15 research outputs found
Promotion of children's early psychosocial development through primary health care services
No full textPromotion of children's early psychosocial development through primary health care services
No full textThe paper presents the study design of the development and organisation of an EU/WHO multicentre study on the promotion of children’s early psychosocial development through primary health care services. The aim of the programme is to develop training for primary health care workers (PHCWs) that improves their ability to assess factors relevant to children’s psychosocial development and gives them preventive approaches to foster that development, building on the families’ strengths. The focus is on the period from conception to the end of the second year of the child’s Life. Two main components are the training of the PHCWs and the semi-structured interviews that guide the workers in practice. The training has content and structure that is feasible within primary health care resources working in collaboration with mental health services. The programme is evaluated in terms of (a) the impact of training on both the PHCWs’ knowledge and attitudes with regard to infant behaviour and development, and on practice as assessed by the delivery of the semi-structured interview; and (b) the effect of the intervention on maternal well-being, infant language development and behaviour, home environment and mother-infant interaction. The programme is taking place in Cyprus, Greece, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Portugal, Slovenia and Turkey
Infant-mother interaction as a predictor of child's chronic health problems
No full textBackground Psychological stress is associated with physical illnesses like asthma or infections. For an infant, situations perceived as stressful are highly dependent on the relationship with the caregiver. Constantly poor mother-infant interaction increases the child's vulnerability to stressful conditions and experiences. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the quality of early mother-infant interaction on the subsequent physical health of the child. Poor mother-infant interaction was hypothesized to be associated with chronic or recurrent health problems in the child. Participants Fifty-seven mother-infant dyads from families at risk of psychosocial problems and 63 from non-risk families, altogether 120 dyads, participated in the study. Families were drawn from normal population, from well-baby clinics in the city of Tampere, Finland. Infants were full-term and healthy, families with severe risks like psychotic illnesses of the parents or a history of child protection concerns were excluded from the study. Methods After the initial interview with the mother, the mother-infant interaction was videotaped when the infants were 8-11 weeks of age and the interaction was assessed using the Global Rating Scale for Mother-Infant Interaction (Murray et al . 1996a). After the 2-year follow-up mothers were interviewed again and the health problems of the child were elicited. Results Poor dyadic mother-infant interaction and infant's poor interactive behaviour assessed at two months were separately associated with the physical health of the child during the two-year follow-up. After adjusting for other factors in the logistic regression analysis infant's poor interactive behaviour remained as a significant predictor of chronic or recurrent health problems in the child. Infant's health problems at the time of the initial interview and day care centre attendance were also significant predictors. Conclusions The results suggest that interactional issues between a mother and her infant are related to the child's subsequent physical health. Children with recurrent or chronic health problems may have relationship difficulties with which they need help. Also, early avoidant behaviour of the infant should be regarded as an indicator of the infant's distress with possibly adverse outcomes in the child's physical health, among other consequences
Infant-mother interaction as a predictor of child's chronic health problems
No full textBackground. Psychological stress is associated with physical illnesses like asthma or infections. For an infant, situations perceived as stressful are highly dependent on the relationship with the caregiver. Constantly poor mother-infant interaction increases the child's vulnerability to stressful conditions and experiences. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the quality of early mother-infant interaction on the subsequent physical health of the child. Poor mother-infant interaction was hypothesized to be associated with chronic or recurrent health problems in the child. Participants. Fifty-seven mother-infant dyads from families at risk of psychosocial problems and 63 from non-risk families, altogether 120 dyads, participated in the study. Families were drawn from normal population, from well-baby clinics in the city of Tampere, Finland. Infants were full-term and healthy, families with severe risks like psychotic illnesses of the parents or a history of child protection concerns were excluded from the study. Methods. After the initial interview with the mother, the mother-infant interaction was videotaped when the infants were 8-11 weeks of age and the interaction was assessed using the Global Rating Scale for Mother-Infant Interaction (Murray et al. 1996a). After the 2-year follow-up mothers were interviewed again and the health problems of the child were elicited. Results. Poor dyadic mother-infant interaction and infant's poor interactive behaviour assessed at two months were separately associated with the physical health of the child during the two-year follow-up. After adjusting for other factors in the logistic regression analysis infant's poor interactive behaviour remained as a significant predictor of chronic or recurrent health problems in the child. Infant's health problems at the time of the initial interview and day care centre attendance were also significant predictors. Conclusions. The results suggest that interactional issues between a mother and her infant are related to the child's subsequent physical health. Children with recurrent or chronic health problems may have relationship difficulties with which they need help. Also, early avoidant behaviour of the infant should be regarded as an indicator of the infant's distress with possibly adverse outcomes in the child's physical health, among other consequences
Role of home visiting in improving parenting and health in families at risk of abuse and neglect : results of a multicentre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation
No full textObjectives – To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an intensive home visiting programme in improving outcomes for vulnerable families.
Design – Multicentre randomised controlled trial in which eligible women were allocated to receive home visiting (n=67) or standard services (n=64). Incremental cost analysis.
Setting – 40 GP practices across two counties in the UK
Participants – 131 vulnerable pregnant women.
Intervention: Selected health visitors were trained in the Family Partnership Model to provide a weekly home visiting service from 6-months antenatally to 12 months postnatally.
Main outcome measures – mother-child interaction, maternal psychological health attitudes and behaviour, infant functioning and development, and risk of neglect or abuse.
Results – At 12-months differences favouring the home visited group were observed on an independent assessment of maternal sensitivity (p<0.04) and infant cooperativeness (p<0.02). No differences were identified on any other measures. There was a non-significant increase in the likelihood of intervention group infants being the subject of child protection proceedings, or being removed from the home, and one death in the control group. The mean incremental cost per infant of the home visiting intervention was £3,246 (bootstrapped 95% confidence interval for the difference: £1,645 - £4,803).
Conclusion – This intervention may have the potential to improve parenting and increase the identification of infants at risk of abuse and neglect in vulnerable families. Further investigation is needed together with long term follow up to assess possible sleeper effects
Terror threat perception and its consequences in contemporary Britain
No full textThe terrorist attacks of 9/11, and subsequent terrorist acts around the world, have alerted social psychologists to the need to examine the antecedents and consequences of terrorist threat perception. In these two studies we examined the predictive power of demographic factors (age, sex, location), individual values and normative influences on threat perception and the consequences of this perception for behavioural change and close relationships. In study 1 (N = 100) gender, benevolence values and normative influences were all correlates of threat perception, whilst sense of personal threat was correlated with increased contact with friends and family. In study 2 (N = 240) age, sex, location, and the values of Openness to Change and Hedonism, all predicted threat perception, which in turn predicted behavioural change and relationship contact. Such findings point to the important role social psychologists should play in understanding responses to these new terrorist threats
Primary prevention of child mental health problems using primary health care professionals: cost comparisons
No full textThe European Early Promotion Project: A new primary health care service to promote children's mental health
No full textThe number of children in Europe with significant psychologic and social problems is large and increasing. This article describes an innovative crosscultural method of working with families to promote the psychosocial well being of children and prevent the development of psychologic and social problems. A study designed to evaluate the effects of the service is also presented. Primary health care workers in five European countries have been trained to conduct promotional interviews with all prospective mothers in their area one month before and one month after birth. They have also been taught to work with mothers identified as in need of support as a parent by using a specific counselling model to try to prevent the onset of child mental health difficulties. Effects of the intervention on children's psychologic development and family adaptation are being evaluated at two years in comparison with matched groups not receiving the intervention
Assessing the mental health of Afghan refugee childrenin Peshawar schools
No full textChildren who are forcibly uprooted from their homes experience enormous losses, increased exposure to violent conflict, and severe deprivation. Much research remains to be done concerning the impact of displacement related adversity on the mental health of children and adolescents. A psychometric screening tool, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), supplemented with anthropologically-informed research methods, was employed to appraise the mental health of 128 Afghan boys and girls, aged 11 to 16, attending four schools in Peshawar, Pakistan. Equal numbers of children were born in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and one third had no father living at home. Parents, teachers and children provided questionnaire data on mental health difficulties and prosocial behaviour, and children's projective drawings and open-ended interviews provided contextual information about life and future expectations in Peshawar. Informants were discrepant in their mental health ratings: 22% of sample children were 'probable' cases for a psychiatric disorder based on combined parent and teacher information, compared to just 5% based solely on information provided by parents. All children had normal prosocial abilities. Contrary to expectation, a purposive sample of children orphaned from one or more close relatives did not differentiate themselves in terms of mental health. Age and gender had no detectable impact on mental health ratings. Children whose fathers were not at home were 6 times more likely to receive abnormal mental health scores from both their parents and teachers (p<0.002). Children themselves reported more difficulties if they had large extended families (p=0.027). Children born in Afghanistan and Peshawar did not differ in their mental health. However, children wh
The European early promotion project: A new primary health care service to promote children's mental health
No full textThe number of children in Europe with significant psychologic and social problems is large and increasing. This article describes an innovative crosscultural method of working with families to promote the psychosocial well being of children and prevent the development of psychologic and social problems. A study designed to evaluate the effects of the service is also presented. Primary health care workers in five European countries have been trained to conduct promotional interviews with all prospective mothers in their area one month before and one month after birth. They have also been taught to work with mothers identified as in need of support as a parent by using a specific counselling model to try to prevent the onset of child mental health difficulties. Effects of the intervention on children's psychologic development and family adaptation are being evaluated at two years in comparison with matched groups not receiving the intervention. © 2002 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health
