Family Anatomy » mothers

Grandparenting, Part 5: What happens when parents are stressed?

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:25:39 +0000

Doctor G and I have been writing and talking all week about the role of grandparents in the lives of children; grandparents are sometimes forgotten in the busy schedule of families, but as I wrote yesterday, their involvement in childcare seems to be linked to some positive outcomes for children and youth. This is good news, especially since up to 38% of kids receive regular care from their grandparents! But what happens in families when parents are under stress?

A study in the June 2008 issue of Families, Systems, & Health looked at families to see whether the support of a grandparent contributed to a reduction in stress for parents of children with special needs. Because previous research has shown that grandmothers are seen by parents as being more supportive than grandfathers, only grandmother involvement was examined in the study. Participants were interviewed and completed questionnaires at the beginning of the study and 1 year later; all of the parents included in the study had children with developmental disabilities. (...)
Read the rest of Grandparenting, Part 5: What happens when parents are stressed? (455 words)

© Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: developmental disability, fathers, grandchildren, grandparents, mothers, stress
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

Do depressed moms have depressed kids?

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:00:24 +0000

Depression can be a debilitating condition, affecting not only mood and outlook, but sleep, appetite, energy levels, and concentration. These symptoms are bad enough for an individual, but for a husband, wife, or parent, they can have ripple effects throughout the home, interfering with relationships and possibly affecting the ability to respond to children’s needs.

When considering the impact of parental mood problems on children, researchers have tended to investigate the impact of maternal depression, and have found links between depressive symptoms in mothers and a number of areas of adjustment for children and adolescents. In a study published in the current issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, researchers followed mothers and their children from 1 month after birth until they were 15 years old to investigate the impact of maternal depression on the mood and behaviour of teens. What was unique about this particular study is that maternal symptoms were examined regularly for more than a decade, and the adjustment of the adolescents was reported by the teens themselves.(...)
Read the rest of Do depressed moms have depressed kids? (477 words)

© Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adjustment, depression, mothers, teenagers
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.

Response to alcohol odours and mother's emotions

Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:07:15 +0000

The June 2008 issue of Alcohol includes a study indicating that children react differently to the smell of alcohol depending on the emotional context of their mother’s drinking. When asked to choose between the odour of beer and an unpleasant odour, kids whose mothers were classified as “escape drinkers” were more likely to choose the unpleasant smell.

You can read more here.

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© Dr. Brian MacDonald C. Psych. for Family Anatomy, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alcohol, emotions, mothers
Note: Posts on Family Anatomy are for education only, and are not intended to replace professional or medical advice. If you need to talk to someone about family or mental health issues, you can get a referral from your family doctor.