scholarly journals Non-Parental Investment in Children and Child Outcomes after Parental Death or Divorce in a Patrilocal Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Gretchen C. Perry
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Child Height ◽  
Family Types

Children rely on support from parental helpers (alloparents), perhaps especially in high-needs contexts. Considerable evidence indicates that closer relatives and maternal relatives are the most likely to provide this care, as inclusive fitness theory suggests, but whether this is equally true across different family types and in culturally patrilocal societies requires investigation. This structured interview study (N = 208 respondents with 323 dependent children) focuses on who helps raise children in rural Bangladesh after the father’s or mother’s death, or divorce, in comparison to families with both parents present or the father temporarily a migrant laborer. Family types differed in where and with whom children resided, who served as their primary and secondary caregivers, and who provided material support, but mother’s kin played a major role, and were the primary providers of material resources from outside the child’s household in all family types. Despite the patrilineal ideology, only one-quarter of children of divorce lived with the father or his family, and even after the death of the mother, only 59% remained with father or other paternal kin. Household income varied by family type and was a strong predictor of child height and weight. The children of deceased mothers moved between successive caregivers especially frequently, and were uniquely likely to have no schooling. The typology of Bangladeshi society as patrilocal obscures the extent to which matrilateral family support children’s well-being.

scholarly journals Transition to Grandparenthood and Subjective Well-Being in Older Europeans: A Within-Person Investigation Using Longitudinal Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 147470491987594
Author(s):  
Antti O. Tanskanen ◽  
Mirkka Danielsbacka ◽  
David A. Coall ◽  
Markus Jokela
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Investment Theory ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Effect Regression

The transition to grandparenthood, that is the birth of the first grandchild, is often assumed to increase the subjective well-being of older adults; however, prior studies are scarce and have provided mixed results. Investigation of the associations between grandparenthood and subjective well-being, measured by self-rated life satisfaction, quality of life scores, and depressive symptoms, used the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe from 13 countries, including follow-up waves between 2006 and 2015 ( n = 64,940 person-observations from 38,456 unique persons of whom 18,207 had two or more measurement times). Both between-person and within-person (or fixed-effect) regression models were executed, where between-person associations represent results across individuals, that is, between grandparents and non-grandparents; within-person associations represent an individual’s variation over time, that is, they consider whether the transition to grandparenthood increases or decreases subjective well-being. According to the between-person models, both grandmothers and grandfathers reported higher rate of life satisfaction and quality of life than non-grandparents. Moreover, grandmothers reported fewer depressive symptoms than women without grandchildren. The within-person models indicated that entry into grandmotherhood was associated with both improved quality of life scores and improved life satisfaction. These findings are discussed with reference to inclusive fitness theory, parental investment theory, and the grandmother hypothesis.

Grandparent Affection and Emotional Well-being of Adolescents with Different Family Types

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2199318
Author(s):  
Pilar Ramos ◽  
Carmen Moreno ◽  
Sara Luna ◽  
Francisco Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Family Type ◽  
State Of Health ◽  
Joint Custody ◽  
Biological Parent ◽  
Family Types ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Reference Figure

Despite the increasing importance of grandparents in raising their grandchildren, few studies analyze the impact that these intergenerational relationships have on the grandchildren, especially during adolescence. With a sample of 3432 adolescents between 11 years and 16 years old, we analyze to what degree grandparent affection explains adolescent emotional well-being. The results reveal interesting findings according to family type: traditional two-parent families, families with joint custody, or families with only one biological parent (specifying between father or mother). Lastly, we analyze and discuss the implications of the relevant results related to the grandparents’ sex, lineage, and state of health, the adolescent’s age, as well as finding a higher impact of grandparent affection has on adolescents from families with only the father as a reference figure. This study advocates for reinforcing the role of the grandparents during adolescence, becoming especially relevant for boys and girls living in father-only families.

Psychosomatic Musculoskeletal Pain in Childhood: Clinical and Psychological Analyses of 100 Children

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 1093-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Sherry ◽  
Tona McGuire ◽  
Elizabeth Mellins ◽  
Kathy Salmonson ◽  
Carol A. Wallace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Pain ◽  
Severe Pain ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Duration Of Symptoms ◽  
Academic Difficulty ◽  
Family Types ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Almost All

The clinical and psychological findings on 100 children with psychosomatic musculoskeletal pain seen at a major pediatric rheumatology referral center are reported. Most (76%) were female, median age was 13 years, and median duration of symptoms was 1 year. Multiple painful sites were common (66%). The pain was constant (63%) or intermittent (37%); 45% had hyperesthesia, and almost all maintained a cheerful affect when complaining of severe pain. Two predominant abnormal family milieu were seen. One was cohesive, stable, and organized, but intolerant of separation and individuation. The other was chaotic, emotionally unsupportive, with high levels of conflict. Members of the cohesive family type reported significantly less distress than members of chaotic families. Enmeshment between mother and child was common in both family types. Although frequently viewed as bright, most of these children had normal intelligence, and some had unrecognized academic difficulty. These children, compared with those with arthritis, had a significantly lower global well-being score. Clinical depression was unusual (11%). Most (97%) responded favorably to intensive physical and occupational therapy along with individual or family psychotherapy; 78% become symptom free or fully functional. Children with these signs and symptoms should have full psychological evaluations and respond well to treatment directed toward decreasing pain and restoring function.

Voices of Distress: The Emotional Peril of Not Attaining a Dietetic Internship in Ontario

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lee Brady ◽  
Annie Hoang ◽  
Olivia Siswanto ◽  
Jordana Riesel ◽  
Jacqui Gingras
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Dietetic Education ◽  
Dietetic Internship ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Training ◽  
Future Growth

Obtaining dietetic licensure in Ontario requires completion of a Dietitians of Canada (DC) accredited four-year undergraduate degree in nutrition and an accredited post-graduate internship or combined Master’s degree program. Given the scarcity of internship positions in Ontario, each year approximately two-thirds of the eligible applicants who apply do not receive a position XX, XX, XX, XX, XX, XX, in press). Anecdotally, not securing an internship position is known to be a particularly disconcerting experience that has significant consequences for individuals’ personal, financial, and professional well-being. However, no known empirical research has yet explored students’ experiences of being unsuccessful in applying for internship positions. Fifteen individuals who applied between 2005 and 2009 to an Ontario-based dietetic internship program, but were unsuccessful at least once, participated in a one-on-one semi-structured interview. Findings reveal that participants’ experiences unfold successively in four phases that are characterized by increasingly heightened emotional peril: naïveté, competition, devastation, and frustration. The authors conclude that the current model of dietetic education and training in Ontario causes lasting distress to students and hinders the future growth and vitality of the dietetic profession. Further research is required to understand the impact of the current model on dietetic educators, internship coordinators, and preceptors as coincident participants in the internship application process.

Family Type Predicts Mental Health Problems in Young Adults: A Survey of Students at a University in Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kennedy Amone-P'Olak ◽  
Boniface Kealeboga Ramotuana
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Single Mother ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Intact Family ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Family Types

In Africa, the structure of the family is changing rapidly. The effects of this change on mental health remain unknown. This study investigated the extent to which different family types (intact, single-mother, and multiple) predict mental health problems in young adults in Botswana (N = 264, mean age = 21.31, SD = 2.40). In a cross-sectional design, the study sampled students registered at various faculties at the University of Botswana. The revised symptoms checklist (SCL-90-R) was used to assess symptoms of mental health problems (depression, anxiety and hostility). Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95 per cent confidence intervals (CIs) of mental health problems for mother-only and multiple family types relative to the intact family type. Compared to the intact family type, single-mother (OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.21, 4.51) and multiple family types (OR = 1.56; CI: 0.88, 2.78) were associated with an increased risk of depression. For anxiety, the ORs were 2.27 (CI: 1.18, 4.38) and 1.10 (CI: 0.56, 1.82) for single-mother and multiple family types respectively. For hostility, the ORs were 2.60 (CI: 1.34, 5.04), and 0.79 (CI: 0.44, 1.42) for single-mother and multiple family types, respectively. Family types predict mental health problems in young adults and therefore the interventions to mitigate the effects should consider family backgrounds and the ramifications of family types for treatment and care.

Feasibility study of technology-enabled prevention intervention for children and families (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikki Theofanopoulou ◽  
Katherine Isbister ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Petr Slovák
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Object A ◽  
Intervention Delivery ◽  
Parents And Children

BACKGROUND A common challenge within psychiatry and prevention science more broadly is the lack of effective, engaging, and scale-able mechanisms to deliver psycho-social interventions for children, especially beyond in-person therapeutic or school-based contexts. Although digital technology has the potential to address these issues, existing research on technology-enabled interventions for families remains limited. OBJECTIVE The aim of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of in-situ deployments of a low-cost, bespoke prototype, which has been designed to support children’s in-the-moment emotion regulation efforts. This prototype instantiates a novel intervention model that aims to address the existing limitations by delivering the intervention through an interactive object (a ‘smart toy’) sent home with the child, without any prior training necessary for either the child or their carer. This pilot study examined (i) engagement and acceptability of the device in the homes during 1 week deployments; and (ii) qualitative indicators of emotion regulation effects, as reported by parents and children. METHODS In this qualitative study, ten families (altogether 11 children aged 6-10 years) were recruited from three under-privileged communities in the UK. The RA visited participants in their homes to give children the ‘smart toy’ and conduct a semi-structured interview with at least one parent from each family. Children were given the prototype, a discovery book, and a simple digital camera to keep at home for 7-8 days, after which we interviewed each child and their parent about their experience. Thematic analysis guided the identification and organisation of common themes and patterns across the dataset. In addition, the prototypes automatically logged every interaction with the toy throughout the week-long deployments. RESULTS Across all 10 families, parents and children reported that the ‘smart toy’ was incorporated into children’s emotion regulation practices and engaged with naturally in moments children wanted to relax or calm down. Data suggests that children interacted with the toy throughout the duration of the deployment, found the experience enjoyable, and all requested to keep the toy longer. Child emotional connection to the toy—caring for its ‘well-being’—appears to have driven this strong engagement. Parents reported satisfaction with and acceptability of the toy. CONCLUSIONS This is the first known study investigation of the use of object-enabled intervention delivery to support emotion regulation in-situ. The strong engagement and qualitative indications of effects are promising – children were able to use the prototype without any training and incorporated it into their emotion regulation practices during daily challenges. Future work is needed to extend this indicative data with efficacy studies examining the psychological efficacy of the proposed intervention. More broadly, our findings suggest the potential of a technology-enabled shift in how prevention interventions are designed and delivered: empowering children and parents through ‘child-led, situated interventions’, where participants learn through actionable support directly within family life, as opposed to didactic in-person workshops and a subsequent skills application.

Social Evolution, Hamilton’s Rule, and Inclusive Fitness

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Okasha
Keyword(s):  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Popular Approach ◽  
Hamilton’S Rule ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Encounters ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Hamilton's Rule

Inclusive fitness theory, originally due to W. D. Hamilton, is a popular approach to the study of social evolution, but shrouded in controversy. The theory contains two distinct aspects: Hamilton’s rule (rB > C); and the idea that individuals will behave as if trying to maximize their inclusive fitness in social encounters. These two aspects of the theory are logically separable but often run together. A generalized version of Hamilton’s rule can be formulated that is always true, though whether it is causally meaningful is debatable. However, the individual maximization claim only holds true if the payoffs from the social encounter are additive. The notion that inclusive fitness is the ‘goal’ of individuals’ social behaviour is less robust than some of its advocates acknowledge.

scholarly journals Inclusive Fitness Theory from Darwin to Hamilton

Genetics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 176 (3) ◽  
pp. 1375-1380
Author(s):  
Lee Alan Dugatkin
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory

scholarly journals War and peace: social interactions in infections

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1642) ◽  
pp. 20130365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen C. Leggett ◽  
Sam P. Brown ◽  
Sarah E. Reece
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Disease Ecology ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Inclusive Fitness ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Microbial Pathogens ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Social Strategies ◽  
Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽  
Social Behaviours

One of the most striking facts about parasites and microbial pathogens that has emerged in the fields of social evolution and disease ecology in the past few decades is that these simple organisms have complex social lives, indulging in a variety of cooperative, communicative and coordinated behaviours. These organisms have provided elegant experimental tests of the importance of relatedness, kin discrimination, cooperation and competition, in driving the evolution of social strategies. Here, we briefly review the social behaviours of parasites and microbial pathogens, including their contributions to virulence, and outline how inclusive fitness theory has helped to explain their evolution. We then take a mechanistically inspired ‘bottom-up’ approach, discussing how key aspects of the ways in which parasites and pathogens exploit hosts, namely public goods, mobile elements, phenotypic plasticity, spatial structure and multi-species interactions, contribute to the emergent properties of virulence and transmission. We argue that unravelling the complexities of within-host ecology is interesting in its own right, and also needs to be better incorporated into theoretical evolution studies if social behaviours are to be understood and used to control the spread and severity of infectious diseases.

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