Marilyn A. McCubbin

Family Stress, Resources, and Family Types: Chronic Illness in Children.

Family stress, resources, parental coping, and family types were measured in 58 two-parent families who had a child with myelomeningocele. The sample was divided into three groups based on whether the child had a mild, moderate, or severe level of impairment; and the relationships between the family characteristics and the childs health status and number of active health problems were determined. Results show an increasing level of family system involvement contributing to the child health outcomes with increasing severity of impairment. Implications for assessment and intervention by family practitioners are discussed.

Factors influencing osteoporosis preventive behaviours: testing a path model

AIM This paper is a report of a study to test a model of certain factors influencing people engaging in osteoporosis preventive behaviours, and to estimate the direct and indirect effects of personal and social factors on whether people engage in those behaviours. BACKGROUND Osteoporosis preventive behaviours, including exercise and calcium intake, help decreasing the risk of developing osteoporosis. Reasons for engaging in osteoporosis preventive behaviours are complex and influenced by personal and social factors. Years of education, self-efficacy, knowledge of osteoporosis, social support and social capital have been indicated to increase people engaging in osteoporosis preventive behaviours; but age has been shown to decrease those behaviours. METHODS The proposed model was developed using Social Cognitive Theory and a conceptual framework for addressing the social context of health behaviour. A correlational cross-sectional study was carried out in 2005, using questionnaires and a convenience sample of 243 participants. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, correlation techniques and path analysis. RESULTS Self-efficacy was a better predictor of engaging in osteoporosis preventive behaviours than were the other variables. Social capital had a statistically significant direct and indirect effect on osteoporosis preventive behaviours. The modified path model showed good fit with the data. CONCLUSION The associations between personal and social factors extend our knowledge from previous studies and increase our understanding of the complex relationships among the study variables. The model provides guidance for future nursing practice, research, and education programs related to osteoporosis prevention.

Fragebogen zur elterlichen Krankheitsbewältigung: Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP) - Deutsche Version

Zusammenfassung. Mit dem Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP) wurde ein bewahrtes Selbstbeurteilungsinstrument zur Erfassung der Krankheitsbewaltigung von Eltern chronisch kranker Kinder ins Deutsche ubertragen und psychometrisch uberpruft. Nach einer Darstellung des theoretischen Hintergrundes des CHIP werden die drei Dimensionen des Fragebogens beschrieben: I. Aufrechterhalten der familiaren Integration, Kooperation und einer optimistischen Sichtweise der Situation, II. Aufrechterhalten von sozialer Unterstutzung, Selbstwertgefuhl und psychologischer Stabilitat, III. Verstehen der medizinischen Situation durch Kommunikation mit anderen Eltern und medizinischem Personal. Die interne Konsistenz der Skalen liegt bei .75, .76 und .71. Die Retest-Reliabilitat betragt .75, .63 und .57 und verweist damit auf eine mittlere Veranderungssensitivitat des CHIP. Die externe Validitat wurde durch Korrelationen mit einzelnen Skalen der Trierer Skalen zur Krankheitsbewaltigung (TSK) demonstriert. Referenzwerte fu...

Family system and work environment predictors of employee health risk: A discriminant function analysis

Abstract Intuitive reasoning linking family functioning and the work environment to the health status of employees, remains in need of confirmatory evidence. This study focuses on the health risk status of 117 women and 39 men who completed the Healthier People Health Risk Appraisal Inventory, received a physical examination, and completed questionnaires on family functioning and the work environment. A discriminant analysis comparing resilient (low health risk) with vulnerable (high health risk) subjects revealed for female employees, six family and eight work factors in predicting health risk with 86.3% accuracy; for male employees six family and four work factors predicted health risk with 87.2% accuracy. Implications for theory, intervention, and research are discussed.