A Review of Parenting Programs in Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges for Preventing Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties in Children

Many children in developing countries are at risk of emotional and behavioral difficulties, which are likely to be elevated due to the effects of poverty. Parenting programs have shown to be effective preventative strategies in high-income countries, but to date the research on their effectiveness in lower-income countries is limited. International organizations such as the World Health Organization have called for the implementation of programs to prevent behavioral difficulties through the development of stable relationships between children and their parents. The aim of the present paper was to review the literature on parenting programs in developing countries in order to identify challenges, opportunities and directions for further research. First, reports of international organizations were reviewed in order to gain a preliminary overview of the field. In a second stage, a non-systematic review was carried out. Databases were searched in order to identify empirical evaluations of parenting programs in low-income countries. Finally, a systematic review was carried out to specifically identify evaluations of programs targeting emotional or behavioral outcomes. Only one study had a strong methodology among those designed to prevent emotional and behavioral outcomes. Opportunities for further program development and research are identified.     

The relation between parental influence, body image, and eating behaviors in a nonclinical female sample

The purpose of the current study is to create a comprehensive composite measure of parental influence based on previously developed measures to clarify the underlying dimensions of parental influence and to determine the degree to which parental influence relates to body image and dysfunctional weight concerns. Previously published literature was reviewed for measures of parental influence, and items from 22 measures were condensed and combined into a single questionnaire, which was completed by 367 female undergraduate psychology students. Two dimensions emerged from a principle components analysis: Direct Influence, which includes weight and eating related comments, and Modeling, which includes parental modeling of dieting and related behavior. Direct Influence and Modeling were significantly related to eating disturbance, such as drive for thinness and bulimic symptomatology. Overall, the results integrate the previous literature and clarify the underlying dimensions of parental influence. Further, this study provides directions for future research related to the development and maintenance of body image and eating disturbance.     

The effect of mild depression on time discrimination

Depressed mood states affect subjective perceptions of time but it is not clear whether this is due to changes in the underlying timing mechanisms, such as the speed of the internal clock. In order to study depression effects on time perception, two experiments using time discrimination methods with short (<300?ms) and long (>1,000?ms) durations were conducted. Student participants who were categorized as mildly depressed by their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory were less able than controls to discriminate between two longer durations but were equally able to discriminate shorter intervals. The results suggest that mildly depressed or dysphoric moods do not affect pacemaker speed. It is more likely that depression affects the ability to maintain attention to elapsing duration.     

IDEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS OF WITNESSING THE HOLOCAUST IN WARTIME DIARIES OF JAROSŁAW IWASZKIEWICZ AND MARIA DĄBROWSKA

The Polish writers Jaros?aw Iwaszkiewicz (1894–1980) and Maria D?browska (1889–1965) spent the years of brutal German occupation in Warsaw. Both witnessed the establishment of the Ghetto, the 1942 deportations, and the 1943 Uprising, as well as the attempts of the Jewish fugitives to hide on the “Aryan side” of the city. Yet their war diaries reveal contrasting attitudes toward the destruction of the Jews. Whereas D?browska projected indifference by practically ignoring the evolving genocide, Iwaszkiewicz expressed dismay and compassion. Iwaszkiewicz and his wife Anna engaged in rescuing Jews while D?browska showed no sympathy for the Jewish plight. Such polarized responses to the Holocaust by individuals who were contemporaries, fellow writers, and prominent members of the intellectual elite of Warsaw raise questions about the nature of witnessing and responding to atrocities. This essay posits that the differences in these writers' attitudes toward the genocide of the Polish Jews were indelibly tied to the ideological systems that shaped their self-identities.     

FORGETTING THE FORGOTTEN ONES

Haim Gouri’s poem “Hanishkahim” (The Forgotten Ones) has appeared in several versions and in a number of collections. Suggesting the noble heroism of soldiers dying in battle, this poem has become an example of the symbolic repertoire employed to enforce national myths. As part of the “Palmah generation” of poets, Gouri’s own life, as well as the imagery of the poetry, articulates the ideals of the sabras who fought and died in the Israeli War of Independence. However, this poem also challenges these myths. “Hanishkahim” questions the State’s memorialization of military heroism while ignoring those soldiers, particularly the disabled, who destabilize the authority of national narratives. In shorter editions of this poem, Gouri’s critique of war commemoration is obliterated. This article examines Gouri’s poem in light of the role editing plays in shaping ideological discourse.     

Social identity,group processes,and helping in emergencies

Using insights from a review of recent research on social identity approaches to helping, the Chapter sets out four key elements of a social identity approach to helping in emergencies: the salience of social identity, the boundaries of social identity, the contents of social identity, and the strategic interests of social identity. Evidence that illustrates the impact of social identity processes on group size and helping, which has traditionally focused on the inhibition of helping in the presence of others, is then reviewed. Finally, recent developments in the literature on intergroup emotions are considered, and their impact on a social identity approach to helping in emergencies is explored, highlighting the relatively neglected social identity relationship between bystanders and perpetrators. The review concludes by considering the current state of knowledge of a social identity approach to helping in emergencies, and identifies important questions that remain to be addressed.     

The Roles of Religiosity and Spirituality in Moral Reasoning

To better understand the influence of religiosity and spirituality on moral reasoning, 1,037 college students completed a survey including demographic questions, a religiosity measure, a spirituality measure, and Forsyth's Ethical Position Questionnaire. Religiosity and spirituality positively correlated with moral idealism, whereas spirituality negatively correlated with moral relativism. However, religiosity and spirituality accounted for a very little variability in moral reasoning, suggesting that they do not directly influence moral reasoning. In addition, female participants reported higher spirituality, but there were no gender differences on a spirituality measure. Future research is needed to examine other factors that may influence moral reasoning.     

Therapist, Parent, and Youth Perspectives of Treatment Barriers to Family-Focused Community Outpatient Mental Health Services

This exploratory qualitative study describes treatment barriers to receiving family-focused child mental health services for youths with disruptive behavior problems from multiple perspectives. Data were collected during a series of focus groups and interviews, including: 4 therapist focus groups (n = 26), 3 parent focus groups (n = 14), and 10 youth (10–13 years) semi-structured interviews. Data analysis followed inductive, iterative processes typical of qualitative research using an editing style and thematic content analysis approach. Therapist, parent, and youth stakeholder participants discussed perceived barriers to effective treatment, the problems with current child outpatient therapy, and desired changes (i.e., policy, intervention, etc.) to improve mental health services. Results indicate similar themes around treatment barriers and dissatisfaction with services within and across multiple stakeholder groups, including inadequate service system support, lack of family involvement and feeling overwhelmed with the complexities of families’ needs; however, parents and therapists, in particular, identified different contributing factors to these barriers. Therapists highly endorse using family-focused therapy and desire parent participation; however, parents feel unsupported by their child’s therapist. Parents’ report feeling blamed and not heard by service providers which negatively impacts their attitude about service delivery, causing discomfort and resistance to participation in their youth’s treatment. Youth also discussed dissatisfaction with mental health services, specifically related to their direct experiences in therapy, and desired more active, directive family-focused approaches. Overall, stakeholders reported much frustration and dissatisfaction with current community-based outpatient child therapy services. Study findings can inform service provision, intervention development, and future research.     

Maternal Empathy and Changes in Mothers’ Permissiveness as Predictors of Toddlers’ Early Social Competence with Peers: A Parenting Intervention Study

The goal of the current study was to examine how changes in parenting due to a parenting intervention designed to decrease permissive parenting affected the quality of children’s peer interactions. Forty-nine mothers of toddlers aged 2–3 years participated in a 12-week intervention in which half got hands-on training and practice using positive guidance in a toddler classroom setting, while the other half learned positive guidance solely via a seminar format. To observe children’s peer interactions, toddlers were divided into 8 groups of 5–7 children mixed across condition. Observers coded mothers’ empathy, permissiveness, and positive guidance parenting strategies. Children’s peer interactions were coded for antisocial behaviors, verbal aggression, physical aggression, prosocial behaviors, positive social bids, and empathy. Prior analysis of this intervention indicated that mothers in both conditions showed reductions in permissiveness over the course of the intervention. Results from the present study indicated that reductions in permissiveness predicted decreases in toddlers’ verbal aggression. Maternal empathy was a moderator such that mothers low in empathy who got hands-on training in positive guidance had children who demonstrated the greatest reductions in antisocial behaviors.