Parental control in different life contexts for paediatric cystic fibrosis patients

This study aimed to comprehensively describe parental control strategies (appropriate support, critical control or overprotection) in the distinct living contexts of paediatric cystic fibrosis patients (namely daily routine and peer interaction). Fourteen mothers and two fathers of children with cystic fibrosis participated in the study. Children’s ages ranged from 5 to 12 years old (M=7.00; SD=2.25). Participants answered the Interview on Childrearing Practices and The New Friends Vignettes and provided socio-demographic information concerning the family and clinical details about the child’s illness. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed. Appropriate support was the most frequently reported strategy in both contexts, with 83.9% in daily routine and 44.37% in peer interaction. In the daily routine context, reports of critical control were infrequent (15.68%), especially regarding the treatment for cystic fibrosis. In the peer interaction context, reports of overprotection were more frequent (38.48%) than reports of critical control (17.15%). Parents may be more flexible and responsive to children’s difficulties associated with treatments than to other types of disturbing behaviours in their daily routine, while problems in peer interactions tend to evoke overprotective strategies.

Parents of Preterm and Very Low Birthweight Infants and Their Childrearing Practices

Emerging research supports that early intervention leads to better health and higher functional status for infants with very low birthweight and/or low gestational age. Optimizing the transition from neonatal intensive care to early intervention programs relies heavily on parent engagement. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to investigate the relationship between parental characteristics, childrearing behaviors, and participation in early intervention. We used convenience sampling of 49 parents who participated in early intervention and the Parent Behavior Checklist to assess parent characteristics. Correlation coefficients between parenting behaviors, birthweight, and participation in early intervention were low. An important finding was that most parents in this study were within the “average” range for childrearing practices, despite the documented challenges associated with very low birthweight or gestational age. Despite documented challenges, parents of preterm infants with very low birthweight and parents of typical birthweight infants have similar parenting beliefs and behavior.

Implementation Research for the Evaluation of the Child Health Education and Surveillance Tool Application

Community health agent programs and modern information and communication technology can greatly improve knowledge of healthy childrearing practices by caregivers in low resource settings, if implemented effectively. Improved knowledge by caregivers can lead to better sanitation, diet, and child development practices. A digital health tool (CHEST App) was developed and deployed in a community health agent program in the Amazon of Peru to improve community health agent performance and ultimately improve early childhood development in the communities. This study presents the results of and evaluation of the implementation and clinical outcomes of the program. METHODS The CHEST App intervention was evaluated using a Hybrid Type II evaluation study design. The effectiveness of the intervention was determined by conducted a paired t-test analysis to compare the mean differences in knowledge scores, hemoglobin levels, early childhood development (ECD) scores, and incidence of diarrhea. The evaluation of the implementation outcomes was conducted with a mixed method approach to identify the extent to which the intervention was successfully installed into the local CHA program. The results of the study are presented within the framework of the Implementation Research Logic Model. RESULTS The CHEST App intervention is associated with improvements in knowledge scores, hemoglobin levels, ECD scores, and decreased diarrhea. However, the evaluation could not isolate the effect of the intervention due to reduction in sample size from COVID-19 closures. The implementation of the CHEST App intervention was effective with high degrees of acceptability, adoption, and fidelity. Adoption and fidelity of the surveillance function of the CHEST App by program coordinators was not achieved. CONCLUSION The CHEST App intervention is a promising tool to improve the performance of CHAs during their home visits, to accomplish their objective of teaching caregivers healthy childrearing practices and improving child health and development in their communities. Trial Registration Trial registered on 11/29/2018 at ISRCTN43591826.

Mothers' Involvement: Children's Perception of Maternal Childrearing Practices

The purpose of this study is to identify maternal childrearing practices (achievement values, monitoring, and discussion) among employed and unemployed Malaysian mothers. Generally, these mothers have similar levels of childrearing practices. They instill high achievement values, conduct consistent monitoring on their children, and carry out regular discussions with them. They only differ in terms of monitoring. Discussion, implications, recommendations, and suggestions for future study are included.

Mothering practices across three generations of Chinese women: from liberated woman, virtuous wife and good mother, to intensive full-time mother

Chinese women have lived through huge societal changes. This article aims to explore women’s lived experiences as mothers over three generations under such transformations, specifically how women’s childrearing practices are distinctively constructed and how each generation of women makes their own mark on such constructions. The study of what women do in their everyday lives creates methodological challenges. In the study on which this article draws, a biographical narrative interview method was applied and adapted to take into account the researcher’s impact on the co-construction process of the interviews and to understand some ‘untellable’ stories. Three detailed cases are analysed to demonstrate individual woman’s struggles and achievements when acting on the particular ideological contexts of the periods in which they were mothers.

Metacognitive diversity across cultures

This book collects essays on linguistics, on anthropology, on philosophy, on developmental, experimental, and social psychology, and on the neurosciences, with the aim of integrating knowledge about the variability of metacognitive skills across cultures, and of identifying the potential factors accounting for such variability—such as childrearing practices, linguistic syntax and semantics, beliefs about the self, and rituals. In this introductory chapter, the main reasons that make this topic scientifically and culturally important are presented.