An exploration of gifted and highly able adolescents' experiences with stress and coping /

This narrative case study explored gifted and highly able adolescents' experiences with stress and coping. Nine students, ages 13-18, at 2 independent schools in southern Ontario, participated. They completed the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993), and I generated individualized graphs of coping strategies. Participants talked about experiences they perceived as stressful in their academic, personal, social, and familial settings during a 60-90 minute one-on-one audiotaped interview. During the interview, each participant made observations about their own coping strategies profile. The interview was analyzed to identify stressor and coping themes. Participants completed a writing or art task to record perceptions of stress and coping. The 3 data sources were used to craft 9 individual story portraits, from which 5 main stressor themes emerged: issues of time; relationships, emotions, and communication; ethical, moral, and spiritual issues; global issues; and silences, or stressors not talked about in depth. Coping themes were: seeking relaxing activities; having positive attitudes and making wise choices; maintaining relationships with peers and family; understanding the role of faith and moral beliefs; having a supportive environment; knowing your own personality type; being aware of negative coping strategies; and keeping busy and avoiding stressfiil issues. The narratives are important because they present teenagers talking about their socioemotional worlds. The present findings provide empirical groundwork for curriculum development in affective education and highlight the importance of socioemotional development for future research in the area of giftedness and adolescence.

Wellness and balance: perceptions amongst female health care professionals negotiating career, family, and continuing education /

The purpose ofthis study was to explore the perceptions of wellness and bidance amongst female health care professionals negotiating career, family aiul continuing education commitments. Five women who met the criteria of having a family (with children), holding a full-time professional career in health care, and who were presently pursuing continuing education were interviewed. This paper begins with the introduction to the topic of research and the questions to be answered. The review of literature explores the theory and research A^ch precede this study and addresses the surrounding areas of: wellness, balance, multiple roles, stress and continuing education. < This study has assumed a qualitative, phenomenological approach. The data collected through the use of individual interviews were analyzed using a two-part process. Analysis using both (a) methodological interpretation and (b) The Listening Guide method has allowed for the uncovering of major themes, and the portrayal of each participant's unique experience. Some of the major themes which emerged from this research include: wellness as multidimensional and fluctuating, making personal sacrifices, the presence of stress, professional as a vital role, and continuing education as something for me. Perhaps the most significant finding this research has identified is the positive role continuing education can hold in the lives of women already negotiating multiple commitments. The notion that continuing education can act as a means of enhancing perceptions of wellness and balance holds a number of implications in theory, practice, and for future research.

A constructivist grounded theory of firefighter perceptions of stress, coping and the relationship to health

This qualitative research was a constructivist grounded theory designed to develop an understanding of how firefighters perceive and cope with stressful situations and the impact this has on their perceptions of health. This study was framed in a social ecological perspective with the community of firefighting providing the environment within which to explore stress and coping. Of particular concern here are the stressors associated with firefighting. Prior research with firefighters has often been epidemiological and statistical in nature, focusing on measures of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression (Baker & Williams, 2001 ; Brown et al., 2002; Murphy et al.,1999; Regehr et al., 2002; Regehr et al., 2003). Qualitative research examining the perception of stress among firefighters that includes personal stories allows firefighters the opportunity to describe what it is like to be met with physically and mentally challenging situations on a daily basis. Twelve in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a brief questionnaire were conducted with firefighters from a Southern Ontario Fire Department. Four main themes emerged describing the persona of the firefighter, the stressors of firefighters, coping strategies of firefighters, and firefighters' perceptions of health. Stressors include requirements of the job, traumatic calls, tensions with co-workers, the struggle between the family at home and the family at work, political stressors with the City, and the inner struggle. Avoidance coping, approach coping, and gaining perspective emerged as the three coping styles of firefighters. Health was defined as including physical, mental, social and spiritual aspects. A model of the findings is provided that depicts the cyclical nature of the stress-coping-health relationship among firefighters.

Problem children with and without communication delays : the changes in their parents' report of challenging behaviour, parental hassles and family conflict over a two -year period

The goal of this study was to examine the change, over a two year period, in mothers' reports of children's challenging behaviour and family conflict as they relate to change in parenting hassles (stress) among families who have preschool children with and without communication delays. Forty-four parent-child dyads participated in this Family Resource Project study that was funded by the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network. Thirty-one ofthese families had preschool children with communication delays and 13 children were identified as not having communication delays. Child behaviour was evaluated using the Oppositional Subscale and ADHD Index of the Conners Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R:S), the Conflict Subscale ofthe Family Environment Scale was used to examine family conflict, and the Parent Hassles Scale was used to examine parental stress. Results showed that change in mothers' daily hassles was influenced by change in their preschool children's ADHD behaviour and change in family conflict. Change in child oppositional behaviour did not predict change in mothers' hassles scores.

Exploring the Family Context Among Children Adopted From China: Perceptions of Pre-Adoption Factors, Post-Adoption Experiences, and the Quality of Parent-Child Relationships

Within the context of international adoption, previous research has focused on parentchild attachment relationships and various aspects of the adoption process. However, less is known about other aspects of parent-child relationships (e.g., cohesion, conflict) within internationally adoptive families. Additionally, there is a need for research that explores both parent and child perceptions of the process of adoption - including pre- and post-adoptive factors - and its connection to the quality of parent-child relationships. This research utilized a qualitatively-oriented methodology to conduct separate, in-depth interviews with 10 adoptive Canadian mothers and their adopted Chinese children (aged 9 to 11 years). Results highlight parent and child reports of mainly strong, positive relationships. Several pre-adoption experiences are examined, including institutionalization, age at the time of adoption, and parental stress/expectations. A key finding concerns the link that adoptive parents perceive between the quality of their child's pre-adoptive care (i.e., mainly early institutionalized care) and the quality of their relationship. Interestingly, this link is perceived in two different ways - either as a challenge for the parent-child relationship or as a means to strengthen it. Post-adoption experiences are also explored, including cultural socialization, creating a transracial family, discussing adoption, parental stress, and sibling involvement. A key finding involves parent and child reports that cultural socialization efforts (i.e., familiarizing children with Chinese culture) are linked to more positive parent-child relationships. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theory and practice within the context of international adoption.

The Relationship between Dementia Family Caregivers' Traditional Values and Beliefs about Caregiving and Well-being

Introduction: Canada’s aging population is diverse and this diversity will continue to grow for the next two decades (Government of Canada, 2002; Katz, 2005; Statistics Canada, 2010). Objective: to examine the relationship between dementia family caregivers’ traditionally-based beliefs about caregiving, their caregiving experience, and their well-being. Method: exploratory secondary data analysis of cross-sectional survey data from 76 community caregivers of persons with dementia in Ontario. Results: traditional values for caregiving was independently associated with coping resources and health status but not depression symptoms. Caregiver self-efficacy and social support both partially mediated the relationship between beliefs about caregiving and caregiver health status. Discussion: Findings from this exploratory study are consistent with stress process models of culture and caregiving. The finding that self-efficacy was associated with traditional values and that it mediated the relationship between traditional values and caregiver well-being is new to the literature.