Adolescents' sleep mediates maternal depressive problems and parenting behaviors: daughter and son differences in a majority Black and Hispanic sample.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Parents who experience depressive symptoms are less likely to use positive parenting behaviors, in part because of sad affect and inconsistency, which can lead to disengaged parenting. Their children also are more likely to get too little sleep, get too much sleep, or have trouble sleeping, leading to increased irritability and defiance, which may make it more difficult for a parent to use clear rules and result in more harsh parenting behaviors. The current study examined whether adolescents' sleep (too little, too much, trouble sleeping) mediated the relation between maternal depression and parenting behaviors (harsh parenting, positive parenting, clear rules). Further, a child's sex was examined as a moderator (ie, moderated mediation). METHODS: The sample (n = 318) consisted of mothers reporting on adolescents aged 16-18 years (mean = 16.89, standard deviation = .429; 53.4% female) from the 10th wave of the Schools and Families Educating Children Study. Measures included the Child Behavior Checklist, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and the Parenting Practices Questionnaire. RESULTS: Too little sleep mediated the relation between maternal depressive problems and clear rules in the overall sample (ß = .05) and between maternal depressive problems and positive parenting (ß = .11), clear rules (ß = .13), and harsh parenting (ß = .14) for only sons. Too much sleep mediated the relation between maternal depressive problems and harsh parenting in the overall sample (ß = .03), but no mediation occurred for sons and daughters separately. Trouble sleeping did not serve as a mediator in the overall sample but mediated the relation between maternal depressive problems and clear rules for daughters (ß = .03) and between maternal depressive problems and harsh parenting for sons (ß = .09). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that adolescents' sleep difficulties may be one contributing factor to why mothers who are dealing with depressive symptoms have difficulty using clear rules/positive parenting and use more harsh parenting behaviors. In addition, several of these mediations differed for sons and daughters, indicating important sex differences that may help to better inform and design intervention programs for mothers experiencing depression. CITATION: Stearns MA, McCrae CS, Curtis AF, et al. Adolescents' sleep mediates maternal depressive problems and parenting behaviors: daughter and son differences in a majority Black and Hispanic sample. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(6):849-858.

The Twelve Ds: An Update to Edwards and Benson's Reasons for Non-Parental Caregiving.

This qualitative study examined the prevalence of the "Nine Ds," a framework developed by Edwards and Benson for understanding the heterogeneity of reasons for which grandparents assume care of grandchildren (i.e., death, disease, detention, divorce, departure, drugs, desertion, delivery, deployment) in a contemporary sample. Using a nationwide sample of custodial grandparents (N = 322) and foster parents (N = 105), caregivers were asked their reason for assuming care of the grandchild or foster child within their care. The results of the study suggest that the Nine Ds are a useful framework, but accounted for only 21.74% of responses, indicating the Nine Ds fail to capture many of the reasons for assuming care. Three new themes-dollars, duty, and daily grind-were identified using semantic thematic analysis and are applicable to both grandfamilies and foster families. These themes represent different motivations for assuming care and provide insight into the social structures that may act as barriers to family formation. This study provides a foundation for future research examining the impact of assumed care by non-parental attachment figures on the health and well-being of both grandchildren and foster children.

Respect Your Elders: Generativity and Life Satisfaction in Caregiving Grandparents.

Erikson's theory of psychosocial development defines generativity as the drive to benefit future generations and leave a legacy. Generativity has been shown to predict life satisfaction, but generative concern and action can be impacted by factors such as perceived respect from younger generations. This study utilized caregiving grandparents aged 40 and older to assess the extent to which perceived respect mediated the relation between generativity and life satisfaction. Perceived respect from a grandchild mediated the relation between generative concern expressed by caregiving grandparents and life satisfaction after controlling for demographic variables that have been shown to influence heterogeneity and overall well-being in caregiving grandparent samples. These findings suggest that the relation between life satisfaction and generativity in grandparents may depend, in part, on perceived respect from grandchildren, intimating that the implications of generativity may be influenced by the perceived appreciation of its recipients.

The charm of country life? Impact of rural childhood residence on physical and mental health in later life.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of geographic health disparities are focused on adult rural residence. However, previous studies have shown that the residential area in which one grows up during childhood has lasting impacts on adult health. In one of the only studies to date to examine the impact of rural childhood residence on mental health in middle-aged and older adults, Murchland and colleagues (2019) evaluated inequalities by childhood residence and noted elevated depressive symptoms were more common among those living in rural areas compared to those living in non-rural areas. AIMS: The current study expands the model proposed by Murchland and colleagues to include further antecedents related to rural childhood residence, and to include multiple outcomes of physical and mental health among middle-aged and older adults. METHOD: Participants included 4614 individuals aged 40 or older recruited as part of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. RESULTS: Consistent with Murchland's model, childhood rurality played an important part in middle-aged and older adult's health, despite not having a direct influence. Rurality status was impacted by parental education level and SES during childhood, and was associated with the level of education obtained by the participants (and thus their occupation), which played a direct role in their current health status. Mental and physical health had differential predictors. LIMITATIONS: The study was limited by its non-diverse sample and self-reported measures. CONCLUSION: Further research into the impact of childhood rurality on health is needed, utilizing comprehensive self-reported and observed outcome measures.

Depressive Symptoms and Suicidality of Those Raised in Kincare: A Peer Comparison Study.

The rate at which children are raised in kincare has steadily been on the rise. Prior research indicates that this group of individuals are at an increased risk of mental health problems. The current study examined the suicidality and depressive symptoms of adults who were raised in kincare compared to those raised by their parents. There were a total of 1,486 participants, 171 of whom were adults raised in kincare, and 1,315 who were raised by one or both of their parents. Participants completed a measure of suicide risk and reported symptoms of depression and anhedonia.Those raised in kincare scored significantly higher on the measures of anhedonia and suicide risk. However, there were no differences in general depressive symptoms. Further analyses found that more frequent attendance of religious activities and higher levels of household income acted as protective factors. These findings suggest kincare is associated with adverse mental health outcomes.

The Influence of Caregiving on the Relation Between Marital Status and Psychological Health in a Grandparent Sample.

Grandparent caregivers report poorer psychological and physical health, but relationship status has been shown to influence burden. The current study investigated depressive symptoms of 3288 grandparents who completed the third wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. The study found that those who are unmarried were more likely to be grandparent caregivers, and female participants reported higher depressive symptoms. Marital status and caregiving status were comparable predictors of depression, but marital status did not buffer the effects of caregiving status on depression. Caregiving status accounted for a significant amount of depressive symptom variance for depression, comparable to marital status and gender. There was a significant difference in depressive symptoms of married and unmarried grandparent non-caregivers but with a significantly lower baseline depression rate than grandparent caregivers. Future research should examine whether making social support options available to unmarried grandparent caregivers who lack informal support from a spouse may improve outcomes.

The Moderation of Raising One's Grandchildren on the Relation Between Sleep and Depressive Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence has shown that poor quality sleep is associated with depression, particularly among older individuals. Moreover, given that grandparent caregivers are more likely to report being depressed, it is crucial to identify whether poor sleep quality results in more depressive symptoms when older individuals are also caring for their grandchildren. Thus, the current study examined how caregiving status was associated with the relation between sleep quality and depressive symptoms and the further moderation of gender (ie, 3-way interaction). PARTICIPANTS: The sample (N = 459, Mean age = 62.43, 58.40% female) was a subset of individuals recruited in the second wave of the MIDUS project completed in 2009. METHODS: Participants answered the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a question regarding grandparent caregiving status. Moderation analyses were conducted using AMOS 26.0. RESULTS: The interaction between global sleep quality and grandparent caregiving status was significant in predicting depressive symptoms, and the interactions examining global sleep quality, subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, sleep efficacy, sleep medication, and daytime dysfunction were significant for males when examined separately, whereby increased sleep difficulties were associated with more depressive symptoms. In all sleep domains, the slope of the interactions was sharper for grandparent caregivers, particularly for males. CONCLUSION: Significant differences between interactions for males and females indicated 3-way interactions, such that interactions were significant for males and not females. Therefore, the relation of sleep on depressive symptoms was dependent on grandparent caregivers' status and gender.

Is Raising Your Grandchild Bad for Your Health? The Association Between Custodial Grandparent Status and Health Biomarkers in Taiwanese Grandparents.

Data from two waves of the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study in Taiwan were analyzed to determine the effects of custodial grandparenting on health in a longitudinal sample. Self-reported measures on respondents' perception of their health, six health biomarkers, the presence of twelve diseases, and a measure of stress were included. Custodial Grandparents (CGPs) were significantly more likely to report worse health than their peers. However, there were no significant differences in biomarkers, and CGPs were only significantly different from non-custodial grandparents (nCGPs) regarding lower respiratory disease. Results suggest that CGPs do not have significantly worse health than nCGPs, but report feeling less healthy. This disparity is suspected to be due to energy levels or stress sources not assessed by the variables in the original study. These results and their implications based upon the stress-coping model elucidate the need to design interventions that incorporate the East Asian cultural values and practices in order to promote better health outcomes for CGP populations overall.

Religiosity and depressive symptoms in older adults compared to younger adults: Moderation by age.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has suggested that individuals tend to become more religious with age. Research has also shown that as individuals become more religious, they report decreases in depressive symptoms, suggesting that increased levels of religiosity might help to improve one's mental health. The following study aimed to examine the effect of age on the relation between religiosity and depressive symptoms. METHODS: Data was gathered using a religiosity questionnaire and depression questionnaire. The sample consisted of 201 adults, ranging from 21-67 years of age, recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK) marketplace. RESULTS: Hays' PROCESS model for SPSS (Hayes, 2013) was used to test age as a moderator between depressive symptoms and religiosity. Correlations showed that religiosity was positively correlated with age and negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. Further analysis of the data suggested that age serves as a moderator in the relation between religiosity and depressive symptoms for both middle-aged and younger adults. LIMITATIONS: Participants included in the study were limited in age, further studies should consider including individuals >67 years of age to better test proposed relations. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of religiosity were related to lower levels of depression in middle-aged and younger adults. Though further research on the development of such evidence-based programs is needed, involvement in religious activities may have a preventative role in both the development and duration of depressive symptoms in middle and older aged adults.

The Creative Benefits Scale: Connecting Generativity to Life Satisfaction.

Long-term participation in creative activities has benefits for middle-aged and older people that may improve their adaptation to later life. We first investigated the factor structure of the Creative Benefits Scale and then used it to construct a model to help explain the connection between generativity and life satisfaction in adults who participated in creative hobbies. Participants included 546 adults between the ages of 40 and 88 (Mean = 58.30 years) who completed measures of life satisfaction, generativity, and the Creative Benefits Scale with its factors of Identity, Calming, Spirituality, and Recognition. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the connection of age with life satisfaction in older adults and to explore the effects of creativity on this relation. The proposed model of life satisfaction, incorporating age, creativity, and generativity, fit the data well, indicating that creativity may help explain the link between the generativity and life satisfaction.

Nightmares: Under-Reported, Undetected, and Therefore Untreated.

OBJECTIVE: Nightmares are a robust and modifiable predictor of increased suicidality and poor psychiatric outcomes, yet nightmare screening and treatment remain rare, even in sleep centers. This paper aims to examine what proportion of nightmare sufferers have discussed nightmares with a healthcare provider, as well as possible explanations for low rates of nightmare complaints. METHODS: The present study utilized a large United States community sample recruited through mTurk and a student sample recruited from a large public university in the Southeast United States. In Study 1, participants (n = 809) were asked whether they had discussed nightmares with a healthcare provider. In Study 2 participants (n = 747) were asked whether they believed nightmares were treatable in addition to whether or not they had discussed nightmares with a healthcare provider. RESULTS: Of the participants in Study 1 experiencing clinically significant nightmare symptoms only 37.8% of participants reported discussing their nightmares with a healthcare professional. In Study 2 only 11.1% of participants with significant nightmares reporting having told a healthcare provider about their nightmares. Further, of these individuals with clinically significant nightmare symptoms, less than one-third believed that nightmares were treatable. Higher nightmare severity was associated with a greater likelihood of reporting nightmares to a healthcare physician as well as with lower beliefs that nightmares are treatable. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that nightmares are rarely reported to healthcare providers, which may explain the underutilization of nightmare treatments. Given the poor outcomes associated with nightmares, nightmare screening is warranted.

College students' use of electronic communication with parents: links to loneliness, attachment, and relationship quality.

Despite the ubiquitous use of new communication technologies, gaps in our knowledge remain regarding who is likely to rely on particular technologies and potential ramifications of these forms of communication on individuals' relationships and adjustment. In an online survey, 211 college students reported on their use of electronic communication with a parent who they identified as their closest family member. Results indicated that students who report more frequent phone conversations with parents also report more satisfying, intimate, and supportive parental relationships, but those students who use a social-networking site to communicate with parents report higher levels of loneliness, anxious attachment, as well as conflict within the parental relationship. The findings offer new evidence on how electronic communication technology with parents is related to adjustment in college students. Our study also suggests that further research is needed using longitudinal designs to understand better young adults' use of technology to communicate in today's society.