From arrest to trial : the experience of being a family member of an accused felony offender

This qualitative body of work was designed as an exploratory, instrumental, collective case study, using multiple cases to provide insight into an infrequently researched area of inquiry concerning the issue of what happens with the family members of accused felony offenders during the time period from arrest to trial. The participants interviewed were 11 individuals from 8 families, and their demographics included a representative sample of a cross-section of races, ages, gender, socio-economic status, felony charges, and family roles of offenders and interviewees. Particular variables in each of the families\u27 cases were different, but their similar experiences unified them as a representative sample of families of accused felony offenders. Analyses of the families\u27 interviews demonstrated that they had similar concerns and issues they were confronted with after the arrest event, regardless of the diversity of their demographics and criminal cases. From these similarities it became apparent that certain themes were emerging. Cross-case analyses resulted in four patterns of themes emerging from the narrative data, and the comparisons of interviews revealed the family members\u27 salient perspectives and descriptions of their experiences. The four themes were (a) immediate and future concerns, (b) systems, (c) relationships, and (d) wanting and needing help. The analyses of the data from this study supported the assumptions of McCubbin\u27s and Patterson\u27s (1983) Double ABC-X model of family crisis. Furthermore, these families of accused felony offenders also demonstrated characteristics associated with catastrophic stressors (Figley & McCubbin, 1983). These families experienced an additional factor that is embedded within the family crisis model but not attended by the catastrophe model. The family members who had not been part of the event of the arrest of the accused felon believed that their family had been stigmatized by society for being related to an accused criminal. This study challenged the concept of the family crisis theory and the characteristics of catastrophic stressors as capturing the full experience of this population of individuals

Growth and development of premature infants fed predominantly human milk, predominantly premature infant formula, or a combination of human milk and premature formula

BACKGROUND: In a recent meta-analysis, human milk feeding of low birth-weight (LBW) infants was associated with a 5.2 point improvement in IQ tests. However, in the studies in this meta-analysis, feeding regimens were used (unfortified human milk, term formula) that no longer represent recommended practice. OBJECTIVE: To compare the growth, in-hospital feeding tolerance, morbidity, and development (cognitive, motor, visual, and language) of LBW infants fed different amounts of human milk until term chronologic age (CA) with those of LBW infants fed nutrient-enriched formulas from first enteral feeding. METHODS: The data in this study were collected in a previous randomized controlled trial assessing the benefit of supplementing nutrient-enriched formulas for LBW infants with arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Infants (n = 463, birth weight, 750-1,800 g) were enrolled from nurseries located in Chile, the United Kingdom, and the United States. If human milk was fed before hospital discharge, it was fortified (3,050-3,300 kJ/L, 22-24 kcal/oz). As infants were weaned from human milk, they were fed nutrient-enriched formula with or without arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids (3,300 kJ/L before term, 3,050 kJ/L thereafter) until 12 months CA. Formula fed infants were given nutrient-enriched formula with or without added arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids (3,300 kJ/L to term, 3,050 kJ/L thereafter) until 12 months CA. For the purposes of this evaluation, infants were categorized into four mutually exclusive feeding groups: 1) predominantly human milk fed until term CA (PHM-T, n = 43); 2) \u3e/= 50% energy from human milk before hospital discharge (\u3e/= 50% HM, n = 98); 3) \u3c 50% of energy from human milk before hospital discharge (\u3c 50% HM, n = 203); or 4) predominantly formula fed until term CA (PFF-T, n = 119). RESULTS: PFF-T infants weighed approximately 500 g more at term CA than did PHM-T infants. This absolute difference persisted until 6 months CA. PFF-T infants were also longer (1.0-1.5 cm) and had larger head circumferences (0.3-1.1 cm) than both PHM-T and \u3e/= 50% HM infants at term CA. There was a positive association between duration of human milk feeding and the Bayley Mental Index at 12 months CA (P = 0.032 full and P = 0.073 reduced, statistical models) after controlling for the confounding variables of home environment and maternal intelligence. Infants with chronic lung disease fed \u3e/= 50% HM until term CA (n = 22) had a mean Bayley Motor Index about 11 points higher at 12 months CA compared with infants PFF-T (n = 24, P = 0.033 full model). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that, despite a slower early growth rate, human milk fed LBW infants have development at least comparable to that of infants fed nutrient-enriched formula. Exploratory analysis suggests that some subgroups of human milk fed LBW infants may have enhanced development, although this needs to be confirmed in future studies