Consumer and Family Economics. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock. Home Economics Curriculum Center.

This consumer and family economics curriculum guide was developed for use in home economics education in Texas. At the beginning is a list of the competencies and the subcompetencies that are the essential elements and the subelements prescribed in the Texas Administrative Codes for Vocational Home Economics. The conceptual outline as shown in the…

Economic models of the family and the relationship between economic status and health.

PubMed

Tipper, Adam

2010-05-01

Empirical evidence strongly suggests that there is a positive relationship between economic status and health, and that married persons are healthier than their single counterparts. There are, however, a number of economic explanations for why economic status is related to health in the family context that are often overlooked in empirical studies. This paper provides a comparative introduction to three main economic approaches to the family in order to understand further why married persons are often observed to be healthier than single persons. The models discussed are the unitary model, the collective labour supply model, and the institutional economics approach. In discussing the different approaches to health formation in a family context, issues pertaining to gender, intra-household inequality, and resource transfers are also explored to highlight the advantages of considering various economic perspectives. Each of these models, it is suggested, provides an alternative view of the mechanisms for relating economic status to health, and may thus affect the interpretation of empirical results. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family structure and the transition to early parenthood.

PubMed

Hofferth, Sandra L; Goldscheider, Frances

2010-05-01

With the rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing and divorce in the last quarter of the twentieth century, an increasing proportion of children have been exposed to a variety of new family forms. Little research has focused on the consequences of childhood family structure for men's transition to fatherhood or on the family processes that account for the effects of family structure on the likelihood that young women and men become first-time unmarried parents, what we now call "fragile families." The data come from the linked Children and Young Adult samples of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), which provide information on the children of the women of the NLSY79 from birth until they enter young adulthood. Females growing up with a single parent and males experiencing an unstable family transition to parenthood early, particularly to nonresidential fatherhood for males. For males, the effects are strongly mediated by parenting processes and adolescent behaviors and are shaped by economic circumstances. Having experienced multiple transitions as a child is associated with a reduced likelihood that males father their first child within marriage and an increased likelihood that they become fathers within cohabitation, demonstrating how changes in family structure alter family structure patterns over time and generations.

Family Structure and the Transition to Early Parenthood

PubMed Central

HOFFERTH, SANDRA L.; GOLDSCHEIDER, FRANCES

2010-01-01

With the rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing and divorce in the last quarter of the twentieth century, an increasing proportion of children have been exposed to a variety of new family forms. Little research has focused on the consequences of childhood family structure for men’s transition to fatherhood or on the family processes that account for the effects of family structure on the likelihood that young women and men become first-time unmarried parents, what we now call “fragile families.” The data come from the linked Children and Young Adult samples of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), which provide information on the children of the women of the NLSY79 from birth until they enter young adulthood. Females growing up with a single parent and males experiencing an unstable family transition to parenthood early, particularly to nonresidential fatherhood for males. For males, the effects are strongly mediated by parenting processes and adolescent behaviors and are shaped by economic circumstances. Having experienced multiple transitions as a child is associated with a reduced likelihood that males father their first child within marriage and an increased likelihood that they become fathers within cohabitation, demonstrating how changes in family structure alter family structure patterns over time and generations. PMID:20608104

The economic impact of rural family physicians practicing obstetrics.

PubMed

Avery, Daniel M; Hooper, Dwight E; McDonald, John T; Love, Michael W; Tucker, Melanie T; Parton, Jason M

2014-01-01

The economic impact of a family physician practicing family medicine in rural Alabama is $1,000,000 a year in economic benefit to the community. The economic benefit of those rural family physicians practicing obstetrics has not been studied. This study was designed to determine whether there was any added economic benefit of rural family physicians practicing obstetrics in rural, underserved Alabama. The Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board has funded the University of Alabama Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship since its beginning in 1986. Family medicine obstetrics fellowship graduates who practice obstetrics in rural, underserved areas were sent questionnaires and asked to participate in the study. The questions included the most common types and average annual numbers of obstetrics/gynecological procedures they performed. Ten physicians, or 77% of the graduates asked to participate in the study, returned the questionnaire. Fourteen common obstetrics/gynecological procedures performed by the graduates were identified. A mean of 115 deliveries were performed. The full-time equivalent reduction in family medicine time to practice obstetrics was 20%. A family physician practicing obstetrics in a rural area adds an additional $488,560 in economic benefit to the community in addition to the $1,000,000 from practicing family medicine, producing a total annual benefit of $1,488,560. The investment of $616,385 from the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board resulted in a $399 benefit to the community for every dollar invested. The cumulative effect of fellowship graduates practicing both family medicine and obstetrics in rural, underserved areas over the 26 years studied was $246,047,120. © Copyright 2014 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Economic development and family size.

PubMed

Rios, R J

1991-01-01

The demographic transition in Latin America has resulted in increased family size rather than the Western European model of reduced family size. In 1905, both fertility and mortality were high in Latin America, but mortality declined more rapidly in Latin America than in Europe. In 1905, the crude birth rate for 15 selected countries averaged 44/1000 population. Western fertility at a comparable transition point was much lower at 30/1000. Between 1905 and 1960, fertility declines were evident in Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba, and Chile. Between 1960 and 1985, fertility declines appeared in Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, and Colombia. Fertility declines were smaller in the other Latin American countries. Crude birth rates declined markedly by 1985 but may overestimate fertility decline, which is more accurately measured by standardized birth rates. Fertility decline was evident in Argentina, Chile, and Costa Rica for standardized birth rates, survivorship ratio, and births surviving past the age of 15 years. Theoretically, families are expected to reduce family size when survivorship is assured; when mortality is 25%, only four children need be planned instead of six when mortality is 50%. A result of falling mortality is a cheaper cost of producing children, which may stimulate parents to raise bigger families. Western fertility decline has been attributed to mortality decline, urbanization, increased female labor force participation, rising wages, and more efficient contraception. Comparable economic development in Latin America has not resulted in large enough changes to encourage family size limitation. A table of fertility and economic indicators for selected countries in Latin America and Europe reflects the inverse relationship between income growth, urban growth, and growth in female educational status and fertility. The regression equation explains 60% of the variation in fertility rates among Latin American countries. Explanatory power increases to 75% when female

[Selected family socio-economic factors as predictors of peer violence among school children in Poland].

PubMed

Stalmach, Magdalena; Tabak, Izabela; Radiukiewicz, Katarzyna

2014-01-01

Analyses concerning peer violence among girls and boys aged 13-17 years, in the context of socio- -economic characteristics of the family: family structure, parental employment status and perceived family wealth. Preliminary data from the recent HBSC studies conducted in 12 voivodeships in Poland in 2013 was used. The analyzes concerned 2300 students aged 13-17 years (45% boys) and focused on the following types of violence: being a perpetrator and a victim of bullying, participation in fights and cyberbullying. Chi-square test analysis and multivariate logistic regression models were used. Significantly more boys than girls experienced bullying (28% vs. 22%) and was perpetrators of violence in the school (39% vs. 25%). The youth from single-parent families significantly more often than students from two-parent families, participated in fights and was the perpetrators of violence in the school. Being a perpetrator and a victim of violence concerned mostly students from poor families and boys, whose father was unemployed. The following risk factors was identified- among boys: low economic status of the family (victims of bullying) and single-parent family (victims of cyberbullying), father's unemployment (the perpetrator of bullying) and age 13-14 years (victims and perpetrators of bullying, participation in fights) and among girls: low economic status of the family (cyberbullying), mother's unemployment and age 13-14 years (victims of violence). The family socio-economic factors, gender and age determine the type and the prevalence of peer violence. Low economic status of the family and single-parent family increases the risk of experiencing violence. For the prevention of bullying the educational role of the father and his commitment to family budget are important.

Five Thousand American Families--Patterns of Economic Progress. Volume III: Analyses of the First Six Years of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Greg J., Ed.; Morgan, James N., Ed.

This volume focuses on the main issues to which the Panel Study of Income Dynamics was directed--the determinants of the changing economic fortunes of black and white families. The economic status of the families studied, patterns of transition, and changes in the structure of the families and their relationship to changes in economic activity are…

Economic Hardship and Depression Among Women in Latino Farmworker Families.

PubMed

Pulgar, Camila A; Trejo, Grisel; Suerken, Cynthia; Ip, Edward H; Arcury, Thomas A; Quandt, Sara A

2016-06-01

Farmworker family members risk poor mental health due to stressors including poverty, relocation, and documentation status. This paper explores the relationship between farm-work related stressors and depressive symptoms in women of Latino farmworker families. 248 mothers of young children completed fixed-response interviews in Spanish. Measures included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Migrant Farmworker Stress Inventory, and USDA Household Food Security Survey Module. Bivariate analyses indicated greater depressive symptoms with more economic hardship, more farm work-related stressors, greater age, and being unmarried. In multivariable logistic regression, economic hardship remained the only factor associated with depressive symptoms. Greater economic hardship, but not general farm work-related stress, is a main factor associated with depression in women of Latino farmworker families. Maternal depression can have consequences for both mothers and families. Mental health services for women in farmworker families should be targeted to those with the greatest economic challenges.

Development and Families: Implications for Home Economics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Eloise

1985-01-01

This article integrates literature from such diverse sources as population, agriculture, women in development, macro-economics, and health studies to document the changes that have occurred in families in the last 20-25 years. Program issues for the home economics profession are considered in light of these changes. (CT)

Economic Conditions of Military Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hosek, James; MacDermid Wadsworth, Shelley

2013-01-01

In this article, the authors found that the economic circumstances of military families are good, certainly much improved compared with even a decade ago. The military context is nonetheless challenging, with long hours, dangerous work, frequent transfers, and stressful absences during deployment. Service members receive relatively high pay and…

Family Economic Pressure and Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: Application of the Family Stress Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoder, Kevin A.; Hoyt, Dan R.

2005-01-01

This study used a sample of 501 families from the Mississippi Delta region to examine the feasibility of the Family Stress Model for understanding adolescent suicidal ideation. The results indicated that family economic pressure was related to parental depressive symptoms, which, in turn, was related to parental hostile behavior and physical…

The Family Economic Environment as a Context for Children's Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farran, Dale Clark; Margolis, Lewis H.

1987-01-01

Longitudinally examines how the complexities of the family economic environment may affect children's health, behavior, and ideas about the world of work. Family economic factors considered include father's/mother's work status (especially parental unemployment); per-capita income; health insurance; father's job security; and satisfaction with…

How Do Families Manage Their Economic Hardship?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baek, Eunyoung; DeVaney, Sharon A.

2010-01-01

Using data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study examined how families manage their economic hardship. A conceptual model was developed based on risk management theory and the permanent income hypothesis. About half of families used credit and about a third used their own savings to make up the difference between income and…

Consumer and Family Economics: Teacher's Instructional Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennis, Bobbye

This teacher's instructional guide, which is part of a family and consumer sciences education series focusing on a broad range of employment opportunities, is intended to assist teachers responsible for teaching one- and two-year consumer and family economics programs for Texas high school students. The following are among the items included: (1)…

Family economic hardship and Chinese adolescents' sleep quality: A moderated mediation model involving perceived economic discrimination and coping strategy.

PubMed

Bao, Zhenzhou; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhang, Wei; Zhu, Jianjun; Jiang, Yanping; Lai, Xuefen

2016-07-01

The association between family economic hardship and adolescent adjustment outcomes, including sleep quality, is well-established. Few studies, however, have examined the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying the relation between family economic hardship and adolescents' sleep quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of family economic hardship on Chinese adolescents' sleep quality, as well as the role of perceived economic discrimination as a mediator and the role of coping strategy as a moderator. Survey data from a cross-sectional sample of 997 Chinese adolescents (45% male, mean age = 15.04 years) were analyzed using path analysis in Mplus 7.0. The results of this study indicated that family economic hardship was significantly associated with adolescents' sleep quality. This association was mediated by adolescents' perceived economic discrimination. In addition, adolescents' coping strategy significantly moderated the path from perceived economic discrimination to sleep quality, with the "shift" coping strategy as a protective factor. The present study contributes to our understanding of key mechanisms underlying the association between family economic hardship and adolescent sleep quality and highlights the importance of improving sleep quality for adolescents exposed to economic hardship. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. All rights reserved.

The change of family size and structure in China.

PubMed

1992-04-01

With the socioeconomic development and change of people's values, there is some significant change in family size and structure in China. According to the 10% sample data from the 4th Census, 1 family has 3.97 persons on an average, less than the 3rd Census by 0.44 persons; among all types of families, 1-generation families account for 13.5%, 3 generation families for 18.5%, and 2-generation families account for 68%. Instead of large families consisting of several generations and many members, small families has now become a principal family type in China. According to the analysis of the sample data from the 4th Census, the family size is mainly decided by the fertility level in particular regions, and it also depends on the economic development. So family size is usually smaller in more developed regions, such as in Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Liaoning as well as in Shanghai of which family size is only 3.08 persons; and family size is generally larger in less developed regions such as in Qinghai, Guangxi, Gansu, Xinjiang, and in Tibet of which family size is as large as 5.13 persons. Specialists regard the increase of the number of families as 1 of the major consequences of the economic development, change of living style, and improvement of living standard, Young people now are more inclined to live separately from their parents. However, the increase of the number of families will undoubtedly place more pressure on housing and require more furniture and other durable consumer goods from the market. Therefore, the government and other social sectors related should make corresponding plans and policies to cope with the increase of families and minifying of family size so as to promote family planning and socioeconomic development, and to create better social circumstances for small families. full text

Childhood Family Structure and Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States.

PubMed

Bloome, Deirdre

2017-04-01

The declining prevalence of two-parent families helped increase income inequality over recent decades. Does family structure also condition how economic (dis)advantages pass from parents to children? If so, shifts in the organization of family life may contribute to enduring inequality between groups defined by childhood family structure. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data, I combine parametric and nonparametric methods to reveal how family structure moderates intergenerational income mobility in the United States. I find that individuals raised outside stable two-parent homes are much more mobile than individuals from stable two-parent families. Mobility increases with the number of family transitions but does not vary with children's time spent coresiding with both parents or stepparents conditional on a transition. However, this mobility indicates insecurity, not opportunity. Difficulties maintaining middle-class incomes create downward mobility among people raised outside stable two-parent homes. Regardless of parental income, these people are relatively likely to become low-income adults, reflecting a new form of perverse equality. People raised outside stable two-parent families are also less likely to become high-income adults than people from stable two-parent homes. Mobility differences account for about one-quarter of family-structure inequalities in income at the bottom of the income distribution and more than one-third of these inequalities at the top.

Childhood Family Structure and Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The declining prevalence of two-parent families helped increase income inequality over recent decades. Does family structure also condition how economic (dis)advantages pass from parents to children? If so, shifts in the organization of family life may contribute to enduring inequality between groups defined by childhood family structure. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data, I combine parametric and nonparametric methods to reveal how family structure moderates intergenerational income mobility in the United States. I find that individuals raised outside stable two-parent homes are much more mobile than individuals from stable two-parent families. Mobility increases with the number of family transitions but does not vary with children’s time spent coresiding with both parents or stepparents conditional on a transition. However, this mobility indicates insecurity, not opportunity. Difficulties maintaining middle-class incomes create downward mobility among people raised outside stable two-parent homes. Regardless of parental income, these people are relatively likely to become low-income adults, reflecting a new form of perverse equality. People raised outside stable two-parent families are also less likely to become high-income adults than people from stable two-parent homes. Mobility differences account for about one-quarter of family-structure inequalities in income at the bottom of the income distribution and more than one-third of these inequalities at the top. PMID:28315158

The Changing Family Structure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernard van Leer Foundation Newsletter, 1993

1993-01-01

This newsletter issue contains feature articles and short reports on how and why family structures are undergoing substantial change in many parts of the world. These articles include: (1) "The Changing Family Structure," a review of how families are changing and why; (2) "Peru: Families in the Andes"; (3) "Thailand:…

Economic Hardship and Adaptation among Asian American Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishii-Kuntz, Masako; Gomel, Jessica N.; Tinsley, Barbara J.; Parke, Ross D.

2010-01-01

Asian American families are often portrayed as affluent, having achieved a high level of education and occupational prestige. Despite this model-minority image, many Asian Americans suffer from economic hardship. Using a sample of 95 Asian Americans, this study examines the effect of perceived economic hardship on coping behavior, family…

Extended family households among children in the United States: Differences by race/ethnicity and socio-economic status.

PubMed

Cross, Christina J

2018-07-01

This study uses nationally representative longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, to examine the prevalence and predictors of extended family households among children in the United States and to explore variation by race/ethnicity and socio-economic status (SES). Findings suggest that extended family households are a common living arrangement for children, with 35 per cent of youth experiencing this family structure before age 18. Racial/ethnic and SES differences are substantial: 57 per cent of Black and 35 per cent of Hispanic children ever live in an extended family, compared with 20 per cent of White children. Further, 47 per cent of children whose parents did not finish high school spend time in an extended family, relative to 17 per cent of children whose parents earned a bachelor's degree or higher. Models of predictors show that transitions into extended families are largely a response to social and economic needs.

For Love "and" Money? The Impact of Family Structure on Family Income

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Adam; Sawhill, Isabel

2005-01-01

What do the half-century decline in U.S. marriage and the attendant rise in single parenthood mean for the economic well-being of children, especially children living in single-parent families? Adam Thomas and Isabel Sawhill show how differing living arrangements can be expected to affect families' economic well-being. Married-parent and…

We Are Family: Using Diverse Family Structure Literature with Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilmore, Deanna Peterschick; Bell, Kari

2006-01-01

The structure of the American family has changed over the years. Although the traditional father, mother, child structure still dominates, other family patterns are emerging. In this article the authors present: (1) current statistics relating to diverse family structures; (2) reasons for using diverse family structure literature with children;…

Family Economic Stress and Adjustment of Early Adolescent Girls.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conger, Rand D.; And Others

1993-01-01

Adolescent girls and their parents and a sibling completed questionnaires that measured several family variables and were observed interacting. Found that family economic pressures led to parents' depression, marital conflict, and disrupted parenting. Parents' depressed mood and disrupted child-rearing practices affected girls' adjustment. (BC)

Family Structure, Family Stability, and Outcomes of Five-Year-Old Children

PubMed Central

Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Waldfogel, Jane

2013-01-01

This study exploits data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort study of a diverse sample of children from twenty U.S. cities (N = 3,676), to examine how cognitive, behavioural, and health outcomes of five-year old children differ according to their family structure and family stability. We define three models: one that measures family structure at birth only, a second that measures current family structure at year five conditional on family structure at birth, and a third that measures changes in family structure from birth to age five. We find that while family structure has persistent links to child outcomes, the effects are significantly altered by stability of the family structure over time. These findings remain robust even after addressing selection. PMID:24163735

Influences underlying family food choices in mothers from an economically disadvantaged community.

PubMed

Hardcastle, Sarah J; Blake, Nicola

2016-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and attitudes that underlie food choices, and, the impact of a school-based healthy eating intervention in mothers from an economically-disadvantaged community. The aim of the intervention was to educate children to act as 'health messengers' to their families. Sixteen semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with mothers with four receiving a second interview. Interviews were conducted following their child's participation in a six-week after school healthy cooking intervention. Thematic content analysis revealed four main themes: Cost and budget influence on food choices, diversity in household rules controlling food, role of socialisation on diet, and improved cooking skills and confidence to make homemade meals. The interview findings demonstrated the positive influence of the after-school cooking intervention on children and their families in cooking skills, promoting healthier cooking methods and increasing confidence to prepare homemade meals. The findings demonstrated the wider economic and social influences on food choices and eating practices. Socialisation into, and strong cultural norms around, eating habits were significant influences on family diet and on parental decisions underpinning food choices and attitudes towards the control of food within the family. The intervention was perceived to be successful in terms of improving nutritional knowledge, cooking skills and increasing confidence to make healthy and tasty homemade meals. The study demonstrates the importance of parental involvement in school-based interventions if improvements in healthy eating are to be evidenced at the family level and maintained. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Stress Adjustment and Adaptation Model among Families Reporting Economic Pressure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandsburger, Etty; Biggerstaff, Marilyn A.

2004-01-01

This research evaluates the Stress Adjustment and Adaptation Model (double ABCX model) examining the effects resiliency resources on family functioning when families experience economic pressure. Families (N = 128) with incomes at or below the poverty line from a rural area of a southern state completed measures of perceived economic pressure,…

The economic impact of severe asthma to low-income families.

PubMed

Franco, R; Nascimento, H F; Cruz, A A; Santos, A C; Souza-Machado, C; Ponte, E V; Souza-Machado, A; Rodrigues, L C; Barreto, M L

2009-03-01

To estimate the direct and indirect costs of severe asthma and the economic impact of its management to low-income families in Salvador, Brazil. One hundred and ninety-seven patients with severe asthma and referred to a state-funded asthma center providing free treatment were evaluated. At registration, they were asked about family cost-events in the previous year and had a baseline assessment of lung function, symptoms and quality of life. During the subsequent year, they were reassessed prospectively. One hundred-eighty patients concluded a 12-month follow-up. Eighty-four percent were female patients, and the median family income was US$ 2955/year. Forty-seven percent of family members had lost their jobs because of asthma. Total cost of asthma management took 29% of family income. After proper treatment, asthma control scores improved by 50% and quality of life by 74%. The income of the families increased by US$ 711/year, as their members went back to work. The total cost of asthma to the families was reduced by a median US$ 789/family/year. Consequently, an annual surplus of US$ 1500/family became available. Family costs of severe asthma consumed over one-fourth of the family income of the underprivileged population in a middle-income country. Adequate management brings major economic benefit to individuals and families.

Consumer-Directed Supports: Economic, Health, and Social Outcomes for Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldwell, Joe

2006-01-01

The impact of a consumer-directed support program on family caregivers of adults with developmental disabilities was explored. Economic, health, and social outcomes were compared between families in the program and families on the waiting list for the program. Caregivers of adults in the program reported fewer out-of-pocket disability expenses,…

Family Structure, Family Processes, and Adolescent Smoking and Drinking*

PubMed Central

Brown, Susan L.; Rinelli, Lauren N.

2010-01-01

This study examined whether family structure was associated with adolescent risk behaviors, including smoking and drinking. Family living arrangements have become increasingly diverse, yet research on adolescent risk behaviors has typically relied on measures of family structure that do not adequately capture this diversity. Data from the 1994-95 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to conduct logistic regression analyses that revealed adolescents in two biological married parent families were least likely to smoke or drink, whereas adolescents in cohabiting stepfamilies were most likely. Those in single-mother families and married stepfamilies were in between. Maternal socialization was related to reduced odds of smoking and drinking. Maternal modeling was positively associated with smoking and drinking. Family structure is indicative of distinct family processes that are linked to risky behaviors among adolescents. PMID:20543893

The economic benefit for family/general medicine practices employing physician assistants.

PubMed

Grzybicki, Dana M; Sullivan, Paul J; Oppy, J Miller; Bethke, Anne-Marie; Raab, Stephen S

2002-07-01

To measure the economic benefit of a family/general medicine physician assistant (PA) practice. Qualitative description of a model PA practice in a family/general medicine practice office setting, and comparison of the financial productivity of a PA practice with that of a non-PA (physician-only) practice. The study site was a family/general medicine practice office in southwestern Pennsylvania. The description of PA practice was obtained through direct observation and semistructured interviews during site visits in 1998. Comparison of site practice characteristics with published national statistics was performed to confirm the site's usefulness as a model practice. Data used for PA productivity analyses were obtained from site visits, interviews, office billing records, office appointment logs, and national organizations. The PA in the model practice had a same-task substitution ratio of 0.86 compared with the supervising physician. The PA was economically beneficial for the practice, with a compensation-to-production ratio of 0.36. Compared with a practice employing a full-time physician, the annual financial differential of a practice employing a full-time PA was $52,592. Sensitivity analyses illustrated the economic benefit of a PA practice in a variety of theoretical family/general medicine practice office settings. Family/general medicine PAs are of significant economic benefit to practices that employ them.

The family model stress and maternal psychological symptoms: mediated pathways from economic hardship to parenting.

PubMed

Newland, Rebecca P; Crnic, Keith A; Cox, Martha J; Mills-Koonce, W Roger

2013-02-01

Although much of the extant research on low-income families has targeted parental depression as the predominant psychological response to economic hardship, the current study examined a range of maternal psychological symptoms that may mediate the relations between early economic pressure and later parenting behaviors. A family stress model was examined using data from 1,142 mothers living in 2 areas of high rural poverty, focusing on the infancy through toddlerhood period. Maternal questionnaires and observations of mother-child interactions were collected across 4 time points (6, 15, 24, and 36 months). Results from structural equation analyses indicated that early economic pressure was significantly related to a variety of symptoms (depression, hostility, anxiety, and somatization), but only depression and somatization were significantly related to decreased levels of sensitive, supportive parenting behaviors. In contrast, anxiety was positively associated with sensitive parenting. Depression and anxiety were both found to mediate the relations between economic pressure and sensitive parenting behaviors. Results further suggest that mothers did not experience change in objective economic hardship over time but did experience a small decrease in economic pressure. Discussion centers on the apparent indirect influence of early economic hardship on later psychological symptoms and parenting behaviors, as well as detailing the need for broader and more complex perspectives on maternal psychological responses that arise as a result of economic disadvantage. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Inter-relationships between the economic and emotional consequences of colorectal cancer for patients and their families: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background While the evidence-base concerning the economic impact of cancer for patients and their families/carers has grown in recent years, there is little known about how emotional responses to cancer influence this economic impact. We investigated the economic costs of cancer in the context of patients’ emotions and how these both shaped the patient and family burden. Methods Health professionals from six hospitals invited patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (ICD10 C18-C20) within the previous year to take part in the study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with patients and, where available, a family member. Interviews covered medical and non-medical costs incurred as a result of cancer and the impact of these on the lives of the patient and their family. Interviews were audio-recorded. Recordings were transcribed verbatim and these data were analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis. Results Twenty-two patients with colorectal cancer (17 colon and 5 rectal; 14 women and 8 men) were interviewed; 6 were accompanied by a family member. Important cancer-related financial outlays included: travel and parking associated with hospital appointments; costs of procedures; increased household bills; and new clothing. Cancer impacted on employed individuals’ ability to work and depressed their income. The opportunity cost of informal care for carers/family members, especially immediately post-diagnosis, was a strong theme. All patients spoke of the emotional burden of colorectal cancer and described how this burden could lead to further costs for themselves and their families by limiting work and hindering their ability to efficiently manage their expenses. Some patients also spoke of how economic and emotional burdens could interact with each other. Support from employers, family/carers and the state/health services and patients’ own attitudes influenced this inter-relationship. Conclusions The economic impact of colorectal

Is family planning an economic decision?

PubMed

Wunderink, S R

1995-09-01

This study examines economic models of household choice and the role of economic factors in determining the timing of births. A static economic model is presented and tested with data from the Netherlands. After the availability of contraceptives, the family size variable shifted from being an exogenous to an endogenous one, because births could be regulated. Costs of childbearing were construed to have maintenance costs for parents and society, attendance costs of care, and intangible costs such as anxiety or personal freedom. Benefits were intangible ones, such as joy and happiness; income; public benefits; and attendance benefits. Intangible benefits enlarged the utility of children, but maintenance costs diminished resources available for consumption. Child quality was a product of market goods purchased by parents and others and household labor. Household time allocation varied with child's age. Private responsibility for children varied by country. Quality of child care varied between countries and over time. Quality was dependent upon economies of scale, variable costs by the age of the child, variable time commitments by age of the child, and market substitutes for private child care. Higher income families spent more money but less time on children. It is pointed out that Becker's model explained number of children, but not timing of births. Postponement of birth was unlikely for those with a limited education, an unpleasant job, and low wages. When the advantages and disadvantages of having a baby were positive, spouses or single women with a high subjective preference were expected to bear a child as soon as possible. Government policy can affect the average family size by increasing or decreasing the financial and/or time burden of children. Postponement may be chosen based on long term analysis of a couple's future, the formation and use of capital, and/or high subjective time preference. Before and after first birth are different frames of reference

Racial Inequality Trends and the Intergenerational Persistence of Income and Family Structure

PubMed Central

Bloome, Deirdre

2015-01-01

Racial disparity in family incomes remained remarkably stable over the past 40 years in the United States despite major legal and social reforms. Previous scholarship presents two primary explanations for persistent inequality through a period of progressive change. One highlights continuity: because socioeconomic status is transmitted from parents to children, disparities created through histories of discrimination and opportunity denial may dissipate slowly. The second highlights change: because family income results from joining individual earnings in family units, changing family compositions can offset individuals’ changing economic chances. I examine whether black-white family income inequality trends are better characterized by the persistence of existing disadvantage (continuity) or shifting forms of disadvantage (change). I combine cross-sectional and panel analysis using Current Population Survey, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Census, and National Vital Statistics data. Results suggest that African Americans experience relatively extreme intergenerational continuity (low upward mobility) and discontinuity (high downward mobility); both helped maintain racial inequality. Yet, intergenerational discontinuities allow new forms of disadvantage to emerge. On net, racial inequality trends are better characterized by changing forms of disadvantage than by continuity. Economic trends were equalizing but demographic trends were disequalizing; as family structures shifted, family incomes did not fully reflect labor-market gains. PMID:26456973

Assessing Family Economic Status From Teacher Reports.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moskowitz, Joel M.; Hoepfner, Ralph

The utility of employing teacher reports about characteristics of students and their parents to assess family economic status was investigated using multiple regression analyses. The accuracy of teacher reports about parents' educational background was also explored, in addition to the effect of replacing missing data with logical, mean, or modal…

The Association of Level of Internet Use with Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in South Korean Adolescents: A Focus on Family Structure and Household Economic Status.

PubMed

Lee, Seo Yoon; Park, Eun-Cheol; Han, Kyu-Tae; Kim, Seung Ju; Chun, Sung-Youn; Park, Sohee

2016-04-01

To examine the association between the level of Internet addiction and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in South Korean adolescents, focusing on the roles of family structure and household economic status. Data from 221 265 middle and high school students taken from the 2008-2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey were used in this study. To identify factors associated with suicidal ideation/attempts, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. The level of Internet use was measured using the simplified Korean Internet Addiction Self-assessment Tool. Compared with mild users of the Internet, high-risk users and potential-risk users were more likely to report suicidal ideation (nonuser, odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05 to 1.15; potential risk, OR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.36 to 1.63; high risk OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.79 to 2.10) or attempts (nonuser, OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.42; potential risk, OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.38; high risk, OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.71 to 2.14). The nonuser group also had a slightly higher risk of suicidal ideation/attempts compared with mild users. This association appeared to vary by perceived economic status and family structure. Our study suggests that it is important to attend to adolescents who are at high risk for Internet addiction, especially when they do not have parents, have stepparents, or perceive their economic status as either very low or very high. © The Author(s) 2016.

The Association of Level of Internet Use with Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in South Korean Adolescents: A Focus on Family Structure and Household Economic Status

PubMed Central

Lee, Seo Yoon; Park, Eun-Cheol; Han, Kyu-Tae; Kim, Seung Ju; Chun, Sung-Youn

2016-01-01

Objective: To examine the association between the level of Internet addiction and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in South Korean adolescents, focusing on the roles of family structure and household economic status. Methods: Data from 221 265 middle and high school students taken from the 2008–2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey were used in this study. To identify factors associated with suicidal ideation/attempts, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. The level of Internet use was measured using the simplified Korean Internet Addiction Self-assessment Tool. Results: Compared with mild users of the Internet, high-risk users and potential-risk users were more likely to report suicidal ideation (nonuser, odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05 to 1.15; potential risk, OR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.36 to 1.63; high risk OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.79 to 2.10) or attempts (nonuser, OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.42; potential risk, OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.38; high risk, OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.71 to 2.14). The nonuser group also had a slightly higher risk of suicidal ideation/attempts compared with mild users. This association appeared to vary by perceived economic status and family structure. Conclusions: Our study suggests that it is important to attend to adolescents who are at high risk for Internet addiction, especially when they do not have parents, have stepparents, or perceive their economic status as either very low or very high. PMID:27254417

Family Economic Status and Parental Involvement: Influences of Parental Expectation and Perceived Barriers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Yiji; Deng, Ciping; Yang, Xiangdong

2016-01-01

Parental involvement in children's education is a critical factor associated with children's socio-emotional and educational outcomes. However, low parental involvement occurs more often among economically disadvantaged families. It is unclear what mechanisms may explain the association between family economic status and parents' educational…

Singapore's economic internationalization and its effects on work and family.

PubMed

Chia, A

2000-04-01

There are tensions between Singapore's economic strategy of internationalization and the emphasis on family life. Frequent travelers, unaccompanied expatriates, and their families experience these tensions. The frequent or extended absences of frequent travelers and expatriates make it difficult for them to fulfill their family roles and obligations, and may lead to estrangement from their families. Families who are left behind may face role conflict and role strain, but actually draw closer in their efforts to cope with the absence of their absent members. Researchers, policy-makers, and employers can contribute towards reducing the tensions between internationalization and family togetherness.

Family structure and income inequality in families with children, 1976 to 2000.

PubMed

Martin, Molly A

2006-08-01

Using 24 years of data from the March supplements to the Current Population Survey and detailed categories of family structure, including cohabiting unions, I assess the contribution of changes in family structure to the dramatic rise in family income inequality. Between 1976 and 2000, family structure shifts explain 41% of the increase in inequality, but the influence of family structure change is not uniform within this period or across racial-ethnic groups. In general, the estimated role of family structure change is inversely related to the magnitude of the changes in inequality. Furthermore, by including cohabitation, I find lower levels of total inequality and a weaker role for demographic shifts in family structure for trends in income inequality.

Protein family clustering for structural genomics.

PubMed

Yan, Yongpan; Moult, John

2005-10-28

A major goal of structural genomics is the provision of a structural template for a large fraction of protein domains. The magnitude of this task depends on the number and nature of protein sequence families. With a large number of bacterial genomes now fully sequenced, it is possible to obtain improved estimates of the number and diversity of families in that kingdom. We have used an automated clustering procedure to group all sequences in a set of genomes into protein families. Bench-marking shows the clustering method is sensitive at detecting remote family members, and has a low level of false positives. This comprehensive protein family set has been used to address the following questions. (1) What is the structure coverage for currently known families? (2) How will the number of known apparent families grow as more genomes are sequenced? (3) What is a practical strategy for maximizing structure coverage in future? Our study indicates that approximately 20% of known families with three or more members currently have a representative structure. The study indicates also that the number of apparent protein families will be considerably larger than previously thought: We estimate that, by the criteria of this work, there will be about 250,000 protein families when 1000 microbial genomes have been sequenced. However, the vast majority of these families will be small, and it will be possible to obtain structural templates for 70-80% of protein domains with an achievable number of representative structures, by systematically sampling the larger families.

Chronic Family Economic Hardship, Family Processes and Progression of Mental and Physical Health Symptoms in Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Tae Kyoung; Wickrama, K. A. S.; Simons, Leslie Gordon

2013-01-01

Research has documented the relationship between family stressors such as family economic hardship and marital conflict and adolescents' mental health symptoms, especially depressive symptoms. Few studies, however, have examined the processes whereby supportive parenting lessens this effect and the progression of mental health and physical health…

The Effect of Economic Stability on Family Stability among Welfare Recipients

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewin, Alisa C.

2005-01-01

The main rationale for defining two-parent families eligible for welfare was to keep families intact by eliminating an incentive for union dissolution. But there are other reasons for family instability, most notably women's reduced economic gain from marriage associated with having a chronically unemployed husband. This article explores the…

Building social and economic capital: the family and medical savings accounts.

PubMed

Cherry, Mark J

2012-12-01

Despite the well-documented social, economic, and adaptive advantages for young children, adolescents, and adults, the traditional family in the West is in decline. A growing percentage of men and women choose not to be bound by the traditional moral and social expectations of marriage and family life. Adults are much more likely than in the past to live as sexually active singles, with a concomitant increase in forms of social isolation as well as in the number of children born outside of marriage. These social shifts are also connected to public policies that provide incentives for individuals to exit the family, leaving behind its social, capital, and economic resources. The individualistic character of the social-democratic egalitarian ideology that underlies the current dominant approaches to health care financing in Western Europe and much of North America, for example, is associated with a decline in family stability. Welfare entitlements, including state-based health care, have made it easier to exit the family, undermining the centrality of the family's core human relationships. This essay argues for the importance of recognizing the cardinal role and reality of the family and for the importance of family-based health care savings accounts for preserving family integrity, while also providing for sustainable long-term health care reform.

Family Economic Stress, Quality of Paternal Relationship, and Depressive Symptoms among African American Adolescent Fathers

PubMed Central

Hunt, Tenah K. A.; Caldwell, Cleopatra H.; Assari, Shervin

2015-01-01

This study examined the association between perceived family economic stress, quality of father-son relationships, and depressive symptoms among African American adolescent fathers. Data were collected during pregnancy from 65 African American adolescents who were first-time fathers, ages 14-19. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that higher paternal relationship satisfaction was associated with fewer depressive symptoms among adolescent fathers. Additionally, depressive symptoms were higher among adolescent fathers who reported experiencing higher levels of conflict with their fathers. Further, paternal conflict moderated the effect of perceived family economic stress on depressive symptoms. That is, among adolescent fathers experiencing low levels of conflict with their fathers, high perceived family economic stress was associated with more depressive symptoms. Study findings suggest that the risk for depressive symptoms is highest among adolescent fathers experiencing low family economic stress and highly conflictual relations with their fathers. These results highlight the complexities of paternal relationships and perceived economic stressors on depressive symptoms during pregnancy for African American adolescent fathers. The importance of expanding research on influential familial relationships and economic stressors on adolescent African American fathers is discussed. PMID:26617454

Family and Consumer Science (Home Economics) Education References.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scholl, Jan

This document lists a total of 141 family and consumer science (home economics) references that were gleaned from popular press periodicals dating from December 1, 1994, to December 15, 1995. The references are organized by the following categories: child development, consumerism, grooming and clothing care, home environment, personal…

Management and Family Economics Student Modules. Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina State Dept. of Education, Columbia. Home Economics Education Section.

This instructor's guide was designed to help teachers present a performance-based course in family management and economics to high school students. The guide contains a listing of the modules contained in the student modules with suggested levels and courses for teaching; additional learning experiences; lists of supplemental resources and…

The Family Relationships Grid: Measuring Family Structure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Copeland, Anne P.; And Others

This study examined the Family Relationships Grid (FRG), a new measure of family structure that evaluates alliances, identification, isolation, and the relative strength of sibling and marital relationships. Subjects were 52 female and 35 male adolescents who were recruited through a university course and who each had at least one sibling.…

The family economic status and outcome of people with schizophrenia in Xinjin, Chengdu, China: 14-year follow-up study.

PubMed

Ran, Mao-Sheng; Yang, Lawrence H; Liu, Yu-Jun; Huang, Debbie; Mao, Wen-Jun; Lin, Fu-Rong; Li, Jie; Chan, Cecilia Lai-Wan

2017-05-01

Little is known about whether family economic status might influence the long-term (e.g. over 10 years) outcome of persons with schizophrenia in the community. To examine the differences in outcome at 14-year follow-up of persons with schizophrenia from high versus low family economic status backgrounds in a Chinese rural area. A prospective 14-year follow-up study was conducted in six townships in Xinjin County, Chengdu, China. All participants with schizophrenia ( n = 510) were identified in an epidemiological investigation of 123,572 people aged 15 years and older and followed up from 1994 to 2008. Individuals from low family economic status (family economic status (⩾mean; 3.2% and 76.6%, respectively). Individuals from low family economic status had significantly lower rates of marriage and complete remission, higher mean scores on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and lower mean score on Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) than those from high family economic status in 2008. The predictors of low family economic status of individuals in 2008 encompassed the baseline low family economic status, poor families' attitude toward the patient, younger age, older age of first onset and longer duration of illness. Low family economic status is a predictive factor of poor long-term outcome of persons with schizophrenia in the rural community. Individuals' family economic status should be considered in making mental health policy and providing community-based mental health services.

A Framework for Including Family Health Spillovers in Economic Evaluation

PubMed Central

Al-Janabi, Hareth; van Exel, Job; Brouwer, Werner; Coast, Joanna

2016-01-01

Health care interventions may affect the health of patients’ family networks. It has been suggested that these “health spillovers” should be included in economic evaluation, but there is not a systematic method for doing this. In this article, we develop a framework for including health spillovers in economic evaluation. We focus on extra-welfarist economic evaluations where the objective is to maximize health benefits from a health care budget (the “health care perspective”). Our framework involves adapting the conventional cost-effectiveness decision rule to include 2 multiplier effects to internalize the spillover effects. These multiplier effects express the ratio of total health effects (for patients and their family networks) to patient health effects. One multiplier effect is specified for health benefit generated from providing a new intervention, one for health benefit displaced by funding this intervention. We show that using multiplier effects to internalize health spillovers could change the optimal funding decisions and generate additional health benefits to society. PMID:26377370

Three Generation Family Households: Differences by Family Structure at Birth

PubMed Central

Pilkauskas, Natasha V.

2013-01-01

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (N=4,898), this study investigates how the share, correlates, transition patterns, and duration of three generation households vary by mother’s relationship status at birth. Nine percent of married mothers, 17 % of cohabiting, and 45% of single mothers live in a three generation family household at the birth of the child. Incidence over time is much higher and most common among single mother households, 60% live in a three generation family household in at least one wave. Economic need, culture, and generational needs are associated with living in a three generation household and correlates vary by mother’s relationship status. Three generation family households are short lived and transitions are frequent. Kin support through coresidence is an important source of support for families with young children and in particular families that are unwed at the birth of their child. PMID:24014117

Family Economic Issues & Public Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimsey, Peggy Poling; Paynter, Mary Ann

Emerging from two graduate seminars designed to increase the involvement of home economists in public policy, this publication includes course outlines, models, and papers on selected issues concerning family-related government policy. The structure and requirements of the two seminars, held in 1978 at the University of Kentucky, are described. A…

Economic Stress and Cortisol Among Postpartum Low-Income Mexican American Women: Buffering Influence of Family Support.

PubMed

Jewell, Shannon L; Luecken, Linda J; Gress-Smith, Jenna; Crnic, Keith A; Gonzales, Nancy A

2015-01-01

Low-income Mexican American women experience significant health disparities during the postpartum period. Contextual stressors, such as economic stress, are theorized to affect health via dysregulated cortisol output. However, cultural protective factors including strong family support may buffer the impact of stress. In a sample of 322 low-income Mexican American women (mother age 18-42; 82% Spanish-speaking; modal family income $10,000-$15,000), we examined the interactive influence of economic stress and family support at 6 weeks postpartum on maternal cortisol output (AUCg) during a mildly challenging mother-infant interaction task at 12 weeks postpartum, controlling for 6-week maternal cortisol and depressive symptoms. The interaction significantly predicted cortisol output such that higher economic stress predicted higher cortisol only among women reporting low family support. These results suggest that family support is an important protective resource for postpartum Mexican American women experiencing elevated economic stress.

Dimensions of Family Functioning: Perspectives of Low-Income African American Single Parent Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mccreary, Linda L.; Dancy, Barbara L.

2004-01-01

Family functioning is influenced by socio-economic status, culture, family structure, and developmental stage, and is assessed primarily using instruments developed for middle-income European American two-parent families. These instruments may not validly assess low-income African American single-parent families. This qualitative study was…

Violent behavior in Chinese adolescents with an economic disadvantage. Psychological, family and interpersonal correlates.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T; Tang, Vera

2003-01-01

Two studies investigating the psychological, family and interpersonal correlates of adolescent violent behavior are reported in this paper. In Study 1, secondary school students (N = 1,519) responded to established scales assessing their psychological attributes, family functioning, parenting qualities and psychosocial support and conflict. Results of Study 1 showed that: a) adolescents who showed higher levels of perceived stress and psychological symptoms displayed more signs of adolescent violence; b) adolescents who had a higher sense of mastery and existential mental health displayed less signs of violence; c) adolescents' attitudes towards poverty and traditional Chinese beliefs about adversity were significantly related to adolescent violence; d) higher levels of family functioning, positive parenting styles as well as interpersonal support and lower levels of interpersonal conflicts were associated with a lower level of adolescent violence. Results further showed that some of the above factors were more strongly related to adolescent violence in adolescents experiencing economic disadvantage than in adolescents who did not experience economic disadvantage. Some of the findings of Study 1 were replicated in Study 2, where adolescents from 229 families (either families on welfare or low income families) were recruited. These studies suggested that several psychological, family and interpersonal factors are related to adolescent violent behavior, particularly in adolescents with economic disadvantage.

Family Structure, Residential Mobility, and Environmental Inequality

PubMed Central

Downey, Liam; Crowder, Kyle; Kemp, Robert J.

2016-01-01

This study combines micro-level data on families with children from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with neighborhood-level industrial hazard data from the Environmental Protection Agency and neighborhood-level U.S. census data to examine both the association between family structure and residential proximity to neighborhood pollution and the micro-level, residential mobility processes that contribute to differential pollution proximity across family types. Results indicate the existence of significant family structure differences in household proximity to industrial pollution in U.S. metropolitan areas between 1990 and 1999, with single-mother and single-father families experiencing neighborhood pollution levels that are on average 46% and 26% greater, respectively, than those experienced by two-parent families. Moreover, the pollution gap between single-mother and two-parent families persists with controls for household and neighborhood socioeconomic, sociodemographic, and race/ethnic characteristics. Examination of underlying migration patterns reveals that single-mother, single-father, and two-parent families are equally likely to move in response to pollution. However, mobile single-parent families move into neighborhoods with significantly higher pollution levels than do mobile two-parent families. Thus, family structure differences in pollution proximity are maintained more by these destination neighborhood differences than by family structure variations in the likelihood of moving out of polluted neighborhoods. PMID:28348440

Work Role Characteristics, Family Structure Demands, and Work/Family Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voydanoff, Patricia

1988-01-01

Examined relationships between work role characteristics, family structure demands, and work/family conflict, using data from 757 married men and 270 married women. Found that amount and scheduling of work time, job demands, and presence of children in home were related to work/family conflict. Work role characteristics and family structure…

The effect of economic stability on family stability among welfare recipients.

PubMed

Lewin, Alisa C

2005-06-01

The main rationale for defining two-parent families eligible for welfare was to keep families intact by eliminating an incentive for union dissolution. But there are other reasons for family instability, most notably women's reduced economic gain from marriage associated with having a chronically unemployed husband. This article explores the hypothesis that husband's unemployment increases union dissolution among welfare recipients. The analysis uses data from California's Link-Up demonstration project. A discrete-time event-history methodology was employed to examine family instability. The findings show that husband's unemployment and the family's long-term welfare dependency lead to breakup, net of race, age, and number of children.

Corporal punishment in rural Colombian families: prevalence, family structure and socio-demographic variables.

PubMed

González, Martha Rocío; Trujillo, Angela; Pereda, Noemí

2014-05-01

To reveal the prevalence of corporal punishment in a rural area of Colombia and its correlates to family structure and other socio-demographic variables. A survey about childrearing and childcare was developed for this study, including a specific question about corporal punishment that was developed based on the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Family structure was categorized as follows, based on previous literature: 'nuclear family,' 'single parent' family, 'extended family,' 'simultaneous family' and 'composed family.' Forty-one percent of the parents surveyed admitted they had used corporal punishment of their children as a disciplinary strategy. The type of family structure, the number of children living at home, the age of the children, the gender of the parent who answered the survey, and the age and gender of the partner were significant predictors of corporal punishment. Family structure is an important variable in the understanding of corporal punishment, especially in regard to nuclear families that have a large number of children and parents who started their parental role early in life. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement of Family Affective Structure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowman, Joseph

1980-01-01

Three studies demonstrate that the Inventory of Family Feelings, a measure of family affective structure, has high reliability and construct and concurrent validity. It is appropriate for affective comparisons by age, sex, and ordinal position of children and for measuring change after family or marital therapy, or after predictable stress…

The impact of urbanization on family structure: the experience of Sarawak, Malaysia.

PubMed

Sim, Hew Cheng

2003-01-01

This paper argues that women and men encounter the processes of migration and urbanization in very gendered ways. It examines state development policies and their role in accelerating the pace of urbanization, Using material from a recently concluded study on single mothers in the lower socio-economic strata, this paper explores the impact of these wider processes on the structure of the family and women from this strata specifically.

The importance of family management, closeness with father and family structure in early adolescent alcohol use.

PubMed

Habib, Cherine; Santoro, Joseph; Kremer, Peter; Toumbourou, John; Leslie, Eva; Williams, Joanne

2010-10-01

To examine the importance of family management, family structure and father-adolescent relationships on early adolescent alcohol use. Cross-sectional data was collected across 30 randomly selected Australian communities stratified to represent a range of socio-economic and regional variation. Data were collected during school time from adolescents attending a broad range of schools. The sample consisted of a combined 8256 students (aged 10-14 years). Students completed a web-based survey as part of the Healthy Neighbourhoods project. Family management-which included practices such as parental monitoring and family rules about alcohol use-had the strongest and most consistent relationship with alcohol use in early adolescence. Adolescents reporting higher family management were less likely to have drunk alcohol in their life-time, less likely to drink alcohol in the preceding 30 days and less likely to have had an alcohol binge. Adolescents reporting emotionally close relationships with their fathers were less likely to have drunk alcohol in their life-time and less likely to have had an alcohol binge in the preceding fortnight. Findings indicate that family management practices may contribute to alcohol abstinence in adolescents. Furthermore, emotionally close father-adolescent relationships may also foster abstinence; however, fathers' drinking behaviours need to be considered. © 2010 The Authors, Addiction © 2010 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Family structure and child food insecurity.

PubMed

Miller, Daniel P; Nepomnyaschy, Lenna; Ibarra, Gabriel Lara; Garasky, Steven

2014-07-01

We examined whether food insecurity was different for children in cohabiting or repartnered families versus those in single-mother or married-parent (biological) families. We compared probabilities of child food insecurity (CFI) across different family structures in 4 national data sets: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS). Unadjusted probabilities of CFI in cohabiting or repartnered families were generally higher than in married-biological-parent families and often statistically indistinguishable from those of single-mother families. However, after adjustment for sociodemographic factors, most differences between family types were attenuated and most were no longer statistically significant. Although children whose biological parents are cohabiting or whose biological mothers have repartnered have risks for food insecurity comparable to those in single-mother families, the probability of CFI does not differ by family structure when household income, family size, and maternal race, ethnicity, education, and age were held at mean levels.

Family Structure Experiences and Child Socioemotional Development During the First Nine Years of Life: Examining Heterogeneity by Family Structure at Birth

PubMed Central

Berger, Lawrence M.

2018-01-01

A vast amount of literature has documented negative associations between family instability and child development, with the largest associations being in the socioemotional (behavioral) domain. Yet, prior work has paid limited attention to differentiating the role of the number, types, and sequencing of family transitions that children experience, as well as to understanding potential heterogeneity in these associations by family structure at birth. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and hierarchical linear models to examine associations of family structure states and transitions with children’s socioemotional development during the first nine years of life. We pay close attention to the type and number of family structure transitions experienced and examine whether associations differ depending on family structure at birth. For children born to cohabiting or noncoresident parents, we find little evidence that subsequent family structure experiences are associated with socioemotional development. For children born to married parents, we find associations between family instability and poorer socioemotional development. However, this largely reflects the influence of parental breakup; we find little evidence that socioemotional trajectories differ for children with various family structure experiences subsequent to their parents’ breakup. PMID:28299560

Family Structure Experiences and Child Socioemotional Development During the First Nine Years of Life: Examining Heterogeneity by Family Structure at Birth.

PubMed

Bzostek, Sharon H; Berger, Lawrence M

2017-04-01

A vast amount of literature has documented negative associations between family instability and child development, with the largest associations being in the socioemotional (behavioral) domain. Yet, prior work has paid limited attention to differentiating the role of the number, types, and sequencing of family transitions that children experience, as well as to understanding potential heterogeneity in these associations by family structure at birth. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and hierarchical linear models to examine associations of family structure states and transitions with children's socioemotional development during the first nine years of life. We pay close attention to the type and number of family structure transitions experienced and examine whether associations differ depending on family structure at birth. For children born to cohabiting or noncoresident parents, we find little evidence that subsequent family structure experiences are associated with socioemotional development. For children born to married parents, we find associations between family instability and poorer socioemotional development. However, this largely reflects the influence of parental breakup; we find little evidence that socioemotional trajectories differ for children with various family structure experiences subsequent to their parents' breakup.

Family structure and park use among parents.

PubMed

Fan, Yingling; French, Simone A; Das, Kirti V

2012-11-01

Despite the increasingly diversified family structure in the U.S., little research examines differences in park use between nontraditional and traditional family structures. This study examines family-structure differences in parent park use. It was hypothesized that working single parents and dual-worker parents have lower levels of park use than parents in two-parent, single-worker families. Data from a 2010 park-use survey in three urban neighborhoods in Minneapolis MN (N=261 parents) were analyzed in 2012. Multiple variables of park use were developed, including recalled measures over the past 3 days and over the past year. Family-structure differences in these variables were examined using multivariate regression analyses. After controlling for spatial clustering effects and confounding factors, working single parents reported 32.6% (p<0.10) fewer park visits and 62.0% (p<0.05) less time spent in parks in the past 3 days than parents in two-parent, single-worker families. Dual-worker parents did not report fewer park visits in the past 3 days than parents in two-parent, single-worker families, yet the length of time they spent in parks during these visits was 41.5% (p<0.10) less. Family-structure differences in past-year park-use measures were not significant. This research shows the importance of including family-structure variables and both recent and longer-term recalled measures of park use in park-use studies. Greater attention to the recreation needs of working single parents and dual-worker parents is needed in descriptive and intervention research aiming to promote park use among families with children. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Family Economic Hardship and Progression of Poor Mental Health in Middle-Aged Husbands and Wives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickrama, K. A. S.; Surjadi, Florensia F.; Lorenz, Frederick O.; Conger, Rand D.; O'Neal, Catherine Walker

2012-01-01

Using prospective data from 370 middle-aged husbands and wives during a 12-year period, we investigated the intra-individual and dyadic influence of family economic hardship on the levels of depressive symptoms of husbands and wives over their middle years. The results suggest that family economic hardship during the early middle years contributes…

Children's Self-Concepts as Related to Family Structure and Family Concept.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parish, Joycelyn G.; Parish, Thomas S.

1983-01-01

Surveyed 426 children from intact, divorced, and reconstituted families, who responded to the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children to evaluate their families and themselves. Results showed a significant association between children's self-concepts and both their family structure and family concepts. (JAC)

The Economic Consequences of Absent Parents. JCPR Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Marianne E.; Stevens, Ann Huff

In recent years, the belief that marriage bestows large economic gains has generated enthusiasm for policy proposals that encourage the formation and continuation of two-parent families. This study examined the effects of family structure on economic resources, controlling for unobservable family background characteristics. Data were drawn from…

Work, family, and gender: elements for a theory of work-family balance.

PubMed

Cantera, Leonor M; Cubells, Ma Eugenia; Martínez, Luz Ma; Blanch, Josep M

2009-11-01

Over last century, work was not only a means of economic survival, but also a very strong factor of psychological structuring and of organization of personal, family, and everyday life. The new world of work provides new challenges to the balance of work and family life. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 453 people with the aim of analyzing the relation between variables such as family burdens and domestic responsibilities, and the appraisal of work and family, values involved in work-family balance. The results of this study show that, in the present economic and cultural context, assuming family burdens and domestic responsibilities increases the positive appraisal of work and family, both in men and women. This has theoretical and practical implications concerning the challenge of work-family balance.

Four RNA families with functional transient structures.

PubMed

Zhu, Jing Yun A; Meyer, Irmtraud M

2015-01-01

Protein-coding and non-coding RNA transcripts perform a wide variety of cellular functions in diverse organisms. Several of their functional roles are expressed and modulated via RNA structure. A given transcript, however, can have more than a single functional RNA structure throughout its life, a fact which has been previously overlooked. Transient RNA structures, for example, are only present during specific time intervals and cellular conditions. We here introduce four RNA families with transient RNA structures that play distinct and diverse functional roles. Moreover, we show that these transient RNA structures are structurally well-defined and evolutionarily conserved. Since Rfam annotates one structure for each family, there is either no annotation for these transient structures or no such family. Thus, our alignments either significantly update and extend the existing Rfam families or introduce a new RNA family to Rfam. For each of the four RNA families, we compile a multiple-sequence alignment based on experimentally verified transient and dominant (dominant in terms of either the thermodynamic stability and/or attention received so far) RNA secondary structures using a combination of automated search via covariance model and manual curation. The first alignment is the Trp operon leader which regulates the operon transcription in response to tryptophan abundance through alternative structures. The second alignment is the HDV ribozyme which we extend to the 5' flanking sequence. This flanking sequence is involved in the regulation of the transcript's self-cleavage activity. The third alignment is the 5' UTR of the maturation protein from Levivirus which contains a transient structure that temporarily postpones the formation of the final inhibitory structure to allow translation of maturation protein. The fourth and last alignment is the SAM riboswitch which regulates the downstream gene expression by assuming alternative structures upon binding of SAM. All

Economic Well-Being in Salvadoran Transnational Families: How Gender Affects Remittance Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abrego, Leisy

2009-01-01

This article examines how migrant parents' gender affects transnational families' economic well-being. Drawing on 130 in-depth interviews with Salvadoran immigrants in the United States and adolescent and young adult children of migrants in El Salvador, I demonstrate that the gender of migrant parents centrally affects how well their families are…

The economic burden of caregiving on families of children and adolescents with cancer: a population-based assessment.

PubMed

Pagano, Eva; Baldi, Ileana; Mosso, Maria Luisa; di Montezemolo, Luca Cordero; Fagioli, Franca; Pastore, Guido; Merletti, Franco

2014-06-01

Childhood cancer represents a relevant economic burden on families. The preferred tool to investigate family expenditure is the retrospective questionnaire, which is subject to recall errors and selection bias. Therefore, in the present study the economic burden of caregiving on families of children and adolescents (0-19 years of age) with cancer was analysed using administrative data as an alternative to retrospective questionnaires. Incident cases of cancer diagnosed in children and adolescents in 2000-2005 (N = 917) were identified from the Piedmont Childhood Cancer Registry and linked to available administrative databases to identify episodes of care during the 3 years after diagnosis (N = 13,433). The opportunity cost of informal caregiving was estimated as the value of the time spent by one of the parents, and was assumed to be equal to the number of days during which the child received inpatient care, day-care or outpatient radiotherapy. Factors affecting the level of economic burden of caregiving on families were analysed in a multivariable model. The economic burden of caregiving increased when care was supplied at the Regional Referral Centre, or when treatment complexity was high. Families with younger children had a higher level of economic burden of caregiving. Leukaemia required a higher family commitment than any other cancer considered. Estimates of the economic burden of caregiving on families of children and adolescents with cancer derived from administrative data should be considered a minimum burden. The estimated effect of the covariates is informative for healthcare decision-makers in planning support programmes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Economic Evaluation of Family Planning Interventions in Low and Middle Income Countries; A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Zakiyah, Neily; van Asselt, Antoinette D I; Roijmans, Frank; Postma, Maarten J

2016-01-01

A significant number of women in low and middle income countries (L-MICs) who need any family planning, experience a lack in access to modern effective methods. This study was conducted to review potential cost effectiveness of scaling up family planning interventions in these regions from the published literatures and assess their implication for policy and future research. A systematic review was performed in several electronic databases i.e Medline (Pubmed), Embase, Popline, The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), EBSCOHost, and The Cochrane Library. Articles reporting full economic evaluations of strategies to improve family planning interventions in one or more L-MICs, published between 1995 until 2015 were eligible for inclusion. Data was synthesized and analyzed using a narrative approach and the reporting quality of the included studies was assessed using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement. From 920 references screened, 9 studies were eligible for inclusion. Six references assessed cost effectiveness of improving family planning interventions in one or more L-MICs, while the rest assessed costs and consequences of integrating family planning and HIV services, concerning sub-Saharan Africa. Assembled evidence suggested that improving family planning interventions is cost effective in a variety of L-MICs as measured against accepted international cost effectiveness benchmarks. In areas with high HIV prevalence, integrating family planning and HIV services can be efficient and cost effective; however the evidence is only supported by a very limited number of studies. The major drivers of cost effectiveness were cost of increasing coverage, effectiveness of the interventions and country-specific factors. Improving family planning interventions in low and middle income countries appears to be cost-effective. Additional economic evaluation studies with improved reporting quality are necessary to generate

Four RNA families with functional transient structures

PubMed Central

Zhu, Jing Yun A; Meyer, Irmtraud M

2015-01-01

Protein-coding and non-coding RNA transcripts perform a wide variety of cellular functions in diverse organisms. Several of their functional roles are expressed and modulated via RNA structure. A given transcript, however, can have more than a single functional RNA structure throughout its life, a fact which has been previously overlooked. Transient RNA structures, for example, are only present during specific time intervals and cellular conditions. We here introduce four RNA families with transient RNA structures that play distinct and diverse functional roles. Moreover, we show that these transient RNA structures are structurally well-defined and evolutionarily conserved. Since Rfam annotates one structure for each family, there is either no annotation for these transient structures or no such family. Thus, our alignments either significantly update and extend the existing Rfam families or introduce a new RNA family to Rfam. For each of the four RNA families, we compile a multiple-sequence alignment based on experimentally verified transient and dominant (dominant in terms of either the thermodynamic stability and/or attention received so far) RNA secondary structures using a combination of automated search via covariance model and manual curation. The first alignment is the Trp operon leader which regulates the operon transcription in response to tryptophan abundance through alternative structures. The second alignment is the HDV ribozyme which we extend to the 5′ flanking sequence. This flanking sequence is involved in the regulation of the transcript's self-cleavage activity. The third alignment is the 5′ UTR of the maturation protein from Levivirus which contains a transient structure that temporarily postpones the formation of the final inhibitory structure to allow translation of maturation protein. The fourth and last alignment is the SAM riboswitch which regulates the downstream gene expression by assuming alternative structures upon binding of SAM

The economic burden of infant formula on families with young children in the Philippines.

PubMed

Sobel, Howard L; Iellamo, Alessandro D; Raya, Rene R; Padilla, Alexander A; Sta Ana, Filomeno S; Nyunt-U, Soe

2012-05-01

Infant formula usage places children at risk for illness and death. Studies in the United States demonstrated high economic burden, health care costs, and absenteeism of caregivers associated with formula usage. Despite high formula usage in developing countries, no economic studies were found. This study examines the financial burden of purchasing infant formula and increased health care expenditure in the Philippines, a developing country with a per capita income of $3930. The average exchange rate of the peso to the US dollar for 2003 was $1 to P52, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This is a secondary analysis of the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, a national cross-sectional multistage cluster survey of 42 094 households. Almost half of Philippine families with a young child and one-third of families living on less than $2 per day purchase formula. Nationally, $260 million was spent on infant formula in 2003. Formula-buying families with young children had spent an aggregate of $143.9 million on medical care compared to $56.6 million by non-formula-buying families. After adjusting for income and nonmilk family expenditures, the average formula-purchasing Philippine family spent an additional $0.30 (95% CI: 0.24 - 0.36; r(2) = 0.08) on medical expenditure for every $1 spent on formula. The economic burden from infant formula purchase and out-of-pocket medical expenditure exceeded $400 million in 2003. This cost was aside from other costs, such as absenteeism and the risk of childhood death and illness. These expenses caused an unnecessary burden on Filipino families and could instead have been invested in education and other social services.

Jamaican family structure: the paradox of normalcy.

PubMed

Dechesnay, M

1986-06-01

The relationship between basic research, theory, and clinical work with families is conceptualized during a discussion of Jamaican family structure and the application of change theory to a clinical case of depression in a Jamaican woman. It was found that three types of family structure are prevalent in Jamaica. The European ideal of a patriarchal-patrifocal structure creates problems for working-class Jamaicans. General system theory provides support for a different model. Change theory is applied to resolve the paradox created by the European model.

Economic Evaluation of Family Planning Interventions in Low and Middle Income Countries; A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Zakiyah, Neily; van Asselt, Antoinette D. I.; Roijmans, Frank; Postma, Maarten J.

2016-01-01

Background A significant number of women in low and middle income countries (L-MICs) who need any family planning, experience a lack in access to modern effective methods. This study was conducted to review potential cost effectiveness of scaling up family planning interventions in these regions from the published literatures and assess their implication for policy and future research. Study design A systematic review was performed in several electronic databases i.e Medline (Pubmed), Embase, Popline, The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), EBSCOHost, and The Cochrane Library. Articles reporting full economic evaluations of strategies to improve family planning interventions in one or more L-MICs, published between 1995 until 2015 were eligible for inclusion. Data was synthesized and analyzed using a narrative approach and the reporting quality of the included studies was assessed using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement. Results From 920 references screened, 9 studies were eligible for inclusion. Six references assessed cost effectiveness of improving family planning interventions in one or more L-MICs, while the rest assessed costs and consequences of integrating family planning and HIV services, concerning sub-Saharan Africa. Assembled evidence suggested that improving family planning interventions is cost effective in a variety of L-MICs as measured against accepted international cost effectiveness benchmarks. In areas with high HIV prevalence, integrating family planning and HIV services can be efficient and cost effective; however the evidence is only supported by a very limited number of studies. The major drivers of cost effectiveness were cost of increasing coverage, effectiveness of the interventions and country-specific factors. Conclusion Improving family planning interventions in low and middle income countries appears to be cost-effective. Additional economic evaluation studies with improved

[The economic-financial sustainability of the Family Health Strategy in large municipalities].

PubMed

Portela, Gustavo Zoio; Ribeiro, José Mendes

2011-03-01

The universalization of basic care and commitment budget of the Ministry of Health with the Family Health Strategy (ESF) through new systematic financing incentives have been highlighted in the Brazilian health policy scenario. One of the great problems observed is the expansion of the strategy for large urban centres. This paper studies the economic-financial sustainability of ESF in Brazilian municipalities of more than 100 thousand inhabitants according to some selected indicators, considering the geographical region to which they belong, their population size and participation in Project for the Expansion and Consolidation Family Health (Proesf). Municipalities belonging to the Southeast region, more developed of the country, have on average better economic-financial performance, but lower average values of coverage of ESF. Municipalities from the North and Northeast, with the lowest average for economic-financial sustainability indicators, were the ones that made more effort to developments in the period. Thus, we observed the dynamics between bigger fiscal capacity and budgetary commitment with the Health Sector for biggest municipalities and in more economically developed regions, and greater vulnerability and dependence of federative transferences for municipalities with less people, in less developed areas.

Family economic strengthening and mental health functioning of caregivers for AIDS-affected children in rural Uganda.

PubMed

Wang, Julia Shu-Huah; Ssewamala, Fred M; Han, Chang-Keun

In sub-Saharan Africa, many extended families assume the role of caregivers for children orphaned by AIDS (AIDS-affected children). The economic and psychological stress ensued from caregiving duties often predispose caregivers to poor mental health outcomes. Yet, very few studies exist on effective interventions to support these caregivers. Using data from a randomized controlled trial called Suubi-Maka ( N = 346), this paper examines whether a family economic strengthening intervention among families caring for AIDS-affected children (ages 12-14) in Uganda would improve the primary caregivers' mental health functioning. The Suubi-Maka study comprised of a control condition ( n = 167) receiving usual care for AIDS-affected children, and a treatment condition ( n = 179) receiving a family economic strengthening intervention, including matched savings accounts, and financial planning and management training to incentivize families to save money for education and/or family-level income generating projects. This paper uses data from baseline/pre-intervention (wave 1) interviews with caregivers and 12-month post-intervention initiation (wave 2). The caregiver's mental health measure adapted from previous studies in sub- Saharan Africa had an internal consistency of .88 at wave 1 and .90 at wave 2. At baseline, the two study groups did not significantly differ on caregiver's mental health functioning. However, at 12-month follow-up, multiple regression analysis located significant differences between the two study groups on mental health functioning. Specifically, following the intervention, caregivers in the treatment condition reported positive improvements on their mental health functioning, especially in the symptom areas of obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, and psychoticism. Findings point to a need for programs and policies aimed at supporting caregivers of AIDS-affected children to begin to consider incorporating family-level economic

Family economic strengthening and mental health functioning of caregivers for AIDS-affected children in rural Uganda

PubMed Central

Wang, Julia Shu-Huah; Ssewamala, Fred M.; Han, Chang-Keun

2015-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, many extended families assume the role of caregivers for children orphaned by AIDS (AIDS-affected children). The economic and psychological stress ensued from caregiving duties often predispose caregivers to poor mental health outcomes. Yet, very few studies exist on effective interventions to support these caregivers. Using data from a randomized controlled trial called Suubi-Maka (N = 346), this paper examines whether a family economic strengthening intervention among families caring for AIDS-affected children (ages 12–14) in Uganda would improve the primary caregivers’ mental health functioning. The Suubi-Maka study comprised of a control condition (n = 167) receiving usual care for AIDS-affected children, and a treatment condition (n = 179) receiving a family economic strengthening intervention, including matched savings accounts, and financial planning and management training to incentivize families to save money for education and/or family-level income generating projects. This paper uses data from baseline/pre-intervention (wave 1) interviews with caregivers and 12-month post-intervention initiation (wave 2). The caregiver’s mental health measure adapted from previous studies in sub- Saharan Africa had an internal consistency of .88 at wave 1 and .90 at wave 2. At baseline, the two study groups did not significantly differ on caregiver’s mental health functioning. However, at 12-month follow-up, multiple regression analysis located significant differences between the two study groups on mental health functioning. Specifically, following the intervention, caregivers in the treatment condition reported positive improvements on their mental health functioning, especially in the symptom areas of obsession–compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, and psychoticism. Findings point to a need for programs and policies aimed at supporting caregivers of AIDS-affected children to begin to consider incorporating family

[Family planning promotes social and economic development of Dongguan County].

PubMed

Hu, F

1986-01-29

Examination of the effects of family planning indicates 6 major social and economic changes which it has brought about in Dongguan County, China. Peoples' views on family planning have changed: they no longer believe the old notion that "more children guarantee a better life" and have done away with the convention of early marriage and early childbearing. The number of children per household has dropped from an average of 5.9 in the early 1950s to its present average of 2.05. The situation of women has undergone important changes. In the past, women bore many children and few worked outside the household. Today, in the city of Guancheng, 7000 of the 10,000 workers in city-owned factories are women. A 3rd effect of population control is increased production output and a better standard of living. Since 1979 when economic reform began, 90% of the presents built new homes and 70% of the households bought high standard consumer goods. A 4th improvement has been found in the development of education: 99.7% of school-age children attend elementary schools and the rate of graduating students is 98.2%; 92% of preschool children are involved in preschool programs; and 67,000 young women attend various kinds of vocational schools. A more civilized life style and more harmonious family lives have found as a 5th result of family planning measures. Finally, there have also been improvements in welfare and public sanitation facilities. For example, more than 200 water plants have been built in the county and 41% of the population drinks water which meets sanitation standards. It is concluded that the beneficial results of population control reported in this study should be of interest to all those involved in the field of family planning.

New Realities of the American Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahlburg, Dennis A.; De Vita, Carol J.

1992-01-01

This bulletin explores the social, economic, and demographic trends that have contributed to the changing structure of the American family. Sections of the document discuss: (1) definitions of household and family; (2) types of families, including married couples with and without children and single-parent families; (3) living arrangements of…

Working Hard, Falling Short: America's Working Families and the Pursuit of Economic Security

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldron, Tom; Roberts, Brandon; Reamer, Andrew

2004-01-01

The United States of America is often called the "land of opportunity," a place where hard work and sacrifice lead to economic success. Across generations, countless families have been able to live out that promise. However, more than one out of four American working families now earn wages so low that they have difficulty surviving…

Irregular breakfast consumption in adolescence and the family environment: underlying causes by family structure.

PubMed

Levin, Kate A; Kirby, Joanna

2012-08-01

Data from the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Scottish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys were analysed using logistic multilevel regression for outcome variable irregular breakfast consumption (IBC). IBC prevalence in Scotland was higher among young people from reconstituted and single parent families, and particularly single father families. Family characteristics, found previously to be associated with breakfast consumption, such as number of siblings, perceived parenting, parental involvement and family affluence, differed by family structure. Family structure inequalities in IBC existed, also after adjustment for year and child's sex, age, grade and ethnicity. Across all family structures, IBC was more prevalent at the older age groups, among those who had difficult communication with their parents, and where household routines were infrequent. Greater number of siblings and lower family affluence were associated with higher odds of IBC in single mother and both parent families, while having a second home was associated with higher odds in reconstituted households. Fair parenting and being close to at least one parent was associated with reduced odds of IBC in single mother households, while being close to all parents was in single father households. In single mother homes, having a working mother was also positively associated with IBC. Family structure differences should be considered when addressing irregular breakfast consumption in adolescence. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring the Economic Well-Being of Families and Children, 1999.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coffin, Linda

This Kids Count report assembles some of the indicators that describe the economic environment of Minnesota children and families. The report is intended to serve as a resource for policymakers at the city, county, and state levels, as well as community advocates, parents, and those who work with children. Section 1 of the report presents…

Family Structure Changes during High School and College Selectivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

An, Brian P.; Sorensen, Kia N.

2017-01-01

Research has shown that family structure changes negatively influence educational attainment, but they overlook qualitative distinctions in college choice, such as college selectivity. Yet, college choice research has largely focused on static measures of family structure, failing to account for year-to-year family structure changes that occur…

Family Structure and Long-Term Care Insurance Purchase

PubMed Central

Van Houtven, Courtney Harold; Coe, Norma B.; Konetzka, R. Tamara

2015-01-01

While it has long been assumed that family structure and potential sources of informal care play a large role in the purchase decisions for long-term care insurance (LTCI), current empirical evidence is inconclusive. Our study examines the relationship between family structure and LTCI purchase and addresses several major limitations of the prior literature by using a long panel of data and considering modern family relationships, such as presence of stepchildren. We find that family structure characteristics from one’s own generation, particularly about one’s spouse, are associated with purchase, but that few family structure attributes from the younger generation have an influence. Family factors that may indicate future caregiver supply are negatively associated with purchase: having a coresidential child, signaling close proximity, and having a currently working spouse, signaling a healthy and able spouse, that LTC planning has not occurred yet, or that there is less need for asset protection afforded by LTCI. Dynamic factors, such as increasing wealth or turning 65, are associated with higher likelihood of LTCI purchase. PMID:25760583

When hard times take a toll: the distressing consequences of economic hardship and life events within the family-work interface.

PubMed

Young, Marisa; Schieman, Scott

2012-03-01

Using two waves of data from a national survey of working Americans (N = 1,122), we examine the associations among economic hardship, negative life events, and psychological distress in the context of the family-work interface. Our findings demonstrate that family-to-work conflict mediates the effects of economic hardship and negative events to significant others on distress (net of baseline distress and hardship). Moreover, economic hardship and negative events to significant others moderate the association between family-to-work conflict and distress. While negative events to others exacerbate the positive effect of family-to-work conflict on distress, we find the opposite for economic hardship: The positive association between hardship and distress is weaker at higher levels of family-to-work conflict. These patterns hold across an array of family, work, and sociodemographic conditions. We discuss how these findings refine and extend ideas of the stress process model, including complex predictions related to processes of stress-buffering, resource substitution, and role multiplication.

Economic Hardship in the Family of Origin and Children's Psychological Well-Being in Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sobolewski, Juliana M.; Amato, Paul R.

2005-01-01

Past research consistently indicates that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persist into adulthood. This study addresses this gap by assessing whether economic resources in the family of origin have long-term effects on psychological well-being in…

Family Structure and Mediators of Adolescent Drug Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broman, Clifford L.; Li, Xin; Reckase, Mark

2008-01-01

This study investigates how family structure is associated with adolescent drug use and how parenting, peer use, religiosity, and neighborhood problems may mediate the relationship. The authors use structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between family structure and drug use across race, and examine potential mediators. Using data…

The Economic Organization of Extended Family Households by Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status.

PubMed

Reyes, Adriana M

2018-02-01

This study examines differences in the amount of economic support or mutual benefit derived from extended family living arrangements by studying differences in monetary contributions to essential household expenditures across family units in extended family households. Using the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation, multivariate regression and selection models are estimated to assess racial differences in family contributions toward household expenses in extended family households. Extended family households have very unequal monetary contributions towards household rent and utilities, although Hispanics have less unequal monetary contributions compared to other racial groups. Hispanic and Asians extended family households experience decreasing inequality in financial contributions as the income of each family increases whereas no relationship between financial contributions and income is found for whites or blacks. This suggests a different cultural orientation to extended family living arrangements for Asians and Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic whites.

Gender, Work-Family Linkages, and Economic Success among Small Business Owners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loscocco, Karyn A.; Leicht, Kevin T.

1993-01-01

Investigated work-family connections and economic success among women and men small business owners. Analyses of data from 3-year panel survey of 99 women and 312 men showed considerable gender similarity in processes through which business and individual characteristics affect personal earnings, although women were disadvantaged in some…

Linking Family Economic Hardship to Early Childhood Health: An Investigation of Mediating Pathways.

PubMed

Hsu, Hui-Chin; Wickrama, Kandauda A S

2015-12-01

The underlying mechanisms through which family economic adversity influences child health are less understood. Taking a process-oriented approach, this study examined maternal mental health and investment in children, child health insurance, and child healthcare as mediators linking family economic hardship (FEH) to child health. A structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypothesized mediating model. After adjustment for sociodemographic risk factors, results revealed: (1) a significant direct path linking FEH to poor child health (effect size = .372), and (2) six significant mediating pathways (total effect size = .089). In two mediating pathways, exposures to FEH undermined mothers' mental health: in the first pathway poor maternal mental health led to decreased parental investment, which, in turn, contributed to poor child health, whereas in the second pathway the adverse effect of poor maternal mental health was cascaded through child unmet healthcare need, which resulted in poor child health. One pathway involved child insurance status, where the effect of FEH increased the likelihood to be uninsured, which led to unmet healthcare need, and, in turn, to poor health. Three pathways involved preventive care: in one pathway FEH contributed to poor preventive care, which led to unmet healthcare need and then to poor health; in the other two pathways where poor preventive care respectively gave rise to decreased investment in children or poor maternal mental health, which further contributed to poor child health. Results suggest that the association between FEH and children's health is mediated by multiple pathways.

Family Structure and Adolescent Substance Use: An International Perspective.

PubMed

Hoffmann, John P

2017-11-10

Numerous studies indicate that family structure is a key correlate of adolescent substance use. Yet there are some important limitations to this research. Studies have been conducted mainly in the United States, with relatively few studies that have compared family structure and youth substance use across nations. There is also a lack of recognition of the complexity of family types prevalent in contemporary global society. Moreover, there remains a need to consider personal, interpersonal, and macro-level characteristics that may help account for the association between family structure and youth substance use. This study uses data from 37 countries to examine several models that purport to explain the association between family structure and substance use. The data are from the 2005-2006 WHO-sponsored Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) (n = 193,202). Multilevel models, including linear, probit, and structural equation models (SEMs), were used to test several hypotheses. The results suggest that time spent with friends largely accounted for the association between specific types of family structures and frequency of alcohol use and getting drunk, but that cannabis use was negatively associated with living with both biological parents irrespective of other factors.

Linking family economic pressure and supportive parenting to adolescent health behaviors: two developmental pathways leading to health promoting and health risk behaviors.

PubMed

Kwon, Josephine A; Wickrama, K A S

2014-07-01

Adolescent health behaviors, especially health risk behaviors, have previously been linked to distal (i.e., family economic pressure) and proximal (i.e., parental support) contributors. However, few studies have examined both types of contributors along with considering health promoting and health risk behaviors separately. The present study investigated the influences of family economic hardship, supportive parenting as conceptualized by self-determination theory, and individual psychosocial and behavioral characteristics (i.e., mastery and delinquency, respectively) on adolescents' health promoting and health risk behaviors. We used structural equation modeling to analyze longitudinal data from a sample of Caucasian adolescent children and their mothers and fathers (N = 407, 54 % female) to examine direct and indirect effects, as well as gender symmetry and asymmetry. Findings suggest that family economic pressure contributed to adolescent mastery and delinquency through supportive parenting. Further, supportive parenting indirectly affected adolescent health risk behaviors only through delinquency, whereas supportive parenting indirectly influenced health promoting behaviors only through mastery, suggesting different developmental pathways for adolescent health risk and health promoting behaviors. Testing for gender symmetry of the full model showed that maternal and paternal parenting contributed to females' health risk behaviors directly, while maternal and paternal parenting contributed to males' health risk behaviors through delinquency. Gender symmetry was largely unsupported. The study highlights key direct and indirect pathways to adolescent health risk and health promoting behaviors within a family stress model and self-determination theory framework, and also highlights important gender differences in these developmental pathways.

Economically Disadvantaged Children's Transitions into Elementary School: Linking Family Processes, School Contexts, and Educational Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crosnoe, Robert; Cooper, Carey E.

2010-01-01

Working from a core perspective on the developmental implications of economic disadvantage, this study attempted to identify "family-based" mechanisms of economic effects on early learning and their potential "school-based" remedies. Multilevel analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort revealed that…

Pathways to Parental Knowledge: The Role of Family Process and Family Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Padilla-Walker, Laura M.; Harper, James M.; Bean, Roy A.

2011-01-01

The purpose of the current study was (a) to examine the role of family process on child disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental knowledge and (b) to examine how patterns might differ as a function of family structure. Data for this study were taken from the Flourishing Families Project, which consists of 353 two- and 147 single-parent…

Parenting styles, family structure and adolescent dietary behaviour.

PubMed

Pearson, Natalie; Atkin, Andrew J; Biddle, Stuart J H; Gorely, Trish; Edwardson, Charlotte

2010-08-01

To examine associations between parenting styles, family structure and aspects of adolescent dietary behaviour. Cross-sectional study. Secondary schools in the East Midlands, UK. Adolescents aged 12-16 years (n 328, 57 % boys) completed an FFQ assessing their consumption of fruit, vegetables, unhealthy snacks and breakfast. Adolescents provided information on parental and sibling status and completed a seventeen-item instrument measuring the general parenting style dimensions of involvement and strictness, from which four styles were derived: indulgent, neglectful, authoritarian, authoritative. After controlling for adolescent gender and age, analysis of covariance revealed no significant interactions between parenting style and family structure variables for any of the dietary behaviours assessed. Significant main effects for family structure were observed only for breakfast consumption, with adolescents from dual-parent families (P < 0.01) and those with no brothers (P < 0.05) eating breakfast on more days per week than those from single-parent families and those with one or more brother, respectively. Significant main effects for parenting style were observed for all dietary behaviours apart from vegetable consumption. Adolescents who described their parents as authoritative ate more fruit per day, fewer unhealthy snacks per day, and ate breakfast on more days per week than those who described their parents as neglectful. The positive associations between authoritative parenting style and adolescent dietary behaviour transcend family structure. Future research should be food-specific and assess the efficacy of strategies promoting the central attributes of an authoritative parenting style on the dietary behaviours of adolescents from a variety of family structures.

Research on spatial economic structure for different economic sectors from a perspective of a complex network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Sen; Yang, Hualei; Cai, Boliang; Yang, Chunxia

2013-09-01

The economy system is a complex system, and the complex network is a powerful tool to study its complexity. Here we calculate the economic distance matrices based on annual GDP of nine economic sectors from 1995-2010 in 31 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions,1 then build several spatial economic networks through the threshold method and the Minimal Spanning Tree method. After the analysis on the structure of the networks and the influence of geographic distance, some conclusions are drawn. First, connectivity distribution of a spatial economic network does not follow the power law. Second, according to the network structure, nine economic sectors could be divided into two groups, and there is significant discrepancy of network structure between these two groups. Moreover, the influence of the geographic distance plays an important role on the structure of a spatial economic network, network parameters are changed with the influence of the geographic distance. At last, 2000 km is the critical value for geographic distance: for real estate and finance, the spearman’s rho with l<2000 is bigger than that with l>2000, and the case is opposite for other economic sectors.

Impact of youth injuries on the uninsured farm family's economic viability.

PubMed

Zaloshnja, Eduard; Miller, Ted R

2012-01-01

The objective of this study is to estimate the impact of youth injuries on the uninsured farm family's economic viability. Using farm prototypes, we compared farm profits with costs of farm youth injuries. We built profit models for two types of farms, dairy and soybean farms. Then we estimated the cost impact of farm youth injuries of different levels of severity on a farm family with no health insurance. A severe child injury that requires at least 10 days of hospitalisation would cost almost equal to the operating profit of the average dairy farm with no health insurance and would turn the operating profit of the average soybean farm into a severe loss of $99,499. Prevention of child agricultural injuries would significantly improve the financial situation for farm families that lack health insurance.

[Families of the economic crisis in paediatric Primary Care clinics: descriptive observational study].

PubMed

Martín Martín, R; Sánchez Bayle, M; Gancedo García, C; Teruel de Francisco, M C; Coullaut López, A

2016-04-01

To study the impact of the economic crisis on the families of the children who attend Primary Health Care and its relationship with their socioeconomic status. Observational descriptive study was conducted by analysing the results of 453 questionnaires, given to the parents of children between 1 and 7 years old who attended 4 paediatric clinics in Madrid. The raw data was analysed, and comparisons between groups and multivariate analysis were performed. In the multivariate analysis, the variables related to the non-acquisition of prescribed medication are: lower income level OR=0.118, p<.0001 and lower educational level OR=0.464, p<.001; the variables related to the reduction of food expenditure are: lower income level OR=0.100, p<.0001 and a higher number of family members OR=1.308, p=.045; the variables related to anti-pneumococcal vaccination without public funding are: higher income level OR=2.170, p=.0001, higher educational level OR=1.835, p=.013, and not being an immigrant OR=0.532, p=.037. The presence of health problems from the beginning of the economic crisis is related to unemployment OR=4.079, p=.032, lower educational level R=0.678, p=.042, and income level OR=0.342, p<.0001. In all cases, the models achieved a statistical significance of p<.0001. The economic crisis has greater impact on the group with the lowest income level in all analysed variables. The lower educational level and higher number of family members has an impact on the reduction in food expenditure. The fact of being an immigrant has an impact on not receiving the anti-pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccination. Unemployment leads to an increase in health problems in the family. To sum up, the economic crisis has increased inequalities according to socioeconomic status. Copyright © 2015 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

[MATCHE: Management Approach to Teaching Consumer and Homemaking Education.] Economically Depressed Areas Strand: Human Development: Module III-E-3: Resources for the Economically Depressed Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boogaert, John

This competency-based preservice home economics teacher education module on resources for the economically depressed area family is the third in a set of three modules on human development in economically depressed areas. (This set is part of a larger set of sixty-seven modules on the Management Approach to Teaching Consumer and Homemaking…

Understanding racial differences in the economic costs of growing up in a single-parent family.

PubMed

Page, Marianne E; Stevens, Ann Huff

2005-02-01

This article examines whether the economic consequences of growing up in a single-parent family differ for black children and white children. It is important to understand whether the costs differ across racial groups because although much of the rhetoric about poor single-parent families focuses on inner-city blacks, most children who live in such families are white. If the costs of living with only one parent vary across groups, then policies that are aimed at reducing the costs that do not acknowledge this variation will not target resources efficiently. We found that the economic costs of living with a single parent are larger for black children than for white children. Most of the discrepancy can be attributed to differences in remarriage rates, marital stability, welfare participation, and female labor supply.

Adolescent risk behaviours and mealtime routines: does family meal frequency alter the association between family structure and risk behaviour?

PubMed

Levin, Kate A; Kirby, Joanna; Currie, Candace

2012-02-01

Family structure is associated with a range of adolescent risk behaviours, with those living in both parent families generally faring best. This study describes the association between family structure and adolescent risk behaviours and assesses the role of the family meal. Data from the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey were modelled using Multilevel Binomial modelling for six risk behaviour outcomes. Significantly more children from 'both parent' families ate a family meal every day and fewer 'hardly ever or never' did. Family structure was associated with boys' and girls' smoking, drinking, cannabis use and having sex and with girls' fighting. Frequency of eating a family meal was associated with a reduced likelihood of all risk behaviours among girls and all but fighting and having sex among boys. Eating a family meal regularly nullified the association between family structure and drinking alcohol for boys and girls and cannabis use for boys and reduced the effect size of alternative family structures on boys having sex and smoking. The family meal, associated with a reduced likelihood of many adolescent risk behaviours, reduces or eliminates the association with family structure and may therefore help to overcome inequalities in adolescent risk behaviours.

Family, Community, and Educational Outcomes in South Asia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chudgar, Amita; Shafiq, M. Najeeb

2010-01-01

In this article, we review research on the economics and sociology of education to assess the relationships between family and community variables and children's educational outcomes in South Asia. At the family level, we examine the variables of family socioeconomic status (SES), parental education, family structure, and religion and caste. At…

[Structural empowerment and work-family fit in nurses].

PubMed

Orłowska, Agnieszka; Łaguna, Mariola

2016-12-22

The goal of the study was to investigate the relationship between structural empowerment and work-family fit in Polish nurses. Structural empowerment is a strategy for managing by providing the employees with opportunities, information, support and resources essential for the effective performance of work duties. Work-family fit takes 2 forms of relationships between these 2 spheres: conflict (functioning in one role is more difficult because of participation in the other role) and facilitation (fulfilling the duties associated with one role enriches filling up the other role). A total of 159 nurses employed in hospitals took part in the study. The Polish versions of the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire and the Work-Family Fit Questionnaire were used. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was applied for data analysis. The results show statistically signifficant relationships between structural empowerment and work-family fit in nurses. In the hospital environment, characterized by a high degree of empowerment, nurses experience a lower level of work-family conflict and a higher level of facilitation in both directions. Hospital management strategy based on structural empowerment of nurses favors reconciliation of professional and family roles. Therefore, it is important for hospitals to create appropriate working conditions that allow nurses to effectively deal with demands arising from work and family spheres. Med Pr 2016;67(6):787-800. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Family structure and the treatment of childhood asthma.

PubMed

Chen, Alex Y; Escarce, José J

2008-02-01

Family structure is known to influence children's behavioral, educational, and cognitive outcomes, and recent studies suggest that family structure affects children's access to health care as well. However, no study has addressed whether family structure is associated with the care children receive for particular conditions or with their physical health outcomes. To assess the effects of family structure on the treatment and outcomes of children with asthma. Our data sources were the 1996-2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). The study samples consisted of children 2-17 years of age with asthma who lived in single-mother or 2-parent families. We assessed the effect of number of parents and number of other children in the household on office visits for asthma and use of asthma medications using negative binomial regression, and we assessed the effect of family structure on the severity of asthma symptoms using binary and ordinal logistic regression. Our regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, parental experience in child-rearing and in caring for an asthmatic child and, when appropriate, measures of children's health status. Asthmatic children in single-mother families had fewer office visits for asthma and filled fewer prescriptions for controller medications than children with 2 parents. In addition, children living in families with 3 or more other children had fewer office visits and filled fewer prescriptions for reliever and controller medications than children living with no other children. Children from single-mother families had more health difficulties from asthma than children with 2 parents, and children living with 2 or more other children were more likely to have an asthma attack in the past 12 months than children living with no other children. For children with asthma, living with a single mother and the presence of additional children in the household are

Effect of Family Structure on Marital Attitudes of Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganong, Lawrence; And Others

1981-01-01

Assesses the effect of exposure to different family structures (single parent families, reconstituted families, intact families) on the marital socialization of 127 males and 194 female adolescents. (Author/CM)

Practical Concerns of Limited Income Families: An Adult Home Economics Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Sally K.; Bertelson, Laura Winslow

Based on focus group research in five locations in Iowa, this curriculum guide was developed to help meet the educational needs of families facing economic problems as a result of job or farm loss. The curriculum guide, which is organized in three modules that cover self-esteem, parenting, and resource management, uses a practical problem-solving…

Structural Biology and Evolution of the TGF-β Family

PubMed Central

Hinck, Andrew P.; Mueller, Thomas D.; Springer, Timothy A.

2017-01-01

We review the evolution and structure of members of the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) family, antagonistic or agonistic modulators, and receptors that regulate TGF-β signaling in extracellular environments. The growth factor (GF) domain common to all family members and many of their antagonists evolved from a common cystine knot growth factor (CKGF) domain. The CKGF superfamily comprises six distinct families in primitive metazoans, including the TGF-β and Dan families. Compared with Wnt/Frizzled and Notch/Delta families that also specify body axes, cell fate, tissues, and other families that contain CKGF domains that evolved in parallel, the TGF-β family was the most fruitful in evolution. Complexes between the prodomains and GFs of the TGF-β family suggest a new paradigm for regulating GF release by conversion from closed- to open-arm procomplex conformations. Ternary complexes of the final step in extracellular signaling show how TGF-β GF dimers bind type I and type II receptors on the cell surface, and enable understanding of much of the specificity and promiscuity in extracellular signaling. However, structures suggest that when GFs bind repulsive guidance molecule (RGM) family coreceptors, type I receptors do not bind until reaching an intracellular, membrane-enveloped compartment, blurring the line between extra- and intracellular signaling. Modulator protein structures show how structurally diverse antagonists including follistatins, noggin, and members of the chordin family bind GFs to regulate signaling; complexes with the Dan family remain elusive. Much work is needed to understand how these molecular components assemble to form signaling hubs in extracellular environments in vivo. PMID:27638177

The Implications of Grandparent Coresidence for Economic Hardship among Children in Mother-Only Families

PubMed Central

Mutchler, Jan E.; Baker, Lindsey A.

2014-01-01

Estimates suggest that more than 6 million children live with at least one grandparent. Despite evidence establishing the growing prevalence of this arrangement, limited research has focused on estimating the implications of co-residence for the economic well-being of grandchildren. Using data from the 2001 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, this paper examines levels of financial hardship among a particularly vulnerable group of children – those living in mother-only families. Findings suggest that children living in mother-only families that include a grandparent are substantially less likely to be living below or near the poverty level, compared to children living in mother-only families without a grandparent present. The financial security of children in these three-generation households is enhanced through significant economic contributions of the grandparents, and from household receipt of a wide range of financial resources, including means-tested cash transfers and other income such as Social Security. PMID:25750469

Family Structure Instability, Genetic Sensitivity and Child Wellbeing

PubMed Central

Mitchell, Colter; McLanahan, Sara; Hobcraft, John; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Garfinkel, Irwin; Notterman, Daniel

2016-01-01

The association between family structure instability and children’s life chances is well documented, with children reared in stable, two-parent families experiencing more favorable outcomes than children reared in other family arrangements. This study extends prior research by distinguishing between father-entrances into and father-exits from the household, by distinguishing between the entrance of a biological father and a social-father, and by testing for interactions between family structure instability and children’s age, gender and genetic characteristics. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n=2493) and focusing on changes in family structure between birth and age 9, we find that father-exits are associated with increases in children’s anti-social behavior, which is a strong predictor of health and wellbeing in adulthood. The pattern for father-entrances is more complicated, with biological father entrances being associated with lower anti-social behavior among boys, and social-father entrances being associated with higher anti-social behavior among boys with certain genetic variants. Child’s age at the time of family change does not moderate the association with children’s behavior. However, incorporating genetic information into our models sharpens the findings substantially, showing how such data can enrich our understanding of the intergenerational mobility process. PMID:26046228

Work and Family in the United States: A Policy Initiative. A Report of the Family Policy Panel of the Economic Policy Council of UNA-USA.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Association of the United States of America, New York, NY.

As part of its world employment project, the Economic Policy Council of the United Nations Association of the United States formed the family policy panel to further examine the extent of ongoing changes affecting the family, the workplace, and the economy. In its work, the family policy panel concentrated on five issues considered central to the…

The economic consequences of reproductive health and family planning.

PubMed

Canning, David; Schultz, T Paul

2012-07-14

We consider the evidence for the effect of access to reproductive health services on the achievement of Millennium Development Goals 1, 2, and 3, which aim to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, and promote gender equality and empower women. At the household level, controlled trials in Matlab, Bangladesh, and Navrongo, Ghana, have shown that increasing access to family planning services reduces fertility and improves birth spacing. In the Matlab study, findings from long-term follow-up showed that women's earnings, assets, and body-mass indexes, and children's schooling and body-mass indexes, substantially improved in areas with improved access to family planning services compared with outcomes in control areas. At the macroeconomic level, reductions in fertility enhance economic growth as a result of reduced youth dependency and an increased number of women participating in paid labour. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kindergartners from Intact and Non-Intact Families: Some Comparisons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grymes, Joanna M.; Lawler-Prince, Dianne

Noting that family structure has an impact on a child's development, this study investigated the relationships among family structure, self-concept, and peer relations with kindergarten children. Interviews were conducted with 154 kindergarten children from 6 different classrooms and from different socio-economic backgrounds. The Woolner Preschool…

Relationship Between Family Economic Resources, Psychosocial Well-being, and Educational Preferences of AIDS-Orphaned Children in Southern Uganda: Baseline Findings

PubMed Central

Ssewamala, Fred M.; Nabunya, Proscovia; Ilic, Vilma; Mukasa, Miriam N.; Ddamulira, Christopher

2015-01-01

This study examines the relationship between economic resources, psychosocial well-being, and educational preferences of AIDS-orphaned children in southern Uganda. We use baseline data from a sample of 1410 AIDS-orphaned children (defined as children who have lost one or both biological parents to AIDS) enrolled in the Bridges to the Future study, a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) funded study. Analyses from both bivariate and multiple regression analyses indicate the following: 1) despite the well-documented economic and psychosocial challenges AIDS-orphaned children face, many of these children have high educational plans and aspirations; 2) educational aspirations differ by orphanhood status (double orphan vs. single orphan); 3) regardless of orphanhood status, children report similar levels of psychosocial well-being; 4) high levels of family cohesion, positive perceptions of the future, school satisfaction, and lower levels of hopelessness (hopefulness) are associated with high educational aspirations; and 5) reported family economic resources at baseline, all seem to play a role in predicting children's educational preferences and psychosocial well-being. These findings suggest that the focus for care and support of orphaned children should not be limited to addressing their psychosocial needs. Addressing the economic needs of the households in which orphaned children live is equally important. Indeed, in the context of extreme poverty—in which most of the children represented in this study live—addressing structural factors, including poverty, may be a key driver in addressing their psychosocial functioning. PMID:26146601

Low income Russian families adopt effective behavioral strategies to maintain dietary stability in times of economic crisis.

PubMed

Dore, Anna R; Adair, Linda S; Popkin, Barry M

2003-11-01

The social, political and economic reforms of 1992 in Russia led to a decade of rising income inequality, unemployment and economic crises, the most severe of which occurred in 1998. This study assesses dietary trends for children in low and high income households during this politically and economically unstable period from 1994 to 2000. Several possible food-related behaviors were also assessed to evaluate coping strategies adopted in the face of decreasing economic stability. Low income children maintained a steady energy intake per kilogram weight throughout the study period (251.0-259.4 kJ/kg), whereas intake for high income children increased significantly to a per capital average of 297.1 kJ/kg by 2000. At the food group level, the trend in per capita intake for all food groups was maintained for low income children except for a 22% decrease in meat and poultry consumption (P < 0.01). Per capita intake increased over time for dairy products and eggs in the high income group (P < 0.01). A decrease in cost per kJ (rubles/kJ) was observed for both low and high income families (P < 0.01). These data suggest that Russian households were able to conserve the diet structure for children by using what appear to be food-related behavioral mechanisms during periods of economic crisis.

Influence of Family Structure on Health among Youths with Diabetes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Sanna J.; Auslander, Wendy F.; White, Neil H.

2001-01-01

Discusses the extent to which family structure is significantly associated with health in youth with Type 1 diabetes. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that family structure remains a significant predictor of youth's health when statistically controlling for race, child's age, family socioeconomic status, and adherence. (BF)

Deconstructing family meals: Do family structure, gender and employment status influence the odds of having a family meal?

PubMed

Sharif, Mienah Z; Alcalá, Héctor E; Albert, Stephanie L; Fischer, Heidi

2017-07-01

We assessed the odds of having a family dinner by parental gender, family structure and parental employment. This study used data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) (2006-2008). Multivariate analyses assessed the odds of two outcomes among parents: 1) eating at all with children and 2) having a family dinner. Single men had lower odds of eating at all with children and eating a family dinner in comparison to partnered/married males. Partnered/married women had increased odds of eating at all with children and eating a family dinner compared to their partnered/married male counterparts. While single women had increased odds of eating at all with children compared to partnered/married males, no difference was detected in the odds of having a family dinner. Among dual-headed households, women had lower odds of eating a family dinner when both parents were employed compared a dual-headed household with employed male/non-employed female. There were no differences among men regardless of their employment status or that of their partner/spouse. Family structure, parental gender and employment status all influence the odds of having a family dinner. Future research on family meals should consider all of these factors to better understand trends and disparities across household compositions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Economic burden of family caregiving for elderly population in southern Ghana: the case of a peri-urban district.

PubMed

Nortey, Stephen Tettey; Aryeetey, Genevieve Cecilia; Aikins, Moses; Amendah, Djesika; Nonvignon, Justice

2017-01-14

Health systems in low and lower-middle income countries, particularly in sub-Sahara Africa, often lack the specialized personnel and infrastructure to provide comprehensive care for elderly/ageing populations. Close-to-client community-based approaches are a low-cost way of providing basic care and social support for elderly populations in such resource-constrained settings and family caregivers play a crucial role in that regard. However, family caregiving duties are often unremunerated and their care-related economic burden is often overlooked though this knowledge is important in designing or scaling up effective interventions. The objective of this study, therefore, was to estimate the economic burden of family caregiving for the elderly in southern Ghana. The study was a retrospective cross-sectional cost-of-care study conducted in 2015 among family caregivers for elderly registered for a support group in a peri-urban district in southern Ghana. A simple random sample of 98 respondents representative of the support group members completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Costs were assessed over a 1-month period. Direct costs of caregiving (including out-of-pocket costs incurred on health care) as well as productivity losses (i.e. indirect cost) to caregivers were analysed. Intangible costs were assessed using the 12-item Zarit burden interview (ZBI) tool and the financial cost dimension of the cost of care index. The estimated average cost of caregiving per month was US$186.18, 66% of which was direct cost. About 78% of the family caregivers in the study reported a high level of caregiving burden (as measured with the ZBI) with females reporting a relatively higher level than males. Further, about 87% of the family caregivers reported a high level of financial stress as a result of caregiving for their elderly relative. The study shows that support/caregiving for elderly populations imposes economic burden on families, potentially influencing the

Family history and risk of breast cancer: an analysis accounting for family structure.

PubMed

Brewer, Hannah R; Jones, Michael E; Schoemaker, Minouk J; Ashworth, Alan; Swerdlow, Anthony J

2017-08-01

Family history is an important risk factor for breast cancer incidence, but the parameters conventionally used to categorize it are based solely on numbers and/or ages of breast cancer cases in the family and take no account of the size and age-structure of the woman's family. Using data from the Generations Study, a cohort of over 113,000 women from the general UK population, we analyzed breast cancer risk in relation to first-degree family history using a family history score (FHS) that takes account of the expected number of family cases based on the family's age-structure and national cancer incidence rates. Breast cancer risk increased significantly (P trend  < 0.0001) with greater FHS. There was a 3.5-fold (95% CI 2.56-4.79) range of risk between the lowest and highest FHS groups, whereas women who had two or more relatives with breast cancer, the strongest conventional familial risk factor, had a 2.5-fold (95% CI 1.83-3.47) increase in risk. Using likelihood ratio tests, the best model for determining breast cancer risk due to family history was that combining FHS and age of relative at diagnosis. A family history score based on expected as well as observed breast cancers in a family can give greater risk discrimination on breast cancer incidence than conventional parameters based solely on cases in affected relatives. Our modeling suggests that a yet stronger predictor of risk might be a combination of this score and age at diagnosis in relatives.

Mother-Child Discrepancy in Perceived Family Functioning and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes in Families Experiencing Economic Disadvantage in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Leung, Janet T Y; Shek, Daniel T L; Li, Lin

2016-10-01

Though growing attention has been devoted to examining informant discrepancies of family attributes in social science research, studies that examine how interactions between mother-reported and adolescent-reported family functioning predict adolescent developmental outcomes in underprivileged families are severely lacking. The current study investigated the difference between mothers and adolescents in their reports of family functioning, as well as the relationships between mother-reported and adolescent-reported family functioning and adolescent developmental outcomes in a sample of 432 Chinese single-mother families (mean age of adolescents = 13.7 years, 51.2 % girls, mean age of mothers = 43.5 years, 69.9 % divorced) experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong. Polynomial regression analyses were conducted to assess whether discrepancy in family functioning between mother reports and adolescent reports predicted resilience, beliefs in the future, cognitive competence, self-efficacy and self-determination of adolescents. The results indicated that adolescents reported family functioning more negatively than did their mothers. Polynomial regression analyses showed that the interaction term between mothers' reports and adolescents' reports of family functioning predicted adolescent developmental outcomes in Chinese single-mother families living in poverty. Basically, under poor adolescent-reported family functioning, adolescent development would be relatively better if their mothers reported more positive family functioning. In contrast, under good adolescent-reported family functioning, adolescents expressed better developmental outcomes when mothers reported lower levels of family functioning than those mothers who reported higher levels of family functioning. The findings provide insights on how congruency and discrepancy between informant reports of family functioning would influence adolescent development. Theoretical and practical implications of

A Study of the American Family and Money. The General Mills American Family Report 1974-75.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.

The report provides statistical information on the immediate and long-term impact of money and economics on American life in 1975. Included are data concerning the impact of money on family structure, intra-family relationships, values, money management, health, and life-style. Statistics are based on 2,194 interviews, including interviews with…

Family Structure and Unintended Teen Pregnancy. Healthy Moms, Healthy Kids: A Series on Maternal and Child Health in Colorado

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colorado Children's Campaign, 2011

2011-01-01

Family structure and maternal age at birth can have a significant influence on the physical, mental and economic well-being of mothers and their children. Children born to single mothers in poverty are more likely to face unemployment as adults, drop out of high school and encounter barriers to accessing quality health care. Children of teen…

Parental employment, family structure, and child's health insurance.

PubMed

Rolett, A; Parker, J D; Heck, K E; Makuc, D M

2001-01-01

To examine the impact of family structure on the relationship between parental employment characteristics and employer-sponsored health insurance coverage among children with employed parents in the United States. National Health Interview Survey data for 1993-1995 was used to estimate proportions of children without employer-sponsored health insurance, by family structure, separately according to maternal and paternal employment characteristics. In addition, relative odds of being without employer-sponsored insurance were estimated, controlling for family structure and child's age, race, and poverty status. Children with 2 employed parents were more likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance coverage than children with 1 employed parent, even among children in 2-parent families. However, among children with employed parents, the percentage with employer-sponsored health insurance coverage varied widely, depending on the hours worked, employment sector, occupation, industry, and firm size. Employer-sponsored health insurance coverage for children is extremely variable, depending on employment characteristics and marital status of the parents.

Family Structure and Attitudes Toward the Family for Negroes and Whites From Lower-Class and Working-Class Backgrounds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nosow, Sigmund

This study is concerned with attitudes of family members, and whether such attitudes indeed vary with different family structures. The increasing sociological and psychiatric evidence seems to support the existence of family strengths in families which have been defined as unstable because of structural attributes. Given the historical character…

Reducing Risk for Substance Use by Economically Disadvantaged Young Men: Positive Family Environments and Pathways to Educational Attainment

PubMed Central

Martin, Monica J.; Conger, Rand D.; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Masarik, April S.; Forbes, Erika E.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Using prospective, longitudinal data spanning 10 years (age 10 to 20) from a study of 295 economically disadvantaged males, the current investigation evaluated a developmental model that links early family environment and later educational aspirations, extracurricular activities, and educational attainment to substance use in early adulthood. The results indicate that a positive family environment during adolescence (low family conflict, high family warmth, and effective child management) predicted educational involvements during adolescence that promoted educational attainment during early adulthood. Finally, higher levels of educational attainment were associated with less substance use in early adulthood, even after controlling for adolescent substance use. These findings suggest that positive parenting promotes educational achievements that increase resilience to substance use for economically disadvantaged males. PMID:26307026

Family Structure, Community Context, and Adolescent Problem Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, John P.

2006-01-01

A number of models have been proposed to explain the relationship between family structure and adolescent problem behaviors, including several that consider parent-child relations, family income, stress, and residential mobility. However, studies have not explored whether the different types of communities within which families reside affect the…

Comparison of Social, Economic and Familial Empowerment in Married Women in Three Cities of Iran

PubMed Central

Simbar, Masoumeh; Alizadeh, Shiva; Hajifoghaha, Mahboubeh; Dabiri, Fatemeh

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Women’s empowerment was defined as their ability to achieve awareness and control their personal, social, economic and political forces aiming at taking measures in order to improve their lives. This study aimed to compare the empowerment of the married women in medical sciences university in social, economic and familial domains in three cities, IRAN. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study conducted in 2016 on 399 married and employed women. Data collection instrument was a four-part questionnaire consisting of demographic, social, economic and familial domains and made by researchers. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS, version 16. Using paired t-test for intra-group and Chi-square and t-test for between groups comparisons. The significance level was set at<0.05. Results: The total score of empowerment in Rasht (126.34±17.51) was more than the two cities of Shiraz (123.46±15.62) and Bandar Abbas (123.42±12.34). There was a significant relationship between the mean score of the total empowerment and monthly income of the participants in Bandar Abbas (P=0.04), and job of their husbands in Rasht (P=0.004). The mean score of family empowerment of the women was significantly interrelated with the number of their children in Rasht (P=0.001), and with the education of the participants’ husbands in Shiraz (P=0.002). Conclusion: The score of social empowerment in Rasht was more than two other cities. In economic domain, the scores of Rasht and Bandar Abbas were more than those of Shiraz. Scores of Rasht and Shiraz were more than Bandar Abbas in the familial domain. It is useful to carry out qualitative studies aiming at determining the effects of various factors on women’s empowerment and strategies for improving it. PMID:28670587

Genome Pool Strategy for Structural Coverage of Protein Families

PubMed Central

Jaroszewski, Lukasz; Slabinski, Lukasz; Wooley, John; Deacon, Ashley M.; Lesley, Scott A.; Wilson, Ian. A.; Godzik, Adam

2010-01-01

As noticed by generations of structural biologists, closely homologous proteins may have substantially different crystallization properties and propensities. These observations can be used to systematically introduce additional dimensionality into crystallization trials by targeting homologous proteins from multiple genomes in a “genome pool” strategy. Through extensive use of our recently introduced “crystallization feasibility score” (Slabinski et al., 2007a), we can explain that the genome pool strategy works well because the crystallization feasibility scores are surprisingly broad within families of homologous proteins, with most families containing a range of optimal to very difficult targets. We also show that some families can be regarded as relatively “easy”, where a significant number of proteins are predicted to have optimal crystallization features, and others are “very difficult”, where almost none are predicted to result in a crystal structure. Thus, the outcome of such variable distributions of such crystallizability' preferences leads to uneven structural coverage of known families, with “easier” or “optimal” families having several times more solved structures than “very difficult” ones. Nevertheless, this latter category can be successfully targeted by increasing the number of genomes that are used to select targets from a given family. On average, adding 10 new genomes to the “genome pool” provides more promising targets for 7 “very difficult” families. In contrast, our crystallization feasibility score does not indicate that any specific microbial genomes can be readily classified as “easier” or “very difficult” with respect to providing suitable candidates for crystallization and structure determination. Finally, our analyses show that specific physicochemical properties of the protein sequence favor successful outcomes for structure determination and, hence, the group of proteins with known 3D

The family in Romania: cultural and economic context and implications for treatment.

PubMed

Mihai, Adriana; Butiu, Otilia

2012-04-01

The study of family structures, functioning, roles and values is fundamental in family therapist's activities for better understanding the psychological, cultural and social specificity of different clients and interventions. In this paper we describe the Romanian family and the family therapies which are available in Romania. We illustrate basic needs using demographic data and research available from Romania. The nuclear family remains dominant instead of other alternatives, the age of marriage is earlier than in western European countries and celibate and consensual living are exceptions or only for the transitional period before marriage. The role of marriage and childbirth within the marital setting is still important. The model of a single child appears increasingly common due to an improvement in financial resources and better living conditions. Relations with family of origin remain close. The difficulties for children with parents working in different countries raise problems and have implications for the extended family, educators and psychotherapists as well as mental health service providers. Family therapists should keep in mind the structure, function, role and values of the Romanian family for better understanding the issues and resources and use these accordingly in therapy. Policy-makers should be aware of the difficulties concerning availability and access to this therapeutic approach.

A profile of social security child beneficiaries and their families: sociodemographic and economic characteristics.

PubMed

Tamborini, Christopher R; Cupito, Emily; Shoffner, Dave

2011-01-01

Using a rich dataset that links the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation calendar-year 2004 file with Social Security benefit records, this article provides a portrait of the sociodemographic and economic characteristics of Social Security child beneficiaries. We find that the incidence ofbenefit receipt in the child population differs substantially across individual and family-level characteristics. Average benefit amounts also vary across subgroups and benefit types. The findings provide a better understanding of the importance of Social Security to families with beneficiary children. Social Security is a major source of family income for many child beneficiaries, particularly among those with low income or family heads with lower education and labor earnings.

Familial and Economic Influences on the Gender-Related Educational and Occupational Aspirations of Rural Adolescents

PubMed Central

Meece, Judith L.; Askew, Karyl J. S.; Agger, Charlotte A.; Hutchins, Bryan C.; Byun, Soo-yong

2015-01-01

Economic, occupational, and social shifts in rural economies have influenced nuanced changes in the educational and occupational aspirations of rural adolescent women and men. However, there is limited contemporary research that examines the aspirations of rural adolescents at the beginning of the 21st century. Drawing on a sample of 8,756 rural adolescents in the United States, we examine how familial, geographic, and economic variables influence gender-related differences in educational and occupational aspirations. Findings revealed significant gender differences, favoring girls, in youth's educational aspirations, occupational aspirations, and aspirations for nontraditional careers. Results highlight the importance of contextual variables such as parental expectations, family income, and motivation variables in predicting gender-related aspirations of rural youth. PMID:26681990

Family Structure Effects on Maternal and Paternal Parenting in Low-Income Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson-Davis, Christina M.

2008-01-01

Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey, a birth cohort study, this study analyzes the effect of family structure on parenting for 3,402 mothers and 2,615 fathers. To address the problem of omitted variable bias, fixed effects methods are used to control for the presence of time-invariant unobserved…

Emerging Factors in Work/Family Interference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehrotra, Jena; Gebeke, Debra

In recent years the study of work and family issues has expanded from a focus on men's unemployment, women's employment, and two-career couples to more complex issues of economics, structural and psychological characteristics of work, enactment of multiple roles, the work/family cycle, combined effects of partners' work role characteristics, and…

A Structural Approach to Unresolved Mourning in Single Parent Family Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulmer, Richard H.

1983-01-01

Considers the mother's depression as a special problem in therapy of single-parent families, resulting from unresolved mourning maintained by the family system. Offers reasons why the single-parent family's structure seems inherently vulnerable to unresolved mourning. Suggests techniques of Structural Family Therapy to facilitate mourning in such…

Family Structure versus Family Relationships for Predicting to Substance Use/Abuse and Illegal Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedman, Alfred S.; Terras, Arlene; Glassman, Kimberly

2000-01-01

Study looked at sample of African-American adolescent males to determine the degree to which family structure (e.g., single parent vs. two-parent families) vs. the nature of the family relationships predict sons' involvement in substance use/abuse and illegal behavior. Of 33 relationships measures analyzed, 3 predicted the degree of recent…

Effects of Diverse Forms of Family Structure on Female and Male Homicide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Jennifer

2006-01-01

Utilizing 2000 data on 1,618 counties and seemingly unrelated regression, I assess whether family structure effects on homicide vary across family structure measures and gender. There is evidence of robust, multidimensional family structure effects across constructs reflecting the presence of two-parent families: mother/father absence, shortages…

Illusions of Prosperity: America's Working Families in an Age of Economic Insecurity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blau, Joel

This book examines the political and economic consequences of the United States' growing reliance on the market and the effects that this growing reliance is having on U.S. workers and their families. The following are among the topics discussed in the book's 10 chapters: (1) consequences of the turn to the market (disinvestment, imbalance between…

Evaluations of family by youth: do they vary as a function of family structure, gender, and birth order?

PubMed

Parish, T S

1990-01-01

In the present study, 334 youths evaluated their families by responding to the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children. An analysis of variance revealed no significant main effects due to respondents' birth order or gender, but did find a significant main effect due to family structure and a significant two-way interaction effect between respondents' family structure and gender. Specifically, males from divorced remarried families and females from divorced nonremarried families were found to evaluate their respective families significantly more negatively than did their counterparts from other familial configurations. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Disrupted by violence: children's well-being and families' economic, social, and cultural capital in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

PubMed

Hernandez, Alma A; Grineski, Sara E

2012-05-01

Since 2008, Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua, Mexico) has been undergoing a wave of violence due to a drug war, making the city a difficult environment in which to raise a family. This study uses qualitative methodology that incorporates 16 in-depth interviews with parents of children ages 0-5 years and 9 sets of photos from a subset of interviewed parents. The study explores how families' economic, social, and cultural capital has been disrupted by the violence and how it affects children's well-being. Social and economic capital declined significantly because of the violence as families experienced crime, had increased difficulty finding and maintaining employment, and decreased their interactions outside the home. Interviews also suggested that opportunities to gain cultural capital decreased because of this isolation. Understanding the detrimental effects of violence on families' capital can contribute to understanding children's well-being in violence-stricken communities.

The Effects of Economic and Social Stressors on Parenting and Adolescent Adjustment of African-American Families. CEIC Research Brief, No. 109.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Ronald

This study examines economic and social stressors and their effects on the parenting styles and adolescent adjustment of African American families. It systematically characterizes and explains the nature of some of the chronic economic and social stressors experienced by poor African American families as they affect parenting and adolescent…

Contextual Risk, Maternal Negative Emotionality, and the Negative Emotion Dysregulation of Preschool Children from Economically Disadvantaged Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Eleanor D.; Ackerman, Brian P.

2011-01-01

Research Findings: This study examined relations between contextual risk, maternal negative emotionality, and preschool teacher reports of the negative emotion dysregulation of children from economically disadvantaged families. Contextual risk was represented by cumulative indexes of family and neighborhood adversity. The results showed a direct…

FAMILY STRUCTURE AND MENTAL ILLNESS IN OLD AGE

PubMed Central

Ramachandran, V.; Menon, M. Sarada; Ramamurthy, B.

1981-01-01

SUMMARY A random sample of subjects aged over 60 in the community was studied. Out of 181 subjects studied 50 were found to suffer from functional disorders such as depression and anxiety, and 11 from organic brain syndrome. 120 are found psychiatrically normal. Over 50% of the elderly subjects studied were widowed and about 70% were unemployed and nearly 80% belonged to lower middle class and low socio-economic group. The families of the elderly subjects and their living condition were studied in detail. The family was divided into ‘joint’, ‘nuclear’ and loosely joint' on the basis of living arrangement financial support and other help they received. Functional disorder was found high in old age subjects living in nuclear family and living alone. 33 psychosocial variables affecting the health of the elderly subjects were studied and their correlation to psychiatric illness was determined, by computer. Further factorial analysis was carried out, and three factors were extracted. It was found that Factor II and Factor III were about family and living conditions. Hence it could be stated that the family and living conditions are significant factors affecting the mental health of the elderly subjects. PMID:22058510

Structures and Mechanism of the Monoamine Oxidase Family

PubMed Central

Gaweska, Helena; Fitzpatrick, Paul F.

2011-01-01

Members of the monoamine oxidase family of flavoproteins catalyze the oxidation of primary and secondary amines, polyamines, amino acids, and methylated lysine side chains in proteins. The enzymes have similar overall structures, with conserved FAD-binding domains and varied substrate-binding sites. Multiple mechanisms have been proposed for the catalytic reactions of these enzymes. The present review compares the structures of different members of the family and the various mechanistic proposals. PMID:22022344

Family structure and its relationship to travel

Treesearch

Christine Cornell McCreedy; Joseph T. O' Leary; Daniel Fesenmaier

1992-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between family structure and travel to further understand what differences exist between family groups. Results indicate that the absence of a husband delays travel for single mothers and that they are not as well-off as their married counterparts. We examine other travel and leisure studies to make comparisons with these data,...

Associations Between Family Structure, Family Functioning, and Substance Use Among Hispanic/Latino Adolescents

PubMed Central

Wagner, Karla D.; Ritt-Olson, Anamara; Chou, Chih-Ping; Pokhrel, Pallav; Duan, Lei; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes; Soto, Daniel W.; Unger, Jennifer B.

2010-01-01

This study examined the role of family structure and functioning in predicting substance use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents, surveyed in 9th and 10th grade. The sample (N=1433) was half female, mostly of Mexican descent, and the majority was born in the U.S. Living with a single father was associated with less parental monitoring and less family cohesion (γ = −0.07, −0.06, respectively). Living with a single mother was associated with less parental monitoring (γ = −0.10). Living with neither parent was associated with less communication (γ = −0.08), less parental monitoring (γ = −0.09), more family conflict (γ = 0.06), and less family cohesion (γ = −0.06). Less monitoring was associated with substance use at follow-up (β = −0.17). Low rates of parental monitoring appear to mediate the association between parental family structure and substance use. Results suggest that improving basic parenting skills, and offering additional social support and resources to assist parents in monitoring adolescents may help prevent substance use. These interventions may be particularly beneficial for single parents. PMID:20307116

Family Structure and Approval Dependency in College Females

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farley, Frank H.

1975-01-01

Approval dependency in college females was studied as a function of birth order, family size, and sibling sex with control over sib age separation. The results indicated no significant contribution of the family structure variables to approval dependency. (Author)

Adolescent Risk Behaviours and Mealtime Routines: Does Family Meal Frequency Alter the Association between Family Structure and Risk Behaviour?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Kate A.; Kirby, Joanna; Currie, Candace

2012-01-01

Family structure is associated with a range of adolescent risk behaviours, with those living in both parent families generally faring best. This study describes the association between family structure and adolescent risk behaviours and assesses the role of the family meal. Data from the 2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey were…

The structural influence of family and parenting on young people's sexual and reproductive health in rural northern Tanzania

PubMed Central

Wamoyi, Joyce; Wight, Daniel; Remes, Pieter

2015-01-01

This paper explores the structural role of the family and parenting in young people's sexual and reproductive health. The study involved eight weeks of participant observation, 26 in-depth interviews, and 11 group discussions with young people aged 14–24 years, and 20 in-depth interviews and 6 group discussions with parents/carers of children in this age group. At an individual level, parenting and family structure were found to affect young people's sexual behaviour by influencing children's self-confidence and interactional competence, limiting discussion of sexual health and shaping economic provision for children, which in turn affected parental authority and daughters' engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Sexual norms are reproduced both through parents' explicit prohibitions and their own behaviours. Girls are socialised to accept men's superiority, which shapes their negotiation of sexual relationships. Interventions to improve young people's sexual and reproductive health should recognise the structural effects of parenting, both in terms of direct influences on children and the dynamics by which structural barriers such as gendered power relations and cultural norms around sexuality are transmitted across generations. PMID:25597368

Relations between Minuchin's Structural Family Model and Kohut's Self-Psychology Constructs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perosa, Linda

1996-01-01

Examines relationship between structural family model and self-psychology constructs. College women (n=164) completed the Structural Family Interaction Scale-Revised (SFIS-R), the Parental Relations Inventory, and the Goal Instability and Superiority scales from the Self-Expression Inventory. Indicated that women raised in families with strong…

FAMILY STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER IN INDIA1

PubMed Central

Chopra, H.D.

1984-01-01

SUMMARY This paper briefly reviews the literature on family structure, dynamics and relationships between family-jointness and different psychiatric disorders in India. Many recent studies indicate that the nuclear families are more vulnerable and plea is made for maintaining the traditional joint family system, even in some modified forms, because of its “built-in-immunity” and supportive networks. PMID:21966010

A structural portrait of the PDZ domain family.

PubMed

Ernst, Andreas; Appleton, Brent A; Ivarsson, Ylva; Zhang, Yingnan; Gfeller, David; Wiesmann, Christian; Sidhu, Sachdev S

2014-10-23

PDZ (PSD-95/Discs-large/ZO1) domains are interaction modules that typically bind to specific C-terminal sequences of partner proteins and assemble signaling complexes in multicellular organisms. We have analyzed the existing database of PDZ domain structures in the context of a specificity tree based on binding specificities defined by peptide-phage binding selections. We have identified 16 structures of PDZ domains in complex with high-affinity ligands and have elucidated four additional structures to assemble a structural database that covers most of the branches of the PDZ specificity tree. A detailed comparison of the structures reveals features that are responsible for the diverse specificities across the PDZ domain family. Specificity differences can be explained by differences in PDZ residues that are in contact with the peptide ligands, but these contacts involve both side-chain and main-chain interactions. Most PDZ domains bind peptides in a canonical conformation in which the ligand main chain adopts an extended β-strand conformation by interacting in an antiparallel fashion with a PDZ β-strand. However, a subset of PDZ domains bind peptides with a bent main-chain conformation and the specificities of these non-canonical domains could not be explained based on canonical structures. Our analysis provides a structural portrait of the PDZ domain family, which serves as a guide in understanding the structural basis for the diverse specificities across the family. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population estimates of extended family structure and size.

PubMed

Garceau, Anne; Wideroff, Louise; McNeel, Timothy; Dunn, Marsha; Graubard, Barry I

2008-01-01

Population-based estimates of biological family size can be useful for planning genetic studies, assessing how distributions of relatives affect disease associations with family history and estimating prevalence of potential family support. Mean family size per person is estimated from a population-based telephone survey (n = 1,019). After multivariate adjustment for demographic variables, older and non-White respondents reported greater mean numbers of total, first- and second-degree relatives. Females reported more total and first-degree relatives, while less educated respondents reported more second-degree relatives. Demographic differences in family size have implications for genetic research. Therefore, periodic collection of family structure data in representative populations would be useful. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Environmental Disaster and Economic Change: Do tropical cyclones have permanent effects on economic growth and structure?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jina, A.; von der Goltz, J.; Hsiang, S. M.

2011-12-01

Natural disasters have important, often devastating, effects upon economic growth and well-being. Due to this, disasters have become an active area of recent research and policy attention. However, much of this research has been narrowly focused, relying on anecdotal evidence and aggregated data to support conclusions about disaster impacts in the short-term. Employing a new global data set of tropical cyclone exposure from 1960 to 2008, we investigate in greater detail whether permanent changes in economic performance and structure can result from these extreme events in some cases. Our macro-economic analyses use the World Development Indicator dataset and have shown promising results: there are dramatic long-term economic transformations associated with tropical cyclones across a number of countries and industries. This effect is most clearly seen in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and some countries in Latin America, where negative changes in long-term growth trends are observed in the years following a large tropical cyclone. In many economies with a high exposure to tropical cyclone damage, there are noticeable structural changes within the economy. The impacts of disasters might be expressed through various economic and social channels, through direct loss of lives and infrastructure damage; for instance, the destruction of infrastructure such as ports may damage export opportunities where replacement capital is not readily available. These structural changes may have far-reaching implications for economic growth and welfare. Larger nations subjected to the impacts of tropical cyclones are thought to be able to relocate economically important activities that are damaged by cyclones, and so long-term trend changes are not observed, even for events that cause a large immediate decrease in national productivity. By investigating in a more rigorous fashion the hypothesis that the environment triggers these permanent economic changes, our work has

Family Structure as a Correlate of Organized Sport Participation among Youth.

PubMed

McMillan, Rachel; McIsaac, Michael; Janssen, Ian

2016-01-01

Organized sport is one way that youth participate in physical activity. There are disparities in organized sport participation by family-related factors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether non-traditional family structure and physical custody arrangements are associated with organized sport participation in youth, and if so whether this relationship is mediated by socioeconomic status. Data were from the 2009-10 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey, a nationally representative cross-section of Canadian youth in grades 6-10 (N = 21,201). Information on family structure was derived from three survey items that asked participants the number of adults they lived with, their relationship to these adults, and if applicable, how often they visited another parent outside their home. Participants were asked whether or not they were currently involved in an organized sport. Logistic regression was used to compare the odds of organized sport participation according to family structure. Bootstrap-based mediation analysis was used to assess mediation by perceived family wealth. The results indicated that by comparison to traditional families, boys and girls from reconstituted families with irregular visitation of a second parent, reconstituted families with regular visitation of a second parent, single-parent families with irregular visitation of a second parent, and single-parent families with regular visitation of a second parent were less likely to participate in organized sport than those from traditional families, with odds ratios ranging from 0.48 (95% confidence interval: 0.38-0.61) to 0.78 (95% confidence interval: 0.56-1.08). The relationship between family structure and organized sport was significantly mediated by perceived family wealth, although the magnitude of the mediation was modest (ie, <20% change in effect estimate). In conclusion, youth living in both single-parent and reconstituted families experienced significant disparities in

Family structure and children's television viewing and physical activity.

PubMed

Bagley, Sarah; Salmon, Jo; Crawford, David

2006-05-01

This study aimed to examine how physical activity (PA) and television (TV) viewing time of children varied according to family structure. In 2001, 5- to 6-yr-old (N = 296) and 10- to 12-yr-old (N = 919) children and their parents were recruited from 19 state elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Children's PA was objectively assessed using accelerometers worn for 8 d. Sociodemographic and family structure information and time spent watching TV was collected via questionnaire completed by parents. ANCOVA revealed that, after controlling for socioeconomic status and age of child, boys without any siblings spent more minutes per day watching TV (153.2 +/- 71.3) compared with those who have siblings (129.0 +/- 64.4, P < 0.05). There were also significant differences in TV viewing time between boys with one sibling (125.5 +/- 59.9), two siblings (141.9 +/- 70.1), or three or more siblings (111.6 +/- 62.6, P < 0.001). Girls from single-parent families (145.7 +/- 85.1) spent significantly more minutes per day watching TV compared with girls from two-parent families (125.1 +/- 67.7, P < 0.05). Girls with siblings spent more minutes per day in PA (148.3 +/- 67.7) compared with those who were an only child (131.0 +/- 58.9, P < 0.05). There were significant interactions between parental status and having a sibling, with PA, and also with TV viewing for girls and between parental status and having a brother with PA for boys. There were also significant interactions between having an older sibling and child's sex with PA and between number of siblings and sex with TV viewing. Family structure may be an important source of influence on children's PA and TV viewing time. Aspects of family structure interact differently with PA and TV viewing, suggesting interventions may need to be tailored with consideration of the family structure of children.

Socio-economic, familial and perinatal factors associated with obesity in Sydney schoolchildren.

PubMed

Gopinath, Bamini; Baur, Louise A; Burlutsky, George; Robaei, Dana; Mitchell, Paul

2012-01-01

To examine associations between socio-economic, familial and perinatal factors with overweight/obesity in 6- and 12-year-old schoolchildren. Eligible year-1 (1765/2238, mean age 6.7 years) and year-7 students (2353/3144, mean age, 12.7 years) from a random cluster sample of 55 Sydney schools were examined during 2003-2005. Height, weight and body mass index were measured. Overweight or obesity was classified using International Obesity Task Force cut points. Information about each child's socio-demographic status, familial and perinatal information was sought in parental questionnaires. After multivariate adjustment, lower parental education was significantly associated with prevalent overweight and obesity in 6-year-old children, odds ratio (OR) 1.52 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-2.01) and OR 2.16 (CI 1.34-4.13), respectively. Smoking during pregnancy was associated with a higher likelihood of being obese among both 6- and 12-year-old children, OR 1.90 (CI 1.05-3.46) and OR 1.78 (CI 1.22-2.61). Population attributable risk estimates indicate that 14.9% and 10.1% of prevalent cases of obesity in 12-year-old children may be attributable to being: an only child or a heavy newborn, respectively. We show interdependent relationships between socio-economic, familial and perinatal factors and childhood weight status. Improved understanding of these pathways may help in developing childhood obesity prevention strategies. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2011 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Family Economic Strengthening and Parenting Stress Among Caregivers of AIDS-Orphaned Children: Results from a Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial in Uganda.

PubMed

Nabunya, Proscovia; Ssewamala, Fred M; Ilic, Vilma

2014-09-01

This study examines the impact of a family economic strengthening intervention on parenting stress among caregivers of AIDS-orphaned children in Uganda. The study uses data from a 4-year (2008-2012) NIMH randomized clinical trial for AIDS-orphaned children known as Suubi-Maka (N=346 dyads). Child-caregiver dyads from 10 comparable primary schools were randomly assigned to either the control group (n=167 dyads) receiving usual care for school-going orphaned children (such as food aid and scholastic materials) or the treatment group (n=179 dyads) receiving a family economic strengthening intervention (focused on a matched savings account), financial planning and management workshops over and above the usual care. Interviews were conducted at baseline, 12 months and 24 months follow-up. This study uses data from baseline and 24 months post-intervention. We use multivariate regression methods, controlling for socioeconomic characteristics. At 24 months, caregivers in the treatment group reported significantly lower levels of parenting stress compared to caregivers in the control group. Findings from this study point to the potential of a family economic strengthening intervention to improve caregiver's psychosocial wellbeing and that of their families. We conclude that programs and policies aimed at improving the psychosocial wellbeing of families caring for AIDS-orphaned children may consider incorporating economic strengthening components in their programming to help support these kinds of families, caregivers of AIDS-orphaned children especially those residing in developing countries.

Hispanic/Latino Adolescents' Alcohol Use: Influence of Family Structure, Perceived Peer Norms, and Family Members' Alcohol Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Wura; Barry, Adam E.; Xu, Lei; Valente, Thomas W.

2016-01-01

Background: Family structure and value system among Hispanic/Latino population are changing. However, very few studies have examined the combination of the influence of family structure, parental and sibling alcohol use, perceived peer norms about drinking, and alcohol use among Hispanic/Latino adolescents. Purpose: This study examined the…

[Is Work in Older Age Healthy? Findings from Family Run Businesses Using the Example of Bavarian Rural Economics].

PubMed

Hetzel, C; Holzer, M; Allinger, F; Watzele, R; Hörmann, G; Weber, A

2016-05-01

Working in second half of life is individually and socially important. The aim of this study is to multidimensionally evaluate the subjective health situation of older people, in particular those beyond the legal age of retirement who are working or assisting in family run businesses, using the example of Bavarian rural economics. A 3 stage random sample stratified proportionally to regional population numbers was selected for a cross-sectional questionnaire survey (personal delivery, postal return n=3 176, 39.1%). Sample results can be generalised (men 59.8%, at least 65 years old 60.8%, smallest/small enterprises 61.8%). Life satisfaction is similar to that of the German age cohort population. In comparison to commercial and technical fields, physic and psychological complaints are lower and work pleasure is much higher. Health indicators are not dependent on enterprise structures, but on age and gender - on age partly non-linearly. Our results indicate that working in older age can be a source of subjective health. Process of family business succession may effect health. RESULTS might be applicable to other structurally similar agriculture regions and to craft sector. They promote individual confrontation with and social debate on a positive image of old age and aging. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Measuring Social Capital and Its Differentials by Family Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ravanera, Zenaida R.; Rajulton, Fernando

2010-01-01

Social capital has often been invoked to explain differences in children's well-being by family structure. That is, developmental outcome for children in lone or step parent family is not at par with that of children from intact family because parental investments on children may be lower not only in financial and human capital but also in social…

Two models for microsimulation of family life cycle and family structure.

PubMed

Bertino, S; Pinnelli, A; Vichi, M

1988-01-01

2 models are proposed for the microsimulation of the family and analysis of family structure and life cycle. These models were devised primarily for teaching purposes. The families are composed of 3 generations (parents, grandparents, children). Cohabitation is not considered. The 1st model is governed by a transition mechanism based on the rules of a Markov multidimensional, nonhonogeneous chain. The 2nd model is based on stochastic point processes. Input data comprise annual mortality probability according to 1) sex, 2) age, 3) civil status, 4) annual probability of 1st marriage, 5) age combinations between the spouses, and 6) the probability of having 1, 2, or 3 children at 6 months intervals from the previous event (marriage or birth of nth child). The applications of the 1st model are presented using 2 mortality and fertility hypotheses (high and low) and a nuptiality hypothesis (West European nature). The various features of family composition are analyzed according to the duration of a couple's marriage and the age of the individual, as well as the characteristic features of the individual and family life cycle given these 2 demographic conditions.

A systematic review of the economic evidence for interventions for family carers of stroke patients

PubMed Central

Heslin, Margaret; Forster, Anne; Healey, Andy; Patel, Anita

2016-01-01

Objectives: To examine the economic evidence for interventions aimed at family carers of stroke patients. Data sources: Searches (limited to those published in English since 1990) were performed in key databases along with hand searches of relevant papers. Review methods: Papers were restricted to studies including any economic data (broadly defined) for any intervention targeting carers explicitly or explicitly referring to a carer element, beyond involving carers in the care or intervention for patients (i.e. more than just carers being invited to observe an intervention targeted at the patient). Two reviewers independently screened full papers and extracted data using guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (cohort studies), the Delphi list (randomised controlled trials) and guidelines on economic quality from the British Medical Journal. Data were reviewed descriptively as meta analyses were inappropriate due to non-comparability of studies. Results: Ten papers were included in the review. These were heterogeneous in their design, intervention and economic analyses making comparison difficult. Only three of the ten papers included economic evaluations. All three reported that the intervention was less costly and had better or equivalent outcomes than the control comparator although two of these were based on the same intervention using the same dataset. Conclusion: There is some limited evidence that interventions for family carers of stroke patients are effective and cost effective. However, due to variation in the types of interventions examined, little can be concluded regarding implications for clinical practice. PMID:25758943

A systematic review of the economic evidence for interventions for family carers of stroke patients.

PubMed

Heslin, Margaret; Forster, Anne; Healey, Andy; Patel, Anita

2016-02-01

To examine the economic evidence for interventions aimed at family carers of stroke patients. Searches (limited to those published in English since 1990) were performed in key databases along with hand searches of relevant papers. Papers were restricted to studies including any economic data (broadly defined) for any intervention targeting carers explicitly or explicitly referring to a carer element, beyond involving carers in the care or intervention for patients (i.e. more than just carers being invited to observe an intervention targeted at the patient). Two reviewers independently screened full papers and extracted data using guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (cohort studies), the Delphi list (randomised controlled trials) and guidelines on economic quality from the British Medical Journal. Data were reviewed descriptively as meta analyses were inappropriate due to non-comparability of studies. Ten papers were included in the review. These were heterogeneous in their design, intervention and economic analyses making comparison difficult. Only three of the ten papers included economic evaluations. All three reported that the intervention was less costly and had better or equivalent outcomes than the control comparator although two of these were based on the same intervention using the same dataset. There is some limited evidence that interventions for family carers of stroke patients are effective and cost effective. However, due to variation in the types of interventions examined, little can be concluded regarding implications for clinical practice. © The Author(s) 2015.

Family Structure as a Correlate of Organized Sport Participation among Youth

PubMed Central

McMillan, Rachel; McIsaac, Michael; Janssen, Ian

2016-01-01

Organized sport is one way that youth participate in physical activity. There are disparities in organized sport participation by family-related factors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether non-traditional family structure and physical custody arrangements are associated with organized sport participation in youth, and if so whether this relationship is mediated by socioeconomic status. Data were from the 2009–10 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey, a nationally representative cross-section of Canadian youth in grades 6–10 (N = 21,201). Information on family structure was derived from three survey items that asked participants the number of adults they lived with, their relationship to these adults, and if applicable, how often they visited another parent outside their home. Participants were asked whether or not they were currently involved in an organized sport. Logistic regression was used to compare the odds of organized sport participation according to family structure. Bootstrap-based mediation analysis was used to assess mediation by perceived family wealth. The results indicated that by comparison to traditional families, boys and girls from reconstituted families with irregular visitation of a second parent, reconstituted families with regular visitation of a second parent, single-parent families with irregular visitation of a second parent, and single-parent families with regular visitation of a second parent were less likely to participate in organized sport than those from traditional families, with odds ratios ranging from 0.48 (95% confidence interval: 0.38–0.61) to 0.78 (95% confidence interval: 0.56–1.08). The relationship between family structure and organized sport was significantly mediated by perceived family wealth, although the magnitude of the mediation was modest (ie, <20% change in effect estimate). In conclusion, youth living in both single-parent and reconstituted families experienced significant

The Role of Family Functioning in the Stress Process of Dementia Caregivers: A Structural Family Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitrani, Victoria B.; Lewis, John E.; Feaster, Daniel J.; Czaja, Sara J.; Eisdorfer, Carl; Schulz, Richard; Szapocznik, Jose

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of family functioning in the stress process in a sample of caregivers of dementia patients by using a structural family framework. The stress-process model of caregiver distress included family functioning as an intervening variable in the relationship between objective burden and…

The Future of Family Life. Overview: ERIC Fact Sheet No. 13.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Catherine

This fact sheet presents an overview of current and projected changes in American family life, along with implications of those changes for home economics educators. Topics which are covered include: (1) changing family structures; (2) working women and homemakers; (3) family problems such as divorce, adolescent sexuality and pregnancy, violence…

Unemployment as a source of mental distress to individuals and their family: Unemployed parents' perceptions during the economic recession.

PubMed

Frasquilho, Diana; de Matos, Margarida Gaspar; Santos, Teresa; Gaspar, Tânia; Caldas de Almeida, J M

2016-08-01

Due to the economic recession, several people in Europe became unemployed. This situation may risk their mental health. This study explored parents' perceptions about their unemployment's effects in daily life during the recession. A total of 59 unemployed parents (40.7% fathers and 59.3% mothers), ageing 44.4 years (±6.2), answer a question on how the unemployment affected their family lives. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The findings suggest that unemployment is a source of adult and youth mental distress and of economic hardship and changes in family relations. Support to unemployed individuals and their families could benefit from these insights when granting the needed financial and socioemotional assistance. © The Author(s) 2016.

The role of family structure and attachment in college student hookups.

PubMed

Garneau, Chelsea; Olmstead, Spencer B; Pasley, Kay; Fincham, Frank D

2013-11-01

We examined the relationship between family structure and hooking up among emerging adults (N = 881) and the extent to which attachment moderated this relationship. Neither family structure nor number of structure transitions were related to the number of hookup partners in the past 12 months. Having an avoidant attachment, being an underclassman, consuming more alcohol, and not being in an exclusive relationship were related to having a greater number of hookup partners, and avoidant attachment was a stronger indicator of hooking up for men than for women. Among those who had hooked up in the past 12 months (63.8 %), family structure did not significantly differentiate those having a penetrative sex hookup (i.e., oral sex and/or intercourse) versus a non-penetrative sex hookup (i.e., kissing and/or sexual touching only). Findings were discussed in terms of their methodological implications for studying hookups, such as the collection of event level data and examining how family structure influences other correlates of hooking up.

[Comparison of the factors influencing young adolescents' aggression according to family structure].

PubMed

Yun, Eun Kyoung; Shin, Sung Hee

2013-06-01

This cross-sectional study was done to compare factors influencing young adolescents' aggression according to family structure. Participants were 680 young adolescents aged 11 to 15 years (113 in single father families, 136 in single mother families, 49 in grandparent families, and 382 in both-parent families). All measures were self-administered. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program and factors affecting young adolescents' aggression were analyzed by stepwise multiple regression. Levels of young adolescents' aggression and all variables were significantly different among the four family structure groups. Factors influencing young adolescents' aggression were also different according to these 4 groups. For single father families, depression-anxiety and family hardiness significantly predicted the level of young adolescents' aggression (adjusted R square=.37, p<.001). For single mother families, depression-anxiety, gender, and friends' support significantly predicted the level of young adolescents' aggression (adjusted R square=.58, p<.001). For grandparent families, depression-anxiety and family support significantly predicted the level of young adolescents' aggression (adjusted R square=.58, p<.001). For both-parent families, depression-anxiety, family hardiness, and friends' support significantly predicted the level of young adolescents' aggression (adjusted R square=.48, p<.001). Nurses working with young adolescents should consider family structure-specific factors influencing aggression in this population.

Association between Family Structure and Physical Activity of Chinese Adolescents

PubMed Central

Wang, Lijuan; Qi, Jing

2016-01-01

Background. This study examines the association between family structure and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of adolescents in China. Methods. The participants included 612 adolescents (317 boys and 295 girls) from Shanghai with ages ranging from 10 to 16 years. Accelerometers were used to measure the duration of MVPA of adolescents, and questionnaires on family structure were completed by the parents of these adolescents. Results. Findings suggested that family structure significantly increased the likelihood of adolescents engaging in physical activity (PA) and explained 6% of MPVA variance. Adolescents living in single-parent households and step families were more physically active than those living in two-parent homes and with biological parents, respectively. However, adolescents residing with grandparents were less active than those living with neither grandparent. No significant difference was found in MVPA time between adolescents living with one sibling and those without siblings. Conclusion. Family environment may be considered in the development of PA interventions and policies, and adolescents living with their grandparents may be targeted in PA promotion. PMID:27123446

The Role of Economic Strain on Adolescent Delinquency: A Microsocial Process Model

PubMed Central

Low, Sabina; Sinclair, Ryan; Shortt, Joann Wu

2013-01-01

The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings’ delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine a process model whereby mothers’ harsh/inconsistent parenting and older sibling delinquency influence younger siblings’ delinquent behavior via sibling aggression and delinquent peer affiliation. Findings suggest that indirect mechanisms vary as a function of economic strain, with sibling aggression having a stronger, more detrimental effect on adolescent delinquency in economically strained families. Data suggest that familial economic conditions contextualize the relative roles of parenting, sibling, and peer processes in the transmission of risk to adolescent delinquency. PMID:22709262

Piecing Together Family Social Work in Mainland China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sim, Timothy

2008-01-01

As rapid economic and sociopolitical development brings about drastic changes in family structure and processes in China, many social concerns arise. Through a review of journal articles published over a period of 28 years (1979-2006) in social work and related disciplines in China, this article presents a glimpse of family social work using the…

Economic evaluation of interventions for problem drinking and alcohol dependence: do within-family external effects make a difference?

PubMed

Mortimer, Duncan; Segal, Leonie

2006-01-01

To propose methods for the inclusion of within-family external effects in clinical and economic evaluations. To demonstrate the extent of bias due to the exclusion of within-family external effects when measuring the relative performance of interventions for problem drinking and alcohol dependence. The timing and magnitude of treatment effects are modified to accommodate the external health-related quality of life impact of having a problem or dependent drinker in the family home. The inclusion of within-family external effects reduces cost per QALY estimates of interventions for problem drinking and alcohol dependence thereby improving the performance of all evaluated interventions. In addition, the inclusion of within-family external effects improves the relative performance of interventions targeted at those with moderate-to-severe alcohol dependence as compared to interventions targeted at less severe alcohol problems. Failure to take account of external effects in clinical and economic evaluations results in an uneven playing field. Interventions with readily quantifiable health benefits (where social costs and benefits are predominantly comprised of private costs and benefits) are at a distinct advantage when competing for public funding against interventions with quantitatively important external effects.

The Illinois Plan for Home Economics Education. A Curriculum Guide. Life: Learning for Independence, Family, and Employment Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Univ., Normal. Dept. of Home Economics.

This curriculum guide, which was designed for an exploration/orientation course in home economics, introduces students to the field of home economics. It is designed to develop the total well-being of students to empower them to become healthy, well-adjusted, self-confident, productive persons, family members, and workers. The guide contains the…

A Generation at Risk: Growing Up in an Era of Family Upheaval.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amato, Paul R.; Booth, Alan

During the last three decades, remarkable transformations have occurred in the American family, including changes in economic well-being, gender roles, family relationships, and family structure. Based on a 15-year study begun in 1980, this book examines young Americans coming of age in the 1980s and 1990s among families experiencing these social…

The Relation between Family Structure and Young Adolescents' Appraisals of Family Climate and Parenting Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurdek, Lawrence A.; Fine, Mark A.

1993-01-01

Young adolescents who lived with both biological parents, single divorced mother, single divorced father, mother and stepfather, father and stepmother, or multiply divorced parent appraised dimensions of family climate and dimensions of parenting. Differences among family structures were found on warmth, conflict, permissive parenting, and…

Family Structure, Maternal Dating, and Sexual Debut: Extending the Conceptualization of Instability.

PubMed

Zito, Rena Cornell; De Coster, Stacy

2016-05-01

Family structure influences the risk of early onset of sexual intercourse. This study proposes that the family structures associated with risk-single-mother, step-parent, and cohabiting-influence early sexual debut due to family instability, including shifts in family structure and maternal dating, which can undermine parental control and transmit messages about the acceptability of nonmarital sex. Previous research has not considered maternal dating as a component of family instability, assuming single mothers who date and those who do not date experience comparable levels of family disruption and transmit similar messages about the acceptability of nonmarital sex. Hypotheses are assessed using logistic regression models predicting the odds of early onset of sexual intercourse among 9959 respondents (53 % female, 47 % male) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Respondents were ages 12-17 at the first wave of data collection and 18-26 at the third wave, when respondents reported the age at which they first had sexual intercourse. Results show that maternal dating is a source of family instability with repercussions for early sexual debut. Parental control and permissive attitudes towards teenage sex and pregnancy link at-risk family structures and maternal dating to early sexual initiation among females, though these variables do not fully explain family structure and maternal dating effects. Among males, the influence of maternal dating on early sexual debut is fully explained by the learning of permissive sexual attitudes.

Comprehensive Family-Centered Training Programs: Five Comparative Case Studies. Evaluation of the Mountain-Plains Education & Economic Development Program, Inc.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bale, Richard L.; Sprague, C. Fremont

The Mountain-Plains Education & Economic Development Program, which exemplifies the comprehensive, residential family-centered approach to serving the economically disadvantaged, was compared to four similar programs in the United States: Arizona Job Colleges (AJC) in Arizona; Madera Employment Training Center (METC) in California; Manpower,…

Adapting the Structural Family Systems Rating to Assess the Patterns of Interaction in Families of Dementia Caregivers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitrani, Victoria B.; Feaster, Daniel J.; McCabe, Brian E.; Czaja, Sara J.; Szapocznik, Jose

2005-01-01

Purpose: This study adapted the Structural Family Systems Ratings (SFSR), an observational measure of family interactions, for dementia caregivers. This article presents the development of the SFSR-Dementia Caregiver adaptation (SFSR-DC) and examines relationships between specific family-interaction patterns and caregiver distress. Design and…

Prospective Association Between Negative Life Events and Initiation of Sexual Intercourse: The Influence of Family Structure and Family Income

PubMed Central

Oman, Roy F.; Vesely, Sara K.; Aspy, Cheryl B.; Tolma, Eleni L.; John, Robert

2015-01-01

Objectives. We examined the prospective association between negative life events and time to initiation of sexual intercourse and the influence of family structure and family income on this association. Methods. We followed up a randomly selected sample (n = 649) of ethnically diverse parents and their children aged 12 to 17 years over a 5-year period. We conducted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to examine the relation between negative life events and time to initiation of sexual intercourse. Family structure and family income were assessed as confounders. Results. Negative life events were significant predictors of time to initiation of sexual intercourse in adolescents. After controlling for demographic variables, youths reporting 1 negative life event had a hazard of initiation of sexual intercourse 1.40 times greater and youths reporting 2 or more negative life events had a hazard of initiation of sexual intercourse 1.61 times greater compared with youths reporting no negative life events. Family structure and family income were not significant confounders of the relation between initiation of sexual intercourse and negative life events. Conclusions. Interventions to prevent initiation of sexual intercourse should focus on youths with recent negative life events, regardless of family income and structure. PMID:25602885

Family Structure and the Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Advantage*

PubMed Central

Martin, Molly A.

2013-01-01

I examine whether the effect of parents’ education on children’s educational achievement and attainment varies by family structure and, if so, whether this can be explained by differential parenting practices. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, I find that as parents’ education increases, children in single mother families experience a lower boost in their achievement test scores, likelihood of attending any post-secondary schooling, likelihood of completing a four-year college degree, and years of completed schooling relative to children living with both biological parents. Differences in parents’ educational expectations, intergenerational closure, and children’s involvement in structured leisure activities partially explain these status transmission differences by family structure. The findings imply that, among children with highly educated parents, children of single mothers are less likely to be highly educated themselves relative to children who grow up with both biological parents. PMID:23017695

Family Structure and Children's Psychosocial Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Zheng; Hou, Feng; Schimmele, Christoph M.

2008-01-01

This article examines the influence of family structure on children's short-term psychosocial behavioral outcomes, including emotional disorder, conduct disorder, and prosocial behavior. The analysis uses five waves of data (1994-2003) from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to model how living in a cohabitational…

Family Structure, Transitions and Psychiatric Disorders Among Puerto Rican Children

PubMed Central

Santesteban-Echarri, Olga; Eisenberg, Ruth E.; Bird, Hector R.; Canino, Glorisa J.; Duarte, Cristiane S.

2016-01-01

This paper examines whether family structure and its transitions are associated with internalizing and externalizing psychiatric disorders among Puerto Rican-origin children. It uses longitudinal data (three waves) from the Boricua Youth Study, which includes probability samples of children in the South Bronx (New York) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) (n = 2,142). We also examine factors which may explain how family structure and transitions may be related to child psychiatric disorders. Our results show that for both internalizing and externalizing disorders there were no significant differences between children of cohabiting (biological or step) parents or of single parents compared to children of married biological parents. In Puerto Rico only, transitioning once from a two-parent family to a single-parent family was related to child internalizing disorders. Family transitions were not associated with externalizing disorders at either site. Context may be an important factor shaping the risk that family dissolution is followed by an internalizing disorder among children. PMID:28713212

Family boundary structures and child adjustment: the indirect role of emotional reactivity.

PubMed

Lindahl, Kristin M; Bregman, Hallie R; Malik, Neena M

2012-12-01

Structural and system theories propose that disruptions in family subsystem functioning increase risk for youth maladjustment. While there is growing evidence to support this proposition, studies that specifically focus on the larger family system remain relatively rare. Furthermore, the pathways that connect problems in family subsystem alliances to externalizing or internalizing problems in youth are as yet largely unexplored. This study examined youth emotional reactivity (anger and sadness) to family conflict as an indirect pathway of the association between family boundary disturbances and youth adjustment in a sample of two-parent families (N = 270). Observational coding was used to group families into Balanced, Dyadic, or Disengaged family alliance structures and to assess youth emotional reactivity, and parent-report was used to assess youth psychopathology. Structural equation modeling indicated both anger and sadness served as indirect pathways through which family boundary disturbances are linked with youth adjustment. In addition, gender was tested as a moderator and important gender differences were found. Specifically, boys were directly impacted by dyadic disturbances while girls were directly impacted by family disengagement. The findings help target goals for intervention and indicate that worthwhile objectives may include realigning family subsystem boundaries, changing family communication patterns, and improving affective coping skills for youth. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Family structure and childhood anthropometry in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1918

PubMed Central

Warren, John Robert

2017-01-01

Concern with childhood nutrition prompted numerous surveys of children’s growth in the United States after 1870. The Children’s Bureau’s 1918 “Weighing and Measuring Test” measured two million children to produce the first official American growth norms. Individual data for 14,000 children survives from the Saint Paul, Minnesota survey whose stature closely approximated national norms. As well as anthropometry the survey recorded exact ages, street address and full name. These variables allow linkage to the 1920 census to obtain demographic and socioeconomic information. We matched 72% of children to census families creating a sample of nearly 10,000 children. Children in the entire survey (linked set) averaged 0.74 (0.72) standard deviations below modern WHO height-for-age standards, and 0.48 (0.46) standard deviations below modern weight-for-age norms. Sibship size strongly influenced height-for-age, and had weaker influence on weight-for-age. Each additional child six or underreduced height-for-age scores by 0.07 standard deviations (95% CI: −0.03, 0.11). Teenage siblings had little effect on height-forage. Social class effects were substantial. Children of laborers averaged half a standard deviation shorter than children of professionals. Family structure and socio-economic status had compounding impacts on children’s stature. PMID:28943749

Presentation of structural component designs for the family of commuter airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Mark; Haddad, Raphael; Creighton, Tom; Hendrich, Louis; Hensley, Doug; Morgan, Louise; Swift, Jerry

1987-01-01

The purpose is to present the implementation of structural commonality in the family of commuter airplanes. One of the main goals is implementation of structural commonality to as high a degree as possible. The structural layouts of those parts of the airplanes in which commonality is possible with all members of the family will be presented. The following airplane sections, which are common on all of the airplanes in the family, will be presented: common nose cone design; common wing torque box design; and common tail cone design. A proposed production and manufacturing breakdown is described. The advantages and disadvantages of implementing structural commonality and recommendations for further work will be discussed.

Limited family structure and BRCA gene mutation status in single cases of breast cancer.

PubMed

Weitzel, Jeffrey N; Lagos, Veronica I; Cullinane, Carey A; Gambol, Patricia J; Culver, Julie O; Blazer, Kathleen R; Palomares, Melanie R; Lowstuter, Katrina J; MacDonald, Deborah J

2007-06-20

An autosomal dominant pattern of hereditary breast cancer may be masked by small family size or transmission through males given sex-limited expression. To determine if BRCA gene mutations are more prevalent among single cases of early onset breast cancer in families with limited vs adequate family structure than would be predicted by currently available probability models. A total of 1543 women seen at US high-risk clinics for genetic cancer risk assessment and BRCA gene testing were enrolled in a prospective registry study between April 1997 and February 2007. Three hundred six of these women had breast cancer before age 50 years and no first- or second-degree relatives with breast or ovarian cancers. The main outcome measure was whether family structure, assessed from multigenerational pedigrees, predicts BRCA gene mutation status. Limited family structure was defined as fewer than 2 first- or second-degree female relatives surviving beyond age 45 years in either lineage. Family structure effect and mutation probability by the Couch, Myriad, and BRCAPRO models were assessed with stepwise multiple logistic regression. Model sensitivity and specificity were determined and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated. Family structure was limited in 153 cases (50%). BRCA gene mutations were detected in 13.7% of participants with limited vs 5.2% with adequate family structure. Family structure was a significant predictor of mutation status (odds ratio, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-6.73; P = .02). Although none of the models performed well, receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that modification of BRCAPRO output by a corrective probability index accounting for family structure was the most accurate BRCA gene mutation status predictor (area under the curve, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-0.81; P<.001) for single cases of breast cancer. Family structure can affect the accuracy of mutation probability models. Genetic testing

Economic Pressure and Marital Quality: An Illustration of the Method Variance Problem in the Causal Modeling of Family Processes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorenz, Frederick O.; And Others

1991-01-01

Examined effects of method variance on models linking family economic pressure, marital quality, and expressions of hostility and warmth among 76 couples. Observer reports yielded results linking economic pressure to marital quality indirectly through interactional processes such as hostility. Self-reports or spouses' reports made it difficult to…

Family structure and the intergenerational transmission of educational advantage.

PubMed

Martin, Molly A

2012-01-01

I examine whether the effect of parents' education on children's educational achievement and attainment varies by family structure and, if so, whether this can be explained by differential parenting practices. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, I find that as parents' education increases, children in single mother families experience a lower boost in their achievement test scores, likelihood of attending any post-secondary schooling, likelihood of completing a 4-year college degree, and years of completed schooling relative to children living with both biological parents. Differences in parents' educational expectations, intergenerational closure, and children's involvement in structured leisure activities partially explain these status transmission differences by family structure. The findings imply that, among children with highly educated parents, children of single mothers are less likely to be highly educated themselves relative to children who grow up with both biological parents. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Operant Reinforcement with Structural Family Therapy in Treating Anorexia Nervosa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perlman, Lawrence M.; Bender, Sheila S.

1975-01-01

The authors successfully treated two families in which the index patients were anorectic adolescent girls by combining structural family therapy with behavioral modification techniques. Phases which appear to be typical of the treatment are described. A discussion of the value of the operant reinforcement procedure in family therapy follows.…

Family structure, victimization, and child mental health in a nationally representative sample.

PubMed

Turner, Heather A; Finkelhor, David; Hamby, Sherry L; Shattuck, Anne

2013-06-01

Utilizing the 2008 National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the current study compares past year rates of 7 forms of child victimization (maltreatment, assault, peer victimization, property crime, witnessing family violence and exposure to community violence) across 3 different family structure types (two biological/adoptive parents, single parent, step/cohabiting family) among a representative sample of 4046 U.S. children ages 2-17. The study also considers whether certain social-contextual risk factors help to explain family structure variations in victimization, and the extent to which victimization exposure accounts for family structure differences in distress symptom levels. Findings showed significantly elevated rates of almost all types of victimization among children in both nontraditional family types, relative to those living with two biological/adoptive parents. Factors associated with increased victimization risk in these families include high parental conflict, drug or alcohol problems, family adversity, and community disorder. A summary measure of children's exposure to multiple forms of victimization was the strongest predictor of distress symptoms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of economic strain on adolescent delinquency: a microsocial process model.

PubMed

Low, Sabina; Sinclair, Ryan; Shortt, Joann Wu

2012-08-01

The current study examines the role of economic strain as a moderator of the microsocial processes influencing younger siblings' delinquency (externalizing behavior and substance use) in a longitudinal design. The younger siblings (122 younger brothers and 122 younger sisters) were from 244 families with same-sex biological siblings. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine a process model whereby mothers' harsh/inconsistent parenting and older sibling delinquency influence younger siblings' delinquent behavior via sibling aggression and delinquent peer affiliation. Findings suggest that indirect mechanisms vary as a function of economic strain, with sibling aggression having a stronger, more detrimental effect on adolescent delinquency in economically strained families. Data suggest that familial economic conditions contextualize the relative roles of parenting, sibling, and peer processes in the transmission of risk to adolescent delinquency. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Changes in Young Children’s Family Structures and Child Care Arrangements

PubMed Central

Crosnoe, Robert; Prickett, Kate Chambers; Smith, Chelsea; Cavanagh, Shannon

2013-01-01

Family structure change can disrupt the settings of children’s daily lives. Most scholarship focuses on disruption in the home environment. Moving beyond the home, this study explores the association between changes in family structure and changes in several dimensions of early child care. With longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 1,298), first-difference models reveal that family structure transitions are associated with changes in the type and quantity of early care as well as the number of care arrangements used, especially during the latter part of infancy. Given prior evidence linking these child care dimensions to behavioral and cognitive outcomes, these results suggest a policy-relevant mechanism by which family change may create inequalities among children. PMID:24243268

[A Structural Equation Model on Family Strength of Married Working Women].

PubMed

Hong, Yeong Seon; Han, Kuem Sun

2015-12-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of predictive factors related to family strength and develop a structural equation model that explains family strength among married working women. A hypothesized model was developed based on literature reviews and predictors of family strength by Yoo. This constructed model was built of an eight pathway form. Two exogenous variables included in this model were ego-resilience and family support. Three endogenous variables included in this model were functional couple communication, family stress and family strength. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire from 319 married working women who were 30~40 of age and lived in cities of Chungnam province in Korea. Data were analyzed with PASW/WIN 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 programs. Family support had a positive direct, indirect and total effect on family strength. Family stress had a negative direct, indirect and total effect on family strength. Functional couple communication had a positive direct and total effect on family strength. These predictive variables of family strength explained 61.8% of model. The results of the study show a structural equation model for family strength of married working women and that predicting factors for family strength are family support, family stress, and functional couple communication. To improve family strength of married working women, the results of this study suggest nursing access and mediative programs to improve family support and functional couple communication, and reduce family stress.

Family Structure and the Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Ideology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Daniel L.; Knoester, Chris

2011-01-01

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, this study explores how single-parent, stepparent, and two-parent biological family structures may affect the transmission of gender ideology from parents to their adult children. Results indicate that biological parents' ideologies are strong predictors of their children's…

Integrating Economic Strengthening and Family Coaching to Reduce Work-Related Health Hazards Among Children of Poor Households: Burkina Faso.

PubMed

Karimli, Leyla; Rost, Lucia; Ismayilova, Leyla

2018-01-01

This is the first randomized controlled trial in Burkina Faso testing the effect of economic strengthening alone and in combination with family coaching on child's hazardous work and work-related health outcomes. The study also tests the association between different forms of hazardous work and child's health outcomes. A total of 360 households from 12 villages participated in the study. Villages were randomly assigned to three study arms: economic intervention alone, economic intervention integrated with family coaching, and control. In each household, one female caregiver and one child aged 10-15 years were interviewed. Data were collected at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. We ran multilevel mixed-effects models that account for both within-individual correlation over time and clustering of subjects within villages. Compared with the control group, at 24 months, children in the integrated arm experienced significant reduction in exposure to hazardous work and some forms of hazards and abuse. Results for children in the economic strengthening-only arm were more modest. In most cases, child's health was significantly associated not with specific forms of work per se, but with child's exposure to hazards and abuse while doing this form of work. We found no significant effect of intervention on child's work-related health. Economic strengthening combined with family coaching on child protection issues, rather than implemented alone, may be more effective in reducing child's exposure to hazardous work. Additional research is needed to understand gender differences and causal links between different forms of child work and health hazards. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Family Structure Transitions and Child Development: Instability, Selection, and Population Heterogeneity.

PubMed

Lee, Dohoon; McLanahan, Sara

2015-08-01

A growing literature documents the importance of family instability for child wellbeing. In this article, we use longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the impacts of family instability on children's cognitive and socioemotional development in early and middle childhood. We extend existing research in several ways: (1) by distinguishing between the number and types of family structure changes; (2) by accounting for time-varying as well as time-constant confounding; and (3) by assessing racial/ethnic and gender differences in family instability effects. Our results indicate that family instability has a causal effect on children's development, but the effect depends on the type of change, the outcome assessed, and the population examined. Generally speaking, transitions out of a two-parent family are more negative for children's development than transitions into a two-parent family. The effect of family instability is stronger for children's socioemotional development than for their cognitive achievement. For socioemotional development, transitions out of a two-parent family are more negative for white children, whereas transitions into a two-parent family are more negative for Hispanic children. These findings suggest that future research should pay more attention to the type of family structure transition and to population heterogeneity.

Family Structure Transitions and Child Development: Instability, Selection, and Population Heterogeneity

PubMed Central

Lee, Dohoon; McLanahan, Sara

2016-01-01

A growing literature documents the importance of family instability for child wellbeing. In this article, we use longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the impacts of family instability on children’s cognitive and socioemotional development in early and middle childhood. We extend existing research in several ways: (1) by distinguishing between the number and types of family structure changes; (2) by accounting for time-varying as well as time-constant confounding; and (3) by assessing racial/ethnic and gender differences in family instability effects. Our results indicate that family instability has a causal effect on children’s development, but the effect depends on the type of change, the outcome assessed, and the population examined. Generally speaking, transitions out of a two-parent family are more negative for children’s development than transitions into a two-parent family. The effect of family instability is stronger for children’s socioemotional development than for their cognitive achievement. For socioemotional development, transitions out of a two-parent family are more negative for white children, whereas transitions into a two-parent family are more negative for Hispanic children. These findings suggest that future research should pay more attention to the type of family structure transition and to population heterogeneity. PMID:27293242

Trickling Down: Are Rural and Rural Poor Family Incomes Responsive to Regional Economic Growth? Institute for Research on Poverty, Discussion Papers No. 210-74.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Bruce A.

The past decade has seen a number of studies of how the poverty incidence (the percentage of families below the poverty line) of certain demographic groups changes in response to economic growth. The question of whether regional economic growth trickles down to rural and rural poor families was examined by statistically estimating the relationship…

Family structure and childhood mental disorders: new findings from Australia.

PubMed

Perales, Francisco; Johnson, Sarah E; Baxter, Janeen; Lawrence, David; Zubrick, Stephen R

2017-04-01

Many children now live in non-traditional families-including one-parent, blended, and step families. While a substantial body of international evidence indicates that these children display poorer cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes than children living in traditional families, research on childhood mental disorders is scarce. This report provides new evidence of the relationships between family structure and childhood mental disorders in an under-researched context, Australia. We use recent, nationally representative data on children aged 4-17 from Young Minds Matter, the second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Well-being (N = 6310). Mental disorders were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Version IV and included social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorder. Compared to children living in original families, children in one-parent, blended, and step families experienced a higher prevalence of mental disorders. Amongst children whose parents separated, the time since separation was not statistically significantly related to the prevalence of mental disorders. Although we are unable to assess causality, our findings highlight the strength of the association between family structure and child and adolescent mental health. They also stress the need for programs to support children, parents, and families in non-traditional family types to reduce mental health inequalities in childhood and later life.

The Effects of Family Structure on African American Adolescents' Marijuana Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mandara, Jelani; Rogers, Sheba Y.; Zinbarg, Richard E.

2011-01-01

The relationship between family structure and marijuana use throughout adolescence was assessed among 1,069 African Americans from the NLSY. A model was also tested suggesting that the effects of family structure on marijuana use would be mediated by poverty, neighborhood quality, and adolescents' self-control. As most prior studies have found,…

Economic consequences of population size, structure and growth.

PubMed

Lee, R

1983-01-01

There seems to be 4 major approaches to conceptualizing and modeling demographic influences on economic and social welfare. These approaches are combined in various ways to construct richer and more comprehensive models. The basic approaches are: demographic influences on household or family behavior; population growth and reproducible capital; population size and fixed factors; and population and advantages of scale. These 4 models emphasize the supply side effects of population. A few of the ways in which these theories have been combined are sketched. Neoclassical growth models often have been combined with age distributed populations of individuals (or households), assumed to pursue optimal life cycle consumption and saving. In some well known development models, neoclassical growth models for the modern sector are linked by labor markets and migration to fixed factor (land) models of the traditional (agricultural) sector. A whole series of macro simulation models for developed and developing countries was based on single sector neoclassical growth models with age distributed populations. Yet, typically the household level foundations of assumed age distribution effects were not worked out. Simon's (1977) simulation models are in a class by themselves, for they are the only models that attempt to incorporate all the kinds of effects discussed. The economic demography of the individual and family cycle, as it is affected by regimes of fertility, mortality, and nuptiality, taken as given, are considered. The examination touches on many of the purported consequences of aggregate population growth and age composition, since so many of these are based implicitly or explicitly on assertions about micro level behavior. Demographic influences on saving and consumption, on general labor supply and female labor supply, and on problems of youth and old age dependency frequently fall in this category. Finally, attention is focused specifically on macro economic issues in

New families of human regulatory RNA structures identified by comparative analysis of vertebrate genomes.

PubMed

Parker, Brian J; Moltke, Ida; Roth, Adam; Washietl, Stefan; Wen, Jiayu; Kellis, Manolis; Breaker, Ronald; Pedersen, Jakob Skou

2011-11-01

Regulatory RNA structures are often members of families with multiple paralogous instances across the genome. Family members share functional and structural properties, which allow them to be studied as a whole, facilitating both bioinformatic and experimental characterization. We have developed a comparative method, EvoFam, for genome-wide identification of families of regulatory RNA structures, based on primary sequence and secondary structure similarity. We apply EvoFam to a 41-way genomic vertebrate alignment. Genome-wide, we identify 220 human, high-confidence families outside protein-coding regions comprising 725 individual structures, including 48 families with known structural RNA elements. Known families identified include both noncoding RNAs, e.g., miRNAs and the recently identified MALAT1/MEN β lincRNA family; and cis-regulatory structures, e.g., iron-responsive elements. We also identify tens of new families supported by strong evolutionary evidence and other statistical evidence, such as GO term enrichments. For some of these, detailed analysis has led to the formulation of specific functional hypotheses. Examples include two hypothesized auto-regulatory feedback mechanisms: one involving six long hairpins in the 3'-UTR of MAT2A, a key metabolic gene that produces the primary human methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine; the other involving a tRNA-like structure in the intron of the tRNA maturation gene POP1. We experimentally validate the predicted MAT2A structures. Finally, we identify potential new regulatory networks, including large families of short hairpins enriched in immunity-related genes, e.g., TNF, FOS, and CTLA4, which include known transcript destabilizing elements. Our findings exemplify the diversity of post-transcriptional regulation and provide a resource for further characterization of new regulatory mechanisms and families of noncoding RNAs.

Marital status and mortality: Does family structure in childhood matter?

PubMed

Kang, Jeong-Han; Kim, Jibum; Lee, Min-Ah

2016-06-01

It is well known that marital status is significantly associated with mortality risk. Little is known, however, regarding whether and how the effects of marital status are moderated by one's own family structure in childhood. The purposes of this study are to examine whether marital status (i.e., family structure in adulthood) and living with both biological parents in childhood (i.e., family structure in childhood) are associated with mortality risk, and whether and how the effects of marital status vary depending on family structure in childhood and gender. We analyze the risk of death in five waves of the General Social Survey (GSS) from 1994 through 2002 after linking the GSS data to death certificate data from the National Death Index through 2008. The findings indicate that being widowed increases the risk of mortality, while living with both parents in childhood lowers it. Interestingly, analysis of the interaction between marital status and family structure in childhood reveals that the disadvantage of widowhood in terms of mortality is significantly stronger for those who lived with both parents in childhood than for those who did not. Subsample analysis by gender shows that the moderating effect of living with both parents is largely equal across men and women, though statistically more robust for men. These findings suggest that living with both parents during childhood may increase vulnerability to marital disruptions due to unwanted life events such as spousal loss. Childhood advantages, ironically, may form more stressful contexts of spousal loss by lowering one's adaptability or immunity to adulthood hardships, especially when the hardships in adulthood are characteristically opposite from the childhood advantages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Socio-economic status, family disruption and residential stability in childhood: relation to onset, recurrence and remission of major depression.

PubMed

Gilman, S E; Kawachi, I; Fitzmaurice, G M; Buka, L

2003-11-01

Childhood adversity significantly increases the risk of depression, but it is unclear whether this risk is most pronounced for depression occurring early in life. In the present study, we examine whether three aspects of childhood adversity--low socio-economic status (SES), family disruption, and residential instability--are related to increased risk of depression during specific stages of the life course. We also examine whether these aspects of childhood adversity are related to the severity of depression. A sample of 1089 of the 4140 births enrolled in the Providence, Rhode Island cohort of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project was interviewed between the ages of 18 and 39. Measures of parental SES, childhood family disruption and residential instability were obtained upon mother's enrolment and at age 7. Age at onset of major depressive episode, lifetime number of depressive episodes, and age at last episode were ascertained via structured diagnostic interviews. Survival analysis was used to identify risk factors for depression onset and remission and Poisson regression was used to model the recurrence rate of depressive episodes. Low parental SES, family disruption and a high level of residential instability, defined as three or more family moves, were related to elevated lifetime risks of depression; the effects of family disruption and residential instability were most pronounced on depression onset by age 14. Childhood adversity was also related to increased risk of recurrence and reduced likelihood of remission. Childhood social disadvantage significantly influences risk of depression onset both in childhood and in adulthood. Early childhood adversity is also related to poor prognosis.

Relationship of family formation characteristics with unsafe abortion: is it confounded by women's socio-economic status? - A case-control study from Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Arambepola, Carukshi; Rajapaksa, Lalini C; Attygalle, Deepika; Moonasinghe, Loshan

2016-06-17

Literature shows that choice for unsafe abortion is often driven by poverty. However, factors related to the family formation behaviour of women are also implied as determinants of this decision. This study assessed which family formation characteristics of women are associated with the risk of unsafe abortion, without being confounded by their low socio-economic status among Sri Lankan women admitted to hospital following post-abortion complications. An unmatched case-control study was conducted in nine hospitals in eight districts in Sri Lanka among 171 women with post-abortion complications following unsafe abortion (Cases) and 600 postpartum mothers admitted to same hospitals during the same period for delivery of term unintended pregnancies (Controls). Interviewer-administered-questionnaires obtained demographic, socio-economic and family formation related characteristics. Risk factors of abortion were assessed by odds-ratio (OR), adjusted for their socio-economic status in logistic regression analysis. Low socio-economic status, characterised by low-education (adjusted OR = 1.5; 95 % CI = 1.1-2.4) and less/unskilled occupations (2.3; 1.4-3.6) was a significant risk factor for unsafe abortion. Independent of this risk, being unmarried (9.3; 4.0-21.6), failure in informed decisions about desired family size (2.2; 1.4-3.5), not having a girl-child (2.2; 1.4-3.4) and longer average birth intervals (0.7 years; 0.6-0.8) signified the vulnerability of women for unsafe abortion. Cases were as fast as the controls in their family completion (4.3 versus 4.5 years; p = 0.4), but were at increased risk for abortion, if their average birth intervals (including the last one) were longer. Previous contraceptive use, age at reproductive events or partners' characteristics did not impart any risk for abortion. Low socio-economic status is not the most influencing risk factor for unsafe abortions leading to complications, but many other factors in relation to

Overview of the family structure in Egypt and its relation to psychiatry.

PubMed

Okasha, Tarek; Elkholy, Hussien; El-Ghamry, Reem

2012-04-01

The family is the basic unit of any society and culture. The concept, structure, and function of the family unit vary considerably across different cultures; however, its role continues to be imperative to the development of individuals and their psychological make-up. All societies have a concept of 'family', its relative importance, structure, and functions; however, this varies according to the particular culture. In the Arabic culture, as well as other collectivistic cultures, the extended family is often regarded as the basic unit. The family is the foundational and basic social unit that fosters the stability, well-being and sustainability of society. The quality of family relationships shapes and influences the social, psychological, and biological development and functioning of its members. This may be especially relevant to individuals with mental health problems. The people of ancient Egypt valued family life highly, and this is the case even now. They treasured children and regarded them as a great blessing. If a couple had no children, they would pray to the gods and goddesses for help. They would also place letters at the tombs of dead relatives asking them to use their influence with the gods. The importance of family has not changed dramatically even though the structures are beginning to. In this paper we highlight changes in family set-up and the state of family therapy in Egypt.

[Structural, developmental and functional evaluation of the family of individuals with arterial hypertension].

PubMed

Radovanovic, Cremilde Aparecida Trindade; Cecilio, Hellen Pollyanna Mantelo; Marcon, Sonia Silva

2013-03-01

The objective of the study was to evaluate the structure, development and functionality of the family that suffers from arterial hypertension. This is a qualitative study, developed with two families using the Calgary Model of Family Evaluation. It proposes the use of three categories of analysis: structural developmental and functional, and the use of a genogram and an ecomap. The two families are nuclear, however one is formed by the couple and their three sons who are married and reside in different homes. The other is a single-parent family established by the mother and children. The married son resides at another house in the same backyard with wife and daughter The application of the model of family evaluation allowed knowing the aspects related to the structure, operation and development of the two families that interfere impair or favor the development of the care in their quotidian.

Strong sustainability in Nepal: A structural economics approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devkota, Surendra R.

This dissertation analyzes the sustainability of the economy of Nepal. The main empirical question addressed is whether the Tenth Plan of Nepal (2002--2007) will meet its projected economic output goal and achieve its primary goal of reducing poverty. To this end, economic growth scenarios are examined in terms of availability of energy demand and supply, and income disparity among different households. The structure of the Nepali economy is examined using a Leontief input-output table, a Ghosian supply-side input-output table, and a social accounting matrix for the year 1999. Based on the input-output analysis of energy demand and supply for the 10th Plan, it is unlikely that energy requirements of the projected output will be met, unless some extra sources of energy are developed. Households need to switch their energy use from fuel wood/biomass to other alternatives. In order to meet the target of the Plan vis-a-vis energy demand or supply, a few policy measures are urgently needed, though some of these options require many years to develop. Household income inequality and distribution is examined through the SAM multipliers; namely aggregate, transfer, open-loop, and closed-loop multipliers. The investment-income multiplier scenarios for the 10th Plan indicate that the nominal income of households may increase due to the increased investment, which will not necessarily improve the bottom deciles households, particularly socio-economically deprived households. Economic growth in Nepal during the past fifty years demonstrates that the modernization model is unsuccessful. Economic growth occurred at some centers at the cost of periphery. A huge regional disparity has developed between hills and plains, east and west, city and rural areas. Nepal's persistent poverty indicates a failure of modernization theory. The Tenth Plan would be another continuation of a failed legacy, unless social and natural endowments are considered for sustainability. Nepal could be an

Family relationships and sexual orientation disclosure to family by gay and bisexual men in Jamaica

PubMed Central

White, Yohann; Sandfort, Theo; Morgan, Kai; Carpenter, Karen; Pierre, Russell

2016-01-01

Gay and bisexual men in Jamaica encounter stigma and discrimination due to criminalization of and negative attitudes towards same-sex sexuality. Disclosure of sexual orientation may be self-affirming, but could increase exposure to negative responses and stressors. Outcomes of an online survey among 110 gay and bisexual Jamaican men ages 18 to 56 years suggest that disclosure to family is affected by level of economic independence. Furthermore, negative familial responses to sexual identity significantly predicted depression. Social and structural interventions, and efforts to strengthen positive family relationships, are needed to foster an environment that enables well-being among sexual minorities in Jamaica. PMID:28243342

Effect of socio-economic status, family smoking and mental health through social network on the substance use potential in adolescents: a mediation analysis.

PubMed

Sajjadi, H; Jorjoran Shushtari, Z; Mahboubi, S; Rafiey, H; Salimi, Y

2018-04-01

Understanding pathways that influence substance use potential (SUP) can help with effective substance use prevention interventions among adolescents. The aim of the present study is to contribute to a better understanding of the SUP of adolescents by examining the mediating role of social network quality in the SUP of Iranian adolescents. A cross-sectional study. Structural equation modeling was conducted to assess the hypothesized model that social network quality would mediate the association of family socio-economic status, a mental health disorder, and family smoking with addiction potential. The model shows a good fit to the data. Social network quality mediated the effect of family smoking on the SUP for boys. A mental health disorder had a positive significant direct effect on addiction potential for both girls and boys. Social network quality mediates the effect of family smoking on boys' addiction potential in the context of Iran. Educational programs based on local societal ways and cultural norms are recommended to change tobacco smoking behavior among family members. In addition, to prevent subsequent substance use among adolescents, more effort is needed to improve their mental health. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Childhood-Onset Essential Hypertension and the Family Structure.

PubMed

Gupta-Malhotra, Monesha; Hashmi, Syed Shahrukh; Barratt, Michelle S; Milewicz, Dianna M; Shete, Sanjay

2016-05-01

The prevalence and effect of single-parent families in childhood-onset essential hypertension (EH) is unknown. Children with EH and age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched controls were enrolled. Family structure data were obtained by in-person interview. A total of 148 families (76 hypertension probands, 72 control probands; median 14 years) were prospective-ly enrolled in the study. Single-parent status was seen in 42% of the families--with and without EH (38% vs 46%, P=.41; odds ratio, 0.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.4-1.4). After multivariable analysis, a statistically significant sociofamilial contributor to the development of childhood-onset EH was not identified. A significant number of single-parent families (42%), the majority with single mothers, were found in our pedigree study. Sociofamilial factors are known to contribute to the expression of adult-onset EH, but findings in our study suggest that they appear to contribute less in the expression of childhood-onset EH. ©2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Does Family Structure Affect Children's Educational Outcomes? NBER Working Paper Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollak, Robert A.; Ginther, Donna K.

This paper examines correlations between children's educational outcomes and family structure. Although popular discussions focus on distinctions between two-parent and single-parent families, earlier research shows that outcomes for stepchildren are similar to outcomes for children in single-parent families, and earlier researchers suggested that…

Addressing global health, economic, and environmental problems through family planning.

PubMed

Speidel, J Joseph; Grossman, Richard A

2011-06-01

Although obstetrician-gynecologists recognize the importance of managing fertility for the reproductive health of individuals, many are not aware of the vital effect they can have on some of the world's most pressing issues. Unintended pregnancy is a key contributor to the rapid population growth that in turn impairs social welfare, hinders economic progress, and exacerbates environmental degradation. An estimated 215 million women in developing countries wish to limit their fertility but do not have access to effective contraception. In the United States, half of all pregnancies are unplanned. Voluntary prevention of unplanned pregnancies is a cost-effective, humane way to limit population growth, slow environmental degradation, and yield other health and welfare benefits. Family planning should be a top priority for our specialty.

Quantum structure in economics: The Ellsberg paradox

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aerts, Diederik; Sozzo, Sandro

2012-03-01

The expected utility hypothesis and Savage's Sure-Thing Principle are violated in real life decisions, as shown by the Allais and Ellsberg paradoxes. The popular explanation in terms of ambiguity aversion is not completely accepted. As a consequence, uncertainty is still problematical in economics. To overcome these difficulties a distinction between risk and ambiguity has been introduced which depends on the existence of a Kolmogorovian probabilistic structure modeling these uncertainties. On the other hand, evidence of everyday life suggests that context plays a fundamental role in human decisions under uncertainty. Moreover, it is well known from physics that any probabilistic structure modeling contextual interactions between entities structurally needs a non-Kolmogorovian framework admitting a quantum-like representation. For this reason, we have recently introduced a notion of contextual risk to mathematically capture situations in which ambiguity occurs. We prove in this paper that the contextual risk approach can be applied to the Ellsberg paradox, and elaborate a sphere model within our hidden measurement formalism which reveals that it is the overall conceptual landscape that is responsible of the disagreement between actual human decisions and the predictions of expected utility theory, which generates the paradox. This result points to the presence of a quantum conceptual layer in human thought which is superposed to the usually assumed classical logical layer, and conceptually supports the thesis of several authors suggesting the presence of quantum structure in economics and decision theory.

Grandmothers raising grandchildren: family structure and well-being in culturally diverse families.

PubMed

Goodman, Catherine; Silverstein, Merril

2002-10-01

This study addressed well-being of grandmothers raising grandchildren in coparenting and custodial households in a sample of African American, Latino, and White grandmothers. A sample of 1,058 grandmothers was recruited through the schools and media. Grandmothers raising or helping to raise school-aged grandchildren in Los Angeles were interviewed, and analyses were conducted within ethnic groups. African American grandmothers experienced equal well-being in coparenting and custodial families; however, if the stresses related to the parents' problems were removed by statistical control, they favored the custodial arrangement. Latino grandmothers had greater well-being in coparenting families, reflecting a tradition of intergenerational living. White custodial grandmothers experienced somewhat higher levels of affect (positive and negative) but showed no difference in other types of well-being. The cultural lens through which grandparenthood is viewed has a marked impact on the adaptation to custodial or coparenting family structures.

Family structure as a predictor of screen time among youth.

PubMed

McMillan, Rachel; McIsaac, Michael; Janssen, Ian

2015-01-01

The family plays a central role in the development of health-related behaviors among youth. The objective of this study was to determine whether non-traditional parental structure and shared custody arrangements predict how much time youth spend watching television, using a computer recreationally, and playing video games. Participants were a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth (N = 26,068) in grades 6-10 who participated in the 2009/10 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey. Screen time in youth from single parent and reconstituted families, with or without regular visitation with their non-residential parent, was compared to that of youth from traditional dual-parent families. Multiple imputation was used to account for missing data. After multiple imputation, the relative odds of being in the highest television, computer use, video game, and total screen time quartiles were not different in boys and girls from non-traditional families by comparison to boys and girls from traditional dual-parent families. In conclusion, parental structure and child custody arrangements did not have a meaningful impact on screen time among youth.

Family Structure and Functions Identified by Persons Living with HIV/AIDS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong-Wylie, Gina; Doherty-Poirier, Maryanne; Kieren, Dianne

1999-01-01

A study looked at the structural and functional aspects of family from the perspective of six people living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Results showing how HIV/AIDS affects all members of the sufferer's family have implications for family practitioners. (Author/JOW)

The influence of family context on life, educational and occupational ideal among middle school students in China.

PubMed

Yao, Benxian; Zhang, Ling; Zhen, Rui; Zhou, Xiao

2016-06-01

This study examined the relationship between family context of middle school students on their educational and occupational ideals. Middle school students (N = 2000) responded to questions assessing family location, family structure, parental educational level and family economic status, as well as to the Middle School Students' Ideals Questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that life, educational and occupational ideals of female students and students in lower grades were higher than that of male students and students in higher grades. Regression analysis indicated that paternal education level have a positive association with educational and occupational ideals, but not life ideals, and family economic status have a positive relation to life ideals, but not educational and occupational ideals. Moreover, the interaction between family economic status and family location has a negative association with students' life, educational and occupational ideals. These results suggest that different factors predicted different ideals of adolescents, and that family economic status had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between family location and ideals of students. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Family Structure and Children's Health and Behavior: Data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wen, Ming

2008-01-01

Using data from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families, this research investigates the association and pathways between family structure and child well-being among children age 6 to 17. Three indicators of child well-being are examined: parent-rated health, limiting health conditions, and child behavior. Results show that both stepfamilies…

Economic Deprivation and Its Effects on Childhood Conduct Problems: The Mediating Role of Family Stress and Investment Factors.

PubMed

Sosu, Edward M; Schmidt, Peter

2017-01-01

This study investigated the mechanisms by which experiences of poverty influence the trajectory of conduct problems among preschool children. Drawing on two theoretical perspectives, we focused on family stress (stress and harsh discipline) and investment variables (educational investment, nutrition, and cognitive ability) as key mediators. Structural equation modeling techniques with prospective longitudinal data from the Growing Up in Scotland survey ( N = 3,375) were used. Economic deprivation measured around the first birthday of the sample children had both direct and indirect effects on conduct problems across time (ages 4, 5, and 6). In line with the family stress hypothesis, higher levels of childhood poverty predicted conduct problems across time through increased parental stress and punitive discipline. Consistent with the investment model, childhood deprivation was associated with higher levels of conduct problems via educational investment and cognitive ability. The study extends previous knowledge on the mechanisms of this effect by demonstrating that cognitive ability is a key mediator between poverty and the trajectory of childhood conduct problems. This suggests that interventions aimed at reducing child conduct problems should be expanded to include factors that compromise parenting as well as improve child cognitive ability.

Economic Deprivation and Its Effects on Childhood Conduct Problems: The Mediating Role of Family Stress and Investment Factors

PubMed Central

Sosu, Edward M.; Schmidt, Peter

2017-01-01

This study investigated the mechanisms by which experiences of poverty influence the trajectory of conduct problems among preschool children. Drawing on two theoretical perspectives, we focused on family stress (stress and harsh discipline) and investment variables (educational investment, nutrition, and cognitive ability) as key mediators. Structural equation modeling techniques with prospective longitudinal data from the Growing Up in Scotland survey (N = 3,375) were used. Economic deprivation measured around the first birthday of the sample children had both direct and indirect effects on conduct problems across time (ages 4, 5, and 6). In line with the family stress hypothesis, higher levels of childhood poverty predicted conduct problems across time through increased parental stress and punitive discipline. Consistent with the investment model, childhood deprivation was associated with higher levels of conduct problems via educational investment and cognitive ability. The study extends previous knowledge on the mechanisms of this effect by demonstrating that cognitive ability is a key mediator between poverty and the trajectory of childhood conduct problems. This suggests that interventions aimed at reducing child conduct problems should be expanded to include factors that compromise parenting as well as improve child cognitive ability. PMID:28955283

Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession

PubMed Central

Garfinkel, Irwin

2018-01-01

This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898), we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents) and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers). Using mother fixed-effects models, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a -0.5 percentage point decline in the probability of home ownership and a -0.7 percentage point decline in the probability of car ownership. We also find that the recession was associated with lower levels of home ownership for cohabiting families and for Hispanic families, as well as lower car ownership among single mothers and among Black mothers, whereas no change was observed among married families or White households. Considering that homes and cars are the most important assets among middle and low-income households in the U.S., these results suggest that the rise in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession may have increased household asset inequality across family structures and race/ethnicities, limiting economic mobility, and exacerbating the cycle of poverty. PMID:29401482

Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession.

PubMed

Duque, Valentina; Pilkauskas, Natasha V; Garfinkel, Irwin

2018-01-01

This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898), we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents) and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers). Using mother fixed-effects models, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a -0.5 percentage point decline in the probability of home ownership and a -0.7 percentage point decline in the probability of car ownership. We also find that the recession was associated with lower levels of home ownership for cohabiting families and for Hispanic families, as well as lower car ownership among single mothers and among Black mothers, whereas no change was observed among married families or White households. Considering that homes and cars are the most important assets among middle and low-income households in the U.S., these results suggest that the rise in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession may have increased household asset inequality across family structures and race/ethnicities, limiting economic mobility, and exacerbating the cycle of poverty.

An estimated 5% of new protein structures solved today represent a new Pfam family

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mistry, Jaina; Kloppmann, Edda; Rost, Burkhard

2013-11-01

This study uses the Pfam database to show that the sequence redundancy of protein structures deposited in the PDB is increasing. The possible reasons behind this trend are discussed. High-resolution structural knowledge is key to understanding how proteins function at the molecular level. The number of entries in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), the repository of all publicly available protein structures, continues to increase, with more than 8000 structures released in 2012 alone. The authors of this article have studied how structural coverage of the protein-sequence space has changed over time by monitoring the number of Pfam families that acquiredmore » their first representative structure each year from 1976 to 2012. Twenty years ago, for every 100 new PDB entries released, an estimated 20 Pfam families acquired their first structure. By 2012, this decreased to only about five families per 100 structures. The reasons behind the slower pace at which previously uncharacterized families are being structurally covered were investigated. It was found that although more than 50% of current Pfam families are still without a structural representative, this set is enriched in families that are small, functionally uncharacterized or rich in problem features such as intrinsically disordered and transmembrane regions. While these are important constraints, the reasons why it may not yet be time to give up the pursuit of a targeted but more comprehensive structural coverage of the protein-sequence space are discussed.« less

Path toward economic resilience for family caregivers: mitigating household deprivation and the health care talent shortage at the same time.

PubMed

Simon, Melissa A; Gunia, Brian; Martin, Emily J; Foucar, Charles E; Kundu, Tapas; Ragas, Daiva M; Emanuel, Linda L

2013-10-01

Rising costs and a workforce talent shortage are two of the health care industry's most pressing challenges. In particular, serious illnesses often impose significant costs on individuals and their families, which can place families at an increased risk for multigenerational economic deprivation or even an illness-poverty trap. At the same time, family caregivers often acquire a wide variety of health care skills that neither these caregivers nor the health care industry typically use. As these skills are marketable and could be paired with many existing medical certifications, this article describes a possible "path toward economic resilience" (PER) through a program whereby family caregivers could find meaningful employment using their new skills. The proposed program would identify ideal program candidates, assess and supplement their competencies, and connect them to the health care industry. We provide a set of practical steps and recommended tools for implementation, discuss pilot data on the program's appeal and feasibility, and raise several considerations for program development and future research. Our analysis suggests that this PER program could appeal to family caregivers and the health care industry alike, possibly helping to address two of our health care system's most pressing challenges with one solution.

Single Mother Families and Employment, Race, and Poverty in Changing Economic Times*

PubMed Central

Damaske, Sarah; Bratter, Jenifer L.; Frech, Adrianne

2016-01-01

Using American Community Survey data from 2001, 2005, and 2010, this paper assesses the relationships between employment, race, and poverty for households headed by single women across different economic periods. While poverty rates rose dramatically among single-mother families between 2001 and 2010, surprisingly many racial disparities in poverty narrowed by the end of the decade. This was due to a greater increase in poverty among whites, although gaps between whites and Blacks, whites and Hispanics, and whites and American Indians remained quite large in 2010. All employment statuses were at higher risk of poverty in 2010 than 2001 and the risk increased most sharply for those employed part-time, the unemployed, and those not in the labor force. Given the concurrent increase in part-time employment and unemployment between 2000 and 2010, findings paint a bleak picture of the toll the last decade has had on the well being of single-mother families. PMID:28126093

Association of family structure with atopic dermatitis in United States children.

PubMed

McKenzie, Costner; Silverberg, Jonathan I

2018-05-31

Children from families without two married, biological parents have increased risk of poverty and poor health. The relationship between family structure and atopic dermatitis (AD) has not been elucidated. To determine the prevalence of AD and related outcomes in children from different family structures. Data were analyzed from 13,275 children (≤17 years) and their parents from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. In multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for socio-demographics, children from single adult households (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.272 [1.050-1.542]), families with ≤2 members (1.413 [1.079-1.852]), families with a mother, but no father present (1.402 [1.179-1.667]), non-biological fathers (1.464 [1.089-1.969]), or unmarried mothers (1.508 [1.017-2.237]) had increased odds of AD. Among children with AD, there were significantly increased odds of having only good/fair/poor vs. very good/excellent overall health (1.545 [1.262-1.893]), greater odds of depression (2.287 [1.523-3.434]), anxiety (2.001 [1.543-2.595]), and stress (2.013 [1.499-2.704]). Cross-sectional study. US children from families with single adults, single mothers, non-biological fathers, or unmarried mothers may have increased odds of AD. Family structures were associated with poorer overall health, depression, anxiety, and stress in children with AD. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Theory and Practice of Structural and Strategic Family Therapies: A Delphi Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fish, Linda Stone; Piercy, Fred P.

1987-01-01

Examined the similarities and differences in the theory and practice of structural and strategic family therapy. A national panel of structural and strategic therapists identified items they thought important to a profile of either structural or strategic family therapy. Mental Research Institute, Haley/Madanes, and Milan/Ackerman approaches to…

Family environment of bipolar families: a UK study.

PubMed

Barron, Evelyn; Sharma, Aditya; Le Couteur, James; Rushton, Stephen; Close, Andrew; Kelly, Thomas; Grunze, Heinz; Nicol Ferrier, Ian; Le Couteur, Ann

2014-01-01

Aspects of family environment (FE) such as family support, organisational structure and levels of conflict can increase risk of Bipolar Disorder (BD) in offspring of BD parents. The family environment of 16 BD and 23 healthy control (HC) families was assessed using the Family Environment Scale (FES). Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to determine the degree of variation in scores on the FES dimensions within each family and a Generalised Linear Modelling (GLM) approach was used to investigate the extent to which scores on the different FES dimensions differed between families. On the FES, BD families experienced an environment with higher levels of conflict and lower levels of expressiveness, organisation, intellectual-cultural orientation and active-recreational orientation than healthy control families. Differences in FES scores were driven by presence of parental BD and total number of children in the family. However, socio-economic status (SES) was not found to have an effect in this study. As an American instrument the FES may not have been sensitive enough to the cultural context of a UK sample. The relatively small sample size used may have limited the statistical power of the study. Greater numbers of children have the same effect on levels of conflict as the presence of BD, while SES does not appear to be as important a factor in FE as previously thought. Our results suggest that family based interventions focusing on psychoeducation and improved communication within these families may address issues of conflict, organisation and expressiveness. Crown Copyright © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure-based function prediction of the expanding mollusk tyrosinase family

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ronglian; Li, Li; Zhang, Guofan

2017-11-01

Tyrosinase (Ty) is a common enzyme found in many different animal groups. In our previous study, genome sequencing revealed that the Ty family is expanded in the Pacific oyster ( Crassostrea gigas). Here, we examine the larger number of Ty family members in the Pacific oyster by high-level structure prediction to obtain more information about their function and evolution, especially the unknown role in biomineralization. We verified 12 Ty gene sequences from Crassostrea gigas genome and Pinctada fucata martensii transcriptome. By using phylogenetic analysis of these Tys with functionally known Tys from other molluscan species, eight subgroups were identified (CgTy_s1, CgTy_s2, MolTy_s1, MolTy-s2, MolTy-s3, PinTy-s1, PinTy-s2 and PviTy). Structural data and surface pockets of the dinuclear copper center in the eight subgroups of molluscan Ty were obtained using the latest versions of prediction online servers. Structural comparison with other Ty proteins from the protein databank revealed functionally important residues (HA1, HA2, HA3, HB1, HB2, HB3, Z1-Z9) and their location within these protein structures. The structural and chemical features of these pockets which may related to the substrate binding showed considerable variability among mollusks, which undoubtedly defines Ty substrate binding. Finally, we discuss the potential driving forces of Ty family evolution in mollusks. Based on these observations, we conclude that the Ty family has rapidly evolved as a consequence of substrate adaptation in mollusks.

Economic Independence, Economic Status, and Empty Nest in Midlife Marital Disruption.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hiedemann, Bridget; Suhomlinova, Olga; O'Rand, Angela M.

1998-01-01

The risk of separation or divorce late in the marital career is examined from a family development perspective. A hazards framework is used to estimate the effects of women's economic independence, couples' economic status, and family life course factors on the risk of middle-age separation or divorce. (Author/EMK)

Health, Social, and Economic Outcomes Experienced by Families as a Result of Receiving Assistance from a Community-Based Diaper Bank.

PubMed

Massengale, Kelley E C; Erausquin, Jennifer Toller; Old, Michelle

2017-10-01

Objectives This paper aims to describe low-income recipients of a community-based diaper bank and the multiple daily challenges they face. Our paper seeks to document the health, social, and financial outcomes recipients experienced after receiving assistance. Methods We surveyed families (n = 150) about their experiences receiving diapers from a diaper bank in the southeastern United States. Additionally, we conducted short, focused interviews with families (n = 15) about outcomes after receiving diapers. Results Families experience regularly a range of challenges meeting basic needs. These difficulties include high unmet needs for transportation, food, and nonfood essentials such as personal hygiene items. Families experiencing the greatest difficulty in paying utility or medical bills were significantly more likely to have a high level of diaper need compared to families facing these challenges less often (AORs ranging from 3.40 to 9.39). As a result of receiving diapers, families reported positive health, social, and economic outcomes. Families reported positive changes in parental mood; improved child health and happiness; increased opportunities for childcare, work, and school attendance; and the ability to divert household finances toward other basic needs, including utilities and medical care. Conclusions for Practice The monetary value of the supplemental provision of diapers is a small investment in affected families' economic, social, and health outcomes. The positive effects continue far longer than the diapers provided. We demonstrate the social value of such an operation, and recommend the expansion of federal, state, and local safety net programs to help low-income families secure a steady supply of diapers.

Threats to family planning services in Michigan: organizational responses to economic and political challenges.

PubMed

Dalton, Vanessa K; Jacobson, Peter D; Berson-Grand, Julie; Weisman, Carol S

2005-01-01

Title X is the only federal funding specifically for contraception and family planning services. This study identifies the threats and challenges Title X family planning organizations face in Michigan, and examines organizational responses to these challenges. We hypothesized that organizational responses to current challenges, including recent legislation, would differ between organizational types. We used a multiple case study design to examine safety net providers that received Title X funding in 2001. Cases were selected to represent economic and geographic diversity and included a mix of population densities. Key informants at each organization participated in face-to-face, semistructured interviews. Interviews collected data on current challenges, organizational planning processes, and organizational responses. All Title X organizations reported significant challenges, including rising costs, increasing need, and inadequate funding. Private organizations were more concerned about political challenges, especially recent Michigan legislation, than health departments. Organizational type was associated with the type of response. Health departments tended to close clinics or cut services, whereas private organizations recruited insured populations and increased patient fees. Based on these findings, the family planning safety net in Michigan appears to be undergoing significant change. These changes may decrease the availability of affordable family planning services in Michigan.

A Longitudinal Study of Family Structure and Size and Adoption Outcomes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barth, Richard P.; Brooks, Devon

1997-01-01

This follow-up study of international and domestic adoptions, involving participants first studied in 1981, investigated the role of family size and structure, particularly the presence of both biological and adopted children in a family, on adoption outcomes. Data suggested that families who adopt children and have birth children may have less…

The development of structural complexity in the child's concept of family: the effect of cognitive stage, sex, and intactness of family.

PubMed

Wedemeyer, N V; Bickhard, M H; Cooper, R G

1989-12-01

Twenty-eight boys and 28 girls at each of the Piagetian preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational cognitive stages were given an interview focusing on their concepts of family. Half of each group were from intact families, and half were from divorced families. Interviews were scored for two structural aspects of the concept of family: conceptual level, and use of dimensions that structure the concept. The complexity of children's concepts was strongly related to cognitive stage and, to a lesser degree, to sex. Frequency of use of concept dimensions was strongly affected by general developmental level, though not specifically cognitive stage, and by intactness of family, but to a lesser degree by sex. Specific information is provided on the effect of these factors on perceptions of family composition, parental roles, and breadth of family activities.

Utilizing a structural meta-ontology for family-based quality assurance of the BioPortal ontologies.

PubMed

Ochs, Christopher; He, Zhe; Zheng, Ling; Geller, James; Perl, Yehoshua; Hripcsak, George; Musen, Mark A

2016-06-01

An Abstraction Network is a compact summary of an ontology's structure and content. In previous research, we showed that Abstraction Networks support quality assurance (QA) of biomedical ontologies. The development of an Abstraction Network and its associated QA methodologies, however, is a labor-intensive process that previously was applicable only to one ontology at a time. To improve the efficiency of the Abstraction-Network-based QA methodology, we introduced a QA framework that uses uniform Abstraction Network derivation techniques and QA methodologies that are applicable to whole families of structurally similar ontologies. For the family-based framework to be successful, it is necessary to develop a method for classifying ontologies into structurally similar families. We now describe a structural meta-ontology that classifies ontologies according to certain structural features that are commonly used in the modeling of ontologies (e.g., object properties) and that are important for Abstraction Network derivation. Each class of the structural meta-ontology represents a family of ontologies with identical structural features, indicating which types of Abstraction Networks and QA methodologies are potentially applicable to all of the ontologies in the family. We derive a collection of 81 families, corresponding to classes of the structural meta-ontology, that enable a flexible, streamlined family-based QA methodology, offering multiple choices for classifying an ontology. The structure of 373 ontologies from the NCBO BioPortal is analyzed and each ontology is classified into multiple families modeled by the structural meta-ontology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Single-parent family structure and sleep problems in black and white adolescents.

PubMed

Troxel, Wendy M; Lee, Laisze; Hall, Martica; Matthews, Karen A

2014-02-01

Sleep is critical for adolescent health and is influenced by the family environment. In our study, we examined if family structure defined as single- vs. two-parent households affected adolescent sleep. Participants were 242 (57% black; 47% boys) healthy adolescents (mean age, 15.7 years). Sleep was measured using self-report and wrist actigraphy over seven consecutive nights. Outcomes were actigraphy-assessed sleep duration and sleep efficiency (SE) for the full week and weekends and weekdays separately, as well as self-reported sleep-wake problems and variability in bedtimes. Linear regression examined the relationship between family structure and sleep, after adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, and depressive symptoms, parental education, family conflict, and financial strain. Race and sex were examined as potential moderators. After adjusting for covariates, adolescents from single-parent households had poorer SE across the week and shorter sleep duration on weekends. White adolescents from two-parent households had fewer sleep-wake problems and lower bedtime variability, whereas black adolescents from single-parent households had the lowest weekend SE. There were no significant differences in family structure-sex interactions. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that single-parent family structure is an independent correlate of sleep problems in adolescents and they highlight the moderating role of race. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Changed Family Structures on Children: A Review of the Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kendall, Earline D., Ed.; And Others

Current changes in the American nuclear family, the impact of changes in family structure on children, and a rationale for day care services are delineated in this literature review. The family modifications examined are (1) divorce, (2) remarriage, (3) single parenting, (4) father absence, (5) teenage parenting, and (6) extended families.…

Natural diversity of glycoside hydrolase family 48 exoglucanases: insights from structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brunecky, Roman; Alahuhta, Markus; Sammond, Deanne W.

Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 48 is an understudied and increasingly important exoglucanase family found in the majority of bacterial cellulase systems. Moreover, many thermophilic enzyme systems contain GH48 enzymes. Deletion of GH48 enzymes in these microorganisms results in drastic reduction in biomass deconstruction. Surprisingly, given their importance for these microorganisms, GH48s have intrinsically low cellulolytic activity but even in low ratios synergize greatly with GH9 endoglucanases. In this study, we explore the structural and enzymatic diversity of these enzymes across a wide range of temperature optima. We have crystallized one new GH48 module from Bacillus pumilus in a complex withmore » cellobiose and cellohexaose (BpumGH48). We compare this structure to other known GH48 enzymes in an attempt to understand GH48 structure/function relationships and draw general rules correlating amino acid sequences and secondary structures to thermostability in this GH family.« less

Natural diversity of glycoside hydrolase family 48 exoglucanases: insights from structure

DOE PAGES

Brunecky, Roman; Alahuhta, Markus; Sammond, Deanne W.; ...

2017-11-30

Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 48 is an understudied and increasingly important exoglucanase family found in the majority of bacterial cellulase systems. Moreover, many thermophilic enzyme systems contain GH48 enzymes. Deletion of GH48 enzymes in these microorganisms results in drastic reduction in biomass deconstruction. Surprisingly, given their importance for these microorganisms, GH48s have intrinsically low cellulolytic activity but even in low ratios synergize greatly with GH9 endoglucanases. In this study, we explore the structural and enzymatic diversity of these enzymes across a wide range of temperature optima. We have crystallized one new GH48 module from Bacillus pumilus in a complex withmore » cellobiose and cellohexaose (BpumGH48). We compare this structure to other known GH48 enzymes in an attempt to understand GH48 structure/function relationships and draw general rules correlating amino acid sequences and secondary structures to thermostability in this GH family.« less

Factors contributing to economic burden in lung cancer spousal caregivers.

PubMed

Kavanaugh, Melinda; Kramer, Betty J; Walsh, Matthew Cunningham; Trentham-Dietz, Amy

2015-06-01

The determinates of economic burden in lung cancer caregivers are poorly understood. Of particular interest is the role patient symptoms play in caregiver economic burden. Guided by a stress process conceptual framework, this study examined the predictors of economic burden reported by lung cancer spousal caregivers. Our study focused on the pathway of contextual and stressor variables leading to economic burden in lung cancer caregivers. Relying on survey data from 138 spouses, structural equation modeling was employed to examine the determinants of economic burden measured using the Family Impact Survey. Contextual variables included age, gender, education, and income; and stressor variables included patient physical and mental symptoms, as well as number of children in the home. A significant indirect path between age and economic distress through patient symptoms (p = 0.05) indicates younger spouses providing care for patients with more symptoms and reporting greater economic burden. Direct effects between contextual variables and economic burden revealed that caregivers with less education (p = 0.02) and those with more children at home (p = 0.01) reported more adverse economic outcomes. Numerous factors impact spousal caregivers' economic burden, including the presence of children at home, being a younger caregiver, and lower educational attainment by caregivers. Moreover, the direct effects between age and economic burden were not significant, supporting the clear role patient symptoms play in the path to economic burden in spousal caregivers. These results underscore the need for healthcare providers to address psychosocial factors when dealing with patients and families with lung cancer. Specifically, the results highlight the importance of addressing patient symptoms early before they threaten the family's economic well-being.

Life Satisfaction and Family Structure among Adolescents in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwan, Ying-Keung

2008-01-01

Relationships between family structure and perceived life satisfaction in overall life and five domains of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, family life, friendships, school experience, myself, and where I live were examined among 4,502 Chinese adolescent secondary school students in Hong Kong. Bivariate analyses showed…

Economic Evaluation of Computerized Structural Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fortin, P. E.

1985-01-01

This completed effort involved a technical and economic study of the capabilities of computer programs in the area of structural analysis. The applicability of the programs to NASA projects and to other users was studied. The applications in other industries was explored including both research and development and applied areas. The costs of several alternative analysis programs were compared. A literature search covered applicable technical literature including journals, trade publications and books. In addition to the literature search, several commercial companies that have developed computerized structural analysis programs were contacted and their technical brochures reviewed. These programs include SDRC I-DEAS, MSC/NASTRAN, SCADA, SUPERSAP, NISA/DISPLAY, STAAD-III, MICAS, GTSTRUDL, and STARS. These programs were briefly reviewed as applicable to NASA projects.

Structure-based analysis of catalysis and substrate definition in the HIT protein family.

PubMed

Lima, C D; Klein, M G; Hendrickson, W A

1997-10-10

The histidine triad (HIT) protein family is among the most ubiquitous and highly conserved in nature, but a biological activity has not yet been identified for any member of the HIT family. Fragile histidine triad protein (FHIT) and protein kinase C interacting protein (PKCI) were used in a structure-based approach to elucidate characteristics of in vivo ligands and reactions. Crystallographic structures of apo, substrate analog, pentacovalent transition-state analog, and product states of both enzymes reveal a catalytic mechanism and define substrate characteristics required for catalysis, thus unifying the HIT family as nucleotidyl hydrolases, transferases, or both. The approach described here may be useful in identifying structure-function relations between protein families identified through genomics.

Child support and the postdivorce economic well-being of mothers, fathers, and children.

PubMed

Bartfeld, J

2000-05-01

This article provides national estimates of the current and potential impact of private child support transfers on the economic well-being of custodial and noncustodial families following marital dissolution. Mothers and children fare dramatically worse than fathers after marital dissolution; these differences, however, would be much more pronounced in the absence of private child support. Simulations of four existing child support guidelines show that substantial increases in economic well-being among mother-custody families are possible within the structure of the existing child support system, with minimal impact on poverty among nonresident fathers. Under all of these guidelines, however, custodial-mother families would continue to fare substantially worse than nonresident fathers.

Role and structural characterization of plant aldehyde dehydrogenases from family 2 and family 7.

PubMed

Končitíková, Radka; Vigouroux, Armelle; Kopečná, Martina; Andree, Tomáš; Bartoš, Jan; Šebela, Marek; Moréra, Solange; Kopečný, David

2015-05-15

Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) are responsible for oxidation of biogenic aldehyde intermediates as well as for cell detoxification of aldehydes generated during lipid peroxidation. So far, 13 ALDH families have been described in plants. In the present study, we provide a detailed biochemical characterization of plant ALDH2 and ALDH7 families by analysing maize and pea ALDH7 (ZmALDH7 and PsALDH7) and four maize cytosolic ALDH(cALDH)2 isoforms RF2C, RF2D, RF2E and RF2F [the first maize ALDH2 was discovered as a fertility restorer (RF2A)]. We report the crystal structures of ZmALDH7, RF2C and RF2F at high resolution. The ZmALDH7 structure shows that the three conserved residues Glu(120), Arg(300) and Thr(302) in the ALDH7 family are located in the substrate-binding site and are specific to this family. Our kinetic analysis demonstrates that α-aminoadipic semialdehyde, a lysine catabolism intermediate, is the preferred substrate for plant ALDH7. In contrast, aromatic aldehydes including benzaldehyde, anisaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde are the best substrates for cALDH2. In line with these results, the crystal structures of RF2C and RF2F reveal that their substrate-binding sites are similar and are formed by an aromatic cluster mainly composed of phenylalanine residues and several nonpolar residues. Gene expression studies indicate that the RF2C gene, which is strongly expressed in all organs, appears essential, suggesting that the crucial role of the enzyme would certainly be linked to the cell wall formation using aldehydes from phenylpropanoid pathway as substrates. Finally, plant ALDH7 may significantly contribute to osmoprotection because it oxidizes several aminoaldehydes leading to products known as osmolytes.

The Fpg/Nei family of DNA glycosylases: substrates, structures, and search for damage.

PubMed

Prakash, Aishwarya; Doublié, Sylvie; Wallace, Susan S

2012-01-01

During the initial stages of the base excision DNA repair pathway, DNA glycosylases are responsible for locating and removing the majority of endogenous oxidative base lesions. The bifunctional formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (Fpg) and endonuclease VIII (Nei) are members of the Fpg/Nei family, one of the two families of glycosylases that recognize oxidized DNA bases, the other being the HhH/GPD (or Nth) superfamily. Structural and biochemical developments over the past decades have led to novel insights into the mechanism of damage recognition by the Fpg/Nei family of enzymes. Despite the overall structural similarity among members of this family, these enzymes exhibit distinct features that make them unique. This review summarizes the current structural knowledge of the Fpg/Nei family members, emphasizes their substrate specificities, and describes how these enzymes search for lesions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Family structure and health, how companionship acts as a buffer against ill health

PubMed Central

Turagabeci, Amelia R; Nakamura, Keiko; Kizuki, Masashi; Takano, Takehito

2007-01-01

Background Health and well-being are the result of synergistic interactions among a variety of determinants. Family structure and composition are social determinants that may also affect health behaviours and outcomes. This study was performed to examine the associations between family structure and health and to determine the protective effects of support mechanisms to improve quality of health outcome. Methods Six hundred people, selected by multistage sampling to obtain a representative population of men and women aged 20–60 living in communities in Japan, were included in this study. Data regarding subjective views of one's own health, family structure, lifestyle and social support were collected through structured face-to-face interviews on home visits. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, height and weight were measured by trained examiners. The associations between family structure and health after controlling for demographics, lifestyle and social support were examined using logistic and linear regression analyses. Results Subjects living alone were significantly more likely to be in ill health, as determined using the General Health Questionnaire, in comparison to those in extended families (OR = 3.14). Subjects living alone or as couples were significantly more likely to suffer from severe hypertension in comparison to those living in extended families (OR = 8.25, OR = 4.90). These associations remained after controlling for the influence of lifestyle. Subjects living only with spouse or in nuclear family had higher probabilities of mental ill health in the absence than in the presence of people showing concern for their well-being. Conclusion The results of this study infers that a support mechanism consisting of companionship and the presence of family or other people concerned for one's well being acts as a buffer against deleterious influence of living in small family that will lead to improved quality of health outcome. PMID:18036211

Good things come in threes: single-parent multigenerational family structure and adolescent adjustment.

PubMed

Deleire, Thomas; Kalil, Ariel

2002-05-01

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), we found that teenagers who live in nonmarried families are less likely to graduate from high school or to attend college, more likely to smoke or drink, and more likely to initiate sexual activity. Not all nonmarried families are alike, however. In particular, teenagers living with their single mothers and with at least one grandparent in multigenerational households have developmental outcomes that are at least as good and often better than the outcomes of teenagers in married families. These findings obtain when a wide array of economic resources, parenting behavior, and home and school characteristics are controlled for.

Randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of the 'Families for Health' programme to reduce obesity in children.

PubMed

Robertson, Wendy; Fleming, Joanna; Kamal, Atiya; Hamborg, Thomas; Khan, Kamran A; Griffiths, Frances; Stewart-Brown, Sarah; Stallard, Nigel; Petrou, Stavros; Simkiss, Douglas; Harrison, Elizabeth; Kim, Sung Wook; Thorogood, Margaret

2017-05-01

Evaluating effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 'Families for Health V2' (FFH) compared with usual care (UC). Multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT) (investigators blinded, families unblinded) and economic evaluation. Stratified randomisation by family; target of 120 families. Three National Health Service Primary Care Trusts in West Midlands, England. Overweight or obese (≥91st or ≥98th centile body mass index (BMI)) children aged 6-11 years and their parents/carers, recruited March 2012-February 2014. FFH; a 10-week community-based family programme addressing parenting, lifestyle change and social and emotional development. UC; usual support for childhood obesity at each site. Primary outcomes were 12-months change in children's BMI z-score and incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained (QALY). Secondary outcomes included changes in children's physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and quality of life, parents' BMI and mental well-being, family eating/activity, parent-child relationships and parenting style. 115 families (128 children) were randomised to FFH (n=56) or UC (n=59). There was no significant difference in BMI z-score 12-months change (0.114, 95% CI -0.001 to 0.229, p=0.053; p=0.026 in favour of UC with missing value multiple imputation). One secondary outcome, change in children's waist z-score, was significantly different between groups in favour of UC (0.15, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.29). Economic evaluation showed that mean costs were significantly higher for FFH than UC (£998 vs £548, p<0.001). Mean incremental cost-effectiveness of FFH was estimated at £552 175 per QALY. FFH was neither effective nor cost-effective for the management of obesity compared with UC. ISRCTN45032201. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Family Structure Instability and the Educational Persistence of Young People in England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hampden-Thompson, Gillian; Galindo, Claudia

2015-01-01

Research in the area of family structure and educational outcomes has often failed to account for instability in family structure. Furthermore, prior research in this area has been dominated by North American studies with a smaller body emerging from Europe. This study draws upon 10,783 young people and their parents from the Longitudinal Study of…

Path Toward Economic Resilience for Family Caregivers: Mitigating Household Deprivation and the Health Care Talent Shortage at the Same Time

PubMed Central

Simon, Melissa A.

2013-01-01

Rising costs and a workforce talent shortage are two of the health care industry’s most pressing challenges. In particular, serious illnesses often impose significant costs on individuals and their families, which can place families at an increased risk for multigenerational economic deprivation or even an illness–poverty trap. At the same time, family caregivers often acquire a wide variety of health care skills that neither these caregivers nor the health care industry typically use. As these skills are marketable and could be paired with many existing medical certifications, this article describes a possible “path toward economic resilience” (PER) through a program whereby family caregivers could find meaningful employment using their new skills. The proposed program would identify ideal program candidates, assess and supplement their competencies, and connect them to the health care industry. We provide a set of practical steps and recommended tools for implementation, discuss pilot data on the program’s appeal and feasibility, and raise several considerations for program development and future research. Our analysis suggests that this PER program could appeal to family caregivers and the health care industry alike, possibly helping to address two of our health care system’s most pressing challenges with one solution. PMID:23633216

Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Western Regional Home Management-Family Economics Educators (25th, Scottsdale, Arizona, November 6-8, 1985).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Ruth E., Ed.

These proceedings consist of 12 presentations, most of which are followed by responses or comments. The papers include: "Integrating Family Economics and Family Counseling" (Hogan; discussants Schnittgrund, Wilhelm); "A Test of the Deacon-Firebaugh Management Model" (Gage, Schmid); "Perceived Income Adequacy and Selected Financial Management…

School climate, family structure, and academic achievement: a study of moderation effects.

PubMed

O'Malley, Meagan; Voight, Adam; Renshaw, Tyler L; Eklund, Katie

2015-03-01

School climate has been lauded for its relationship to a host of desirable academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes for youth. The present study tested the hypothesis that school climate counteracts youths' home-school risk by examining the moderating effects of students' school climate perceptions on the relationship between family structure (i.e., two-parent, one-parent, foster-care, and homeless households), and academic performance (i.e., self-reported [grade point average] GPA). The present sample consisted of 902 California public high schools, including responses from over 490,000 students in Grades 9 and 11. Results indicated that, regardless of family structure, students with more positive school climate perceptions self-reported higher GPAs. Youths with two-parent, one-parent, and homeless family structures displayed stepwise, linear improvements in self-reported GPA as perceptions of climate improved. Foster-care students' positive school climate perceptions had a weaker effect on their self-reported GPA compared with students living in other family structures. A unique curvilinear trend was found for homeless students, as the relationship between their school climate perceptions and self-reported GPA was stronger at lower levels. Overall, the moderation effect of positive school climate perceptions on self-reported GPA was strongest for homeless youth and youth from one-parent homes, suggesting that school climate has a protective effect for students living in these family structures. A protective effect was not found for youth in foster-care. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The relationship between carbon dioxide emission and economic growth: Hierarchical structure methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deviren, Seyma Akkaya; Deviren, Bayram

2016-06-01

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission has an essential role in the current debate on sustainable development and environmental protection. CO2 emission is also directly linked with use of energy which plays a focal role both for production and consumption in the world economy. Therefore the relationship between the CO2 emission and economic growth has a significant implication for the environmental and economical policies. In this study, within the scope of sociophysics, the topology, taxonomy and relationships among the 33 countries, which have almost the high CO2 emission and economic growth values, are investigated by using the hierarchical structure methods, such as the minimal spanning tree (MST) and hierarchical tree (HT), over the period of 1970-2010. The average linkage cluster analysis (ALCA) is also used to examine the cluster structure more clearly in HTs. According to their proximity, economic ties and economic growth, different clusters of countries are identified from the structural topologies of these trees. We have found that the high income & OECD countries are closely connected to each other and are isolated from the upper middle and lower middle income countries from the MSTs, which are obtained both for the CO2 emission and economic growth. Moreover, the high income & OECD clusters are homogeneous with respect to the economic activities and economic ties of the countries. It is also mentioned that the Group of Seven (G7) countries (CAN, ENG, FRA, GER, ITA, JPN, USA) are connected to each other and these countries are located at the center of the MST for the results of CO2 emission. The same analysis may also successfully apply to the other environmental sources and different countries.

[Changes in structure and function of the family of the adolescent in the last decade (1997-2007)].

PubMed

Pérez Milena, Alejandro; Martínez Fernández, María Luz; Mesa Gallardo, Inmaculada; Pérez Milena, Rafael; Leal Helmling, Francisco Javier; Jiménez Pulido, Idoia

2009-09-01

To find out the structure and functioning of the family of the adolescent and its changes in the last decade. Cross-sectional descriptive study using questionnaires. Pupils in obligatory secondary education and high-school in one rural (Granada) and one urban (Jaén) area. Self-administered questionnaire (years 1997-2001-2004-2007) in which details of age, sex, family structure and family-Apgar test were recorded. A total of 1356 adolescents participated, 1271 questionnaires valid (259, 386, 246 and 380 respectively per year). Ages 12-18 years, equality of sexes. The nuclear family structure was predominant (78-84%), followed by single parent family in (7-11%), extended (6-7%) and reconstituted (2%). The family function was mainly normal (70-76%), with 30% dysfunction (slight dysfunction 18-21% and severe dysfunction 5-10%). The structure and family function does not vary by sex or the year of study, it is influenced by age: adolescents 16 years with a higher percentage of family dysfunction in 1997/2001 than the rest of ages, declining in the years 2004/2007 (P <0.05 chi(2)), similar to other ages. While the nuclear family in 1997 had a greater number of adolescents with normal family function (P <0.05 chi(2)), in the remaining years there were no significant differences between different family structures. The perception of family function in adolescents has changed and now does not depend on sex, age and structure. Family care during adolescence should focus on promoting positive family dynamics, regardless of family structure.

Economic and Labor Market Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nightingale, Demetra Smith; Fix, Michael

2004-01-01

A number of economic and labor market trends in the United States over the past 30 years affect the well-being of workers and their families. This article describes key changes taking place and the implications for social and economic policies designed to help low-income working families and their children, particularly those families that include…

An International Look at the Single-Parent: Family Structure Matters More for U.S. Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woessmann, Ludger

2015-01-01

When Daniel Patrick Moynihan raised the issue of family structure half a century ago, his concern was the increase in black families headed by women. Since then, the share of children raised in single-parent families in the United States has grown across racial and ethnic groups and with it evidence regarding the impact of family structure on…

Family Support & Health Care: Working Together for Healthy Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lalley, Jacqueline, Ed.; Ahsan, Nilofer, Ed.

1998-01-01

This report of the Family Resource Coalition of America examines partnerships between family support programs and health care providers, forged to ensure that the comprehensive needs of families are met. The report begins with two articles, "Family Support and the Emerging Health System" and "Social and Economic Issues Affecting…

The Effects of Family Structure on Intelligence and Academic Achievement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nommay, Daniel E.

This document focuses on published materials on the topic of the effects of family structure on intelligence and academic achievement from the last 15 years. Fourteen terms such as "birth order" and "spacing" are defined. Forty-five papers, published from 1973 to 1986, are annotated. Research results are summarized in the areas of family size,…

The family B1 GPCR: structural aspects and interaction with accessory proteins.

PubMed

Couvineau, Alain; Laburthe, Marc

2012-01-01

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a crucial role in physiology and pathophysiology in humans. Beside the large family A (rhodopsin-like receptors) and family C GPCR (metabotropic glutamate receptors), the small family B1 GPCR (secretin-like receptors) includes important receptors such as vasoactive intestinal peptide receptors (VPAC), pituitary adenylyl cyclase activating peptide receptor (PAC1R), secretin receptor (SECR), growth hormone releasing factor receptor (GRFR), glucagon receptor (GCGR), glucagon like-peptide 1 and 2 receptors (GLPR), gastric inhibitory peptide receptor (GIPR), parathyroid hormone receptors (PTHR), calcitonin receptors (CTR) and corticotropin-releasing factor receptors (CRFR). They represent very promising targets for the development of drugs having therapeutical impact on many diseases such as chronic inflammation, neurodegeneration, diabetes, stress and osteoporosis. Over the past decade, structure-function relationship studies have demonstrated that the N-terminal ectodomain (N-ted) of family B1 receptors plays a pivotal role in natural ligand recognition. Structural analysis of some family B1 GPCR N-teds revealed the existence of a Sushi domain fold consisting of two antiparallel β sheets stabilized by three disulfide bonds and a salt bridge. The family B1 GPCRs promote cellular responses through a signaling pathway including predominantly the Gsadenylyl cyclase-cAMP pathway activation. Family B1 GPCRs also interact with a few accessory proteins which play a role in cell signaling, receptor expression and/or pharmacological profiles of receptors. These accessory proteins may represent new targets for the design of new drugs. Here, we review the current knowledge regarding: i) the structure of family B1 GPCR binding domain for natural ligands and ii) the interaction of family B1 GPCRs with accessory proteins.

Influence of Family and Socio-Demographic Variables on Students with Low Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casanova, Pedro F.; Garcia-Linares, M. Cruz; de la Torre, Manuel J.; Carpio, M. de la Villa

2005-01-01

In this study we compare the distribution of parental educational styles and the scores reported both by parents and students for various family characteristics (acceptance, control, involvement, and expectations) and socio-demographic factors (socio-economic status, family structure, number of children, and order of birth of the children) in a…

Access to water provides economic relief through enhanced relationships in Kenya.

PubMed

Zolnikov, Tara Rava; Blodgett-Salafia, Elizabeth

2017-03-01

Sub-Saharan Africa is comprised of low- and middle-income countries subject to the residual effects of chronic poverty. Poverty contributes to health disparities and social inequities. Public health strategies and solutions seek to remedy the effects of poverty. Providing access to quality water is one priority public health project that alleviates adverse health effects, but may have additional outcomes. Previous research has not thoroughly reviewed the economic relief and relationship changes from implemented water interventions. A qualitative phenomenological approach used 52 semi-structured interviews to understand relationship experiences among primary water gatherers and their families after implemented water interventions in a community. This study took place throughout the historically semi-arid eastern region in Kitui, Kenya, where community members have been beneficiaries of various water interventions. Prior to the water intervention, relationships were strained because of economic hardships. Households experienced economic difficulties in paying for children's school fees, buying bricks for housing structures, having water for house gardens, trees for shade in the compound, crops and providing water for their animals. After receiving access to water, relationships improved, because families were able to discuss and address economic challenges. Additional financial revenue was gained and used to pay for water to make bricks to sell or use on housing structures, expand on house gardens and agricultural crops, build new businesses, purchase water for animals, and construct local water spouts near the household. Access to water improved relationships, which encouraged economic growth. This information provides a critical component in understanding the interconnected nature between access to water, poverty and family relationships. Ultimately, this research suggests an increased need for access to quality water worldwide to improve both economic situations

The effects of family structure and function on mental health during China's transition: a cross-sectional analysis.

PubMed

Cheng, Yao; Zhang, Liuyi; Wang, Fang; Zhang, Ping; Ye, Beizhu; Liang, Yuan

2017-05-05

Social change, intensified by industrialization and globalization, has not only changed people's work lives but also their personal lives, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to provide evidence and recommendations regarding family structure, function, and mental health to actively respond to rapid social change. A cross-sectional survey was conducted face-to-face and door-to-door from July 2011 to September 2012 in Hubei Province, central China. Family structure comprised alone, couple, nuclear family, and extended family; family function was measured using the family APGAR (Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve) scale, and mental health was measured using the Chinese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The urban-vs-rural difference of family structure among alone, couple, nuclear family, and extended family was statistically significant (5.21% vs 4.62%; 27.36% vs 13.14%; 33.22% vs 27.74%; 34.20% vs 54.50%, respectively; p < 0.0001); and those difference of family function was not statistically significant (8.11 ± 2.13 vs 8.09 ± 2.27, p = 0.9372). The general linear regression showed that the effect of family structure on mental health, whether urban or rural, was not significant, however, the effect of family function was significant, especially regarding better family functioning with better mental health. Combined the effects of family structure and function on mental health, the external form of family (family structure) may not be important; while the internal quality of role (family function) might be key. Improving the residents' family function would be a priority strategy for family practice with their mental health.

Locating Economic Risks for Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health: Poverty and Affluence in Families, Neighborhoods, and Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coley, Rebekah Levine; Sims, Jacqueline; Dearing, Eric; Spielvogel, Bryn

2018-01-01

Research has identified risks of both poverty and affluence for adolescents. This study sought to clarify associations between income and youth mental and behavioral health by delineating economic risks derived from family, neighborhood, and school contexts within a nationally representative sample of high school students (N = 13,179, average age…

Children's representations of multiple family relationships: organizational structure and development in early childhood.

PubMed

Schermerhorn, Alice C; Cummings, E Mark; Davies, Patrick T

2008-02-01

The authors examine mutual family influence processes at the level of children's representations of multiple family relationships, as well as the structure of those representations. From a community sample with 3 waves, each spaced 1 year apart, kindergarten-age children (105 boys and 127 girls) completed a story-stem completion task, tapping representations of multiple family relationships. Structural equation modeling with autoregressive controls indicated that representational processes involving different family relationships were interrelated over time, including links between children's representations of marital conflict and reactions to conflict, between representations of security about marital conflict and parent-child relationships, and between representations of security in father-child and mother-child relationships. Mixed support was found for notions of increasing stability in representations during this developmental period. Results are discussed in terms of notions of transactional family dynamics, including family-wide perspectives on mutual influence processes attributable to multiple family relationships.

The impact of HIV/AIDS on the family and other significant relationships: the African clan revisited.

PubMed

Ankrah, E M

1993-01-01

Although changing in size, structure and function, the African family has persistently maintained its place as the central human social unit. Beyond the traditional African family--whether in the nuclear or the extended form--is a network of people, most of whom are connected by kin or blood relationships, termed the clanship system. Patterns of family treatment and care are deeply embedded in this wider kinship system. The AIDS epidemic has caused adverse psychosocial and economic consequences leading to change in the family structure, and thus disturbed the capacity of the nuclear and extended family to respond to the needs of members afflicted by HIV and AIDS. Hence, the clanship system could become the locus of AIDS activity designed to ensure the well-being and continuity of the family where its leadership undertakes to sustain, to reorganize, or to create wholly new families or structures among populations being devastated by AIDS. New associations based on common emotional bonds of caring beyond kinship ties will be necessary to support some vulnerable members. However, for such to prove durable in the troubled socio-economic context of Sub-Saharan Africa, these will need strong links to or derive their legitimacy from the resilient traditional social network, the African kinship system.

Family structure and fertility in Taiwan: an extension and modification of Caldwell's wealth flows theory.

PubMed

Hsuing, P C

1988-06-01

Based on the data from a nationwide survey of labor force participation conducted in 1985 by the Office of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Republic of China, this project tries to modify Caldwell's Wealth Flows Theory in order to analyze fertility behavior of married women. Caldwell's Wealth Flows Theory indicates that a patriarchal family has a significant effect on fertility. Unless the patriarchal family structure is replaced by a nuclear family system, he claims, fertility levels will remain relatively high in developing countries. However, he does not discuss social factors which may influence the process of change in the family structure and which factors in the patriarchal family may influence fertility. To make up this shortcoming, this paper shows that female educational level, employment patterns, and occupational prestige brings about change in the family structure. This research also indicates that women with higher education and occupational prestige have lower fertility. In addition, it finds that female occupational status is a main factor to bring about change in the family structure. (author's)

The profile of the Greek 'XXL' family.

PubMed

Christoforidis, Athanasios; Batzios, Spyros; Sidiropoulos, Haralampos; Provatidou, Maria; Cassimos, Dimitris

2011-10-01

To identify Greek families in which all members were overweight or obese (XXL families) and to describe their profile with regard to their socio-economic status and their eating behaviours and practices. A prospective cohort study. The metropolitan area of Kavala. We recruited children aged 11 and 12 years from twelve primary schools, and their parents, from volunteers. Auxologic measurements of the children included height and weight. A structured questionnaire pertaining to information on the socio-economic status of the family, anthropometric values and educational status of parents, dietary habits and the availability of various food products and beverages at home, as well as dietary intake, physical activity, time spent sleeping and time spent watching television, was filled in by one of the parents of each child. A total of 331 families finally participated. In sixty-one families (18·43 %) both parents and child were either overweight or obese (XXL family), and in seven of these families all members were obese. Only twenty-eight families (8·46 %) had all members with a normal BMI. The XXL family was associated with lower educational status of both parents, whereas a higher percentage of XXL families resided in rural areas and had lower income. Skipping breakfast and spending more than 3 h in front of a screen every day were more frequently observed in XXL families. With regard to the availability of various food products and beverages at home, no significant differences were observed between XXL families and the rest of the studied families. Greek XXL families have lower educational status and lower annual income.

Shodagor Family Strategies : Balancing Work and Family on the Water.

PubMed

Starkweather, Kathrine E

2017-06-01

The Shodagor of Matlab, Bangladesh, are a seminomadic community of people who live and work on small wooden boats, within the extensive system of rivers and canals that traverse the country. This unique ecology places particular constraints on family and economic life and leads to Shodagor parents employing one of four distinct strategies to balance childcare and provisioning needs. The purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions that lead a family to choose one strategy over another by testing predictions about socioecological factors that impact the sexual division of labor, including a family's stage in the domestic cycle, aspects of the local ecology, and the availability of alloparents. Results show that although each factor has an impact on the division of labor individually, a confluence of these factors best explains within-group, between-family differences in how mothers and fathers divide subsistence and childcare labor. These factors also interact in particular ways for Shodagor families, and it appears that families choose their economic strategies based on the constellation of constraints that they face. The results of these analyses have implications for theory regarding the sexual division of labor across cultures and inform how Shodagor family economic and parenting strategies should be contextualized in future studies.

Good Things Come in Threes: Single-Parent Multigenerational Family Structure and Adolescent Adjustment. JCPR Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeLeire, Thomas; Kalil, Ariel

This research used data from the 1998 National Educational Longitudinal Study to investigate the development of outcomes for adolescents living with single mothers in multigenerational families compared with adolescents living in married families (as well as a disaggregated set of other family structures). The study measured family structure when…

Diagnostic Perspectives on the Family: Process, Structural and Historical Contextual Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levant, Ronald F.

1983-01-01

Describes diagnostic perspectives for viewing dysfunctional families. Presents three general types of models (process, structural, and historical) and organized them along a continuum from most descriptive to most inferential. Presented at the 39th Annual Conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, October-November…

A Review of the Structural Characteristics of Family Meals with Children in the United States.

PubMed

McCullough, Mary Beth; Robson, Shannon M; Stark, Lori J

2016-07-01

Family meals are associated with a range of positive outcomes among children and adolescents. There is inconsistency, however, in the way in which studies have defined and measured family meals. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to determine how studies describe family meals with the use of structural characteristics. The current review focused on studies in the United States that included children ages 2-18 y. A total of 33 studies were identified that characterized family meals with the use of ≥1 of the following structural features: frequency or mean number of family meals per week, length of family meal, people present at meal, and where meals occurred. No study characterized family meals by using all 4 family meal features, whereas most studies (81%) characterized family meals by using frequency or mean number of meals per week. Findings not only provide an initial understanding of the structural features used to define family meals but also point to the importance of developing a more comprehensive, sensitive assessment that can accurately capture the complex and multidimensional nature of family meals. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

Structural Characterization of the Predominant Family of Histidine Kinase Sensor Domains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Z.; Hendrickson, W

2010-01-01

Histidine kinase (HK) receptors are used ubiquitously by bacteria to monitor environmental changes, and they are also prevalent in plants, fungi, and other protists. Typical HK receptors have an extracellular sensor portion that detects a signal, usually a chemical ligand, and an intracellular transmitter portion that includes both the kinase domain itself and the site for histidine phosphorylation. While kinase domains are highly conserved, sensor domains are diverse. HK receptors function as dimers, but the molecular mechanism for signal transduction across cell membranes remains obscure. In this study, eight crystal structures were determined from five sensor domains representative of themore » most populated family, family HK1, found in a bioinformatic analysis of predicted sensor domains from transmembrane HKs. Each structure contains an inserted repeat of PhoQ/DcuS/CitA (PDC) domains, and similarity between sequence and structure is correlated across these and other double-PDC sensor proteins. Three of the five sensors crystallize as dimers that appear to be physiologically relevant, and comparisons between ligated structures and apo-state structures provide insights into signal transmission. Some HK1 family proteins prove to be sensors for chemotaxis proteins or diguanylate cyclase receptors, implying a combinatorial molecular evolution.« less

The New Economic Equation. Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joshi, Pamela; Carre, Francoise; Place, Angela; Rayman, Paula

The New Economic Equation Project opened in May 1995 with a 3-day working conference for 50 national leaders. The equation was defined as follows: economic well-being = integration of work, family, and community. Conference participants identified key economic, work, and family concerns facing the United States today. Outreach activities in…

Psychometric properties of the Grandparent Perceptions of Family Scale (GPFS).

PubMed

Rempusheski, Veronica F; O'Hara, Catherine T

2005-01-01

For the majority of grandparents, rarely are their perceptions of family assessed, acknowledged, or viewed in the context of potential effect on individual and family health. To develop and test an instrument to measure grandparent perceptions of family. An inductively derived semantic differential instrument comprising 112 items, 8 stimuli, and 27 adjective pairs within 2 domains and framed by the Becoming a Grandparent theoretical model was content validated by an expert panel, revised, and evaluated on a convenience sample of 306 community-dwelling grandparents, aged 41-92 years (M = 64, SD = 9.8), 72% female, 93% U.S. born, 62% college educated, 55% economically comfortable, and 71% living with a spouse or partner. Assessment procedures included internal consistency reliability, item and scale correlation coefficients, and principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation to evaluate construct validity, structure, and magnitude of the scale. The final scale consists of 25 items using 3 stimuli (grandparent's view of grandchild, mother of grandchild, father of grandchild) measuring a single domain (overall view of family). The Grandparent Perceptions of Family Scale (GPFS) includes 5 factors for a total explained variance of 60%. Coefficient alpha for the total scale is .90. The GPFS should be helpful to clinicians and researchers in their assessment of grandparents within multigenerational families and in planning appropriate interventions to address the roles and relationships of grandparents within families. Further GPFS evaluation is suggested with grandparents of diverse racial or ethnic identification; social economic position; education; and family definition, roles, composition, and structure.

Adult Literacy for Development: The Logic and Structure of Economic Motivations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhola, H. S.

This paper addresses the logic and the structure of economic motivations for adult literacy promotion. It uses as an example the People's Republic of China to demonstrate how economic motivations can best serve the cause of adult literacy and suggests applying these concepts to India. The paper is organized in three parts. In the first part, the…

Structure and transcriptional regulation of the major intrinsic protein gene family in grapevine.

PubMed

Wong, Darren Chern Jan; Zhang, Li; Merlin, Isabelle; Castellarin, Simone D; Gambetta, Gregory A

2018-04-11

The major intrinsic protein (MIP) family is a family of proteins, including aquaporins, which facilitate water and small molecule transport across plasma membranes. In plants, MIPs function in a huge variety of processes including water transport, growth, stress response, and fruit development. In this study, we characterize the structure and transcriptional regulation of the MIP family in grapevine, describing the putative genome duplication events leading to the family structure and characterizing the family's tissue and developmental specific expression patterns across numerous preexisting microarray and RNAseq datasets. Gene co-expression network (GCN) analyses were carried out across these datasets and the promoters of each family member were analyzed for cis-regulatory element structure in order to provide insight into their transcriptional regulation. A total of 29 Vitis vinifera MIP family members (excluding putative pseudogenes) were identified of which all but two were mapped onto Vitis vinifera chromosomes. In this study, segmental duplication events were identified for five plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) and four tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP) genes, contributing to the expansion of PIPs and TIPs in grapevine. Grapevine MIP family members have distinct tissue and developmental expression patterns and hierarchical clustering revealed two primary groups regardless of the datasets analyzed. Composite microarray and RNA-seq gene co-expression networks (GCNs) highlighted the relationships between MIP genes and functional categories involved in cell wall modification and transport, as well as with other MIPs revealing a strong co-regulation within the family itself. Some duplicated MIP family members have undergone sub-functionalization and exhibit distinct expression patterns and GCNs. Cis-regulatory element (CRE) analyses of the MIP promoters and their associated GCN members revealed enrichment for numerous CREs including AP2/ERFs and NACs

Families: An Expanding Role for Professional Counselors. Proceedings of the Conference (San Antonio, Texas, February 1-3, 1986).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, George M.; And Others

This document contains papers from a conference which targeted the needs and interests of counselors working with families. Individual papers in the book include: (1) "Economic, Social and Political Influences on Families" (Lynda Henley Walters); (2) "Family Structures and Stresses: A Counseling Perspective" (Edwin Herr); (3) "Cultural Diversity…

Permutation methods for the structured exploratory data analysis (SEDA) of familial trait values.

PubMed

Karlin, S; Williams, P T

1984-07-01

A collection of functions that contrast familial trait values between and across generations is proposed for studying transmission effects and other collateral influences in nuclear families. Two classes of structured exploratory data analysis (SEDA) statistics are derived from ratios of these functions. SEDA-functionals are the empirical cumulative distributions of the ratio of the two contrasts computed within each family. SEDA-indices are formed by first averaging the numerator and denominator contrasts separately over the population and then forming their ratio. The significance of SEDA results are determined by a spectrum of permutation techniques that selectively shuffle the trait values across families. The process systematically alters certain family structure relationships while keeping other familial relationships intact. The methodology is applied to five data examples of plasma total cholesterol concentrations, reported height values, dermatoglyphic pattern intensity index scores, measurements of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase activity, and psychometric cognitive test results.

Administration for Children and Families

MedlinePlus

... Department of Health & Human Services. We promote the economic and social well-being of children, families, individuals ... TANF work requirements means promoting gainful employment and economic independence as goals for every family. View updated ...

The genetic and environmental foundations of political, psychological, social, and economic behaviors: a panel study of twins and families.

PubMed

Hatemi, Peter K; Smith, Kevin; Alford, John R; Martin, Nicholas G; Hibbing, John R

2015-06-01

Here we introduce the Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families (PIs Alford, Hatemi, Hibbing, Martin, and Smith). This study was designed to explore the genetic and environmental influences on social, economic, and political behaviors and attitudes. It involves identifying the psychological mechanisms that operate on these traits, the heritability of complex economic and political traits under varying conditions, and specific genetic correlates of attitudes and behaviors. In addition to describing the study, we conduct novel analyses on the data, estimating the heritability of two traits so far unexplored in the extant literature: Machiavellianism and Baron-Cohen's Empathizing Quotient.

Reducing Risk for Substance Use by Economically Disadvantaged Young Men: Positive Family Environments and Pathways to Educational Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Monica J.; Conger, Rand D.; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Masarik, April S.; Forbes, Erika E.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Using prospective, longitudinal data spanning 10 years (age = 10-20) from a study of 295 economically disadvantaged males, the current investigation evaluated a developmental model that links early family environment and later educational aspirations, extracurricular activities, and educational attainment to substance use in early adulthood. The…

Observed Family Interactions among Subtypes of Eating Disorders Using Structural Analysis of Social Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humphrey, Laura Lynn

1989-01-01

Compared observations of family interactions among anorexic, bulimic-anorexic, bulimic, and normal families (N=74 families) consisting of father, mother, and teenage daughter. Benjamin's structural analysis of social behavior methodology differentiated clinical from normal families. Found unique patterns among subtypes of eating disorders which…

Family Structure and Social Influence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Dawn R.

Regardless of family form, there is a universal belief that one's family is the most powerful agent of socialization. A sample of 38 junior high school students from single parent and nuclear families completed a questionnaire in order to examine the relative effects of peer influence and family influence in single parent and nuclear families.…

A comment on towers for windmills. [structural and economic criteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Budgen, H. P.

1973-01-01

Design considerations for windmill tower structures include the effects of normal wind forces on the rotor and on the tower. Circular tabular or masonry towers present a relatively simple aerodynamic solution. Economic factors establish the tubular tower as superior for small and medium sized windmills. Concrete and standard concrete block designs are cheaper than refabricated steel structures that have to be freighted.

Encopresis: A Structural/Strategic Approach to Family Therapy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McColgan, Edgar B.; And Others

1985-01-01

Reports treatment of a 9-year-old boy with primary encopresis combining structural and strategic approaches. Describes organizational features of the family, the contextual approach to therapy, individual and collective responses to therapy, and follow-up at 3 months and 1 1/2 years. Discusses effects of therapy on encopresis and on other…

Family structure, nonresident father involvement, and adolescent eating patterns.

PubMed

Stewart, Susan D; Menning, Chadwick L

2009-08-01

To examine the relationship between family structure, nonresident father involvement, and adolescent eating patterns. Analyses were performed on data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave 1, N = approximately 15,550; Wave 2, N = approximately 11,540), and a subsample of adolescents from each wave who had a nonresident father (Wave 1, N = approximately 3,745; Wave 2, N = 2,358). Multivariate regression provides estimates of the independent effects of family structure and nonresident father involvement on adolescent eating patterns while controlling for potentially confounding sociodemographic characteristics. Compared with children in traditional households (i.e., two biological or adoptive parents), adolescents in nontraditional family households (single parent, step-parent, no parent) were more likely to display unhealthy eating habits such as skipping breakfast and lunch, eating fewer vegetables, consuming more fast food, and had less parental monitoring of meals. Nonresident father involvement was associated with an increased frequency of eating breakfast and lunch and increased consumption of vegetables (Wave 1) but did not affect adolescents' consumption of fast food. Child support was positively associated with the odds that adolescents would consume dinner. Adolescents in living in nontraditional families were more likely than adolescents living with two biological/adoptive parents to display unhealthy eating habits. Nonresident father involvement was generally associated with healthier eating patterns. Health professionals should keep in mind that children's and adolescents' living arrangements can be complex and have the potential to affect what and how they eat.

Life Management: Moving Out! Solving Practical Problems for Independent Living. Utah Home Economics and Family Life Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Utah State Office of Education, Salt Lake City.

This guide, which has been developed for Utah's home economics and family life education program, contains materials for use in teaching a life management course emphasizing the problem-solving skills required for independent living. Discussed first are the assumptions underlying the curriculum, development of the guide, and suggestions for its…

Collisional family structure within the Nysa-Polana complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dykhuis, Melissa J.; Greenberg, Richard

2015-05-01

The Nysa-Polana complex is a group of low-inclination asteroid families in the inner main belt, bounded in semimajor axis by the Mars-crossing region and the Jupiter 3:1 mean-motion resonance. This group is important as the most likely source region for the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission, (101955) Bennu; however, family membership in the region is complicated by the presence of several dynamically overlapping families with a range of surface reflectance properties. The large S-type structure in the region appears to be associated with the parent body (135) Hertha, and displays an (eP,aP) correlation consistent with a collision event near true anomaly of ∼180° with ejecta velocity vej ∼ 285m /s . The ejecta distribution from a collision with these orbital properties is predicted to have a maximum semimajor axis dispersion of δaej = 0.005 ± 0.008AU , which constitutes only a small fraction (7%) of the observed semimajor axis dispersion, the rest of which is attributed to the Yarkovsky effect. The age of the family is inferred from the Yarkovsky dispersion to be 300-50+60 My. Objects in a smaller cluster that overlaps the large Hertha family in proper orbital element space have reflectance properties more consistent with the X-type (135) Hertha than the surrounding S-type family. These objects form a distinct Yarkovsky "V" signature in (aP, H) space, consistent with a more recent collision, which appears to also be dynamically connected to (135) Hertha. Production of two families with different reflectance properties from a single parent could result from the partial differentiation of the parent, shock darkening effects, or other causes. The Nysa-Polana complex also contains a low-albedo family associated with (142) Polana (called "New Polana" by Walsh et al. (Walsh, K.J. et al. [2013]. Icarus 225, 283-297)), and two other low-albedo families associated with (495) Eulalia. The second Eulalia family may be a high-aP , low-eP , low-iP component of the first

Structuring Formal Requirements Specifications for Reuse and Product Families

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heimdahl, Mats P. E.

2001-01-01

In this project we have investigated how formal specifications should be structured to allow for requirements reuse, product family engineering, and ease of requirements change, The contributions of this work include (1) a requirements specification methodology specifically targeted for critical avionics applications, (2) guidelines for how to structure state-based specifications to facilitate ease of change and reuse, and (3) examples from the avionics domain demonstrating the proposed approach.

Family Economic Empowerment and Mental Health Among AIDS-Affected Children Living in AIDS-Impacted Communities: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Southwestern Uganda

PubMed Central

Han, Chang-Keun; Ssewamala, Fred M.; Wang, Julia Shu-Huah

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVE We examine whether an innovative family economic empowerment intervention addresses mental health functioning of AIDS-affected children in communities heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. METHODS A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) consisting of two study arms: a treatment condition (n=179) and a control condition (n=118) was used to examine the impact of the family economic empowerment intervention on children’s levels of hopelessness and depression. The intervention comprised of matched children savings accounts, financial management workshops, and mentorship. Data were collected at baseline and 12 months post-intervention. RESULTS Using multivariate analysis with several socio-economic controls, we find that children in the treatment condition (receiving the intervention) report significant improvement in their mental health functioning. Specifically, the intervention reduces hopelessness and depression levels. On the other hand, children in the control condition (not receiving the intervention) report no changes on both measures. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that children with poor mental health functioning living in communities affected by HIV/AIDS may benefit from innovative family economic empowerment interventions. As measures of mental health functioning, both hopelessness and depression have long-term negative psychosocial and developmental impacts on children. These findings have implications for public health programs intended for long-term care and support of children living in resource poor, AIDS-impacted communities. PMID:23410851

Some effects of sex, age, and household structure on family drawings of Barbadian children.

PubMed

Payne, M A

1996-10-01

An analysis of the family drawings of a nonclinical sample of 502 Barbadian children aged 7-11 years is reported. The inclusion or omission of figures and the size and positioning of the figures of parents and self were examined with reference to sex, age, and household structure. The view that cultural values about the structure of the family unit and parental roles are reflected in children's representations of their parents in family drawings was supported.

A Review of the Structural Characteristics of Family Meals with Children in the United States12

PubMed Central

McCullough, Mary Beth; Robson, Shannon M; Stark, Lori J

2016-01-01

Family meals are associated with a range of positive outcomes among children and adolescents. There is inconsistency, however, in the way in which studies have defined and measured family meals. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to determine how studies describe family meals with the use of structural characteristics. The current review focused on studies in the United States that included children ages 2–18 y. A total of 33 studies were identified that characterized family meals with the use of ≥1 of the following structural features: frequency or mean number of family meals per week, length of family meal, people present at meal, and where meals occurred. No study characterized family meals by using all 4 family meal features, whereas most studies (81%) characterized family meals by using frequency or mean number of meals per week. Findings not only provide an initial understanding of the structural features used to define family meals but also point to the importance of developing a more comprehensive, sensitive assessment that can accurately capture the complex and multidimensional nature of family meals. PMID:27422500

Influence of Family Structure and School Variables on Behavior Disorders of Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindholm, Byron W.; And Others

1977-01-01

This study examined the influence of family structure and school variables on behavior disorders of children (N=1,162). Results indicated grade in school, sex, social class, ordinal position in the family, and teacher were important variables in the determination of behavior disorders. (Author)

Structural insights into the anti-HIV activity of the Oscillatoria agardhii agglutinin homolog lectin family.

PubMed

Koharudin, Leonardus M I; Kollipara, Sireesha; Aiken, Christopher; Gronenborn, Angela M

2012-09-28

Oscillatoria agardhii agglutinin homolog (OAAH) proteins belong to a recently discovered lectin family. All members contain a sequence repeat of ~66 amino acids, with the number of repeats varying among different family members. Apart from data for the founding member OAA, neither three-dimensional structures, information about carbohydrate binding specificities, nor antiviral activity data have been available up to now for any other members of the OAAH family. To elucidate the structural basis for the antiviral mechanism of OAAHs, we determined the crystal structures of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Myxococcus xanthus lectins. Both proteins exhibit the same fold, resembling the founding family member, OAA, with minor differences in loop conformations. Carbohydrate binding studies by NMR and x-ray structures of glycan-lectin complexes reveal that the number of sugar binding sites corresponds to the number of sequence repeats in each protein. As for OAA, tight and specific binding to α3,α6-mannopentaose was observed. All the OAAH proteins described here exhibit potent anti-HIV activity at comparable levels. Altogether, our results provide structural details of the protein-carbohydrate interaction for this novel lectin family and insights into the molecular basis of their HIV inactivation properties.

Maternal phenotype, independent of family economic capital, predicts educational attainment in lowland nepalese children

PubMed Central

Devakumar, Delan; Wells, Jonathan C.K.; Saville, Naomi; Reid, Alice; Costello, Anthony; Manandhar, Dharma S; Osrin, David

2016-01-01

Objectives Factors acting before children are born or reach school‐going age may explain why some do not complete primary education. Many relevant factors relate to maternal phenotype, but few studies have tested for independent associations of maternal factors relative to those characterizing the family in general. Methods Using data from a longitudinal study of 838 children in Dhanusha, Nepal, we used logistic regression models to test whether indices of maternal somatic and educational capital, or family economic capital, were independently associated with children having had ≤2 versus 3+ years of schooling at a mean age of 8.5 years. We also tested whether maternal age, children's early growth, and urban/rural location mediated such associations. Results Children had a higher risk of completing less schooling if their mothers were short, thin, anemic, and uneducated. Independently, lower family material assets and land acreage also increased children's odds of less schooling. There was an indication of gender differences, with the risk of poor educational attainment in girls associated with low maternal somatic and educational capital, whereas in boys the relevant factors were low maternal education and family land ownership. Conclusions Our analysis demonstrates that, independent of broader indices of family capital such as land or material assets, children's educational attainment is associated with factors embodied in maternal phenotype. Both somatic and educational maternal capital appeared important. A composite index of maternal capital could provide a new measurable proxy, prior to school entry, for identifying children at risk of completing fewer years of schooling. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:687–698, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:27135632

Maternal phenotype, independent of family economic capital, predicts educational attainment in lowland nepalese children.

PubMed

Marphatia, Akanksha A; Devakumar, Delan; Wells, Jonathan C K; Saville, Naomi; Reid, Alice; Costello, Anthony; Manandhar, Dharma S; Osrin, David

2016-09-10

Factors acting before children are born or reach school-going age may explain why some do not complete primary education. Many relevant factors relate to maternal phenotype, but few studies have tested for independent associations of maternal factors relative to those characterizing the family in general. Using data from a longitudinal study of 838 children in Dhanusha, Nepal, we used logistic regression models to test whether indices of maternal somatic and educational capital, or family economic capital, were independently associated with children having had ≤2 versus 3+ years of schooling at a mean age of 8.5 years. We also tested whether maternal age, children's early growth, and urban/rural location mediated such associations. Children had a higher risk of completing less schooling if their mothers were short, thin, anemic, and uneducated. Independently, lower family material assets and land acreage also increased children's odds of less schooling. There was an indication of gender differences, with the risk of poor educational attainment in girls associated with low maternal somatic and educational capital, whereas in boys the relevant factors were low maternal education and family land ownership. Our analysis demonstrates that, independent of broader indices of family capital such as land or material assets, children's educational attainment is associated with factors embodied in maternal phenotype. Both somatic and educational maternal capital appeared important. A composite index of maternal capital could provide a new measurable proxy, prior to school entry, for identifying children at risk of completing fewer years of schooling. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:687-698, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 The Authors American Journal of Human Biology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Allosteric control of transcription in GntR family of transcription regulators: A structural overview.

PubMed

Jain, Deepti

2015-07-01

The GntR family of transcription regulators constitutes one of the most abundant family of transcription factors. These modulators are involved in a variety of mechanisms controlling various metabolic processes. GntR family members are typically two domain proteins with a smaller N-terminus domain (NTD) with conserved architecture of winged-helix-turn-helix (wHTH) for DNA binding and a larger C-terminus domain (CTD) or the effector binding domain which is also involved in oligomerization. Interestingly, the CTD shows structural heterogeneity depending upon the type of effector molecule that it binds and displays structural homology to various classes of proteins. Binding of the effector molecule to the CTD brings about a conformational change in the transcription factor such that its affinity for its cognate DNA sequence is altered. This review summarizes the structural information available on the members of GntR family and discusses the common features of the DNA binding and operator recognition within the family. The variation in the allosteric mechanism employed by the members of this family is also discussed. © 2015 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Couple resilience to economic pressure.

PubMed

Conger, R D; Rueter, M A; Elder, G H

1999-01-01

Over 400 married couples participated in a 3-year prospective study of economic pressure and marital relations. The research (a) empirically evaluated the family stress model of economic stress influences on marital distress and (b) extended the model to include specific interactional characteristics of spouses hypothesized to protect against economic pressure. Findings provided support for the basic mediational model, which proposes that economic pressure increases risk for emotional distress, which, in turn, increases risk for marital conflict and subsequent marital distress. Regarding resilience to economic stress, high marital support reduced the association between economic pressure and emotional distress. In addition, effective couple problem solving reduced the adverse influence of marital conflict on marital distress. Overall, the findings provided substantial support for the extended family stress model.

The Level of Shyness among Talented Students in Light of Socio-Economic Level of the Family in Riyadh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asi, Khaled Yousef

2016-01-01

The present study aimed to identify the level of shyness among talented students in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and detect differences according to the variable of socio-economic level of the family. The sample consisted of (101) students, who randomly chosen from centers of talented students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Shyness scale utilized…

Family life course transitions and rural household economy during China's market reform.

PubMed

Chen, Feinian; Korinek, Kim

2010-11-01

This article investigates the effect of family life course transitions on labor allocation strategies in rural Chinese households. We highlight three types of economic activity that involve reallocation of household labor oriented toward a more diversified, nonfarm rural economy: involvement in wage employment, household entrepreneurship, and/or multiple activities that span economic sectors. With the use of data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS 1997, 2000, and 2004), our longitudinal analyses of rural household economic activity point to the significance of household demography, life course transitions, and local economic structures as factors facilitating household labor reallocation. First, as expected, a relatively youthful household structure is conducive to innovative economic behavior. Second, household entrances and exits are significant, but their impacts are not equal. Life events such as births, deaths, marriage, or leaving home for school or employment affect household economy in distinctive ways. Finally, the reallocations of household labor undertaken by households are shaped by local economic structures: in particular, the extent of village-level entrepreneurial activity, off-farm employment, and out-migration.

Gender differences in socioeconomic returns to family migration in Malaysia: the role of family decision making versus labor market stratification.

PubMed

Chattopadhyay, A

2000-01-01

In this article the author examines gender differences in the effect of family migration on socioeconomic attainment in Malaysia. The analysis discerns the relative importance of gender roles in household migration decisions, compared to gender stratification in the labor market. The Malaysian economy has undergone rapid industrialization and great structural changes which have opened up new economic opportunities, particularly for women. Despite the somewhat advantaged position of women compared to men in the Malaysian labor market, the author finds that men experience much greater socioeconomic gains than women from family migration. Hence indicating that family migration decisions in Malaysia, rather than optimizing family gains, compensate for the gender effect in the labor market. However, the gains of Malaysian men are more assured when they move alone. Data for the study come from the second round of the Malaysian Family Life Survey.

Healthy family functioning: a cross-cultural appraisal*

PubMed Central

David, Henry P.

1978-01-01

It is increasingly recognized that rapid cultural, social, economic, and technological changes are imposing increasing stress on family structures, traditional values, and the ability to adapt to new environments in different societies. For the purposes of this paper, ”healthy family functioning” is defined in terms of a family unit (however it is conceived in any given culture) effectively coping with cultural, environmental, psychosocial, and socioeconomic stresses throughout the family life cycle. While a review of international literature in the behavioural and biomedical sciences yields little data on comparative studies, there is growing awareness of the need for cooperative international research on family coping mechanisms and determinants of self-reliant communal coping behaviour, as well as more efficient utilization of already available knowledge. After consideration of methodological pitfalls of assessment procedures, there is a presentation of an evolving theory of healthy family functioning with the suggestion that studies of young married couples constitute a particularly promising vehicle for developing needed cooperative cross-cultural research. PMID:308401

Gender, Poverty, Family Structure, and Investments in Children's Education in Kinshasa, Congo.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shapiro, David; Tambashe, B. Oleko

2001-01-01

Examines school enrollment and educational attainment in Kinshasa, Congo, focusing on how poverty, household structure, gender, and economic well-being affect investments in children's education. Increased economic well-being translates into greater attainment for both females and males, but does not necessarily reduce gender differences in school…

Zimbabwe's success story in education and health: will it weather economic structural adjustment?

PubMed

Tumwine, J K

1992-12-01

The beginning of the 1980s saw the birth of Zimbabwe as a result of a protracted liberation war. It coincided with global interest in primary health care, the concept of universal primary school education and, unfortunately, moves towards economic stabilization and structural adjustment programmes. Economic structural adjustment was adopted by several sub Saharan African countries with dire consequences for the poor and vulnerable. Zimbabwe's commitment to social justice and to equitable distribution of resources demonstrated a practical move away from the culture of rhetoric so characteristic of many governments and non-governmental organisations and agencies. This commitment has been translated into impressive improvements in health and education. Current evidence shows that education has had a positive impact on health and related areas like contraceptive use, child mortality and the nutrition status of children. Conversely nutrition and health conditions among school children are important determinants of educational outcomes. Hitherto Zimbabwe's economy has been sufficiently strong to avoid excessive dependence on the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other foreign financial institutions. Unfortunately, however, the current economic recession together with economic structural adjustment programmes are beginning to have a negative impact on health and education. Will true synergism between health and education weather these structural problems? It seems that the people and government of Zimbabwe have the capacity and resolve to weather such a storm.

Phylogenetic analysis and protein structure modelling identifies distinct Ca(2+)/Cation antiporters and conservation of gene family structure within Arabidopsis and rice species.

PubMed

Pittman, Jon K; Hirschi, Kendal D

2016-12-01

The Ca(2+)/Cation Antiporter (CaCA) superfamily is an ancient and widespread family of ion-coupled cation transporters found in nearly all kingdoms of life. In animals, K(+)-dependent and K(+)-indendent Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers (NCKX and NCX) are important CaCA members. Recently it was proposed that all rice and Arabidopsis CaCA proteins should be classified as NCX proteins. Here we performed phylogenetic analysis of CaCA genes and protein structure homology modelling to further characterise members of this transporter superfamily. Phylogenetic analysis of rice and Arabidopsis CaCAs in comparison with selected CaCA members from non-plant species demonstrated that these genes form clearly distinct families, with the H(+)/Cation exchanger (CAX) and cation/Ca(2+) exchanger (CCX) families dominant in higher plants but the NCKX and NCX families absent. NCX-related Mg(2+)/H(+) exchanger (MHX) and CAX-related Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger-like (NCL) proteins are instead present. Analysis of genomes of ten closely-related rice species and four Arabidopsis-related species found that CaCA gene family structures are highly conserved within related plants, apart from minor variation. Protein structures were modelled for OsCAX1a and OsMHX1. Despite exhibiting broad structural conservation, there are clear structural differences observed between the different CaCA types. Members of the CaCA superfamily form clearly distinct families with different phylogenetic, structural and functional characteristics, and therefore should not be simply classified as NCX proteins, which should remain as a separate gene family.

Testing the factor structure of the Family Quality of Life Survey - 2006.

PubMed

Isaacs, B; Wang, M; Samuel, P; Ajuwon, P; Baum, N; Edwards, M; Rillotta, F

2012-01-01

Although the Family Quality of Life Survey - 2006 (FQOLS-2006) is being used in research, there is little evidence to support its hypothesised domain structure. The purpose of this study was to test the domain structure of the survey using confirmatory factor analysis. Samples from Australia, Canada, Nigeria and the USA were analysed using structural equation modelling. The data from Australia, Canada and the USA were combined on the assumption that these countries are similar, at least to some degree, in economic development, language and culture. The Nigerian data were analysed on its own. The analysis was undertaken in two phases. First, the hypothesis that each of nine domains of the FQOLS-2006 is a unidimensional construct that can reliably measure the dimensions Importance, Stability, Opportunities, Attainment, Stability and Satisfaction was tested. Second, the hypothesis that family quality of life (FQoL) is a single latent construct represented by the nine domains measured in the FQOLS-2006 was tested. In the first phase of the analysis, the Importance dimension was dropped because of skewness and lack of variance. The Stability dimension did not fit well within the individual domain model in both the Nigerian and the combined three countries' data. When Importance and Stability were excluded, the individual domain models showede good or acceptable fit when error variances of some dimensions were allowed to correlate. In the second phase of the analysis, the overall model, FQoL, represented by the nine domains of the FQOLS-2006 showed good fit in both data sets. The conceptual model of the FQOLS-2006 was supported with some qualifications. Each domain on the survey can be reliably measured by four dimensions Opportunities, Initiative, Attainment and Satisfaction. The dimensions of Importance and Stability, however, did not fit. Data reported on these dimensions from past and current studies should be interpreted with caution. The construct of FQoL is also

A Review on Structures and Functions of Bcl-2 Family Proteins from Homo sapiens.

PubMed

Sivakumar, Dakshinamurthy; Sivaraman, Thirunavukkarasu

2016-01-01

Cancer cells evade apoptosis, which is regulated by proteins of Bcl-2 family in the intrinsic pathways. Numerous experimental three-dimensional (3D) structures of the apoptotic proteins and the proteins bound with small chemical molecules/peptides/proteins have been reported in the literature. In this review article, the 3D structures of the Bcl-2 family proteins from Homo sapiens and as well complex structures of the anti-apoptotic proteins bound with small molecular inhibitors reported in the literature to date have been comprehensively listed out and described in detail. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms by which the Bcl-2 family proteins modulate the apoptotic processes and strategies for designing antagonists to anti-apoptotic proteins have been concisely discussed.

A structural-alphabet-based strategy for finding structural motifs across protein families

PubMed Central

Wu, Chih Yuan; Chen, Yao Chi; Lim, Carmay

2010-01-01

Proteins with insignificant sequence and overall structure similarity may still share locally conserved contiguous structural segments; i.e. structural/3D motifs. Most methods for finding 3D motifs require a known motif to search for other similar structures or functionally/structurally crucial residues. Here, without requiring a query motif or essential residues, a fully automated method for discovering 3D motifs of various sizes across protein families with different folds based on a 16-letter structural alphabet is presented. It was applied to structurally non-redundant proteins bound to DNA, RNA, obligate/non-obligate proteins as well as free DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) and proteins with known structures but unknown function. Its usefulness was illustrated by analyzing the 3D motifs found in DBPs. A non-specific motif was found with a ‘corner’ architecture that confers a stable scaffold and enables diverse interactions, making it suitable for binding not only DNA but also RNA and proteins. Furthermore, DNA-specific motifs present ‘only’ in DBPs were discovered. The motifs found can provide useful guidelines in detecting binding sites and computational protein redesign. PMID:20525797

The Association Between Family Violence and Adolescent Dating Violence Onset: Does it Vary by Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Family Structure?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foshee, Vangie A.; Ennett, Susan T.; Bauman, Karl E.; Benefield, Thad; Suchindran, Chirayath

2005-01-01

The authors determine if the associations between family violence (corporal punishment, violence against the child with the intention of harm, and witnessing violence between parents) and adolescent dating violence vary by subgroups based on race, socioeconomic status, and family structure. This study is guided by the theoretical propositions of…

The Economics of Solar Heating

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forney, J. A.

1982-01-01

SHCOST program assesses economic feasibility of solar energy for single-family residences and light commercial applications. Program analyzes life-cycle costs as well as sensitivity studies to aid designer in selecting most economically attractive solar system for single-family residence or light commercial application. SHCOST includes fairly comprehensive list of cost elements from which user may select.

Family structure and childhood obesity: results of the IDEFICS Project.

PubMed

Formisano, Annarita; Hunsberger, Monica; Bammann, Karin; Vanaelst, Barbara; Molnar, Dénes; Moreno, Luis A; Tornaritis, Michael; Veidebaum, Toomas; Lissner, Lauren; Barba, Gianvincenzo; Siani, Alfonso

2014-10-01

To analyse the association between family structure and adiposity in children. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of the IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants) study cohort. Primary schools and kindergartens. Children (n 12 350; aged 7·9 (SD 1·8) years) for the cross-sectional analysis and children (n 5236; at baseline: normal weight, aged 5·9 (SD 1·8) years) for the longitudinal study underwent anthropometry. Family structure was analysed as (i) number and type of cohabiting adults and (ii) number of siblings. In the cross-sectional analysis, after controlling for covariates, children living with grandparents had significantly higher BMI Z-score than those living with both parents (0·63; 95% CI 0·33, 0·92 v. 0·19; 95% CI 0·17, 0·22; P < 0·01); in addition, the higher the number of siblings, the lower the BMI Z-score (only child = 0·31; 95% CI 0·24, 0·38; 1 sibling = 0·19; 95% CI 0·16, 0·23; 2 siblings = 0·15; 95% CI 0·09, 0·20; >2 siblings = 0·07, 95% CI 0·04, 0·19; P < 0·001). Over the 2-year follow-up, differences in weight gain were observed across family-structure categories. Further, the risk of incidence of overweight/obesity was significantly lower the higher the number of siblings living in the household (v. only child: 1 sibling = 0·74, 95% CI 0·57, 0·96; 2 siblings = 0·63, 95% CI 0·45, 0·88; >2 siblings = 0·40, 95% CI 0·21, 0·77), independently of confounders. The study suggests that an independent association between family structure and childhood obesity exists.

The association of poor economic condition and family relations in childhood with late-life depression.

PubMed

Krsteska, Roza; Pejoska, Vesna Gerazova

2013-09-01

Late-life depression encompasses both patients with late-life onset of depression (>60 years) and older adults with a prior and current history of depression. The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of the economic condition and family relations in childhood as risk factors for late-life depression. This was an analytical cross-sectional study comprising 120 subjects, 60 patients with unipolar depression and 60 subjects without depressive disorders, diagnosed in accordance with the 10-th International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. All participants in the study were above the age of 60 and there was no significant statistical difference in the sex proportion in both groups (p>0.05). Data for the examination were taken from a self-reported questionnaire designed for our aim. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure depressive symptoms. Our results have shown that severe financial difficulties are important events in childhood and are risk factors for depression in the elderly (Chi-square=12.68, df=2, p=0.0018). Our investigation has found the association of family relations with late-life depression. In fact, conflictual relations in the family were more common in the experimental group than in the control group (Chi-square=14.32, df=3, p=0.0025). Furthermore, father's addiction to alcohol in childhood was associated with depression in later life (p=0.013). The difference in childhood emotional neglect and unequal treatment between siblings in both groups was insufficient to be confirmed statistically, but the examinees with this trauma had a threefold higher chance of having depression later in life (Odds ratio=3.04, 95% CL0.92 < OR<10.65; Yates chi-square=3.2, df=1, p=0.07). Subjects who have estimated their mother (p=0.019) or father (p=0.046) having negative personal character traits had a significantly greater risk for development of late-life depression. Negative socio-economic circumstances as well as family conflicts

Family planning and contraceptive decision-making by economically disadvantaged, African-American women

PubMed Central

Hodgson, Eric J.; Collier, Charlene; Hayes, Laura; Curry, Leslie; Fraenkel, Liana

2013-01-01

Background Significant racial disparities exist in the US unplanned pregnancy rate. We conducted a qualitative study using the theory of planned behavior as a framework to describe how low-income, African-American women approach family planning. Study Design Structured focus groups were held with adult, low-income, non-pregnant, African-American women in Connecticut. Data were collected using a standardized discussion guide, and audio-taped and transcribed. Four, independent researchers coded the transcripts using the constant comparative method. Codes were organized into over-arching themes. Results Contraceptive knowledge was limited with formal education often occurring after sexual debut. Attitudes about contraception were overtly negative with method effectiveness being judged by the experience of side effects. Family and friends strongly influence contraceptive decisions while male partners are primarily seen as a barrier. Contraceptive pills are perceived as readily accessible although compliance is considered a barrier. Conclusions Contraception education should occur before sexual debut, should involve trusted family and community members, and should positively frame issues in terms of achieving life goals. PMID:23177266

Common and distant structural characteristics of feruloyl esterase families from Aspergillus oryzae.

PubMed

Udatha, D B R K Gupta; Mapelli, Valeria; Panagiotou, Gianni; Olsson, Lisbeth

2012-01-01

Feruloyl esterases (FAEs) are important biomass degrading accessory enzymes due to their capability of cleaving the ester links between hemicellulose and pectin to aromatic compounds of lignin, thus enhancing the accessibility of plant tissues to cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes. FAEs have gained increased attention in the area of biocatalytic transformations for the synthesis of value added compounds with medicinal and nutritional applications. Following the increasing attention on these enzymes, a novel descriptor based classification system has been proposed for FAEs resulting into 12 distinct families and pharmacophore models for three FAE sub-families have been developed. The feruloylome of Aspergillus oryzae contains 13 predicted FAEs belonging to six sub-families based on our recently developed descriptor-based classification system. The three-dimensional structures of the 13 FAEs were modeled for structural analysis of the feruloylome. The three genes coding for three enzymes, viz., A.O.2, A.O.8 and A.O.10 from the feruloylome of A. oryzae, representing sub-families with unknown functional features, were heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris, characterized for substrate specificity and structural characterization through CD spectroscopy. Common feature-based pharamacophore models were developed according to substrate specificity characteristics of the three enzymes. The active site residues were identified for the three expressed FAEs by determining the titration curves of amino acid residues as a function of the pH by applying molecular simulations. Our findings on the structure-function relationships and substrate specificity of the FAEs of A. oryzae will be instrumental for further understanding of the FAE families in the novel classification system. The developed pharmacophore models could be applied for virtual screening of compound databases for short listing the putative substrates prior to docking studies or for post

Job Loss and Unmet Health Care Needs in the Economic Recession: Different Associations by Family Income

PubMed Central

Birkenmaier, Julie; Kim, Youngmi

2014-01-01

Objectives. We examined heterogeneous associations between job loss and unmet health care needs by family income level in the recent economic recession. Methods. We conducted logistic regression analyses with the sample from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (n = 12 658). Dependent variables were 2 dichotomous measures of unmet health care needs in medical and dental services. The primary independent variables were a dummy indicator of job loss during a 2-year period and the family income-to-needs ratio. We used an interaction term between job loss and the family income-to-needs ratio to test the proposed research question. Results. Job loss was significantly associated with the increased risk of unmet health care needs. The proportion with unmet needs was highest for the lowest-income unemployed, but the association between job loss and health hardship was stronger for the middle- and higher-income unemployed. Conclusions. The unemployed experience health hardship differently by income level. A comprehensive coordination of applications for unemployment and health insurance should be considered to protect the unemployed from health hardship. PMID:25211745

Job loss and unmet health care needs in the economic recession: different associations by family income.

PubMed

Huang, Jin; Birkenmaier, Julie; Kim, Youngmi

2014-11-01

We examined heterogeneous associations between job loss and unmet health care needs by family income level in the recent economic recession. We conducted logistic regression analyses with the sample from the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation (n = 12,658). Dependent variables were 2 dichotomous measures of unmet health care needs in medical and dental services. The primary independent variables were a dummy indicator of job loss during a 2-year period and the family income-to-needs ratio. We used an interaction term between job loss and the family income-to-needs ratio to test the proposed research question. Job loss was significantly associated with the increased risk of unmet health care needs. The proportion with unmet needs was highest for the lowest-income unemployed, but the association between job loss and health hardship was stronger for the middle- and higher-income unemployed. The unemployed experience health hardship differently by income level. A comprehensive coordination of applications for unemployment and health insurance should be considered to protect the unemployed from health hardship.

Effects of Structural Family Therapy on Child and Maternal Mental Health Symptomatology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Addie; Greeno, Catherine G.; Marcus, Steven C.; Fusco, Rachel A.; Zimmerman, Tina; Anderson, Carol

2013-01-01

Objective: This pilot study examined the effect of structural family therapy (SFT) on children's impairment and depressive symptomatology and mothers' depressive symptomatology and anxiety for 31 families served by a community mental health clinic. Method: A one group predesign/postdesign, with a baseline and two follow-up time points, was used.…

Cryo-EM structure of lysenin pore elucidates membrane insertion by an aerolysin family protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bokori-Brown, Monika; Martin, Thomas G.; Naylor, Claire E.; Basak, Ajit K.; Titball, Richard W.; Savva, Christos G.

2016-04-01

Lysenin from the coelomic fluid of the earthworm Eisenia fetida belongs to the aerolysin family of small β-pore-forming toxins (β-PFTs), some members of which are pathogenic to humans and animals. Despite efforts, a high-resolution structure of a channel for this family of proteins has been elusive and therefore the mechanism of activation and membrane insertion remains unclear. Here we determine the pore structure of lysenin by single particle cryo-EM, to 3.1 Å resolution. The nonameric assembly reveals a long β-barrel channel spanning the length of the complex that, unexpectedly, includes the two pre-insertion strands flanking the hypothetical membrane-insertion loop. Examination of other members of the aerolysin family reveals high structural preservation in this region, indicating that the membrane-insertion pathway in this family is conserved. For some toxins, proteolytic activation and pro-peptide removal will facilitate unfolding of the pre-insertion strands, allowing them to form the β-barrel of the channel.

Decline of traditional family system and reproductive behaviour in rural Bangladesh.

PubMed

Sarker, P C

1993-01-01

This paper is based on data taken from the study entitled Social Structure and Fertility Behavior in a Rural Community of Bangladesh. The field-work was carried out during 1985-86 in Kamnagar, a village in the north-eastern corner of Rajshahi metropolitan city, with a total population of 884. 54.4% of the villagers had no education. Basic information was collected from every household by questionnaires interviewing the head of the household. In the 2nd phase questionnaires were administered to 140 eligible husbands and 140 wives separately to collect information on fertility behavior. 56.8% of the families were nuclear. 12.1% of the families were supplementary nuclear, with parents and their unmarried children including 1 or more additional members. 24.9% of the families were joint, in which related males belonging to 2 or 3 generations lived together with their dependents. 6.2% of the families were extended. As far as the authority structure was concerned, 68.1% of the families were patriarchal, 9.9% of the families were matriarchal, and 22% of the families were egalitarian. The egalitarian authority system is increasing with the spread of female literacy, economic activities outside the home, and women's mobility. Couples in nuclear families are more free to decide on the number of children, birth spacing, and adoption of contraception than those in joint, extended, and supplementary nuclear families with patriarchal and matriarchal authority structures. In nuclear families with an egalitarian authority structure, husband-wife communication can help decide about the number of children wanted, the acceptance of contraceptives, and child spacing. Nuclear families favor lower fertility than supplementary nuclear, joint, and extended families with a patriarchal or matriarchal authority structure. The number of traditional joint and extended families is on the decline with the trend to nuclear families as a result of the increasing landlessness in rural Bangladesh

[Social, demographic, family and economic factors related to adolescent pregnancy in the urban area of Briceño, 2012].

PubMed

Gómez-Mercado, Carlos A; Montoya-Vélez, Liliana P

2014-01-01

To establish the relationship between the social, demographic, economic and family with pregnancy in adolescents 13 to 19 years in urban areas in the municipality of Briceño, 2012, for the purpose of obtaining information for the formulation of public health policies sexual and reproductive health. Methods: Cross sectional study, conducted in the urban area of Antioquia Briceño, between April and May 2012. A survey was conducted to gather information on factors: social, demographic, economic and family. Implemented a logistic regression model. The adolescents who were 193 survey respondents. Factors associated by multivariate analysis with increased risk of teenage pregnancy were age (OR: 8.33 CI, 1.82 to 38.14), socioeconomic status (OR: 12.52 CI, 1.58 to 98, 91), occupation (OR: 7.60 CI 3.0 to 19.27), living with a partner (OR: 17.47 CI, 3.63 to 83.94), early initiation of sex (OR: 1.95 CI, 0.69 to 5.5), the number of sexual partners (OR: 1.70 CI, 0.74 to 3.86), the father's education level (OR: 3.05 CI 1.01 to 9.22), the fact of having been raped (OR: 3.66 CI, 1.12 to 11.96) and family income (OR: 3.98 CI, 1,45-10, 92). The study found that age, socioeconomic status, occupation, living with the couple, early initiation of sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, the educational level of the father, having been raped and the family income were associated with teenage pregnancy in the urban area of Briceño.

Family economic empowerment and mental health among AIDS-affected children living in AIDS-impacted communities: evidence from a randomised evaluation in southwestern Uganda.

PubMed

Han, Chang-Keun; Ssewamala, Fred M; Wang, Julia Shu-Huah

2013-03-01

The authors examine whether an innovative family economic empowerment intervention addresses mental health functioning of AIDS-affected children in communities heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. A cluster randomised controlled trial consisting of two study arms, a treatment condition (n=179) and a control condition (n=118), was used to examine the impact of the family economic empowerment intervention on children's levels of hopelessness and depression. The intervention comprised matched children savings accounts, financial management workshops and mentorship. Data were collected at baseline and 12 months post-intervention. Using multivariate analysis with several socioeconomic controls, the authors find that children in the treatment condition (receiving the intervention) report significant improvement in their mental health functioning. Specifically, the intervention reduces hopelessness and depression levels. On the other hand, children in the control condition (not receiving the intervention) report no changes on both measures. The findings indicate that children with poor mental health functioning living in communities affected by HIV/AIDS may benefit from innovative family economic empowerment interventions. As measures of mental health functioning, both hopelessness and depression have long-term negative psychosocial and developmental impacts on children. These findings have implications for public health programmes intended for long-term care and support of children living in resource poor AIDS-impacted communities.

Sibship size, birth order, family structure and childhood mental disorders.

PubMed

Carballo, Juan J; García-Nieto, Rebeca; Alvarez-García, Raquel; Caro-Cañizares, Irene; López-Castromán, Jorge; Muñoz-Lorenzo, Laura; de Leon-Martinez, Victoria; Baca-García, Enrique

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to determine the role that birth order, sibship size and family structure have as risk factors in the development of common childhood mental disorders. A case-control study design was conducted (N = 16,823). The group under study consisted of all those subjects who had consulted with a psychiatrist/psychologist and had received a clinical diagnosis at public mental health centres within the Region of Madrid (Spain), between 1980 and 2008. A multiple logistic regression was used to explore the independent association with each diagnosis: emotional disorders (ED) with onset specific to childhood, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), mental retardation (MR), and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Birth order and family structure significantly predicted the risk of being diagnosed with ED or ADHD. In addition, sibship size and sex predicted the risk of being diagnosed with a childhood mental disorder. We concluded that being the middle child and living with both biological parents appear to be protective factors against the development of ED or ADHD. Living in large families appears to increase the risk of receiving a CD, MR, or PDD diagnosis. Further research is warranted.

Pore-forming activity and structural autoinhibition of the gasdermin family.

PubMed

Ding, Jingjin; Wang, Kun; Liu, Wang; She, Yang; Sun, Qi; Shi, Jianjin; Sun, Hanzi; Wang, Da-Cheng; Shao, Feng

2016-07-07

Inflammatory caspases cleave the gasdermin D (GSDMD) protein to trigger pyroptosis, a lytic form of cell death that is crucial for immune defences and diseases. GSDMD contains a functionally important gasdermin-N domain that is shared in the gasdermin family. The functional mechanism of action of gasdermin proteins is unknown. Here we show that the gasdermin-N domains of the gasdermin proteins GSDMD, GSDMA3 and GSDMA can bind membrane lipids, phosphoinositides and cardiolipin, and exhibit membrane-disrupting cytotoxicity in mammalian cells and artificially transformed bacteria. Gasdermin-N moved to the plasma membrane during pyroptosis. Purified gasdermin-N efficiently lysed phosphoinositide/cardiolipin-containing liposomes and formed pores on membranes made of artificial or natural phospholipid mixtures. Most gasdermin pores had an inner diameter of 10–14 nm and contained 16 symmetric protomers. The crystal structure of GSDMA3 showed an autoinhibited two-domain architecture that is conserved in the gasdermin family. Structure-guided mutagenesis demonstrated that the liposome-leakage and pore-forming activities of the gasdermin-N domain are required for pyroptosis. These findings reveal the mechanism for pyroptosis and provide insights into the roles of the gasdermin family in necrosis, immunity and diseases.

Retention of Economics Principles by Undergraduates on Alternative Curricular Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Daniel K. N.; Lybecker, Kristina M.; Taylor, Corrine H.

2011-01-01

The authors investigated whether the curricular structure of an economics course (semester, trimester, or compressed block schedule) has an effect on an undergraduate's subsequent retention of course material, while controlling for other relevant differences. They tested separately for theoretical or process comprehension and for graphical…

The impacts of rapid demographic transition on family structure and income inequality in Brazil, 1981-2011.

PubMed

Maia, Alexandre Gori; Sakamoto, Camila Strobl

2016-11-01

This study analysed the impact of changing family structure on income distribution. Specifically, it analysed how changes in the proportions of different categories of family in the population contributed to increases in the income of the richest and poorest social strata in Brazil, and the consequent impacts on income inequality. Rural and urban families were compared in order to understand how these dynamics had different impacts on more developed (urban) and less developed (rural) areas. The results emphasize how changes observed in family structure are more pronounced among the richest families, contributing to an increase in (i) the income of the richest families and (ii) income inequality between the richest and poorest families, as well as between urban and rural areas.

Family Life Course Transitions and Rural Household Economy During China’s Market Reform

PubMed Central

CHEN, FEINIAN; KORINEK, KIM

2010-01-01

This article investigates the effect of family life course transitions on labor allocation strategies in rural Chinese households. We highlight three types of economic activity that involve reallocation of household labor oriented toward a more diversified, nonfarm rural economy: involvement in wage employment, household entrepreneurship, and/or multiple activities that span economic sectors. With the use of data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS 1997, 2000, and 2004), our longitudinal analyses of rural household economic activity point to the significance of household demography, life course transitions, and local economic structures as factors facilitating household labor reallocation. First, as expected, a relatively youthful household structure is conducive to innovative economic behavior. Second, household entrances and exits are significant, but their impacts are not equal. Life events such as births, deaths, marriage, or leaving home for school or employment affect household economy in distinctive ways. Finally, the reallocations of household labor undertaken by households are shaped by local economic structures: in particular, the extent of village-level entrepreneurial activity, off-farm employment, and out-migration. PMID:21308566

Changing Family Forms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seibert, M. Therese; Willetts, Marion C.

2000-01-01

Explores the definition of family. Considers three facets of the contemporary family measured by U.S. Census statistics: (1) marriage and divorce trends; (2) declining fertility; and (3) the rise in single-headed families. Addresses the societal changes (economic, cultural, legal, and technological) that have influenced the changes in family…

Comparison of Family Power Structure and Identity Style Between Delinquent and Non-Delinquent Juveniles

PubMed Central

Khodabakhshi Koolaee, Anahita; Rahmatizadeh, Masoumeh; Shaghelanilor, Hossein; Pocock, Lesley

2015-01-01

Background: Adolescence denotes a time in which youth begins to experience dangerous behaviors like substance use and delinquency. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the family power structure and identity style in delinquent and non-delinquent juveniles residing in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods: To accomplish the goal of the study, 80 adolescent delinquents of the correction and rehabilitation centers aged between 15 and 18 years were selected with convenience sampling method and 80 students of secondary school age between 15 and 18 years in Tehran, Iran in 2012. They answered the instrument of family power structure (Saidian, 2004) and identity style (ISI-6G: White et al. 1998). The obtained data were analyzed using the independent t-test, chi-square test, and Levene’s test. Results: The findings indicated a significant difference between delinquent and non-delinquent juveniles with regard to family power structure, its subscales (P < 0.001), and identity style (P < 0.001). Moreover, the informational identity style was associated with lower levels of delinquency. In addition, a diffuse-evident identity style was related to the delinquency. Conclusions: These results emphasize that the inappropriate decision-making process pattern in a family has a significant effect on deviant behavior and identity style in adolescents. So, family power structure can be considered in therapeutic interventions (prevention and treatment) for adolescent delinquency. PMID:26834795

Black Grandmothers in Multigenerational Households: Diversity in Family Structure and Parenting Involvement in the Woodlawn Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Jane L.; And Others

1990-01-01

This study explored family structures in which grandmothers and grandchildren share residences; the degree to which grandmothers participated in parenting activities; and variability in grandmothers' parenting involvement resulting from their employment status and the family structure. (PCB)

Family Environment and Childhood Obesity: A New Framework with Structural Equation Modeling

PubMed Central

Huang, Hui; Wan Mohamed Radzi, Che Wan Jasimah bt; Salarzadeh Jenatabadi, Hashem

2017-01-01

The main purpose of the current article is to introduce a framework of the complexity of childhood obesity based on the family environment. A conceptual model that quantifies the relationships and interactions among parental socioeconomic status, family food security level, child’s food intake and certain aspects of parental feeding behaviour is presented using the structural equation modeling (SEM) concept. Structural models are analysed in terms of the direct and indirect connections among latent and measurement variables that lead to the child weight indicator. To illustrate the accuracy, fit, reliability and validity of the introduced framework, real data collected from 630 families from Urumqi (Xinjiang, China) were considered. The framework includes two categories of data comprising the normal body mass index (BMI) range and obesity data. The comparison analysis between two models provides some evidence that in obesity modeling, obesity data must be extracted from the dataset and analysis must be done separately from the normal BMI range. This study may be helpful for researchers interested in childhood obesity modeling based on family environment. PMID:28208833

Family Environment and Childhood Obesity: A New Framework with Structural Equation Modeling.

PubMed

Huang, Hui; Wan Mohamed Radzi, Che Wan Jasimah Bt; Salarzadeh Jenatabadi, Hashem

2017-02-13

The main purpose of the current article is to introduce a framework of the complexity of childhood obesity based on the family environment. A conceptual model that quantifies the relationships and interactions among parental socioeconomic status, family food security level, child's food intake and certain aspects of parental feeding behaviour is presented using the structural equation modeling (SEM) concept. Structural models are analysed in terms of the direct and indirect connections among latent and measurement variables that lead to the child weight indicator. To illustrate the accuracy, fit, reliability and validity of the introduced framework, real data collected from 630 families from Urumqi (Xinjiang, China) were considered. The framework includes two categories of data comprising the normal body mass index (BMI) range and obesity data. The comparison analysis between two models provides some evidence that in obesity modeling, obesity data must be extracted from the dataset and analysis must be done separately from the normal BMI range. This study may be helpful for researchers interested in childhood obesity modeling based on family environment.

Predictive Bcl-2 Family Binding Models Rooted in Experiment or Structure

PubMed Central

DeBartolo, Joe; Dutta, Sanjib; Reich, Lothar; Keating, Amy E.

2013-01-01

Proteins of the Bcl-2 family either enhance or suppress programmed cell death and are centrally involved in cancer development and resistance to chemotherapy. BH3 (Bcl-2 homology 3)-only Bcl-2 proteins promote cell death by docking an α-helix into a hydrophobic groove on the surface of one or more of five pro-survival Bcl-2 receptor proteins. There is high structural homology within the pro-death and pro-survival families, yet a high degree of interaction specificity is nevertheless encoded, posing an interesting and important molecular recognition problem. Understanding protein features that dictate Bcl-2 interaction specificity is critical for designing peptide-based cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. In this study, we present peptide SPOT arrays and deep sequencing data from yeast display screening experiments that significantly expand the BH3 sequence space that has been experimentally tested for interaction with five human anti-apoptotic receptors. These data provide rich information about the determinants of Bcl-2 family specificity. To interpret and use the information, we constructed two simple data-based models that can predict affinity and specificity when evaluated on independent data sets within a limited sequence space. We also constructed a novel structure-based statistical potential, called STATIUM, which is remarkably good at predicting Bcl-2 affinity and specificity, especially considering it is not trained on experimental data. We compare the performance of our three models to each other and to alternative structure-based methods and discuss how such tools can guide prediction and design of new Bcl-2 family complexes. PMID:22617328

Associations between Children's Physical Activities, Sedentary Behaviours and Family Structure: A Sequential Mixed Methods Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quarmby, T.; Dagkas, S.; Bridge, M.

2011-01-01

This mixed method paper explored the effect of family structure on children's physical activities and sedentary pursuits. It furthers the limited understanding of how family structure impacts on children's time in, and reasons behind engaging in, certain physical activities. Children from three inner city comprehensive schools in the Midlands,…

Receiving or believing in family support? Contributors to the life quality of Latino and non-Latino families of children with intellectual disability.

PubMed

Cohen, S R; Holloway, S D; Domínguez-Pareto, I; Kuppermann, M

2014-04-01

Previous studies have identified the role of family support in mitigating the stress of parents caring for a child with intellectual disability. Less is known about families whose members are willing but unable to support each other because of geographical, structural and economic barriers. Our study examined the contribution to family quality of life (FQL) of family support beliefs, actual assistance from family members, as well as the moderating effects of ethnicity and household income. We conducted telephone interviews with 84 Latino and 61 non-Latino mothers. Mothers who received more emotional support from partners and other family members reported a higher FQL, controlling for family characteristics. Familism beliefs were also associated with FQL, particularly for Latino mothers. Income was not a significant moderator. These findings suggest that some predictors of FQL are partially moderated by ethnicity, while others may be powerful across diverse communities. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, MENCAP & IASSIDD.

Structural and Interpersonal Characteristics of Family Meals: Associations with Adolescent BMI and Dietary Patterns

PubMed Central

Berge, Jerica M.; Jin, Seok Won; Hannan, Peter; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2013-01-01

The last decade of research has suggested that family meals play an important role in promoting healthful dietary intake in youth. However, little is known about the structural characteristics and interpersonal dynamics of family meals that may help to inform why family meals are protective for youth. The current mixed methods, cross-sectional study conducted in 2010–2011 includes adolescents and parents who participated in two linked population-based studies. Participants included 40 parents (91.5% female) and adolescents (57.5% female) from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area participating in EAT 2010 and F-EAT. The structural (e.g. length of the meal, types of foods served) and interpersonal characteristics (e.g., communication, emotion/affect management) of family meals were described and associations between interpersonal dynamics at family meals and adolescent body mass index (BMI) and dietary intake were examined via direct observational methods. Families were video-recorded during two mealtimes in their homes. Results indicated that family meals were approximately 20 minutes in length, included multiple family members, were typically served family style (70%) and occurred in the kitchen 62% of the time and 38% of the time in another room (e.g., family room, office). Additionally, significant associations were found between positive interpersonal dynamics (i.e., communication, affect management, interpersonal involvement, overall family functioning) at family meals and lower adolescent BMI and higher vegetable intake. These findings add to the growing body of literature on family meals by providing a better understanding of what is happening at family meals in order to inform obesity prevention studies and recommendations for providers working with families of youth. PMID:23567247

Predictors of Parenting among Economically Disadvantaged Latina Mothers: Mediating and Moderating Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prelow, Hazel M.; Weaver, Scott R.; Bowman, Marvella A.; Swenson, Rebecca R.

2010-01-01

Structural equation modeling was used to examine the role of ecological risk factors, maternal psychological distress, and social network support on the parenting behaviors of 535 economically disadvantaged Latina mothers, who were surveyed for the Welfare Children, & Families: A Three City Study. We predicted that ecological risk would…

Assessment of family functioning in Caucasian and Hispanic Americans: reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Family Assessment Device.

PubMed

Aarons, Gregory A; McDonald, Elizabeth J; Connelly, Cynthia D; Newton, Rae R

2007-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) among a national sample of Caucasian and Hispanic American families receiving public sector mental health services. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted to test model fit yielded equivocal findings. With few exceptions, indices of model fit, reliability, and validity were poorer for Hispanic Americans compared with Caucasian Americans. Contrary to our expectation, an exploratory factor analysis did not result in a better fitting model of family functioning. Without stronger evidence supporting a reformulation of the FAD, we recommend against such a course of action. Findings highlight the need for additional research on the role of culture in measurement of family functioning.

Community Violence in Context: Risk and Resilience in Children and Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aisenberg, Eugene; Herrenkohl, Todd

2008-01-01

Although some community violence research has examined the context of community violence, including the social, economic, and structural organization of neighborhoods, more needs to be learned about family, school, and community-level factors that may promote and lessen the incidence and prevalence of community violence. In addition, further…

The role of economic evaluation in the decision-making process of family physicians: design and methods of a qualitative embedded multiple-case study

PubMed Central

Lessard, Chantale; Contandriopoulos, André-Pierre; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique

2009-01-01

Background A considerable amount of resource allocation decisions take place daily at the point of the clinical encounter; especially in primary care, where 80 percent of health problems are managed. Ignoring economic evaluation evidence in individual clinical decision-making may have a broad impact on the efficiency of health services. To date, almost all studies on the use of economic evaluation in decision-making used a quantitative approach, and few investigated decision-making at the clinical level. An important question is whether economic evaluations affect clinical practice. The project is an intervention research study designed to understand the role of economic evaluation in the decision-making process of family physicians (FPs). The contributions of the project will be from the perspective of Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory. Methods/design A qualitative research strategy is proposed. We will conduct an embedded multiple-case study design. Ten case studies will be performed. The FPs will be the unit of analysis. The sampling strategies will be directed towards theoretical generalization. The 10 selected cases will be intended to reflect a diversity of FPs. There will be two embedded units of analysis: FPs (micro-level of analysis) and field of family medicine (macro-level of analysis). The division of the determinants of practice/behaviour into two groups, corresponding to the macro-structural level and the micro-individual level, is the basis for Bourdieu's mode of analysis. The sources of data collection for the micro-level analysis will be 10 life history interviews with FPs, documents and observational evidence. The sources of data collection for the macro-level analysis will be documents and 9 open-ended, focused interviews with key informants from medical associations and academic institutions. The analytic induction approach to data analysis will be used. A list of codes will be generated based on both the original framework and new themes

Extended kin and children's behavioral functioning: Family structure and parental immigrant status.

PubMed

Kang, Jeehye; Cohen, Philip N

2017-08-01

Using the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A. FANS), this paper examines the association between the presence of co-resident extended kin and children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The paper demonstrates the differential role of extended kin by family structure, as well as across parental immigrant status - specifically, nativity and documentation status. Children in the sample were found to be disadvantaged in extended family households, especially with regard to internalizing behaviors. This disadvantageous association was found mostly among married-parent extended family households, whereas there was no association between the presence of extended kin and behavior problems in children from single-parent families. This pattern emerged more clearly among children of documented immigrants, compared to those with native-born parents and those whose parents were unauthorized immigrants. These findings suggest a need to modify previous theories on extended family living arrangements; they also provide policy implications for immigrant families. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family Instability and Early Initiation of Sexual Activity in Western Kenya

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Epidemiological, economic, and social forces have produced high levels of volatility in family and household structure for young people growing up in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades. However, scholarship on the family to date has not examined the influence of this family instability on young people’s well-being. The current study employs unique life history calendar data from Western Kenya to investigate the relationship between instability in caregiving and early initiation of sexual activity. It draws on a body of work on parental union instability in the United States, and examines new dimensions of family change. Analyses reveal a positive association between transitions in primary caregiver and the likelihood of early sexual debut that is rapidly manifested following caregiver change and persists for a short period. The association is strongest at early ages, and there is a cumulative effect of multiple caregiver changes. The results highlight the importance of studying family stability in sub-Saharan Africa, as distinct from family structure, and for attention to dimensions such as age and recency. PMID:23055236

Family instability and early initiation of sexual activity in Western Kenya.

PubMed

Goldberg, Rachel E

2013-04-01

Epidemiological, economic, and social forces have produced high levels of volatility in family and household structure for young people growing up in sub-Saharan Africa in recent decades. However, scholarship on the family to date has not examined the influence of this family instability on young people's well-being. The current study employs unique life history calendar data from Western Kenya to investigate the relationship between instability in caregiving and early initiation of sexual activity. It draws on a body of work on parental union instability in the United States, and examines new dimensions of family change. Analyses reveal a positive association between transitions in primary caregiver and the likelihood of early sexual debut that is rapidly manifested following caregiver change and persists for a short period. The association is strongest at early ages, and there is a cumulative effect of multiple caregiver changes. The results highlight the importance of studying family stability in sub-Saharan Africa, as distinct from family structure, and for attention to dimensions such as age and recency.

A Framework for Developing the Structure of Public Health Economic Models.

PubMed

Squires, Hazel; Chilcott, James; Akehurst, Ronald; Burr, Jennifer; Kelly, Michael P

2016-01-01

A conceptual modeling framework is a methodology that assists modelers through the process of developing a model structure. Public health interventions tend to operate in dynamically complex systems. Modeling public health interventions requires broader considerations than clinical ones. Inappropriately simple models may lead to poor validity and credibility, resulting in suboptimal allocation of resources. This article presents the first conceptual modeling framework for public health economic evaluation. The framework presented here was informed by literature reviews of the key challenges in public health economic modeling and existing conceptual modeling frameworks; qualitative research to understand the experiences of modelers when developing public health economic models; and piloting a draft version of the framework. The conceptual modeling framework comprises four key principles of good practice and a proposed methodology. The key principles are that 1) a systems approach to modeling should be taken; 2) a documented understanding of the problem is imperative before and alongside developing and justifying the model structure; 3) strong communication with stakeholders and members of the team throughout model development is essential; and 4) a systematic consideration of the determinants of health is central to identifying the key impacts of public health interventions. The methodology consists of four phases: phase A, aligning the framework with the decision-making process; phase B, identifying relevant stakeholders; phase C, understanding the problem; and phase D, developing and justifying the model structure. Key areas for further research involve evaluation of the framework in diverse case studies and the development of methods for modeling individual and social behavior. This approach could improve the quality of Public Health economic models, supporting efficient allocation of scarce resources. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics

Structural, functional and evolutionary characterization of major drought transcription factors families in maize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mittal, Shikha; Banduni, Pooja; Mallikarjuna, Mallana G.; Rao, Atmakuri R.; Jain, Prashant A.; Dash, Prasanta K.; Thirunavukkarasu, Nepolean

2018-05-01

Drought is one of the major threats to maize production. In order to improve the production and to breed tolerant hybrids, understanding the genes and regulatory mechanisms during drought stress is important. Transcription factors (TFs) play a major role in gene regulation and many TFs have been identified in response to drought stress. In our experiment, a set of 15 major TF families comprising 1436 genes was structurally and functionally characterized using in-silico tools and a gene expression assay. All 1436 genes were mapped on 10 chromosome of maize. The functional annotation indicated the involvement of these genes in ABA signaling, ROS scavenging, photosynthesis, stomatal regulation, and sucrose metabolism. Duplication was identified as the primary force in divergence and expansion of TF families. Phylogenetic relationship was developed individually for each TF family as well as combined TF families. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the TF family of genes into TF-specific and mixed groups. Phylogenetic analysis of genes belonging to various TF families suggested that the origin of TFs occurred in the lineage of maize evolution. Gene structure analysis revealed that more number of genes were intron-rich as compared to intronless genes. Drought-responsive CRE’s such as ABREA, ABREB, DRE1 and DRECRTCOREAT have been identified. Expression and interaction analyses identified leaf-specific bZIP TF, GRMZM2G140355, as a potential contributor toward drought tolerance in maize. We also analyzed protein-protein interaction network of 269 drought-responsive genes belonging to different drought-related TFs. The information generated on structural and functional characteristics, expression and interaction of the drought-related TF families will be useful to decipher the drought tolerance mechanisms and to derive drought-tolerant genotypes in maize.

Chlorite dismutases, DyPs, and EfeB: 3 microbial heme enzyme families comprise the CDE structural superfamily

PubMed Central

Goblirsch, Brandon; Kurker, Richard C.; Streit, Bennett R.; Wilmot, Carrie M.; DuBois, Jennifer L.

2011-01-01

Heme proteins are extremely diverse, widespread, and versatile biocatalysts, sensors, and molecular transporters. The chlorite dismutase family of hemoproteins received its name due to the ability of the first-isolated members to detoxify anthropogenic ClO2−, a function believed to have evolved only in the last few decades. Family members have since been found in fifteen bacterial and archaeal genera, suggesting ancient roots. A structure- and sequence-based examination of the family is presented, in which key sequence and structural motifs are identified and possible functions for family proteins are proposed. Newly identified structural homologies moreover demonstrate clear connections to two other large, ancient, and functionally mysterious protein families. We propose calling them collectively the CDE superfamily of heme proteins. PMID:21354424

Divorce, Family Structure, and the Academic Success of Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeynes, William

The goal of this book is to examine the relationship between parental family structure, especially parental divorce and/or remarriage, and the academic achievement of children. Much has been written about the need to raise the academic achievement of students from minority backgrounds. However, minority is often defined in terms of skin color and…

Crystal structure of the glycosidase family 73 peptidoglycan hydrolase FlgJ

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hashimoto, Wataru; Ochiai, Akihito; Momma, Keiko

Glycoside hydrolase (GH) categorized into family 73 plays an important role in degrading bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan. The flagellar protein FlgJ contains N- and C-terminal domains responsible for flagellar rod assembly and peptidoglycan hydrolysis, respectively. A member of family GH-73, the C-terminal domain (SPH1045-C) of FlgJ from Sphingomonas sp. strain A1 was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized. SPH1045-C exhibited bacterial cell lytic activity most efficiently at pH 6.0 and 37 deg. C. The X-ray crystallographic structure of SPH1045-C was determined at 1.74 A resolution by single-wavelength anomalous diffraction. The enzyme consists of two lobes, {alpha} and {beta}. Amore » deep cleft located between the two lobes can accommodate polymer molecules, suggesting that the active site is located in the cleft. Although SPH1045-C shows a structural homology with family GH-22 and GH-23 lysozymes, the arrangement of the nucleophile/base residue in the active site is specific to each peptidoglycan hydrolase.« less

Family Structure and Income During the Stages of Childhood and Subsequent Prosocial Behavior in Young Adulthood

PubMed Central

Bandy, Robert; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark

2012-01-01

This study investigated whether family structure transition and low income are risk factors in the development of prosocial behavior. Models of young adults’ prosocial behavior – charitable giving and volunteering – were estimated as functions of their family structure and income during the stages of childhood. Participants were a representative sample of 1,011 American young adults. In the full sample, family structure transition during adolescence was negatively associated with subsequent charitable giving in young adulthood. Low income during adolescence was negatively associated with both giving and volunteering in young adulthood. European-American young men also exhibited a negative association between family structure transition during adolescence and subsequent volunteering. The results did not seem to describe African-American young adults. Keeping this qualification in mind, the results suggest that adolescence is a sensitive stage in the development of charitable giving and volunteering. PMID:22414561

Does Family Structure Play a Role in Depression in Adolescents Admitted to Psychiatric Inpatient Care?

PubMed

Laukkanen, Matti; Hakko, Helinä; Riipinen, Pirkko; Riala, Kaisa

2016-12-01

We examined whether adolescents' family structure associate with depression in a clinical sample of 508 adolescents (age 13-17 years) treated in psychiatric hospital between April 2001 and March 2006. Psychiatric disorders of adolescents were based on the K-SADS-PL-interview. Adolescents with depression were characterized by a single parent family background (58 %), but less commonly by a child welfare placement (37 %). Depression in adolescents was significantly related to female gender and a single parent family background, but less significantly related to comorbid psychotic or conducts disorders. The association between family structure and depression presents a challenge to mental health services. Early screening for depression in adolescents admitted for psychiatric treatment from "at risk" family types is important to enhance their future wellbeing and coping strategies.

Family resources study: part 1: family resources, family function and caregiver strain in childhood cancer

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Severe illness can disrupt family life, cause family dysfunction, strain resources, and cause caregiver burden. The family's ability to cope with crises depends on their resources. This study sought to assess families of children with cancer in terms of family function-dysfunction, family caregiver strain and the adequacy of family resources using a new family resources assessment instrument. Methods This is a cross-sectional study involving 90 Filipino family caregivers of children undergoing cancer treatment. This used a self-administered questionnaire composed of a new 12-item family resources questionnaire (SCREEM-RES) based on the SCREEM method of analysis, Family APGAR to assess family function-dysfunction; and Modified Caregiver Strain Index to assess strain in caring for the patient. Results More than half of families were either moderately or severely dysfunctional. Close to half of caregivers were either predisposed to strain or experienced severe strain, majority disclosed that their families have inadequate economic resources; many also report inaccessibility to medical help in the community and insufficient educational resources to understand and care for their patients. Resources most often reported as adequate were: family's faith and religion; help from within the family and from health providers. SCREEM-RES showed to be reliable with Cronbach's alpha of 0.80. There is good inter-item correlation between items in each domain: 0.24-0.70. Internal consistency reliability for each domain was also good: 0.40-0.92. Using 2-point scoring system, Cronbach's alpha were slightly lower: full scale (0.70) and for each domain 0.26-.82. Results showed evidence of association between family resources and family function based on the family APGAR but none between family resources and caregiver strain and between family function and caregiver strain. Conclusion Many Filipino families of children with cancer have inadequate resources, especially economic

Family resources study: part 1: family resources, family function and caregiver strain in childhood cancer.

PubMed

Panganiban-Corales, Avegeille T; Medina, Manuel F

2011-10-31

Severe illness can disrupt family life, cause family dysfunction, strain resources, and cause caregiver burden. The family's ability to cope with crises depends on their resources. This study sought to assess families of children with cancer in terms of family function-dysfunction, family caregiver strain and the adequacy of family resources using a new family resources assessment instrument. This is a cross-sectional study involving 90 Filipino family caregivers of children undergoing cancer treatment. This used a self-administered questionnaire composed of a new 12-item family resources questionnaire (SCREEM-RES) based on the SCREEM method of analysis, Family APGAR to assess family function-dysfunction; and Modified Caregiver Strain Index to assess strain in caring for the patient. More than half of families were either moderately or severely dysfunctional. Close to half of caregivers were either predisposed to strain or experienced severe strain, majority disclosed that their families have inadequate economic resources; many also report inaccessibility to medical help in the community and insufficient educational resources to understand and care for their patients. Resources most often reported as adequate were: family's faith and religion; help from within the family and from health providers. SCREEM-RES showed to be reliable with Cronbach's alpha of 0.80. There is good inter-item correlation between items in each domain: 0.24-0.70. Internal consistency reliability for each domain was also good: 0.40-0.92. Using 2-point scoring system, Cronbach's alpha were slightly lower: full scale (0.70) and for each domain 0.26-.82. Results showed evidence of association between family resources and family function based on the family APGAR but none between family resources and caregiver strain and between family function and caregiver strain. Many Filipino families of children with cancer have inadequate resources, especially economic; and are moderately or severely

A Supplementary Program for Environmental Education, Home Economics, Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warpinski, Robert

Presented in this teacher's guide for beginning, intermediate, and advanced grades are lesson plans and ideas for integrating home economics (family living, child development, family consumer economics, family housing and interiors, family foods and nutrition, and family clothing and textiles) and environmental education. Each lesson originates…

Class 2 design update for the family of commuter airplanes