'I'm Always on the Lookout for What Could be Going Wrong': Mothers' Concepts and Experiences of Health and Illness in Their Young Children

Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a great deal of time and effort caring for their children, protecting them from risks and promoting their health, development and wellbeing. This paper draws upon research involving indepth interviews with 60 mothers of infants and young children living in Sydney. The discussion focuses in detail on three major topics discussed in the interviews: how the interviewees conceptualised good health and illness in their children; the role of diet and physical exercise in promoting children’s good health; and space, physical safety and bad influences. The study found that the interviewees reported that they ‘read the signs’ of their children’s bodies and had to ‘know’ their bodies intimately in order to do so. They also interpreted the signals of their own bodies – their ‘gut instincts’ – as part of the process of maintaining careful surveillance of their children’s health state. They represented diet and physical exercise as the most important dimensions of promoting their children’s health, and were very concerned about the risk of obesity in their children. Notions of space and judgements about the bodies within these spaces were also important to some of the women’s concepts of protecting their children’s health and wellbeing.Australian Research Council Discovery Gran

Corrigendum: Longitudinal relations between parenting stress and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors: testing within-person changes, bidirectionality and mediating mechanisms:(Front. Behav. Neurosci., (2023), 16, (942363), 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.942363)

In the published article, the citation for an author name was incorrectly written as Dijk et al. (2022). The correct spelling is Van Dijk et al. (2022). In the published article, the contributions of the author was reported using the initials WD. The correct use of the initials is WVD. In the published article, the reference for “Parenting stress can be assessed using a variety of measures, with some scales consisting only of items asking about parent domains, such as the Parenting Stress Scale (PSS)” was incorrectly written as (Crnic et al., 2002). It should be (Berry and Jones, 1995). In the published article, the reference for “and others comprising child domains as well, including the Parenting Stress Index (PSI)” was incorrectly written as (Deater-Deckard and Panneton, 2017). It should be (Abidin, 1995). In the published article, the reference for “And the Parenting Daily Hassles scale (PDH);” was incorrectly written as (Patterson, 1992). It should be (Crnic and Greenberg, 1990). The full citation for this reference is: Crnic, K. A., and Greenberg, M. T. (1990). Minor parenting stresses with young children. Child Dev. 61, 1628–1637. In the published article, the reference for [“…in their systematic review that parental warmth was negatively associated with behavioral outcomes in preterm children, as displayed by fewer internalizing and externalizing problems.] was incorrectly written as Baumrind (1971). It should be Neel et al. (2018). In the published article, the reference for “Families with children registered on the Child Benefit Register born between December 1st 2007 and June 30th 2008 could be included, with a total of 41,185 eligible children” was incorrectly written as (Rogosa, 1980). It should be (Quail et al., 2011). In the published article, the reference for “Children's emotional and behavioral problems were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ);” was incorrectly written as (Hamaker et al., 2015). It should be (Goodman, 1997). In the published article, the reference for “For the current study, the scores on the subscale Emotional Symptoms and Peer Problems were combined by summarizing the scores to create an “Internalizing” subscale, and the Conduct Problems and Hyperactivity subscale were combined by summarizing the scores to create an “Externalizing” subscale” was incorrectly written as (Quail et al., 2011). It should be (Goodman et al., 2010). In the published article, the reference for “The subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability (Internalizing Cronbach's a = 0.73, Externalizing Cronbach's a = 0.78;” was incorrectly written as (Goodman, 1997). It should be (Goodman et al., 2010). In the published article, the reference for “Parenting behavior was measured using an instrument from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC);” was incorrectly written as (Anthony et al., 2005). It should be (Zubrick et al., 2014). In the published article, the reference for “To investigate the within-person associations of parenting stress and child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems over time, random-intercept crossed lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) were used in R using the Rstudio software v.1.2.5019 and the Lavaan package” was incorrectly written as (Goodman, 1997). It should be (Rosseel, 2012). In the published article, the reference for “Primary caregiver's cultural background and child's gender were included in the model as TIC's, and primary caregiver's age, partner status, household income, occupational status, and educational level were included in the model as TVC's” was incorrectly written as (Goodman et al., 2010). It should be (Mund et al., 2021). In the published article, the reference for “the Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI;” was incorrectly written as Rosseel, 2012. It should be (Tucker and Lewis, 1973). In the published article, the reference for “A maximum likelihood estimator (ML) with robust standard errors was used to handle missing values and adjust for any deviations from normality” was incorrectly written as (Hu and Bentler, 1998). It should be (Enders, 2001). In the published article, the reference for “As opposed to externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors could easily go unnoticed by parents, and maybe also because at very young ages children's verbal skills are less well-developed yet, which makes them less competent in expressing their internal feelings” was incorrectly written as (Kline, 2015). It should be (Tandon et al., 2009). In the published article, the reference for “This idea is also supported by studies examining correspondence between different informants, with often larger correspondence found in reports of children's externalizing problems when compared to internalizing problems] was incorrectly written as (Enders, 2001; Tandon et al., 2009”. It should be (van der Ende et al., 2012; De Los Reyes et al., 2015). In the published article, the reference for [“… investigated the specificity of parenting stressors and disentangled the associations between various parenting stressors and internalizing and externalizing behaviors,…] was incorrectly written as van der Ende et al. (2012). It should be Costa et al. (2006). In the published article, the reference for “(PSI-SF;” was incorrectly written as (Abidin, 1995). It should be (Abidin, 1990). In the published article, the reference for “found that parent-child dysfunctional interactions in particular were associated with child internalizing symptoms” was incorrectly written as van der Ende et al. (2012). It should be Costa et al. (2006). In the published article, the reference for “Children with difficult temperament and challenging behavioral characteristics can make it difficult for parents to care and manage] was incorrectly written as (De Los Reyes et al., 2015)”. It should be (Abidin, 1995). In the published article, the reference for “Although not supported by” was incorrectly written as van der Ende et al. (2012). It should be Costa et al. (2006). In the published article, the reference for “Thus, the total time interval of 6 years as used in the current study could have been too long to measure an actual mediation effect” was incorrectly written as (Costa et al., 2006). It should be (Boele et al., 2020). In the published article, the reference for “our study corrected for covariates that have widely been associated with parenting stress, including household income, educational status and occupational status” was incorrectly written as (Abidin, 1990, 1995). It should be (Abidin, 1990, 1992). In the published article, the reference for “Parental reports on child's internalizing behaviors are commonly found to be underreported, for instance as a consequence of internalizing symptoms being less visible to parents” was incorrectly written as (Kline, 2015). It should be (Tandon et al., 2009). In the published article, the reference for “Even though they studied an older sample than we did in our study, a large longitudinal study by” was incorrectly written as Boele et al. (2020). It should be Robinson et al. (2019). In the published article, the reference for “Secondary caregivers and teachers may have a different experience about the child's behavior than the primary caregiver” was incorrectly written as (Bradley and Corwyn, 2002; de Maat et al., 2021). It should be (Kraemer et al., 2003; de Maat et al., 2021). In the published article, the reference for “A multimethod approach could be applied, by combining both questionnaires and observational data to obtain a more objective measure of parental and child behavior” was incorrectly written as (Tandon et al., 2009). It should be (de Maat et al., 2021). In the published article, the reference for “Thus, future studies may investigate parenting and child outcomes from a more family systems perspective by including other family members, including other children in the household” was incorrectly written as (Richmond et al., 2005; Robinson et al., 2019). It should be (Richmond et al., 2005). In the published article, the reference for “However, future research should further investigate mediation by including more proximal time points, or even including highly frequent longitudinal data collection using Experienced Based Sampling” was incorrectly written as (Kraemer et al., 2003; Bolger and Laurenceau, 2013). It should be (Bolger and Laurenceau, 2013). The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.</p

Sharing knowledge: a new frontier for public-private partnerships in medicine

To help overcome the bottlenecks that limit the development of diagnostic and therapeutic products, academic and industrial researchers, patient organizations and charities, and regulatory and funding institutions should redefine the basis for sharing the knowledge collected in large-scale clinical and experimental studies

The specialist predator protects termite colonies from generalist predators

Contains fulltext : 143439.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Children of parents with a substance use disorder (CPSUD) are at increased risk for developing problematic substance use later in life. Endophenotypes may help to clarify the mechanism behind this increased risk. However, substance use and externalizing symptoms may confound the relation between dysregulated physiological stress responding and familial risk for substance use disorders (SUDs). METHODS: We examined whether heart rate (HR) responses differed between CPSUDs and controls. Participants (aged 11-20years) were CPSUDs (N=75) and controls (N=363), semi-matched on the basis of sex, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. HR was measured continuously during a psychosocial stress procedure. Substance use and externalizing symptoms were self-reported and mother-reported, respectively. RESULTS: A piecewise, mixed-effects model was fit for HR across the stress procedure, with fixed effects for HR reactivity and HR recovery. CPSUDs showed a blunted HR recovery. CPSUDs reported drinking more frequently, were more likely to use tobacco daily, were more likely to report ever use of cannabis and used cannabis more frequently, and exhibited more externalizing symptoms. These variables did not confound the relation between familial risk for SUDs and a blunted HR recovery. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest dysregulated autonomic nervous system (ANS) responding in CPSUDs and contribute to the accumulating evidence for ANS dysregulation as a potential endophenotype for SUDs.9 p

Preferential Transmission of the Alien Chromosome in a Durum Wheat-Agropyron Chromosome Addition Line

マカロニコムギ(Triticum durum cv. STEWART)に添加されたAgropyron elongatum, 2n=14の染色体e_1が常に次代に残される現象について取扱った。この現象はコムギゲノム内に生じた劣性接合子致死遺伝子の作用をe_1染色体が抑制することによって説明された。即ち, しわ種子は致死遺伝子をホモにもつ2n=28の種子で, 良種子はe_1染色体を含む添加型(2n=29)である。後者はe_1染色体による致死遺伝子作用の抑制のために, 正常に発芽し旺盛に生長する。しかし, 着粒種子の80%はe_1染色体を含まぬためしわ種子となり, 致死する。 / During an attempt to produce a set of substitution lines Agropyron elongatum (2n=14) to durum wheat cv. STEWART, a plant with 29 chromosomes was found in which a great majority of seeds set in a spike was shriveled and lethal. The selfed progenies of the plant had also 29 chromosomes and a lot of shriveled seeds without any exceptions. This implies that an alien chromosome continuously retains in the durum wheat background. From the observed segregation in F_1 and F_2 progenies resulting from the reciprocal crosses with the durum wheat, the preferential transmission might be explained as follows : 1. Zygotic lethal mutation has occurred spontaneously in wheat genomes. 2. An particular alien chromosome can suppress the lethal gene action. Therefore, it is possible that the alien chromosome, if present, makes the seed grow into matured plant. 3. The male gametes carring the lethal gene have an overwhelming competitive disadvantage to the normal gametes, but effect normally at the time of fertilization

Alcohol use of immigrant youths in The Netherlands: The roles of parents and peers across different ethnic backgrounds

Contains fulltext : 179083.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Introduction and Aims. The aims of this study were to examine the roles of parental permissiveness toward alcohol use and affiliation with alcohol-using peers in alcohol use in youths from various ethnic backgrounds, and whether the role of peers was moderated by parental permissiveness. In addition, differences in these associations between native Dutch and non-Western immigrant youths were examined. Design and Methods. Cross-sectional data of 578 youths with Surinamese, Moroccan, Turkish, Antillean and Asian backgrounds and 81 native Dutch were used, all aged 15-24. Alcohol use, affiliation with alcohol-using peers and parental permissiveness were measured using self-report questionnaires. Regression models controlled for age, religiousness, education level and parental alcohol use. Because of very low levels of alcohol use, data from Turkish and Moroccan immigrants were aggregated, and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results. Parental permissiveness and affiliation with alcohol-using peers were positively related to level of alcohol use in youths with Surinamese, Antillean and Asian backgrounds and played an equally strong role in native Dutch youths with one exception. In Surinamese youths, parental permissiveness was more strongly related to alcohol use than in native Dutch youths. In youths with a Turkish/Moroccan background, parental permissiveness and affiliation with alcohol-using peers were strongly associated with any (versus no) alcohol use. Only parental permissiveness was, equally strong, associated with any alcohol use in native Dutch youths. Discussion and Conclusions. Irrespective of ethnic background and differences in level of alcohol use, parental permissiveness and affiliation with alcohol-using peers are related to youth alcohol use.8 p

Reduced autonomic flexibility as a predictor for future anxiety in girls from the general population:The TRAILS study

The present present study investigated whether autonomic flexibility predicted future anxiety levels in adolescent boys and girls. This study is part of the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a prospective cohort study of Dutch adolescents. The current study included a subsample of 965 individuals. Measures of autonomic flexibility, i.e., heart rate (HR) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), were determined during the first assessment wave (T1: participants 10-12 years old). Self-reported anxiety was assessed at the first and second assessment wave (T2: participants 12-14 years old). Possible gender differences and co-occurring depressive problems were examined. In girls, low RSA predicted anxiety levels 2 years later. In boys, no associations between HR and RSA and future anxiety were found. We conclude that in adolescent girls from the general population, signs of reduced autonomic flexibility (i.e., low RSA) predict future anxiety levels. Since the effect size was small, at this point, RSA reactivity alone cannot be used to identify individuals at risk for anxiety, but should be regarded as one factor within a large group of risk factors. However, if the present findings are replicated in clinical studies, intervention programmes - in the future - aimed at normalising autonomic functioning may be helpful. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.</p

Urbanicity, biological stress system functioning and mental health in adolescents

Growing up in an urban area has been associated with an increased chance of mental health problems in adults, but less is known about this association in adolescents. We examined whether current urbanicity was associated with mental health problems directly and indirectly via biological stress system functioning. Participants (n = 323) were adolescents from the Dutch general population. Measures included home and laboratory assessments of autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, neighborhood-level urbanicity and socioeconomic status, and mother- and adolescent self-reported mental health problems. Structural equation models showed that urbanicity was not associated with mental health problems directly. Urbanicity was associated with acute autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity such that adolescents who lived in more urban areas showed blunted biological stress reactivity. Furthermore, there was some evidence for an indirect effect of urbanicity on mother-reported behavioral problems via acute autonomic nervous system reactivity. Urbanicity was not associated with overall autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity or basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning. Although we observed some evidence for associations between urbanicity, biological stress reactivity and mental health problems, most of the tested associations were not statistically significant. Measures of long-term biological stress system functioning may be more relevant to the study of broader environmental factors such as urbanicity

Switching from premixed insulin to glargine-based insulin regimen improves glycaemic control in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes: a retrospective primary care-based analysis

Background: Insulin glargine (glargine) and premixed insulins (premix) are alternative insulin treatments. This analysis evaluated glycaemic control in 528 patients with type 1 (n = 183) or type 2 (n = 345) diabetes, after switching from premix to a glargine-based regimen, using unselected general practice (GP) data. Methods: Data for this retrospective observational analysis were extracted from a UK GP database (The Health Improvement Network). Patients were required to have at least 12 months of available data, before and after, switching from premix to a glargine-based regimen. The principal analysis was the change in HbA1c after 12 months of treatment with glargine; secondary analyses included change in weight, bolus usage and total daily insulin dose. Inconsistent reporting of hypoglycemic episodes precludes reliable assessment of this outcome. Multivariate analyses were used to adjust for baseline characteristics and confounding variables. Results: Both cohorts showed significant reduction in mean HbA1c 12 months after the switch: by -0.67% (p < 0.001) in the type 1 cohort and by -0.53% (p < 0.001) in the type 2 cohort (adjusted data). The size of HbA1c improvement was positively correlated with baseline HbA1c; patients with a baseline HbA1c ≥ 10% had the greatest mean reduction in HbA1c, by -1.7% (p < 0.001) and -1.2% (p < 0.001), respectively. The proportion of patients receiving co-bolus prescriptions increased in the type 1 (mean 24.6% to 95.1%, p < 0.001) and type 2 (mean 16.2% to 73.9%, p < 0.001) cohorts. There was no significant change in weight in either cohort. Total mean insulin use increased in type 2 diabetes patients (from 0.67 ± 1.35 U/Kg to 0.88 ± 1.33 U/Kg, p < 0.001) with a slight decrease in type 1 diabetes patients (from 1.04 ± 2.51 U/Kg to 0.98 ± 2.58 U/Kg, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In everyday practice, patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by premix insulins experienced significant improvement in glycaemic control over 12 months after switching to a glargine-based insulin regimen. These findings support the use of a basal-bolus glargine-based regimen in patients poorly controlled on premix.Peter Sharplin, Jason Gordon, John R Peters, Anthony P Tetlow, Andrea J Longman and Philip McEwa

Effects of interventions for women and their partners to reduce or prevent stress and anxiety: A systematic review

© 2021 The Authors Background: The period from conception to two years postpartum (the first 1000 days) represents a normative transitional period, which can be potentially stressful for some parents. Parental stress and anxiety adversely impacts psychological and physical health for parents and children. Aim: The aim of this review is to systematically examine effects of interventions for women and their partners to reduce or prevent stress and/or anxiety during the first 1000 days. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Maternity and Infant Care were searched from inception to March 2019. Randomised controlled trials examining intervention effects on parental stress and/or anxiety during first 1000 days were eligible for inclusion. Data were independently extracted by two reviewers and narratively synthesised. Findings: Fifteen interventions, reported in 16 studies, met inclusion criteria (n = 1911 participants). Overall, findings were inconsistent and the majority of trials demonstrated high risk of bias. Interventions were predominantly delivered to women during pregnancy and only two studies included fathers. There was some evidence that adapting interventions to the pre and postnatal periods provided benefits for stress and anxiety reduction, however there was limited evidence for individual intervention types or approaches. Conclusions: There is currently inconsistent evidence of what interventions are most effective for women during the first 1000 days and there is insufficient evidence for any interventions for male partners during this period. There is a clear need for rigorous development and examination of interventions developed specifically to reduce or prevent stress and/or anxiety across the first 1000 days