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No / A set of instruments with different response formats is usually used to assess parenting practices in clinical settings and in research studies. These complex protocols can be problematic for parents with low-literacy levels. The Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS) is a brief, easy to read instrument that has been developed to address these concerns. The English version of this instrument suggested that it has good internal consistency (range from .70 to .96), as well as satisfactory construct and predictive validity. The aim of the present study was to explore the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the PAFAS. A sample of 174 Spanish-speaking parents (85 % mothers; M = 37 years old; SD = 9.1) from Panama in Central America completed the instrument alongside the Parenting Scale and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Psychometric evaluations revealed that the measure had satisfactory construct and concurrent validity as well as good internal consistency (values >.60 for all subscales) and test–retest reliability (ICC >.60 for all subscales). The PAFAS shows promise as a brief outcome measure to assess parenting practices and family functioning with Spanish-speaking parents. Potential uses of the measure and implications for further validation with diverse samples are discussed.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among adolescents' quality of attachment, emotional intelligence, and adjustment. The participants were 997 eighth-grade students from 11 junior high schools in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The data were collected by means of questionnaires, and the employed instruments comprised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Chinese version), Inventory of Adolescent Emotional Intelligence, and Inventory of Adolescent Adjustment. The applied analysis methods included descriptive statistics, one-way MANOVA, canonical correlation, and discriminant analysis. The main findings in this study were as follows: 1.The adolescents' gender was not related to their adjustment. 2.The adolescents' birth order was not related to their adjustment. 3.The adolescents' socioeconomic status (SES) was not related to their family adjustment, but it was related to their school adjustment though the correlation was weak; moreover, both the mid-SES and the high-SES adolescents outperformed the low-SES ones in school adjustment. 4.The adolescents' quality of attachment was positively related to their adjustment, and their attachment toward mother had the strongest relation to their adjustment. 5.The adolescents' emotional intelligence was positively related to their adjustment; more specifically, "motivating oneself" and adjustment had the highest correlation. 6.The quality of attachment and emotional intelligence could jointly predict the adolescents' adjustment. While "mother attachment" was the best predictor to the adolescents' family adjustment, emotional intelligence was the best predictor to their school adjustment. "Mother attachment" was the best predictor to the adolescents' adjustment as a whole. Finally, after discussion, some suggestions were proposed for parents, teachers, educational authorities, and further studies.

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) has been associated with significant family disruption, yet few studies explore the experiences of child-relatives. This cross-sectional study sought to explore the experiences of young people and their families (n = 3) following parental ABI. The major aims were (1) to develop an understanding of the processes by which family members make sense of events, and (2) to explore the implications for adjustment in young people and their families. A Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) methodology was implemented and construal processes were identified through individual interviews facilitated by Perceiver Element Grids (PEG; Procter, 2002). The Family Assessment Device (FAD; Epstein et al., 1983) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) were used to explore aspects of adjustment. Data analysis comprised of two parts; intra-family and inter-family exploration of similarities and differences in construal. The themes identified suggest that following ABI, family members may be faced with a process of reconstrual, in which they are required to assimilate new information into their construct systems, renegotiate their roles, and come to terms with loss. The research offers an insight into some of the processes that may contribute to patterns of interpersonal relating that may negatively impact on adjustment. Psychological support following parental ABI may therefore be a crucial component of supporting young people and their families through these changes whilst reducing the impact on their own psychosocial wellbeing. This research offers an insight into the experiences of three families at one moment in time. Further exploration is recommended to better inform clinical practice, and ensure that the needs of this population are not overlooked.

<p><bold>Abstract</bold></p><p>More than 300,000 soldiers have returned from Southwest Asia (i.e., Iraq and Afghanistan) with combat-related mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) associated with exposure to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Despite less visible physical injuries, these soldiers demonstrate varying levels of physical and cognitive symptoms that impact their post-mTBI family reintegration. The existing literature acknowledges post-mTBI changes in the injured individual affect family functioning; however, post-injury family functioning, such as coping and adaptation, has not been explored. The intent of this dissertation is to explore the problems and challenges of military family reintegration following mTBI.</p><p>Nine soldiers with mTBI and their spouses participated for a total of 27 interviews. Both joint and separate individual interviews were conducted to explore their post-mTBI family reintegration experiences. Participants included active duty soldiers with mTBI who were between 2 and 24 months post-deployment and their civilian spouses. Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory methodology was used to collect and analyze the data. This dissertation study consists of three papers, each of which explored experiences that surround family reintegration following mTBI.</p><p>The first paper is a comprehensive literature review, examining commonly reported mTBI signs/symptoms, and the impact of these symptoms on the injured individuals and their families. The findings also suggest that psychological distress symptoms such as depression and anxiety are common in injured individuals and their</p><p>families after mTBI. The second paper explores the family reintegration processes of post-mTBI soldiers and their spouses. The majority of participants interviewed, both soldiers and their spouses, indicated that symptoms such as irritability, memory loss, and cognitive deficit affected their family reintegration. Some participants reported they had accepted the changes and were working toward a new normal, whereas others indicated these changes were unacceptable and continued their efforts to resume pre-injury functioning.</p><p>The third paper examined the experiences of soldiers and their spouses about seeking treatment for mTBI-related symptoms. The majority of interviewed soldiers and their spouses indicated that a delayed diagnosis, difficulty accessing mental health care, and having to navigate an unfamiliar military healthcare system were their biggest challenges. Post-mTBI soldiers experienced significant disruption due to mismatched expectations among themselves and other family members concerning their post-injury capabilities. More research is needed in order to develop effective post-injury rehabilitation programs for soldiers with mTBI and their families.</p> / Dissertation

PURPOSE: The purpose of this feasibility study was to explore the use of a nurse-centered intervention, the Critical Caring Program, with family members of critically ill adults. The intervention was a series of therapeutic conversations with a family member, beginning in the ICU and following patient discharge from the ICU. FRAMEWORK: The Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model (Patterson, 1988) provided the conceptual framework; the intervention was adapted from the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Model. DESIGN: A randomized, controlled design with two groups (usual care and intervention) was used to assess the feasibility of the intervention. A convenience sample of 19 adult family members were recruited from an 18-bed ICU from October 2021–January 2022. RESULTS: 151 family members were screened for participation; 40 who were eligible and 19 were enrolled. Overall retention was 58% for the intervention group; 62% for the usual care group. Outcomes revealed no statistically significant differences between groups or changes within groups. The nurses viewed the training and conversations as positive but identified incorporating the visits into routine practice as challenging. CONCLUSION: The Calgary Family Intervention Model is a useful model for addressing families’ need for communication and support. Additional research is needed on incorporating therapeutic conversations into critical care nursing practice.

Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) are disclosing their sexual identity--or coming out--at progressively younger ages, making it more important than ever for the general population to understand, tolerate, and accept diversity in sexual identity. This study was designed to fill the gap in the existing literature about how the coming out process affects LGB young people's families of origin. Three LGB young people participated in the study, along with a member of each of their families. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with each of the participants, as well as a conjoint interview with each of the three families. The findings of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study illustrate the many ways in which a young person's coming out reverberates within the family system, offering a relational understanding of the coming out experience. The results of the study emphasize the process-oriented nature of coming out and the means by which that process is influenced by and influences family relationships and overall family dynamics. Centered on the various ways in which LGB young people prepare to disclose their sexual orientation to their families and how their family members adjust to the disclosure, the study offers a historically and culturally situated overview of the coming out experience in the family. Based on the results of the present study, the researcher offers suggestions for future studies on this subject and presents the implications of the study for LGB young people, their families, and family therapists.