Parenting an Adolescent: The Case of the Avoidant Highly Sensitive Mother.

This research examines parental practices of Israeli highly sensitive mothers toward their adolescent children and the role of attachment avoidance as a moderator between the associations of high sensitivity and parenting practices. One hundred and one mother-adolescent dyads completed self-report questionnaires assessing mothers' degree of high sensitivity, mothers' adult attachment, and mothers' parenting practices. Results showed that highly sensitive mothers were described by their adolescent children as inconsistent and intrusive parents. Further, attachment avoidance was found to moderate the association between mothers' high sensitivity and inconsistent and psychological intrusiveness. Findings suggest that attachment avoidant highly sensitive mothers experience this period of raising adolescents as especially stressful and challenging, which contributes to the practice of negative parenting. Thus, interventions focused on regulating those mothers' emotions to better cope with parental challenges could buffer negative parenting practices.

Birthing consciousness and the flow experience during physiological childbirth.

PROBLEM: It has been demonstrated that birth without medical intervention conveys significant physical and psychological benefits to the mother and her newborn baby. However, there is a need to include women's subjective experience of physiological birth to understand and promote it. BACKGROUND: The theoretical concept of "birthing consciousness" hypothesizes that women during natural childbirth sometimes experience a specific altered state of consciousness, which is a positive peak experience that resembles "flow" in many aspects. AIM: To investigate the underexplored connection between the physiological mode of childbirth and altered states of consciousness during childbirth. METHODS: Israeli women with childbirth experience were recruited through social media (Facebook groups with a focus on childbirth and motherhood). Participants (n = 766) completed an online survey: the Flow State Scale (FSS) and a demographic questionnaire. FINDINGS: Differences were found between modes of birth as to flow state, as women who experienced physiological childbirth (i.e., with no epidural anesthesia or instrumental interventions) had a higher flow state during birth. DISCUSSION: This link empirically confirms the phenomenon of birthing consciousness. All nine dimensions of the mental state of flow apply to childbirth: challenge-skill balance, action-awareness merging, clear goals, unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task, sense of control, loss of self-consciousness, transformation of time, and autotelic experience. CONCLUSION: Understanding a women's subjective experience during physiological birth can enhance clinical understanding of physiological birth thus promoting positive physiological birth experiences - which has crucial health benefits. We propose that more studies need to be done to promote experiencing flow during physiological birth.

Resolution of a Parent's Disease: Attachment and Well-Being in Offspring of Parents Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common chronic, progressive neurodegenerative diseases, with well-developed research focusing on the caregiver-spouse showing low well-being along with predeath grief and feelings of loss among caregivers. However, offspring of a parent diagnosed with PD may also suffer predeath grief and loss even if they are not their parent's main caregiver. Yet, this research is not well developed. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current study was to examine offspring's coming to terms with their parent's PD and the well-being of the offspring, within the conceptual framework of attachment theory. METHODS: Seventy-one Israeli adult children of parents with PD participated in the study and completed self-report questionnaires assessing their resolution of their parent's PD, attachment, well-being, and the severity of the PD symptoms. RESULTS: Results showed that attachment anxiety negatively associated with higher resolution of the parent's disease, beyond the effect of the PD symptoms' severity. In addition, resolution of the parent's disease was positively associated with the offspring's well-being. CONCLUSION: Resolution of a parent's PD is highly challenging for offspring with attachment anxiety. Therefore, targeting these individuals within the offspring of parents diagnosed with PD may assist them with coping during this challenging period. This may be especially impactful, as research shows that those offspring who resolve their parent's PD also have higher well-being.

Filial Maturity, Resolution of a Parent's Disease, and Well-Being in Offspring of Parents Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia. However, research dealing with the experience of adult children of a parent diagnosed with AD, regardless of whether the offspring is a caregiver, is not well developed. OBJECTIVE: The current research is a cross-sectional study that examines the associations between filial maturity, offspring's coming to terms with their parent's AD, and the well-being of the offspring. METHOD: one hundred and forty Israeli adult children of parents with AD participated in the study and completed self-report questionnaires assessing their filial maturity, resolution of their parent's diagnosis with AD, the adult children's well-being, and the severity of the parent's AD according neurologist's report. RESULTS: Results showed that higher resolution of the parent's disease was positively associated with well-being. In addition, filial maturity was negatively associated with resolution of the parent's disease, and resolution of the parent's disease mediated the association between filial maturity and well-being. CONCLUSION: Resolution of a parent's AD is highly challenging for offspring with high filial maturity, and the lack of resolution affects their well-being. Offering prolonged emotional support for offspring of parents diagnosed with AD may improve their ability to integrate the new reality into their lives and foster their well-being.

COVID-19 related difficulties and perceived coping among university and college students: the moderating role of media-related exposure and stress.

Background: University and college students are not usually identified as a population at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there is growing evidence of their specific distress associated with facing multiple abrupt changes and the need for rapid adaptation to a variety of academic, social, and financial challenges. The extent of their exposure to COVID-19 media and the associated media-related stress may further impair students' perceived coping. Objective: This study assessed COVID-19-related functional difficulties and perceived coping among higher education students in Israel and explored the moderating role played by media coverage of the pandemic in inducing stress and exacerbating COVID-19-related difficulties in perceived coping among students. Method: Data was collected from 7,446 students from seven academic centres in Israel through online questionnaires about four to six weeks after the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel. Results: The findings showed positive associations between COVID-19-related difficulties, media exposure, media-related stress, and decreased levels of perceived coping with the pandemic. Moreover, media-related stress (but not the level of media exposure) moderated the relationship between COVID-19-related difficulties and perceived coping: the associations were significantly stronger for students reporting high media-related stress in comparison to individuals reporting low media-related stress. Conclusions: These results highlight the specific role of media-related stress and the need to distinguish this risk factor from the global impact of exposure to media coverage. The need for self-monitoring of the subjective level of stress associated with media exposure should be part of the psychoeducation efforts provided by public health authorities for promoting self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Antecedentes: Los estudiantes universitarios generalmente no se identifican como una población en riesgo durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Sin embargo, existe una creciente evidencia de angustia específica asociada con enfrentar cambios abruptos múltiples y la necesidad de una rápida adaptación a una variedad de desafíos académicos, sociales y financieros. El alcance de la exposición a los medios de comunicación acerca del COVID-19, y el estrés relacionado a esta exposición, pueden afectar aún más a los estudiantes universitarios en sus estrategias de afrontamiento percibidas.Objetivo: Este estudio evaluó las dificultades funcionales relacionadas con el COVID-19 y el afrontamiento percibido entre los estudiantes de educación superior en Israel y exploró el papel moderador que desempeña la cobertura mediática de la pandemia para inducir estrés y exacerbar las dificultades relacionadas con el COVID-19 en el afrontamiento percibido entre los estudiantes.Método: Se recopilaron datos de 7.446 estudiantes de siete centros académicos en Israel a través de cuestionarios en línea entre cuatro y seis semanas después del estallido de la pandemia en Israel.Resultados: Los hallazgos mostraron asociaciones positivas entre las dificultades relacionadas con COVID-19, la exposición a los medios, el estrés relacionado con los medios y la disminución del nivel de afrontamiento percibido con la pandemia. Además, el estrés relacionado con los medios (pero no el nivel de exposición a los medios) moderó la relación entre las dificultades relacionadas con COVID-19 y el afrontamiento percibido: las asociaciones fueron significativamente más fuertes para los estudiantes que informaron un alto estrés relacionado con los medios en comparación con las personas que informaron un bajo nivel de estrés mediático relacionado.Conclusiones: Estos resultados destacan el papel específico del estrés relacionado con los medios y la necesidad de distinguir este factor de riesgo del impacto global de la exposición a la cobertura de los medios. La necesidad de autocontrol del nivel subjetivo de estrés asociado con la exposición a los medios debe ser parte de los esfuerzos de psicoeducación brindados por las autoridades de salud pública para promover el autocuidado durante la pandemia de COVID-19.

Sweet and Sensitive: Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a recently proposed construct that refers to a genetically influenced tendency to more strongly and deeply process a variety of information. The aim of the study was to examine whether SPS is associated with an autoimmune disease such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were 128 adolescents (62 with T1D and 66 comparisons [without autoimmune disease]) and their parents who completed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) questionnaire, assessing SPS level. RESULTS: Higher levels of SPS were found in the T1D group than in the comparison group. Furthermore, the frequency of SPS trait was significantly higher in the T1D group than in the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: T1D is associated with higher levels of SPS. Hence, there is a need to develop interventions, treatments, and care focused on the needs of T1D patients with SPS temperament, aimed at better treatment adherence. Furthermore, longitudinal research is needed to evaluate whether SPS is a risk factor in the development of T1D.

Sense of Coherence and Parenting Representation among Parents of Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the association between parental sense of coherence (SOC) and maternal and paternal representations of parents of adolescents diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (IDDM). METHOD: Seventy five mothers and fathers of adolescents (age 13-18) diagnosed with IDDM, were recruited. Data were gathered from a demographic and SOC questionnaires, and the Parenting Representations Interview (PRI-A). RESULTS: A significant association was found between mothers' and fathers' SOC and a more balanced description of parenting, and positive correlations between mothers' and fathers' SOC and their representations of the self as parent, representations of the adolescent, and relationships representations. Furthermore, a negative correlation was found between parents' SOC and less differentiated relationships. CONCLUSIONS: SOC may promote well-being in spite of exposure to challenging circumstances as parenting an adolescent with IDDM. It appears that fathers and mothers need to and can be addressed as significant caregivers in any treatment or clinical intervention, as they have a relative involvement in taking care of children and therefore sharing the caregiving responsibilities and functioning as co-primary caregivers.

Parental resolution and the adolescent's health and adjustment: The case of adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

This study examines the association between parents' resolution of their adolescent child's diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and the health and mental adjustment of the adolescents themselves. Parents of 75 adolescents with type 1 diabetes were interviewed using the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview. Parents and adolescents completed questionnaires regarding the child's physical health, self-management of the disease, and behavioral and emotional problems. Physicians reported adolescents' HbA1c levels. Results showed that adolescents whose fathers were resolved with the diagnosis exhibited better diabetes self-management and adolescents whose mothers were resolved with the diagnosis exhibited fewer internalizing and externalizing problems. The findings highlight the different role of mothers and fathers in the treatment of adolescents with diabetes and provide a basis for clinical intervention that focuses not only on adolescent health, but also on parental state of mind regarding the resolution with the disease.

Sense of Coherence and Resolution with Diagnosis among Parents of Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: The current study focuses on parents' sense of coherence and its association to their resolution of the child's disease. METHODS: We conducted a study of 122 mothers and fathers of adolescents who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to assess their SOC and their reactions to their child's diagnosis. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in SOC between parents who have come to terms with their child's disease and parents who have not. CONCLUSION: Findings may testify to the importance of parents' state of mind as a resource for reconstructing their caregiving system.

Parents' sense of coherence and the adolescent's health and emotional and behavioral adjustment: the case of adolescents with diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines parental sense of coherence (SOC) as a resource to health and well-being among adolescents with diabetes. METHOD: Participants were recruited by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and a major pediatric diabetes clinic. Parents of 75 adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed the SOC Questionnaire. Parents and adolescents completed questionnaires regarding the child's physical health, disease self-management, and behavioral problems. Parents and physicians reported adolescent's HbA1c level. RESULTS: Results showed that parents' SOC was positively correlated to adolescents' physical health and negatively to internalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the place of parents in the wellness of adolescents with disease and provide a basis for interventions that enhance adolescents' health and psychological adjustment.