Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

This thesis used FIT Science (Fletcher & Stead, 2000) as a framework to study different aspects of family functioning. FIT variables measure the cognitive and behavioural characteristics of a person that mediate interpretations of events and attempts at coping with constraints. The research sought to examine whether scores on FIT variables explain differences in perceptions of family functioning and outcomes such as individual stress levels. In the first questionnaire study, members of the general population (N=235) completed The FIT Profiler (Fletcher, 1999), which measures scores on FIT variables, and the Family Assessment Device (Epstein, Baldwin & Bishop, 1983), which measures family functioning across six dimensions. The study found that higher scores on FIT variables were associated with more positive experiences of the family. A similar pattern of results was observed in study two involving participants (N=52) with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASCs). The results of the studies suggested that FIT Science is a useful framework to study family functioning in diverse contexts. Study three compared the stress and perceptions of family functioning of mothers of typically developing children (n=55), and children with ASCs (n=33). Mothers scoring high on FIT variables had better perceptions of family functioning, were less anxious and depressed, and also coped better with the demands of parenting. Studies four and five explored whether FIT Science also offers a useful framework for promoting changes in family functioning and individual well being. Study four reported a randomized control trial of a FIT-­‐Do Something Different (FIT-­‐DSD) intervention, which was administered to mothers (n=13) of children with ASCs. The FIT-­‐DSD intervention aimed at expanding behavioural flexibility and disrupting constraining habits. Study five reported a qualitative follow-­‐up of the intervention group in study four. 17 The results of studies four and five suggested that the FIT-­‐DSD intervention was a useful and novel tool to help mothers across a number of domains of family life. Relative to a wait-­‐list control group (n=11), the intervention group reported moderate to large improvements in their levels of parenting stress, depression, relationship satisfaction and scores on the cognitive FIT variable Self-­‐responsibility. Qualitative investigation also suggested that the intervention helped mothers develop feelings of control, self-­‐esteem and self-­‐efficacy. The thesis suggests that FIT Science offers a fruitful framework with which to study and intervene with family functioning. Further research seeking to explore the use of FIT Science as a vehicle for family change is recommended. This may help promote better physical and psychological health for individuals struggling with their environmental and self-­‐generated constraints.

The present study involved an extension and evaluation of a mindfulness-based training program for families of adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). MYmind: Mindfulness training for Youth with ADHD and their parents (Bogels et al., 2008) is an eight-week manualized treatment incorporating elements of mindfulness meditation, ADHD psychoeducation and cognitive behavioural therapy. MYmind focuses on helping families cultivate mindfulness through training in formal meditation practices and integrating this skill into the context of everyday life as a means of managing ADHD symptoms, stress, family relations and difficult emotions. A North American sample of 13 parents and 9 adolescents (ages 13-18) participated in MYmind; during the intervention, parents and adolescents attended separate groups that ran simultaneously. Using a time-series multiple baseline design, constructs of stress, distress from family conflict, ADHD symptomatology and meditation practice were measured via short questionnaires emailed daily to both parents and adolescents throughout baseline, treatment and six months of follow-up. For multiple baseline purposes, intervention was introduced in a time-lagged fashion. Results from parent and adolescent reports indicated reductions in parent and adolescent stress, parent and adolescent distress due to family conflict, and increased frequency and duration of meditation practice. Parent reports suggested a decrease in their adolescents’ inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms after participating in MYmind, a reduction that was not confirmed by adolescent reports. Most treatment gains were maintained up to six-months following treatment completion. Meditation practice was significantly correlated with reduced stress levels for both groups. Both parents and adolescents reported high satisfaction with the MYmind program overall. Mindfulness training appears to hold considerable potential for improving the multiple difficulties experienced by adolescents with ADHD and their parents.

While extensive research has supported the negative impacts of psychological control (i.e., intrusive parenting behaviors that restrain a child’s self-expression) on child adjustment (e.g., Barber et al., 2005), less has systematically investigated predictors of psychological control, especially in the context of immigrant families. Soenens and Vansteenkiste (2010) suggested that parents are more likely to engage in psychological control when their basic psychological needs are frustrated. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2002), the need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence are essential for well-being. I hypothesized that lower satisfaction of the need for competence and relatedness, each indicated by a number of stressors, would predict increasing psychological control over time. Participants were 182 immigrant Chinese families (2/3 randomly recruited) with adolescent children. Family members were assessed two times, 18 months apart. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that, despite high stability in psychological control over time, low parent-child agreement, high perceived discrimination, and high language stress predicted increases in psychological control over time for mothers. In addition, low marital satisfaction predicted increasing psychological control for newcomer fathers, and high interpersonal acculturation stress predicted increasing psychological control for fathers who had been in Canada for a longer period. Implications for practice and polity are discussed. / Graduate / 0621

The present study involved an extension and evaluation of a mindfulness-based training program for families of adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). MYmind: Mindfulness training for Youth with ADHD and their parents (Bogels et al., 2008) is an eight-week manualized treatment incorporating elements of mindfulness meditation, ADHD psychoeducation and cognitive behavioural therapy. MYmind focuses on helping families cultivate mindfulness through training in formal meditation practices and integrating this skill into the context of everyday life as a means of managing ADHD symptoms, stress, family relations and difficult emotions. A North American sample of 13 parents and 9 adolescents (ages 13-18) participated in MYmind; during the intervention, parents and adolescents attended separate groups that ran simultaneously. Using a time-series multiple baseline design, constructs of stress, distress from family conflict, ADHD symptomatology and meditation practice were measured via short questionnaires emailed daily to both parents and adolescents throughout baseline, treatment and six months of follow-up. For multiple baseline purposes, intervention was introduced in a time-lagged fashion. Results from parent and adolescent reports indicated reductions in parent and adolescent stress, parent and adolescent distress due to family conflict, and increased frequency and duration of meditation practice. Parent reports suggested a decrease in their adolescents’ inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms after participating in MYmind, a reduction that was not confirmed by adolescent reports. Most treatment gains were maintained up to six-months following treatment completion. Meditation practice was significantly correlated with reduced stress levels for both groups. Both parents and adolescents reported high satisfaction with the MYmind program overall. Mindfulness training appears to hold considerable potential for improving the multiple difficulties experienced by adolescents with ADHD and their parents.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2009. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, page: .

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit definitional impairments in social relatedness; a phenomenon that can be explained, in part, by their deficits in empathy. Despite the extent of these deficits, relatively little is known about which factors promote or impede empathic functioning within this group. To date, studies of neurotypical children and adolescents suggest the explanatory power of temperament, parenting style, and parenting stress; associations which have yet to be adequately explored with ASD. Thus, the overarching aim of this investigation was to test whether the aforementioned intra- and interindividual features would predict empathy amongst children and adolescents with ASD. To account for some of the heterogeneity in ASD, two groups of parent-child dyads were recruited: one comprising male children and adolescents with intact receptive and expressive language (n = 40, M = 7.68 years); the other, males with little to no language use in either domain (n = 40, M = 9.09 years). A third group of parent-child pairs comprising male neurotypical children and adolescents with age-appropriate language functioning was included as a comparison sample (n = 40, M = 9.53 years). Parents completed wellestablished questionnaires pertaining to child/adolescent temperament and empathy, as well as parenting style and parenting stress, primarily via telephonic interviews. Results showed that temperamental regulation and negative affectivity were linked to empathy within the neurotypical group in positive and inverse directions, respectively. Only regulatory processes were positively associated with empathy within the non-verbal ASD group, whilst only negative affectivity was inversely associated to empathy within the verbal ASD group. Further, warm, responsive, autonomy-promoting parenting was positively associated with empathy within the neurotypical group, whilst punitive and lax parenting were inversely associated with empathy. Positive forms of parenting were also found to predict empathy within both ASD groups – though somewhat less so within the verbal ASD group. Perhaps a consequence of the severity of their empathic deficits, lax and permissive parenting techniques were not tied to empathy within the ASD groups. Finally, parenting stress was inversely linked to empathy within the non-verbal ASD and neurotypical groups only. Results highlight that findings obtained within neurotypical samples cannot always be extrapolated to ASD. Results further underscore the need for ASD interventions to adopt a family systems perspective, teaching parents how to perceive and respond to their children in adaptive ways.

Research has found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with changes in both parenting stress and cortisol. Resilience-building interventions may be able to help diminish the effects of ACEs, thus impacting parenting stress and cortisol reactivity. This study aims to examine how two resilience-building interventions (emotion-based and behavior-based) will impact parenting stress and cortisol reactivity in mothers with ACEs. This project is in the preliminary stages of data collection; as such, this honors thesis will review the relevant literature, describe current methodology and proposed analyses, and discuss possible implications and future directions. Participants (goal N=100) undergo a pre-assessment where parenting stress and cortisol reactivity are measured. Participants are then randomly assigned to receive an emotion-based curriculum (goal n= 50) or behavior-based curriculum (goal n=50) for 8 weeks. After completing their curriculum, participants’ parenting stress and cortisol reactivity will be reassessed. Participants from both resilience-building interventions are hypothesized to have a reduction in parenting stress and cortisol reactivity, but participants who received the emotion-based curriculum are predicted to have greater reductions. Additionally, it is hypothesized that changes in parenting stress will be correlated with changes in cortisol reactivity, so participants with greater reductions in parenting stress are anticipated to have greater reductions in cortisol reactivity.

Parenting Stress (PS) has been shown to negatively impact on various areas of child development. Additionally, clinically significant levels of PS have been shown to be fairly stable over time and thus unlikely to decrease without intervention. Understanding factors that contribute to PS is therefore important for developing preventative interventions. Despite this, PS has largely been understudied, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The present study aimed to explore PS among 1535 caregivers of primary school-aged children in rural KwaZulu-Natal. The data were collected by experienced fieldworkers, in interviewer style, over three visits, and underwent checks for completeness and quality assurance, prior to data entry. The analysis for the present study included using logistic regression techniques to examine contributing caregiver, child and family factors, as well as content analysis to examine caregivers’ most prominent concerns about their children. Around 16% of this sample were experiencing clinically significant PS. The following factors were found to increase risk of PS: the mother becoming HIV infected post-pregnancy, the family experiencing recent food insecurity, the child exhibiting internalizing or externalizing behaviours and the child having academic or other problems at school. Two factors were linked to a reduced likelihood of PS, namely the child being helped to learn shapes and sizes at home and maternal participation in a breastfeeding study. The content analysis revealed that caregivers most frequently reported having psychosocial concerns about their children, including specific personality traits such as low levels of conscientiousness and poor self-regulation. These findings illustrate the need for early intervention and support for mothers and children in LMICs. Furthermore, this research showed the impact of parental HIV and the need for comprehensive life-course approaches to curb future adversities for HIV infected women and families.