Parent\u27s conception and experience of calling in child rearing: A qualitative analysis

The concept of calling has evolved from a religiously oriented description of occupation to an integrated, broad, and multidimensional construct that is associated with optimal vocational outcomes, personal fulfillment and meaning, and contribution to the greater good. This article investigates the relevance of calling in the parental domain and explores the experience of calling in child rearing. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, 11 qualitative, semistructured interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers. Different parents were interviewed at three distinct developmental time points in their child(ren)\u27s lives: while their child was an infant (\u3c2 \u3eyears), while their children were of primary school age (aged 4-12), and when their children were in their late teens or early 20s and were more or less independent (\u3e17 years). Parents of both genders and across the range of ages showed strong similarity in their definitions and experiences of calling-oriented child rearing. Parents\u27 definitions and experiences were also consistent with the conception and experience of calling in previous research. Cultural concerns related to free will and religion are discussed. This research demonstrates that the concept of calling is relevant in child rearing and that the sense of calling may also be associated with optimal outcomes in this domain. Recommendations for future research include the need to develop a measure of calling in child rearing and the usefulness of targeted interventions aimed at enhancing the sense of calling in parents

Undergraduate psychology training and workplace needs: student perspectives on the extent to which their education prepares them for their chosen career

The current study surveyed 195 first to fourth year psychology students at a regional university in New South Wales about the amount of applied content in undergraduate psychology training and post-graduate opportunities for employment as a psychologist. Eighty-nine percent of students believed that the level of applied psychological training was either nonexistent or inadequate, and therefore did not equip them for finding work as a psychologist. Ninety-six percent of students who wished to become intern psychologists believed that opportunities for working as intern generalist psychologists were either non-existent or insufficient. Concerns around employment and registration opportunities reflected this group’s disillusionment with undergraduate training. Availability of work-place supervision and associated worry about paying for alternative private supervision was also evident. Recommendations for further investigation of the ‘goodness of fit’ between undergraduate psychology training and the ability of students to be competitive in the workplace following graduation will be articulated

Parents\u27 subjective sense of calling in childrearing: Measurement, development and initial findings

The construct of calling has received substantial recent attention in vocational research. This article reports on the development of a scale designed to measure parents’ subjective sense of calling in the childrearing role. Using exploratory, parallel, and confirmatory factor analysis, two studies revealed a three-factor, eleven item scale that measured calling in childrearing. Reliability findings are reported, as are convergent and discriminant validity. Parental subjective sense of calling in childrearing was positively associated with authoritative parenting style, importance of parenting, pleasure of parenting, parenting satisfaction, presence of meaning in life, satisfaction with life, savouring, and positive affect. The construct was negatively related to age, income, and the sense that parenting is a burden. Calling in childrearing is similar to calling in vocation, and appears related to optimal outcomes for those who possess it

Excisional treatment comparison for in situ endocervical adenocarcinoma (EXCISE): A phase 2 pilot randomized controlled trial to compare histopathological margin status, specimen size and fragmentation after loop electrosurgical excision procedure and cold knife cone biopsy

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. Objective: Adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) of the cervix is a precursor to cervical adenocarcinoma. When AIS is detected by cervical screening an excision biopsy is mandatory to exclude invasion. We aimed to compare margins status, specimen size and fragmentation after loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and ‘cold knife cone biopsy’ (CKC). Methods: The EXCISE Trial was an investigator-initiated, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group, phase 2, randomized study. Patients were enrolled at seven hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. We randomly assigned women aged ≥ 18 to ≤ 45 years with screen detected AIS to LEEP or CKC. Co-primary endpoints were margin status, specimen size and fragmentation. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. Results: Between August 2, 2017 and September 6, 2019, 40 patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to LEEP or CKC. Margin status was evaluable in 36 cases. The proportion of patients with involved margins did not differ between groups. 25 of 26 LEEP and all 14 CKC biopsies were excised as single specimens (p = 1·00). There were no differences in specimen dimensions. Patients in the CKC group had more post-operative complications (64.3% compared to 15.4% for LEEP p = ·00). There were no differences in grade three complications (p = ·65). Conclusions: LEEP was not associated with a greater likelihood of positive margins, specimen fragmentation or smaller excision compared to CKC when performed according to a standardized protocol. However, the study was not powered to establish non-inferiority of LEEP and a definitive phase 3 trial to compare margin status and rates of treatment failure after LEEP and CKC is warranted