Parents of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Synthesis,Part I

In 2011 6.4 million children in the United States ages four to 17 years had a diagnosis of Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Quantitative studies have indicated that parenting stress for parents of children diagnosed with ADHD is high. This meta-synthesis compiled and analyzed a systematic review of the qualitative studies of parents’ lived experience of having a child with ADHD. Searches in online scholarly databases yielded an initial 1217 hits, which were narrowed down to seventy-three studies that met the criteria. A “meta-ethnography” framework was used for the synthesis. One major finding involved the emotional burden of caring for a child with ADHD. Parents struggled with a variety of intense and painful emotions as they attempted to manage family routines. Disciplining children only worked in a limited way and took constant effort throughout the day. The challenges of parenting spilled into other areas of the parents’ lives, such as their health, psychological, marital, and occupational functioning. Implications for practitioners are discussed, including the need to validate parental stress and the difficulty of applying behavioral management strategies with their children, the need for increased support of partner relationships, and the need to connect parents with support to prevent poorer outcomes for the child.     

Impact of age and symptom severity on parent-child relationships and self-perception among Chinese children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Little information is available on the effect of parent-child relationships on self-perception among Chinese children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Hong Kong. This study examined the impact of children’s age and symptom severity on the linkage of quality parent-child relationships to perceived competence/hope among children with ADHD. A clinical sample of 81 school-age children (ages 5–11, mean age = 8.38) who were diagnosed with ADHD were recruited in this study. Separate questionnaires were employed to collect data among children and their parents in the pre-treatment phase. Parent-child relationships were positively correlated with self-perception of children with ADHD, with physical competence to be father-child specific. Children’s age had moderated the correlation between mother-child relationship and children’s hope. Maternal role on children’s hope was significant for the mild symptom group; paternal role on children’s hope was significant for the severe symptom group. No moderation effect was found for symptom severity on the correlation between parent-child relationship and children’s self-perception. The study’s findings helped mental health professionals in a Chinese context to develop psychosocial interventions to foster quality parent-child relationships, which in turn will maintain children’s self-perception. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Parents of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Meta-Synthesis,Part II

In 2011 6.4 million children in the United States ages four to 17 years had a diagnosis of ADHD. Quantitative studies have indicated that parenting stress for parents of children diagnosed with ADHD is high. The purpose of the current meta-synthesis was to conduct a comprehensive review of both the published and unpublished qualitative studies involving the experience of parents raising children diagnosed with ADHD. Searches in online scholarly databases yielded an initial 1217 hits, which were narrowed down to eighty studies that met the criteria. A “meta-ethnography” framework was used for the synthesis. Results of the first part of the analysis were reported in Corcoran et al. (2016) and had to do with the personal impact on parents. The themes in Part II have to do with the processes parents go through in accepting the diagnosis of ADHD and in deciding whether their children should take medication. Parents struggled to make sense of their child’s problems and came to terms with the diagnosis in a series of stages. Regarding medication use, parental attitudes varied greatly, with both costs and benefits noted. Though there was considerable ambivalence towards medication use, some parents reported relief after their child began using medication. Implications from this study are that providers should recognize the processes involved in making decisions about an ADHD diagnosis and the use of medication. Social workers should allow sensitive exploration of parents’ attributions and understanding of their children’s behavior and level of acceptance of the diagnosis. Keeping an ethical and critical stance toward the use of medication, social workers should also have full exploration with parents around the potential benefits and risks associated with the treatment of their children’s ADHD, taking into account parents’ preferences.     

Pathways from neighborhood to neglect: The mediating effects of social support and parenting stress

Neighborhood social cohesion relates to common bonds and feelings of trust between neighbors. The everyday demands of caregiving can take a toll on parents and increase their levels of stress and in some cases can lead to maltreatment. The current study seeks to understand how the support networks of parents relate to child maltreatment. Specifically, using structural equation modeling path analysis and a sample of 1045 families from Franklin County, Ohio, we examine the direct relationship between neighborhood social cohesion and child neglect as well as the indirect relationship between the two, mediated by social support and parenting stress. We find no significant direct association between neighborhood social cohesion and neglect. However, we find important indirect effects. Specifically, parents who reported higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion had higher levels of social support, lower levels of parenting stress, and consequently, lower levels of neglect.     

Instrumental social support,material hardship,personal control and neglectful parenting

The purpose of this study was to test pathways from perceived instrumental social support to neglectful parenting with two mediating variables-material hardship and personal control. I used a subsample of mothers (n = 2910) who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (FFCW) from the birth of their children through age 5. The model fits the data well and the findings supported the proposed pathways among variables. Perceived instrumental social support decreased material hardship and increased personal control. Decreased material hardship and increased personal control in turn decreased neglectful parenting. Decreased material hardship also increased personal control. The study's findings contribute to the design and evaluation of social support prevention programs for child neglect.     

Challenging the Roles of “Skilled” Professionals and “Risky” Young Mothers: Peer Support,Expertise, and Relational Patterns in Facebook Groups

Today, many countries spend a great deal of money and effort on programs for expert-guided parenting support to be carried out in face-to-face groups. One goal of such support is to target, help, and educate “risky” groups of parents, such as young parents. It is striking, however, that young parents have a conspicuously low degree of participation in this type of parenting support. Drawing on the assumption that many young parents go online to seek, give, and receive peer parenting support, this paper presents a case study of activities within three Facebook groups. Using a combination of social network analysis, online ethnography, and interviews, we analyze how social network relationships and discussions differ depending on whether the analyzed Facebook group in question is administrated by professionals or peers, what the role of professional experts is, and how young parents might use social media to take control of their own support needs. Our results indicate that some of the affordances provided by Facebook might contribute to a challenging of the roles of “skilled” professionals versus “risky” young parents.     

The Influence of Minority Stress,Gender, and Legalization of Civil Unions on Parenting Desire and Intention in Lesbian Women and Gay Men: Implications for Social Policy and Clinical Practice

Although the rate of lesbian and gay (LG) parents is increasing, lesbian and gay adults are less likely than heterosexual adults to be parents, as desire and intention to become a parent tend to be lower. This study aims at assessing 290 childless LG individuals (120 lesbian women and 170 gay men) to explore the influence of minority stress, gender differences, and legalization of civil unions in Italy on parenting desire and intention. The results indicated that the minority stressors associated with parenting dimensions included prejudice events, outness, and internalized homophobia for lesbian women, but only felt stigma among gay men. Support from family or significant others buffered the effects of minority stressors on parenting dimensions. Thus, the minority stress processes partly explain the intention and desire to become parents in LG childless individuals. Furthermore, lesbian women showed higher levels of parenting desire and intention than gay men and the levels of these parenting dimensions increased after the law on civil unions was enacted. The findings have important implications for both social policies and clinical practice.     

Parents' beliefs about the cause of parenting problems and relevance of parenting support: Understanding low participation of ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status families in the Netherlands

ObjectivesTo provide in-depth understanding of parents' beliefs about the causes of parenting problems, and the perceived relevance of parenting support in a sample of ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) families.MethodsCross-comparative analyses were performed on qualitative data from 61 parents (age child: 0–15 years) of two ethnic minority groups (Antillean-Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch) and one ethnic majority group (native Dutch) in the Netherlands. Methodology included in-depth qualitative interviews followed by focus groups. Atlas.ti software was used to manage and analyse data inductively.ResultsParenting support was perceived to be less relevant if parents related the cause of parenting problems to stress and external factors. Low-SES and ethnic minority parents more often emphasised unfavourable living conditions and living in two cultures as causes for parenting problems. Parents considered parenting support most relevant during periods of rapid change in their children, or in their parenting role.ConclusionResults indicate that beliefs regarding the cause and controllability of problems are important to understand parents' motivation to participate in parenting support. Notable differences were found regarding the period during the child's life that parenting support was perceived as most relevant. Motivation to participate was higher during various stages of transition, which ranged from the transition to parenthood, to toddlerhood, the age of seven, and adolescence.     

Adolescent Fathers' Parenting Stress,Social Support,and Involvement with Infants

The present study examined the relationship between concurrent measures of adolescent fathers' parenting stress, social support, and fathers' care‐giving involvement with the 3‐month‐old infant, controlling for fathers' prenatal involvement. The study sample consisted of 50 teenage father–mother dyads. Findings from multivariate regression revealed that fathers' parenting stress was significantly and negatively related to fathers' care giving as perceived by both fathers and mothers. The relationship between support for father involvement provided by the young man's parents and father reported care‐giving involvement approached significance. Social support from both teenagers' parents buffered the negative influence of parenting stress on fathers' involvement with the baby. Policy and intervention implications are discussed.     

Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources of Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work Practice

This article reports the results of a telephone survey (n = 1,015 respondents) that aims to identify the perceived general family functioning and family resources of Hong Kong Chinese families and their linkage to each other in a rapidly transforming society. The perceived general family functioning of the respondents was average, and the five types of family resources—time, income, human capital, psychological capital, and social capital—of the respondents ranged from average to good. The following family resource domains, in descending order, have accounted for significant variance in perceived general family functioning: income, time spent with family, stress coping efficacy, religion, and satisfaction with the living environment. Our findings provide empirical support for policy formulation and social work practice.     

Pathways to happiness: From personality to social networks and perceived support

The present study attempts to incorporate individual personality into a social network account of subjective wellbeing (SWB) by proposing and testing a path model in which social relationships (egocentric social networks and perceived social support, PSS) mediate the relationship between personality and SWB. We found that network characteristics (including network size, emotional closeness, and proportion of new contacts) are related to SWB largely via the mediation of PSS. Additionally, network size and proportion of new contacts function as important mediating mechanisms linking extraversion, agreeableness and openness to PSS and SWB.     

“Everything That We Can Do”: A Content Analysis of the Protective Strategies Used by GLBTQ Parents

Despite increased access to parenting rights through legal marriage and adoption, U.S. gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) parents continue to experience varying levels of support for their families. This study explored protective strategies, or actions taken to meet one's safety needs when vulnerable, that GLBTQ parents pursue. This study included 454 GLBTQ parents from a national survey. Participants' open-ended responses about protective strategies were extracted from the survey and analyzed using content analysis. Responses were coded into 10 categories capturing strategies GLBTQ parents used to protect their families. While strategies utilizing legal supports were common, the most cited strategies were symbolic strategies, including creating a family name and developing written statements of parent wishes. Exploratory analyses revealed no difference in mean number of strategies used between parents who reported having legal status as a parent through adoption or listing on the birth certificate and those without legal parenting status. These results suggest that GLBTQ parents, regardless of their legal parenting status, take intentional measures to achieve a sense of safety and increase social support. The findings reiterate the importance of both legal and social support of GLBTQ parents.     

Alcohol consumption among undergraduate social work students at a South African university

ABSTRACT

Alcohol consumption among tertiary level students is a public health problem that can adversely affect students’ performance at university. This study therefore investigated the drinking patterns; reasons for drinking; and the perceived impact of drinking on academic performance of undergraduate social work students at a South African university. Of the 145 students who completed a group administered survey questionnaire, 88% reported using alcohol mainly for social purposes and enjoyment, with two-fifths admitting to participating in binge drinking. Despite these findings, a high proportion (78%) reported not performing poorly on a test or exam due to alcohol consumption in the preceding 12 months. Recommendations are provided for the education and support of social work students as future healthcare professionals.     

Parenting stress and parenting behavior among foster mothers of foster children with externalizing problems

Foster children often have externalizing problems. Since foster parents are selected and trained, they are often expected to be able to handle the externalizing problems of these children. Very little is, however, known about foster parents' parenting stress and parenting behavior in the context of challenging foster caregiving. In this study, the parenting stress and parenting behavior of 39 foster mothers of recently placed foster children with externalizing problems were studied. By using standardized measures with normative data, foster mothers' scores on different parenting stress and parenting behavior subscales were compared to published norms. Foster mothers of children with externalizing problems experienced more parenting stress than the norm group. The parenting context, provided by these foster mothers, was similar to the parenting context provided by the norm group. The prevalence of specific dysfunctional parenting behaviors (e.g., less involvement in positive parenting) was small to moderate, but nearly half of the foster mothers could be classified as making dysfunctional adaptations to their parenting environment. Moreover, only the minority of foster mothers provided an adaptive parenting context (e.g., more than average involvement in positive parenting). The implications of these results for pre-service training and on-going support for foster parents are discussed.     

Extension-Based Divorce Education: A Quasi-Experimental Design Study of the Parents Forever Program

The field of divorce education is calling for greater rigor in evaluating program effectiveness and University Extension programs are no exception. Parents Forever, a University of Minnesota Extension divorce education program developed in the 1990s, conducted a quasi-experimental design study, with a sample of in-person class participants and a comparison sample of divorcing parents. Independent samples t tests were conducted between the unstandardized residuals of each group. In support of the program’s goals, results indicated positive program effects for several variables related to parenting practices, adult quality of life, self-efficacy, and parent report of child conduct problems and peer problems (p < .01). No effect was found for coparenting conflict, adult social health, and child hyperactivity, and marginal program effects (p < .05), both positive and negative, were found for coparenting alliance (–), positive parenting (+), child emotional symptoms (+), and child prosocial behavior (–).     

Evening and night work schedules and children's social and emotional well-being

ABSTRACT

An emerging body of evidence shows that parents’ non-standard work schedules have a detrimental effect on children's well-being. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated mediating factors that underpin this association. Likewise, only a few studies have examined the impact of fathers’ non-standard work schedules on children's well-being. Based on data from the Families in Germany Study (FiD), this study aimed to address these research gaps. The sample consists of parents and their children at ages 7–8 and 9–10 (n?=?838 child observations in dual-earner families). The data were collected in the years 2010–2013. Non-standard work hours were defined as working in evenings and or at night (every day, several times a week, or changing as shifts). Children's social and emotional well-being was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The findings show that both mothers’ and fathers’ evening and night work schedules are linked to an increase in children's externalizing and internalizing behavior and that this association is partially mediated by mothers’ and fathers’ harsh and strict parenting, with a stronger mediation effect for fathers parenting.     

Facets of dispositional mindfulness versus sources of social support predicting college students’ psychological adjustment

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the relative contribution of five dispositional mindfulness (DM) facets and two aspects of social support along with sex in predicting psychological adjustment. Participants: Three hundred fifty-three undergraduates (72% female; M?=?18.82?years) participated with data collected from September 2014 through March 2016. Methods: Self-report measures of DM, social support, perceived stress, and emotional well-being were completed. Results: Sex and higher scores on specific mindfulness facets (ie, nonreactivity, nonjudging) predicted lower stress and greater emotional well-being. Higher family support predicted lower stress, whereas friend support predicted greater emotional well-being. The mindfulness facets were stronger predictors of adjustment than the social support domains. Females reported higher perceived stress and lower emotional well-being than males, and males scored significantly higher on total mindfulness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity. Conclusions: Results have implications for mindfulness-based interventions with college students such that focusing on the nonjudging and nonreactivity facets may enhance effectiveness.     

Perceived Variability in Social Relations and Psychological Distress: Toward a Variability Approach to Subclinical Depression

The present research aimed at (a) identifying different types of social relations with distinct extents of perceived variability, and (b) examining how perceived variability in social relations was related to psychological distress in a sample of 120 Chinese university students (Study 1) and 50 Chinese working adults (Study 2). Using questionnaires, three types of perceived social relations were identified in Study 1, namely supportive relations with more perceived support and less perceived conflict, conflictive relations with more perceived conflict and less perceived support, and variable relations with more perceived support and more perceived conflict. Using daily logs, three participant groups with distinct extents of perceived variability in daily relational experience were identified in Study 2, namely the low-variability, medium-variability, and high-variability groups. Moreover, results from both studies revealed that participants perceiving a high variability in their social relations experienced the highest level of psychological distress.     

Predictors of parenting among African American single mothers: Personal and contextual factors

Guided by family stress theory, relations among neighborhood stress, maternal psychological functioning, and parenting were examined among 123 low‐income, urban‐dwelling, African American single mothers. Using a longitudinal design, structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesis that neighborhood stress results in poorer parenting over time through its detrimental effect on maternal psychological functioning. Social support from family and friends was examined as a potential moderator of the association between neighborhood stress and parenting behavior. Results indicated that higher levels of neighborhood stress were related to greater psychological distress among mothers, which in turn, was significantly related to less engagement in positive parenting practices approximately 15 months later. A moderating effect emerged for social support, however, such that the proposed model provided a better fit for mothers reporting low levels of perceived social support than for mothers reporting high levels. Implications of the findings for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

Factors associated with provision of instrumental social support for physical activity in a foster parent population

PurposeTo examine demographic and psychosocial factors associated with foster parent’s provision of instrumental social support for physical activity among foster youth.MethodNinety-one foster parents completed surveys to assess perceptions of foster child physical activity (activity level, enjoyment, and coordination), five psychosocial variables from Theory of Planned Behavior (positive and negative behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, perceived behavioral control) and self-efficacy to provide instrumental social support for youth physical activity. Associations between these variables and instrumental social support were determined using multiple regression analysis.ResultsMore supportive normative beliefs and higher self-efficacy for providing instrumental social support, and length of time a foster child resided in the foster parent household were significantly associated with greater provision of instrumental social support.ConclusionAmong foster parents, the perceived social expectations about providing instrumental social support and self-efficacy to provide instrumental social support for physical activity appear to be important influences on foster parent provision of instrumental social support for youth physical activity.