The Significance of Bilingual Chinese, Malay and Tamil Children's English Network Patterns on Community Language Use Patterns

This study on three-generation bilingual, trilingual Chinese, Malay and Tamil families set out to observe language use patterns during interaction within familial bilingual, trilingual networks. A shift in language use patterns from community language to English has been observed in school based surveys. This study surveyed three community language groups of Chinese, Malay and Tamil families, their use of community languages or mother tongue and their proficiency in the skills of speaking, reading and writing. The analysis shows that when parents' community language proficiency in speaking is lower they tend to choose English as their preferred language. But if their proficiency is higher, they tend to choose either English or community as their preferred languages. But there are parents who tend to choose their community language in order to maintain their cultural identity. The study also provides some observations on what determines children's language choice codes. Children's confidence in their command of their community language and opportunities to use their community language has an effect on their language choice pattern. While their proficiency in English could be one of the factors, it is not the main determinant of their choice of language codes.     

LIVING IN ONE-PARENT FAMILIES: RELATIONSHIPS AND ATTITUDES OF 16-YEAR-OLDS

Summary The proportions of 16-year-olds in the National Child Development Study who are not living with both their natural parents in 1974 are examined and compared with proportions in earlier follow-ups. The children who have ever lived in one-parent families are selected for more detailed examination, such as the reasons for their parental situation, the age their families broke up and the ratio of motherless to fatherless at each age. The children's view of their relationship with their parents or new parent figures and their attitudes towards their own future marriage and family are considered and compared with those of children still living with both their own parents. The overall conclusion is that the differences in these respects between children in one and two-parent families are very slight, suggesting that the attitudes of children in one-parent families towards their future family life have not been greatly affected by their own childhood experiences.     

Intergenerational influences on the parent-infant relationship in the transition to parenthood

In this study, questions were addressed concerning the intergenerational transmission of parent-child relationships in couples going through the transition to parenthood. During the 2nd trimester of their 1st pregnancy, 38 couples provided information concerning experiences of parenting in their family of origin, then were reinterviewed and observed interacting with their infants at 3 months postpartum. It was expected that when these young adults had reported prenatally better parenting by their parents on specific parenting variables, they in turn would experience early parenthood more adaptively and would show better parenting with their own infants. The analyses suggest that women's reports in interviews of their delight in their child, their investment in their child, their sensitivity to the child's needs, and their acceptance of the child--construed as a factor to represent quality of adaptation to parenting--were significantly predicted by their perception of their own mother's intrusiveness, the support they received from their fathers during adolescence, the sensitivity of their fathers, and, lastly, the subject mother's level of psychological health. Although individual psychological health added some prediction of maternal adaptation to parenting over and above that provided by the family of origin variables, neither psychological health nor marital competence seemed to mediate the relationship between family of origin variables and mother's adaptation to parenthood. For men, adaptation to parenthood was predicted powerfully by the perception of their father's intrusiveness and further predicted by the quality of their current marriage. Thus the quality of their marriage added to but did not replace the predictiveness of the family of origin variable.     

Motivations for Pregnancy Planning Among Mexican Immigrant Women in North Carolina

Objectives: To enhance understanding of 1) Mexican immigrant women's attitudes toward planning their pregnancies and the factors that influence their fertility preferences, and 2) the effect of migration on their pregnancy planning decisions. Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 Mexican immigrant women living in North Carolina. Participants were recruited by means of snowball sampling. Interviews were conducted in Spanish in the women's homes. Interviewing and analysis were conducted iteratively to allow emerging themes and interpretations to be developed and validated in subsequent interviews. Results: The women were strongly motivated to plan their pregnancies. Their primary considerations in pregnancy planning were their ability to give their children a good life and their ability to enjoy their families. Individual personal aspirations did not emerge as an important consideration. Migration intensified the women's felt need to plan their pregnancies. Conclusions: The Mexican immigrant women in this study had a strong familistic orientation. Far from diminishing their interest in planning their pregnancies, however, the high value they placed on family was their primary motivation for pregnancy planning. Migration to the U.S. intensified their felt need to plan their pregnancies. Understanding of the women's motivations for family planning may help health care providers better address the family planning needs of Mexican immigrant women.     

当前儿童家庭教育中存在的问题

作总结出中国当前儿童家庭教育中存在的６个问题：家长往往仅注重孩子的个体而轻视孩子的生活群体,注重孩子的“产出”而忽视合理有效的“投入”,注重孩子的行为而忽视自身的教育方法,注重孩子的体质而忽视其心理素质,注重孩子的学习而轻视他们的能力培养,注重孩子的智力而忽视非智力的培养。     

Adult Children and Their Fathers: Relationship Changes 20 Years After Parental Divorce*

Adult children's reports of relationship changes with their fathers were examined 20 years after their parents' divorce. Data were drawn from interviews with 173 adult children from the Binuclear Family Study about their perceptions of their parents' divorce and its long‐term impact. Findings indicated that most adult children felt that their relationships with their fathers had either improved or remained stable over time. Custody did not directly affect reported changes in the quality of their relationship with their fathers; however, increased interparental conflict, early father remarriage, and low father involvement in the early postdivorce years were associated with worsening relationships over time. Those who reported that their relationships with their fathers got worse also reported poorer quality relationships with their stepmothers, stepsiblings, and paternal grandparents.     

Parenting a young person with mental health problems: temporal disruption and reconstruction

The article explores the experiences of parents living with a young person with mental health problems. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 parents (18 mothers and 7 fathers) whose child had a diagnosed psychiatric condition. It is argued that the parents engaged in a form of narrative reconstruction of their dual roles as parents and carers as they tried to make sense of the illness in their lives by reconstructing their past, present and future experiences. The concept 'responsibility' was threaded through the parents' narratives and is discussed in relation to three key dimensions - moral responsibility; causal responsibility; and responsibility for self. It is argued that the moral imperative to care for their child was the dominant theme in the parents' narratives but that this was challenged by their lack of knowledge of psychiatric conditions; their interactions with healthcare professionals; their relationships with their child; and their difficulties in coping with the extended parental responsibility that arose from their caring role.     

Grandparents raising grandchildren in a US-Mexico border community

When parents are unwilling or unable to care for their children, more often than not, grandparents step up to assume this task. Although insights into the multifaceted and unique needs of custodial grandparents are emerging, there is little research on how these changes in living circumstances impact the lives of custodial grandparents and the grandchildren in their care. In this exploratory study, the authors examined the circumstances under which grandparents in a border community assumed custodial care of their grandchildren and the factors that contributed to their decision. Through semi-structured interviews with six grandparents and five grandchildren, they also explored how grandparents and grandchildren coped with transition, how grandparents understood and found meaning in their role as caregivers of their grandchildren, how grandchildren viewed their grandparents in their new role, and how their lives and relationships had changed.     

Assertiveness with physicians is related to women's perceived roles in the medical encounter

Women's self-reported assertiveness with their healthcare providers is associated with their use of cancer screening. Women who report repeating information when they feel their doctors did not hear them, asking their doctors to explain information they do not understand, or reminding their doctors about screening tests, are more likely to receive mammograms than those who report using these assertive behaviors less often. In this study, we examined women's beliefs about their role in medical encounters with their physicians and their use of assertive behaviors, in a convenience sample of 136 women receiving care at an ultrasound clinic for reasons other than pregnancy. We found that women who behaved assertively were more likely to view physicians as advisors to them in their health care and less likely to view their physicians as experts. Data are also presented on the development of a scale designed to assess assertiveness with physicians for use in studies of medical care.     

What do mothers feed their children and why?

Health education interventions aimed at changing children's diets often target their mothers. However, little is known about what factors influence mothers' food choice for themselves and how this is related to their choice of food for their children. The present study aimed to examine the types of foods mothers eat themselves and their motivations for doing so in comparison with their choices for their primary school age children. In addition, the study aimed to assess whether the mother's dieting behaviour affected these differences. A questionnaire was completed by 218 (response rate 52%) mothers of children aged between 5 and 11 asking them about their behaviour and motivations for themselves and on behalf of their children. The results showed that mothers tend to feed their children in a less healthy way than they feed themselves. Specifically, they feed their children more sweet products, and more unhealthy breads and dairy products. However, whereas they are motivated more by practicality (e.g. availability, cost) and calories when choosing food for themselves, they state that health (e.g. nutritional value, long-term health) is more important when choosing for their children. In terms of the role of the mothers' dieting behaviour, dieters appeared to be more self-prioritizing than non-dieters in their differentiation between themselves and their children. The results are discussed in terms of the role of knowledge and cognitions in explaining the gaps between motivations and behaviour and the mothers' decisions for themselves and for their children. In addition, the implications for interventions are considered. In particular, it is suggested that changing a mother's own motivations and behaviour may not necessarily result in an improvement in their child's diet. Further, encouraging mothers to diet may be detrimental to their children's long-term health.     

Occupational therapists' perception of their practice: A phenomenological study

Background:  International literature seems consistent in reporting that occupational therapists value their methods. However, little empirical evidence has been generated supporting the basic system of belief for occupational therapy. Few studies have explored the nature of the occupational therapists' experiences and thoughts about their use of occupation as means and ends, and which strategies they use to implement their tools in their current practice. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to explore how occupational therapists understood and presented their practice and interventions.
Methods:  A sample of six occupational therapists graduated in different decades, from diverse client populations and health-care settings was selected to participate in a semistructured interview.
Results:  Three main themes were developed: 'To make the client's potentials visible', 'reaching a position one values' and 'looking with other eyes'. Whatever their specialities, the participants were unanimous in the way they described their role. Their common focus was 'activities of daily living'. However, they had problems describing their therapeutic tools, and were not able to clearly articulate the 'common sense aspects' of their own methods. The participants were engaged in constructing their professional identities, and stressed the need to construct professional boundaries relevant to their particular work.
Conclusion:  The occupational therapists perceived their practice and interventions as distinctly different from other team members, thus, they provided a 'counterpoint'. The participants used various ways of marketing their perspectives. While the novices tended to go along with the team, the experienced therapists tended to assert their own special contribution.     

Father involvement with three-to-four-year olds at home: giving fathers a chance

This study examined fathers' perceptions regarding their home-based activities (HBA) and the influence of fathers' demographic characteristics on their perceptions and practices at home. A total of 396 fathers completed a survey questionnaire describing their demographic information, perceptions and their practices regarding their involvement in HBA. Results indicated that fathers have moderate level of practice concerning their HBA, yet they have low perception of their actual practice at HBA. In addition, there was a statistical significance in HBA due to fathers' age, educational level and specialisation which had an influence on their perceptions as well. Recommendations and implications of future research were discussed.     

Whose informational needs are considered? A comparison between cancer patients and their spouses' perceptions of their own and their partners' knowledge and informational needs

The present study examines information exchange patterns between 98 married couples in Israel where one is a cancer patient and the other is the main caregiver. Specifically, the accuracy of each spouse's perception of the extent of knowledge and the need to receive more disease-related information is examined as a function of the role (patient-caregiver) and gender of the participants. The results showed that women, regardless of their role, were inaccurate in their perception of their husbands' knowledge and motivation to know more. For men, a difference between the roles was found for the perception of their wives' knowledge. As caregivers, they were inaccurate while as patients they were accurate in this estimation. Their perception of their wives' needs to know more was accurate. Moreover, female patients, more than male, relied on their perception of themselves when assessing their spouse's knowledge and informational needs. Thus, it is concluded that female patients were more egocentric and their perception of their spouse's preferences was influenced by their own needs. The results demonstrated that in the context of cancer patients and their spouse as caregivers, neither partner considered the informational needs of his or her spouse.     

Do parental feeding practices moderate the relationships between impulsivity and eating in children?

This study examines the relationships between children's impulsivity, their eating behaviours, and their perceptions of their parent's feeding practices. 153 10-13 year old children completed questionnaires assessing their eating behaviours, their impulsiveness and their perception of their parent's feeding practices. Children's reports of dysfunctional eating behaviours were significantly correlated with their perceptions of their parents feeding practices and with their levels of impulsivity. Children's reports of parental monitoring of their food intake significantly moderated the influence of child impulsiveness upon emotional eating. Children's perceptions of parental monitoring of their food intake may potentially have a protective effect at preventing more impulsive children from eating in response to emotional feelings.     

Retaining public health nurses in rural British Columbia: the influence of job and community satisfaction

BACKGROUND: Although the need to retain rural registered nurses is pressing, little is known about what influences them to stay in their current employment. The objectives of the study were: to examine public health nurses' (PHNs) job and community satisfaction; to relate job and community satisfaction to their decision to stay in their current employment in rural British Columbia. METHODS: A survey was mailed to all front-line PHNs in 48 rural and small urban communities in British Columbia. Of the 164 eligible PHNs, 124 responded (76% response rate). RESULTS: PHNs were most satisfied with their professional status, professional interaction and autonomy, their communities' acceptance of their partners, friendliness of the community and their friends. They were least satisfied with their salary. Job satisfaction or community satisfaction was not found to influence retention. Instead, "filter factors" such as age, retirement, family needs and the economy affected PHNs' intent to stay or leave. CONCLUSION: If PHNs are to be retained in rural areas, their economic and family life situations merit greater attention, as does their experience of living and working in rural communities.     

Conservation-withdrawal reaction in infancy? An underdescribed entity

Summary. Conservation-withdrawal is considered a biological non-pathological process subserving survival in circumstances which pose an extreme threat to an infant, child or adult. Although initially described in an infant, its reported frequency in that age group seems sparse. Four infants are described, three of whom presented with weight loss. Despite their mothers' assertions that their breast feeding was adequate, the three infants gained weight rapidly on complementary feeding and became more responsive. Previously they had passively accepted sub-optimal intakes, crying little and sleeping excessively. When their initial crying and objection went unheeded, they seemed to pass into a conservation-withdrawal state, conserving their energies, biologically adapting to their mothers' inability to provide adequate nutrition. These infants did not appear ill and investigations proved normal. With adequate feeding, rapid improvement was observed in their weight gain, activity and responsiveness with normal development. Their mothers' selective denial of their own inadequate breast supply resulted in their inability to perceive their infants appropriately, depriving them of their nutritional needs. Additional factors of emotional deprivation and neglect may have occurred in the fourth infant. The responses of these infants observed during their period of severe stress, may appropriately be characterised by Engel's conservation-withdrawal state.     

Perspectives on lifestyle intervention: the views of general practitioners who have taken part in a health promotion study

AIM: A study was carried out to discover the views of Danish general practitioners on the possibility of intervening in their patients' lifestyles in general and on the obstacles to doing so, based on their experience of participating in a health promotion study. METHOD: A focus group interview was conducted with five general practitioners who had participated in "The Ebeltoft Health Promotion Study" to assess their views on their preventive role. RESULTS: The general practitioners have internalized the view advanced by society and the medical profession that they have an important role to play in preventing lifestyle-related illness. However, they are sceptical about the effectiveness of intervention and have ethical concerns about giving lifestyle advice. They are also somewhat irritated by the fact that patients are chiefly interested in having their health checked, rather than in following up by changing their behaviour. The general practitioners differ in their views as to when, and how actively, they should initiate discussions with individual patients to encourage them to change their lifestyles. CONCLUSIONS: If the medical profession and those responsible for overall health policy wish to make general practitioners change their behaviour towards their patients, it is important that they understand the aims, values, and working conditions of general practitioners that underlie their present attitudes and behaviour.     

The experience of thalassemic adults with their treatment

This study, based on medical anthropology and oral reports, analyzes the meanings attributed by thalassemic adults to their experiences with the treatment. Interviews were used to collect data, which were analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. Eleven young adults, six of whom were men, at different ages, with different educational levels and occupations participated in the study. The meanings are discussed through the theme "the lives of patients with thalassemia in relation to their treatment". This core meaning highlights the difference made in their identity by having the disease trait, the recognition of the importance of adhering to their treatment, the difficulties in maintaining their social functions, the patients' irregular treatment adherence and their justifications for non-adherence to their treatment. Thalassemic patients conform to their condition and employ a normalization strategy to control the disease and justify irregular treatment adherence.     

The Patient Perspective as an Integral Part of Diabetes Disease Management

Individuals with diabetes mellitus and their providers view the world from their own perspectives and bring these different perspectives to the clinical encounter. Because individuals with diabetes enact the day-to-day management of their disease, their perspective will, therefore, largely determine their behaviours.A broad interpretation of how to think about individuals in their patient role, their social context and their relationships with providers creates opportunities for providers to assist patients in life-enhancing ways. Steps for providers include examining their own values and attitudes about diabetes and its treatment, contextualising patient responses and incorporating a different set of questions in the clinical encounter. Steps for organisations include involving patients in interdisciplinary meetings, evaluation of system and provider quality, creating a milieu which supports dialogue and relationship development, important elements of a caring environment.     

The Lab: The Use of Microhematocrits

Due to the recent credit crisis and recession of 2008, hospitals experienced substantial losses in their investment portfolios. The author analyzed key financial accounts of 15 large, multistate healthcare systems that measured their changes in value of their investments, changes in net assets, liquidity ratios, and other performance ratios. Overall, he found that the majority of these systems did incur financial losses in their investment portfolios; however, for the majority of these systems, their liquidity and cash flow margin ratios declined slightly whereas their capital expenditure and community benefits increased.