Respective influence of occupational and personal factors on respiratory function in dairy farmers

OBJECTIVE: This study proposes to test the hypothesis that early loss of a parent, coupled with poor quality family relationships, would result in long-term increased cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity to stress. METHODS: Subjects included 30 university students who lost one parent before age 16, and 31 control subjects. Blood pressure (BP) was measured continuously during 5-minute baseline and recovery periods, and during each of 2 tasks--viewing a 7-minute video clip depicting the death of a parent, and giving a 3-minute impromptu speech (1-hour rest between tasks). Salivary cortisol samples were collected immediately before each task, and at 5 and 20 minutes posttask. Quality of family relationships (FR) was measured using the Moos Family Environment Scale. RESULTS: Repeated-measures analysis of covariance revealed significant main effects on BP of both parental loss and FR for both tasks (all p values < .05) such that subjects who lost a parent or reported poor quality FR showed higher BP across all periods. The loss by FR by period interaction was not significant. An FR by period interaction was found for cortisol during the movie, in which poor quality FR subjects showed increased cortisol, whereas all others showed decreases. A loss by period interaction was found for cortisol during the speech, in which cortisol increased in loss subjects and decreased in non-loss subjects. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that both childhood loss of a parent and poor quality of caretaking are associated with long-term increases in BP and altered neurohormonal responses to stress.     

Necrotizing enterocolitis of infancy. Early roentgen patterns as a guide to prompt diagnosis

Necrotizing enterocolitis of infancy most commonly affects premature infants during the first several weeks of life. In most cases it is a devastating condition that often progresses to severe complications of death. The classic abnormalities, such as gas in the bowel wall and/or portal vein, are generally late manifestations. The author has consistently observed several distinct radiographic findings in early stages of the disease: (a) ileus and elongation of bowel loops; (b) loss of bowel wall definition; and (c) a disorganized, atonic pattern of intestinal gas. These findings are helpful in early diagnosis, particularly when the clinical features are nondiagnostic.     

Early human experience: A family perspective.

Reviews recent research on the father–infant relationship. Those studies documenting changes in parent and infant behavior when the mother–infant dyad is transformed into the mother–father–infant triad are especially important to the study of early human experience, since they highlight the influence of the marital relationship on the parent–infant relationship. These investigations of "2nd-order effects" document the fact that inclusion of the father in the study of infancy creates a family system composed of marital and parent–child relations. The need for "wedding" the disciplines of family sociology and developmental psychology in their respective concerns for marital and parent–infant relationships is emphasized, and a transactional framework for examining early experience in the family system is proposed. Evidence from family sociology and developmental psychology is reviewed to illuminate influences within the family system during infancy and to stimulate interdisciplinary investigation. (3? ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence-based practices for parentally bereaved children and their families.

Parental death is 1 of the most traumatic events that can occur in childhood, and several reviews of the literature have found that the death of a parent places children at risk for a number of negative outcomes. This article describes the knowledge base regarding both empirically supported, malleable factors that have been shown to contribute to or protect children from mental health problems following the death of a parent and evidence-based practices to change these factors. In addition, nonmealleable factors clinicians should consider when providing services for children who have experienced the death of a parent are reviewed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic stability of cognitive development from childhood to adulthood.

Genetic stability from infancy to adulthood has been proposed to account for observed parent–child resemblance in cognitive test scores in the Colorado Adoption Project. Although genetic variance increases dramatically from infancy to adulthood, results of preliminary analyses suggested that the genetic influences on cognitive ability in infancy and in adulthood may be highly correlated. To assess genetic stability more rigorously, a path model of genetic and family environmental transmission was fitted to general cognitive ability data from adoptive and nonadoptive families in which children were tested at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years of age, as well as to published twin correlations. Longitudinal genetic correlations from infancy and early childhood to adulthood were modeled explicitly, as were the effects of phenotypic assortative mating on both parent–child and twin resemblance. In general, results of the present study suggest significant and substantial genetic stability from 2, 3, and 4 years of age to adulthood. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Themes of Early Parent Loss in My Life as a Dog.

The death of a parent is at once the most poignant of human experiences. Taking Sydney Smith's (1977) notion of the "golden fantasy" as a point of departure, the wish to have all of one's needs met in an idyllic relationship haloed by perfection is applied to a case of early parent loss. Whereas the golden fantasy is thought of as a wished-for paradise, it is proposed that in cases of parent loss in childhood, there is an eviction from paradise, the fall, which is real and sets off endless, regressive, and often self-destructive efforts to initiate this wishedfor idyllic state. This article explores the autobiographical novel My Life as a Dog, by Reidar Jonsson (1983), and its charming film adaptation as representing a compelling need on the part of the author to symbolically reclaim the lost parent in the real world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expression of the human dystrophin gene in mdx mouse skeletal muscles after ballistic transfection

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in 2-5-year-old survivors with neonatal respiratory failure due to congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) with or without the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). STUDY DESIGN: The study design was a prospective, multicenter, longitudinal outcome study of consecutively surviving neonates admitted to a single tertiary intensive care unit. SETTING: The study was conducted at four audiologic departments affiliated with tertiary-level intensive care follow-up programs. PATIENTS: Thirty-seven surviving children receiving neonatal intensive care from February 1989 through January 1995 for neonatal respiratory failure due to CDH were studied. Excluded were 15 children with early death and I child lost to follow-up. INTERVENTION: The initial treatment depended on the severity of neonatal respiratory failure: ECMO-treated (n=31, 20 survivors) (death before ECMO initiation, 2) and non-ECMO treated (n=20, 17 survivors, another survivor lost to follow-up). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Early childhood audiologic test results were measured. RESULTS: Sensorineural hearing loss was found in almost 60% of subjects: ECMO-treated, 12 (60%) of 20; non-ECMO-treated, 10 (59%) of 17. Of the 22 children with SNHL, 16 had mild- to-moderate low-frequency sloping to moderate-to-severe high-frequency loss. Of the remaining, six had severe-to-profound loss at 500 Hz and above. Seventeen children had normal responses to sound as newborns or in infancy. Five children were not tested. Documented progression was found in nine children. Twenty children currently are using amplification, and 2 have had cochlear implantation. CONCLUSIONS: Of children with CDH in this area presenting early with severe neonatal respiratory failure, SNHL developed in 60% by 2-5 years of life. Ongoing monitoring of the hearing status of children with CDH is imperative.     

Visiting the parental grave in psychotherapy.

Four case studies illustrate techniques (e.g., stimulation of reverie, visitation of the parental grave) used to undo the natural denial of death of a parent in early childhood. It is suggested that failure to grieve the early death of a parent is often reflected during adolescence and early adulthood in developmental anomalies ranging from mild academic difficulties to severe psychotic transformations. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Central nervous system damage as a possible component of unexpected deaths in infancy

A longitudinal study of 1553 infants, designed to provide early indicators of gross developmental problems by using a behavioral assessment scale, included 12 infants who later died suddenly and unexpectedly. In a retrospective examination of neonatal records, considerable evidence of central nervous system damage was found. Anoxic conditions and even possible seizure activity were implicated. Abnormalities of muscle tonus, skin color and cry were found, together with some visual problems. These findings on behavioral assessment in the neonatal period appear to identify a population which is at greater risk of sudden death in infancy. The need for oxygen therapy as a high-risk indicator of sudden unexpected death has been reported in a previous study and is further substantiated by the present findings: they are also compatible with thos of Naeye (1973), who found long-term hypoxic conditions in autopsy studies on the sudden infant death syndrome. It is suggested that the possibility of central nervous system involvement in the aetiology of the sudden infant death syndrome should be more thoroughly investigated.     

Multiple ventricular septal defects: how and when should they be repaired?

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart lesions with multiple ventricular septal defects remain a surgical challenge. Traditional approaches often rely on either ventriculotomy for exposure or palliation with pulmonary artery banding. However, indications for repair versus palliation and for various approaches to surgical exposure are not clearly defined. METHODS: From July 1992 to January 1998, 45 patients with multiple (>/=2) ventricular septal defects (37 with associated lesions) underwent surgery. Median age was 86 days; all but 4 patients were infants. The mean number of defects was 3.7, and almost half of the patients had more than 3 defects. Apical muscular defects were present in 62% of patients. Thirty-one patients underwent primary complete repair through a right atriotomy or trans-semilunar valve approach (group 1), 8 had palliation (group 2), and 6 underwent complete repair after prior palliation elsewhere (group 3). No patient had a ventriculotomy. RESULTS: One early death occurred in a group 1 patient. Four patients who had had palliation (50%) underwent early reoperation for pulmonary artery band revision because of failure to thrive or band removal after spontaneous closure of the defects. At follow-up (median 22 months), there was 1 death in a group 2 patient (palliation) and 1 other group 2 patient required cardiac transplantation. The only late reoperation was for removal of the pulmonary artery band and closure of multiple apical defects in a group 2 (palliation) patient. No patients who underwent repair have hemodynamically significant residual defects. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, palliation of multiple ventricular septal defects is associated with greater morbidity than primary repair. Multiple defects can almost always be repaired adequately in early infancy without ventriculotomy, although "Swiss-cheese" septum may be an indication for palliation.     

Are parents' gender schemas related to their children's gender-related cognitions? A meta-analysis.

Meta-analyses were conducted of 43 articles (with 48 different samples) investigating the relationship between parents' gender schemas and their offspring's gender-related cognitions. The parents' offspring ranged in age from infancy to early adulthood. Offspring measures included gender self-concept, gender attitudes toward others, gender-related interests, and occupational attitudes. Overall, a small but meaningful effect size (r = .16) indicated a significant and positive correlation between parent gender schemas and offspring measures. Specifically, parents with more traditional gender schemas were more likely than parents with more nontraditional schemas to have offspring with gender-typed cognitions about themselves or others. In addition, the magnitudes of observed effect sizes were influenced by particular moderator variables, including type of parent gender schema (gender self-concept vs. gender attitudes toward others), type of offspring gender-related cognitions, parent gender, offspring gender, offspring age, and publication characteristics. The results are cautiously interpreted as suggesting a possible influence of parents on the development of their children's gender-related thinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term effects of the death of a child on parents' adjustment in midlife.

The death of a child is a traumatic event that can have long-term effects on the lives of parents. This study examined bereaved parents of deceased children (infancy to age 34) and comparison parents with similar backgrounds (n = 428 per group) identified in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. An average of 18.05 years following the death, when parents were age 53, bereaved parents reported more depressive symptoms, poorer well-being, and more health problems and were more likely to have experienced a depressive episode and marital disruption than were comparison parents. Recovery from grief was associated with having a sense of life purpose and having additional children but was unrelated to the cause of death or the amount of time since the death. The results point to the need for detection and intervention to help those parents who are experiencing lasting grief. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early intervention for parents at risk of child abuse and neglect: A preliminary investigation.

An early intervention program for young parents and children who have been identified as being at risk of child maltreatment was evaluated. Thirty mother–child dyads were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) an information group offered by the child protection agency (which served as a control condition) or (b) a special program of behavioral parent training in addition to the agency group. Self-report measures indicated that significant improvements in parenting risk and child behavior problems at posttest and at 3-month follow-up were evident only for mothers who received parent training in addition to information groups. Home observation data were inconclusive, possibly due to the limited opportunities to observe behaviors of interest. Both groups showed improvements in their child-rearing environments and in their children's adaptive behaviors at follow-up. Caseworker ratings of clients' risks of maltreatment and abilities to manage their families at 1-year follow-up significantly favored the families who received parent training in addition to information. Methodological and treatment issues arising from this preliminary investigation of early intervention with diverse population of high-risk parents and children are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In vitro activation of human herpesviruses 6 and 7 from latency

Human herpesviruses 6 and 7 (HHV-6 and HHV-7) are prevalent lymphotropic viruses that infect more than 80% of children at infancy or during early childhood. Infection ranges from asymptomatic to severe disease. HHV-6B causes exanthem subitum. The virus can be recovered from peripheral blood mononuclear cells during the acute phase of exanthem subitum, but the host remains latently infected throughout life. In immunocompromised patients undergoing kidney, liver, or bone marrow transplantation latent HHV-6B is reactivated, at times causing severe or fatal disease. Here, we describe the establishment of an in vitro system for reactivation of HHV-6B and HHV-7 from latency. HHV-7 is reactivated from latently infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells by T-cell activation. HHV-6B could not be reactivated under similar conditions; however, the latent HHV-6B could be recovered after the cells were infected with HHV-7. Once reactivated, the HHV-6B genomes became prominent and the HHV-7 disappeared. We conclude that HHV-7 can provide a transacting function(s) mediating HHV-6 reactivating from latency. Understanding the activation process is critical for the development of treatments to control the activation of latent viruses so as to avoid these sometimes life threatening infections in transplant recipients.     

Gender identity change in a female adolescent transsexual

Two years of individual and milieu therapy are described of a 14 1/2-year-old girl who had presented with the persistent request to have a sex-change operation since age 12. Her past history was obtained from her parent and the records of the child guidance clinic which evaluated her at 3 years of age. She gives a history of remarkable tomboyism during her latency years and increasing withdrawal from peers and family during early adolescence. The patient's personal and family dynamics are explored, and these major therapeutic themes are discussed. The individual and milieu therapy are described and discussed with some speculation about the reasons for her positive response to psychotherapy. It would appear that this is a rare case of postpubertal female transsexual reported to have made a gender identity change.     

Emergenesis: Genetic traits that may not run in families.

Traits that are influenced by a configuration, rather than by a simple sum, of polymorphic genes may not be seen to be genetic unless one studies monozygotic twins (who share all their genes and thus all gene configurations) because such "emergenic" traits will tend not to run in families. Personal idiosyncrasies that have been found to be surprisingly concordant among monozygotic twins separated in infancy and reared apart may be emergenic traits. More speculatively, important human traits like leadership, genius in its many manifestations, being an effective therapist or parent, as well as certain psychopathological syndromes may also be emergenic. These ideas reemphasize the importance of the role played in human affairs by genetic variation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maternal sensitivity during infancy and subsequent life events relate to attachment representation at early adulthood.

A prospective longitudinal research study of 86 prematurely born children from birth to age 18 years provided empirical evidence for continuity from infancy experience to representations of attachment at age 18 years. Young adults whose representation of attachment was dismissing had been objectively observed during infancy, 16–17 years earlier, to receive less sensitive maternal care than those infants who were later judged at early adulthood to have secure or preoccupied representations. Infancy experience alone did not differentiate young adults with secure representations from those with preoccupied representations. Rather, adverse life events through age 12, particularly parental divorce, reduced the likelihood of secure representations and increased the likelihood of preoccupied representations. The absence of adverse life events did not increase the likelihood of security for those who had not experienced early sensitive caregiving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infancy parenting and externalizing psychopathology from childhood through adulthood: Developmental trends.

Developmental models and previous findings suggest that early parenting is more strongly associated with externalizing problems in early childhood than it is in adolescence. In this article, the authors address whether the association of poor-quality infancy parenting and externalizing problems “rebounds” in adulthood. Poor-quality infancy parenting was associated with externalizing problems at kindergarten and first grade (mother report) as well as at 23 and 26 years (self report). Infancy parenting was not significantly associated with either mothers’ or youths’ reports of externalizing problems at 16 years. These findings are consistent with the notion that poor-quality infancy parenting is a risk factor for externalizing problems in developmental periods for which externalizing behavior is most deviant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A responsive parenting intervention: The optimal timing across early childhood for impacting maternal behaviors and child outcomes.

This study examined the optimal timing (infancy, toddler-preschool, or both) for facilitating responsive parenting and the intervention effects on maternal behaviors and child social and communication skills for children who vary in biological risk. The intervention during infancy, Playing and Learning Strategies (PALS I), showed strong changes in maternal affective-emotional and cognitively responsive behaviors and infants' development. However, it was hypothesized that a 2nd intervention dose in the toddler-preschool period was needed for optimal results. Families from the PALS I phase were rerandomized into either the PALS II, the toddler-preschool phase, or a Developmental Assessment Sessions condition, resulting in 4 groups. Facilitation of maternal warmth occurred best with the PALS I intervention, while cognitive responsive behaviors were best supported with the PALS II intervention. Behaviors that required responsiveness to the child's changing signals (contingent responsiveness, redirecting) required the intervention across both the early and later periods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categories of response to reunion with the parent at age 6: Predictable from infant attachment classifications and stable over a 1-month period.

Describes the development of a system for classifying attachment organization at age 6 on the basis of study of children's responses to unstructured reunions with parents. In a study of 33 families, 6th-year attachment classifications to mother were highly predictable from infancy attachment classifications to mother (84%), with Ss secure in infancy identified as secure on reunion at age 6 (Group B); and Ss insecure-avoidant in infancy identified as insecure-avoidant (Group A); Ss who were insecure-disorganized/disoriented identified as controlling of the parent (Group D). Lower predictability (61%) was found for attachment to father. An insecure-ambivalent (Group C) 6th-year classification was developed following the Berkeley study. In a 2nd study of child–mother dyads, (N?=?50), 62% of Ss were stable in (A, B, C, and D) classification across a 1-mo interval. When D children were reassigned to their best-fitting alternative A, B, or C categories, stability was high both for major classifications (A + B + C?=?86%) and for 7 subclassifications (A1, A2, B1/B2, B3, B4, C1, C2?=?76%). Avoidance of mother was stable across the 5-yr and the 1-mo periods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)