Effects of respite care training on respite provider knowledge and confidence, and outcomes for family caregivers receiving respite services.

Respite services are vital in supporting informal caregivers in need of a break from their caregiving duties. A respite training program aimed at developing respite provider competence and improving caregiver well-being was evaluated. Trainees experienced significant growth in their perceived respite knowledge and confidence to deliver respite from pretraining to posttraining. An objective core competency assessment confirmed posttraining knowledge in 10 core areas of respite. Family caregivers provided more favorable ratings on various measures of their well-being while receiving respite from a trained provider compared to before respite began and if respite were to end. Findings suggest that formal training prepares providers to deliver quality respite resulting in improved caregiver outcomes.

About Your Child's Eating: factor structure and psychometric properties of a feeding relationship measure.

Conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the About Your Child's Eating (AYCE) inventory with 763 parents. Parent subjects were drawn from a community study of families with physically healthy and chronically ill children between 8 and 16 years of age. Three correlated factors were identified: Child Resistance to Eating, Positive Mealtime Environment, and Parent Aversion to Mealtime. The internal consistency of the factors remained satisfactory across all examined demographic subgroups. Evidence for convergent validity was found by comparing the AYCE factors to higher order factors of the Family Environment Scale. Empirically derived clinical range cut-off scores are presented. Results support the AYCE as a psychometrically sound measure of the parent-child feeding relationship for school-aged children.

The influence of individual characteristics and contraceptive beliefs on parent-teen sexual communications: a structural model.

PURPOSE: To explore relationships between parent and teen demographic characteristics, parent beliefs about the effectiveness, safety and usability of condoms and oral contraceptives, and parent-teen sexual communication. METHODS: One thousand parents of 13-17-year-olds were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to test direct and indirect relationships between parent and teen characteristics, parent effectiveness beliefs, and amount of parent-teen communication about the negative consequences of sex and where to obtain birth control. RESULTS: Parent effectiveness beliefs were directly related to parent-teen communication levels. Minority, religious, politically conservative, and low income parents reported lower effectiveness beliefs than other parent groups. Low income, minority parents reported more discussion with their teens about the negative consequences of sex and where to obtain birth control than high income, White parents. Politically conservative, religious parents reported more discussion with their teen about the negative consequences of sex than their liberal and nonreligious counterparts. In general, nonreligious parents reported more discussion about where to obtain birth control than religious parents. Parents were less likely to talk with males, younger teens, and teens not believed to be romantically involved. Parent and teen gender interacted to predict the amount of parent-teen communication. CONCLUSIONS: Parent beliefs about condom and oral contraceptive efficacy, safety and usability related directly to amount of parent-teen sexual communication. Parent beliefs and communication levels varied across a number of demographic groups. Educating parent groups may result in more frequent and accurate sexual communications with their teenage children.