Neuropsychological Considerations in Forensic Child Assessment

Résumé Vingt-neuf parents à faible revenu et leurs nourrissons ont participé à une recherche exploratoire portant sur les interactions parent-nourrisson et décrivant le niveau d'interactions, les similarités et les différences au sein des dyades mère-nourrisson et père-nourrisson. L'échelle de mesure Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale, un instrument d'observation standardisé de 73 items, a été utilisée pour mesurer les interactions. Les résultats ont montré que bien que la majorité (69%) des dyades parent-nourrisson n'ont pas démontré de comportements interactifs à risque, près de 31% de l'échantillon étaient désorganisés dans leurs interactions. De plus, les résultats ont démontré que bien que les deux parents étaient sensibles et répondaient aux signaux de leurs nourrissons, les mères étaient plus aptes que les pères à répondre à la détresse de leurs nourrissons alors que les nourrissons étaient plus clairs et répondaient mieux aux pères qu'aux mères. Avec cette information, les cliniciens et les chercheurs peuvent mieux comprendre les interactions au sein du contexte familial et renforcer les programmes d'intervention visant à maintenir et à améliorer les interactions parent-nourrisson.

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Childrearing Practices and Developmental Expectations for Mexican-American Mothers and the Developmental Status of Their Infants

Physical Therapy ◽

10.1093/ptj/84.5.439 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 84 (5) ◽

pp. 439-453 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Thubi HA Kolobe

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Parent Education ◽

Mexican American ◽

Child Assessment ◽

Developmental Status ◽

Childrearing Practices ◽

And Behaviors ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background and Purpose. The impact of parent education programs on early intervention programs is not thought to be uniform among children from majority and minority populations. This study examined the relationship between maternal childrearing practices and behaviors and the developmental status of Mexican-American infants. Subjects. Participants were 62 Mexican-American mother-infant pairs. The infants' mean adjusted age was 12 months (SD=1.7, range=9–14). A third of the children were diagnosed with developmental delays and referred for early intervention by physicians or therapists when the children received their medical follow-up. The group was stratified according to socioeconomic status and acculturation using the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics. This scale uses cutoff points to classify individuals into 3 levels of acculturation. Methods. Information on childrearing practices and behaviors was gathered using the Parent Behavior Checklist (PBC), the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory, and the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS). Infants' developmental status was assessed by use of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID II). The Pearson product moment correlation, partial correlations, Fisher z transformation, and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between childrearing practices and parenting behaviors, demographic factors, and infants' developmental status. Results. Maternal nurturing behaviors, parent-child interaction, and quality of the home environment were positively correlated with the infants' cognitive development. Maternal years of education modified the observed relationship between PBC and BSID II scores but not the observed relationship between HOME Inventory and NCATS scores. The childrearing practices, maternal socioeconomic status (SES) and age, and infants' gestational age at birth (GA) explained 45% of the variance in infants' cognitive scores. The infants' GA, maternal SES and age, and NCATS scores accounted for 32% of the motor scores on the BSID II. Discussion and Conclusion. The findings partially support a link between aspects of the mothers' childrearing behaviors and their infants' cognitive developmental status. For motor developmental status, the association appeared stronger with the infants' characteristics than with maternal childrearing practices and behaviors tested in this study.

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Psychosocial Function During Treatment for Familial Hypercholesterolemia

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.98.2.249 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 98 (2) ◽

pp. 249-255

Author(s):

Serena Tonstad ◽

Torunn Stene Nøvik ◽

Inger Helene Vandvik

Keyword(s):

Familial Hypercholesterolemia ◽

Child Behavior Checklist ◽

Population Sample ◽

Saturated Fat ◽

Self Report ◽

Child Assessment ◽

Semistructured Interview ◽

Disease Group ◽

Psychosocial Function ◽

Psychosocial Dysfunction

Objective. To determine whether children treated for familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) have greater psychosocial dysfunction compared with their peers. Children. Children were 86 boys and 66 girls 7-16 years of age attending a lipid clinic. They were screened and instructed to follow a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol 18 months to 9 years earlier (mean, 4 years), and their mean dietary intake, estimated by a quantitative food frequency questionnaire, was within recommended limits. One-fourth had lost a parent or had a parent who had had cardiovascular disease due to FH (parental disease group). Methods. Results of the Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher's Report Form, and Youth Self-Report were compared with a population sample. A semistructured interview, the Child Assessment Schedule, was administered to the children with FH and a well-functioning comparison group from the population (epidemiologic cohort; n = 62). Results. Psychosocial scores were similar in the children with FH and the population sample. The Child Assessment Schedule showed that, compared with the epidemiologic cohort, children with FH did not have increased symptoms in any area of function, and scores for family, mood, and expression of anger were lower (less symptomatic). The prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses was 10%, which was not greater than expected. Children from the parental disease group had higher symptom scores in the areas of school and expression of anger than the rest of the children with FH. Their mean Children's Global Assessment Score (CGAS, which gives average children scores of 70-79) was slightly lower (77 vs 79). Belonging to the parental disease group predicted a lower CGAS in multivariate regression analyses, as did male sex, parental divorce, and low parental educational level. These factors explained up to 19% (95% confidence interval, 9%-31%) of the variance in CGAS. Conclusions. We found that the prevalence of psychosocial dysfunction was not greater than expected in children treated for FH. Psychosocial function within the group was associated with the usual demographic characteristics and with the loss or disease of a parent, beyond the period of bereavement or immediately after the event.

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