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BMC Public Health Feb 2024Parenting is both a complex and stressful endeavor, so parents sometimes experience parenting burnout. The main objective of this study was to provide an overview of...
BACKGROUND
Parenting is both a complex and stressful endeavor, so parents sometimes experience parenting burnout. The main objective of this study was to provide an overview of factors related to general parental burnout (PB) among parents with at least one child based on the Ecological Systems Theory (EST).
METHODS
PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, CNKI and WanFang were systematically searched for studies published from 2010 to July 2023 for peer-reviewed articles using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings such as "parenting", "parental", "burnout", "psychological burnout", "burn-out syndrome". Studies were included if they described associations between factors and PB among parents of children aged 0-18 years old in the general population, and published in an English or Chinese language peer-reviewed journal. The Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs (QATSDD) was employed to assess the risk of bias of included studies.
RESULTS
Of 2037 articles, 26 articles met the inclusion criteria. Based on the Ecological Systems Theory (EST), we found that microsystem-individual factors such as gender, educational level, income, parental personality, internalization of maternal parental motivation, unmitigated communion, self-compassion and concern for others, alexithymia, anxiety and depressive symptoms, parental perfectionism, resilience, low self-esteem and high need for control, mother's attachment style were identified as being associated with parenting burnout. Mesosystem-interpersonal factors involve parent-child relationship and marital satisfaction. The exosystem-organizational or community factors include the number of children in the household, neighborhood and the number of hours spent with children, child's illness, child's behavior problems and social support. The macrosystem-society/policy or culture factors are mainly personal values and cultural values.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review found several factors that have been investigated in relation to PB. However, the majority of the factors were reported by one or two studies often implementing a cross-sectional design. Nevertheless, we still recommend that health policymakers and administrators relieve parenting burnout among parents with children by adjusting these modifiable factors.
Topics: Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant; Child, Preschool; Child; Adolescent; Cross-Sectional Studies; Parents; Parenting; Parent-Child Relations; Burnout, Psychological
PubMed: 38317118
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-17829-y -
Clinical Child and Family Psychology... Mar 2024There is limited recent research on the association between parenting practices and externalizing behaviors in autistic children. To address this gap, the current... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
There is limited recent research on the association between parenting practices and externalizing behaviors in autistic children. To address this gap, the current systematic review examined the associations between parenting practices and externalizing behaviors in autistic children, along with the mediating and moderating effects of parent and child variables (PROSPERO registration number CRD42022268667). Study inclusion criteria were (1) Peer-reviewed journals, (2) Participants included parents of autistic children and their children, (3) Quantitative measures of both parenting practices or behaviors/style and child externalizing behaviors, (4) Cross-sectional or longitudinal studies only, and (5) Studies published in English. Study exclusion criteria were: (1) Qualitative studies, (2) Published in a language other than English, (3) Participants included non-human participants, (4) Participants that did not include parents and their autistic children as participants or did not report this group separately, (5) Systematic review and meta-analyses, and (6) No quantitative measures of parenting practices and/or child externalizing behaviors. Quality appraisal and risk of bias were conducted using the McMaster Tool and results were synthesized in Covidence and Excel. Thirty studies were included in the review. Results demonstrated that mindful parenting was associated with fewer or lower levels of externalizing behaviors; positive parenting practices had non-significant associations with externalizing behaviors; specific parenting practices had differing associations with externalizing behaviors; and negative parenting practices were associated with higher levels of externalizing behaviors. We are unable to draw causal relationships due to focus on cross-sectional and longitudinal articles only. The potential for future research to target specific parent practices to support children's externalizing behaviors is discussed.
Topics: Child; Humans; Parenting; Cross-Sectional Studies; Autistic Disorder; Parent-Child Relations; Child Rearing
PubMed: 38407761
DOI: 10.1007/s10567-024-00467-6 -
BMJ Open Jul 2023Healthcare-associated harm is an international public health issue. Children are particularly vulnerable to this with 15%-35% of hospitalised children experiencing harm...
INTRODUCTION
Healthcare-associated harm is an international public health issue. Children are particularly vulnerable to this with 15%-35% of hospitalised children experiencing harm during medical care. While many factors increase the risk of adverse events, such as children's dependency on others to recognise illness, children have a unique protective factor in the form of their family, who are often well placed to detect and prevent unsafe care. However, families can also play a key role in the aetiology of unsafe care.We aim to explore the role of families, guardians and parents in paediatric safety incidents, and how this may have changed during the pandemic, to learn how to deliver safer care and codevelop harm prevention strategies across healthcare settings.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
This will be a retrospective study inclusive of an exploratory data analysis and thematic analysis of incident report data from the Learning from Patient Safety Events service (formerly National Reporting and Learning System), using the established PatIent SAfety classification system. Reports will be identified by using specific search terms, such as *parent* and *mother*, to capture narratives with explicit mention of parental involvement, inclusive of family members with parental and informal caregiver responsibilities.Paediatricians and general practitioners will characterise the reports and inter-rater reliability will be assessed. Exploratory descriptive analysis will allow the identification of types of incidents involving parents, contributing factors, harm outcomes and the specific role of the parents including inadvertent contribution to or mitigation of harm.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
This study was approved by Cardiff University Research Ethics Committee (SMREC 22/32). Findings will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, presented at international conferences and presented at stakeholder workshops.
Topics: Child; Humans; Female; Retrospective Studies; Reproducibility of Results; Family Relations; Parents; Mothers
PubMed: 37479516
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075058 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Jan 2024Youth mental health problems are a major public health concern and are strongly associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Technology-assisted parenting... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Youth mental health problems are a major public health concern and are strongly associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Technology-assisted parenting programs can intervene with ACEs that are within a parent's capacity to modify. However, engagement with such programs is suboptimal.
OBJECTIVE
This review aims to describe and appraise the efficacy of strategies used to engage parents in technology-assisted parenting programs targeting ACEs on the behavioral and subjective outcomes of engagement.
METHODS
Using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) reporting guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed papers that described the use of at least 1 engagement strategy in a technology-assisted parenting program targeting ACEs that are within a parent's capacity to modify. A total of 8 interdisciplinary bibliographic databases (CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, OVID MEDLINE, OVID PsycINFO, Scopus, ACM, and IEEE Xplore) and gray literature were searched. The use of engagement strategies and measures was narratively synthesized. Associations between specific engagement strategies and engagement outcomes were quantitatively synthesized using the Stouffer method of combining P values.
RESULTS
We identified 13,973 articles for screening. Of these, 156 (1.12%) articles were eligible for inclusion, and 29 (18.2%) of the 156 were associated with another article; thus, 127 studies were analyzed. Preliminary evidence for a reliable association between 5 engagement strategies (involving parents in a program's design, delivering a program on the web compared to face-to-face, use of personalization or tailoring features, user control features, and provision of practical support) and greater engagement was found. Three engagement strategies (professional support features, use of videos, and behavior change techniques) were not found to have a reliable association with engagement outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
This review provides a comprehensive assessment and description of the use of engagement strategies and engagement measures in technology-assisted parenting programs targeting parenting-related ACEs and extends the current evidence with preliminary quantitative findings. Heterogeneous definition and measurement of engagement and insufficient engagement outcome data were caveats to this synthesis. Future research could use integrated definitions and measures of engagement to support robust systematic evaluations of engagement in this context.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO CRD42020209819; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=209819.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Adverse Childhood Experiences; Parents; Parenting; Behavior Therapy; Technology
PubMed: 38241066
DOI: 10.2196/43994 -
Palliative Medicine Oct 2023Parents of babies diagnosed with life limiting conditions in the perinatal period face numerous challenges. Considerations include the remainder of the pregnancy,... (Review)
Review
'You have a little human being kicking inside you and an unbearable pain of knowing there will be a void at the end': A meta-ethnography exploring the experience of parents whose baby is diagnosed antenatally with a life limiting or life-threatening condition.
BACKGROUND
Parents of babies diagnosed with life limiting conditions in the perinatal period face numerous challenges. Considerations include the remainder of the pregnancy, delivery of the baby and decisions around care in the neonatal period.
AIM
To increase understanding of how parents experience the diagnosis of a life-limiting or life-threatening condition, during pregnancy and following the birth of their baby, by answering the question: 'what is known about the perinatal experiences of parents of babies with a life-limiting or life-threatening diagnosis?'
DESIGN
A meta-ethnography was conducted to synthesise findings from existing qualitative evidence.
DATA SOURCES
British Nursing Database, CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO and Embase databases were searched in January 2023.
FINDINGS
Relationships between parents and their families and friends, and with professionals influence the needs and experiences of parents, which oscillate between positive and negative experiences, throughout parents' perinatal palliative care journey. Parents highlighted the need for control and a sense of normality relating to their parenting experience. Validation was central to the experience of parents at all stages of parenthood. Relationships between the parent and the baby were unwavering, underpinned with unconditional love.
CONCLUSION
Professionals, family members and friendship groups influence the experience, validating parents and their baby's identity and supporting parents in having a sense of control and normality by demonstrating empathy, and providing time and clear communication.
Topics: Infant; Infant, Newborn; Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Qualitative Research; Parents; Pain; Anthropology, Cultural; Parenting
PubMed: 37129319
DOI: 10.1177/02692163231172244 -
Development and Psychopathology Aug 2023Poverty increases the risk of poorer executive function (EF) in children born full-term (FT). Stressors associated with poverty, including variability in parenting...
Poverty increases the risk of poorer executive function (EF) in children born full-term (FT). Stressors associated with poverty, including variability in parenting behavior, may explain links between poverty and poorer EF, but this remains unclear for children born very preterm (VPT). We examine socioeconomic and parental psychosocial adversity on parenting behavior, and whether these factors independently or jointly influence EF in children born VPT. At age five years, 154 children (VPT = 88, FT = 66) completed parent-child interaction and EF tasks. Parental sensitivity, intrusiveness, cognitive stimulation, and positive and negative regard were coded with the Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale. Socioeconomic adversity spanned maternal demographic stressors, Income-to-Needs ratio, and Area Deprivation Index. Parents completed measures of depression, anxiety, inattention/hyperactivity, parenting stress, and social-communication interaction (SCI) problems. Parental SCI problems were associated with parenting behavior in parents of children born VPT, whereas socioeconomic adversity was significant in parents of FT children. Negative parenting behaviors, but not positive parenting behaviors, were related to child EF. This association was explained by parental depression/anxiety symptoms and socioeconomic adversity. Results persisted after adjustment for parent and child IQ. Findings may inform research on dyadic interventions that embed treatment for parental mood/affective symptoms and SCI problems to improve childhood EF.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Child; Child, Preschool; Parenting; Infant, Extremely Premature; Socioeconomic Disparities in Health; Parents; Anxiety
PubMed: 34725016
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579421000961 -
Trauma, Violence & Abuse Dec 2023Child maltreatment and harsh parenting both include harmful actions by parents toward children that are physical (e.g., spanking, slapping) or emotional (e.g.,... (Review)
Review
Child maltreatment and harsh parenting both include harmful actions by parents toward children that are physical (e.g., spanking, slapping) or emotional (e.g., threatening, yelling). The distinction between these two constructs, in meaning and measurement, is often unclear, leading to inconsistent research and policy. This study systematically identified, reviewed, and compared parent-reported child maltreatment ( = 7) and harsh parenting ( = 18) instruments. The overlap in parenting behaviors was 73%. All physical behaviors that were measured in harsh parenting instruments (e.g., spanking, beating up) were also measured in child maltreatment instruments. Unique physical behaviors measured in maltreatment instruments include twisting body parts and choking. All emotional behaviors in maltreatment instruments were included in harsh parenting instruments, and vice versa. Our findings suggest similar, but not identical, operationalizations of child maltreatment and harsh parenting. Our findings can help guide discussions on definitions, operationalizations, and their consequences for research on violence against children.
Topics: Child; Humans; Parenting; Child Abuse; Violence; Parents
PubMed: 36437787
DOI: 10.1177/15248380221134290 -
BMC Public Health Jul 2023Many parents express concern about the impact of talking to children about weight on their self-esteem and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived...
BACKGROUND
Many parents express concern about the impact of talking to children about weight on their self-esteem and wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore the perceived relevance, utility and acceptability of new guidance for parents on talking to children about weight, developed to apply theory, evidence and expert advice into practice.
METHODS
For this qualitative study, parents and public health practitioners (PHPs) were recruited from ten local authorities in England, through the National Child Measurement Programme between June and September 2021. Participants were sent a copy of the guidance document and took part in an interview approximately one week later. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and explored using thematic analysis.
RESULTS
12 parents and 15 PHPs took part, and were similar in their responses reporting the guidance to be acceptable, relevant and helpful. Theme 1 explored how the guidance reduced perceptions of stigma and blame through the perspective and tone that was adopted. Theme 2 explored how the guidance could provide reassurance and increase confidence as a result of case study examples, and specific tips and advice. Theme 3 explored the extent to which participants perceived the advice to be realistic and how it could fit with existing PHP practice. Suggestions for improvement included adapting for relevance for lower income families and providing separate advice for parents of older and younger children.
CONCLUSIONS
The guidance was perceived as relevant and needed; it showed potential to reduce parents' negative affect and concerns, and improve confidence around talking to children about weight.
Topics: Child; Humans; Parents; England; Social Stigma; Qualitative Research
PubMed: 37452306
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16267-6 -
The Lancet. Global Health Sep 2023
Topics: Humans; Parenting; Intimate Partner Violence
PubMed: 37591571
DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00363-7 -
Ciencia & Saude Coletiva Apr 2024This study aims to elucidate the challenges faced in the exercise of male homoparenting, through an integrative literature review. Following PRISMA guidelines, empirical... (Review)
Review
This study aims to elucidate the challenges faced in the exercise of male homoparenting, through an integrative literature review. Following PRISMA guidelines, empirical studies from the last 22 years were analyzed, independently collected by four researchers using the PubMed and APA PsychNet databases, with the descriptors "Homosexuality, Male" and "Father". The results reveal the unique and complex reality faced by homosexual men in the parental context. While some studies highlight significant challenges, such as stigmas and social prejudices, others do not observe such difficulties. The decision to become a father among homosexual men is influenced by factors specific to their reality, in a context where parenthood is not widely accepted. The findings of this study emphasize the need to understand the complex interactions among individual, social, and cultural factors in male homoparenting. In summary, this study highlights the need for inclusive and diversity-sensitive approaches to support family well-being.
Topics: Humans; Male; Homosexuality, Male; Fathers; Parenting; Social Stigma; Prejudice
PubMed: 38655965
DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232024294.19382023