Positive and adverse childhood experiences and mental health outcomes of children.

Objective: Researchers and policymakers have identified adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) like abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction as a contributing factor to poor mental health outcomes for children. Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) like open family communication styles, having the ability to live and play in a safe, stable, and protective environment, having constructive opportunities for social engagement, and receiving mentorship from adults have been found to improve the mental health of children.

Purpose: This paper explores the role of ACEs and PCEs on the mental health outcomes of children.

Shared Decision Making and Treatment for Minority Children With ADHD.

Shared decision making (SDM) involves the patient and family in medical decisions regarding treatment. The purpose of this article is to utilize the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health to explore whether family engagement in SDM increases the odds of treatment for children with ADHD, and more specifically, if the presence of SDM is associated with the reduction of racial and ethnic disparities in treatment. Multivariate logistic regression was used to model the odds of treatment for each racial/ethnic group controlling for sociodemographic and health-related variables.

Dating violence victimization and substance use: The role of a serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5HTTLPR).

While there is developing research on how genes moderate the effect of stressful life events on substance use, the limited research has yet to focus on specific stressors. As adolescent dating violence victimization has been linked to various substance use behaviors, the current research seeks to further examine the longitudinal outcomes of adolescent dating violence victimization and the role that genes play in moderating these effects. Specifically, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a series of logistic and negative binomial regressions are run to analyze the direct and interactive effects of adolescent dating violence victimization and a polymorphism (5HTTLPR) in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene on both alcohol use problems and marijuana use.

Disability status and prescription drug misuse among U.S. adults.

Background: The U.S. is in the midst of a public health crisis related to drug overdose deaths.

Human Milk Handling and Storage Practices Among Peer Milk-Sharing Mothers.

Background: Peer milk sharing, the noncommercial sharing of human milk from one parent or caretaker directly to another for the purposes of feeding a child, appears to be an increasing infant-feeding practice. Although the U.S.

Activity-Limiting Musculoskeletal Conditions in US Veterans Compared to Non-Veterans: Results from the 2013 National Health Interview Survey.

Past military service is associated with health outcomes, both positive and negative. In this study we use the 2013 National Health Interview Survey to examine the constellation of conditions referred to as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) for Veterans and non-veterans with health conditions that limit their daily activities. Multivariate logistic regression analysis reveal that Veterans are more likely to report MSDs like neck and back problems, fracture bone and joint problems as an activity limiting problem compared to non-veterans.

Individualized Education Program Development Among Racially/Ethnically Diverse Children and Adolescents with Health Conditions.

Background Black, Hispanic, and low income children bear a greater burden of chronic health conditions compared to wealthier white counterparts. Under federal law, schools provide services to children when their health conditions impair learning. These school services, called individualized education programs (IEPs) can reduce disparities in school outcomes.

The Comorbidity of Physical, Mental, and Developmental Conditions Associated with Childhood Adversity: A Population Based Study.

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with myriad health conditions and risk behaviors in both adolescents and adults. In this study we examine the association between ACEs and specific physical, mental, and developmental conditions, as well as their comorbidity, in a nationally representative sample of children 0-17 years.

Methods: Data from the 2011-2012 National Survey for Child Health (NSCH) were used.

Milk sharing in practice: a descriptive analysis of peer breastmilk sharing.

Peer breastmilk sharing has emerged in recent years as a subject of investigation and occasional controversy. Although researchers know that thousands of milk exchanges are facilitated through milk sharing Web sites every week, there is only limited research into milk sharing practices on the ground. This study examines these practices through a 102-item online survey that asked questions about milk sharing practices, perceptions of milk sharing, and demographic characteristics.

Adverse childhood experiences and dental health in children and adolescents.

Objective: This study seeks to explore the how specific toxic stressors, specifically adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and their frequencies may be associated with tooth condition and the presence of caries.

Methods: Data from the 2011-12 National Survey for Child Health (NSCH), a nationally representative survey of child health, were used in this study. Pediatric dental health was measured using parent report of two characteristics: condition of teeth and having a toothache, decayed teeth, and/or unfilled cavities in the past 12 months.

Recruiting low income and racially/ethnically diverse adolescents for focus groups.

Recruiting and enrolling low income, racially and ethnically diverse adolescents into research studies can be a challenge. This paper details our research team's methodology in the recruitment and enrollment of low income and racially/ethnically diverse adolescents in three cities as part of a broader study to understand adolescent perceptions of a health risks. Our team used Florida's Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Plan administrative databases to identify a sample of adolescents for focus group participation.

Parental strain, parental health, and community characteristics among children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

Objective: It has been documented that parenting a child with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can cause family strain, but less is known about the added stress of additional child health diagnoses on levels of strain. This study explores the relationship between family stressors (such as child comorbid conditions) and family resources (such as social support, community characteristics, and parental health) on parental strain.

Methods: We used the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) to identify children with ADHD and other comorbid mental and physical health conditions (n = 5473).

Caring for children with life-threatening illnesses: impact on White, African American, and Latino families.

We describe the racial and ethnic variation in family impact resulting from caring for a child with a life-threatening illness. Parents of children aged 2-21 years diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness and enrolled in Florida's Medicaid and Children's Medical Services Network programs were surveyed. Two hundred sixty-six telephone surveys were conducted in English and Spanish between November 2007 and April 2008.

Factors associated with family-provider partnership among children with ADHD.

Background And Objectives: Partnering between families and their children's providers is the cornerstone of family-centered care. The aims of this study are to (1) identify factors associated with family-provider partnership and (2) determine the association between partnership and other outcome measures for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: Using data on children with ADHD from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (n=5,495), we utilized descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses to determine the impact of partnership on multiple health outcome measures.

Racial and ethnic variation in ADHD, comorbid illnesses, and parental strain.

Our objective was to understand the racial and ethnic variation in parental strain for non-Latino White, African American, and Latino parents of children with ADHD and other comorbid diagnoses. We selected 5,397 children with a current diagnosis of ADHD from the 2007 National Survey of Child Health (NSCH) and identified comorbid conditions that could cause additional parental strain. Multivariate regression analyses of parental strain, from ADHD plus comorbid physical and mental health conditions, varied by race and ethnicity in our sample.

Problems with veteran-family communication during operation enduring freedom/operation Iraqi freedom military deployment.

Twenty Reserve component (Army and Marines) and Army National Guard male veterans of Operational Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom discuss their deployment and postdeployment family reintegration experiences. A Grounded Theory approach is used to highlight some of the ways in which family miscommunication during deployment can occur. Communication with civilian family members is affected by the needs of operational security, technical problems with communication tools, miscommunication between family members, or because veterans have "nothing new to say" to family back home.

Using military friendships to optimize postdeployment reintegration for male Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans.

Social relationships are important to health out comes. The postdeployment family reintegration literature focuses on the role of the civilian family in facilitating the transition from Active Duty military deployment to civilian society. The focus on the civilian family relationship may miss other important personal connections in veterans' lives.

Social isolation poststroke: relationship between race/ethnicity, depression, and functional independence.

Research suggests that individuals recovering from a stroke often experience social isolation, which is linked to increased depressive symptomatology and decreased ability to manage activities of daily living. Research also indicates that different racial and ethnic groups are more adversely affected than whites. This article uses poststroke narratives to explore the relationship between social isolation, depressive symptomatology, and the ability to manage activities of daily living poststroke for white, African American, and Puerto Rican veterans.

Veteran family reintegration, primary care needs, and the benefit of the patient-centered medical home model.

Men and women returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq face a multitude of difficulties while integrating back into civilian life, but the importance of their veteran status is often overlooked in primary care settings. Family physicians have the potential to be the first line of defense to ensure the well-being of veterans and their families because many will turn to nonmilitary and non-Veterans Affairs providers for health care needs. An awareness of the unique challenges faced by this population is critical to providing care.

Association between health education needs and stroke caregiver injury.

Objective: Many stroke caregivers are inadequately informed about stroke and its sequelae and have little preparation for the physical demands of moving, lifting, and handling often required. Our objectives are to examine the association between health education needs and physical injury sustained as a result of activities related to the caregiving role.

Method: A total of 276 caregivers of veterans who suffered an acute stroke event were surveyed about their information needs and injury status.

Patterns of informal care among Puerto Rican, African American, and white stroke survivors.

Background: There has been an increase in the number of non-institutionalized stroke survivors over the past few decades leading to larger numbers of family caregivers. Less is known about the patterns of informal caregiving within racially and ethnically diverse families even though there is greater post-stroke morbidity and mortality for these groups.

Research Aims: The purpose of our research is to examine the informal caregiving networks of white, African American, and Puerto Rican caregivers.

Informal caregivers and racial/ethnic variation in health service use of stroke survivors.

We investigated the racial and ethnic variation in health service use among stroke survivors with informal caregivers in a number of Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in one Veterans Integrated Service Network in the southeastern United States. We focused on the role of caregivers as an enabling factor in the use of health services. One hundred twenty-five veterans who had been hospitalized after an acute stroke, been released home, and identified an informal caregiver were enrolled in the study.

Racial/ethnic variation in recovery of motor function in stroke survivors: role of informal caregivers.

Research documents that African American and Latinos who have experienced an acute stroke recover more slowly than Caucasians in the United States. This descriptive study examines (1) the variation in Caucasian, Puerto Rican, and African American motor function after stroke; (2) the association between caregiver attributes and motor recovery after stroke; and (3) the degree to which caregiver attributes explain the variation in motor recovery between different racial/ethnic groups. One hundred and thirty-five veterans who had been hospitalized after an acute stroke, released home, and identified an informal caregiver were enrolled in the study.