WEANING

Objective: To evaluate the awareness & practices regarding weaning in lactating mothers of infants. Design: A crosssectional descriptive study. Setting: At pediatrics OPD in Ghurki Trust Teaching hospital, Lahore. Period: From Octoberto December 2007.Methodology: A non probability convenience sampling was done to collect data from 50 mothers who were attending out patient departmentalong with their infants on a pre-formed questionnaire. After gathering, data was analyzed & presented in the form of tables & graphs.Results: In the present study, 66% mothers were in the age group of 20-29 years, all were house wives, 34 % were matriculate and 72%lived in joint family system, Mean age of weaning was 4-6 months in more than 64 % of the sample. Among the women interviewed, 44%used home-made weaning diets, 30% used mixture of homemade and commercially prepared diets, while 16% used only commerciallyprepared diets. Breast feeding was continued during and after weaning, by 64% of respondents along with weaning diets. Conclusion:Mothers need to be educated about the importance of weaning, the recommended age of weaning and about the types of weaning food.This can be achieved by using lady health workers and lady health visitors and the mass media. Importance of continued breast feedingwith weaning diet should be emphasized upon.

Symptoms of depression in children part of the “snowflake” generation and their input for the functioning of the whole family. Narrative research of modern families

In the article I analyze the problem of mental health about children of the generation of "snowflakes". The subject of the article is the problem of child depression affecting the whole family system. The main symptoms of this disease are presented. They are discussed in detail with their impact on family relationships. The main functions of the family were recalled, as they gave the structure for the analysis of narrative tests. A lot of attention was paid to the description of the impact of depression on the life of the whole family, including marriage, contact with children, social contacts, changes in the family's activity and material situation, as well as emotional reactions of family members. The analysis of narrative tests shows the family's reactions to the child's disease.

School Shootings and Therapeutic Interventions for Traumatized Victims

This study attempts an encapsulation of school shooting as a strand of mass violence with the purpose of presenting a perceived effective approach that could be therapeutically adopted for handling traumatized victims of school shooting incidents, particularly traumatized students. School violence involving firearms and high fatalities have been trending in many parts of the world. Pathetically, most of the students who are victims of school shootings receive inadequate or no therapeutic interventions that could help them to recover from the emotional trauma that usually accompany school violence. Students with trauma symptoms experience dysfunctional adaptation, leading to impairment of daily functionality, distortions in peer interactivity, and disruptive self-expressivity. This study leans on family system theory and elucidates how the application of this theory could help the traumatized to regain themselves psychosocially in order to maintain adaptation to function properly in the school or community.

Improving Communication in Children With ASD

Raising a child with ASD is generally considered a challenging experience for families due to the pervasive difficulties in communication, social skills, and other adaptive behaviors encountered in these children. The family system restructures and adapts to accommodate the needs of the child with ASD. In this chapter, the author highlights the importance of communication skills for the development of children with ASD and summarizes the evidence-based individual interventions for improving them. Although there is robust evidence for the family's beneficial contribution to developing adaptive communication skills in children with ASD, there is still room for uplifting the existing programs in terms of accessibility, efficacy, and culture-based elements. In the final part of the chapter, the author provides recommendations for designing future family interventions addressed to communication skills in children with ASD and argues that culture-specific and systemic factors (such as support policies for children with disabilities) enhance program success.

Supporting Individuals and Families Impacted by Dementia in Counseling: Case Report

As more than 6 million people in the United States are living with dementia, it is important to foster and train counselors who are specialized in dementia. This case report explores the process and benefits of counseling when individuals and families are impacted by dementia. By understanding multiple changes in the individual and the family system, a counselor can provide guidance and resources to navigate and adapt changes during the disease process. Based on family systems therapy, a counselor can assist the family by facilitating family involvement and communication. It is critical for a counselor to help the family members in understanding how each one may be in a differing stage of acceptance regarding the diagnosis and loss. In addition, dementia-specific counseling should entail psychoeducation of the disease as well as existing community-based resources that are designed to support community-dwelling people living with dementia.

GENDERIZING CONSEQUENCES OF FAMILY POLICIES IN POLAND IN 2010S: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

The aim of this paper is to analyze four reforms introduced in the Polish family system in the 2010s. The reforms were introduced as an answer to a problem of very low fertility rates, as well as instruments helping women in achieving their work-life balance. The reforms are analyzed here in terms of their (de)genderization effects on Polish mothers and fathers. The use of a genderization-degenderization axis shows that the gendered division of domestic and care work is not challenged by the reforms, but it is rather reinforced by them. It is also doubtful if the reforms will manage to reverse current demographic trends.

Socio-Cultural Causes of the Increasing Rate of Maternal Mortality in District Lodhran, Pakistan

This qualitative study conducted at District Lodhran, Punjab, Pakistan adopted a constructivist approach with an aim to investigate the social-cultural factors accelerating maternal mortality. The primary data was collected through in-depth interviews from 40 family members of deceased mothers and four focus group discussions, and the information for the secondary data pertaining to the victims of maternal death recorded in District Lodhran for the year 2016-17 was collected from the Health Department. The study concluded that there are various social and cultural practices, i.e. the practice of early marriages, repeated pregnancies with the wish of having a male child, treatment and living of pregnant women in the joint family system, and son’s preferences are the causative factors behind maternal mortality. The study recommends inculcation of awareness, especially among gestating women, regarding maternal health and associated factors, besides civil society’s measures for improvement and the government’s special attention towards the issue.

Parental internet activity and communication through the new media - literature review

Global economic and social transformations, as well as technological progress, require people to modify used methods of communication. Traditional forms of information exchange have given way to the so-called new media enabling trouble-free communication using the Internet. These changes also affected family life. Digitization, appearing at each stage of the functioning of the family system, is to some extent based on remote communication processes, allowing its individual members to carry out their development tasks. According to the theory of social learning, parents constitute the basic pattern of behavior that children derive from and reproduce. Therefore, parental functioning in the virtual world is important for the later adaptive use of the Web by representatives of the younger generation. In addition, online communication acts as a source of information and a normalizer of social relations, fosters building interpersonal competencies and identity, and modifies the way of fulfilling the parental role. Based on the above-mentioned aspects, this article characterizes the process of digitization of motherhood and fatherhood, showing the basic ways and consequences of using the Internet by parents, and systematizing the knowledge about communication functions in the context of mothers and fathers online activity.

Budaya dan Sistem Kekeluargaan Etnis Aneuk Jamee: Studi Kasus di Aceh Selatan

Aceh, which is dominated by the Aceh Rayeuk tribe, has a treasure of various ethnicities and tribes such as the Aceh Tribe, Tamiang Tribe, Gayo Tribe, Alas Tribe, Kluet Tribe, Julu Tribe, Pakpak Tribe and Aneuk Jamee Tribe. The various ethnic groups above show that Aceh is a province rich in culture and various authentic local wisdoms. The Aneuk Jamee tribe is an acculturation of the Acehnese and Minangkabau tribes, both of which seem to have merged into one individual to produce a new ethnicity. This ethnicity later developed in South Aceh and influenced various aspects of culture and the family system in it. This research is classified as field research with a qualitative approach. The methodology used is phenomenology which is supported by historical literacy in the South Aceh region where the Aneuk Jamee ethnicity is the most dominant. Informants in this study consisted of primary and secondary sources, the primary sources were individuals or native Aneuk Jamee selected by random sampling. The secondary sources are informants who are not native to Aneuk Jamee but have insight and knowledge regarding the history and customs of Aneuk Jamee. The results of the study concluded that the Aneuk Jamee community has similarities with the system in the Minangkabau community in West Sumatra, namely adopting a hereditary system from the mother's side or commonly referred to as Matrilineal. Even though there has been Islamization in Aceh where the father is a descendant of the lineage, the matrilineal system is still evident in kinship (household) matters. All matters that will be carried out in a household must be discussed in advance with the ninik mamak (mother's brother). Prior to the consultation with the ninik mamak, news about the event should not be heard by the public.

Role of Peer Relations and Family System on Academic Expectations Stress among Adolescents

The present study explored the role of peer relations and family system on academic expectations of adolescents. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant relationship among peer relations, family system and academic expectations of adolescents. A sample of 364 adolescents, boys (n=139) and girls (n=225) with the age range of 15-19 years was taken from different universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Measures included Academic Expectations Stress Inventory by Ang and Huan (2006), and Index of Peer Relations by Hudson (1982), with use of correlational method. Results suggested significant correlation among study variables. A positive correlation of academic expectations was found with peer relations. Results showed non-significant difference in study variables with respect to gender. Regression analysis revealed that 23% variance was produced by peer relations in academic expectations. Results of One Way ANOVA showed significant difference between nuclear and joint family adolescents on peer relations, others expectations and self-expectations.