Behaviour of Gilbert\u27s Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii Gould) in captivity

In late 1994, Gilbert\u27s Potoroo was rediscovered almost 120 years after it was believed to have become extinct. It was found at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, near Albany, Western Australia. Since then, it has become urgent that detailed studies of the potoroo\u27s behaviour and ecology be undertaken, so as to increase the understanding of the needs of \u27this critically endangered marsupial. Due to its critical status, increasing the number of animals is of paramount importance to the continued survival of this species. An understanding of the behavioural repertoire of the species will aid in its recovery and provide the basis for management decisions concerning breeding, habitat management and captive care. Behavioural studies of captive animals may also act as a guide for future field studies. The present study was conducted on nine animals housed in the captive colony at Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve to determine the behavioural repertoire of the species, with particular attention to breeding behaviour, interactions between males and females and the behaviour of males housed under different conditions. The latter was to determine if there was a behavioural cause for excessive encrustation of male genitalia. The activity patterns of the animals were also studied. It was found that the behavioural repertoire of Gilbert\u27s Potoroo is similar to that of other Potorous spp. and other closely related potoroid marsupials. No obvious behavioural differences between a male housed alone and males housed with one or two females were observed that would indicate a behavioural cause for penile encrustation. Some differences in the behaviours of sexually compatible and incompatible pairs were observed. It was also found that althougt1 Potorous gilbertii is most active at night, activity before sunset and after sunrise was commonly seen throuout the study. Activity during the middle of the day was, however, observed on only a few occassions

Does parenting moderate the association between adverse childhood experiences and adolescents’ future orientation?

Adolescents who think and act towards the future are more likely to thrive. This future orientation may, however, be affected by adversity and the parenting they receive. The influence of cumulative adversity, and of parenting in the context of adversity, is yet to be explored. We investigated whether adolescents’ future orientation is associated with experiences of singular and multiple types of adversity, and if parenting moderates these associations. Data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children K Cohort (n = 1177; 51.5% male; aged 16–17 years) were used to measure future orientation at age 16–17, the number of adversities experienced from age 4/5 to age 14/15 (parental separation and divorce, household substance use problem, household mental health condition, domestic violence), and parenting received at age 14/15 (warmth, hostility, communication, monitoring). Relationships and moderations were tested using stepwise moderated logistic regression analyses, controlling for demographic characteristics. Adolescents were at risk for low future orientation if they had experienced singular or multiple types of adversity, higher hostility, lower communication, and lower monitoring. We did not find a moderating effect of parenting. These results indicate that while young people are less likely to have future-related thoughts and actions if they have experienced singular or multiple types of adversity, their future orientation may be supported by effective parenting and non-hostile parent-adolescent relationships. Young people who experience both adversity and poor parenting may be at higher risk than others. Further investigation is warranted, to explore the causal relationships between adverse experiences, parenting, and future orientation

Improving mental health of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes: protocol for a randomized controlled trial of the nothing ventured nothing gained online adolescent and parenting support intervention

Management of Type 1 diabetes comes with substantial personal and psychological demands particularly during adolescence, placing young people at significant risk for mental health problems. Supportive parenting can mitigate these risks, however the challenges associated with parenting a child with a chronic illness can interfere with a parent’s capacity to parent effectively. Interventions that provide support for both the adolescent and their parents are needed to prevent mental health problems in adolescents; to support positive parent-adolescent relationships; and to empower young people to better self-manage their illness. This paper presents the research protocol for a study evaluating the efficacy of the Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained online adolescent and parenting intervention which aims to improve the mental health outcomes of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes

A randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of the ABCD Parenting Young Adolescents Program: rationale and methodology

Background: The transition to adolescence is a time of increased vulnerability for risk taking and poor health, social and academic outcomes. Parents have an important role in protecting their children from these potential harms. While the effectiveness of parenting programs in reducing problem behavior has been demonstrated, it is not known if parenting programs that target families prior to the onset of significant behavioral difficulties in early adolescence (9-14 years) improve the wellbeing of adolescents and their parents. This paper describes the rationale and methodology of a randomised controlled trial testing the efficacy of a parenting program for the promotion of factors known to be associated with positive adolescent outcomes, such as positive parenting practices, parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent behavior.Methods/Design: One hundred and eighty parents were randomly allocated to an intervention or wait list control group. Parents in the intervention group participated in the ABCD Parenting Young Adolescents Program, a 6-session behavioral family intervention program which also incorporates acceptance-based strategies. Participants in the Wait List control group did not receive the intervention during a six month waiting period. The study was designed to comply with recommendations of the CONSORT statement. The primary outcome measures were reduction in parent-adolescent conflict and improvements in parent-adolescent relationships. Secondary outcomes included improvements in parent psychosocial wellbeing, parenting self-efficacy and perceived effectiveness, parent-adolescent communication and adolescent behavior.Conclusions: Despite the effectiveness of parenting programs in reducing child behavioral difficulties, very few parenting programs for preventing problems in adolescents have been described in the peer reviewed literature. This study will provide data which can be used to examine the efficacy of a universal parenting interventions for the promotion of protective factors associated with adolescent wellbeing and will add to the literature regarding the relationships between parent, parenting and adolescent factors

Psychosocial impact of undergoing prostate cancer screening for men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

OBJECTIVES: To report the baseline results of a longitudinal psychosocial study that forms part of the IMPACT study, a multi-national investigation of targeted prostate cancer (PCa) screening among men with a known pathogenic germline mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. PARTICPANTS AND METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study were invited to complete a questionnaire at collaborating sites prior to each annual screening visit. The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics and the following measures: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Event Scale (IES), 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, Cancer Worry Scale-Revised, risk perception and knowledge. The results of the baseline questionnaire are presented. RESULTS: A total of 432 men completed questionnaires: 98 and 160 had mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, respectively, and 174 were controls (familial mutation negative). Participants' perception of PCa risk was influenced by genetic status. Knowledge levels were high and unrelated to genetic status. Mean scores for the HADS and SF-36 were within reported general population norms and mean IES scores were within normal range. IES mean intrusion and avoidance scores were significantly higher in BRCA1/BRCA2 carriers than in controls and were higher in men with increased PCa risk perception. At the multivariate level, risk perception contributed more significantly to variance in IES scores than genetic status. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to report the psychosocial profile of men with BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations undergoing PCa screening. No clinically concerning levels of general or cancer-specific distress or poor quality of life were detected in the cohort as a whole. A small subset of participants reported higher levels of distress, suggesting the need for healthcare professionals offering PCa screening to identify these risk factors and offer additional information and support to men seeking PCa screening

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Supporting parents of children with serious mental health problems

Serious mental illness affects between 10% and 20% of children and adolescents, significantly representing the world’s children and adolescents. Parents are a critical protective factor in their child’s treatment and recovery from serious mental illness. They support the child during treatment, manage symptom reduction, maintain treatment gains, and promote their child’s development and well-being. Parenting a child or adolescent with serious mental illness places significant strain and burden on them. This chapter discusses evidence-based parenting interventions (e.g., the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program) within the child and adolescent mental health context and their potential to be flexibly and sustainably incorporated into existing usual treatment services. The need is highlighted for researchers, policy-makers, and service providers to focus on developing child- and family-focused mental health policy and better processes for conducting high-quality research that examines specific and combined contributions of parenting interventions within child and adolescent mental health services

Parental psychological flexibility in parenting of adolescents

This study explored the relationship between parental psychological flexibility, parenting and adolescent outcomes. The term 'psychological flexibility' refers to a series of processes that assist individuals to take action even when those actions are accompanied by difficult thoughts, memories, emotions or sensations. The study found that parents who have higher psychological flexibility use fewer ineffective parenting strategies even when they are experiencing negative thoughts and feelings; and that their adolescents have fewer behavioural difficulties. Outcomes from this research add to our understanding of factors with potential to strengthen the parent-adolescent relationship and reduce the risk for behavioural difficulties during adolescence. This understanding could result in significant changes to prevention and intervention approaches for youth

Development of the Parental Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire

This paper describes development and validation of the Parental Psychological Flexibility (PPF) Questionnaire, a parent-report measure designed to assess psychological flexibility among parents of pre-adolescents and adolescents (aged 10–18 years). Psychological flexibility within parenting refers to parents’ accepting negative thoughts, emotions and urges about one’s child and still acting in ways that are consistent with effective parenting. Exploratory factor analysis (n = 178 parents) of a 43-item draft measure, resulted in a 30-item, 3-factor structure. Three subscales were created, consistent with the psychological flexibility literature: acceptance, cognitive defusion and committed action. A second sample of parents (n = 192) was then used to confirm the factor structure and reliability and validity of the PPF. Results supported the 3-factor structure, reduced the number of items to 19 and demonstrated that the PPF subscales have adequate reliability and validity and are thus suitable for researching psychological flexibility among parents of pre-adolescents and adolescents