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Journal of Marriage and the Family Jun 2016This study draws on nationally representative data from Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to prospectively...
This study draws on nationally representative data from Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to prospectively examine the factors associated with different patterns of closeness between stepchildren and their stepfathers over the transition to adulthood in stably married stepfamilies (N = 881). Results indicate much variability in how these relationships unfold over time, although a sizable minority of youth remained close to their stepfathers. Consistent with family systems theory, the quality of other family relationships is particularly important to understanding children's relationships with stepfathers as they develop over time.
PubMed: 27152051
DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12281 -
The British Journal of Radiology 2016Emergency radiology as an academic discipline and practice activity is clearly recognized as a distinct category within the community of radiologists in the USA. But,... (Review)
Review
Emergency radiology as an academic discipline and practice activity is clearly recognized as a distinct category within the community of radiologists in the USA. But, its place among the other branches of diagnostic imaging is as an outlier. Emergency radiology is not recognized as a separate course of study in the curriculum of training. It is not a component of the qualifying exam of the American Board of Radiology. It has few fellowships. It has not engendered a specific designation of care personnel for trauma centres. Moreover, its situation with respect to emergency physicians is bound, by neither regulation nor tradition, to be intellectually or physically close. Yet, it is recognized as encompassing an established society of teachers, practitioners and investigators. Its journal is a repository of new knowledge. Thus, it occupies a definitive if still anomalous position in American medicine in general and radiology in particular.
Topics: Curriculum; Emergency Medicine; Humans; Radiology; United States
PubMed: 26607651
DOI: 10.1259/bjr.20150867 -
Evolutionary Psychology : An... 2020Based on kin selection theory, amounts of grandparental investment should reflect the probability to share common genes with offspring. Adoption may represent a special...
Based on kin selection theory, amounts of grandparental investment should reflect the probability to share common genes with offspring. Adoption may represent a special case, however, yet grandparental investment in adopted children has previously been both theoretically misconstrued and little investigated. Here, we study for the first time how grandparental childcare provision is distributed between biological, adopted, and step-offspring. Using Generations and Gender Surveys ( = 15,168 adult child-grandmother and 12,193 adult child-grandfather dyads) and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe ( = 17,233 grandmother-adult child and 13,000 grandfather-adult child dyads), we find that grandparents were less likely to provide care to stepchildren than to adopted and biological children, but no difference between adopted and biological children. These findings were present in both data sets and for both grandmothers and grandfathers, after several potentially confounding factors were taken into account. The stepchild disadvantage is in line with kin selection theory. The congruent amounts of care provided to adopted and biological children may reflect similar levels of adult-child attachment, selection effects, and greater need in adoptive families, as well as some degree of genetical relatedness in the case of kin adoption. The study provides new evidence of biased kin investments in contemporary societies and stresses the importance of psychological motivation and attachment in evolutionary studies of kin investment.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Adult Children; Child Rearing; Child, Adopted; Europe; Grandparents; Intergenerational Relations
PubMed: 32180428
DOI: 10.1177/1474704920907894 -
Journal of Divorce & Remarriage 2016This study examined associations between stepfather-stepchild relationship quality, stepfathers' depressive symptoms, and two aspects of marriage: marital quality and...
This study examined associations between stepfather-stepchild relationship quality, stepfathers' depressive symptoms, and two aspects of marriage: marital quality and positive marital interactions. Marital quality was assessed in terms of commitment, trust, passionate and friendship-based love, and happiness. Marital interactions were assessed in terms of intimacy, shared activities, and verbal communication. Using data collected from 149 recently married African American stepfathers, structural equation modeling revealed that when stepfathers reported more positive relationships with their stepchildren, they also reported more positive marital quality and a higher frequency of positive marital interactions (relationship solidifying activities), and that, in turn, was associated with stepfathers experiencing fewer depressive symptoms.
PubMed: 28260846
DOI: 10.1080/10502556.2016.1196852 -
Was Cinderella just a fairy tale? Survival differences between stepchildren and their half-siblings.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jun 2021The death of a parent, particularly the mother, is linked to a suite of negative outcomes across the life-course. Compounding concerns for child outcomes are...
The death of a parent, particularly the mother, is linked to a suite of negative outcomes across the life-course. Compounding concerns for child outcomes are expectations of poor treatment by step-parents after parental remarriage. Indeed, folk tales of step-parental abuse abound cross-culturally and are embedded into stories taught to children. To understand why child outcomes might be sensitive to levels of relatedness within the household, evolutionary-oriented research targets patterning in parental expenditure in ways predicted to maximize inclusive fitness. In particular, parents are expected to prioritize investments in their biological children. However, stepfamilies are only formed after children experience multiple unfortunate events (e.g. parental loss, poverty), blurring causal interpretations between step-parental presence and stepchild outcomes. Moreover, stepchildren have been shown to be integral to household functioning, caring for their half-siblings and stabilizing relationships. These results challenge narrow views of adaptive behaviour; specifically, that step-parents, unlike biological parents, do no stand to reap fitness benefits from the care that they provide to their stepchildren. To evaluate these critiques, we analyse the survival outcomes of stepchildren. We include over 400 000 individuals from across a natural fertility period (1847-1940) in the United States state of Utah and examine the consequences of parental loss and step-parental introduction. Our analyses yield three key results: (i) exposure to maternal loss in childhood is associated with elevated mortality risk, (ii) parental remarriage does not increase the risk of mortality among stepchildren compared to non-stepchildren who too had lost a parent, and (iii) stepchildren enjoy higher survival than their half-siblings within the same family. Ultimately, this work contributes to the increasingly recognized importance of cooperative relationships among non-kin for childcare and household functioning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal-child health'.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Family Characteristics; Fathers; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Marriage; Mortality; Mothers; Siblings; Social Support; Utah
PubMed: 33938278
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0032 -
The Journals of Gerontology. Series B,... May 2013Based on the life course perspective and gender differences in stepparental roles, this study examines frequency of social contact between mid- to late-life stepparents... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
OBJECTIVES
Based on the life course perspective and gender differences in stepparental roles, this study examines frequency of social contact between mid- to late-life stepparents and their stepchildren after stepparents' marriage to their stepchildren's biological parent has been dissolved through widowhood or divorce.
METHOD
Using 5 waves of panel data on stepparent-stepchild pairs from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 12,947 stepchild observations on 4,063 stepchildren belonging to 1,663 stepparents) spanning 10 years (1998-2008), I estimate ordered logit multilevel models predicting former stepparent-stepchild contact frequency.
RESULTS
Results indicate that former stepparents have notably less frequent contact with their stepchildren than current stepparents, particularly following divorce. Widowed stepparents' contact with their stepchildren diminishes gradually following union disruption, whereas divorced stepparents' contact frequency drops abruptly. Former stepfathers have less contact with their stepchildren than former stepmothers. Finally, I uncover evidence of the moderating role of (step)parents' marriage length and stepparents' number of biological children on widowed stepparent-stepchild contact frequency.
DISCUSSION
Older stepparents' social contact with their stepchildren is largely conditional on stepparents' enduring marital bond to their stepchildren's biological parent. This study contributes to a growing literature portraying relatively weak ties between older adults and their stepchildren.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Child; Family Characteristics; Female; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Marital Status; Middle Aged; Parent-Child Relations; Parents; Social Support; Young Adult
PubMed: 23591569
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbt021 -
Social Science Research Sep 2014This study employs nationally representative data on adolescents and their stepfathers (n=2085) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to...
This study employs nationally representative data on adolescents and their stepfathers (n=2085) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine factors associated with positive stepfather-stepchild relationships in married stepfamilies. Results reveal substantial variability in the perceived quality of adolescents' relationships with stepfathers. Structural equation models using Wave I data reveal that close relationships with mothers and close ties between mothers and stepfathers are positively related to the perceived quality of adolescents' relationships with stepfathers. Longitudinal models using Waves I and II do not yield definitive results but suggest that the direction of influence runs in both directions, with the mother-child relationship and the stepfather-stepchild relationship mutually reinforcing one another. We identify a number of other factors that are associated with positive stepfather-stepchild ties, as well as a few factors that may be less consequential than previously thought. Most of the correlates of positive stepfather-stepchild relationships are similar for boys and girls; for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics; and for stepfamilies of various durations.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Family; Father-Child Relations; Fathers; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Marriage; Mothers; Spouses
PubMed: 24913942
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.03.010 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jun 2019The prevalence of Down syndrome (DS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is high in comparison to the global statistics. The aim of this study is to assess the physical...
The prevalence of Down syndrome (DS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is high in comparison to the global statistics. The aim of this study is to assess the physical status, feeding problems, parent-child feeding relationship and weight outcome in children and adolescents with DS in the UAE. In this cross-sectional study, 83 individuals aged between 2-19 years with DS were recruited from three humanitarian centres for differently abled in the Emirates of Sharjah and Dubai, UAE. Socio-demographic characteristics; height, weight, BMI and body composition; feeding problems (STEP-CHILD screening tool); and parent-child feeding relationship (child feeding questionnaire-CFQ) were assessed. Correlations and regression analyses were used to determine the relationships and the best predictor of weight outcome (BMI) in DS participants. The median age of the participants was 9 (8) years. Fifty-five (66.3%) males and twenty-eight (33.7%) females constituted a sex ratio of 1.96:1. Five (6.2%) participants were short for their age, and 20.6% were overweight/obese compared to the growth charts for DS population. Body composition of females showed significantly higher percent body fat than males (25.5 (14.3)% vs. 18.2 (4.0)%, = 0.03; 29.9 (2.8)% vs. 16.3 (12.2)%, = 0.006) in 5-8.99 years and 12-19.99 years, respectively. The most common feeding difficulties on STEP-CHILD tool were food selectivity (62.2%), continued eating in the presence of food (57.7%) and swallowing without sufficient chewing (50%). Median score of total-CFQ for the parent-child feeding behaviour was 3.2 (1.9); parental restriction 3.3 (1.0); pressure to eat 3.0 (0.8); concern about child weight 3.7 (2.3). Parent-child feeding relationship was significantly positively correlated with feeding problems, and body weight of the participants. The best predictor for BMI was the parental concern about child weight (OR: 1.4, = 0.02). The findings can be valuable for the health care professionals, parents and caretakers of children and adolescents with DS in emphasizing the need for regular monitoring of their physical status, and feeding behaviours. In addition, it reinforces the role of parents in mindfully managing their child feeding relationship in promoting healthy eating behaviours and weight of their youth with DS.
Topics: Adolescent; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Body Weights and Measures; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Down Syndrome; Feeding Behavior; Female; Health Status; Humans; Male; Obesity; Overweight; Parent-Child Relations; Prevalence; Socioeconomic Factors; United Arab Emirates; Young Adult
PubMed: 31248063
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16132264 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'. Children's surgical services are crucial, yet...
INTRODUCTION
This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'. Children's surgical services are crucial, yet underappreciated, for children's health and must be sufficiently addressed to make and sustain progress toward universal health coverage (UHC). Despite their considerable burden and socioeconomic cost, surgical diseases have been relatively neglected in favor of communicable diseases living up to their inauspicious moniker: 'the neglected stepchild of global health'. This article aims to raise awareness around children's surgical diseases and offers perspectives from two prototypical LMICs on strengthening surgical services in the context of health systems recovery following the COVID-19 experience to make and sustain progress toward UHC.
APPROACH
We used a focused literature review supplemented by the perspectives of local experts and the 6-components framework for surgical systems planning to present two case studies of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The lived experiences of the authors are used to describe the impact of COVID-19 on respective surgical systems and offer perspectives on building back the health system and recovering essential health services for sustainability and resilience.
FINDINGS
We found that limited high-level policy and planning instruments, an overburdened and under-resourced health and allied workforce, underdeveloped surgical infrastructure (from key utilities to essential medical products), lack of locally generated research, and the specter of prohibitively high out-of-pocket costs for children's surgery are common challenges in both countries that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
DISCUSSION
Continued chronic underinvestment and inattention to children's surgical diseases coupled with the devastating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic threaten progress toward key global health objectives. Urgent attention and investment in the context of health systems recovery is needed from policy to practice levels to improve infrastructure; attract, retain and train the surgical and allied health workforce; and improve service delivery access with equity considerations to meet the 2030 Lancet Commission goals, and make and sustain progress toward UHC and the SDGs.
Topics: Child; Humans; COVID-19; Universal Health Insurance; Bangladesh; Zimbabwe; Pandemics
PubMed: 36761126
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1073319 -
Journal of Family Issues Jul 2014Divorce and remarriage have reshaped the American family giving rise to questions about the place of stepchildren in remarried families. In this article, we examine...
Divorce and remarriage have reshaped the American family giving rise to questions about the place of stepchildren in remarried families. In this article, we examine money transfers from a couple to each of their children. We introduce characteristics of the family and estimate the role of shared family membership affecting all children in the family as well as the difference that stepchild status and other individual characteristics make in transfer flows. Data are from the Health and Retirement Study. There are two central results in the analysis. Overall, provision of financial help from parents to children is a family phenomenon. While help to a particular child is episodic, differences between families in provision of help were much greater than the differences in helping one child versus another within families. Second, stepchild status does differentiate one child from another within a family. Stepchildren are disadvantaged, particularly stepchildren of the wife.
PubMed: 24976667
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X13485077