Childhood maltreatment moderates the relationship between emotion recognition and maternal sensitive behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Sensitivity is defined as parents ability to perceive, react and respond to children signals. Having a history of childhood maltreatment changes the way adults perceive visual emotions. These perceptual characteristics could have important consequences on how these parents respond to their children. OBJECTIVE: The current study examines how a history of childhood maltreatment moderates the relationship between maternal emotion recognition in child faces and sensitive behaviors toward their child during free-play and a structured task. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants included 58 mothers and their children aged between 2 and 5 years. METHODS: Mothers were exposed to a set of photographs of child faces showing morphed images of the six basic emotional expressions. Mother-child interactions were then coded for sensitive behaviors. Mothers' history of childhood maltreatment was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. RESULTS: Maltreatment severity was related to poorer abilities in emotion recognition. However, the association between emotion recognition and sensitive behavior was moderate by history of childhood maltreatment. For mothers exposed to a severe form of childhood maltreatment, a better emotion recognition was related to less sensitive behaviors toward the child, both during free-play and the structured task. CONCLUSION: This relationship is unique to these mothers and is inconsistent with Ainsworth's definition of sensitivity. These results have important implications as they suggest mothers with a history of severe maltreatment would need tailored interventions which take into account their particular reactions to children's emotions.

Assessing the impacts of an interdisciplinary programme supporting father involvement on professionals' practices with fathers: A qualitative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess the impacts of the Father-Friendly Initiative within Families (FFIF) programme, an interdisciplinary programme supporting father involvement, on health professionals' practices with fathers. BACKGROUND: It is increasingly recognised that father involvement benefits children's cognitive and social development and contributes to both parents' well-being. Recent research has shown health professionals' support to be a protective factor in father involvement. Research results were translated into practice through the implementation of a programme, the FFIF, aimed at empowering health professionals to support father involvement. DESIGN: The study employed a qualitative impact assessment approach based on semi-structured interviews with 36 health professionals to assess the impacts of the FFIF on professionals' practices with fathers. METHODS: A total of 36 health professionals were interviewed (13 nurses, 10 social workers, six community workers, three educators, two psychoeducators, one health manager, and one special education teacher). Interviews were transcribed, and a qualitative thematic analysis was carried out. This study is presented in line with COREQ's checklist. RESULTS: Impacts of the FFIF on health professionals were seen in changes on three fronts: (a1) their beliefs; (b) their conception of their role; and (c) their interventions. These changes related to three themes: (a) difficulties experienced by fathers; (b) importance of father involvement; and (c) differences between fathers and mothers. The professionals, having realised the importance of their own role in improving the services offered to fathers, made concrete changes in their interventions, such as reaching out to fathers more effectively, encouraging their participation and treating them fairly and equitably. CONCLUSIONS: After attending this interdisciplinary programme supporting father involvement, participating professionals adopted father-friendly beliefs, redefined their conception of their role and modified their interventions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: To provide family-centred care, nurses and other health professionals need to adopt father-inclusive practices.

[Prevalence and associated factors of depression symptoms in fathers of children aged 6 months to 17 years in Québec]. / Prévalence et Facteurs Associés aux Symptômes Dépressifs chez les Pères d'enfant 6 mois-17 ans au Québec.

OBJECTIVES: In fathers, depression symptoms experienced during pregnancy and after childbirth represent a depression risk factor during the child first months. Since depression can have a huge impact on their subsequent involvement with the child, this issue is worrisome and requires consideration. Until now, however, few studies have dealt with paternal depression and its determinants beyond the perinatal period. METHOD: This study uses data from a representative provincial survey conducted with 1342 fathers of children aged 6 months to 17 years. It documents the prevalence of moderate and severe depression symptoms with the CES-D scale as well as associated factors. RESULTS: Findings show prevalence rates ranging from 3% to 10% depending on depression symptom severity and children age. Associated factors include problematic use of alcohol, no employment, stress related to balancing work and family, domestic violence environment, and low revenue and social support. CONCLUSION: These results are interpreted in light of the role and involvement fathers keep in their child's life. They also stress the importance of identifying depression symptoms in this population beyond the perinatal period while monitoring the symptom intensity.

OBJECTIFS: Chez les pères, les symptômes dépressifs vécus pendant la grossesse et après la naissance représentent un facteur de risque de la dépression dans les premiers mois de vie de l'enfant. Puisque celle-ci peut avoir de lourdes conséquences sur leur engagement ultérieur auprès de l'enfant, cette problématique est préoccupante et nécessite qu'on s'y attarde. Or à ce jour, peu d'études ont porté sur la dépression paternelle et sur ses déterminants au-delà de la période périnatale. MÉTHODE: Cette étude utilise les données d'une enquête provinciale représentative réalisée auprès de 1342 pères d'enfants âgés de 6 mois à 17 ans. Elle documente la prévalence des symptômes dépressifs modérés et graves à l'aide du CES-D ainsi que leurs facteurs associés. RÉSUTATS: Les résultats montrent des prévalences variant de 3% à 10% selon la gravité des symptômes dépressifs et l'âge des enfants. Parmi les facteurs associés, on retrouve la consommation problématique d'alcool, l'absence d'un emploi, le stress lié à la conciliation famille-travail, le climat de violence conjugale ainsi que de faibles revenu et soutien social. CONCLUSION: Ces résultats sont interprétés à la lumière du rôle et de l'engagement des pères dans la vie de l'enfant et soulèvent l'importance d'identifier auprès de cette population les symptômes dépressifs au-delà de la période périnatale tout en portant une attention à l'intensité de ces symptômes.

Professionals' positive perceptions of fathers are associated with more favourable attitudes towards including them in family interventions.

AIM: This Université du Québec en Outaouais study examined professionals' attitudes towards fathers, their perceived self-efficacy when working with them and their perceptions of the importance of including fathers in family interventions. METHODS: Professionals in Québec, Canada, working in childcare fields such as education, social services, health, community services and management answered a self-report questionnaire between 2013 and 2015. The 296 respondents (90% females) had a mean age of 39 (20-65), were from urban, semi-urban and rural settings and provided services to families with children up to five years of age. RESULTS: Social service professionals perceived fathers more negatively than did other professionals. Even though male professionals perceived fathers more negatively, they felt more confident working with them than did their female counterparts. Positive perceptions of fathers were associated with more favourable attitudes towards including them in family interventions, and this association was mediated by the professionals' perceptions of their own self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: The most negative attitudes were reported by social service professionals. Male professionals viewed fathers more negatively but were more confident working with them than were female colleagues. Improving professionals' perceptions of fathers could help to promote their inclusion in family interventions.

Women's persistent depressive and perinatal grief symptoms following a miscarriage: the role of childlessness and satisfaction with healthcare services.

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine whether depressive and perinatal grief symptoms vary according to time since miscarriage and to test whether childlessness and satisfaction with healthcare services influence symptom duration. A total of 245 women who had experienced a miscarriage answered a self-report questionnaire, indicating the date of their miscarriage and assessing their present level of depressive and perinatal grief symptoms. They also provided sociodemographic characteristics and indicated their level of satisfaction with healthcare services. One-way analyses of variance indicated that women who had miscarried within the past 6 months reported higher scores for depressive symptoms than did women who had miscarried between 7 and 12 months ago and more than 2 years ago. However, when controlling for childlessness and satisfaction with healthcare services, those differences became respectively marginal and non-significant, indicating that depressive symptoms are similar across time for more than 2 years after the loss. Regarding perinatal grief, results revealed that symptoms significantly decreased across time only for women with children and women who were satisfied with healthcare services. For childless women and those dissatisfied with healthcare services, perinatal grief symptoms did not vary according to time since miscarriage. Results suggest that, particularly for women who are childless and/or dissatisfied with healthcare services, depressive and perinatal grief symptoms persist long after a miscarriage. These results highlight the importance of paying particular attention to more vulnerable women and of improving healthcare services post-miscarriage.

Protocol for evaluation of the continuum of primary care in the case of a miscarriage in the emergency room: a mixed-method study.

BACKGROUND: In Quebec (Canada), nearly 20,000 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and the majority of the miscarriages are dealt with in an emergency unit. Although there are studies documenting the effects of this type of grief on mental health, men's experiences are much less discussed than those of women. Similarly, no study has evaluated best practices in terms of service continuity, from emergency care to community resources. The aim of this study is to better understand the relationships that exist between the organization of emergency room and primary care health services for women presenting with miscarriage, on the one hand, and the positions and experiences of women and men within these services, on the other. METHODS: The general objective of this mixed-method study can be broken down into three methodological sections. Focus 1. Institutional discourses and practices. This section is structured as a multiple case study of the mandates of five participant institutions. The study will involve (a) a documentary analysis; (b) a quantitative survey (N: 200) and (c) group interviews (N: 75) with caregivers and emergency unit managers. Focus 2. Women's and men's experiences of miscarriages and the institutional response. This section includes (a) a survey (N: 232) and (b) individual interviews (N: 80) designed to identify best practices in emergency involving women and their partners in each area. Focus 3. This section will integrate the information furnished by the first two sections in order to create an ethnographic overview of the situation. DISCUSSION: This innovative project will provide answers to critical questions on how to improve the effectiveness and quality of interdisciplinary and multisectoral interventions to promote the mental health and psychosocial well-being of couples having experienced a miscarriage. It will have a material effect on the organization of emergency services and of the primary care pathway for women experiencing a miscarriage and for their partners. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable. This study involves a retrospective view of usual health care interventions. This study is not a clinical trial that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes.

The Father Friendly Initiative within Families: Using a logic model to develop program theory for a father support program.

The transition to fatherhood, with its numerous challenges, has been well documented. Likewise, fathers' relationships with health and social services have also begun to be explored. Yet despite the problems fathers experience in interactions with healthcare services, few programs have been developed for them. To explain this, some authors point to the difficulty practitioners encounter in developing and structuring the theory of programs they are trying to create to promote and support father involvement (Savaya, R., & Waysman, M. (2005). Administration in Social Work, 29(2), 85), even when such theory is key to a program's effectiveness (Chen, H.-T. (2005). Practical program evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications). The objective of the present paper is to present a tool, the logic model, to bridge this gap and to equip practitioners for structuring program theory. This paper addresses two questions: (1) What would be a useful instrument for structuring the development of program theory in interventions for fathers? (2) How would the concepts of a father involvement program best be organized? The case of the Father Friendly Initiative within Families (FFIF) program is used to present and illustrate six simple steps for developing a logic model that are based on program theory and demonstrate its relevance.

Using implementation evaluation to uncover a child neglect prevention program.

UNLABELLED: Child neglect is an ecosystemic problem with a great variety of risk factors to consider and, therefore, it requires a multimodal and individualized intervention. Although such an intervention is better for the families, it represents a great challenge for the evaluation process. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to document, using Dane and Schneider's model (1998), the differences between the services received by parents participating in a parental group designed to prevent the presence or the recurrence of child neglect. METHODS: Quantitative program implementation data was collected from 50 families who took part in a four-module program over a two-year period. RESULTS: The results demonstrate uniformity with regard to the program's central elements despite the differences in the services each family received. Adherence to the program was mainly respected despite slight variations in the number of sessions offered and in the group sizes. On the other hand, dosage varied greatly, with families attending from one to four offered modules. For each module, attendance varied from participation in one group session to participation in all ten group sessions. Moreover, for families who participated in at least two modules, attendance significantly increased between the first and second module. The families' level of participation also differed, with families being rated from low to highly engaged at the end of each group session. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions must be adjusted to the specific needs of the clientele and to the characteristics of the environment in which they will be implemented. These variations could have important impacts on the effects of the intervention on the families. Therefore, evaluating these programs requires the consideration of these variations and of their repercussions on the program's effects.

Psychosocial factors associated with paternal postnatal depression.

BACKGROUND: While maternal postpartum depression is a well-known phenomenon, paternal postnatal depression has been less studied. It is known that paternal postnatal depression impacts on children's and families' development, affects marital satisfaction and affects the economic health of industrialized countries. The aim of this study was to identify the psychosocial factors associated with paternal postnatal depression. METHODS: A descriptive-correlational study was conducted with a sample of fathers of infants (average age: 11 months) who were breastfed exclusively or predominantly for at least 6 months, comparing psychosocial factors in fathers with (n: 17, 8.2%) and without a positive score for depression on the EPDS scale (n: 188). Psychosocial factors were assessed through questionnaires. RESULTS: Depression in fathers of breastfed infants is associated with the experience of perinatal loss in a previous pregnancy, parenting distress, infant temperament (difficult child), dysfunctional interactions with the child, decreased marital adjustment and perceived low parenting efficacy. Multivariate analysis suggests an independent effect of psychosocial factors such as parenting distress, quality of the marital relationship and perceived parenting efficacy on paternal depression. LIMITATIONS: The sample focused on fathers of breastfed infant, since breastfeeding has become the feeding norm, and this should be taken into account when considering the generalization of findings. CONCLUSION: These findings emphasize the need to consider a set of psychosocial factors when examining fathers' mental health in the first year of a child's birth. Health professionals can enhance parenting efficacy and alleviate parenting distress by supporting fathers' unique experiences and addressing their needs.

[Social support offered by members of the social network: the point of view of mothers in situation of vulnerability]. / Le soutien parental offert par les membres du réseau social: le point de vue des mères en situation de vulnérabilité.

The present study focuses on informal social networks and the people who give parental support to at-risk mothers (i.e., mothers who display at least two of the following risk factors : low SES, low education, and under 21 years at the birth of their first child). A sample of 49 such mothers, who had children between the ages of 2 and 6 years, participated in semi structured interviews. The group was then matched with a group of low risk mothers (n = 43). Results present mothers' perspectives on the people in their social network they see as being most helpful or most stressful, as far as parenting is concerned. They also describe the roles played by key members of their immediate environment (maternal grandmothers, spouse or ex-spouse). Practical guidelines towards a network-oriented approach in parental support are outlined.