Indications of Resilience Factors in Families Who have Lost a Home in a Shack Fire

The aim of this study was to explore the presence of resilience factors in families living in an informal settlement on the outskirts of a rural town that have lost their homes in a shack fire. A mixed methods research design was utilised. Qualitative data were obtained through responses to an open‐ended question, and quantitative data were obtained through the completion of questionnaires by an adult representative of each of the 38 African families that were identified through convenience sampling. To identify resilience factors, content analyses (on the qualitative data) were performed and Spearman correlations (for the quantitative data) were calculated. The results show that supportive communication, a sense of being in control and having internal strengths and dependability, while working together as a family, are vital to the resilience of the families that took part in this study. Furthermore, material support from the municipality and extended family, shelter provided by members of the extended family, and financial support from the extended family were also indicated as essential in overcoming the crisis and being resilient. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relations between Big Five personality characteristics and perceived support in adolescents' families

The authors investigated the longitudinal relations between family members' Big Five personality factors and perceived support. Members of 285 two-parent families with 2 adolescent children judged their own and other family members' Big Five factors and the support perceived from the other members on 3 occasions at 12-month intervals. The Big Five factor Agreeableness was particularly related to perceived support. Changes in individuals' Big Five factors were linked to changes in the support they perceived themselves but even more to changes in the support that other family members perceived from them. Results are consistent with the parallel continuities hypothesis: Individual characteristics will be stable when there is stability in the supportive environment, but when the environment is changing, personality tends to change in the same direction, and vice versa.     

Grandparents as family stabilizers during economic hardship in Bulgaria

T he present study of three generations' families living together during a period of marked economic dislocation investigates whether supportive grandparents can ameliorate the negative effects of economic stress on parenting and on teen outcomes. The study focuses on harsh parenting and adolescent depression, which has been shown to be especially responsive to economic stress. Three hypotheses were investigated: (1) in extended families there is a link between economic adversity and adolescent depression that is mediated by harsh parenting; (2) grandparent support diminishes the relationship between economic pressure and harsh parenting; and (3) grandparent support diminishes the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression. Data were collected from a community sample of 62 extended families with an adolescent during a period of marked economic dislocation in Bulgaria. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents completed questionnaires about perceived economic pressure, parents' harsh parenting, and perceived support of grandparents. Adolescents also completed a measure of self‐reported depression. Additional interviews were conducted with every eligible family member about family relations. Results showed that even though there was significant economic stress reported by parents, adolescents reported moderate levels of depression and low levels of harsh parenting by mothers and fathers. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that whenever respondents experienced support by grandparents, it made a difference for family members. More specifically, despite economic stress, mothers who experienced the support of grandparents tended to exercise less harsh parenting practices than mothers who lacked such support. Furthermore, when grandparents were supportive, harsh parenting was not associated with adolescent depression. These findings are discussed in the light of existing studies of families under economic pressure with a special focus on extended family relations and the role of cultural context.     

The impact of temperament factors and family functioning on resilience processes from infancy to school age

A Norwegian sample of 401 mothers was used to investigate the effects of child factors and family risk and supportive factors on both child competencies and behaviour problems at 8 years. The contribution of the various predictors on the differentiation of children into groups of resilient vs. vulnerable across four different time periods was also examined within a prospective longitudinal study design. The study showed that a substantial proportion of the variance in both behaviour problems and social competence at 8 years could be explained by risk and supportive factors in child and family already present at 18 months. Within-child and within environment predictors had selective impact on each outcome domain in addition to common effects. Depending on time of assessment, 73 – 89% of the children from stressed families could be correctly classified as resilient. Pathways to “resilience” and “positive adjustment” are apparent from early in life, with social support factors and temperament characteristics being of continuing importance. The study confirms the importance of attending to early emerging child functioning and corresponding family conditions, and hence the need for prevention and early intervention efforts.     

Same-sex couple perceptions of family support: a consensual qualitative study

Few studies have examined the family context in which same-sex couples negotiate their lives and relationships. Consensual qualitative research methods (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997) were used to analyze 14 same-sex couples' conversations about family support. Couples perceived that their families are positively supportive, non-supportive, or ambivalent in their support. These perceptions led to positive or negative emotional reactions in the couple members and to specific coping. The majority of couples perceived that family support (or lack of support) had an effect on the quality of their couple relationship. No general or typical response strategies to lack of family of origin support emerged, suggesting a lack of models or norms for same-sex couples. The implications for psychotherapeutic interventions with same-sex couples are discussed.     

Factors affecting the success of Hmong college students in America

This study explores barriers and success factors of Hmong students in American colleges by interviewing five Hmong graduate students from refugee families in the US. Emerging themes revolve around academic, cultural and financial barriers. Professors, advisors, classmates, academic support programmes, family, financial aid and their own psychological resources were identified as supportive factors in addressing their academic, cultural and financial needs. Implications and recommendations are drawn on how college counsellors and other professionals may best assist Hmong college students.     

Familial environment associated with type A behaviors and psychophysiological responses to stress in children

This study tested two major hypotheses regarding the characteristics of family environments associated with children's Type A behaviors, anger frequency and expression, hostile outlook, hostility displayed during an interview, and cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors. Two measures of family environment, Positive Affiliation and Authoritarianism, were derived by a factor analysis of the Family Environment Scale completed by parents. The sample consisted of 66 girls and 48 boys enrolled in Grades 2 through 12 from 114 families residing in a predominantly White, upper-middle-class suburb of Pittsburgh. Analyses largely supported the first hypothesis--that a less supportive and positively involved family climate would be associated with attributes of potential coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in children. Families scoring low on Positive Affiliation had children who were assessed as more angry and hostile on the basis of questionnaires and interview. Boys from these families had a more pronounced heart rate response to all laboratory stressors. The second hypothesis--that authoritarianism, in the absence of positive involvement and supportiveness in the family, would be associated with attributes of potential CHD risk in children--received support in regard to boys' heart rate responses to the serial-subtraction and mirror-image-tracing tasks. High Authoritarianism scores in combination with low Positive Affiliation scores in families predicted a heightened heart rate response in boys. Sex differences in the pattern of associations among family and child characteristics were also found. Results suggest that factors in the family environment may be important influences in children's development of characteristics that may, in adulthood, place them at risk for CHD.     

Examining Family Communication Patterns and Seeking Social Support Direct and Indirect Effects Through Ability and Motivation

Seeking social support remains a relatively understudied aspect of supportive communication. By integrating the literatures on family communication patterns (FCPs) and supportive communication, this study examines dispositional factors that influence support seeking in particular situations. Specifically, communicative ability and motivation to seek support were theorized to mediate the relationship between FCPs and recalled strategies of support seeking. Results from a sample (N = 352) of undergraduate students not only demonstrate that people's FCPs impart different levels of communicative ability and motivation to seek support, but also indirectly influence people's strategies of support seeking. Ability and motivation also directly influence support seeking, and several of these effects are moderated by participants' sex.     

Waiting for the next Shoe to Drop: The Experience of Parents of Children with Fanconi Anemia

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a rare genetic disease that generally affects children and results in bone marrow failure requiring blood or marrow transplantation for survival. A unique feature of the condition is the long, often many years, waiting period between genetic diagnosis and treatment. This qualitative study looked at the lived experience of parents confronting their child’s diagnosis of FA. We aimed to describe factors which parents found helpful or detrimental during the waiting time period and to recommend strategies to support families who will have these experiences in the future. Categories that emerged were: parents’ emotional responses, thoughts about FA (which occurred daily for most parents), sources of stress, mechanisms of coping, family dynamics and responses that were supportive and non-supportive. We found that most parents experience stress, uncertainty, and active surveillance throughout the course of the illness. Healthcare professionals, and especially physicians, were agents of both the most and least supportive experiences of parents. Parents described family centered team care as helpful throughout the illness and health professional education as a priority need.     

Overcoming Adversity: High‐Achieving African American Youth's Perspectives on Educational Resilience

This qualitative multicase research study identified the home, school, and community factors and processes that contributed to the academic success of 8 urban, African American high school graduates from low‐income, single‐parent families. Ten main themes emerged: school‐related parenting practices, personal stories of hardship, positive mother–child relationships, extended family networks, supportive school‐based relationships, school‐oriented peer culture, good teaching, extracurricular school activities, social support networks, and out‐of‐school time activities. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

Relations between coparenting and father involvement in families with preschool-age children

A sample (N = 112) composed primarily of European American and middle-class two-parent families with a resident father and a 4-year-old child (48% girls) participated in a longitudinal study of associations between coparenting and father involvement. At the initial assessment and 1 year later, fathers reported on their involvement in play and caregiving activities with the focal child, and coparenting behavior was observed during triadic family interactions. Structural equation modeling was used to test cross-lagged associations between coparenting behavior and father involvement. Overall, paths from father involvement to coparenting behavior were significant, but paths from coparenting behavior to father involvement were not. Specifically, greater father involvement in play was associated with an increase in supportive and a decrease in undermining coparenting behavior over time. In contrast, greater father involvement in caregiving was associated with a decrease in supportive and an increase in undermining coparenting behavior. Multigroup analysis further showed that these cross-lagged relations did not differ for dual-earner families and single-earner (father) families, but these relations appeared to differ for families with focal daughters and families with focal sons. These findings highlight the potential for fathering to affect coparenting and the importance of the role of contextual factors in coparenting-fathering relations.     

An Exploration of Families' Psychosocial Well-Being in a South African Context

The aim of this study was to explore and describe aspects that contribute to the psychosocial well-being of families from diverse cultures in a South African context by analysing data obtained through narratives, drawings and interviews with families. Participant families took part voluntarily in family interviews (N=36), written narratives (N=23) and drawings (N=14). These different methods of data collection provided rich data on family psychosocial well-being in a South African context with culturally diverse families, as well as on those aspects that influence family psychosocial well-being. The findings suggest that communication, mutual support, togetherness as a family and spirituality are the most prominent contributing factors, while financial difficulties and interpersonal conflicts or arguments are the most prominent hindering factors with regard to family psychosocial well-being in this group of participants.     

Resilience in Families Adapting to Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study explored adjustment and adaptation in families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data on family resilience were collected from 19 biological mothers of children with ADS. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to yield information on factors that enable these families to bounce back from the diagnosis and accompanying challenges with regard to ADS. The findings from the qualitative analysis indicate that social support, the spousal relationship, and family time, togetherness and routines are the most important resilience-promoting factors with ASD. Family hardiness, family problem-solving communication, and family time and routines were significant resilience resources.     

Relational factors and family treatment engagement among low-income,HIV-positive African American mothers

Clinically derived hypotheses regarding treatment engagement of families of low-income, HIV-positive, African American mothers are tested using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Predictors are baseline family relational factors (family support, mother's desire for involvement with family, and family hassles) and mother's history of substance dependence. The study examines a subsample of 49 mothers enrolled in a clinical trial testing the efficacy of Structural Ecosystems Therapy (SET). SET is a family-based intervention intended to relieve and prevent psychosocial distress associated with HIV/AIDS. Participants in the subsample were randomly assigned to SET and attended at least two therapy sessions. Findings reveal that family relational factors predicted family treatment engagement (family support, p < .004; mother's desire for involvement with family, p < .008; family hassles, p < .027). Family support predicted family treatment engagement beyond the prediction provided by the other relational factors and the mother's own treatment engagement (p < .016). History of substance dependence was neither associated with family treatment engagement nor family support. Post hoc analyses revealed that family hassles (p < .003) and mother's desire for involvement with family (p < .018) were differentially related to family treatment engagement in low- versus high-support families. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

Impact of traumatic incidents on family-of-origin functioning: An empirical study

This pilot study was an attempt to empirically validate some of the clinical observations made about traumatic incidents and families in the literature. The study hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in family functioning between those subjects that reported feeling traumatized and those subjects that did not report feeling traumatized, there would be a significant difference in anxiety between the identified trauma group and the identified non-trauma group, and there would be a significant difference in the breadth of support systems between the two groups. The results indicated that there were significant differences between groups of individuals who were identified as traumatized or non-traumatized. The differences included family functioning, individual feelings of anxiety, and report of familial support systems. The findings of this study were congruent with and supportive of much clinical literature on families and traumatic incidents.     

Clinical Implications for Supporting Caregivers at the End-of-Life: Findings and from a Qualitative Study

Despite families providing considerable care at end of life, there are substantial gaps in the provision of supportive care. A qualitative interview study was conducted with 17 caregivers of people supported by an adult hospice to explore the support needs of families. Family members readily identified the ways in which the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness impacted on them and the family as a whole, not just the patient. Implications for practice demonstrate the need to intervene at a family and relational level prior to bereavement, in order to mitigate complicated grief for the surviving family members. Such an approach offers a fruitful prospective alternative to supporting caregivers post-bereavement.     

Resilience in Families in Which a Parent has Died

Using a cross-sectional survey research design, the present study aimed to explore and explicate those resiliency factors that enable families to adjust and adapt successfully after the loss of a parent. Thirty-nine families completed questionnaires, including an open-ended question in which they were asked to report the most important factors or strengths that they felt helped their family through the stressful period. Results indicate that intrafamilial support, such as emotional and practical support amongst family members, and family hardiness characteristics, such as the internal strengths and durability of the family unit, contribute to resilience within the family. Individual characteristics, for example positive personality characteristics such as optimism, are equally important. Support from extended family and friends, as well as support obtained from religious and spiritual beliefs and activities, were reported as facilitating successful adjustment to the loss.     

婚姻质量对父母协同养育的影响：基于共同命运模型的跨层中介分析

共同命运模型(common fate model, CFM)是在家庭或二元层面研究中值得信赖的模型, 其更好地解释了亲密关系内在的相互依赖性。本研究基于共同命运模型探讨了家庭整体婚姻质量对父母协同养育程度的影响, 以及教养能力感在两者间的跨层中介作用。采用问卷法分层整群抽取上海市幼儿园中孩子(平均年龄5.14岁, 年龄范围4~7岁)的父亲与母亲参与调研, 分两个时间段(T1, T2; 间隔1年)收集数据, 最终得到650个家庭的父亲、母亲的婚姻满意度问卷(T1), 教养能力感问卷(T2)和协同养育感知问卷(T2)数据进行分析。结果发现: (1)基于共同命运模型, 家庭层面的婚姻质量正向预测家庭层面的支持性协同养育, 并负向预测家庭层面的破坏性协同养育; (2)家庭层面的婚姻质量正向预测父母各自的教养能力感; (3)父母各自的教养能力感正向预测家庭层面的支持性协同养育, 并负向预测家庭层面的破坏性协同养育; (4)父母个人层面的教养能力感在家庭层面的婚姻质量与家庭层面的支持性协同养育和破坏性协同养育起中介作用。总之, 本研究基于追踪数据运用共同命运模型, 并结合家庭层面(婚姻质量和协同养育)和个人层面(教养能力感)探讨了教养能力感在婚姻质量与父母协同养育间的跨层中介效应, 为营造良好的家庭环境提供一定的理论支持与指导意见, 并进一步促进了共同命运模型发展。     

Existe-t-il une typologie familiale dans les pathologies addictives ? Revue critique de la littérature sur les familles d’adolescents présentant des troubles alimentaires ou des conduites de dépendance aux substances

Among factors favoring the addictive behaviors, some specific family processes are often identified in eating disorders and dependences with psychoactive substances. Different models of systemic orientation described the familial disturbances involved in the addictive pathologies emphasizing either the emotional interaction and the processes of differentiation family, either the structure and the level of family cohesion. This article proposes a critical review of the systemic literature on the familial disturbances involved in the families of adolescents with eating disorders or with a substance-dependence. The systemic models (Bowen, Minuchin) are reference values in the understanding of family processes and therapy with families. The observations of these family processes have been confronted to empirical researches integrating different epistemological levels and different methods. The empirical results are heterogenous concerning the different forms of family functioning associated with these addictive pathologies. The empirical studies support the hypothesis of a family dysfunctioning in the different addictive behaviors and demonstrate the relationship between the severity of familial disorders and the severity of the addictive disorders. However, the family configuration described by the typological models is rarely found complete or with a similar intensity between the families. The studies support the hypothesis of an emotional distance in the family interactions and a lack of parental care which could correspond to factors of chronicity or vulnerability. Comparing the family characteristics of these two types of addictive behaviors, the literature supports the existence of (1) some specific family characteristics according to the type of addictive behavior (in particular the conflict avoidance which appears specifically in anorexic families) (2) some similar family patterns of interactions between the members of addictive families in particular the representation of a low family cohesion, an intergenerational enmeschment and a high level of control. These family patterns suggest rather to a dimensional approach of the family characterized by different protective or risk factors. We suggest that these family patterns could constitute, according to their importance (intensity and frequence), a family risk factor of development or aggravation of the addictive behaviors.