Sleep deprivation can decrease parental well-being and degrade mental and physical health in parents of children with chronic illness. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of sleep ...quality, psychological stress perception, and evening salivary cortisol concentration with self-esteem, optimism and happiness in parents of children with type 1 diabetes and developmental disorders compared to parents of healthy, typically developing children.
We studied 196 parents of children with chronic conditions, including autistic spectrum disorder (N = 33), cerebral palsy (N = 18), Down syndrome (N = 33), and diabetes mellitus type 1 (N = 40) and parents of healthy children (N = 72). We evaluated parental sleep quality, evening salivary cortisol levels, self-esteem, optimism and happiness. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess associations between variables.
Compared with those of the control group, the parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders had higher evening cortisol concentrations (β = 0.17; p = 0.038) and lower perceptions of happiness (β=-0.17; p = 0.017), while parents of children with type 1 diabetes had disrupted sleep quality (β = 0.25; p = 0.003). Optimism was negatively associated with the evening cortisol concentration (β=-0.18; p = 0.023) and sleep quality index (β=-0.20; p = 0.012).
Public health programs aimed at lifestyle habit improvement, respite care, and relaxation for parents of children with chronic conditions would be useful for improving parental sleep quality, self-esteem, optimism and happiness.
•Parents of children with chronic conditions displayed a reduced CAR and AUCI.•Morning cortisol values and AUCG correlated with AGEs, anxiety, and depression.•Depression and anxiety were positively ...correlated with AGEs.•General stress perception was associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms.•Child’s condition has important role in parental health and family functioning.
This cross-sectional study aims to investigate awakening cortisol indicators and to explore their association with stress perception, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), depression and anxiety in parents of children with chronic conditions. We included five parental groups according to children’s diagnoses: Down syndrome (DS; N = 31), autistic spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 29), cerebral palsy (CP; N = 15), diabetes mellitus type 1 (DMT1; N = 38), and a control group of heathy children (CG; N = 33). Salivary cortisol and AGEs were measured, alongside with psychological indices. Partial correlation and multiple linear regression were used in the analysis to identify parental characteristics associated with total awakening cortisol output (area under the curve with respect to the ground, AUCG), cortisol awakening response (area under the curve with respect to the increase, AUCI), perceived stress, and health outcomes (AGEs, depression and anxiety). There was no difference between groups for AUCG, while DS and DMT1 groups showed reduced AUCI (β = –0.241, p = 0.040; β = −0.249, p = 0.028, respectively), and ASD parents had a borderline insignificant result (β = −0.205, p = 0.081). Non-smokers had higher AUCG, and parental sedentary activity and sleep duration were associated with AUCI. AUCG was positively associated with AGEs (β = 0.218, p = 0.013), anxiety (β = 0.207, p = 0.004), and with depression (β = 0.156, p = 0.034), unlike the AUCI. DS parental group showed lower general stress perception (β = −0.260, p = 0.005). Parents of children with DMT1 had more pronounced depressive symptoms (β = 0.183, p = 0.039), while CP parents had a borderline insignificant result for depression (β = 0.143, p = 0.058). Based on these results, parents of children with chronic conditions have altered awaking cortisol response and are under increased risk of adverse health consequences.
Nursing care involves a continuous interaction between nurses and people with disabilities. This has created a need for assessment tools that measure nurses' knowledge about the basic human needs of ...people with disabilities. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to develop a Knowledge of Basic Human Needs Scale and investigate nurses' levels of knowledge about the basic human needs of people with disabilities and their association with nurses' education. Data were analyzed using principal component analysis to test the construct validity and to identify factors using principal varimax rotation. The reliability estimate was based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Linear regression models were used to assess the association between knowledge about basic human needs and predictors. Factor analysis extracted eight factors, explaining 66.3% of the total variance. The sampling adequacy, criterion validity, and internal consistency were satisfactory. The nurses' levels of education was associated with their knowledge about the basic human needs of people with disabilities. The questionnaire constitutes a valuable contribution to improving nurses' knowledge and practice, as well as the quality of healthcare, and it provides a contribution to improving the quality of life for people with disabilities.
This cross-sectional study assessed both family and individual quality of life (QOL), and their association with self-esteem, optimism, chronic psychological stress, anxiety, and depression in ...parents of children with chronic conditions.
Parents of children with Down syndrome (DS), autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy (CP), diabetes mellitus type 1 (DMT1), and parents of children without chronic diseases with typical development (TD) were included. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to assess parental characteristics associated with the domains of individual and family QOL.
Compared to the parents of TD children, parents of children with ASD and DS were more likely to report reduced family QOL in all domains, while parents of children with DMT1 had lower parental perception. Self-esteem was positively associated with all domains of individual QOL, while optimism was associated with the overall individual QOL perception and health. Higher stress perception was negatively associated with most of the domains of individual and family QOL.
This study confirmed that parents of children with chronic conditions are more likely to have lower perception of both individual and family QOL, which were associated with self-esteem, chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. Interventions should focus not only on the child with a chronic condition but on parents too.
There is compelling evidence that fruit, vegetables, whole cereals, and legumes make about 80 % of the total food fibre intake and have a potential to help in the prevention of a number of diseases. ...The aim of our study was to estimate total fibre intake from consumption of this fibre-rich food, partly reported in our earlier study in Croatian adult population. Current data analysis involved a non-probabilistic sample of 1,034 adult participants from Dalmatia, Croatia who responded to a validated food frequency questionnaire between October 2014 and March 2015. We also analysed the sales data obtained from three shopping centres in the Zadar area (Croatian coast) to establish a list of most frequently bought fruit, vegetables, whole cereals, and legumes and to calculate dietary fibre (DF) intake for each of the top-selling items and conversion factors for each food group. We then used these conversion factors to calculate individual total fibre intake (TFI) in our population. It was 11.4 g per person per day, which is less than half the recommended dietary requirements. On average, respondents reported to consume one piece of fruit and one meal of vegetables a day, which is less than half the daily recommendation for either. 25.8 % of respondents reported no consumption of whole cereals at all, and only 0.2 % of the population consumed the recommended 3–5 servings of whole grains or legumes a day. We also observed significantly higher consumption of fruit and whole grains/legumes in women than men. Our findings alert to poor dietary fibre intake in Croatian adult population, which is similar to other western countries and points to issues deeply rooted in these economies. However, our findings may be either an over- or under-estimation and need to be verified through longitudinal research on a wider sample using more precise tools.
Parents of children with developmental disabilities face numerous challenges and stressors that can negatively impact their well-being. One of the relatively neglected issues, particularly in the ...national context, is the difficulty of balancing the demands of work and family for this group of parents. Therefore, this paper aimed to gain a deeper insight into the factors that may be important in explaining the well-being of working parents of children with developmental disabilities in Croatia. More specifically, it aimed to identify the factors that promote and/or hinder the reconciliation of work and family life for this group of parents. A total of 25 working parents (15 mothers and 10 fathers) of children with different types and degrees of developmental disabilities participated in the research, which was based on in-depth interviews. Most participants (N=23) have one child, while two of them have two children with objectively diagnosed developmental disabilities. Most of the participants (N=21) are employed full-time. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicated four groups of factors: social, organisational, family, and individual, that facilitate and/or hinder the reconciliation of work and family roles from the perspective of study participants. Considering that the well-being of parents of children with developmental disabilities is strongly influenced by the specific social context, which makes it difficult to generalise the insights obtained in different countries, the results of this research conducted in Croatia constitute an important theoretical contribution. The identification and description of relevant factors that enable the reconciliation of work and family roles and thus shape the well-being of this group of parents provide a strong starting point for quantitative research in this area. In addition to the above, the paper provides a number of practical implications aimed at improving the well-being of this group of parents.
Roditelji djece s teškoćama u razvoju suočavaju se s brojnim izazovima i stresorima koji se mogu negativno odraziti na njihovu dobrobit. Jedna od relativno zanemarenih tema, osobito u nacionalnim ...okvirima, jest otežana mogućnost usklađivanja zahtjeva radne i obiteljske uloge te skupine roditelja. Stoga je cilj ovog rada bio dobiti dublji uvid u čimbenike koji imaju potencijalno važnu ulogu u objašnjenju dobrobiti zaposlenih roditelja djece s teškoćama u razvoju u RH; preciznije, identificirati čimbenike koji promoviraju i/ili ometaju usklađivanje radnog i obiteljskog života te skupine roditelja. U istraživanju temeljenom na dubinskim intervjuima sudjelovalo je ukupno 25 zaposlenih roditelja (15 majki i 10 očeva) djece s različitim vrstama i stupnjevima teškoća u razvoju. Većina sudionika (N=23) ima jedno dijete, dok dvoje sudionika ima dvoje djece s objektivno dijagnosticiranim teškoćama u razvoju. Većina sudionika (N=21) provedenog istraživanja zaposlena je na puno radno vrijeme. Podatci su analizirani tematskom analizom. Rezultati su ukazali na četiri skupine čimbenika: društvene, organizacijske, obiteljske i osobne, koji, iz perspektive sudionika istraživanja, olakšavaju i/ili otežavaju usklađivanje radne i obiteljske uloge. S obzirom na to da je dobrobit roditelja djece s teškoćama u razvoju snažno oblikovana specifičnim društvenim kontekstom, što otežava poopćavanje rezultata te tematike dobivene u različitim zemljama, rezultati istraživanja provedenog u RH imaju važan teorijski doprinos. Identifikacija i opis relevantnih čimbenika koji omogućuju usklađivanje radne i obiteljske uloge te tako oblikuju dobrobit te skupine roditelja pružaju snažno polazište za kvantitativna istraživanja u tom području. Uz spomenuto rad pruža niz praktičnih implikacija usmjerenih unapređenju dobrobiti te skupine roditelja.
Parents of children with developmental disabilities face numerous challenges and stressors that can negatively impact their well-being. One of the relatively neglected issues, particularly in the national context, is the difficulty of balancing the demands of work and family for this group of parents. Therefore, this paper aimed to gain a deeper insight into the factors that may be important in explaining the well-being of working parents of children with developmental disabilities in Croatia. More specifically, it aimed to identify the factors that promote and/or hinder the reconciliation of work and family life for this group of parents. A total of 25 working parents (15 mothers and 10 fathers) of children with different types and degrees of developmental disabilities participated in the research, which was based on in-depth interviews. Most participants (N=23) have one child, while two of them have two children with objectively diagnosed developmental disabilities. Most of the participants (N=21) are employed full-time. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicated four groups of factors: social, organisational, family, and individual, that facilitate and/or hinder the reconciliation of work and family roles from the perspective of study participants. Considering that the well-being of parents of children with developmental disabilities is strongly influenced by the specific social context, which makes it difficult to generalise the insights obtained in different countries, the results of this research conducted in Croatia constitute an important theoretical contribution. The identification and description of relevant factors that enable the reconciliation of work and family roles and thus shape the well-being of this group of parents provide a strong starting point for quantitative research in this area. In addition to the above, the paper provides a number of practical implications aimed at improving the well-being of this group of parents.
Emotion can reflect in the perception of food consumption. An increase in food intake during emotional and psychological conditions may have a negative impact on human health. The aim of this ...cross-sectional study was to determine the associations between food consumption, emotional eating behavior, and emotional conditions such as stress, depression, loneliness, boredom eating, maintaining vigilance and alertness, and emotional food consolation. We used a Motivations for Food Choices Questionnaire (Eating Motivations, EATMOT) to determine the emotional aspects of food consumption in 9052 respondents living in 12 European countries between October 2017 and March 2018. Ordinal linear regression was used to identify the associations between the emotional eating behavior and emotional conditions such as stress, depression, loneliness, emotional consolation, and reasons to improve physical and psychological conditions. The regression models confirmed the associations between food consumption, emotional conditions, and emotional eating behavior. Associations were found between the emotional eating behavior and stress (odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.60,
= 0.010), depressive mood (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.40-1.43,
< 0.001), loneliness (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.58-1.62,
< 0.001), boredom (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.36-1.39,
< 0.001), and emotional consolation (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.54-1.57,
< 0.001). Emotional eating was associated with an effort to improve physical and psychological conditions, such as controlling body weight (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.10-1.12,
< 0.001), keeping awake and alert (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.19-1.20,
< 0.001) and consumption to feel good (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.21-1.22,
< 0.001). In conclusion, emotions might provoke emotional eating behavior. The appropriate way to handle stress, depression, or other emotional states is important in conditions of being emotionally overwhelmed. The public should be educated on how to handle different emotional states. The focus should be moved somehow from emotional eating and the consumption of unhealthy food to healthy lifestyle practices, including regular exercise and healthy eating habits. Thus, it is necessary to halt these negative health effects on human health through public health programs.
Many aspects linked to personal characteristics, society and culture constitute some of the motivators that drive food choice. The aim of this work was to determine in what extent the eating ...behaviors of individuals are shaped by six different types of determinants, namely: health, emotions, price and availability, society and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and commercials. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, involving a non-probabilistic sample of 11,960 participants from 16 countries. The objective of this work was to validate the questionnaire, so as to make it suitable for application in different contexts and different countries. For that, six scales were considered for validation by confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modelling. The obtained results showed that the six individual scales evaluated presented good or very good fitting indices, with saturation in goodness-of-fit index in all cases. The values of chi-square ratio were 6.921 (for health), 0.987 (environment), 0.610 (emotions) and 0.000 in the remaining cases (convenience, society, marketing). Furthermore, the fit was perfect, with saturation for all indices, in three of the six models (convenience, society and marketing). The results of this wok allowed the validation of the six scales, and the assessing of different types of factors that can influence food choices and eating behaviors, namely in the categories: health, emotions, price and availability, society and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and commercials.
The objective was to develop and validate an instrument that measures different determinants of people's food choices and simultaneously accounts for a variety of factors: health, emotions, price and ...availability, society and culture, environment and politics, and marketing and advertising.
This is a cross-sectional study focusing on food choice determinants. It was carried out in 16 countries in 2017 and 2018. This study included 11,960 volunteer adult participants from different countries. The data was validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).
Validation using CFA with SEM revealed that multi-factor modelling produced first- and second-order models that could be used to define the EATMOT scale, the first presenting better fitting indices, with the goodness-of-fit and comparative-fit indices very close to 1, as well as root-mean-square-error-of-approximation, root-mean-square-residual and standardised-root-mean-square-residual at practically zero.
The validated EATMOT scale guarantees confidence in the information obtained through this instrument, and can be used in future studies to better understand food choice determinants in different geographical areas and help plan strategies to improve healthy eating patterns and diminish the burden of non-communicable diseases.
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