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Biomedical subjects

Tim S Ayers

Publications and source records attributed to Tim S Ayers.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Stressors, quality of the child-caregiver relationship, and children's mental health problems after parental death: the mediating role of self-system beliefs.

Investigated whether three self-system beliefs, fear of abandonment, coping efficacy, and self-esteem, mediated the relations of stressors and caregiver-child relationship quality with concurrent and prospective internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of children who had experienced parental death in the previous 2.5 years. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 340 children ages 7-16 and their surviving parent/current caregiver; the longitudinal analyses employed a subset of this sample that consisted of 100 children and their parents/caregivers who were assessed at three time points. A multirater, multimethod measure of caregiver-child relationship quality and a multirater measure of children's mental health problems were used. The cross-sectional model supported a mediational relation for fear of abandonment, coping efficacy, and self-esteem. The three-wave longitudinal model showed that fear of abandonment at Time 2 mediated the relation between stressors at Time 1 and internalizing and externalizing problems at Time 3. Implications of these findings for understanding the development of mental health problems in parentally bereaved children and designing interventions for this at-risk group are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Mediation of the effects of the family bereavement program on mental health problems of bereaved children and adolescents.

This study presents an analysis of mediation of the effects of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP) to improve mental health outcomes of girls at 11 months following program participation. The FBP was designed based on a theory that program-induced change in multiple child and family level mediators would lead to reductions in children's mental health problems. Mediational models were tested using a three wave and a two wave longitudinal design. Using a three wave longitudinal design, FBP effects on three variables at T2 (increased positive parenting, decreased negative events, and decreased inhibition of emotional expression) were found to mediate the effects of the FBP on mental health problems at 11-month follow-up. Using a two-wave longitudinal design, support was found for FBP effects on three additional variables at 11-month follow-up (increased positive coping, decreased negative thoughts about stressors, and decreased unknown control beliefs) to mediate program effects to reduce mental health problems at 11-month follow-up. The discussion focuses on theoretical explanations for the mediational effects and on implications for identifying "core components" of the FBP that are responsible for its effects to reduce mental health problems of girls.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems: modeling recovery curves after the death of a parent.

BACKGROUND: The death of a parent is a major family disruption that can place children at risk for later depression and other mental health problems. DESIGN: Theoretically based randomized controlled trial for parentally bereaved children. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Two-hundred and forty-four children and adolescents and their caregivers from 156 families were randomly assigned to the Family Bereavement Program (FBP) intervention condition (90 families; 135 children) or to a control condition (66 families; 109 children). Data collection occurred from 1996 to 1998. INTERVENTION: Children and caregivers in the intervention condition met separately for 12 two-hour weekly sessions. Skills targeted by the program for children included positive coping, stress appraisals, control beliefs, and self-esteem. The caregiver program targeted caregiver mental health, life stressors, and improved discipline in the home. Both child and caregiver programs focused on improved quality of the caregiver-child relationship. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Child and caregiver reports of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. RESULTS: Longitudinal growth curve modeling was performed to model symptoms over time from the point of parental death. The rate of recovery for girls in the program condition was significantly different from that of girls in the control condition across all outcomes. Boys in both conditions showed reduced symptoms over time. CONCLUSIONS: The methodology offers a conceptually unique way of assessing recovery in terms of reduced mental health problems over time after an event and has contributed to further understanding of FBP intervention effects. The intervention program facilitated recovery among girls, who did not show reduction in behavior problems without the program, while boys demonstrated decreased symptoms even without intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Developing effective prevention services for the real world: a prevention service development model.

A Prevention Service Development Model (PSDM) is presented as an approach to develop, prevention programs that are both effective and that are readily adopted for implementation in community settings. The model is an integration of concepts and methods from two fields, prevention research and marketing research as applied to new service development. Questions that are posed at each stage of the PSDM are described. Studies from the development of two preventive interventions are presented to illustrate research at several of the stages of the model.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed2005

Positive parenting as a mediator of the relations between parental psychological distress and mental health problems of parentally bereaved children.

This study investigated a positive parenting composite of multiple measures of warmth and consistent discipline as a mediator of the relations between surviving parents' psychological distress and parentally bereaved children's mental health problems using both cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal models. The study included 214 bereaved children ages 7 to 16 and their surviving parent or current caregiver. A multirater, multimethod measurement model of positive parenting was developed. Although the mediational model was supported by analysis of the cross-sectional data, it was not supported in the 3-wave longitudinal model. However, the longitudinal model did find a significant path from positive parenting at Wave 2 to child mental health problems 11 months later at Wave 3, controlling for stability in child mental health problems. Implications for understanding the development of mental health problems of parentally bereaved children are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Resilience in parentally bereaved children and adolescents seeking preventive services.

This study examined environmental stress, family, and child variables that differentiate resilient children and adolescents from those with mental health problems following the death of a primary caregiver. The community-based sample included 179 bereaved children ages 8 to 16 years and their surviving caregivers who completed a test battery of measures before participating in a prevention program. Forty-four percent of bereaved children were classified as resilient and 56% as affected based on the absence of clinically significant mental health problems on at least 1 measure as reported by either the child, surviving caregiver, or teacher on standardized measures of mental health problems. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that bereaved resilient versus affected status was a function of both family and child variables. Higher levels of caregiver warmth and discipline and lower levels of caregiver mental health problems were family-level variables that significantly differentiated resilient children from affected children. Bereaved children's perceptions of less threat in response to negative events and greater personal efficacy in coping with stress were child-level variables that differentiated resilient from affected status. Family and child variables were entered into a discriminant function analysis that correctly classified 72% of the sample. The findings are consistent with a model of resilience in which multilevel variables account for children's positive adaptation following exposure to adversity.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

The family bereavement program: efficacy evaluation of a theory-based prevention program for parentally bereaved children and adolescents.

This article presents an experimental evaluation of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a 2-component group intervention for parentally bereaved children ages 8-16. The program involved separate groups for caregivers, adolescents, and children, which were designed to change potentially modifiable risk and protective factors for bereaved children. The evaluation involved random assignment of 156 families (244 children and adolescents) to the FBP or a self-study condition. Families participated in assessments at pretest, posttest, and 11-month follow-up. Results indicated that the FBP led to improved parenting, coping, and caregiver mental health and to reductions in stressful events at posttest. At follow-up, the FBP led to reduced internalizing and externalizing problems, but only for girls and those who had higher problem scores at baseline.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Weight criticism during physical activity, coping skills, and reported physical activity in children.

OBJECTIVE: National health guidelines advocate increased physical activity in children and adolescents, but specific goals are not being achieved. Data are needed on variables that influence children's decision to be active or sedentary. METHODS: We tested the association of weight criticism during physical activity (WCA) with attitudes toward physical activity and reported physical activity levels in children. We also tested whether these associations were moderated by children's ability to cope with weight criticism. Subjects were 576 fifth- through eighth-graders who completed a questionnaire on physical activity patterns, weight criticism history, and coping skills. RESULTS: WCA was more common among girls than boys and among heavier children. In multiple regression analyses, WCA was associated with reduced sports enjoyment, perceived activity compared with peers, and mild-intensity leisure activity. These associations, however, were moderated by problem-focused coping skills such that the relationships were attenuated in children who were better able to cope with weight criticism. Avoidant coping skills also moderated the relationship between WCA and sports enjoyment. CONCLUSIONS: Children who are the targets of weight criticism by family and peers have negative attitudes toward sports and report reduced physical activity levels, although these relationships may be buffered by certain coping skills. Assessing WCA and related coping skills may be clinically useful for identifying barriers to physical activity in certain children (eg, the obese) and may be a potential target for interventions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Locus of control and self-esteem as stress-moderators or stress-mediators in parentally bereaved children.

Parentally bereaved children's locus of control and self-esteem were examined as stress-moderators or stress-mediators of their internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. Seventy-six children ages 8 to 16 and their surviving parent were assessed 4 to 34 months after the death. Stress, locus of control, and self-esteem were measured by child report questionnaires. Internalizing and externalizing mental health problems were measured by child report on both questionnaires and a structured interview and by parent report questionnaires. The results revealed that self-esteem was a significant mediator of the relations between stress and both child and parent reports of internalizing problems but not externalizing problems. No significant mediation effects were found for locus of control. Neither locus of control nor self-esteem was a significant moderator of the relations between stress and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Implications for understanding parentally bereaved children's mental health problems and for developing preventive interventions are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Positive parenting as a protective resource for parentally bereaved children.

Positive parenting was examined as a protective resource against the adverse effects of negative life events on parentally bereaved children's mental health problems. The sample consisted of 313 recently bereaved children ages 8 to 16 and their current caregiver. Both the compensatory (direct effect independent of negative life events) and the stress-buffer (interactive effect with negative life events) protective resource models were examined and child gender was explored as a moderator of both models. Results revealed evidence for the compensatory protective resource model for both child and caregiver reports of mental health problems. No evidence of the stress-buffer model or child gender as a moderator was found. Implications for the understanding of children's responses to the death of a parent and the development and implementation of preventive interventions are discussed.

Adolescent↗