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Family relations, family climate and sexual abuse.

In Europe, 10-20% of all women and 3-10% of all men have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18, according to surveys. Psychosocial problems are often seen as both short- and long-term consequences of such abuse. Family dysfunction may be seen as both a risk factor for abuse and a result of the disclosure of abuse. The aim of this research was to study how adolescents and adults, sexually abused during their childhood, experienced their family life and family climate in their family of origin. A clinical sample of 18 adolescent girls and 20 adult women comprised the study group. The methods used were a semi-structured interview and the questionnaire Family Climate Test. The majority of the participants kept quiet about the abuse during their childhood. The abuse took place for an average of 2.5 years among the adolescents and 6 years in the adult group. Secrecy, isolation and family problems were typical attributes in the interviews. The majority of both adolescents and women described their relationships in the family of origin as deviant or interrupted, with a reversed (negative) pattern on the Family Climate Test. This meant a low level of closeness and a high level of distance in the families combined with a low level of spontaneity and a high level of chaos. The study, even if relatively small and based on clinical cases, gives support to earlier research, which shows that sexual abuse in general, but especially intra-familial sexual abuse, is associated with family dysfunction.

Adolescent↗

The Bene-Anthony Family Relations Test revisited: directions in the assessment of children's perceptions of family relations.

The Bene-Anthony Family Relations Test is designed to assess the child's perception of family relations using projective techniques. This article describes the test and background to its development. The validity of the test is limited by the content of some items and their categorization, though there is evidence that the test can distinguish between populations that differ on other related variables. A survey of professionals who use the test is described. Despite their enthusiasm for it, the majority of respondents had modified the test in some way, and 86% regularly rephrased at least one item from the test. There were several criticisms of the test, including the positive scoring of 'sexualized items'. The respondents were also inconsistent in their administration and scoring of the test. This test is used less frequently in research, possibly because it is not perceived as a sufficiently robust psychometric instrument. However, there is a danger of 'throwing away the baby with the bath water'. Recommendations are made for the development of a test that reliably assesses the child's perception of the emotional content of relations.

Adolescent↗

The Bene-Anthony Family Relations Test revisited: Directions in the assessment of children's perceptions of family relations.

The Bene-Anthony Family Relations Test is designed to assess the child's perception of family relations using projective techniques. This article describes the test and background to its development. The validity of the test is limited by the content of some items and their categorization, though there is evidence that the test can distinguish between populations that differ on other related variables. A survey of professionals who use the test is described. Despite their enthusiasm for it, the majority of respondents had modified the test in some way, and 86% regularly rephrased at least one item from the test. There were several criticisms of the test, including the positive scoring of 'sexualized items'. The respondents were also inconsistent in their administration and scoring of the test. This test is used less frequently in research, possibly because it is not perceived as a sufficiently robust psychometric instrument. However, there is a danger of 'throwing away the baby with the bath water'. Recommendations are made for the development of a test that reliably assesses the child's perception of the emotional content of relations.

Journal Article↗

Family relations and psychosocial risk in families with an obese adolescent.

The aim of the present study is a comparison of family relations in families with an obese adolescent and families with a normal-weight adolescent. Particularly, we studied the parents' and children's perceptions of some crucial areas of their relationship, e.g., communication, support, and some factors of "psychosocial risk" for the adolescents. We compared 30 family triads each with an obese child and 30 family triads each with a normal-weight child. We used a questionnaire aimed to evaluate some crucial variables of family functioning such as communication, family climate, support and satisfaction. A multivariate analysis of variance yielded no difference between obese and nonobese adolescents concerning communication with their mothers and fathers and concerning support given and received from them. In particular, analysis indicated no difference between parents of obese adolescents and parents of normal-weight adolescents regarding openness and problems in communication. As a protective factor against psychosocial risk, in both the samples the relationship with the mother arises as relevant, but, for the nonobese adolescents, both support and communication with this parent were important, whereas for the obese adolescents only support seemed to be really important. The results are discussed with respect to this approach which considered the family as the unit of analysis both from a theoretical and a methodological point of view.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Identification of nurse-family intervention sites to decrease health-related family boundary ambiguity in PICU.

The most common explanation of parental stress associated with hospitalized children is based on individual stress theory. Using a family stress and family systems approach with an emphasis on examining family integrity, this qualitative study selected families in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) with high boundary ambiguity in the caregiving environment and identified potential sites for nursing actions that impede or assist families in maintaining family integrity. Within three days of admission of their child to a major tertiary children's hospital PICU, 29 families were recruited and screened with a Health-Related Family Boundary Ambiguity Scale. High scoring families (n = 11) were interviewed using an open-ended method. Data were analyzed using a content analysis method, and results were interpreted within a family systems framework. The following three potential areas of intervention to encourage family integrity during acute illness of a child were identified: fostering family normalcy, respecting family rights, and strengthening the family boundary. Implications for initiating or improving family centered care in the PICU are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Perceived parental acceptance-rejection, family-related factors, and socio-economic status of families of adolescent heroin addicts.

AIM: To compare adolescent heroin addicts and non-addicts with respect to their perceived parental acceptance and rejection, family factors (structure of the family, parents' marital status, and psychopathological disorders in the family), socio-economic status, and subjective appraisal of their family relations. METHODS: Fifty-two heroin addicts aged between 17 and 21, were compared with a group of 52 non-addicts of the same age. The comparison group was selected from an ad-hoc sample of high-school juniors and seniors and first- and second-year university students. Only participants who reported never to have taken any drugs were selected for the group of non-addicts. The perceived parental behavior of mothers and fathers was assessed by the 32-item version of Rohner's Parental Acceptance-rejection Questionnaire. Three other questionnaires were constructed to collect information on family factors, socio-economic status, subjective appraisal of family relations, and drug usage. RESULTS: The addicts perceived their mothers as more rejecting (p=0.018 for total score), more aggressive (p=0.007), and showing more undifferentiated rejection (p=0.001) than non-addicts. The addicts perceived their fathers as more rejecting then their mothers (p=0.002 for total score), less warm and accepting (p<0.001), and more neglecting (p=0.001). In comparison with non-addicts, the addicts evaluated the relationships with their mothers (p=0.001) and general satisfaction with their families (p=0.021) as poorer. Adolescent addicts mostly came from intact families. In the addicts' primary families (mother, father, and siblings), there was significantly higher incidence of addiction (p=0.041), schizophrenia (p=0.022), and suicide or attempted suicide (p=0.012). Addicts' families belonged to higher income groups then non-addicts (p=0.021). Addicts' fathers were on average less educated than non-addicts' fathers (p=0.040); typically to a high school level. The education level of addicts' mothers was similar to that of non-addicts' mothers (p=0.091), typically they were educated to a high school level. CONCLUSION: The results of this research indicate the importance of parental rearing practices, especially mothers', on adolescent drug abuse and addiction. As addicts perceived their mothers as more rejecting than non-addicts, mothers' rejection could be one of the major risk factors for developing drug addiction.

Adolescent↗

Alternative strategies for creating "relational" family data.

A major problem facing family clinicians and researchers is creating data that will reflect the family as a unit. To address this problem, we present a framework for family assessment based on three measurement strategies: individual family member assessment, relational family assessment, and transactional family assessment. Within this context, we present several categories of methods for combining individual family member data into "relational" scores that reflect the couple or family as a unit. The problems and benefits of each method are presented, and it is suggested that the choice of method is dependent upon the content of the assessment, the theory underlying the content, and the statistical properties of the individual family member scores.

Data Collection↗

Family violence, abuse, and related family issues of incarcerated delinquents with alcoholic parents compared to those with nonalcoholic parents.

Experts in the fields of child development, psychology, and criminology agree that family system variables play a key role in the development of delinquent and other deviant behaviors. Professionals in the field of substance abuse estimate that there may be at least 22 million children who have been or are currently being raised in homes with substance-abusing parents. Many studies have documented the relationships between being raised in such an environment and a variety of emotional and deviant characteristics. These individuals have been found to suffer from low self-esteem, depression, anger, and a variety of acting-out behaviors. This study investigated the differences between incarcerated juveniles from substance-abusing families and those from non-substances-abusing families. Significant differences were found in the areas of family violence, abuse; runaway, and self-reported substance abuse.

Adolescent↗

Bone marrow transplantation using unrelated and family related donors: the impact of HLA-C disparity.

The clinical outcomes of unrelated and of family related allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were correlated with HLA disparity in a study in which molecular phenotyping of HLA-C was performed for unrelated donor-recipient pairs. The study included 30 patients who underwent BMT from unrelated donors and 43 patients who underwent BMT from family related donors. The unrelated group included 14 full match pairs, 12 class-I-C (molecular HLA-C) mismatched pairs, and 4 haploidentical pairs. The family related group included 9 full match pairs, 19 class-I mismatched pairs, and 15 haploidentical pairs. In the unrelated BMT group, the transplant-related complications of mortality, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and graft rejection, were significantly higher in molecular HLA-C mismatched than matched patients (67% vs 14%, P < 0.02; 50% vs 7%, P < 0.02; 42% vs 0, P < 0.02). The actuarial survival and the disease free survival (DFS) at 18 months was better for molecular HLA-C matched than for HLA-C mismatched unrelated transplants: 33% vs 18% (P = 0.065, NS), and 29% vs 16%, respectively. For the family related BMT group, the actuarial survival at 18 months was significantly higher for patients who were fully matched compared to those who were class-I mismatched, or those who were haploidentical pairs: 67%, 37%, and 13% respectively (P < 0.02). The actuarial DFS at 18 months of patients who were fully matched and of those who were class-I mismatched was similar, and better than that of haploidentical patients 45%, 37% (NS) and 13% respectively (P < 0.045). A lower incidence of transplant-related mortality occurred in class-I mismatched, family related (37%) than in locus-C mismatched unrelated patients (67%), and no difference was observed in the fully matched family related and unrelated patients. We conclude that a mismatch in locus C may be detrimental to BMT outcome and should therefore be included as a risk factor in the routine pre-BMT HLA phenotyping.

Adolescent↗

Childcare as a stabilizing influence on HPA axis functioning: a reevaluation of maternal occupational patterns and familial relations.

The influence of family relations, maternal occupational characteristics, and childcare1The UK terms "childcare," childcare centres' and "nurseries" are used throughout this paper to define group care for children prior to starting their first year of formal schooling at age 4 years and are used synonymously with the American terms "day-care" and "preschool." This form of group care is provided in a formal setting, outside the family home and excludes "childminding" (i.e., childcare that may be group based and offered at the home of the care provider/childminder). In the UK, this form of childcare is offered from zero to 4 years old. Children are separated according to their age into small groups usually consisting of 10-15 children. In the present study, all children were in the preschool-aged group (3-4 years old). Where childcare of a different or more generic form is referred to, then this has been made clear in the context or stated in the text. utilization on preschool children's cortisol production were investigated in 56 mother-child dyads. Family characteristics and maternal employment, childcare and child temperament were reported by mothers. Morning and evening levels of children's salivary cortisol were obtained. Children in highly expressive or reserved families exhibited higher cortisol levels compared to children in moderately expressive families. Elevated levels of cortisol were detected in children of mothers reporting low levels of job role quality or high levels of emotional exhaustion. Frequent childcare use was found to protect children against the physiological effects of low maternal job role quality and emotional exhaustion. Findings underscore the pervasive role of the family as set within an external support system and highlight the potential physiological impact of these interacting contexts for children. Further research is needed to fully understand current findings and to develop appropriate psycho-physiological interventions.

Adult↗

Familial relative risk estimates for use in epidemiologic analyses.

Commonly used crude measures of disease risk or relative risk in a family, such as the presence/absence of disease or the number of affected relatives, do not take into account family structures and ages at disease occurrence. The Family History Score incorporates these factors and has been used widely in epidemiology. However, the Family History Score is not an estimate of familial relative risk; rather, it corresponds to a measure of statistical significance against a null hypothesis that the family's disease risk is equal to that expected from reference rates. In this paper, the authors consider an estimate of familial relative risk using the empirical Bayes framework. The approach uses a two-level hierarchical model in which the first level models familial relative risk and the second considers a Poisson count of the number of affected relatives given the familial relative risk from the first level. The authors illustrate the utility of this methodology in a large, population-based case-control study of breast cancer, showing that, compared with commonly used summaries of family history including the Family History Score, the new estimates are more strongly associated with case-control status and more clearly detect effect modification of an environmental risk factor by familial relative risk.

Aged↗

[Standardization of the German version of the Family Relations Test (FRT) for children, ages 4-5 years].

The Family Relations Test (FRT) is a semi-projective diagnostic method to determine how a child perceives the social-emotional family relations. The study described in this article presents the first standardization for kindergarten children of the German version according to Flämig and Wörner (1977). On the basis of a sample with a total of N = 233 children aged four to five years standards were determined in the form of median values and quartile scores. Since group comparisons between boys and girls and especially between single children and children with siblings showed significant differences, separate standard values for the four subgroups "boys, single children", "boys, sibling children", "girls, single children", and "girls, sibling children" are given. The study results further show that the FRT version for kindergarten children is a satisfactorily reliable diagnostic instrument.

Age Factors↗

Transthyretin-related familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy.

Transthyretin-related familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) is a fatal hereditary amyloidosis. Until 20 years ago, FAP was thought to be restricted to endemic occurrence in certain areas. However, owing to progress in biochemical and molecular genetic analyses, FAP is now believed to occur worldwide. As of today, reports of about 100 different points of single or double mutations, or a deletion in the transthyretin gene, have been published, and several different phenotypes of FAP have been documented, even for the same mutation in the transthyretin gene. We present herein the current clinicopathological, biochemical, molecular genetic, and epidemiological aspects of transthyretin-related FAP, and we introduce a new diagnostic procedure for the disease.

Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial↗

Parents' predictions of their children's perceptions of family relations.

Thirty children from 15 families were administered the Bene-Anthony Family Relations Test. Their parents then assigned test responses as they imagined their children had. With only two exceptions, both involving first born boys, parents predicted their children's responses beyond chance expectation. However, significant discrepancies were found between children's responses and their parents' predictions. Parents tended to overestimate their own centrality in the family perceptions of their children, particularly perceptions involving negative feelings, and to underestimate children's negative feelings involving their siblings.

Journal Article↗

A prospective study of the effects of marital status and family relations on young children's adjustment among African American and European American families.

The present study investigated the effects of divorce and family relations on young children's development prospectively, using an ethnically diverse sample of approximately 300 low-income families. We also were able to examine the moderating effects of ethnicity on child adjustment in always two-parent, to-be-divorced, already-divorced, and always single-parent families. Results indicated that to-be-divorced European American and African American families demonstrated higher rates of preschool-age behavior problems, and already-divorced families showed similar trends. Parental conflict and behavior problems accounted for predivorce differences in child behavior problems, whereas rejecting parenting accounted for differences in problem behavior between always single-parent and always two-parent families. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of ethnicity in influencing young, low-income children's adjustment to different family structures.

Adolescent↗

Coming out to parents: perceptions of family relations, perceived resources, and identity expression as predictors of identity disclosure for gay and lesbian adolescents.

This paper examines perceptions of family relations, identity expression, and pro-lesbian/gay resources as factors influencing coming out to parents. One hundred seventy-two adolescents responded to a survey originating from a clinical support group for lesbian and gay youth. Findings indicate that weak family relations significantly detract from coming out to parents indirectly through identity expression and perceived resources. Excluding the effects of family relations, adolescents perceiving supportive resources and expressing their lesbian/gay identity were more likely to come out to parents.

Adolescent↗

Consumer case management and attitudes concerning family relations among persons with mental illness.

Data from 91 clients participating in a clinical trial of consumer case management services were analyzed to determine if there is a relationship between client satisfaction with family relations and the amount of community treatment services, including case management. It was found that clients' greater face to face contact with case managers was related to less satisfaction with family relations after one year of service. The analysis provides some support for the hypothesis that case managers may be serving some of the functions that have traditionally been served by the families of mentally ill clients. Another conclusion that could be supported by this analysis is that the degree of intensity of case management services has an impact on family relations.

Adult↗