Mutual Influences Between Parental Psychological Distress and Alcohol Use and Child Problem Behavior in a Cohort of Urban African Americans

Family Matters: Research on Family Ties and Health, 2010-2020

Family ties have wide-ranging consequences for health, for better and for worse. This decade review uses a life course perspective to frame significant advances in research on the effects of family structure and transitions (e.g., marital status), and family dynamics and quality (e.g., emotional support from family members), on health across the life course. Significant advances include the linking of childhood family experiences to health at older ages, identification of biosocial processes that explain how family ties influence health throughout life, research on social contagion showing how family members influence one another's health, and attention to diversity in family and health dynamics, including gender, sexuality, socioeconomic, and racial diversity. Significant innovations in methods include dyadic and family-level analysis and causal inference strategies. The review concludes by identifying directions for future research on families and health, advocating for a "family biography" framework to guide future research, and calling for more research specifically designed to assess policies that affect families and their health from childhood into later life.

Household member substance problems and children's health in the United States

A sizable number of children are exposed to household member substance problems, an adverse childhood experience (ACE), yet little research uses a nationally representative sample of U.S. children to examine this association. We used newly released data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized children in the United States, and logistic regression models to investigate the relationship between household member substance problems and 14 indicators of children's health. We find 9.0% of children in the United States have experienced household member substance problems. We also find children exposed to household member substance problems are more likely to have health problems than children not exposed to household member substance problems, but that most of these descriptive differences can be explained by household characteristics and other ACEs. Children exposed to household member substance problems are a vulnerable population. Given that household member substance problems are concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged children, children at a greater risk of health problems than their counterparts, this ACE may exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities in children's health.

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Household member substance problems is an adverse childhood experience (ACE).

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9.0% of U.S. children have experienced household member substance problems.

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Household member substance problems are associated with health problems.

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This ACE may exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequalities in children's health.

Child-based treatment of oppositional defiant disorder: mediating effects on parental depression, anxiety and stress

Previous research has shown that child-oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorders (CD) are associated with parental symptoms of depression, anxiety and/or stress, probably in a bidirectional relationship with mutual influences. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that in child-centered treatment, a decrease in child-oppositional behavior problems constitutes (at least in part) a mechanism of change for a subsequent reduction in parental psychopathology. The aim of the present study (Clinical trials.gov Identifier: NCT01406067) was to examine whether the reduction in ODD symptoms due to child-based cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) led to a reduction in parental depression, anxiety and stress. Eighty-one boys (age 6-12 years) with a diagnosis of ODD/CD were randomized either to a cognitive behavioral intervention group or an educational play group (acting as control group). Mediation analyses were conducted using path analysis. The stronger reduction in child ODD symptoms in the CBT group compared to the control group led to a decrease in parental depression and stress, as indicated by significant indirect effects (ab = 0.07 and ab = 0.08, p < 0.05). The proposed model for mechanisms of change was, therefore, confirmed for two of the three outcome parameters. Parental psychopathology and stress can be modified by child-centered CBT. The preceding reduction in ODD symptoms acts as a mediator for at least some of the changes in parental depression and stress. However, due to some limitations of the study, other possible explanations for the results found cannot be completely ruled out and are, therefore, discussed.

The Role of Child and Adolescent Adjustment Problems and Sleep Disturbance in Parent Psychological Distress

The goal of this study was to examine the moderating role of youth sleep disturbance on the relationship between youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms and parent psychological distress. Participants were 225 youth (ages 8-17) and parent dyads attending a primary care clinic appointment. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed parent psychological distress, youth internalizing symptoms, youth externalizing symptoms, and youth sleep disturbance. Moderation analyses were conducted to examine whether youth sleep disturbance moderated the relationship between youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms and parent psychological distress. The interaction between youth internalizing symptoms and youth sleep disturbance was significantly related to parent psychological distress, such that having increased sleep disturbance amplified the positive relationship between internalizing symptoms and parent psychological distress. The moderation model explained 52% of the variance in parent psychological distress. The interaction between youth externalizing symptoms and youth sleep disturbance was also significantly related to parent psychological distress, such that increased sleep disturbance amplified the positive relationship between externalizing symptoms and parent psychological distress. This model accounted for 53% of the variance in parent psychological distress. Greater youth sleep disturbance strengthens the positive relationship between youth internalizing/externalizing symptoms and parent psychological distress. Accordingly, reducing youth sleep disturbance may serve as an appropriate intervention target in families experiencing increased parent psychological distress.

"Just make sure you can get up and parent the next day": Understanding the contexts, risks, and rewards of alcohol consumption for parents

Little is known about how parents make drinking decisions and weigh the risks and rewards of alcohol consumption in specific contexts. This qualitative study examined two questions: 1. What factors influence parental drinking decisions in different drinking contexts? 2. What do parents perceive as the risks and rewards of alcohol consumption in different drinking contexts? Purposive sampling was used to select sixty parents of children aged 10 or younger living in four mid-sized California cities. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Many parents viewed drinking at family get-togethers or parties as protective of children, since the presence of multiple adults and children provide buffers when parents become intoxicated. In contrast, parents noted that drinking at home, and particularly drinking alone, transmitted potentially negative messages. Social pressures and contexts influence alcohol consumption among parents and could provide potential avenues for intervention against alcohol-related harms.