While numerous studies have linked family routines to pediatric asthma outcomes, it remains unclear how family routines come to be associated with these outcomes on a biological level. The current study investigated whether longitudinal trajectories of inflammatory markers of asthma could be predicted by levels of family routines in youth with asthma. Family routines were assessed at baseline through parent questionnaires and peripheral blood samples obtained from youth every 6 months (total number of assessments = 4) over the course of an 18 month study period. Youth with more family routines in their home environment showed decreases in mitogen-stimulated production of a cytokine implicated in asthma, IL-13, over the course of the study period. In turn, within-person analyses indicated that at times when stimulated production of IL-13 was high, asthma symptoms were also high, pointing to the clinical relevance of changes in IL-13 over time. A variety of potential explanations for this effect were probed. Parental depression, stress, and general family functioning could not explain these effects, suggesting that family routines are not just a proxy for parent psychological traits or family relationship quality. However, medication use eliminated the relationship between family routines and stimulated production of IL-13. This suggests that family routines do impact asthma outcomes at the biological level, possibly through influencing medication adherence. Considering daily family behaviors when treating asthma may help improve both biological and clinical profiles in youth with asthma.

While numerous studies have linked family routines to pediatric asthma outcomes, it remains unclear how family routines come to be associated with these outcomes on a biological level. The current study investigated whether longitudinal trajectories of inflammatory markers of asthma could be predicted by levels of family routines in youth with asthma. Family routines were assessed at baseline through parent questionnaires and peripheral blood samples obtained from youth every 6 months (total number of assessments = 4) over the course of an 18 month study period. Youth with more family routines in their home environment showed decreases in mitogen-stimulated production of a cytokine implicated in asthma, IL-13, over the course of the study period. In turn, within-person analyses indicated that at times when stimulated production of IL-13 was high, asthma symptoms were also high, pointing to the clinical relevance of changes in IL-13 over time. A variety of potential explanations for this effect were probed. Parental depression, stress, and general family functioning could not explain these effects, suggesting that family routines are not just a proxy for parent psychological traits or family relationship quality. However, medication use eliminated the relationship between family routines and stimulated production of IL-13. This suggests that family routines do impact asthma outcomes at the biological level, possibly through influencing medication adherence. Considering daily family behaviors when treating asthma may help improve both biological and clinical profiles in youth with asthma.

While numerous studies have linked family routines to pediatric asthma outcomes, it remains unclear how family routines come to be associated with these outcomes on a biological level. The current study investigated whether longitudinal trajectories of inflammatory markers of asthma could be predicted by levels of family routines in youth with asthma. Family routines were assessed at baseline through parent questionnaires and peripheral blood samples obtained from youth every 6 months (total number of assessments = 4) over the course of an 18 month study period. Youth with more family routines in their home environment showed decreases in mitogen-stimulated production of a cytokine implicated in asthma, IL-13, over the course of the study period. In turn, within-person analyses indicated that at times when stimulated production of IL-13 was high, asthma symptoms were also high, pointing to the clinical relevance of changes in IL-13 over time. A variety of potential explanations for this effect were probed. Parental depression, stress, and general family functioning could not explain these effects, suggesting that family routines are not just a proxy for parent psychological traits or family relationship quality. However, medication use eliminated the relationship between family routines and stimulated production of IL-13. This suggests that family routines do impact asthma outcomes at the biological level, possibly through influencing medication adherence. Considering daily family behaviors when treating asthma may help improve both biological and clinical profiles in youth with asthma. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Current legislation and recommended practice have a primary focus on Early Intervention that meets the priorities set forth by families with children who have disabilities. Many theories and current research emphasize the importance of delivering services in a way that supports families to enhance the development of their children through models that reflect the recommendations. Although there are multiple contributions to what is recommended for family-centered philosophy and practice, one single document, the IFSP, guides the delivery of services.Using the content of 91 IFSPs from the state of Kentucky, 8 indicators were analyzed along with service coordinator demographics. This tool was used to determine the frequency of identified unsatisfactory routines that were used as the foundation for outcome development, if service coordinator demographics impacted this process and if certain domains lent more opportunity for inclusion in outcomes. In addition, frequency of sibling inclusion in priorities, concerns, outcomes and strategies were analyzed.Findings indicate that approximately 50% of the routines identified as unsatisfactory were used in outcome development. Significant interactions between service coordinator demographics were discovered as well as a strong correlation between routines and domain. Sibling interaction is discussed as well as limitations and future research.

No description available.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The family life cycle perspective (McGoldrick & Carter, 2003) recognises that one normative life stressor for families is the transition to parenthood. Still, the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & McCubbin, 1996) holds that one protective resource that could help the family in the face of a stressor is family routines. Even though the Ecological-cultural Niche Model (Gallimore, Goldenberg & Weisner, 1993) gives us some understanding of the family routine as a psychological construct, many gaps exist in the literature. The aim of this qualitative grounded theory study was to better understand family routines as a resilience resource during the transition to parenthood. This aim was broken down into five research questions: (1) What do daily routines look like in the lives of firsttime parents? (2) Why are these family routines important to first-time parents? (3) What challenges do first-time parents face in sustaining their daily routines? (4) What assists firsttime parents in maintaining their daily routines? (5) What accommodations do first-time parents make to adapt to the arrival of their first child? In terms of methodology, ten Coloured couples whose first child was between one and four years of age and who resided in one northern suburb of Cape Town took part in semi-structured interviews. In terms of research question one, the data analysis revealed that family routines look like a sequence of unfolding activities and that this sequence is situated within a temporal structure; that the specific sequence and temporal structure are designed by the family to be functional; but that there also is temporal incongruence in the sequence of routines. Related to question two, the participants felt that their routines were important because a family routine is an opportunity to spend time together, and it is an opportunity for improving child development. For question three, the data analysis revealed that the challenges first-time parents face in sustaining their routines are extra-familial and intra-familial barriers that increase the task and temporal complexity of routines. The analysis of question four revealed that what assists parents in maintaining routines are extra-familial and intra-familial resources that decrease the task and temporal complexity of routines. Lastly, themes related to research question five showed that the accommodations that parents make in routines that help them adapt are temporal accommodations and idiosyncratic accommodations. In future, researchers and theorists should not only investigate an individual family routine in isolation (e.g. just dinnertime or just bedtime), but also look at the structure of the entire daily schedule, the scheduling process, and how the functionality of this daily schedule affects the experience of individual routines. Greater emphasis should also be placed on diverse samples from many ecological and cultural contexts in order to identify more extra-familial and intra-familial barriers and resources that affect the maintenance of a satisfying daily schedule. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die gesinslewensiklusraamwerk (McGoldrick & Carter, 2003) beklemtoon dat een normatiewe lewenstressor vir gesinne die oorgang na ouerskap is. Tog dui die Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & McCubbin, 1996) aan dat gesinsroetines een bron van beskerming is wat die gesin tydens ’n groot lewensstressor kan help. Al bied die Ekologies-kulturele Nismodel (Gallimore, Goldenberg & Weisner, 1993) ons ’n sekere mate van begrip van gesinsroetine as ‘n sielkundige konstruk, is daar steeds leemtes in die literatuur. Die doel van hierdie kwalitatiewe gegronde-teorie navorsing was om beter begrip te ontwikkel van gesinsroetines as ’n veerkragtigheidsfaktor tydens die oorgang na ouerskap. Hierdie doel is in vyf navorsingsvrae verdeel: (1) Hoe lyk daaglikse gesinsroetines in die lewens van nuwe ouers? (2) Hoekom is hierdie gesinsroetines belangrik vir nuwe ouers? (3) Watter uitdagings staar nuwe ouers in die gesig wanneer hulle daaglikse roetines probeer volhou? (4) Wat help nuwe ouers om met hul daaglikse roetines vol te hou? en (5) Watter akkommodasies maak nuwe ouers om aan te pas by die koms van hul eerste kind? Wat metodologie betref het tien bruin ouerpare wat se eerste kind tussen die ouderdom van een en vier jaar was en wat in ’n noordelike voorstad van Kaapstad woon aan semigestruktureerde onderhoude deelgeneem. Wat die eerste navorsingsvraag betref, het die dataontleding onthul dat gesinsroetines ’n reeks opeenvolgende aktiwiteite is wat een na die ander ontvou. Hierdie reeks van roetines is geleë binne ’n tydsraamwerk; dit word deur die gesin ontwerp om funksioneel te wees; maar daar bestaan ook tyd-inkongruensies in die reeks roetines. In verband met vraag twee het die deelnemers gevoel roetines is belangrik omdat dit hulle die geleentheid bied om tyd saam deur te bring en dit verskaf ook ’n geleentheid om die ontwikkeling van die kind te bevorder. Op grond van die derde navorsingsvraag het die dataontleding getoon dat die uitdagings wat nuwe ouers in die gesig staar wanneer hulle probeer om hulle gesinsroetines te volhou, buite-gesins en binne-gesins hindernisse is wat take bemoeilik en tyd-kompleksiteit verhoog. Ontledings na aanleiding van vraag vier het getoon dat dit buite-gesins en binne-gesins bronne is wat help om take makliker te maak en tydskompleksiteid te verminder sodat nuwe ouers met roetines kan volhou. Laastens, temas wat na vore gekom het na aanleiding van die vyfde navorsingsvraag toon dat dit tyd- en idiosinkratiese akkommodasies is wat ouers help om aan te pas. In die toekoms moet navorsers en teoretici nie net ‘n individuele gesinsroetine in isolasie bestudeer nie (bv. net ’n aandete-roetine of net ’n slapenstyd-roetine), maar ook kyk na die struktuur van die hele daaglikse skedule, skeduleringsprosesse, en hoe die funksionaliteit van hierdie daaglikse skedule die ervaring van individuele roetines beïnvloed. Meer klem moet ook geplaas word op steekproewe vanuit ekologies en kultureel diverse kontekste ten einde meer buite-gesins en binne-gesins hindernisse en bronne wat die instandhouding van bevredigende skedules beïnvloed, te identifiseer. Kernwoorde: gesinsroetines, oorgang na ouerskap, gesinsveerkragtigheid, gesinslewenssiklus, Ekologies-kulturele nis.

Family conversation between homes is difficult to initiate at mutually agreeable times as neither participant has exact knowledge of the other's activities or intentions. Whether calling to plan an important family gathering or simply to connect with family members, the question is: Is now a good time to call? People expect friends and family to learn their activity patterns and to minimize interruptions when calling. Can technology provide awareness cues to the caller, even prior to the initiation of the call? This research focuses on sampling the everyday activities of home life to determine environmental factors, which may serve as an indicator for availability. These external factors may be effective for identifying household routines of availability and useful in determining when to initiate conversation across homes. Several workplace studies have shown a person's interruptibility can be reliably assessed and modeled from specific environmental cues; this work looks for similar predictive power in the home. Copresence, location, and activity in the home were investigated as correlates to availability and for their effectiveness within the social protocol of family conversation. These studies indicate there are activities that can be sensed, either in real-time or over some time span, that correlate to self-reported availability. However, the type and amount of information shared is dependent upon individual preferences, social accessibility, and patterns of activities. This research shows friends and family can improve their predictions of when to call if provided additional context, and suggests that abstract representations of either routines or explicit availability status is sufficient and may be preferred by providers. Availability prediction is feasible in the home and useful to those outside the home, but the level of detail to provide in particular situations needs further study. This work has implications for the development of groupware systems, the automatic sensing of activity to deal with interruption, and activity recognition in the home.

The current study had two purposes. The first purpose was to examine the association between family rules and routines and first grade children's teacher-rated and peer-rated behavioral competencies (e.g., emotional symptoms, conduct problems, peer problems, hyperactivity, and prosocial behavior) after controlling for both family stressors (i.e., single parent home, mobility, socioeconomic status, property ownership) and child ethnicity (African American, Caucasian, Hispanic). The second purpose was to determine if child regulatory control abilities mediates the effects of family rules and routines and children's behavioral competencies. The parents of 215 ethnically diverse children (38%, Caucasian, 22% African American, 33% Hispanic, 7% Other) were interviewed in their homes with a modified and shortened version of Family Routines Inventory (FRI; Jensen, James, Boyce, & Hartnett, 1983). Teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), and peers completed a modified version of the Class Play (Masten, Morison & Pelligrini, 1985). Scores from the SDQ were standardized and combined with the standardized scores obtained from the peer nominations to create composites of the behavioral competencies. Additionally, teachers completed a modified version of the California Child Q-set (CCQ) (Block & Block, 1980) as a measure of these children's regulatory control abilities. African American parents' ratings of their family's rules and routines were higher than those of Hispanic and Caucasian parents' ratings. Additionally, family stressors were positively associated with higher teacher and peer ratings of conduct problems and lower ratings of prosocial behavior. Neither ethnicity nor family rules and routines predicted child competencies. A statistically significant curvilinear relationship was found between family rules and routines and conduct problems such that children of parents reporting the highest and lowest levels of family rules and routines have more conduct problems. No associations were found between family rules and routines and child competencies or children's regulatory control abilities. Limitations of the study are discussed in terms of inadequate measurement of family rules and routines, a defensive response set, self-selection on the part of the parents to participate in the interview, and a sample that is not representative of the community of parents and children in the participating schools.