and 12-months postpartum. Observations were coded using the Coparenting and Family Rating System. Composite scores were formed to reflect harmonious and antagonistic coparenting behaviors. Parents' representations of harmonious and antagonistic coparenting were assessed via interviews and questionnaires during pregnancy and at 3- and 12-months postpartum. Results indicated that prenatal representations of harmonious and antagonistic coparenting were associated with and predicted unique variance in respective postpartum coparenting representations. Prenatal coparenting behaviors were also associated with coparenting behaviors observed during 3-months-play and 12-months-mealtime interactions and predicted unique variance in postpartum coparenting. Surprisingly, prenatal coparenting representations were not associated with prenatal behaviors, though representations and behaviors were associated at 3 months postpartum. Findings suggest that the coparenting relationship originates during pregnancy with prenatal coparenting representations and behaviors bridging the gap across the transition to coparenthood. Future studies should include assessments of both cognitive and behavioral facets of the prenatal coparenting relationship.