Psychometric Properties of the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale (ASHS), a self-report measure assessing sleep practices theoretically important for optimal sleep. Data were collected on a community sample of 514 adolescents (16–19; 17.7 ± 0.4 years; 50% female) participating in the late adolescent examination of a longitudinal study on sleep and health. Sleep hygiene and daytime sleepiness were obtained from adolescent reports, behavior from caretaker reports, and sleep-wake estimation on weekdays from wrist actigraphy. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the empirical and conceptually based factor structure were similar for six of the eight proposed sleep hygiene domains. Internal consistency of the revised scale (ASHSr) was α = 0.84; subscale alphas were: physiological: α = 0.60; behavioural arousal: α = 0.62; cognitive/emotional: α = 0.81; sleep environment: α = 0.61; sleep stability: α = 0.68; daytime sleep: α = 0.78. Sleep hygiene scores were associated positively with sleep duration (r = 0.16) and sleep efficiency (r = 0.12) and negatively with daytime sleepiness (r = −0.26). Results of extreme-groups analyses comparing ASHSr scores in the lowest and highest quintile provided further evidence for concurrent validity. Correlations between sleep hygiene scores and caretaker reports of school competence, internalizing and externalizing behaviours provided support for convergent validity. These findings indicate that the ASHSr has satisfactory psychometric properties for a research instrument and is a useful research tool for assessing sleep hygiene in adolescents

Does she think she’s supported? Maternal perceptions of their experiences in the neonatal intensive care unit

Parents’ involvement in the care of their infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is critically important, leading many NICUs to implement policies and practices of family-centered care (FCC). Analyzing narrative interviews, we examined whether mothers of premature infants who participated in an intervention to help reduce anxiety, stress, and depression felt that their NICU experience reflected four key nursing behaviors previously identified as being necessary to achieving FCC. Fifty-six narratives derived from semi-structured interviews with the mothers were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to examine whether the women experienced emotional support, parent empowerment, welcoming environment, and parent education, as well as whether differences in reported experiences were related to sociodemographic factors or maternal coping styles. Overall, the mothers reported more negative than positive experiences with respect to the four behaviors, and those who had negative interactions with the hospital staff felt a sense of disenfranchisement and failure as mothers. Sociodemographic factors and coping styles were significantly associated with the mothers’ perceptions of their experiences, although these relationships were not consistent. Achieving actual FCC in the NICU may require parent-informed evidence-based changes in NICU personnel training and infrastructure

Development of Alcohol and Drug Use in Youth With Manic Symptoms

This analysis examined alcohol and drug use over a six-year follow-up of children in the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms (LAMS) study

Comparing the CASI-4R and the PGBI-10 M for Differentiating Bipolar Spectrum Disorders from Other Outpatient Diagnoses in Youth

We compared 2 rating scales with different manic symptom items on diagnostic accuracy for detecting pediatric bipolar spectrum disorder (BPSDs) in outpatient mental health clinics. Participants were 681 parents/guardians of eligible children (465 male, mean age = 9.34) who completed the Parent General Behavior Inventory-10-item Mania (PGBI-10M) and mania subscale of the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-Revised (CASI-4R). Diagnoses were based on KSADS interviews with parent and youth. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and diagnostic likelihood ratios (DLRs) determined discriminative validity and provided clinical utility, respectively. Logistic regressions tested for incremental validity in the CASI-4R mania subscale and PGBI-10M in predicting youth BPSD status above and beyond demographic and common diagnostic comorbidities. Both CASI-4R and PGBI-10M scales significantly distinguished BPSD (N=160) from other disorders (CASI-4R: Area under curve (AUC) = .80, p .05). Diagnostic likelihood ratios indicated low scores on either scale (CASI: 0–5; PGBI-10M: 0–6) cut BPSD odds to 1/5 of those with high scores (CASI DLR− = 0.17; PGBI-10M DLR− = 0.18). High scores on either scale (CASI: 14+; PGBI-10M: 20+) increased BPSD odds about fourfold (CASI DLR+ = 4.53; PGBI-10M DLR+ = 3.97). Logistic regressions indicated the CASI-4R mania subscale and PGBI-10M each provided incremental validity in predicting youth BPSD status. The CASI-4R is at least as valid as the PGBI-10M to help identify BPSDs, and can be considered as part of an assessment battery to screen for pediatric BPSDs

Parents' Perceptions of Benefit of Children's Mental Health Treatment and Continued Use of Services

To examine characteristics associated with perceived benefit from outpatient mental health services for children and to determine whether perceived benefit is related to continued use of mental health services at a 6 month follow-up

Use of Outpatient Mental Health Services Among Children of Different Ages: Are Younger Children More Seriously Ill?

The study compared use of specialty outpatient mental services among children ages six and seven and children ages eight through 12 and investigated predictors of differences in the patterns of service use by age

Multifactorial Analysis of Differences Between Sporadic Breast Cancers and Cancers Involving BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations

Background: We have previously demonstrated that breast cancers associated with inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations differ from each other in their histopathologic appearances and that each of these types differs from breast cancers in patients unselected for family history (i.e., sporadic cancers). We have now conducted a more detailed examination of cytologic and architectural features of these tumors. Methods: Specimens of tumor tissue (5-µm-thick sections) were examined independently by two pathologists, who were unaware of the case or control subject status, for the presence of cell mitosis, lymphocytic infiltration, continuous pushing margins, and solid sheets of cancer cells; cell nuclei, cell nucleoli, cell necrosis, and cell borders were also evaluated. The resulting data were combined with previously available information on tumor type and tumor grade and further evaluated by multifactorial analysis. All statistical tests are two-sided. Results: Cancers associated with BRCA1 mutations exhibited higher mitotic counts (P = .001), a greater proportion of the tumor with a continuous pushing margin (P<.0001), and more lymphocytic infiltration (P = .002) than sporadic (i.e., control) cancers. Cancers associated with BRCA2 mutations exhibited a higher score for tubule formation (fewer tubules) (P = .0002), a higher proportion of the tumor perimeter with a continuous pushing margin (P<.0001), and a lower mitotic count (P = .003) than control cancers. Conclusions: Our study has identified key features of the histologic phenotypes of breast cancers in carriers of mutant BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. This information may improve the classification of breast cancers in individuals with a family history of the disease and may ultimately aid in the clinical management of patients. [J Natl Cancer Inst 1998;90:1138-45

Association of Maternal Employment with Attitudes, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioral Control Regarding Meal Preparation Among Mothers of 4-5 Year Old Children

The extant literature has consistently reported that employed mothers have heavier children than mothers who are not in the workforce. Studies have examined several potential causal pathways that underlie this association, including child nutrition, sedentary behaviors, and physical activity. However, psychosocial factors that potentially mediate this relation are poorly understood. This study examined maternal psychosocial factors that may partially explain the positive association of maternal employment and BMI in 4-5 year old children. Using the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1988, 1991) as an underlying framework, this study compared mothers employed full-time (full-time working mothers; FTWM) versus mothers not in the work force (stay at home mothers; SAHM), with respect to maternal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding cooking/preparing meals. Bivariate results showed that compared to SAHM, FTWM reported more negative affective attitudes about cooking, rated cooking from scratch as less desirable, more strongly agreed that a lack of time and energy were barriers to preparing meals, and reported preparing fewer weeknight dinners from scratch in the past week. In contrast to study hypotheses, SAHM and FTWM had similar ratings on subjective norms, self-efficacy about cooking, and perceived behavioral control of planning meals. Maternal employment status was significantly associated with the number of weeknight dinners mothers did not prepare from scratch during the past week; FTWM reported not preparing weeknight dinner from scratch more often than SAHM in unadjusted analyses as well as in analyses adjusted for maternal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Affective and instrumental attitudes toward cooking, subjective norms of meal preparation behaviors used by similar mothers, and a lack of time and energy to prepare meals were also associated with the number of weeknight dinners mothers did not prepare from scratch. Lower cooking self-efficacy was associated with more weeknight dinners not prepared from scratch only among SAHM; there was no association among FTWM. These findings suggest potentially modifiable attitudes and beliefs that can be targeted by obesity prevention and intervention programs for both FTWM and SAHM

Does she think she’s supported? Maternal perceptions of their experiences in the neonatal intensive care unit

Parents’ involvement in the care of their infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is critically important, leading many NICUs to implement policies and practices of family-centered care (FCC). Analyzing narrative interviews, we examined whether mothers of premature infants who participated in an intervention to help reduce anxiety, stress, and depression felt that their NICU experience reflected four key nursing behaviors previously identified as being necessary to achieving FCC. Fifty-six narratives derived from semi-structured interviews with the mothers were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to examine whether the women experienced emotional support, parent empowerment, welcoming environment, and parent education, as well as whether differences in reported experiences were related to sociodemographic factors or maternal coping styles. Overall, the mothers reported more negative than positive experiences with respect to the four behaviors, and those who had negative interactions with the hospital staff felt a sense of disenfranchisement and failure as mothers. Sociodemographic factors and coping styles were significantly associated with the mothers’ perceptions of their experiences, although these relationships were not consistent. Achieving actual FCC in the NICU may require parent-informed evidence-based changes in NICU personnel training and infrastructure