Coparenting support in the context of difficult children: Mother and father differences

While parenting children with difficult behaviors can intensify stress within the entire family system, families may lean on other familial relationships to mitigate that stress. The coparenting relationship is known to play a key role within the family system for child outcomes and familial interactions, but it is not clear whether it eases the stress and challenge of raising a difficult child, nor how that plays out differently for mothers versus fathers. Ninety-six couples (89.7% married) parenting young children (Mean age = 3.22 years) were included in this study. Using cross-sectional and aggregated daily response data, actor–partner interdependence models were used to examine how mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 perceived coparenting support lessened or intensified parenting stress and/or daily problems with their child/children—for themselves or their parenting partner. We found that greater coparenting support reported by mothers coincided with stronger links between the mother\u27s report of child difficulty and daily problems encountered by both mothers and fathers. In contrast, when fathers reported greater coparenting support, the intensity between reported child difficulty and daily problems decreased for mothers, and fathers reported lower parenting stress. Coparenting support also moderated associations between parents\u27 perception of child difficulty and daily problems with their children. These results suggest that mothers incur heightened coparenting support from fathers when experiencing more difficult child behavior and that coparenting support experienced by fathers may alleviate parenting challenges for mothers. These findings further contribute to the literature by emphasizing distinct differences between mothers and fathers in coparenting associations within the family system

Coparenting support in the context of difficult children: Mother and father differences

While parenting children with difficult behaviors can intensify stress within the entire family system, families may lean on other familial relationships to mitigate that stress. The coparenting relationship is known to play a key role within the family system for child outcomes and familial interactions, but it is not clear whether it eases the stress and challenge of raising a difficult child, nor how that plays out differently for mothers versus fathers. Ninety-six couples (89.7% married) parenting young children (Mean age = 3.22 years) were included in this study. Using cross-sectional and aggregated daily response data, actor–partner interdependence models were used to examine how mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 perceived coparenting support lessened or intensified parenting stress and/or daily problems with their child/children—for themselves or their parenting partner. We found that greater coparenting support reported by mothers coincided with stronger links between the mother\u27s report of child difficulty and daily problems encountered by both mothers and fathers. In contrast, when fathers reported greater coparenting support, the intensity between reported child difficulty and daily problems decreased for mothers, and fathers reported lower parenting stress. Coparenting support also moderated associations between parents\u27 perception of child difficulty and daily problems with their children. These results suggest that mothers incur heightened coparenting support from fathers when experiencing more difficult child behavior and that coparenting support experienced by fathers may alleviate parenting challenges for mothers. These findings further contribute to the literature by emphasizing distinct differences between mothers and fathers in coparenting associations within the family system

Embedding effective depression care: using theory for primary care organisational and systems change

Background: depression and related disorders represent a significant part of general practitioners (GPs) daily work. Implementing the evidence about what works for depression care into routine practice presents a challenge for researchers and service designers. The emerging consensus is that the transfer of efficacious interventions into routine practice is strongly linked to how well the interventions are based upon theory and take into account the contextual factors of the setting into which they are to be transferred. We set out to develop a conceptual framework to guide change and the implementation of best practice depression care in the primary care setting.Methods: we used a mixed method, observational approach to gather data about routine depression care in a range of primary care settings via: audit of electronic health records; observation of routine clinical care; and structured, facilitated whole of organisation meetings. Audit data were summarised using simple descriptive statistics. Observational data were collected using field notes. Organisational meetings were audio taped and transcribed. All the data sets were grouped, by organisation, and considered as a whole case. Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) was identified as an analytical theory to guide the conceptual framework development.Results: five privately owned primary care organisations (general practices) and one community health centre took part over the course of 18 months. We successfully developed a conceptual framework for implementing an effective model of depression care based on the four constructs of NPT: coherence, which proposes that depression work requires the conceptualisation of boundaries of who is depressed and who is not depressed and techniques for dealing with diffuseness; cognitive participation, which proposes that depression work requires engagement with a shared set of techniques that deal with depression as a health problem; collective action, which proposes that agreement is reached about how care is organised; and reflexive monitoring, which proposes that depression work requires agreement about how depression work will be monitored at the patient and practice level. We describe how these constructs can be used to guide the design and implementation of effective depression care in a way that can take account of contextual differences.Conclusions: ideas about what is required for an effective model and system of depression care in primary care need to be accompanied by theoretically informed frameworks that consider how these can be implemented. The conceptual framework we have presented can be used to guide organisational and system change to develop common language around each construct between policy makers, service users, professionals, and researchers. This shared understanding across groups is fundamental to the effective implementation of change in primary care for depressio

Eruption plumes extended more than 30 km in altitude in both phases of the Millennium eruption of Paektu (Changbaishan) volcano

The Millennium Eruption of Paektu volcano, on the border of China and North Korea, generated tephra deposits that extend >1000 km from the vent, making it one of the largest eruptions in historical times. Based on observed thicknesses and compositions of the deposits, the widespread tephra dispersal is attributed to two eruption phases fuelled by chemically distinct magmas that produced both pyroclastic flows and fallout deposits. We used an ensemble-based method with a dual step inversion, in combination with the FALL3D atmospheric tephra transport model, to constrain these two different phases. The volume of the two distinct phases has been calculated. The results indicate that about 3-16 km3 (with a best estimate of 7.2 km3) and 4-20 km3 (with a best estimate of 9.3 km3) of magma were erupted during the comendite and trachyte phases of the eruption, respectively. Eruption rates of up to 4 × 108 kg/s generated plumes that extended 30-40 km up into the stratosphere during each phase

Non-detection of previously reported transits of HD 97658b with MOST photometry

The radial velocity-discovered exoplanet HD 97658b was recently announced to transit, with a derived planetary radius of 2.93 \pm 0.28 R_{Earth}. As a transiting super-Earth orbiting a bright star, this planet would make an attractive candidate for additional observations, including studies of its atmospheric properties. We present and analyze follow-up photometric observations of the HD 97658 system acquired with the MOST space telescope. Our results show no transit with the depth and ephemeris reported in the announcement paper. For the same ephemeris, we rule out transits for a planet with radius larger than 2.09 R_{Earth}, corresponding to the reported 3\sigma lower limit. We also report new radial velocity measurements which continue to support the existence of an exoplanet with a period of 9.5 days, and obtain improved orbital parameters.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures; 1 Table; accepted for publication in ApJL, includes changes made in response to the referee repor

Belonging: A Phenomenological Study of Systemic Racism Experienced Among Black Students in Occupational Therapy Programs

Belonging, a crucial aspect of humanity and justice, is negated by racism. Formal analyses have shown that racial and ethnic minorities experience significantly higher rates of racial discrimination, with the greatest disparity being among Blacks. Incidences of racism toward healthcare professionals of color indicate that comprehensive and unbiased academic content is warranted in occupational therapy education. This study explored the lived experiences of systemic racism among Black occupational therapy students and their preparation to deal with racism and bias within didactic and clinical settings. This study featured a phenomenological design with data collection through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Transcripts were coded and inductively analyzed using Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Miner software, and intercoder agreement was established. Themes were organized using Wilcock\u27s Occupational Perspective of Health (OPH) framework (Doing, Being, Becoming, and Belonging). The results revealed that the prevailing themes that emerged were Anxiety from Lack of Black Representation, Education through Lived Experience, including family, media, and self-education, and Initiating Change as the Diversity Person. Participants’ sense of Belonging was most affected of all the constructs in the OPH. In conclusion, the tapestry of occupational therapy curricula may benefit from incorporating explicit threads addressing the lasting effects of historic and current systemic racism, thus severely limiting students’ awareness and comprehension of occupational injustices. Recommendations are outlined to identify gaps in current occupational therapy curricula and to guide occupational therapy administrators (Chairs/Program Directors) in developing programs that acknowledge, educate, and combat the effects of systemic racism, thereby enhancing the sense of belonging for all

Pathways to Resilience: Enhancing Family Well-Being with a Home Visitation Model

This paper highlights a study that examined outcome measures of a home visitation program, which provided services to first-born children and their parents living in Southwestern New Mexico. Home visitation workers conducted pre/posttest assessments for prenatal and postpartum periods for 109 families. The Revised North Carolina Family Assessment Scale measured family resilience. Paired sample t test and effect size analyses assessed for intervention effects. OLS regression measured effect of increased home visitation services on family well-being. Significant improvements with moderate to large effect sizes were observed for measures of social support, caregiver characteristics, family interaction, and a reduction in personal problems affecting parenting. These preliminary findings suggest that early intervention home visitation programs is an effective and acceptable method to enhance family well-being. Future directions could involve more comprehensive randomized controlled trials to examine the effectiveness of the group intervention. Practice implications are discussed

Flexible work design and employee commitment : when socio-demographic characteristics are introduced?

Purpose: In this study, we contribute to the existing literature by examining the relationship between military spending changes and economic growth in China over the period 1995 to 2018 using Granger causality test. We would also explore short and long run relationship between GDP growth and military expenditure of China. Approach/Methodology/Design: Data used in this study are yearly data covering the period of 1995 to 2018 and the variables are Gross Domestic product (GDP) and Military Expenditure (ME). Data were collected from World Bank. GDP is at 2010 constant US prices and ME is expressed as a percentage of economic growth. All variables are transformed into the natural logarithmics to obtain growth effects. Findings: Using causality test, the causal relationship between the variables revealed that the alternative hypothesis should be accepted which is lagged GDP variable (proxy of economic growth) does not cause ME in our first VAR Granger causslity Wald test model. However, we discover and verified that there is one-way causality from economic growth to military spending, but no causality from military spending to economic growth is observed in this study. China’s positive economic growth can finance its military expenditure. Practical Implications: The study will contribute positively to the understanding of influence of GDP on military expenditure for emerging and developed ecconomies. Originality/value: This study innovates by using Cointegration, E-granger and Granger causality test to find out economic growth causing military expenditure in developing economies like China.peer-reviewe

Pathways to Resilience: Enhancing Family Well-Being with a Home Visitation Model

This paper highlights a study that examined outcome measures of a home visitation program, which provided services to first-born children and their parents living in Southwestern New Mexico. Home visitation workers conducted pre/posttest assessments for prenatal and postpartum periods for 109 families. The Revised North Carolina Family Assessment Scale measured family resilience. Paired sample t test and effect size analyses assessed for intervention effects. OLS regression measured effect of increased home visitation services on family well-being. Significant improvements with moderate to large effect sizes were observed for measures of social support, caregiver characteristics, family interaction, and a reduction in personal problems affecting parenting. These preliminary findings suggest that early intervention home visitation programs is an effective and acceptable method to enhance family well-being. Future directions could involve more comprehensive randomized controlled trials to examine the effectiveness of the group intervention. Practice implications are discussed