A review of teen-tot programs: comprehensive clinical care for young parents and their children

Comprehensive clinical programs for teenage mothers and their children, also known as teen-tot programs, have been a promising intervention to improve outcomes of teenage childbearing and parenting. However, much remains unknown regarding the efficacy of such programs. We reviewed four published evaluations of programs that provided medical care, counseling, contraception, guidance for parenting, and assistance with staying in school. The evaluations reported moderate success in preventing repeat pregnancies, helping teen mothers continue their education, and improving teen and infant health over 6 to 18 months. However, the evaluations had limitations that may have reduced or accentuated observed effectiveness. Teen-tot programs will continue to face the challenges of sustaining adequate long-term interventions and evaluations, and reducing the high attrition rate among program participants. It is concluded that increased support and funding for teen-tot programs and more complete evaluations are warranted.     

Utility of the Mini-Mult with parents of emotionally disturbed children.

In order to determine the potential usefulness of the Mini-Mult as a screening instrument with parents of emotionally disturbed children, two studies were conducted. In the first study 128 MMPI profiles were rescored for the Mini-Mult and comparisons with MMPI were made. In the second study 50 parents were administered both the MMPI and the Mini-Mult. Results of both studies indicate that the Mini-Mult is not a good screening instrument with parents of emotionally disturbed children.     

Loneliness among school-aged children and their parents

The aim of this study was to examine the existence of the intergenerational transmission of loneliness between parents and children, including an examination of its stability and of gender differences. The study consisted of an evaluation of loneliness in mothers ( n = 834), fathers ( n = 661) and their 10-year-old children ( n = 981). Parent's self-reported loneliness was measured once, and their children's social and emotional loneliness were assessed at three time-points. The stability analysis indicated average stability in children's loneliness, especially their social loneliness. Boys were found to experience more emotional loneliness than girls. Structural equation modeling indicated no direct relationship between mothers'/fathers' loneliness and their children's loneliness. However, mothers' and fathers' loneliness reduced their daughters' peer-evaluated cooperating skills, which consequently predicted higher levels of both social and emotional loneliness.     

Adaptive behavior in young children of emotionally disturbed women

Children of mentally-ill parents are population at increased risk for psychiatric disorder, and recent research has focused on the psychological development of these individuals. The Rochester Adaptive Behavior Inventory (RABI) was developed to measure the adaptive behavior of such high-risk children based upon a parental interview. Scales defining specific behavior spheres were reproduced in four samples of 30- and 48-month-olds. These scales differentiated high-risk children along dimensions of maternal psychopathology and social status. Global measures of maternal illness, such as severity of symptoms, proved to be more powerful than specific diagnosis. Race and socio-economic status also had a major impact on adaptive behavior. Implications of the data for high-risk theories of schizophrenia are discussed.     

Parenting programmes for parents of children and young people with behavioural difficulties

Children and young people exhibiting behavioural difficulties present a major challenge not only to parents but also to education and health professionals and to society as a whole. In this paper, I shall address some key issues regarding these parenting programmes, based particularly on a programme of research over 13 years in the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research at the University of Warwick. This has comprised large‐scale studies across all areas of England, both programmes targeted at parents whose children are presenting or at risk of developing behavioural difficulties: the Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinder and Parenting Early Intervention Programme; and universal programmes aimed at all parents, as a positive contribution to behavioural development across the population: the CANparent trial. All were funded by the Department for Education plus the continuation of the CANparent trial was funded by the Department of Health. In addition, I consider studies that have built on this research to examine the use of parenting programmes with parents of children and young people with special educational needs; and also the effectiveness of programmes during sustained implementation, beyond formal trials and similar research initiatives, that is, as day‐to‐day practice. I show that well‐constructed parenting programmes that are acceptable to parents are effective, that these positive effects on parents can remain over time, and also that the positive effects found in well‐organised trials can be maintained when programmes are delivered by community services as part of their normal practice.     

Cognitively-Based Compassion Training for parents reduces cortisol in infants and young children

This study tests a group-based secular contemplative practice intervention, Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT), with parents of young children. We report on a randomized controlled preliminary efficacy study. Certified teachers administered CBCT for 20 hr across 8 to 10 weeks in two cohorts of parents with infants and young children. The intervention group was compared to a waitlist control group. Thirty-nine parents and their children, who ranged in age from 4 months to 5 years, were evaluated at pre- and postintervention (n = 25 intervention, n = 14 waitlist control) on hair cortisol concentration. Parents also completed self-administered questionnaires at both time points regarding demographics, physical symptoms of stress, parenting stress, self-compassion, and mindfulness. Children of parents in the CBCT group experienced significant decreases in cortisol at the postintervention assessment, as compared with the control group. However, parent cortisol and self-report measures did not significantly change other than a small effect on clinical levels of parenting stress. CBCT may be a positive new way to intervene with parents to lower infants’ and young children's cumulative physiological stress.     

Cognitive tempo in children and their parents.

An adoption study was conducted to determine if cognitive tempo (as characterized by errors and latencies on the Matching Familiar Figures Test) is more similar between parents and their biological children or between parents and their adopted children. Zero-order correlations between parents and children were not significant (regardless of familial relationship), but the results of canonical correlations for mean of parents' scores with those of biological and adopted children respectively were consonant with hypothesized values, suggesting a degree of heritability exists. A slight trend for parents' latency to be consistently related to their biological children's latency was noted, but no such trend was present for errors. The heritability of latency versus errors in cognitive tempo is discussed.     

How young adults address their parents reflects their perception of parenting

A speaker's use of a title for the listener shows the speaker's deference to the listener. Previous studies suggested that the use of kinship terms in the family also shows deference to the listener. The present study focused on young adults' use of kinship terms for their parents to investigate whether their use of kinship terms reflects their perception of their parenting. The participants were 329 Japanese college students, who answered a questionnaire about their forms of address for their parents, perceived parental emotional accessibility, and perceived parental control. They also reported their satisfaction with their parent–child relationships and the frequency of parent–child communication. The results suggest that young adults who use kinship terms for their parents perceive their parents to be more emotionally accessible and communicate with their parents more than those who do not. Young adults who use kinship terms for their father are also more satisfied with their father–child relationships than those who do not. Young adults' use of kinship terms might signal not only their deference to their parents, but also their acceptance of their parent–child relationships.     

The comparative efficacy of Milan family therapy for disturbed children and their families

This paper describes a study comparing the efficacy of Milan family therapy with that of other treatments routinely used in an out-patient child psychiatry department. Some 118 subjects were allocated on a random, prospective basis to one of two treatment groups, the Milan family therapy group or the other treatments group. The methods of assessment included semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, visual analogue scales and standardized therapy schedules. The results showed that whilst subjects in both treatment groups achieved comparable symptomatic improvement at the end of treatment and at six-month follow-up, the Milan approach produced more changes for family members other than the referred child as well as requiring less treatment time than the other treatments.     

Adopted children who kill their adoptive parents

The killing of parents, frequently referred to as parricide, is a disturbing phenomenon that often generates widespread media coverage. Most of the scholarly literature on this topic has focused on biological offspring who kill mothers and fathers. Some analyses have examined juveniles and adults who kill their stepparents. To date, virtually no research exists on children who kill their adoptive parents because this type of victim–offender relationship has been absent from available homicide databases, thereby preventing such analyses. The present study is a content analysis of news reports of 46 cases of adopted children who killed their adoptive parents in several different countries. Data pertaining to offender and victim demographics, incident characteristics, and the processing of offenders from the initial charge through conviction and sentencing are examined. To the extent possible, media accounts are used to classify cases according to motives or circumstances leading to the killings. The article concludes with a comparison of profiles of children who kill adoptive parents in relation to those who kill biological parents, important observations that emerged from these news accounts, and discussion of possible explanations of parricide by adopted children, including adopted children syndrome, reactive attachment disorder, and biological risk factors. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are addressed.     

A national examination of poverty and interactive caregiving practices among parents of young children

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Interactive caregiving practices can be protective for the development of the brain in early childhood, particularly for children experiencing poverty. There...