Parents' assessment of parent-child interaction interventions – a longitudinal study in 101 families

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of the study was to describe families with small children who participated in parent-child interaction interventions at four centres in Sweden, and to examine long term and short term changes regarding the parents' experience of parental stress, parental attachment patterns, the parents' mental health and life satisfaction, the parents' social support and the children's problems.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this longitudinal study a consecutive sample of 101 families (94 mothers and 54 fathers) with 118 children (median age 3 years) was assessed, using self-reports, at the outset of the treatment (T1), six months later (T2) and 18 months after the beginning of treatment (T3). Analysis of the observed differences was carried out using Wilcoxon's Signed-Rank test and Cohen's d.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results from commencement of treatment showed that the parents had considerable problems in all areas examined. At the outset of treatment (T1) the mothers showed a higher level of problem load than the fathers on almost all scales. In the families where the children's problems have also been measured (children from the age of four) it appeared that they had problems of a nature and degree otherwise found in psychiatric populations. We found a clear general trend towards a positive development from T1 to T2 and this development was also reinforced from T2 to T3. Aggression in the child was one of the most common causes for contact. There were few undesired or unplanned interruptions of the treatment, and the attrition from the study was low.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has shown that it is possible to reach mothers as well as fathers with parenting problems and to create an intervention program with very low dropout levels – which is of special importance for families with small children displaying aggressive behaviour. The parents taking part in this study showed clear improvement trends after six months and this development was reinforced a year later. This study suggests the necessity of clinical development and future research concerning the role of fathers in parent-child interaction interventions.</p

ADHD and Disruptive behavior scores – associations with MAO-A and 5-HTT genes and with platelet MAO-B activity in adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pharmacological and genetic studies suggest the importance of the dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic systems in the pathogenesis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Disruptive Behavior Disorder (DBD). We have, in a population-based sample, studied associations between dimensions of the ADHD/DBD phenotype and Monoamine Oxidase B (MAO-B) activity in platelets and polymorphisms in two serotonergic genes: the Monoamine Oxidase A Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MAO-A VNTR) and the 5-Hydroxytryptamine Transporter gene-Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTT LPR).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based sample of twins, with an average age of 16 years, was assessed for ADHD/DBD with a clinical interview; Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Blood was drawn from 247 subjects and analyzed for platelet MAO-B activity and polymorphisms in the MAO-A and 5-HTT genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found an association in girls between low platelet MAO-B activity and symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). In girls, there was also an association between the heterozygote long/short 5-HTT LPR genotype and symptoms of conduct disorder. Furthermore the heterozygote 5-HTT LPR genotype in boys was found to be associated with symptoms of Conduct Disorder (CD). In boys, hemizygosity for the short MAO-A VNTR allele was associated with disruptive behavior.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study suggests that the serotonin system, in addition to the dopamine system, should be further investigated when studying genetic influences on the development of Disruptive Behavior Disorders.</p

Dolda brottsoffer : polismyndighetens och socialtjänstens hantering av brott och övergrepp mot personer med funktionshinder

Vad gör polis och socialtjänst när personer med funktionshinder är, eller misstänks vara, utsatta för brott och övergrepp? Denise Malmberg och Kerstin Färm har undersökt hur sådana ärenden hanteras av myndigheter i tre kommuner av olika storlek. Studien bygger på enkätdata, intervjuer med tjänstemän och genomgång av olika dokument. Undersökningen visar att personer med funktionshinder idag är en dold grupp bland brottsoffer och att deras rättssäkerhet inte självklart kan garanteras. En slutsats som dras är att berörda myndigheter behöver bättre kunskap om vilka faktorer som påverkar funktionshindrades risk att utsättas för brott och övergrepp. En annan är att medvetenheten behöver bli större om vad funktionshinder kan betyda i den rättsliga processen. I boken ges förslag på åtgärder för att synliggöra funktionshindrades brottsutsatthet och därigenom förbättra deras rättsliga situation.funktionshinder, brott, övergrepp, socialtjänst, polis, genu

Dolda brottsoffer : polismyndighetens och socialtjänstens hantering av brott och övergrepp mot personer med funktionshinder

Vad gör polis och socialtjänst när personer med funktionshinder är, eller misstänks vara, utsatta för brott och övergrepp? Denise Malmberg och Kerstin Färm har undersökt hur sådana ärenden hanteras av myndigheter i tre kommuner av olika storlek. Studien bygger på enkätdata, intervjuer med tjänstemän och genomgång av olika dokument. Undersökningen visar att personer med funktionshinder idag är en dold grupp bland brottsoffer och att deras rättssäkerhet inte självklart kan garanteras. En slutsats som dras är att berörda myndigheter behöver bättre kunskap om vilka faktorer som påverkar funktionshindrades risk att utsättas för brott och övergrepp. En annan är att medvetenheten behöver bli större om vad funktionshinder kan betyda i den rättsliga processen. I boken ges förslag på åtgärder för att synliggöra funktionshindrades brottsutsatthet och därigenom förbättra deras rättsliga situation.funktionshinder, brott, övergrepp, socialtjänst, polis, genu

Sömnstörningar hos barn : kunskapsdokument

Ett möte med experter på barns sömnproblem genomfördes i februari 2014 varvid detta kunskapsdokument togs fram. Kunskapssammanställningen och rekommendationerna har tagits fram gemensamt av experterna och bygger på konsensus bland deltagarna. Läkemedelsverkets ansvar var att facilitera mötet samt att tillsammans med experterna sammanställa kunskapsdokumentet. Som stöd för kunskapsdokumentet finns bakgrundsdokument som respektive författare ansvarar för. I bakgrundsdokumenten finns, förutom detaljerad information om varje ämnesområde, även referenser. Socialstyrelsen medverkade vid expertmötet, liksom i framtagandet av kunskapsdokumentet. Inför mötet har SBU (2013) identifierat kunskapsluckor inom området, vilka publicerats i SBU:s databas över vetenskapliga kunskapsluckor, se www.sbu.se. En vetenskaplig kunskapslucka innebär att systematiska litteraturöversikter saknas eller att de visar på osäker effekt. Man fann att detta gäller "Melatonin till barn som har flera funktionsnedsättningar och sömnproblem", "Melatonin som behandling av sömnproblem hos barn med adhd" och " Melatonin för i övrigt friska barn med sömnproblem". SBU konstaterade tidigare (2010) att "Effekten av alimemazin vid behandling av sömnbesvär" också är envetenskaplig  kunskapslucka

Contrasting arctic and mainstream Swedish descriptions of Northern Sweden : the view from established domestic research

In 2011, Sweden released its first-ever Arctic strategy, in preparation for taking over the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, an eight-state cooperation organization. The recent political development that will include Sweden more extensively in Arctic regional cooperation makes it relevant to review and comment on the image of the areas involved from a Swedish viewpoint and to improve the often very brief descriptions of northernmost Sweden in Arctic literature. In this paper, we contrast descriptions of the Arctic in the Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR) with descriptions of northern Sweden in established domestic demographic and regional development research. The study shows that many of the assumptions in the first AHDR to the effect that the eight "Arctic" regions are rather directly comparable in fact reveal substantial differences between areas, with northern Sweden standing in sharp contrast to many of the descriptions. Instead of having a population that is very small, young, and rapidly growing because of a high birth rate, northern Sweden is characterized by relatively dense habitation with a stable and aging population of long-term residents. Moreover, it has a very small and relatively integrated indigenous population with largely the same health situation as in Sweden overall. While depopulation and urbanization are evident in its less populated areas, migration from the region is partly directed at the larger regional centres in the area, following a pattern seen in the Western world at large.En 2011, au moment où elle se préparait à assumer la présidence du Conseil de l’Arctique, un organisme de collaboration entre huit pays, la Suède a mis en oeuvre sa toute première politique relative à l’Arctique. L’événement politique récent qui a fait en sorte que la Suède devra jouer un rôle plus grand dans la collaboration régionale de l’Arctique incite à analyser l’image des régions qui entrent en jeu du point de vue de la Suède, à porter des commentaires sur cette image ainsi qu’à améliorer les descriptions souvent très brèves de la partie la plus au nord de la Suède que l’on retrouve dans la documentation au sujet de l’Arctique. Dans cet article, nous contrastons les descriptions de l’Arctique figurant dans l’Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR) avec les descriptions du nord de la Suède émanant de travaux de recherche établis sur le développement régional et la démographie intérieure. Cette étude permet de constater que de nombreuses hypothèses du premier rapport AHDR selon lesquelles les huit régions « arctiques » sont plutôt directement comparables révèlent en fait des différences considérables entre les régions, le nord de la Suède représentant un contraste marqué par rapport à grand nombre des autres descriptions. Au lieu d’être doté d’une population très petite, jeune et en croissance rapide attribuable à un taux de natalité élevé, le nord de la Suède est caractérisé par une habitation relativement dense et une population stable et vieillissante composée de résidents de longue date. Par ailleurs, le nord de la Suède comprend une population indigène très petite et relativement intégrée affichant à peu près la même situation de santé que l’ensemble de la Suède. Bien que le dépeuplement et l’urbanisation s’avèrent évidents dans les zones moins peuplées, la migration en partance de cette région est partiellement orientée vers les plus grands centres régionaux de la région, conformément à la tendance générale enregistrée dans le monde occidental

RNaseT2 knockout rats exhibit hippocampal neuropathology and deficits in memory

RNASET2 deficiency in humans is associated with infant cystic leukoencephalopathy, which causes psychomotor impairment, spasticity and epilepsy. A zebrafish mutant model suggests that loss of RNASET2 function leads to neurodegeneration due to the accumulation of non-degraded RNA in the lysosomes. The goal of this study was to characterize the first rodent model of RNASET2 deficiency. The brains of 3- and 12-month-old RNaseT2 knockout rats were studied using multiple magnetic resonance imaging modalities and behavioral tests. While T1- and T2-weighted images of RNaseT2 knockout rats exhibited no evidence of cystic lesions, the prefrontal cortex and hippocampal complex were enlarged in knockout animals. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed altered anisotropy and putative gray matter changes in the hippocampal complex of the RNaseT2 knockout rats. Immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) showed the presence of hippocampal neuroinflammation. Decreased levels of lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) and elevated acid phosphatase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) activities indicated that the RNASET2 knockout rats likely had altered lysosomal function and potential defects in autophagy. Object recognition tests confirmed that RNaseT2 knockout rats exhibited memory deficits. However, the Barnes maze, and balance beam and rotarod tests indicated there were no differences in spatial memory or motor impairments, respectively. Overall, patients with RNASET2 deficiency exhibited a more severe neurodegeneration phenotype than was observed in the RNaseT2 knockout rats. However, the vulnerability of the knockout rat hippocampus as evidenced by neuroinflammation, altered lysosomal function and cognitive defects indicates that this is still a useful in vivo model to study RNASET2 function