Rates of breastfeeding and exposure to socio-economic adversity amongst children with intellectual disability

Children with intellectual disability are at increased risk of experiencing poor health relative to their typically developing peers. Previous research indicates that exposure to socio-economic disadvantage contributes towards this disparity but that additional factors (including parenting practices) may be involved in mediating/moderating pathways. This study examined duration of breastfeeding amongst children with and without intellectual disability by a secondary analysis of data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Children with intellectual disability were significantly less likely to have been ever breastfed; breastfed exclusively or at all at 3 months or breastfed at all at 6 months relative to children without intellectual disability. None of these differences remained significant when other psycho-social risk factors for reduced breastfeeding were controlled for. The study adds to both the sparse literature on breastfeeding practices amongst families of children with intellectual disability and research demonstrating relationships between socio-economic disadvantage and wellbeing for children with intellectual disability

Disease associations of excessive daytime sleepiness in multiple sclerosis: A prospective study

BackgroundExcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in multiple sclerosis (MS) can be a significant source of disability. Despite this, its prevalence as a patient-reported outcome in this condition has not been well established, and its causes are not well understood.MethodsWe prospectively assessed EDS as part of an observational study for patients referred for diagnostic neuro-ophthalmological testing. EDS was evaluated by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and visual data were also collected as part of a research protocol. Analysis with patient data was performed following the exclusion of patients with known primary sleep disorders.ResultsA total of 69 patients with MS were included in the analysis. The mean ESS was 6.5 with a SD of 4.3. ESS ≥ 10 was present in 23% of the cohort even in the presence of minimal mean neurological disability (Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) = 1.5). The ESS score was not associated with age, sex, disease-related disability, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), or optic neuritis (ON), but displayed an association with visual dysfunction.ConclusionsThere is an increased prevalence of EDS in MS. The increased values of the ESS are not explained by other sleep disorders, suggesting separate mechanisms. Further study of the underlying mechanisms is warranted

Transformational leadership and moral reasoning.

Terms such as moral and ethical leadership are used widely in theory, yet little systematic research has related a sociomoral dimension to leadership in organizations. This study investigated whether managers’ moral reasoning (n 132) was associated with the transformational and transactional leadership behaviors they exhibited as perceived by their subordinates (n 407). Managers completed the Defining Issues Test (J. R. Rest, 1990), whereas their subordinates completed the Multifactor Leadership Ques-tionnaire (B. M. Bass & B. J. Avolio, 1995). Analysis of covariance indicated that managers scoring in the highest group of the moral-reasoning distribution exhibited more transformational leadership behav-iors than leaders scoring in the lowest group. As expected, there was no relationship between moral-reasoning group and transactional leadership behaviors. Implications for leadership development are discussed. There has been growing interest in the development and pro-motion of moral or ethical leadership in organizations. Recent attention to this somewhat ethereal notion has created inspiring profiles (e.g., Coles, 2000; H. E. Gardner, 1996; J. W. Gardner, 1990) of leaders celebrated for their actions in commerce and history; however, few systematic attempts have been made to operationalize this dimension in relation to everyday leadership in organizations. To date, organizational researchers interested in the moral potential of leadership (e.g., Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999

Pseudo-Transformational Leadership: Towards the Development and Test of a Model

ethical leadership, pseudo-transformational leadership, senior managers, transformational leadership,