Relationship of family constellation and schooling to intellectual performance of Mexican American children.

The relationship of 13 family constellation and sociocultural variables to intellectual performance was examined for a sample of 190 Mexican-American preschool children from low-income families. Variables were reduced through a factor analysis that produced 4 independent variables. Intellectual performance was then predicted using an MAXR stepwise multiple regression procedure that generates a new model for each variable entered. The best single-factor predictor on intellectual performance, as measured by the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, was a language/schooling factor that consisted of language of child and parents, parents' schooling attainment, and country (Mexico or the US) in which parents were educated. The best 2-factor model added socioeconomic status to the prediction. Family constellation, consisting of family size and birth order, constituted a clearly separate and distinct factor that contributed less than 3% of the variance in intellectual performance. The relationship of cultural variations to predictions based on the confluence model of R. Zajonc and G. B. Markus (1976) is discussed. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family characteristics, childhood symptoms, and adult outcome in schizophrenia.

Assessed childhood symptom factors for 43 male children (average age 10.9 yrs), initially diagnosed as schizophrenic, in terms of their relationship to parental factors. The parental factors, in addition to family variables not derived by factor analysis, were evaluated as predictors of outcome over a 22-yr period extending from early to middle adulthood. Two maternal factors, Mother Anxious and Mother Neglect, were significantly related to adult outcome. The maternal factors were differentially associated with paternal factors, global judgments of severity of family disturbance and childhood symptoms. Path analysis indicated that the measure of severity of family disturbance had substantial, direct effects on adult measures with minimal mediation by childhood symptoms. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family, peer, and neighborhood influences on academic achievement among African-American adolescents: one-year prospective effects

Using a 1-year prospective design, this study examined the influence of family status variables (family income, parental education, family structure), parenting variables (maternal support and restrictive control), peer support, and neighborhood risk on the school performance of 120 African American junior high school students. In addition to main effects of these variables, neighborhood risk was examined as a moderator of the effects of parenting and peer support. Family status variables were not predictive of adolescent school performance as indexed by self-reported grade point average. Maternal support at Time 1 was prospectively related to adolescent grades at Time 2. Neighborhood risk was related to lower grades, while peer support predicted better grades in the prospective analyses. Neighborhood risk also moderated the effects of maternal restrictive control and peer support on adolescent grades in prospective analyses. These findings highlight the importance of an ecological approach to the problem of academic underachievement within the African American Community.     

Family and individual factors associated with substance involvement and PTS symptoms among adolescents in greater New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Objective: This study examined the influence of hurricane impact as well as family and individual risk factors on posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and substance involvement among clinically referred adolescents affected by Hurricane Katrina. Method: A total of 80 adolescents (87% male; 13–17 years old; mean age = 15.6 years; 38% minorities) and their parents were interviewed at the adolescent's intake into substance abuse treatment, 16 to 46 months postdisaster. Independent measures included hurricane impact variables (initial loss/disruption and perceived life threat); demographic and predisaster variables (family income, gender, predisaster adolescent substance use, predisaster trauma exposure, and parental substance abuse); postdisaster family factors (parental psychopathology, family cohesion, and parental monitoring); and postdisaster adolescent delinquency. Results: Hierarchical multivariate regression analyses showed that adolescent substance involvement was associated with higher family income, lower parental monitoring (adolescent report), and more adolescent delinquency. Adolescent-reported PTS symptoms were associated with greater hurricane-related initial loss/disruption, lower family cohesion (adolescent report), and more adolescent delinquency, whereas parent-reported adolescent PTS symptoms were associated with greater parental psychopathology, lower parental monitoring (adolescent report), and lower family cohesion (parent report). Conclusions: The results suggest that hurricane impact was related only to adolescent-reported PTS. However, certain postdisaster family and individual risk factors (low family cohesion and parental monitoring, more adolescent delinquency) were associated both with adolescent substance involvement and with PTS symptoms. Identification of these factors suggests directions for future research as well as potential target areas for screening and intervention with substance-abusing adolescents after disasters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment styles and personality disorders: their connections to each other and to parental divorce, parental death, and perceptions of parental caregiving

Attachment theory was explored as a means of understanding the origins of personality disorders. We investigated whether adult attachment styles and personality disorders share a common underlying structure, and how both kinds of variables relate to family background factors, including parental death, parental divorce, and current representations of childhood relationships with parents. A nonclinical group of 1407 individuals, mostly adolescents and young adults, were surveyed about their attachment styles, parental marital status, parental mortality status, perceptions of treatment by parents in childhood, and 13 personality disorders. Results indicated substantial overlap between attachment and personality-disorder measures. Two of the personality-disorder dimensions are related to the two dimensions of the attachment space; that is, there is a two-dimensional space in which both the attachment patterns and most of the personality disorders can be arrayed. The one personality-disorder factor that is unrelated to attachment appears akin to psychopathy. Both personality disorders and attachment styles were associated with family-of-origin variables. Results are discussed in terms of encouraging further research to test the idea that insecure attachment and most of the personality disorders share similar developmental antecedents.     

Cognitive and behavioral characteristics of physically abused children.

Compared 11 physically abused males (aged 3 yrs 11 mo to 5 yrs 8 mo) on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) and the Wide Range Achievement Test with 10 nonabused males matched on age, family income, and maternal age and education. In addition, behavioral observations of their performance on a persistence task were coded. Significant differences were found on the Verbal and Memory Scales and the General Cognitive Index of the MSCA. No behavioral differences were noted. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behavioral development of Korean children in institutional care and international adoptive families.

In this study, the authors compared the behavioral development of 4- to 8-year-old South Korean children placed in institutional care (n = 230) or adopted internationally (n = 382), with age of entry, parental status, reason for institutionalization, and postinstitutionalization parental contact as risk factors for institutionalized children. There was a placement effect of adoption and support for age of entry and parental status as risk factors. Relinquished children institutionalized before age 2 fared the poorest across groups. Children institutionalized after age 2 with deceased/unknown parents fared best among institutionalized children. Institutionalization due to family disruption was a risk for relinquished children only, whereas parental contact did not increase the risk for behavioral problems. The unique sample population and other limitations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental employment, school climate, and children's academic and social development.

Longitudinal data were used to examine the effects of parental employment status and school climate on children's academic and social development. Hierarchical regression, analyses of covariance, and latent growth modeling were used to assess various aspects of change as a function of work status and school climate with family income and education as control variables. Parental employment was associated with positive changes in social and academic progress even after controlling for prior developmental level, climate, and family income although effects were small and complex. School climate had minimal effect on the outcome variables. Income and education were related to various school outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School, occupation, culture, and family: The impact of parental schooling on the parent–child relationship.

Hypothesized that among the enduring effects of schooling on the individual are certain behavioral dispositions that determine how he/she will behave as a parent. As a result, parental behavior will have important consequences for a child's development of specific cognitive skills, learning strategies, and personality characteristics. In several studies, attempts were made to determine whether parental schooling, parental occupational status, and maternal employment each had a distinct pattern of influences on educationally related aspects of the parent–child relationship. The inquiry was conducted in the context of issues regarding ethnic diversity, individual variability within ethnic groups, and educational and occupational equity, giving particular attention to Chicano families. The findings regarding linkages between parental schooling and the parent–child relationship suggest plausible explanations of the frequent scholastic failure observed among the members of certain ethnic minorities in the US. A broad theoretical model is presented that causally links parental schooling, family interaction processes, and children's scholastic performance. (78 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental divorce, parent–child bonds, and adult attachment orientations among college students: A comparison of three racial/ethnic groups.

Despite evidence indicating that race/ethnicity and parental divorce may respectively affect perceptions of family and other intimate relationships, the conjoint influences of these sociodemographic variables on self-reports of both early (parent–child) and current (intimate adult) attachment relationships have not been investigated. In the present study, the authors examined (a) the contributions of parental marital status and race/ethnicity to scores on these measures and (b) the relative abilities of parental bonds to predict adult attachment orientations among students from different family backgrounds (i.e., intact and divorced) and from different racial/ethnic groups (i.e., White, Black, and Hispanic/Latino). Results indicated that race/ethnicity and parents' marital status had significant effects on the attachment measures, and that the extent to which parental bonds predicted adult attachment orientations varied among students with different family backgrounds and race/ethnicity. Implications of these findings to the conceptualization of college students' psychosocial development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental Illness, Family Functioning, and Adolescent Well-Being: A Family Ecology Framework to Guide Research.

A family ecology model for understanding adolescents' reactions to parental illness is presented and used to (a) critically evaluate existing research that examines direct effects of parental illness on family functioning and youth well-being and (b) provide a blueprint for future research in the area. Theoretical, clinical, and empirical literature is reviewed for each mediational and moderational pathway in the model, and limitations of the existing research are discussed. The blueprint for future research emphasizes a greater understanding of the mediational pathways in the model, which is essential for developing effective interventions for families experiencing parental illness. In addition, greater elucidation of moderator variables, such as the youth's developmental stage, social support, and cultural norms will provide critical information on contextual factors that enhance or impede adolescents' adaptation to serious parental illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive outcome in children and adolescents following severe traumatic brain injury: influence of psychosocial, psychiatric, and injury-related variables

Previous studies of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) have emphasized injury-related variables rather than psychiatric or psychosocial factors as correlates of cognitive outcomes. We addressed this concern by recruiting a consecutive series (N = 24) of children age 5 through 14 years who suffered a severe TBI, a matched group who sustained a mild TBI, and a second matched group who sustained an orthopedic injury. Standardized intellectual, memory, psychiatric, family functioning, family psychiatric history, neurological, and neuroimaging assessments were conducted at an average of 2 years following injury. Severe TBI, when compared to mild TBI and orthopedic injury, was associated with significant decrements in intellectual and memory function. A principal components analysis of independent variables that showed significant (p < .05) bivariate correlations with the outcome measures yielded a neuropsychiatric factor encompassing severity of TBI indices and postinjury psychiatric disorders and a psychosocial disadvantage factor. Both factors were independently and significantly related to intellectual and memory function outcome. Postinjury psychiatric disorders added significantly to severity indices and family functioning and family psychiatric history added significantly to socioeconomic status in explaining several specific cognitive outcomes. These results may help to define subgroups of children who will require more intensive services following their injuries.     

Parental Problem Drinking and Children's Adjustment: Attachment and Family Functioning as Moderators and Mediators of Risk.

Children's perceived attachments with parents, and family cohesion and adaptability were examined as predictors, mediators, and moderators in the parental problem drinking-child outcomes link. A total of 216 6- to 12-year-olds (110 boys, 106 girls) participated. Data were obtained from children and their mothers, fathers, and teachers. A higher level of family cohesion and adaptability functioned as (a) a robust protective factor against adjustment and cognitive difficulties otherwise associated with problem drinking and (b) a mediator of adjustment problems. Children's perceptions of attachments to mothers and fathers were consistent predictors of behavioral, social, and cognitive problems and further moderated relations between problem drinking and child functioning. The results support that child-parent and family functioning variables act as either pathways and/or vulnerability and protective factors for children exposed to a high-risk environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child sexual abuse, early family risk, and childhood parentification: Pathways to current psychosocial adjustment.

In this study, the authors examined the role of parentification (children assuming adult-like roles in the family) as it relates to family risk (parental psychopathology, parental illness, and domestic violence), child sexual abuse (CSA), and psychosocial adjustment in 499 college women. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model of direct, indirect, and mediational pathways through which CSA, family risk, and parentification contributed to later psychosocial maladjustment. Results indicate that CSA and family risk independently and directly predicted higher levels of maladjustment, but only family risk positively predicted parentification in childhood. Parentification was unexpectedly related to less maladjustment. Parentification failed to mediate the relation between early family risk and maladjustment. Findings suggest that family risk factors may contribute to parentification and that parentification is not always related to poorer psychosocial outcomes. Future research should examine the impact of parentification on other aspects of functioning and should assess how individual, familial, and cultural variables (e.g., age, gender, duration, perceived fairness, ethnicity, and family support) moderate the impact of parentification on long-term adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a typology of dual-earner families: A window into differences between and within families in relationships, roles, and activities.

A typology of dual-earner families based on mothers' and fathers' reports of work hours, job prestige, role overload, and job involvement was developed with a sample of 85 dual-earner couples with school-aged children. Three groups emerged that were distinguished by both between-groups and within-couple differences in the clustering variables: (a) high-status dual-earner families, (b) low-stress dual-earner families and (c) main–secondary provider families. Group membership was related not only to demographic variables (e.g., parental education and income) but to marital quality, family roles, and parental monitoring of children's activities. Analyses conducted to replicate the typology revealed that similar groups emerged in data collected a year later. Group membership was stable over time for all groups except the main–secondary provider group; this category appears to represent a transitional status for employed mothers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting the impact of child sexual abuse on women: The role of abuse severity, parental support, and coping strategies.

Female Navy recruits (N=5,226) completed surveys assessing history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), childhood strategies for coping with CSA, childhood parental support, and current psychological adjustment. Both CSA and parental support independently predicted later adjustment. In analyses examining whether CSA victims' functioning was associated with CSA severity (indexed by 5 variables), parental support (indexed by 3 variables), and coping (constructive, self-destructive, and avoidant), the negative coping variables were the strongest predictors. A structural equation model revealed that the effect of abuse severity on later functioning was partially mediated by coping strategies. However, contrary to predictions, the model revealed that childhood parental support had little direct or indirect impact on adult adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family functioning and parental smoking as predictors of adolescent cigarette use: A six-year prospective study.

The goal of this study was to determine how family functioning influences the onset of adolescent cigarette smoking and how family functioning and parental smoking together influence adolescent smoking. A 6-year prospective design was used to follow a group of 508 families with a child aged 11–13 years. Predictor measures were parents" smoking status at Time 1, parents" scores on scales measuring family cohesion and parent–adolescent strain, and adolescents" scores on 3 scales measuring psychological adjustment. Results showed that poorer family functioning predicted subsequent adolescent smoking, independent of other measured factors. The strongest predictions were yielded by the combination of low family cohesion and parental smoking, with early adolescents who had a parent who smoked and low family cohesion reporting more than twice the rate of smoking in late adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk factors for atherosclerosis in offspring of parents with primary hypertriglyceridemia

High triglycerides and low fibrinolysis activity are considered as a significant predictors for atherosclerosis. The aim of our study was: 1-to compare these risk factors levels in children with positive family history of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) with children from healthy families and 2-to assess the association between triglyceride and fibrinolysis activity in offspring (y) and parental risk factors (xl ... xn) for atherosclerosis. The study population consisted of: I Group 15 children 7-12 years old and their parents from HTG families and II Group 26 control children 5-12 years old from healthy families. Triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, cholesterol esters, LDL-Ch, HDL-Ch, HDL2Ch, apolipoprotein AI and BII, fibrinogen plasma level were determined. Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) and fibrinolysis activity and (ELT) were determined. We found significant differences in clinical examinations (higher blood pressure and ECG disturbances more frequently), HDL-Ch and HDL2-Ch plasma level was lower in children with positive family history than in control children. Multiple regression analysis of parental variables demonstrated, that children's TG and ELT are strongly determined by parental lipids and haemostasis parameters in children with positive family history of HTG.     

Preschoolers' viewing of instructional television.

Investigated the structural relations among viewing behaviors, viewing conditions, background characteristics, and intellectual ability and 107 34–71 mo olds' learning from instructional TV. Ss viewed tapes designed to teach seriation concepts in groups of four, in dyads, or individually. Ss also completed various subtests from tests of intellectual ability (e.g., the Verbal Fluency subtest of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities); Ss' parents completed a family background questionnaire. Instructional outcomes were not affected by treatment condition, so data were pooled for subsequent analyses. A principal components analysis with oblique rotation was used to reduce the number of variables for subsequent testing of a hypothetical model using path analysis. School aptitude made the strongest contribution to learning from the tapes; viewing behavior, parental education, and family constellation also directly contributed to learning. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of vessel and catheter position on the measurement accuracy in catheter-based quantitative coronary angiography

BACKGROUND: We report the efficacy and late effects of carboplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin (JEB) for extracranial non-gonadal tumours (GCII, 1989-95) compared with the 5 previous regimens (GCI, 1979-1988) consisting of 3 vincristine, actinomycin, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) and 2 platinum-based protocols. METHODS AND RESULTS: Median follow-up for 52 patients in the GCI study and 46 in GCII was 105 and 48 months, respectively. For GCI, 5- and 10-year actuarial survival was 63% (95% Confidence interval 50 to 75%) or 72% (57 to 83%) if 6 cases given low-dose VAC were excluded. For GCII, 5-year survival was significantly greater at 95% (83 to 99%), p = 0.01. Event-free survival was 46% at 5 years for GCI (33 to 59%) or 52% excluding the low-dose VAC cases (38 to 66%), while for GCII it was 87% (74 to 94%), p = 0.002. Five-year event-free survival of 21 children given cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin (BEP) in GCI was 57% (37 to 76%) compared with 87% (74 to 94%) for 46 given JEB in GCII, P = 0.02. Late effects in 30 evaluable survivors of GCI and 43 GCII included renal impairment in 6 in GCI and 0 in GCII and deafness in 11 and 4, respectively. Among 17 survivors of sacrococcygeal tumours treated in GCI, 4 have neuropathic bladder/bowel and another shortening of a leg. In GCII, 4 of 26 have neuropathic bladder/bowel with lower limb weakness in one. CONCLUSIONS: We found JEB to be more effective and less toxic than our previous regimens. Some survivors of sacrococcygeal tumours have neurological late effects.