"Sitting in the back seat": The convergence of early recollections, self and others, and low socioeconomic class

This qualitative study examines the links between early recollections, self and others, and low socioeconomic class. Early recollections-specific memories from childhood-illustrate individuals' core concepts about self and life. Social class is a cultural context that affects psychological processes. We conducted semistructured interviews with 12 low socioeconomic status participants and elicited at least 3 early recollections per participant (totaling 42 recollections). Themes that emerged from analysis of the early recollections include divided reality; creating meaning in the present (including enjoying life and making do with what one has); a parental role of admiration, security, and compensation; and social interest. We regard these strategies as creative assets and mechanisms to deal with a lack of control and resources, sense of constraint, and hierarchical and classed society. We encourage educational and therapeutic frameworks to recognize these assets as facets of psychological and cultural capital.

How Parents of Adolescents and Young Adults with Biliary Atresia Surviving with Native Livers Transfer the Responsibility of Medical Treatment to Their Children in Japan

BACKGROUND

This study examines how the parents of adolescents and young adults with biliary atresia, surviving with their native livers, transfer medical treatment responsibility to their children, and how becoming a living liver transplant donor affects this process. The basis for the study was that becoming a living liver transplant donor may influence the transfer of responsibility.

METHODS

A qualitative, descriptive design was employed using a modified grounded theory approach. Data were collected from eight parents from November 2016 to August 2017 through semi-structured interviews conducted in two Japanese hospitals. Interpretive analysis from the viewpoint of the analytical theme and analytical focus person was conducted, resulting in a diagram and storyline explaining the process.

FINDINGS

Five categories were generated from one father and seven mothers (aged 40-60 years) of outpatients (aged 17-25 years): parental ability to cherish the child's "now" (live in the moment); put the brakes on their child's life; learn as they go; leave the child's life to the child; and openly express reservations about becoming a living liver transplant donor for their child.

DISCUSSION

Parental transfer of responsibility for treatment may be influenced by close-knit parent-child relationships, perception of the child's growth, and parental concern about becoming a living donor.

APPLICATION TO PRACTICE

Care providers should understand parent-child relationships and the parents' concerns about becoming living donors, thereby enabling them to recognize that medical treatment control must be relinquished to foster children's autonomy as adults.

A scoping review of parental roles in rehabilitation interventions for children with developmental delay, disability, or long-term health condition

The importance of parental roles in rehabilitation interventions (i.e. the tasks and responsibilities assigned to parents in intervention) is widely reported but there is a paucity of information regarding the tasks linked with specific parental roles. A rigorous scoping review was conducted to understand the various roles that parents of children with developmental delays, disabilities, and long-term health conditions perform in intervention and the tasks and responsibilities associated with each role. The results confirm that parents take on distinct intervention roles which can be placed on a continuum from passive to active responsibility. Some parental roles are clearly associated with tasks completed in-session, some are linked with out-of-session tasks while others entail a combination of in-and out-of-session tasks. The in-session tasks linked with the Learner role emerged as central to enabling parents to assume other in-and out-of-session roles. The results also highlight the influence of the parent-professional relationship on the type of roles parents take on in their child's intervention. The findings of the scoping review serve as the initial step in generating items for a tool to measure the type of roles that parents assume in intervention to empirically test the relationship between these roles and parental engagement.

Developmental outcomes of young deaf children and the self-perceived parental role of their hearing mothers

BACKGROUND

There is little research into the relationship between a deaf child's developmental outcomes and their mother's self-perceived parental role. The aim of this study was to find out whether the different levels of global psychomotor development in young deaf children who had a cochlear implant (CI), or were candidates for a CI, were related to particular family factors: the self-perceived parental role and the family quality of life (FQoL) as gauged by their hearing mothers, as well as the child's sociodemographic and deafness-related factors and the sociodemographic characteristics of the mothers.

METHODS

The study was conducted on a group of 64 children with bilateral severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) who were CI users (36 children) or qualified for cochlear implantation (28 children) and their hearing mothers. The age of the children ranged from 6.5 to 47 months (M = 23.6; SD = 10.1), among whom 55% were girls (n = 35). The mothers of the children were aged 24-48 years (M = 32.7; SD = 5.3). Information was collected via the Children Development Scale (CDS), the Self-Perception of Parental Role (S-PPR), the Family Quality of Life Survey (FQOLS-2006), and an additional information questionnaire which included questions about sociodemographic variables of the child and the mother, as well as questions related to deafness, the CI, and the child's rehabilitation.

RESULTS

Based on results of the CDS, the deaf children were divided into two groups: those who had a low level of global psychomotor development (Low global psychomotor development subgroup - LGPD) and others with medium or high scores (Medium/high global psychomotor development subgroup - MHGPD). The mothers of deaf children in the LGPD group assessed their investment in motherhood lower than did mothers from the MHGPD group. The mothers of the LGPD group rated their satisfaction with the child's rehabilitation lower than did mothers from the MHGPD group. The two subgroups did not differ in FQOLS-2006 domains except for community interactions, which were significantly higher in the MHGPD families.

CONCLUSIONS

Among the determinants of the global psychomotor development of a young deaf child, the most important ones relate to the use of a CI, but maternal investment in parenting is also important. Community interactions of the family with a deaf child are also crucial, as they create a framework for social network and support for the deaf child's optimal development. Any psychological diagnosis should include, apart from psychomotor development of the deaf child, an assessment of how the mother is coping with their parenting. Mothers of deaf children, especially those with LPGD, need additional support in parenting.

What about the men? Perinatal experiences of men of color whose partners were at risk for preterm birth, a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Preterm birth in the United States is associated with maternal clinical factors such as diabetes, hypertension and social factors including race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. In California, 8.7% of all live births are preterm, with African American and Black families experiencing the greatest burden. The impact of paternal factors on birth outcomes has been studied, but little is known about the experience of men of color (MOC). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of MOC who are partners to women at medical and social risk for preterm birth.

METHODS

This study used a qualitative research design and focus group methods. The research was embedded within an existing study exploring experiences of women of color at risk for preterm birth conducted by the California Preterm Birth Initiative.

RESULTS

Twelve MOC participated in the study and among them had 9 preterm children. Four themes emerged from thematic analysis of men's experiences: (1) "Being the Rock": Providing comfort and security; (2) "It's a blessing all the way around": Keeping faith during uncertainty; (3) "Tell me EVERYTHING": Unmet needs during pregnancy and delivery; (4) "Like a guinea pig": Frustration with the healthcare system. Participants identified many barriers to having a healthy pregnancy and birth including inadequate support for decision making, differential treatment, and discrimination.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows novel and shared narratives regarding MOC experiences during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods. Healthcare providers have an essential role to acknowledge MOC, their experience of discrimination and mistrust, and to assess needs for support that can improve birth outcomes. As MOC and their families are at especially high social and medical risk for preterm birth, their voice and experience should be central in all future research on this topic.

First-time events between parents and preterm infants are affected by the designs and routines of neonatal intensive care units

AIM

Early parental bonding with preterm babies is particularly important, and the aim of our study was to explore when parents experienced what they regarded as important events for the first time while their infant was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

METHODS

The study was part of a longitudinal project on Kangaroo Mother Care at two Swedish university hospitals. The parents of 81 infants completed questionnaires during their infants' hospital stay.

RESULTS

Most parents saw and touched their infants immediately after birth, but only a few could hold them skin to skin or swaddle them. Other important events identified by parents included the first time they performed care giving activities and did so independently, interaction and closeness with the infant, signs of the infant's recovery and integration into the family. The timing of the events depended on the physical design of the NICU, whether parents' could stay with their infant round-the-clock and when they were allowed to provide care under supervision and on their own.

CONCLUSION

The design and routines of the NICU dictated when parents first interacted with their infants. Clinical guidelines that facilitate early contact with preterm babies can help parents to make the transition to their parental role.