Gender-specific responses to multifaceted factors associated with disordered eating among adolescents of 7th to 9th grade

Background The prevalence of disordered eating is increasing among adolescents in Asia. The prevalence and predictors of disordered eating in boys have often gone unrecognized. This study examined gender-specific responses to multifaceted factors associated with disordered eating, including personal, behavioral, family, and school-related characteristics. Methods After excluding responses with incomplete information, a sample of 729 adolescents (48.97% boys) between the ages of 13 and 16 were surveyed through convenience sampling from 37 classrooms in three junior high schools in New Taipei City of Taiwan were analyzed. The Eating Attitudes Test-26 questionnaire was used to identify disordered eating. Results No difference in the prevalence of disordered eating between the genders was found. Adolescent girls exhibit a preoccupation with fatness and a desire to be thinner, whereas boys are more likely to engage in extreme dieting behaviors such as vomiting, keeping the stomach empty, and avoiding sweets. Girls engaging in disordered eating reported relatively high levels of interpersonal stress involving family member weight-teasing, low peer acceptance, and high peer pressure to control weight. High intensity of regular exercise was found in girls with disordered eating. The perception of body weight is a more critical factor of engaging in disordered eating for boys than girls. Adolescents with immigrant parents were associated with disordered eating among both genders. Conclusions Changing gender-specific weight-related norms in schools and families is essential to reduce the prevalence of disordered eating, particularly among girls. Future studies using representative samples to confirm this study’s findings are warranted.

Role of Immigrant Parents' Attitudes and Practices in Emergent Bilingual Students' Language Use and Translanguaging Performance

Given the issue of heritage language (HL) development or attrition among children of immigrants in the U.S., this study examines Korean emergent bilingual students' HL use and translanguaging practices in an HL classroom. To extend our understanding of immigrant families' vital roles in their children's establishment of bilingualism, the study further explores the role of immigrant Korean families' language practices and attitudes towards their children's bilingualism. The chapter addresses the following research question: What was the relationship between the parents' attitudes toward bilingualism and their children's language use and translanguaging performance in an HL classroom? The findings show the emergent bilingual students' classroom language use, including their translanguaging performance and the immigrant parents' views and practices towards their children's development of bilingualism. The findings indicate that there is a close relationship between parents' attitudes and practices at home and the children's language use and development both in Korean and English.

Challenges and Opportunities With Deaf Multilingual Learners

There are an estimated 34 million children worldwide with hearing loss greater than 40dB. As around 90% of children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) are born to parents with typical hearing there are often questions of what language the child who is DHH could and should learn. For the 90% of typically hearing parents who had no prior knowledge of sign language, the idea of having to learn another language to use with their children can be very daunting. Additionally, as the world becomes more bi/multilingual, many children who are DHH may live in a culturally and linguistically diverse community where the home language is not the same language as the community at large; these children are known as DHH Multilingual Learners (DMLs). This can cause additional potential language and cultural learning constraints on immigrant parents who are not yet familiar with their new community's spoken language(s) and culture(s). This results in an increased need for culturally competent professionals to work with DMLs to provide effective interventions.

To Raise a Bilingual or a Monolingual Child: Concerns of an Immigrant Mother

The number of immigrant families in Canada and other Western countries has increased in the last several decades. Immigrant families face challenges in bringing up their children in a new country, such as different expectations from two different cultures, being away from their family and immediate support network, financial problems, and language limitations. One of the main concerns of most immigrant parents is their child's language acquisition. Language development is the most significant predictor of children’s success in school and later life. Regarding the vital role of language development in each aspect of life, it is essential to explore this growing population's experiences and challenges related to their children’s language acquisition. This qualitative study benefited from a narrative inquiry for representing and interpreting an immigrant mother's experiences and challenges in bringing up a bilingual child in Canada. This paper addresses the multiple conflicts affecting immigrant parents' decision to bring up a bilingual or monolingual child. Some of immigrant parents' main concerns, including passing on their accents, code-switching, language delays, limited social interactions and using screen time for teaching language are discussed in this paper.

Supporting Online Learning in an Unfamiliar Language: Immigrant Parents and Remote Schooling during COVID-19

This article reports on a qualitative study of 22 Latina mothers and their experiences supporting their children’s remote education during COVID-19. Drawing on digital literacies and mujerista theory, the authors analyzed focus group data to find the following: Latina mothers’ struggles involved not just understanding online learning platforms but an educational system that was not responsive to the economic constraints and stressors faced by families; Latina mothers perceived the school district’s response to COVID-19 as performative and inadequate; Latina mothers developed mother-child pedagogies or pedagogies in which the mother and child are involved in teaching to and learning from each other. The findings lend support to the idea that the digital literacy divide does not exist outside of social and economic structures, and to the resourcefulness of everyday Latina mothers.

Parents’ Perceptions of Education and Culture as a Context of Parental Stress: A Study of Parents of Preschool Children in Hong Kong

This study examines how cultural context mediates the association between parents’ perceptions of education and parental stress under the ABC-X model. The analysis was based on a sample of 6454 parents of preschool children in Hong Kong. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis detected two major dimensions of parents’ perceptions of children’s education. Ordinary least squares regression models with interaction terms were used to analyze the identified dimensions’ associations with parental stress. The study found preschool parents with an assertive perception of children’s cognitive skills, discipline, coercion, and competition were more stressed than parents with a responsive perception of children’s non-cognitive skills, self-management, autonomy, and cooperation in education. Parents paradoxically caught between these two types of perceptions were the most stressed. Native residents and earlier immigrant parents also had a higher level of stress than recent immigrants.

HOW IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE PARENTS’ EXPERIENCES RELATED TO THEIR CHILD’S SCHOOL SYSTEM DIFFERENT IN CANADA

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to determine the experiences of a group of immigrant and refugee parents related to their child’s school system and interactions with the school personnel, including the teachers, administrators, and school counselors in Canada. Twelve parents who immigrated from Turkey and living in the Greater Toronto Area participated in semi-structured interviews. Results showed that these parents’ experiences were surprisingly much more positive compared to the experiences of immigrant parents in many other parts of the world, including in the U.S. These parents felt welcome and accepted by their child’s school personnel. They also reported not experiencing any discrimination due to their cultural, ethnic, and/or racial backgrounds. The reasons for this difference, and recommendations in relation to how to make immigrant and refugee parents’ experiences related to their child’s school system positive, are discussed.

A Case Study On Anticipated End-of-Life Caregiving Among The Millennial American Born Chinese

Millennial American Born Chinese (ABCs) are in a double jeopardy position with end-of-life (EOL) care for their immigrant parents, because of both cultural and generational clashes. There is no existing empirical study about the millennial ABCs’ attitudes or behaviors towards EOL caregiving. Our study is the first one to explore the millennial ABCs’ anticipated EOL caregiving behaviors, support and resources needed, attitudes towards terminal illness disclosure and advance care planning (ACP) discussion with their parents, and how acculturation influences. A qualitative in-depth phone interview using a case study approach, with a scenario of caring for parents with Parkinson’s disease and stage IV lung cancer, was adopted. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling, and a total of 27 (18 females and 9 males with an average age of 25) passed the screening and completed the interviews. Using the directed content analysis, researchers identified two themes: EOL caregiving and EOL decision making, which included five sub-themes: caregiving behaviors, needed supports and resources, care arrangement decision, terminal illness disclosure, and ACP. Both traditional Chinese culture of familism and filial piety, and western culture of autonomy and patients’ rights to know were exhibited in every theme. Most participants did not fully understand ACP concept, but they were willing to initiate ACP conversation after comprehending ACP concept. This study constitutes an essential step towards understanding the millennial ABC EOL caregivers’ financial, physical, and emotional needs from family, community and government, better establishing corresponding policies, and promoting public education in ACP to benefit this minority group.