Lenna Nepomnyaschy a, Allison Dwyer Emory b, Kasey J. Eickmeyer c, Maureen R. Waller d, Daniel P. Miller e, Parental Debt and Child Well-Being: What Type of Debt Matters for Child Outcomes?, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 3, Wealth Inequality and Child Development: Implications for Policy and Practice (August 2021), pp. 122-151
Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Allison Dwyer Emory, Kasey J. Eickmeyer et al.
The child's right to participate is a fundamental right outlined in the UN convention on the rights of the child. Canada signed and ratified this convention in 1991. Through secondary literature and the author's personal experience this paper explores the child's right to participate in the context of canadian pediatric medicine. In particular, this paper examines if and how a child is encouraged to participate in their health care, and which members of the health care team facilitate this participation. The paper also outlines a number of factors that limit or enhance child participation. Recommendations and next steps are included in the paper with the purpose of enhancing the quality and amount of participation that is offered to pediatric patients within hospital settings. One recommendation that is developed and discussed is the increased role of the child life profession as a tool for enabling child participation.
Although neighborhood context is a well-recognized factor in the well-being of children and families, little systematic research exists to guide inquiries into the intersection of neighborhood social processes and child and family well-being. Moreover, despite the increased popularity of neighborhood effects research over the last several decades, crucial questions around the debate on how to align research findings with tangible experiences for children and families remain open. This article reviews selected studies that linked neighborhood factors to specific domains of child and family well-being: parenting, safety, health, and educational outcomes. By focusing on neighborliness, a particular form of neighboring, the study aims to shift the focus from macrolevel indicators of neighborhood context, to a more dynamic set of attributes that characterize neighborhood life, with the hope of inspiring others to build upon the findings and begin to translate the conclusions to meaningful policies and programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Introduction: The aim of this review is to evaluate the literature on the association between parental military-related factors and child well-being. Methods: We conducted a literature search for research published from 2000–2017 from NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries in the English language only. Eligible studies were those that included topics of military personnel and children’s well-being; papers that included child maltreatment/abuse were excluded. Search databases included Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Results: Thirty-six predominantly United States (US)-based studies were included in the review: 27 of cross-sectional study design, 4 longitudinal, and 5 retrospective cohort studies. Discussion: The parental military-specific factors that affect child well-being are cumulative deployment months, frequent relocation, and factors related to relocation such as expanded household responsibility, disrupted daily routines, academic interruption, and disruption to social networks. These factors are associated with military children having higher levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties – such as symptoms of depression – than their civilian counterparts. Limitations of the review include the large proportion of studies with a cross-sectional design, as well as studies with small sample sizes. Indications for future research include looking at children from dual military families and the use of longitudinal study designs.
The quantity/quality tradeoff argument in explaining fertility decline has focused on the association between more education among children and fewer siblings. Human capital formation is also related to other dimensions of well-being. The goal of this analysis is to perform cross-national comparisons on the association between the number of children in a household and three measures related to child well-being: being harshly disciplined, mildly disciplined and child labor. The analysis is based on logistic regressions estimated using the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) datasets of 24 nations grouped into four regions. At the micro level, there is a direct association between families having more children and both the odds of children working and the odds of children being harshly disciplined, but the association is weak for mild discipline. In general, the associations found at the micro level reflect the findings that countries with higher fertility have also higher proportions of children working or being harshly disciplined.
Introduction: Despite the substantial research literature on child well-being, there are notable gaps particularly with regards to child well-being definitions and theories. Methods: A narrative review of the child well-being literature published between 1998 and 2017 was conducted. It focused on definitions, child well-being theories, and the key factors that influence child well-being. Results: While there are several definitions of child well-being, a universal definition is elusive. Some provide a useful starting point to understand and study this phenomenon; others do not reflect the current consensus on the critical elements of child well-being. In contrast, scant attention has been devoted to theory development, which can guide research in this area, and most research appears to be atheoretical. Consequently, much of the literature in English contributes little toward a holistic understanding of the complex interaction between the proximal and distal factors that affect child well-being. Discussion: The lack of a universal child well-being definition, which is a significant shortcoming, is probably influenced by the dearth of theoretical models. There is also a need for the existing theories to be empirically evaluated. Importantly, theory development and testing should ensure that the cultural context is considered.
BACKGROUND: For decades, parental self-efficacy (PSE), or parents' belief in their ability to influence their child in a healthy and success-promoting manner, has been understood as a key factor in promoting healthy functioning for parents and their children. In that time, an extensive collection of research examining the specific impact of PSE on parents and their children has developed. However, to the authors' knowledge, no comprehensive and systematic review of the outcomes linked to this factor exists, and the two most closely related non-systematic reviews were published over 10 years ago. METHODS: Therefore, by utilizing an iteratively optimized set of search terms applied across four databases, the current review sought to systematically collect, synthesize, and present the extant literature concerning the role of PSE in parent and child well-being. RESULTS: This search strategy yielded a total of 115 studies, the results of which were organized into three broad thematic categories relating to: the parent and child relationship, parental mental health, or child development. CONCLUSIONS: These results recapitulate the clinical relevance of PSE, and provide an updated and comprehensive understanding of both the role PSE plays in the welfare of parents and children, as well as the gaps in the literature as it currently stands.
Ariana M. Albanese, Gabrielle R. Russo, Pamela A. Geller
This study assessed whether associations between suicidality, victimization, and hopelessness varied across heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and unsure-orientation youth. Data comprised 20,367 complete cases drawn from the 2015-2023 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Overlap propensity score weights balanced more than 40 suicidality-related covariates (e.g., gender, age, race/ethnicity, health behaviors, substance use, and risk-seeking behaviors) across groups. Weighted logistic regressions estimated group differences and tested sexual orientation by stressor interactions. After weighting, bisexual, homosexual, and unsure-orientation youth exhibited significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation and planning compared to heterosexual peers (ORs = 2.06-4.19), though adjusted differences in suicide attempts were varied (ORs = 0.89-1.46). While victimization and hopelessness were robustly associated with ideation and planning across all groups (ORs = 1.73-3.32), their associations with suicide attempts were inconsistent (ORs = 0.32-1.45). Interaction analyses between sexual orientation and these stressors showed inconsistent results (ORs = 0.54-1.69), suggesting that, the impact of victimization and hopelessness may not vary uniformly by orientation. Supplementary analyses of 2023 data indicated that among transgender youth, victimization had a weaker association with suicide outcomes (ORs = 0.56-0.99), whereas hopelessness was more strongly correlated with ideation and planning (ORs = 1.46-5.73). These transgender-specific estimates should be interpreted with caution due to small subgroup size and limited covariate overlap. Together, these findings highlight heterogeneity in suicidality across sexual-orientation groups and emphasize the need for longitudinal research with richer contextual and biological measures to clarify mechanisms and subgroup-specific risk and protective factors.
INTRODUCTION: Extensive evidence demonstrates that early life adversity (ELA) has enduring contributions to psychological and physical problems, yet little research has examined how ELA may potentially influence positive adaptation. In this longitudinal, multi-method study, we explored prospective relations from childhood ELA subtypes (i.e., relational, environmental, biological) to adolescents' observed prosocial behavior (i.e., resource allocation to benefit others) via parent reports of childhood cognitive and affective empathy. METHODS: Participants were 250 youth (50% assigned female at birth; 46% Latine, 18% Black, 11.2% White, 0.4% Asian, and 24.4% multiracial) and parents who completed laboratory assessments at ages 4, 8, or 17. ELA across the first 4 years of life and childhood empathy (age 8) were assessed via parent reports, whereas prosocial behavior was measured using teacher reports (age 8) and a computer-based behavioral assessment (age 17). RESULTS: Controlling for youth's assigned sex, ethnicity-race, and prior prosocial behavior, path analyses revealed distinct pathways across ELA subtypes. A significant path from relational ELA to decreased prosocial behavior was mediated by lower affective empathy, aligning with deficit-based frameworks of adversity. However, consistent with strength-based perspectives, a significant path from biological ELA to increased prosocial behavior was mediated by higher affective empathy. Neither environmental ELA nor cognitive empathy was associated with prosocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should explore socialization factors and interventions that enhance affective empathy among adolescents with biological and relational ELA, while considering multiple forms of prosocial behavior (e.g., helping vs. comforting) and additional mechanisms that may underlie these observed pathways (e.g., sensitive parenting, motivation).
Duyen T. Trang, Stacey N. Doan, Brianne R. Coulombe et al.
Early childhood caries is one of the most common chronic diseases in children under age 6 and is especially prevalent in Indigenous communities. To help prevent early childhood caries, the team conducted a feasibility study with two tribal communities to adapt an oral health education program using social determinants of health as a guiding framework. This article describes the process used to develop and culturally tailor educational materials for the intervention. The team adapted materials from past oral health projects and analyzed data from early interviews and feedback from community advisory members. These materials were then refined based on a pilot study to ensure they reflected community knowledge, priorities, and culture. Key findings include the importance of establishing trust with the community, drawing on the knowledge of community leaders, and using interviews with community members to gain a fuller understanding of their day-to-day lives. These insights were used to shape the oral health materials in ways that were meaningful, culturally grounded, and locally appropriate. Although there are standard dental care guidelines to prevent tooth decay in children, putting those guidelines into practice varies widely across communities. Our work shows that local social and cultural factors must be considered when designing education programs. By partnering closely with the communities involved, we were able to develop materials that responded to their lived experiences and specific barriers to oral health. This process highlights how culturally tailored education may help reduce oral health disparities in Indigenous populations.
Christine Kirby, Carolyn Camplain, Heather Thomas et al.
