The July 2019 Issue of School Psychology delves deep into family-school engagement. Articles examine how parental engagement varies as children and adolescents development and as they attend  primary and middle schools. The relationships between parents and their children as a factor is also examined. Two articles examine how parents of children with autism can be engaged successfully in school teams, Read more....

(An item from the ISHN Member information service)  Three articles in June 2015 Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health seek to make the case for "risky" outdoor play for all children. The first article reported on a "systematic review to examine the relationship between risky outdoor play and health in children, in order to inform the debate regarding its benefits and harms. We identified and evaluated 21 relevant papers for quality using the GRADE framework. Included articles addressed the effect on health indicators and behaviours from three types of risky play, as well as risky play supportive environments. The systematic review revealed overall positive effects of risky outdoor play on a variety of health indicators and behaviours, most commonly physical activity, but also social health and behaviours, injuries, and aggression". The second review article examined "the relationship between outdoor time and: (1) physical activity, (2) cardiorespiratory fitness, (3) musculoskeletal fitness, (4) sedentary behaviour; or (5) motor skill development in children aged 3–12 years. We identified 28 relevant studies that were assessed for quality using the GRADE framework. The systematic review revealed overall positive effects of outdoor time on physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and cardiorespiratory fitness, although causality could not be assumed due to a lack of RCTs". The third article was a position paper based on the two articles. Read More>>

(From the ISHN Member information service)  There is a well-established pattern in the research about the effects and nature of effective parenting. Many studies have told us about parent-child communications, parental supervision, parent expectations, role modeling, parenting styles and other general attributes and how they affect their children's behaviours and health status. However, several articles in Issue #3, 2014 of Social Development take us towards a deeper and more detailed understanding. The first article reports on how parenting, when combined with certain genetic traits, can increase "ego-resiliency". Another article discusses how "maternal social coaching" can affect relational aggression among children. Yet another article describes how parents can provide "support for autonomy" within their children. Another article uses values socialization theories to explain how "values emphasized in families" affects behaviour. The final article in this issue discusses how parenting can overcome economic deprivation and cumulative risk to children by building "effortful control" in their children through "warmth, limit setting, and responsiveness. Read more>>

(From the ISHN Member information service)  A study reported in Volume 107, 2014 of Social Science & Medicine examined whether "Mothers' work hours are likely to affect their time allocation towards activities related to children's diet, activity and well-being. The researchers examined the suggestion that mothers who work more may be more reliant on processed foods, foods prepared away from home and school meal programs for their children's meals. A greater number of work hours may also lead to more unsupervised time for children that may, in turn, allow for an increase in unhealthy behaviors among their children such as snacking and sedentary activities such as TV watching. the study confirmed that hypothesis, even more so for higher income families. "Using data on a national cohort of children, we examine the relationship between mothers' average weekly work hours during their children's school years on children's dietary and activity behaviors, BMI and obesity in 5th and 8th grade. Our results are consistent with findings from the literature that maternal work hours are positively associated with children's BMI and obesity especially among children with higher socioeconomic status. Unlike previous papers, our detailed data on children's behaviors allow us to speak directly to affected behaviors that may contribute to the increased BMI. We show that children whose mothers work more consume more unhealthy foods (e.g. soda, fast food) and less healthy foods (e.g. fruits, vegetables, milk) and watch more television. Although they report being slightly more physically active, likely due to organized physical activities, the BMI and obesity results suggest that the deterioration in diet and increase in sedentary behaviors dominate." Read more>>

(From the ISHN Member information service)   The recent international conference on physical activity in Toronto in May 2014 had several national surveys reporting sub-standard levels of physical activity in children. Walking and biking to school is potentially the best way to increase school-related PA but studies also shpw that parents are reluctant to allow their children to walk/bike to school or to play outside after school in unsupervised activities. A blog post from an unlikely source (The Microsoft Mobility Lab) helps us to understand how underlying social factors are driving parent concerns and decisions. The Communications Director for the Microsoft Lab asks the question: " Are Fearful, Lurking Parents a Reason for Uninspired Transportation Choice?  He quotes from a book on the social lives of networked teens and points out that this parental concern is larger than just the trip to school. Parents are also reluctant to allow their children to go online, ride public transit, or even have much unstructured free time. The article notes how little time is now available for young people to mix socially without monitoring from their parents. He concludes that "  We have to remember that when you’re younger, you always want to be older. Kids see adults in places like bars, clubs, restaurants, and even public transit where they are not allowed. Somehow within that mix, we, as a society, have to do a better job of helping our children go through the coming-of-age process in ways that will create the local and global communities for them that we once had as kids ourselves." Read more>>  

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A recent review published by the Sutton Trust in the UK has underlined the urgent need to re-introduce or improve the family studies/home economics education provided to students so that they have the necessary parenting skills and knowledge. In a time when an ever-increasing number of children are being raised by parents who themselves have not been parented adequately, where children are bombarded by advertising aimed at increasing their purchases, where their basic cooking skills are minimal,where young adults make poor decisions about mortgage loans because of low financial literacy, where we discard more and more consumer goods rather than repair them, there is a need to focus on the third core subject: family studies/home economics. Health/Personal-Social Development and Physical Education are important but so is this strand of basic literacy for life. 
The research has found that "   Four in 10 babies don’t develop the strong emotional bonds – what psychologists call ‘secure attachment’ – with their parents that are crucial to success later in life. Disadvantaged children are more likely to face educational and behavioural problems when they grow older as a result". The review of international studies of attachment, Baby Bonds, by Sophie Moullin (Princeton University), Professor Jane Waldfogel (Colombia University and the London School of Economics) and Dr Elizabeth Washbrook (University of Bristol), finds infants aged under three who do not form strong bonds with their mother or father are more likely to suffer from aggression, defiance and hyperactivity when they get older.  Read more>>

(From Drug & Alcohol Findings) The featured review brought together the findings of three reviews conducted for the Cochrane collaboration, each concerned with the effectiveness of ‘universal’ programmes aiming to prevent the development of drinking or drink-related problems in young people aged 18 or younger. As opposed to programmes for high-risk groups, universal programmes target large groups such as an entire age range, whether or not they are known to be specially prone to substance use or problems.The reviewed evidence supports the effectiveness of some but not all universal programmes for alcohol misuse prevention among young people. Given the variability in the results, particular attention should be paid to the content of programmes and the context in which they are delivered, including the setting, key personnel and target age. A programme may for example be effective where adolescent alcohol drinking is rare, but ineffective where it is the norm and reflects powerful social and cultural pressures to drink. Specifically in the school setting, some studies found no effects of preventive programmes, others statistically significant effects. Most commonly observed positive effects were for drunkenness and binge drinking, and it seems that certain generic psychosocial and developmental prevention programmes can be effective and could be considered as policy and practice options.

Main findings School-based programmes Of the 53 trials, 41 were conducted in North America. Relative to a standard curriculum, six of the 11 trials of alcohol-specific interventions found some statistically significant reductions in drinking. Another 39 studies tested more generic programmes. Of these, 14 found some statistically significant reductions in drink-related outcomes relative to a standard curriculum. Some apparently positive results may have been due to inadequate adjustment for ‘clustering’ effects (eg, of children in a class and of classes in schools), and in some studies results were confined to certain subgroups and/or some measures of drinking but not others. Most commonly, significant effects related to drunkenness and binge drinking. Impacts tended to last longer after generic than after alcohol-specific or other programmes. Overall, the evidence is more convincing for certain generic rather than alcohol-specific programmes. Among generic programmes, those based on psychosocial or developmental approaches (life skills in Life Skills Training; social skills and norms in Unplugged; behaviour norms and peer affiliation in the Good Behaviour Game) were most likely to report statistically significant effects over several years when compared to standard school curricula or other types of interventions.

Family-based programmes All but one of the 12 trials were conducted in North America. Nine recorded statistically significant reductions in drinking, in some cases over longer as well as shorter term follow-ups. One study recorded apparently negative effects which may have arisen by chance or due to methodological issues. In another, though ineffective on its own, the family-based intervention was effective when combined with a school-based intervention. There is some evidence for the short to medium-term success of gender-specific interventions for daughters, typically involving their mothers. Some trials found impacts only among children already using substances at the start of the trial.

Multi-component programmes All but three of the 20 trials were conducted in the USA. Relative to comparison conditions, 12 trials reported statistically significant reductions in drinking lasting up to three years among children allocated to multi-component programmes. Six of the 20 trials found no statistically significant differences, and in another significant reductions were confined to children already drinking at the start of the trial. It was unclear whether in general adding further prevention components to an existing programme improved outcomes; reports on four trials indicated some possible benefits, but another three trials found no such indications.  Read More>>

(From Prevention Plus Wellness) Helping children, adolescents and young adults understand how health risk behaviors and health enhancing behaviors influence each other is critical to them making effective decisions for enhancing their whole health. In particular, youth need to know how substance abuse and health promoting habits affect each other to either enhance or interfere with their physical and mental health, perceived self-image, and achieving important life goals. In the past, health behaviors were viewed as being largely independent of each other. We now know that it is more common for youth to experience a number of co-existing unhealthy behaviors rather than a single behavior problem. These co-occurring behaviors influence each other both directly, as well as indirectly through common underlying risk and protective factors such as self-image and self-regulation skills. Effective prevention programs should therefore help young people identify how multiple areas of their lives interconnect to influence their future health, well-being and happiness. Below we provide some tips for teachers and parents on how to communicate with youth to help them make the connection between substance abuse and healthy behaviors. Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Family dinners have recently been highlighted as a way of promoting health of children and adolescents as well as preventing different health problems. However, an article in Issue #3, 2013 of the Journal of Health & Social Behavior reports that an analysis of the 1997 US National Longitudinal Study of Youth (n = 5,419) suggests that dinners have little effect on substance use and may actually cause an increase. The authors report that "The results indicate that family dinners are not generally associated with alcohol or cigarette use or with drug use initiation. However, a continuous measure of family dinners is modestly associated with marijuana frequency, thus suggesting a potential causal impact. These results show that family dinners may help prevent one form of substance use in the short term but do not generally affect substance use initiation or alcohol and cigarette use." Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in the September 2013 issue of School Psychology Quarterly describes the ambivalent feelings and perceptions of parent involvement held by by teachers. The study was designed as follows: "Parent involvement indicators and correlates were selected from a review of existing research. Participants included 34 teachers and 577 children in kindergarten through third grade. The vast majority of the sample was African American (78%), followed by Caucasian (19%) and other ethnic backgrounds (2%). Two subscales from the Parent Involvement-Teacher scale, contact and comfort, were entered as indicators in a latent profile analysis to determine the number and types of parent involvement classes. Contact included the frequency of interactions between parents and teachers; comfort included the quality of their relationship with the parent and how well their goals were aligned". The authors report that "Three classes provided the optimal solution. This included two classes of parents with low contact with teachers but different comfort levels; one with low contact and low comfort (11%), and one with low contact but high comfort (71%). The remaining class, representing 18% of parents, was rated high on both contact and comfort. Low income status, family problems, and social, emotional, academic, and self-regulation problems distinguished the low comfort class from the other two classes. It is imperative to help teachers feel more comfortable working with families who may be experiencing substantial stressors and who also have children who need support across school and home settings."  Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A Canadian study reported in Issue #1, 2013 of Injury Prevention reports that walking or riding to school does increase the risk of child injury. The researchers note that "This cross-sectional study is based on the 2009/10 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey. A sample of children aged 11–15 years (n=20 076) was studied. Multi-level logistic regression was used to examine associations between walking or bicycling to school and related injury. Regular active transportation to school at larger distances (approximately >1.6 km; 1.0 miles) was associated with higher relative odds of active transportation injury (OR: 1.52; 95% CI 1.08 to 2.15), with a suggestion of a dose–response relationship between longer travel distances and injury (p=0.02)"  Read More>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) A supplementary issue of Childhood Obesity explores the influence that parents have on their children's physical activity, eating habits and use of media such as TV, games and other screen time. Several articles in the special issue explore different styles of parenting, role modeling and child-parent communications and other aspects. Parenting/family development models are applied to food, activity and screen use. Mini-research agendas are described. The editorial for the issue notes that measurement issues need considerable work in this area. The articles all appear to be excellent and interesting but sometimes i wonder if researchers on one health issue ever read the similar research that has already been done by people working on other health issues. Parenting and parental influences have already been well-described and discussed in respect to sexual health, substance abuse and problem behaviours as well as in regards to youth development and family systems in general. How much of tbhis is really new or noteworthy? Read more >>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in the April 2013 Issue of BMC Public Health explores the process, reception and reactions to school closings during an outbrerak of influenza or other diseases. School closings, if done quickly and effectively, may disrupt the disease transmission vectors in such outbreaks. The authors note that "Drawing on Thompson et al’s ethical framework for pandemic planning, we show that considerable variation existed between and within schools in their attention to ethical processes and values. In all schools, health officials and school leaders were strongly committed to providing high quality care for members of the school community. There was variation in the extent to which information was shared openly and transparently, the degree to which school community members considered themselves participants in decision-making, and the responsiveness of decision-makers to the changing situation. Reservations were expressed about the need for closures and quarantine and there was a lack of understanding of the rationale for the closures. In our study, trust was the foundation upon which effective responses to the school closure were built. Trust relations within the school were the basis on which different values and beliefs were used to develop and justify the practices and strategies in response to the pandemic. Read more>>

(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Teaching is a high stress occupation and there is often discussion (but less action) to support teacher wellness. An article in Issue #2, 2013 of School Mental Health reports on the use of the Triple P Parenting Workplace program on a group of teachers who are also parents. The authors report that" Analyses indicated the intervention had a positive effect on a range of occupational variables including work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, occupational stress and teaching efficacy. Intervention effects were also found for family- and personal adjustment-related variables including dysfunctional parenting styles, child behaviour, parenting efficacy, and depression and anxiety. Small to large effect sizes were obtained (Cohen’s d = .34–.85), and all intervention effects were maintained at 4-month follow-up. The results indicate that a parenting intervention can reduce work–family conflict and occupational stress and improve family functioning in teachers balancing work and family". Read more>>

(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article from the December 2012 Issue of Public Health Nutrition reports that the quality of lunches brought to school from home were of poorer quality then those provided at school. The authors are reporting on lunches of Grade 5-6 students in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The authors note that " Foods purchased at school were higher in nutrient density for ten micronutrients (Ca, Mg, K, Zn, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12) compared with packed lunch foods from home, which were higher in three micronutrients (Fe, vitamin C and folate). School lunches provided sufficient protein but were higher in sugar and fat than home lunches. Foods brought from home were higher in carbohydrates, fibre and Na than foods purchased at school. The overall nutritional quality of lunches was poor, regardless of source. A significant proportion of foods consumed by the students came from home sources; these were lower nutritional quality and were higher in Na than foods offered at school. Findings suggest that improving the dietary habits of school-aged children will require a collaborative effort from multiple stakeholders, including parents" Read more. 

(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in the December 2012 Issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine analyzes the influences of the mother of your child`s friends, an expansion of the peer influence discussion in substance abuse prevention. The authors conclude that `If an adolescent had a friend whose mother was authoritative, that adolescent was 40% less likely to drink to the point of drunkenness, 38% less likely to binge drink, 39% less likely to smoke cigarettes, and 43% less likely to use marijuana than an adolescent whose friend's mother was neglectful. The study controlled for the parenting style of the adolescent's own mother, school-level fixed effects, and demographics. Read more.

(An item from ISHN Member information service) A Canadian study in the October 2012 issue of BMC Public Health examined the reasons why parents choose to have their children walk to school or if they will be driven or escorted. The objective of this study was to compare family demographics and AST related perceptions of parents who let their children walk unescorted to/from school to those parents who escort (walk and drive) their children to/from school. By comparing these groups, insight was gained into how we may encourage greater AST and independent mobility in youth living in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada. Findings revealed that unescorted children were: significantly older, the families spoke predominantly English at home, were more likely to live within one kilometer from school, and their parents agreed to a greater extent that they chose to reside in the current neighborhood in order for their child to walk to/from school. The parents of the escorted children worried significantly more about strangers and bullies approaching their child as well as the traffic volume around school. The authors conclude that "research and practice should focus on the development and sustainability of non-infrastructure programs that alleviate parental safety concerns" Read more.