Predictors of care-giver stress in families of preschool-aged children with developmental disabilities

Background This study examined the predictors, mediators and moderators of parent stress in families of preschool-aged children with developmental disability. Method One hundred and five mothers of preschool-aged children with developmental disability completed assessment measures addressing the key variables. Results Analyses demonstrated that the difficulty parents experienced in completing specific caregiving tasks, behaviour problems during these caregiving tasks, and level of child disability, respectively, were significant predictors of level of parent stress. In addition, parents’ cognitive appraisal of care-giving responsibilities had a mediating effect on the relationship between the child’s level of disability and parent stress. Mothers’ level of social support had a moderating effect on the relationship between key independent variables and level of parent stress. Conclusions Difficulty of care-giving tasks, difficult child behaviour during care-giving tasks, and level of child disability are the primary factors which contribute to parent stress. Implications of these findings for future research and clinical practice are outlined

Sexual knowledge and emotional reaction as indicators of sexual abuse in young children: Theory and research challenges

Age inappropriate sexual behavior is strongly associated with sexual abuse but is also correlated with other factors that often co-occur in the lives of vulnerable children, including physical abuse, domestic violence, excessive life stress, and inappropriate exposure to family sexuality. In addition, an objective observer is required to rate the sexual behavior, and the objectivity of parents is often questionable. Consequently, sexual behavior is not as valid a marker of sexual abuse as once thought, and its assessment suffers when reporters are neither objective nor informed about their child. We presented some initial data suggesting that sexual knowledge is the most consistent consequence of sexual abuse. Exposure to sexual abuse is likely to result in sexual knowledge regardless of its severity or duration. Social information processing theory explains how a child's experiences with sexual abuse results in a world view that can be sexualized. We suggest that an objective approach that utilizes visual stimuli and which directly measures a child's sexual knowledge and their affective responses to the stimuli holds promise as an assessment tool. For example, while less than half of sexually abused children evidence age-inappropriate sexual behavior, the majority is likely to gain sexual knowledge, which exceeds their developmental stage. Consequently, age-inappropriate sexual knowledge is a more consistent result of sexual abuse than age-inappropriate sexual behavio. In addition, sexual knowledge can be objectively measured in an interview setting, and does not depend on a parent who may not have many opportunities to observe their child or whose objectivity may be compromised. In fact, sexual knowledge derived from the child in combination with sexual behavior as rated by the parent, may enhance the validity of both in the assessment of children who may have been sexually abused. A research study that evaluated both the sexual knowledge and sexual behavior domains could determine the positive predictive power of each variable. Clearly research is needed in this area

Healthy Ireland - a framework for improved health and wellbeing 2013 - 2025.

The Healthy Ireland Framework draws on existing policies but proposes new arrangements to ensure effective co-operation and collaboration and to implement evidence-based policies at government, sectoral, community and local levels. It is about each individual sector helping to improve health and wellbeing, multiplying all efforts and delivering better results. P.10 Smoking • Around one million people in Ireland smoke tobacco products. • 12% of children aged between 11-17 years are current smokers. • Smoking rates are highest (56%) amongst women aged 18-29 years from poor communities, compared to 28% of young women from higher social classes. • The annual death toll from smoking-related diseases in Ireland is at least 5,200, with many thousands more, and their families, affected through chronic illness and disability • One in every two smokers will die of a tobacco-related disease; these diseases include a wide range of cancers, as well as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Alcohol and Drugs • The alcohol consumption rate for Ireland is one of highest in Europe at 11.9 litres per capita in 2010. • Alcohol is responsible for approximately 90 deaths every month, which include many alcohol-related cancers and heart diseases. High alcohol consumption may also contribute to obesity, through the additional calories consumed by regular drinkers. • Alcohol is a contributory factor in half of all suicides. • Use of illegal drugs in the last year is reported at 7% of adults between aged 15-64 years. • Drug use was the direct and indirect cause of 534 deaths in 2008, including deaths attributed to heroin, methadone, benzodiazepines, and medical and trauma deaths. • Between 1998 and 2007, benzodiazepines were implicated in nearly one-third (31%) of all deaths by poisoning, with the annual number increasing from 65 in 1998 to 88 in 2007. In 2010, over 900,000 GMS prescription items relat