Parent-off spring associations in wintering brent geese: parental investment or mutual assistance?

The continued parent-offspring associations in the Eastern Canadian High Arctic light-bellied brent goose Branta bernicla hrota was examined to determine whether this is an example of continued parental investment or mutual assistance. Adults with juveniles spend more than twice as much time being vigilant and aggressive than do those without offspring. The loss of a partner, however, does not result in the remaining parent increasing parental care but does result in increased 'self-care' by the juveniles. Neither parents nor single-parent juveniles appear to pay an energetic cost relative to non-parental adults and two-parent juveniles, respectively. Differences in the feeding distribution of parents and non-parents and equivalent or better physical condition suggests that families are able to maintain access to a superior food supply over the winter. Passive 'assistance' by juveniles may assist in maintaining this position in favoured areas, and this is achieved with little overt aggression. The present study thus provides no data that show a net cost to parents by remaining with their juveniles over the winter period. Thus, mutual assistance might be a better explanation of the prolonged association rather than a period of parental investment with an overall cost.

Shared or unshared parental care in overwintering brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota)

We examine brood size effects on the behaviour of wintering parent and juvenile brent geese (Branta bernicla hrota) to test predictions of shared and unshared parental care models. The behaviour of both parents and offspring appear to be influenced by declining food availability over the winter. Parental vigilance increased with brood size and may be explained by vigilance having functions in addition to antipredator behaviour where the benefits are shared among the brood. There was no increase in parental aggression with brood size and this does not fit the prediction of shared care. Nevertheless, large families are able to monopolize better feeding areas compared with smaller families and large families static feed more but walk feed less than do small families, the former apparently being the preferred mode. The presence of additional young, rather than increasing the amount of parental aggression, seems to enhance the family's competitive ability. Because parents with large broods benefit from enhanced access to resources there is likely to be no additional significant cost in the parental care of larger broods (sensu Trivers 1972).

Psychological problems in children with cerebral palsy: A cross-sectional European study

Objectives: To describe psychological symptoms in 8–12-year-old children with cerebral palsy; to investigate predictors of these symptoms and their impact on the child and family.

Design: A cross-sectional multi-centre survey.

Participants: Eight hundred and eighteen children with cerebral palsy, aged 8–12 years, identified from population-based registers of cerebral palsy in eight European regions and from multiple sources in one further region.

Main outcome measures: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)P4-16 and the Total Difficulties Score (TDS) dichotomised into normal/borderline (TDS = 16) versus abnormal (TDS > 16).

Statistical analysis: Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression to relate the presence of psychological symptoms to child and family characteristics.

Results: About a quarter of the children had TDS > 16 indicating significant psychological symptoms, most commonly in the domain Peer Problems. Better gross motor function, poorer intellect, more pain, having a disabled or ill sibling and living in a town were independently associated with TDS > 16. The risk of TDS > 16 was odds ratio (OR) = .2 (95% CI: .1 to .3) comparing children with the most and least severe functional limitations; OR = 3.2 (95%CI: 2.1 to 4.8) comparing children with IQ < 70 and others; OR = 2.7 (95% CI: 1.5 to 4.6) comparing children in severe pain and others; OR = 2.7 (95% CI:1.6 to 4.6) comparing children with another disabled sibling or OR = 1.8 (95%CI: 1.2 to 2.8) no siblings and others; OR = 1.8 (95% CI: 1.1 to 2.8) comparing children resident in a town and others. Among parents who reported their child to have psychological problems, 95% said they had lasted over a year, 37% said they distressed their child and 42% said they burdened the family at least ‘quite a lot’.

Conclusions: A significant proportion of children with cerebral palsy have psychological symptoms or social impairment sufficiently severe to warrant referral to specialist services. Care must be taken in the assessment and management of children with cerebral palsy to ensure psychological problems are not overlooked and potentially preventable risk factors like pain are treated effectively. The validity of the SDQ for children with severe disability warrants further assessment.

Common psychology problems in cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) refers to a collection of motor impairments which result in abnormal posture and movement following an insult or damage to the developing brain. Psychological adjustment in children with CP is under researched with little population-based or longitudinal data, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that children with CP are at increased risk for psychological problems. The types of difficulties they experience include emotional, hyperactivity and peer problems with conduct disorder being more prevalent in mildly affected children. The origins of psychological problems in this group are complex but include ‘disease’ and ‘psychosocial’ factors related to having a brain-based disability in the family, as well as other factors that influence adjustment in all children. There are no intervention studies in children with CP aimed at preventing psychological problems or promoting mental wellbeing. However, evidence from other work suggests it is possible to work with the child and family to develop skills, manage symptoms, and build confidence and resilience. Acting as early as possible has been found to be beneficial for bonding, child development and reducing parental anxiety.

Parent-Reported Quality of Life of Children With Cerebral Palsy in Europe

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to determine whether the type and severity of the child's impairments and the family's psychosocial, social, and economic characteristics influence parent-reported child quality of life across the spectrum of severity of cerebral palsy.

METHODS. Our population-based, cross-sectional survey conducted in 2004 to 2005 involved 818 children with cerebral palsy, 8 to 12 years of age, from 7 countries (9 regions) in Europe. Child quality of life was assessed through parent reports by using the Kidscreen questionnaire, and data were analyzed separately for each of its 10 domains.

RESULTS. The parental response rates were >93% for all domains except one. Gross motor function and IQ level were found to be associated independently with quality of life in most domains. However, greater severity of impairment was not always associated with poorer quality of life; in the moods and emotions, self-perception, social acceptance, and school environment domains, less severely impaired children were more likely to have poor quality of life. Pain was associated with poor quality of life in the physical and psychological well-being and self-perception domains. Parents with higher levels of stress were more likely to report poor quality of life in all domains, which suggests that factors other than the severity of the child's impairment may influence the way in which parents report quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS. The parent-reported quality of life for children with cerebral palsy is associated strongly with impairment. However, depending on the areas of life, the most severely impaired children (in terms of motor functioning or intellectual ability) do not always have the poorest quality of life.