Ambivalent relations : the 'tricky footwork' of parental involvement in school communities

Parental involvement in schools, generally seen to be a good thing, is now closely linked through policy to the educational achievement of their children. In this Victorian case study, teacher and parent responses to policies advocating parental involvement are examined. It explores the intersections of gender and class in the context of changing home/school relationships characterised by policies and processes of institutionalisation, familialisation and individualisation that are shaping parental involvement. It suggests that the current discursive construction of parent/school relationships around partnerships for student learning fail to recognise the complexity of parent/teacher relations and its gendered nature. Feminist critical policy analysis framed by the sociology of the family inform our understandings of the ways changing discourses and practices currently are informing parental involvement in a culturally and socio-economically diverse school.

Factors associated with dropout and diagnosis in child and adolescent mental health services

Objective: Dropout from child and adolescent mental health services has ramifications for children, families and the services themselves. Understanding the factors that are associated with dropout for different diagnoses has the potential to assist with tailoring of services to reduce dropout. The aim of the current study was to identify such factors.

Method: A file audit was conducted for all referrals to a child and adolescent mental health service over a 12 month period, yielding 520 subjects for analysis (264 male, 256 female, mean age = 12.6 years). Parent, child and service variables of interest were recorded as were diagnoses, which were categorized into 25 superordinate categories.

Results: Almost 50% of subjects dropped out of treatment. Factors associated with dropout varied across diagnosis, and no factor was associated with dropout for all diagnoses.

Conclusion: There are differences in the factors that were associated with dropout for different disorders. This is a useful finding in terms of understanding and preventing dropout in child and adolescent mental health settings, but more research is needed.

A parent-based intervention to promote healthy eating and active behaviours in pre-school children: evaluation of the MEND 2-4 randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of studies evaluating targeted obesity prevention interventions in pre-school children. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of a parent-based obesity prevention intervention for pre-schoolers - MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition … Do It!) 2-4 on child diet, eating habits, physical activity/sedentary behaviours, and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Parent-child dyads attended 10 weekly 90-min workshops relating to nutrition, physical activity and behaviours, including guided active play and healthy snack time. Assessments were conducted at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 6 and 12 months post-intervention; child intake of vegetables, fruit, beverages, processed snack foods, fussiness, satiety responsiveness, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and neophobia were assessed via parent proxy report. Parent and child height and weight were measured. RESULTS: Two hundred one parent-child dyads were randomized to intervention (n = 104) and control (n = 97). Baseline mean child age was 2.7 (standard deviation [SD] 0.6) years, and child BMI-for-age z-score (World Health Organization) was 0.66 (SD 0.88). We found significant positive group effects for vegetable (P = 0.01) and snack food (P = 0.03) intake, and satiety responsiveness (P = 0.047) immediately post-intervention. At 12 months follow-up, intervention children exhibited less neophobia (P = 0.03) than controls. CONCLUSION: Future research should focus on additional strategies to support parents to continue positive behaviour change. ACTRN12610000200088.

Parent and family factors associated with service use by young people with mental health problems: a systematic review

AIM: To conduct a systematic review of parent and family factors associated with service use for young people with mental health problems, to inform early intervention efforts aimed at increasing service use by young people. METHODS: A systematic search of academic databases was performed. Articles were included in the review if they had: a sample of young people aged between 5 and 18 years; service use as the outcome measure; one or more parental or family variables as a predictor; and a comparison group of non-service using young people with mental health problems. In order to focus on factors additional to need, the mental health symptoms of the young person also had to be controlled for. Stouffer's method of combining P-values was used to draw conclusions as to whether or not associations between variables were reliable. RESULTS: Twenty-eight articles were identified investigating 15 parental or family factors, 7 of which were found to be associated with service use for a young person with mental health needs: parental burden, parent problem perception, parent perception of need, parent psychopathology, single-parent household, change in family structure and being from the dominant ethnic group for the United States specifically. Factors not found to be related to service use were: family history of service use, parent-child relationship quality, family functioning, number of children, parent education level, parent employment status, household income and non-urban location of residence. CONCLUSIONS: A number of family-related factors were identified that can inform effective interventions aimed at early intervention for mental health problems. Areas requiring further research were also identified.

Mutually responsive orientation: a novel observational assessment of mother-child mealtime interactions

Mother-child mealtime interactions during preschool years is an important but overlooked factor when evaluating the influence of parent-child relationships on child eating and weight. This paper describes the validation of the Mutually Responsive Orientation (MRO) coding system adapted for assessing parent-child interactions during food preparation and consumption situations. Home-based mealtimes of 94 mothers and their children (3.03 ± 0.75 years) were filmed at two time points, 12-months apart. Filmed dimensions of mutual mother-child responsiveness, shared positive affect, maternal control relating to food and child compliance were assessed. Objective BMI and maternal reports of parenting, feeding, child eating, diet and child temperament were also collected. Correlations, repeated measures ANOVAs and regressions were performed to examine the validity of MRO variables and their stability across both time points. Validation analysis showed the MRO coding system performed as expected: dyads with higher MRO scores expressed lower control/power assertion, lower child non-compliance, and greater committed compliance. The measure demonstrated sensitivity to specific contexts: maternal responsiveness, mother and child positive affect were higher during food consumption compared to food preparation. Coded dimensions were stable across time points, with the exception of decreases in maternal responsiveness in food consumption and child non-compliance in food preparation. MRO and maternal dimensions were correlated with maternally reported parenting and feeding measures. Maternal responsiveness (inversely) and child responsiveness (positively) were concurrently associated with child fussy eating, and child refusal was prospectively and inversely associated with child fussy eating. Findings suggest the adapted MRO coding system is a useful measure for examining observed parent-child mealtime interactions potentially implicated in preschoolers' eating and weight development.

The Resilient Families program: promoting health and wellbeing in adolescents and their parents during the transition to secondary school.

Resilient Families is a school-based prevention program designed to help students and parents develop knowledge, skills and support networks to promote health and wellbeing during the early years of secondary school. the program is designed to build within-family connectedness (parent--adolescent communication, conflict resolution) as well as improve social support between different families, and between families and schools. It is expected to promote social, emotional and academic competence and to prevent health and social problems in youth.

Family risk factors for cannabis use: a population-based survey of Australian secondary school students

The objective of this study was to investigate relationships between adolescent cannabis use and indices of parent - child attachment, family functioning and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency. A total of 2848 year 9 and 2363 year 11 students participated in the Victorian Adolescent Health and Well-Being Survey (1999). The study was a school-based random sample of 535 metropolitan and rural, government and non-government secondary schools throughout Victoria, Australia. Cannabis use was defined as 'any' and 'weekly' use in the last 30 days. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent associations between cannabis use and parent - child attachment, family functioning and parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency. Cannabis use in year 9 was associated with permissive parent attitudes to drugs and delinquency (any use: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 8.1; weekly use: adjusted OR = 7.6), and was particularly sensitive to small changes in the quality of the parent - child relationship with risk increasing threefold for those describing their attachment as 'good' compared with 'very good' (any use: adjusted OR = 2.8, weekly use adjusted OR = 2.9). A similar, but more moderate pattern association was evident in year 11. After adjusting for other family and background factors, poor family functioning showed minimal association with level of cannabis use at both year levels. Results suggest that intervention efforts might sensibly target strengthening parent - children relationships and promoting less permissive parent attitudes to drug use.

Parents with psychosis : a pilot study examining self-report measures related to family functioning

The aims of this study were to examine the utility of various self-report instruments related to family functioning in families where a parent has a psychotic disorder, and to explore associations between these instruments and symptoms in the parent. Twenty-one parents with a psychotic disorders participated in the study. All participants were able to complete the questionnaires and the majority of parents reported levels of parental competence in the average range. Most parents (90%) perceived themselves to be effective parents, however 30% reported low levels of satisfaction with the parenting role. There were significant associations between objective measures of negative symptoms and self-report scores related to problems in ways of coping, and problems with parent-child interactions. Many individuals with psychosis were able to report areas of perceived need related to their role as parents and to the functioning of their families, however there are several limitations in the use of these instruments in this setting.

Body image, media influences, sexual risk, and sexuality in men

This thesis examined the relationships between men's body image, different media influences, sexual orientation, and sexual risk taking. In comparison to heterosexuals, gay men were significantly less satisfied with their bodies. Media influences predicted men's body image, and gay men demonstrated greater internalisation of media messages compared to heterosexual men. Based on four case studies the portfolio demonstrates that motivational interviewing might be a useful approach to manage ambivalence and resistance to clients presenting with an anxiety disorder or a parent-child relational issue.

The role of evolution, bonding, and parenting style in understanding parental differences

This research demonstrates the influence of parental bonding and parental authority on the parent-child relationship and subsequent child development in both biological and step-families. Differential effects of parental behaviour on child attachment style development were found for biological children and stepchildren. The results provide guidance for intervention and future research.

Healthy eating and obesity prevention for preschoolers : a randomised controlled trial

Background
Developing effective prevention and intervention programs for the formative preschool years is seen as an essential step in combating the obesity epidemic across the lifespan. The overall goal of the current project is to measure the effectiveness of a healthy eating and childhood obesity prevention intervention, the MEND (Mind Exercise Nutrition Do It!) program that is delivered to parents of children aged 2-4 years.

Methods/Design
This randomised controlled trial will be conducted with 200 parents and their 2-4 year old children who attend the MEND 2-4 program in metropolitan and regional Victoria. Parent-child dyads will attend ten 90-minute group workshops. These workshops focus on general nutrition, as well as physical activity and behaviours. They are typically held at community or maternal and child health centres and run by a MEND 2-4 trained program leader. Child eating habits, physical activity levels and parental behaviours and cognitions pertaining to nutrition and physical activity will be assessed at baseline, the end of the intervention, and at 6 and 12 months post the intervention. Informed consent will be obtained from all parents, who will then be randomly allocated to the intervention or wait-list control group.

Discussion
Our study is the first RCT of a healthy eating and childhood obesity prevention intervention targeted specifically to Australian parents and their preschool children aged 2-4 years. It responds to the call by experts in the area of childhood obesity and child health that prevention of overweight in the formative preschool years should focus on parents, given that parental beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and behaviours appear to impact significantly on the development of early overweight. This is 'solution-oriented' rather than 'problem-oriented' research, with its focus being on prevention rather than intervention. If this is a positive trial, the MEND2-4 program can be implemented as a national program.

Trial Registration
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12610000200088

Weight changes among preschool children project

A prospective methodological design was used to provide comprehensive evidence of the influence of parenting (mothers and fathers) on the patterns of preschool children’s weight gain. With the exception of the parent-child observational measure, measures of all predictor and outcome variables have been obtained for children aged 24 to 36 months at three time points: at recruitment and at 12 and 24 months post recruitment; parent-child interactions have been obtained during home visits at recruitment and 12 months post recruitment.

Paternal influences on children's weight gain : a systematic review

Childhood overweight and obesity rates have continued to rise globally, reaching epidemic proportions. Children's dietary patterns evolve within the context of the family and there are a number of pathways through which parents may shape children's dietary practices, including parent nutritional knowledge the types of foods that are made available to children, parental modeling of particular eating behaviors, and parent child-feeding practices. Most research examining these predictors has been undertaken with mothers as the primary caregivers, while fathers have received markedly less attention. This paper is a review of the literature on paternal influences on preschool children's weight gain, overweight and obesity. The results of this review indicate that fathers do influence preschool children's weight gain, overweight and obesity status. However, methodological limitations in the existing studies make direct and meaningful comparisons across studies difficult. The review further highlights the fact that fathers have been neglected in childhood obesity research.

On your bike! A cross-sectional study of the individual, social and environmental correlates of cycling to school

Background : Active school transport (AST) has declined rapidly in recent decades. While many studies have examined walking, cycling to school has received very little attention. Correlates of cycling are likely to differ to those from walking and cycling enables AST from further distances. This study examined individual, social and environmental factors associated with cycling to school among elementary school-aged children, stratified by gender.

Methods : Children (n = 1197) attending 25 Australian primary schools located in high or low walkable neighborhoods, completed a one-week travel diary and a parent/child questionnaire on travel habits and attitudes.

Results : Overall, 31.2% of boys and 14.6% of girls cycled ≥ 1 trip/week, however 59.4% of boys and 36.7% of girls reported cycling as their preferred school transport mode. In boys (but not girls), school neighborhood design was significantly associated with cycling: i.e., boys attending schools in neighborhoods with high connectivity and low traffic were 5.58 times more likely to cycle (95% CI 1.11-27.96) and for each kilometer boys lived from school the odds of cycling reduced by 0.70 (95% CI 0.63-0.99). Irrespective of gender, cycling to school was associated with parental confidence in their child's cycling ability (boys: OR 10.39; 95% CI 3.79-28.48; girls: OR 4.03; 95% CI 2.02-8.05), parental perceived convenience of driving (boys: OR 0.42; 95% CI 0.23-0.74; girls: OR 0.40; 95% CI 0.20-0.82); and child's preference to cycle (boys: OR 5.68; 95% CI 3.23-9.98; girls: OR 3.73; 95% CI 2.26-6.17).

Conclusion : School proximity, street network connectivity and traffic exposure in school neighborhoods was associated with boys (but not girls) cycling to school. Irrespective of gender, parents need to be confident in their child's cycling ability and must prioritize cycling over driving.