Family Activities (family + activity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Shared Family Activities and the Transition From Childhood Into Adolescence

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2008
Robert Crosnoe
Drawing on time use data from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study identified five different profiles of shared time between parents and young people at different stages of development. In childhood, all profiles had high rates of shared television viewing, but some were oriented toward in-home activities and others toward activities outside the home (e.g., cultural events). These latter profiles tended to be higher in socioeconomic advantage, and the young people in them tended to demonstrate greater gains in math, but not reading, achievement across the transition into adolescence. In adolescence, shared activity profiles favored low amounts of shared time between parents and adolescents across activities and disfavored shared time in public domains. [source]


Are within-individual causes of delinquency the same as between-individual causes?

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2002
David P. Farrington PhD
Background Previous studies of the causes of delinquency have been based on between-individual correlations. This paper aims to study the causes of delinquency by comparing within-individual and between-individual correlations of risk factors with delinquency. Method A total of 506 boys in the oldest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were followed up in seven data waves between ages 13.8 and 17.8 on average. Results Poor parental supervision, low parental reinforcement and low involvement of the boy in family activities were the most important causes of delinquency according to forward-lagged within-individual correlations. Poor housing was positively related to delinquency for boys living in bad neighbourhoods but not for boys living in good neighbourhoods. Conclusions Forward-lagged within-individual correlations provide more valid information about the causes of delinquency than do between-individual correlations. Peer delinquency was the strongest correlate of delinquency according to between-individual correlations but was not a cause of delinquency according to forward-lagged within-individual correlations. Copyright © 2002 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]


The Work-Family Interface: Differentiating Balance and Fit

FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 2 2004
Maribeth C. Clarke
Work-family fit has recently emerged in work and family literature, comparable to work-family balance in that it represents interactions between work and family and yet distinct because it precedes balance and other outcomes. This study explores the relationship between, predictive factors of, and interactive moderating effects of work-family fit and work-family balance. Data are from a survey of business graduate school alumni (n = 387). Findings indicate that fit and balance are two separate constructs. Fit is uniquely predicted by work hours, age, family income, and household labor satisfaction. Balance is uniquely predicted by frequency of family activities. Job satisfaction and marital satisfaction predicted both fit and balance. Analyses suggest that fit is based more on the structural aspects of work-family interactions, whereas balance appears to be based more on the psychological factors. Job satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and frequency of family activities moderated the relationship between fit and balance. [source]


Experience of parents with head and neck cancer who are caring for young children

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 6 2010
Cherith J. Semple
semple c.j. & mccance t. (2010) Experience of parents with head and neck cancer who are caring for young children. Journal of Advanced Nursing,66(6), 1280,1290. Abstract Title.,Experience of parents with head and neck cancer who are caring for young children. Aim., This paper is a report of a study exploring the experience and support needs of parents with head and neck cancer, who are also caring for their young children. Background., The incidence of head and neck cancer is steadily rising in the younger age groups (under 50 years). As a direct consequence, more parents of young children are being diagnosed with this cancer. Methods., Using a qualitative descriptive design, 12 patients with young children under the age of 16 were interviewed during 2008. The data were analysed using cognitive mapping. Findings., At diagnosis, parents experienced the fear of missing milestones in the life of their children and fear of telling the children about their diagnosis. During treatment, parents' inevitable stays in hospital led to separation from the children and the need to prepare their children for the first hospital visit. Parents experienced many debilitating effects of treatment, which had an impact on family activities, especially those that involved eating. There was often changing roles within the family. After treatment, the experience of living with cancer for parents resulted in the desire to get back to day-to-day life. Parents had an increased appreciation of life but were also living with uncertainties. The most important support networks for parents were their spouse, family and friends. Conclusion., Oncology nurses are in an excellent position to offer support and guidance to parents with cancer who have children, and should encourage them to explore with the family the best way of managing role change during treatment. [source]


How American Children Spend Their Time

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 2 2001
Sandra L. Hofferth
The purpose of this article is to examine how American children under age 13 spend their time, sources of variation in time use, and associations with achievement and behavior. Data come from the 1997 Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The results suggest that parents' characteristics and decisions regarding marriage, family size, and employment affect the time children spend in educational, structured, and family activities, which may affect their school achievement. Learning activities such as reading for pleasure are associated with higher achievement, as is structured time spent playing sports and in social activities. Family time spent at meals and time spent sleeping are linked to fewer behavior problems, as measured by the child's score on the Behavior Problems Index. The results support common language and myth about the optimal use of time for child development. [source]


Promising outcomes of an adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome inpatient programme

JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH, Issue 5 2009
Brett Gordon
Introduction: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a condition of prolonged and disabling fatigue, which is accompanied by characteristic constitutional and neuropsychiatric symptoms. In children and adolescents, this condition occurring at a developmentally vulnerable time adds to the disability affecting self-concept, autonomy, body image, socialisation, sexuality and academic problems. This case series looks at the effects of a graded exercise programme on physical outcomes, fatigue and mental state in an adolescent population. Methods: Data sets from 16 adolescents who completed combined exercise training as part of the 4-week inpatient intensive CFS programme at the Austin Hospital, Melbourne were analysed. All patients completed an exercise assessment and three questionnaires before beginning any training. A paediatrician (LL) confirmed the diagnosis according to the Fukuda criteria in all patients. Exercise was carefully supervised and prescribed daily by an exercise physiologist (BG) according to each individual's ability and response with the basic aim of increasing exercise tolerance and improving muscle strength and endurance. Results: There was an 18% improvement in volitional time to fatigue (P= 0.02) and 17% improvement in peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) (P= 0.01). Upper body strength and function improved with a remarkable 70% increase in the number of push-ups. Fatigue severity was reported to improve by 13% (P= 0.01) and depression index improved significantly by 42% (P= 0.02). Conclusions: The significance of these improvements cannot be underestimated as an improvement in physical capacity through increased time to fatigue and less severe fatigue allows adolescents to resume school, social and family activities. [source]


The Not-so-Dark Ages: Ecology for human growth in medieval and early Twentieth Century Portugal as inferred from skeletal growth profiles

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
Hugo F.V. Cardoso
Abstract This study attempts to address the issue of relative living standards in Portuguese medieval and early 20th century periods. Since the growth of children provides a good measure of environmental quality for the overall population, the skeletal growth profiles of medieval Leiria and early 20th century Lisbon were compared. Results show that growth in femur length of medieval children did not differ significantly from that of early 20th century children, but after puberty medieval adolescents seem to have recovered, as they have significantly longer femora as adults. This is suggestive of greater potential for catch-up growth in medieval adolescents. We suggest that this results from distinct child labor practices, which impact differentially on the growth of Leiria and Lisbon adolescents. Work for medieval children and adolescents were related to family activities, and care and attention were provided by family members. Conversely, in early 20th century Lisbon children were more often sent to factories at around 12 years of age as an extra source of family income, where they were exploited for their labor. Since medieval and early 20th century children were stunted at an early age, greater potential for catch-up growth in medieval adolescents results from exhausting work being added to modern adolescent's burdens of disease and poor diet, when they entered the labor market. Although early 20th century Lisbon did not differ in overall unfavorable living conditions from medieval Leiria, after puberty different child labor practices may have placed modern adolescents at greater risk of undernutrition and poor growth. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Trained volunteers for families coping with a child with a life-limiting condition

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 1 2001
P. McGrath
One hundred and seven families with a child diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, from all over Queensland (Australia), were surveyed on their need for a trained volunteer. Their comments provide important insights into an area which has not previously been researched or documented. In summary, their responses indicate that many families have only minimal or no support, and are coping with extraordinary physical, emotional and social demands from the child's condition and treatment. The majority of the participants are very positive about the need for a trained volunteer and are clear about the activities that trained volunteers could provide assistance with. These activities range from practical assistance such as baby-sitting and help with household chores and errands to emotional support. Not all families would be comfortable using a volunteer, and some respondents did outline perceived obstacles to including a volunteer in family activities. For others there were comments about why volunteers would be perceived as unproblematic. Respondents specified important criteria that would need to be addressed in volunteer training. The largest number of respondents were coping with cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy. It is the hope and expectation that, with the communication of the insights gathered from this geographically diverse group of families, encouragement will be given to others working in this area to explore the possibility of establishing outreach volunteer programmes for such families. [source]