Dads at the dinner table a cross-sectional study of Australian fathers' child feeding perceptions and practices

Maternal perceptions and practices regarding child feeding have been extensively studied in the context of childhood overweight and obesity. To date, there is scant evidence on the role of fathers in child feeding. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify whether characteristics of fathers and their concerns about their children’s risk of overweight were associated with child feeding perceptions and practices. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 436 Australian fathers (mean age = 37 years, SD = 6) of a child (53% boys) aged between 2-5 years (M = 3.5 years, SD = 0.9). These data included a range of demographic variables and selected subscales from the Child Feeding Questionnaire on concern about child weight, perceived responsibility for child feeding and controlling practices (pressure to eat and restriction). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine associations between demographic variables and fathers’ feeding perceptions and practices. Results indicated that fathers’ who were more concerned about their child becoming overweight reported higher perceived responsibility for child feeding and were more controlling of what and how much their child eats. Greater time commitment to paid work, possessing a health care card (indicative of socioeconomic disadvantage) and younger child age were associated with fathers’ perceiving less responsibility for feeding. Factors such as paternal BMI and education level, as well as child gender were not associated with feeding perceptions or practices. This study contributes to the extant literature on fathers’ role in child feeding, revealing several implications for research and interventions in the child feeding field.

A survey of the Queensland healthcare workforce : attitudes towards dementia care and training

Background Positive attitudes of healthcare staff towards people with dementia promote higher quality care, although little is known about important factors that underlie positive attitudes. Key aims of this project were to explore the relationships between staff attitudes towards dementia, self-confidence in caring for people with dementia, experience and dementia education and training. Method A brief online survey was developed and widely distributed to registered nurses and allied health professionals working in Queensland in 2012. Regression analyses were performed to identify important predictors of self-confidence in caring for people with dementia and positive attitudes towards people with dementia. Results Five hundred and twenty-four surveys were completed by respondents working in a range of care settings across Queensland. Respondents were predominantly female (94.1%), and most were registered nurses (60%), aged between 41 and 60 years (65.6%). Around 40% regularly worked with people with dementia and high levels of self-confidence in caring for this population and positive attitudes towards people with dementia were reported. The majority of respondents (67%) had participated in a dementia education/training activity in the past 12 months. More experience working with people with dementia predicted greater self-confidence while recent participation in a dementia education/training and higher self-confidence in caring for a person with dementia significantly predicted more positive attitudes towards people with dementia. Conclusion These results confirm the importance of self-confidence and dementia education in fostering positive attitudes and care practices towards people with dementia. Our results also indicate that the demand for ongoing dementia education is high amongst health care workers and it is recommended that regular dementia education/ training be provided and promoted for all healthcare personnel who work with people with dementia.

The potential of Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) to reduce child sexual abuse in Australia

This report addresses a number of issues relating to Circles of Support and Accountability, and their compatibility with the Australian criminal justice context, including: - What are Circles of Support and Accountability? - When and how did Circles of Support and Accountability emerge? - What forms do Circles of Support and Accountability take? - What is the purpose of Circles of Support and Accountability? - Where do Circles of Support and Accountability currently operate? - Why is it important for Australia to understand Circles of Support and Accountability? - What is the scope of the problem of child sexual abuse in Australia? - What is the research evidence about the effectiveness of Circles of Support and Accountability? - Some key issues for consideration. - Some limitations and potential “dangers” of Circles of Support and Accountability. - Recommendations for Australia. The report concludes that given the research evidence about Circles of Support and Accountability, Australia should build on its existing interest to more fully implement Circles of Support and Accountability, while taking the limitations of this criminal justice measure into consideration.

“Which child left behind” : historical issues regarding equity in science assessment

Assessment of learning plays a dominant role in formal education in the forms of determining features of curriculum that are emphasized, pedagogic methods that teachers use with their students, and parents’ and employers’ understanding of how well students have performed. A common perception is that fair assessment applies the same mode of assessment and content focus for all students—the approach of assessments in international comparative studies of science achievement. This article examines research evidence demonstrating that the act of assessment is not neutral—different forms of assessment advantage or disadvantage groups of students on the basis of family backgrounds, gender, race, or disability. Assessment that implicitly or explicitly captures the social capital of the child serves to consolidate, not address, educational equity. The article provides an overview of ways that science curriculum focus and assessment can introduce bias in the identification of student achievement. It examines the effect of changes to curriculum and assessment approaches in science, and relationships between assessment of science and the cultural context of the student. Recommendations are provided for science–assessment research to address bias for different groups of students.

Parents’ perception about children’s academic stress and child care related issues

The present study intends to understand the parents' perception about children's academic stress and child care related issues. A group of 139 parents, 68 fathers and 71 mothers, participated in the study voluntarily and they were selected following convenience sampling technique. In order to achieve the objective of the study, a specially designed semi-structured questionnaire was used. Findings disclosed that about one-third of the fathers (29.4%) and one-tenth of the mothers (9.9%) frankly admitted that they could not provide quality care and guidance to their children and in this regard significant difference was observed between fathers and mothers (p<.05). More than four-fifth of the parents stated that they should be friendly with their children so that children feel comfortable to share their personal issues with them. More than one-fifth fathers (27.9%) and one-fourth mothers (16.9%) applied corporal punishment as they believed it is necessary to discipline them and/or for better academic performance.

Misperceptions about child sex offenders

Sexual offending against children is a highly emotive issue. It is nonetheless important that public policy initiatives to prevent and/or respond to child sexual abuse are based on the available evidence about child sex offenders. This paper addresses five common misperceptions about the perpetrators of sexual offences against children. Specifically, the issues addressed include whether all child sex offenders are ‘paedophiles’, who sexually abuse children, whether most child sex offenders were victims of sexual abuse themselves, rates of recidivism among child sex offenders and the number of children sex offenders typically abuse before they are detected by police. The evidence outlined in this paper highlights that there are few black and white answers to these questions. Perpetrators of sexual crimes against children are not, contrary to widespread opinion, a homogenous group. Rather, there are a number of varied offending profiles that characterise child sex offenders. Gaining an understanding of the nuances of this offender population is critical if children are to be protected from sexual abuse.

Child complainants and the court process in Australia

In recent years, it has been recognised that child complainants in the criminal justice system can experience difficulties over and above those of other complainants and that children can experience the court process as extremely traumatising. This can be exacerbated if children are complainants in child sexual offence matters and if they have to give evidence against a family member. This paper has three primary aims. First, it outlines the major factors that contribute to making court processes harrowing for child complainants. Second, it outlines some of the main initiatives that have been introduced to address these factors. Finally, it weighs up the evidence about initiatives designed to assist child complainants and concludes that such initiatives have had only limited practical impact for child complainants in the criminal justice system. The limited impact is attributed to the need to balance the rights of the accused with consideration for the complainant, a failure to translate legislative changes into practice, the impact of judicial discretion and/or a focus on protecting child complainants at the expense of increasing convictions.

Cultural inhibitors to hearing the voices of child sexual abuse by church personnel

It is increasingly recognised that Christian Churches and their Institutions have historically been sites where the voices of survivors of child sexual abuse (csa) by Church personnel have not been effectively heard. This paper draws on data from a research project which sought the voices of Church Leaders who were identified as being pro-active in addressing csa within their individual denominations. From this research several key inhibitors to hearing survivor’s voices, within Churches of Australia, were identified. These key inhibitors include the culture of Churches themselves, gendered ideologies, constructions of leadership and the deployment of forgiveness. The identification of such factors creates space to learn more effective strategies for hearing the voices of survivors both within Churches and their organisations and externally. This paper goes beyond considering these factors to report on a collaborative project initiated, between Survivors Australia and Dr Death. This project specifically targets the voices of Australian Survivors of csa by Church leaders. It is hoped that this project will not only achieve the primary objective of hearing and valuing the voices of survivors of csa by Church leaders, but will also provide impetus for the creation of alternative ways of managing complaints of csa by Church leaders in Australia. Such complaints processes will be increasingly survivor focussed and include the creation of spaces where the voices of survivors are valued.

Exploring the influences of country-level factors on mid-age women’s drink driving attitudes

Drink driving remains a major cause of serious and fatal car crashes in Australia and internationally. While this problem is more prevalent among male drivers, the rates of female intoxicated drivers have increased steadily over the past decades in many motorised countries. A combination of police enforcement, media awareness campaigns, and community initiatives has played a key role in reducing incidents of illegal drink driving by targeting public drink driving attitudes. However, important cultural differences in regards to the tolerance towards drink driving have been noted. While many countries, including Australia, have a legal Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit of .05 or higher, some countries have moved towards a zero –or low tolerance approach to drink driving; several European countries, including Sweden, Hungary, Slovakia, and Estonia currently enforce .00 or .02 BAC limits.

Consequences of introducing mandatory reporting legislation for child sexual abuse

To improve detection of child sexual abuse, many jurisdictions have enacted mandatory reporting laws requiring selected persons to report known and suspected cases. In Ireland, the Child First approach previously incorporated only a policy-based approach to reporting. Due to a perceived lack of efficacy, the Children First Bill was drafted in 2012 to shift this policy guidance to a legislative approach. What effects will the new legislative reporting duties have on numbers of reports, and outcomes of reports, of suspected child sexual abuse? This paper will shed light on these important questions by presenting results of analyses of the introduction of legislative reporting obligations in two Australian States. Three questions will be explored: 1. Does introducing reporting legislation result in enhanced detection of child sexual abuse? 2. Do different reporter groups have different patterns of reporting? 3. What do the patterns of report numbers and outcomes indicate for child protection systems and communities?

Association between maternal depressive symptoms in the early postnatal period and responsiveness in feeding at child age 2 years

Maternal depression is a known risk factor for poor outcomes for children. Pathways to these poor outcomes relate to reduced maternal responsiveness or sensitivity to the child. Impaired responsiveness potentially impacts the feeding relationship and thus may be a risk factor for inappropriate feeding practices. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationships between self-reported maternal post-natal depressive symptoms at child age 4 months and feeding practices at child age 2 years in a community sample. Participants were Australian first-time mothers allocated to the control group of the NOURISH randomized controlled trial when infants were 4 months old. Complete data from 211 mothers (of 346 allocated) followed up when their children were 2 years of age (51% girls) were available for analysis. The relationship between Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score (child age 4 months) and child feeding practices (child age 2 years) was tested using hierarchical linear regression analysis adjusted for maternal and child characteristics. Higher EPDS score was associated with less responsive feeding practices at child age 2 years: greater pressure [β = 0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04–0.32, P = 0.01], restriction (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.001–0.28, P = 0.05), instrumental (β = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.005–0.27, P = 0.04) and emotional (β = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.01–0.29, P = 0.03) feeding practices (ΔR2 values: 0.02–0.03, P < 0.05). This study provides evidence for the proposed link between maternal post-natal depressive symptoms and lower responsiveness in child feeding. These findings suggest that the provision of support to mothers experiencing some levels of depressive symptomatology in the early post-natal period may improve responsiveness in the child feeding relationship.

Child eating behaviour outcomes of an early feeding intervention to reduce risk indicators for child obesity : the NOURISH RCT

Objective Describe parent-reported child eating behaviour and maternal parenting impact outcomes of an infant feeding intervention to reduce child obesity risk. Design and Methods An assessor masked Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) with concealed allocation of individual mother-infant dyads. The NOURISH RCT enrolled 698 first-time mothers (mean age 30.1 years, SD=5.3) with healthy term infants (51% female) aged 4.3 months (SD=1.0) at baseline. Outcomes were assessed six months post-intervention when the children were 2-years old. Mothers reported on child eating behaviours using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ), food preferences and dietary intake using a 24-hour telephone recall. Parenting was assessed using five scales validated for use in Australia. Results Intervention effects were evident on the CEBQ overall (MANOVA P=.002) and 4/8 subscales: child satiety responsiveness (P=.03), fussiness (P=.01), emotional overeating (P<.01), and food responsiveness (P=.06). Intervention children ‘liked’ more fruits (P<.01) and fewer non-core foods and beverages (Ps=.06, .03). The intervention mothers reported greater ‘autonomy encouragement’ (P=.002) Conclusions Anticipatory guidance on protective feeding practices appears to have modest positive impacts on child eating behaviours that are postulated to reduce future obesity risk.