Finnish and Swedish riding school pupils' motivation towards participation in non-riding education.

Many horse enthusiasts have insufficient knowledge about horse behavior and welfare (BW) and learning and human-horse communication (LC), which poses a risk for both horse welfare and human safety. The main objective of this study was to investigate why riding school pupils participate or do not participate in non-riding education in BW and LC, using Self-determination theory (SDT). SDT posits that the quality of motivation is related to the individual's basic psychological needs. A convenience sample of 568 riding school pupils from Finland and Sweden completed an online questionnaire. The results showed that forty percent of the riding schools offered education in BW, and thirty-two in LC. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents participated in education in BW, and twenty-five in LC at their riding school. The respondents were autonomously motivated to participate in education, i.e., they would participate because it is interesting and personally important. Perceived needs satisfaction at the riding school predicted autonomous motivation to participate. Education was offered to a greater extent in Swedish riding schools and Swedish respondents participated more often, as well as experienced more autonomous motivation, relatedness and competence satisfaction compared with Finnish respondents. To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore riding school pupils' motivation towards non-riding education.

Parental relationship satisfaction, reflective functioning, and toddler behavioral problems: A longitudinal study from pregnancy to 2 years postpartum.

Parent relationship satisfaction and parental reflective functioning (PRF) are significant factors in the transition to first-time parenting and are likely to affect a child's later wellbeing. However, little is known about their joint longitudinal effects from pregnancy onward. Starting in the prenatal period, this follow-up study of 1016 Finnish first-time parents (358 fathers and 658 mothers at baseline) examined the stability and the reciprocal associations between relationship satisfaction and PRF in predicting child behavioral problems (CBCL) at age 2. First, the results of the random-intercept cross-lagged panel models showed that both relationship satisfaction and PRF were stable from pregnancy onward for both mothers and fathers, with the exception of mothers' prenatal PRF. Second, there were significant reciprocal associations between low prenatal PRF and low relationship satisfaction at age 1, and vice versa. Third, for both mothers and fathers, a low level of relationship satisfaction, but not PRF, predicted consistently higher levels of child behavioral problems at age 2. These results suggest that parent relationship satisfaction and PRF are stable but largely independent parental factors during the transition to parenthood. In addition, our results highlight the significant role of parent relationship satisfaction in predicting toddler behavior problems, which indicates the relevance of early relationship-orientated help for first-time parents.

Maternal subjective well-being and preventive health care system in Japan and Finland.

Background: Maternal well-being is an important issue not only for mothers but also for their offspring and whole families. This study aims to clarify differences in subjective well-being for mothers with infants and associated factors by comparing Japanese and Finnish mothers. Methods: In Finland, 101 mothers with infants who received health check-ups at child's age 4 months participated in the study. In Japan, 505 mothers with infants who should receive health check-ups at child's age 4 months and, whose age, age of the infant and number of children matched with the Finnish mothers were selected. The factors associated with maternal subjective well-being were explored by the linear regression analysis. All Finnish mothers had individual infant health check-ups by nurses in Child Health Clinics nearly monthly. The same nurse was responsible for following up the family throughout the years. All Japanese participants received group health check-up once at child's age 3 to 4 months, and a nurse did not cover same child and their mother. Results: Finnish mothers showed significantly better subjective well-being compared with Japanese mothers. Whereas 85% of Finnish mothers responded that they had obtained childcare information from public health nurses, significantly fewer Japanese mothers indicated the same response (8%). Linear regression analyses disclosed that mothers' subjective well-being was associated with country, mothers' stress and age. Conclusion: Finnish mothers had better subjective well-being than Japanese mothers. Our results may indicate that the Finnish health care system supports mothers better than the Japanese health care system does.

Families First: the development of a new mentalization-based group intervention for first-time parents to promote child development and family health.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to describe the development of Families First, a new mentalization-based group intervention model for supporting early parenthood. The general aim of the intervention was to support well-functioning models of parenting and prevent transmission of negative parenting models over generations, and thus promote child development and overall family health. BACKGROUND: In the Finnish society, great concern has aroused during the last decade regarding the well-being and mental health of children and adolescents. Increased number of divorces, poverty, substance abuse, and mental health problems among parents enhance the risk for child neglect and abuse. New effective, preventive, and health-promoting intervention tools are greatly needed to support families with young children. At present, the Families First intervention is being implemented in primary social and healthcare units all over Finland. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This article will provide a theoretical understanding of the importance of parental mentalization for the development of the parent-child relationship and the development of the child as well as proposed mechanisms of actions in order to enhance mentalizing capacity. The cultural context will be described. The article will also provide a description of the scientific evaluation protocol of the intervention model. Finally, possible limitations and challenges of the intervention model are discussed.

[Child's status in modern-day Finnish society]. / Lapsen asema nykypäivän suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa.

Despite the fact that the child's status is protected in the Finnish legislation, the development is taking a turn for the worse. Health inequalities among children are a matter of concern, and an increasing number of children need child protection. The best interest of the child is not taken into account in decision-making or everyday life in a manner consistent with children's rights. In view of the dependency ratio and public-sector finances of the future years, it is essential that the development of children and the young will be cared for in a manner allowing them to grow into healthy adults.

Does parental warmth and responsiveness moderate the associations between parenting practices and children's health-related behaviors?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a higher number of parenting practices, such as those concerning meals, bedtime, and limited screen time, is associated with children's health behaviors. In addition, to determine whether perceived parental warmth and responsiveness toward the child strengthens (moderates) the associations between parenting practices and health behaviors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: School-based survey in which children completed questionnaires at school, and parents at home. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 805 child-parent dyads were used in analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intake of nutrient-dense and energy-rich foods, meal frequency per day, sleep duration, and screen time. ANALYSIS: Linear and logistic regression analyses. Moderation was tested by adding the interaction term of parenting practices and parental warmth/responsiveness to the models. When moderation occurred, stratified analyses were conducted. RESULTS: A higher number of parenting practices was associated with more favorable health behaviors. Stronger associations between parenting practices and nutrient-dense food intake and meal frequency were found when children perceived high parental warmth/responsiveness. Stronger associations between parenting practices and energy-rich food intake and screen time were found when children perceived low parental warmth/responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Parental warmth/responsiveness seems to strengthen the associations between parenting practices and favorable health behaviors. This knowledge could be used in family-focused obesity interventions.

SUBSTANCE-ABUSING MOTHERS IN RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT WITH THEIR BABIES: IMPORTANCE OF PRE- AND POSTNATAL MATERNAL REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING.

A residential treatment program has been developed specifically for substance-abusing pregnant and parenting women in Finland, focusing on simultaneously supporting maternal abstinence from substances and the mother-baby relationship. The aims of the study are to explore maternal pre- and postnatal reflective functioning and its association with background factors, maternal exposure to trauma, and psychiatric symptoms, postnatal interaction, child development, and later child foster care placement. Participants were 34 mother-baby pairs living in three residential program units during the pre- to postnatal period. We employed self-report questionnaires on background, trauma history, and psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory: L.R. Derogatis, 1993; Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: J.L. Cox, J.M. Holden, & R. Sagovsky, 1987; Traumatic Antecedents Questionnaire: B. Van der Kolk, 2003), videotaped mother-child interactions coded for sensitivity, control, and unresponsiveness (Care Index for Infants and Toddlers: P. Crittenden, 2003); a standardized test of child development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II: N. Bayley, 1993); and semistructured interviews for maternal reflective functioning (Pregnancy Interview: A. Slade, E. Bernbach, J. Grienenberger, D.W. Levy, & A. Locker, 2002; Parent Development Interview: A. Slade et al., 2005). Pre- and postnatal maternal reflective functioning (RF) was on average low, but varied considerably across participants. Average RF increased significantly during the intervention. Increase in RF level was found to be associated with type of abused substance and maternal trauma history. Mothers who showed lower postnatal RF levels relapsed to substance use more often after completing a residential treatment period, and their children were more likely to be placed in foster care. The intensive focus on maternal RF is an important direction in the development of efficacious treatment for this very high risk population.

Adaptive behaviour in children and adolescents with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a comparison with specific learning disability and typical development.

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is a leading cause of intellectual disability in the western world. Children and adolescents with FASD are often exposed to a double burden in life, as their neurological sequelae are accompanied by adverse living surroundings exposing them to further environmental risk. In the present study, the adaptive abilities of a group of children and adolescents with FASD were examined using the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS) and compared to those of a group of IQ-matched children with specific learning disorder (SLD) as well as with typically developing controls (CON). The results showed significantly different adaptive abilities among the groups: Children with FASD performed worse than IQ-matched children with SLD, who in turn performed worse than typically developing children on all domains (communication, daily living skills and socialization) on the VABS. Compared to the other groups, social skills declined with age in the FASD group. These results support previous studies of adaptive behaviour deficits in children with FASD and provide further evidence of the specificity of these deficits. On a societal level, more efforts and resources should be focused on recognizing and diagnosing FASD and supporting communication skills, daily living skills and most of all social skills across diagnostic groups within FASD. Without adequate intervention, adolescents and young adults with FASD run a great risk of marginalization and social maladjustment, costly not only to society but also to the lives of the many young people with FASD.

Substance abusing mothers in residential treatment with their babies: postnatal psychiatric symptomatology and its association with mother-child relationship and later need for child protection actions.

BACKGROUND: A residential treatment model has been developed in Finland, which is specifically designed for substance abusing pregnant and parenting women, and has its focus on supporting both maternal abstinence from substances and mother-baby relationship. AIMS: Among mother-baby pairs in this residential treatment, to explore amount and type of maternal postnatal psychiatric symptoms, relationship with the baby, and their association with later need for child substitution care placements. METHODS: Participants were 34 mother-baby pairs from three units during pre- to postnatal period. Methods included self-report questionnaires for substance abuse and background data (pregnancy and perinatal period), experienced difficulties with the baby (1 month postnatally); maternal psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory, Edinburgh Pre-postnatal Depression Screen, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems; (pregnancy and 3 months) postnatally; videotaped mother-child interaction measure (Care Index for infants and toddlers) and standardized test of child development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development) (4 months postnatally); questionnaire for follow-up information (2 years of child's age). RESULTS: Mothers showed high levels of different types of psychiatric symptomatology. Maternal interaction with the baby was on average weak, as 53% were within the high-risk range regarding sensitivity. Experiencing more difficulties in early care-giving of the baby was associated with higher amount of postnatal psychiatric symptomatology. Specific psychiatric symptoms were associated with later need for child substitution care. CONCLUSIONS: In designing treatment and follow-up of these mother-baby pairs, careful attention should be paid to pre- and perinatal identification and type of maternal psychiatric symptoms, and mothers' expressions of subjectively experienced difficulties in early care-giving of the baby.

Role of Maternal Reflective Ability for Substance Abusing Mothers.

This paper reports on a study designed to explore factors contributing to better outcomes for substance abusing pregnant and parenting women in residential treatment, and, as a result, contribute to better outcomes for their children. The setting was three live-in units focusing in supporting both abstinence from substances and mother-child relationship. Participants were 18 mother-baby pairs in treatment from perinatal phase to 4 months of child's age. Pilot results demonstrated more sensitive maternal interaction tended to be associated with higher pre-and postnatal reflective functioning and better child developmental scores at 4 months of child's age. Reflective functioning (RF) refers to the essential human capacity to understand behavior in light of underlying mental states and intentions. An indicated conclusion is that enhancement of maternal reflective ability seems an important focus in developing the content and effectiveness of interventions for substance abusing mothers.

Maternal smoking behavior, background and neonatal health in Finnish children subsequently placed in foster care.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate retrospectively neonatal health and maternal background among a sample of children taken into custody and placed in foster care and to investigate the relation between medical and social risk in the neonatal period. METHOD: The data-linkage study combined two registries: the Finnish Medical Birth Registry (MBR), from January 1, 1987 to December 31, 1989, and the Finnish Child Welfare Registry (CWR) from January 1, 1987 to December 31, 1997 using personal identification numbers (n=1,668). As controls all Finnish children born in 1987 were chosen (n=59,727). Infant neonatal health was estimated using the following indicators: birth-weight and birth-length, birth-weight by gestational age, 1-minute Apgar scores, and discharge age from the nursery. Maternal background characteristics included maternal age, parity, marital status, number of antenatal visits at maternity clinics and smoking during pregnancy. RESULTS: We found that the 1,668 children in the study had a lower birth-weight and birth-length, shorter gestational age, lower 1-minute Apgar scores and later discharge from the nursery than the population-based controls. The proportion of teen-age mothers was about four times higher and the proportion of unmarried women was twice as high. A majority of the women (56%) reported smoking during pregnancy, compared with only 15% of the population-based comparisons. Children subsequently taken into custody had poorer health at the time of birth than other children and these differences could only partly be explained by the differences in smoking habits during pregnancy. The women in the study made use of the free health controls at maternity clinics as much as the population-based comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that social and medical risks are related in the neonatal period. Since almost all mothers visit maternity clinics, there are possibilities for early intervention.

ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSING PREGNANT AND PARENTING WOMEN: FOCUS ON MATERNAL REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING AND MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIP.

Substance abuse during early motherhood has become a significant problem and has led to accelerated efforts to develop specific treatment facilities for these mothers and children. Despite the often intensive treatment efforts in residential settings, there is surprisingly little evidence of their efficacy for enhancing the quality of caregiving. The situation of these mother-child pairs is exceptionally complex and multilevel, and has to be taken into account in the content and structuring of treatment. Intensive work in the "here and now" focusing on the mother-child relationship from pregnancy onwards in an effort to enhance maternal reflective capacity and mindedness is considered a key element for better treatment prognosis, in terms of both abstinence and quality of parenting. Pioneering work with such a focus is described in this article.