The Loss of a Parent to Suicide in Military Families

In this paper the authors explore the impact of loss of a parent to suicide on adolescents in military families using Marcia’s identity status theory and the Roy adaptation model (RAM). After describing a brief case study of a 13-year-old boy in a military family who lost his father in this manner, these two theories are applied to better understand his struggle to develop and maintain a healthy identity and adapt to numerous relocations, deployments, and then loss. The military family stressors are seen as weakening the resilience of children in such families, making them more vulnerable to the impact of parent loss. Implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals are discussed.

Life Adversities and Trauma as Factors of Addictive Behaviors

Within this study 117 drug and alcohol addicts (97 males and 20 females) were compared with a matching group of healthy controls. All respondents were questioned regarding negative life events (NLE) that have happened to them during different periods of their life, in particular when they were 0-6, 7-14, 15-18 and 19 and more years old. The questionnaire consisted of 69 questions which covered such issues as “assault”, “divorce/separation”, “major financial problems”, “serious illness or injury”, “legal problems”, “loss of confidant”, “serious marital problems”, “being robbed”, “serious difficulties at work”, “serious housing problems” and “job loss”, etc. Events related to the personal network and early life period included death of a parent, loss of an individual in the network, alcohol and drug addiction of a parent, problems in relations with parents, separation from parents, being brought up by persons other than parents, housing problems, having very bad relations with a parent, etc. It was found that the life course of NLE accumulation in addicts is 3 times higher than in controls, the differences were statistically significant (p<0,001) in all life periods. In the hierarchical regression model which was used, accumulation of NLEs in the early childhood and young adulthood (after 19) have a bigger impact than periods of school years and ad-olescence. Analysis of NLEs in the earliest life period (0-6 years) in addicts showed that alcohol problems in parents and perceived feelings that parents do not love them and even torture them emotionally were much more frequent than in controls. Other strong associations were with being brought up by people other than parents and father’s addiction. Physical and sexual violence were not among the priorities and were not so strongly associated with addiction. The results are discussed in terms of possible cultural peculiarities than may influence prioritization of childhood adversities and their relevance for further development of addictive behavior. The results obtained may be helpful while building rehabilitation measures for addicts, especially during family therapy

What factors are associated with resilient outcomes in children exposed to social adversity? A systematic review

ObjectivesChildren exposed to social adversity—hardship as a result of social circumstances such as poverty or intergenerational trauma—are at increased risk of poor outcomes across the life course. Understanding what promotes resilient outcomes is essential for the development of evidence informed intervention strategies. We conducted a systematic review to identify how child resilience is measured and what factors are associated with resilient outcomes.DesignSystematic search conducted in CINAHL, MEDLINE and PsychInfo from January 2004 to October 2018 using the keywords ‘resilien* and child* in the title or abstract. Eligible studies: (1) described children aged 5–12 years; (2) identified exposure to social adversity; (3) identified resilience; and (4) investigated factors associated with resilience.Outcome measures(1) approaches to identifying resilience and (2) factors associated with resilient outcomes.ResultsFrom 1979 studies retrieved, 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were moderate to high quality, with low cultural competency. Social adversity exposures included poverty, parent loss, maltreatment and war. Only two studies used a measure of child resilience; neither was psychometrically validated. Remaining studies classified children as resilient if they showed positive outcomes (eg, mental health or academic achievement) despite adversity. A range of child, family, school and community factors were associated with resilient outcomes, with individual factors most commonly investigated. The best available evidence was for cognitive skills, emotion regulation, relationships with caregivers and academic engagement.ConclusionsWhile there is huge variation in the type and severity of adversity that children experience, there is some evidence that specific individual, relational and school factors are associated with resilient outcomes across a range of contexts. Such factors provide an important starting point for effective public health interventions to promote resilience and to prevent or ameliorate the immediate and long-term impacts of social adversity on children.

Supporting Adolescents with a Parent in Hospice

Adolescence is a period of intense, accelerated physical and psychological change. It is an especially difficult time for young people confronting the life-limiting illness and death of a parent. Loss of a parent is devastating to an adolescent and may result in both emotional distress and long-term functional impairment. By providing multiple avenues to encourage the expression and release of painful feelings, family members and clinicians can help adolescents cope more effectively with their grief and promote eventual acceptance and healing. To comfort and support grieving adolescents with a parent in hospice, an understanding of adolescent development, effective communication strategies, and spiritual awareness is helpful for family members and clinicians.

Death of Parents and Adult Psychological and Physical Well-Being

Guided by a life course perspective, attachment theory, and gender theory, this study aims to examine the impact of death of a father, a mother, or both parents, as well as continuously living with one or both parents dead (in contrast to having two parents alive) on multiple dimensions of psychological well-being (depressive symptoms, happiness, self-esteem, mastery, and psychological wellness), alcohol abuse (binge drinking), and physical health (self-assessed health). Analyses of longitudinal data from 8,865 adults in the National Survey of Families and Households 1987-1993 reveal that a father's death leads to more negative effects for sons than daughters and a mother's death leads to more negative effects for daughters than sons. Problematic effects of parent loss are reflected more in men's physical health reports than women's. This study's results suggest that family researchers and practitioners working with aging families should not underestimate the impact of filial bereavement on adult well-being.

Trigger Factor in Streptococcus mutans Is Involved in Stress Tolerance, Competence Development, and Biofilm Formation

ABSTRACT Trigger factor is a ribosome-associated peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase that is highly conserved in most bacteria. A gene, designated ropA, encoding an apparent trigger factor homologue, was identified in Streptococcus mutans, the primary etiological agent of human dental caries. Inactivation of ropA had no major impact on growth rate in planktonic cultures under the conditions tested, although the RopA-deficient mutant formed long chains in broth. Deficiency of RopA decreased tolerance to acid killing and to oxidative stresses induced by hydrogen peroxide and paraquat, and it reduced transformation efficiency about 200-fold. Addition of synthetic competence-stimulating peptide to the culture medium enhanced transformability of both the mutant and wild-type strains, although the ropA strain did not attain levels of competence observed for the parent. Loss of RopA decreased the capacity of S. mutans to form biofilms by over 80% when cultivated in glucose, but it increased biofilm formation by over 50% when sucrose was provided as the carbohydrate source. Western blot analysis revealed that the expression of glucosyltransferases B and D was lower in the RopA-deficient mutant. These results suggest that RopA is a key regulator of acid and oxidative stress tolerance, genetic competence, and biofilm formation, all critical virulence properties of S. mutans.