Family Problems (family + problem)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A classification of risk factors in serious juvenile offenders and the relation between patterns of risk factors and recidivism

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 1 2010
Eva Mulder
Background,There has been a lot of research on risk factors for recidivism among juvenile offenders, in general, and on individual risk factors, but less focus on subgroups of serious juvenile offenders and prediction of recidivism within these. Objective,To find an optimal classification of risk items and to test the predictive value of the resultant factors with respect to severity of recidivism among serious juvenile offenders. Method,Seventy static and dynamic risk factors in 1154 juvenile offenders were registered with the Juvenile Forensic Profile. Recidivism data were collected on 728 of these offenders with a time at risk of at least 2 years. After factor analysis, independent sample t-tests were used to indicate differences between recidivists and non-recidivists. Logistic multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the potential predictive value of the factors for violent or serious recidivism. Results,A nine-factor solution best accounted for the data. The factors were: antisocial behaviour during treatment, sexual problems, family problems, axis-1 psychopathology, offence characteristics, conscience and empathy, intellectual and social capacities, social network, and substance abuse. Regression analysis showed that the factors antisocial behaviour during treatment, family problems and axis-1 psychopathology were associated with seriousness of recidivism. Conclusions and implications for practice,The significance of family problems and antisocial behaviour during treatments suggest that specific attention to these factors may be important in reducing recidivism. The fact that antisocial behaviour during treatment consists mainly of dynamic risk factors is hopeful as these can be influenced by treatment. Consideration of young offenders by subgroup rather than as a homogenous population is likely to yield the best information about risk of serious re-offending and the management of that risk. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Pregnancy complications associated with childhood anxiety disorders

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 3 2004
Dina R. Hirshfeld-Becker Ph.D.
Abstract To determine whether perinatal complications predict childhood anxiety disorders independently of parental psychopathology, we systematically assessed pregnancy and delivery complications and psychopathology in a sample of children (mean age=6.8 years) at high risk for anxiety disorders whose parents had panic disorder with (n=138) or without (n=26) major depression, and in contrast groups of offspring of parents with major depression alone (n=47), or no mood or anxiety disorders (n=95; total N=306). Psychopathology in the children was assessed by structured diagnostic interviews (K-SADS), and pregnancy and delivery complications were assessed using the developmental history module of the DICA-P. Number of pregnancy complications predicted multiple childhood anxiety disorders independently of parental diagnosis (odds ratio=1.6 [1.4,2.0]). This effect was accounted for by heavy bleeding requiring bed-rest, hypertension, illness requiring medical attention, and serious family problems. Associations remained significant when lifetime child mood and disruptive behavior disorders were covaried. Results suggest that prenatal stressors may increase a child's risk for anxiety disorders beyond the risk conferred by parental psychopathology alone. Depression and Anxiety 19:152,162, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Stability and prediction of parenting stress

INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2007
Monica Östberg
Abstract The study focused on stability and prediction of parenting stress experiences over a 6-year period. Mothers (N=93) who had received a clinical intervention for feeding or sleeping problems during infancy (Time 1; T 1) were followed-up when the children were 5,10 years old (Time 2; T 2). An age- and sex-of-child matched normal group was used for comparison of stress levels at T 2. Parenting stress was measured by the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire, which consists of a general parenting stress scale and sub-scales tapping different aspects of parenting stress experiences. T 1 predictors were clinical assessments of child problem load, maternal unresponsiveness, and family psychosocial problems. T 2 predictors were mother-reported concurrent child problem load and psychosocial problems. The individual stability in stress experiences was moderate. Effect sizes indicated that mothers with early clinical contacts had reduced their stress to levels close to those in the normal sample. Parenting stress at T 2 could be predicted from early and from concurrent child and family problems. The results point to the relevance of early clinical assessments and to the importance of a sub-area approach in parenting stress research, as there were differences between stress sub-areas regarding both prediction and stability. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The management of professional roles during boundary work in child welfare

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 3 2010
Christopher Hall
Hall C, Slembrouck S, Haigh E, Lee A. The management of professional roles during boundary work in child welfare Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 348,357 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. This article examines the ways in which child welfare professionals negotiate their roles and those of other professionals in home visits with clients, in this case the parents of young children. The concept of boundary work is developed within the context of the professional,client encounter. Drawing on Goffman's concept of ,footing', the analysis examines how professionals attend to ways of constructing family problems in terms of appropriate professional interventions , both from themselves and others. It is argued that the careful consideration of how problems merit interventions displays an adherence to the development of the supportive relations which move beyond strict professional remits. The article adds to the research evidence, which sees inter-professional coordination as a complex matter, located in everyday practice rather than as advocating more tightly monitored procedure. [source]


Suicidality among Finnish anaesthesiologists

ACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 8 2009
P. M. LINDFORS
Background: Suicide rates among physicians have constantly been reported to be higher than in the general population and anaesthesiologists appear to lead the suicide statistics among physicians. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was sent to all working Finnish anaesthesiologists (n=550) investigating their suicidality (ideation and/or planning and/or attempt). The response rate was 60%. Results: One in four had at some time seriously been thinking about suicide. Respondents with poor health (crude odds ratios 11.2 and 95% confidence interval 3.8,33.0), low social support (10.5, 4.0,27.9), and family problems (6.5, 3.4,12.5) had the highest risk of suicidality. The highest risks at work were conflicts with co-workers (4.1, 2.3,7.1) and superiors (2.1, 1.2,3.6), on-call-related stress symptoms (3.9, 1.9,8.3) and low organizational justice (1.9, 1.1,3.2). If a respondent had several risk factors, the risk of suicidality doubled with each cumulating factor. Conclusions: The reported level of suicidal ideation among Finnish anaesthesiologists is worth concern. It should be of utmost importance to screen the risk factors and recognize suicidal physicians in order to help them. Interpersonal relationships, decision-making procedures, and on-call-burden should be focused on when aiming to prevent suicidality among physicians. [source]


The crucial roles of attachment in family therapy

JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 2 2008
John Byng-Hall
This paper's aim is to enable family therapists from whatever approach to address family attachments during their work. It explores the role of attachment in the family, and how to enable therapists to increase security in the family so that family members can solve their own problems during and after therapy. The article gives a brief overview of the nature of family attachment relationships and the influence of secure and insecure attachments within the family and their narrative styles. This is described in language that a therapist might readily hold in mind and share the ideas in dialogue with families. The paper discusses the interplay between insecure attachments and other family problems, such as parental conflict and disagreements over authority. It also discusses ways of establishing a secure therapeutic base and the influence of the therapist's own attachment style. The implications for family therapy practice are described and illustrated by work with a specific family. [source]


Spouse Abuse and Alcohol Problems Among White, African American, and Hispanic U.S. Army Soldiers

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 10 2006
Nicole S. Bell
Background: Prior studies suggest racial/ethnic differences in the associations between alcohol misuse and spouse abuse. Some studies indicate that drinking patterns are a stronger predictor of spouse abuse for African Americans but not whites or Hispanics, while others report that drinking patterns are a stronger predictor for whites than African Americans or Hispanics. This study extends prior work by exploring associations between heavy drinking, alcohol-related problems, and risk for spouse abuse within racial/ethnic groups as well as variations associated with whether the perpetrator is drinking during the spouse abuse incident. Methods: Cases (N=7,996) were all active-duty male, enlisted Army spouse abusers identified in the Army's Central Registry (ACR) who had also completed an Army Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) Survey between 1991 and 1998. Controls (N=17,821) were matched on gender, rank, and marital and HRA status. Results: We found 3 different patterns of association between alcohol use and domestic violence depending upon both the race/ethnicity of the perpetrator and whether or not alcohol was involved in the spouse abuse event. First, after adjusting for demographic and psychosocial factors, weekly heavy drinking (>14 drinks per week) and alcohol-related problems (yes to 2 or more of 6 alcohol-related problem questions, including the CAGE) were significant predictors of domestic violence among whites and Hispanics only. Also for the white soldiers, the presence of family problems mediated the effect of alcohol-related problems on spouse abuse. Second, alcohol-related problems predicted drinking during a spouse abuse incident for all 3 race groups, but this relation was moderated by typical alcohol consumption patterns in Hispanics and whites only. Finally, alcohol-related problems predicted drinking during a spouse abuse incident, but this was a complex association moderated by different psychosocial or behavioral variables within each race/ethnic group. Conclusion: These findings suggest important cultural/social influences that interact with drinking patterns. [source]


Cues they use: clinicians' endorsement of risk cues in predictions of dangerousness

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 2 2006
Michael S. Odeh B.A.
Clinical predictions of violence are a necessary part of clinical practice despite extensive literature validating the use of actuarial rather than clinical prediction. The current study examined clinicians' use of risk cues in predictions of violence. Clinicians identified several risk cues as significant in clinical assessments of risk, including a history of assaults, hostility, medication noncompliance, paranoid delusions, presence of psychosis, and family problems. However, further results indicated that clinician-endorsed risk cues lack predictive power in the present sample. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]