Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Publication
    Factors related to the adjustment of siblings following sudden infant death
    Participants in this study were 119 siblings of children who had died from sudden infant death and their parents. This non-representative self-selected group, were profiled as 11 year old boys or girls from middle or upper-middle class intact families whose siblings had died a sudden death about 7 years before the study. Mothers who participated were in their late 30s and fathers were in the early 50s, with a third of families being rurally based and the rest living in urban settings. 18% obtained T-scores above the cut-off of 63 on the total problem scale or the Child Behaviour Checklist. These clinical cases had lower self-esteem and a more external locus of control compared with the rest of the group. Their fathers and mothers also had lower self-esteem and their mothers were more poorly psychologically adjusted. Compared with the non-clinical group, both mothers and fathers in the clinical group perceived marked problems in family functioning. From a wide range of measures of personal, parental and family characteristics, siblings' self-esteem, maternal mental health and siblings' locus of control were identified in a series of stepwise multiple regression analyses as the most significant predictors of siblings' adjustment.
      340
  • Publication
    Factors related to the adjustment of siblings following sudden infant death
    Participants in this study were 119 siblings of children who had died from sudden infant death and their parents. This non-representative self-selected group, were profiled as 11 year old boys or girls from middle or uppermiddle class intact families whose siblings had died a sudden death about 7 years before the study. The average age of mothers who participated were in their late 30s and the average age of fathers were in the early 50s, with a third of families being rurally based and the rest living in urban settings. 18% obtained T-scores above the cut-off of 63 on the total problem scale of the Child Behaviour Checklist. These cIjnical cases had lower selfesteem and a more external locus of control compared with the rest of the group. Their fathers and mothers also had lower self-esteem and their mothers were more poorly psychologically adjusted. Compared with the non-clinical group, both mothers and fathers in the clinical group perceived marked problems in family functioning. From a wide range of measures of personal, parental and family characteristics, siblings' self-esteem, maternal mental health and siblings' locus of control were identified in a series of stepwise multiple regression analyses as the most significant predictors of siblings' adjustment.
    Scopus© Citations 1  348
  • Publication
    The Beavers, McMaster and Circumplex Clinical Rating Scales: A study of their sensitivity, specificity and discriminant validity
    The aim of the present study was to compare the discriminative validity (or the sensitivity and specificity) of three of the most prominent theoretically based clinical rating scales for family functioning. These scales are the Beavers Clinical Rating Scale which is derived from the Beavers Family Systems Model; the McMaster Clinical Rating Scale which is grounded in the McMaster Model of Family Functioning; and the Circumplex Clinical Rating Scale which developed from the Circumplex Model of Family Functioning.
      738
  • Publication
    Recovery and relapse in multiproblem families following community based multidisciplinary treatment
    In a comparative group outcome study of 47 multiproblem families which received treatment from multidisciplinary child and family mental health services teams and 47 waiting list controls, it was found that treated cases showed significant improvement over the course of three months during which they attended the service. Improvement occurred in children's behavioural adjustment and maternal psychological health. Waiting list controls did not improve significantly on either of these variables during the three month treatment period. However, mean scores of the treatment group at nine months follow-up were not significantly better than pretreatment scores, indicating that gains made during treatment were lost at follow-up. An analysis of the clinical significance of changes in children's adjustment showed that while 41% of children moved from the clinical to the normal range during the course of treatment, all had relapsed at six-month follow up. These results point to the importance of developing a chronic care rather than an acute care approach to service provision for multiproblem families.
      109
  • Publication
    The Beavers, McMaster and Circumplex Clinical Rating Scales: A study of their sensitivity, specificity and discriminant validity
    To asses the sensitivity and specificity of clinical rating scales from the Beavers, McMaster and Circumplex models of family functioning videotapes of 60 families engaging in a standardized family task interview were rated using the three rating scales. The 60 families included 20 containing a child with an emotional disorder, 20 containing a child with a mixed disorder of emotions and conduct; and 20 in which none of the children presented with clinically significant difficulties. The three rating scales accurately classified 85-90% of normal controls; 70-90% of cases containing a child with a mixed disorder of emotions and conduct; and 55-65% of families containing a child with an emotional disorder. On the rating scales, the Beavers and McMaster models showed particularly high levels of sensitivity in detecting clinical cases, whereas the Circumplex rating scale was particularly good at classifying nonclinical cases accurately.
    Scopus© Citations 14  547
  • Publication
    Recovery and relapse in multi-problem families following community-based multidisciplinary treatment
    In a comparative group outcome study of 47 multiproblem families which received treatment from multidisciplinary child and family mental health services teams and 47 waiting list controls, it was found that treated cases showed significant improvement over the course of three months during which they attended the service. Improvement occurred in children's behavioural adjustment and maternal psychological health. Waiting list controls did not improve significantly on either of these variables during the three month treatment period. However, mean scores of the treatment group at nine months follow-up were not significantly better than pretreatment scores, indicating that gains made during treatment were lost at follow-up. An analysis of the clinical significance of changes in children's adjustment showed that while 41% of children moved from the clinical to the normal range during the course of treatment, all had relapsed at six-month follow up. These results point to the importance of developing a chronic care rather than an acute care approach to service provision for multiproblem families.
      139