Words matter: The role of family weight talk in anxiety and depression.

Family weight talk, in the forms of both family weight teasing and encouragement to diet, has been linked to numerous adverse outcomes, including increased disordered eating, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and body mass index. However, little is known about its role in mental health outcomes, especially for emerging adults. Utilizing structural equation modeling, we examined the role of family weight teasing (FWT) and parental encouragement to diet in anxiety and depression and explored body weight perception as a moderator within a sample of 292 emerging adults. Results indicated that FWT was significantly associated with increased anxiety and depression. No significant relationships were found between parental encouragement to diet and the outcome variables, and no group differences emerged across body weight perception. Findings of this pilot study can be used to inform future research to decrease family weight talk and improve psychosocial outcomes for emerging adults.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of patient education through patient portals.

Objective: The objective of this study was to systematically review all literature studying the effect of patient education on patient engagement through patient portals. Introduction: Patient portals provide patients access to health records, lab results, medication refills, educational materials, secure messaging, appointment scheduling, and telehealth visits, allowing patients to take a more active role in their health care decisions and management. A debate remains around whether these additional aids actually improve patient engagement and increase their ability to manage their own health conditions. This systematic review looks specifically at the effect of educational materials included in patient portals. Materials and Methods: In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, the literature search was mapped across 5 databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, PsychINFO, Embase), and implemented on June 2, 2020. Results: Fifty-two studies were included in the review. Forty-six (88.5%) reported rates of patient utilization of educational resources in the patient portal. Thirty (57.9%) shared patients' perceptions of the usefulness of the education materials. Twenty-one (40.4%) reported changes in health outcomes following educational interventions through the patient portal. This review found that efforts are indeed being made to raise awareness of educational resources in patient portals, that patients are increasingly utilizing these resources, that patients are finding them useful, and that they are improving health outcomes. Conclusion: It seems that patient portals are becoming a powerful tool for patient education and engagement, and show promise as a means of achieving the quadruple aim of healthcare. Moving forward, research should establish more uniform methods of measurement in order to strengthen the literature surrounding the effectiveness of patient education through patient portals.

A comparison of primary care parenting programs for Latinx families.

Introduction: Primary care agencies remain an ideal setting for implementing parenting programs that meet the needs of Latinx parents. However, little to no research has been done on how well adapted primary care parenting programs (PCPPs) are to the beliefs, values, and practices of many Latinx families. Method: Using 5 inclusion criteria, 8 PCPPs were selected and compared across 8 domains: focus, age of child, composition, sequence, duration, training length, estimated start-up costs, and number of cultural adaptations. Results: PCPPs vary widely across all 8 domains, with some PCPPs being relatively brief and low cost and others more all encompassing and expensive. Only 4 of the 8 programs demonstrated cultural adaptations outside Spanish translation. Conclusion: This comparison demonstrates that there is a lack of cultural consideration among researchers who develop PCPPs. Recommendations for providing culturally attuned parenting services for Latinx families within a primary care environment are given. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Practices and Perceptions of Nurses Regarding Child Visitation in Adult Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUND: Provision of developmentally appropriate support for child visitors in adult intensive care units (ICUs) would benefit patients and young visitors. Research on best practices for child visitation in adult ICUs is limited. OBJECTIVES: To explore the perceptions and practices of nurses working in adult ICUs in the United States regarding child visitation and the role of child life specialists in this setting. METHODS: Data were collected from 446 adult ICU nurses via a cross-sectional survey. The survey explored perceptions and practices regarding child visitation, access to child-friendly resources, and the feasibility of having a child life specialist in adult ICUs. RESULTS: Several participants (303, 67.9%) felt that children were at risk for psychological trauma from visiting an adult ICU. Some participants (122, 27.4%) reported that their ICUs did not have policies for child visitation. Logistic regression showed that nurses with a master's degree were 1.8 times (P < .05) more likely to believe that young children (0-5 years) should visit. Nurses (105 of 197, 53.3%) were more likely to allow young children to visit if the patient was the child's parent or if the patient was dying. Child-friendly resources were not routinely available. Nurses expressed that adult ICUs could benefit from child life specialists facilitating child visitation. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses were inconsistently open to child visitation. Exceptions for older children (> 6 years), children whose parent was the patient, patients' illness severity, and end of life allowed more child visitation. Ways to facilitate child-friendly visitation in adult ICUs are discussed.

Attachment, Parenting, and Obesogenic Behavior: A Dyadic Perspective.

Pediatric obesity is a growing health concern afflicting the United States. The treatment for pediatric obesity, as a health epidemic, costs billions of dollars to our nation, leaving providers and researchers searching for effective and sustainable ways to better manage the biological, psychological, and social health of individuals and families. While many assessments and interventions continue to emerge, researchers have predominately focused on intra-individual concerns among white non-Hispanic populations. This quantitative study was grounded in a relational theory (attachment theory), with a dyadic and primarily Hispanic sample. Evidence from our study supported that child attachment predicted child obesogenic behavior and that this relationship was mediated by child self-regulation. Children with insecure attachments had more obesogenic behaviors and lower self-regulation of eating than those with secure attachments. Family therapists should be on the frontlines of relational research and clinical interventions that interface with biopsychosocial health across diverse cultures and families.

Therapists' Assessments in Treating "Sex Addiction" and Their Relationship to Clients' Gender, Relationship Status, and Exclusivity Status.

A total of 208 therapists and therapists-in-training were surveyed to better understand if clinical assessments and recommendations regarding "sex addiction" changed based upon a client's gender, relationship status, or exclusivity status. Using clinical vignettes, this study examined the clinical assessment and recommendations of licensed mental health providers (n = 92) and mental health providers in-training (n = 116). Results indicated that professional ratings differed based on relationship exclusivity and gender; specifically, female nonmonogamous behavior was rated more negatively than male nonmonogamous behavior, while male monogamous behavior was rated more negatively than female monogamous behavior. Recommendations for treatment varied, with higher addiction ratings leading to greater odds of recommending individual, group, and community support over relational therapy. Clinical and training implications are discussed. Video abstract accessible by clicking here.

Healthcare providers' experiences screening for intimate partner violence among migrant and seasonal farmworking women: A phenomenological study.

BACKGROUND: Migrant and seasonal farmworking (MSFW) women patients experience substantially more intimate partner violence (IPV) than the general population, but few health-care providers screen patients for IPV. While researchers have examined screening practices in health-care settings, none have exclusively focused on MSFW women. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of health-care providers who have screened for and/or addressed IPV with MSFW women patients. DESIGN: Researchers utilized descriptive phenomenology to capture the lived experiences of these health-care providers. Data were analysed using Colaizzi's seven-stage framework. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Interviews were conducted with nine female participants - all of whom: (i) were clinically active health-care providers within the MSFW community, (ii) were bilingual in English and Spanish or had access to a translator, (iii) had treated MSFW patients who had experienced IPV and (iv) were at least 18 years of age. RESULTS: Participants' experiences were reflected in four emergent themes: (i) provider-centered factors, (ii) patient-centered factors, (iii) clinic-centered factors and (iv) community-centered factors. Participants described barriers to establish routine IPV assessment, decrease patient ambivalence and increase on-site support and community resources. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: This study aimed to generate a greater understanding of the experiences of health-care providers with screening for and addressing IPV with MSFW patients. Implications and recommendations for research, clinical practice and policy are provided.

From scared to repaired: using an attachment-based perspective to understand situational couple violence.

Situational couple violence (SCV) is a common problem in couples presenting for therapy. SCV, as seen through the lens of attachment, can be viewed as a result of an insecure attachment system within the couple. Although several authors have discussed individual attachment styles as predictors of both the receipt and perpetration of violence, in this article we seek to portray the attachment system as a relational and changing construct. As such, we argue for conjoint treatment for SCV as a way to restructure a more secure attachment system within the couple. Cautions for the appropriateness of couples counseling with ongoing violence are included. Finally, we discuss the use of an attachment-based safety plan and time-out strategy to use with couples experiencing SCV.