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Biomedical subjects

Ric G Steele

Publications and source records attributed to Ric G Steele.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The relationship of hope and illness-related uncertainty to emotional adjustment and adherence among pediatric renal and liver transplant recipients.

OBJECTIVE: To examine, using partial least squares (PLS) modeling, the associations among hope, illness-related uncertainty, anxiety, depression, and adherence in a sample of children with renal and liver transplantations. METHODS: Seventy pediatric renal and liver transplant recipients and their caregivers participated in a 3-month study which involved completing questionnaires and monitoring adherence via self-report and electronic monitoring (MEMS caps). A PLS estimation procedure was used to examine the associations among constructs in the theoretical model. RESULTS: Hope and uncertainty were associated with both depressive symptoms and anxiety, and depressive symptoms were associated with treatment adherence. The association of hope and adherence to treatment was fully mediated by depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest mechanisms for identifying patients that may be at risk for nonadherence and components for intervention programs to improve adherence rates among pediatric transplant recipients.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Treatment of pediatric overweight: an examination of feasibility and effectiveness in an applied clinical setting.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness and feasibility of an evidence-based treatment for weight loss in children. METHODS: A total of 41 children who were overweight and their families were provided a modified version of the Traffic Light Diet (TLD) in an applied setting. Children who received treatment as usual (TAU) constituted a comparison sample. RESULTS: Children receiving the modified TLD demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in standardized body mass index (z-BMI) than children receiving TAU. CONCLUSIONS: The TLD is a feasible treatment that can be implemented in applied settings that include samples often excluded from treatment efficacy studies. Results are discussed in the context of bridging the gap between science and service.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Examining the influence of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology: an empirical approach.

OBJECTIVE: To empirically examine whether research published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology (JPP) guides research both within and outside the field of pediatric psychology. METHODS: Articles published in JPP from 2000 to 2004 were evaluated to determine the frequency with which articles in JPP from 2000 influenced subsequent research. Citation rates by other journals were also examined. RESULTS: Articles in JPP from 2000 were frequently cited in subsequent research, but authors rarely cited previous research as being instrumental in the development of their study design. Articles in JPP from 2000 were also frequently cited by outside journals. Specifically, journals classified as "medical and medical subspecialties" had the highest rates of citing JPP articles. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that JPP is cited both within JPP and other journals provides further evidence that pediatric psychology is a thriving interdisciplinary field.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

Practitioner attitudes toward evidence-based practice: themes and challenges.

The widespread successful implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) into community mental health settings will require a thorough understanding of practitioner attitudes toward these approaches. This study reports on the results of two community mental health practitioner focus groups investigating attitudes toward EBPs, perceived challenges to implementing EBPs, and recommendations for researchers interested in facilitating EBP use in community settings. The participants were child and adolescent mental health professionals (N=19) from two community mental health centers. The focus groups were taped, transcribed and coded for themes. Major themes included concerns regarding the applicability of some research supporting EBPs, a desire for a greater emphasis on the therapeutic relationship, and the need for flexibility within treatment protocols. Themes are discussed within the context of the recent movement toward implementing EBPs in community settings and recent research related to focus group themes.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed2004

Patterns of maternal distress among children with cancer and their association with child emotional and somatic distress.

OBJECTIVE: To identify patterns of distress among mothers of children with cancer over the initial 6 months of treatment and to examine these patterns as predictors of child somatic and emotional distress. METHOD: Data were gathered regarding maternal perceived stress and affective distress from mothers of children (N = 65, mean age = 8.3 years) with cancer at 2 to 5 weeks postdiagnosis, then at 12 to 14 weeks and 22 to 24 weeks. Mothers and nurses provided indexes of child somatic and emotional distress at these assessments. RESULTS: Hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses revealed four distinct patterns of maternal distress: high, moderate, declining, and low. The high maternal distress group reported higher child emotional distress at all three points but higher child somatic distress only at the final assessment. Maternal distress group was unrelated to nurse-reported child distress. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of four empirically derived patterns of maternal distress may explain some of the variance in the literature regarding parental distress vis-à-vis pediatric cancer treatment and may have relevance to intervention efforts. Differences in the relations between maternal distress groups and mother- and nurse-reported child distress underscore the importance of collecting child distress data from multiple sources.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy for pediatric HIV infection: review of the literature and recommendations for research.

This review described and compared empirical investigations of adherence to pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) and predictors/correlates of adherence with regard to methodology and outcome. Thirteen empirical studies of children's adherence to ART, conducted between the years 1981 and 2002 were identified. Investigations varied by age of participant, drug therapy regimen, method of adherence assessment, and by the reporting of predictors/correlates of adherence. Conclusions from the literature are limited by the lack of common sample characteristics and adherence assessment methodologies. Nevertheless, consistent with much of the pediatric adherence literature, adherence to antiretroviral medications among children and adolescents appears to be frequently suboptimal. Few investigations identified predictors/correlates of adherence, but these appear generally similar to those found in adult samples. Recommendations for future investigations are proposed.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗
PubMed2003

Parent and child reporting of negative life events: discrepancy and agreement across pediatric samples.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the consistency in child and parent reporting of child's negative life events across child/pediatric samples. METHODS: A total of 613 child-parent dyads provided independent reports of negative life events. The pairs included three groups consisting of children who were healthy (n = 362), diagnosed with cancer (n = 130), and diagnosed with a chronic illness (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, or cystic fibrosis; n = 121). RESULTS: Children reported significantly more negative life events than their parents reported for them. Additionally, children in the chronically ill group self-reported significantly fewer negative life events than the other groups. However, parents of children with cancer reported significantly more negative life events than the other groups. Although discrepancies exist in all three samples, parents and children in the healthy group were significantly more discrepant than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that communication of children's life events between parent and child may increase during children's experience of cancer or a chronic illness. However, significant discrepancies remain in child and parent report of negative life events. Because of this, clinicians are encouraged to recognize the strengths and limitations of using multiple reporters in assessing negative life events in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Longitudinal correlates of depressive symptoms among urban African American children: II. Extension of findings across 3 years.

We examined the association between childhood self-reported depressive symptoms and 2 areas of child psychosocial functioning: social and cognitive competence. Urban African American children, ages 6 to 11 and their mothers (N = 177) were interviewed at 2 assessments separated by 3 years. As a test of the relations among depressive symptoms and subsequent psychosocial functioning, independent hierarchical regression analyses were performed, with mother-reported social and cognitive competence and grades at the latter assessment as dependent variables. The analyses indicated that Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) scores at the initial assessment predicted changes in mother-reported social competence from the initial assessment to the latter assessment. This study also examined the impact of an additional stressor, maternal HIV infection, on this same relation. The analyses indicated that maternal HIV infection did not moderate the relation between childhood self-reported depressive symptoms and later competence.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changes in maternal distress and child-rearing strategies across treatment for pediatric cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To examine longitudinal changes in perceived stress, affective distress, and self-reported parenting strategies among mothers of children with cancer over the initial 6 months of diagnosis and treatment, and to examine relationships between changes in distress and subsequent parenting strategies. METHOD: Questionnaire data were gathered regarding parental perceived stress, caregiver burden, affective distress, and parenting strategies from 65 mothers of children (mean age = 8.3 years) with cancer at 2-5, 12-14, and 22-24 weeks postdiagnosis. RESULTS: Consistent with other studies in the literature, maternal affective distress decreased over the time course of the study. Perceived stress also decreased, while caregiver burden remained relatively stable. Parental consistency fluctuated over the study period, while other parenting strategies (i.e., control, nurturance, and responsiveness) remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: Although maternal affective distress decreased following the initial diagnosis of cancer, sources of stress (e.g., caregiver burden) may remain stable, indicating the need for interventions to bolster parental coping resources.

Child↗