Pre-service teacher perception of inclusive education plays a critical role in the field of K-12 education, ensuring that students with disabilities receive the best possible instruction in the least ...restrictive environment. This qualitative case study used one-to-one interviews and focus groups to gather data from 16 pre-service teachers enrolled in an Urban teacher preparation program in a major city in Texas, United States. The data analysis highlighted the pre-service teachers’ understanding of differentiation instruction for students with disabilities. Furthermore, the pre-service teachers felt positive about meeting the needs of the special education students in the general education classrooms. However, they expressed concerns related to limited coursework that helps them acquire teaching strategies to meet the needs of the special education students in the general education classrooms. The research findings offer valuable insights into the factors behind pre-service teachers’ perceptions of inclusion, underscoring the importance of coursework specifically targeting their preparedness for inclusive education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered an environment for increased risk of child maltreatment (CM) as families experience increased psychosocial and financial burdens and spend unprecedented amounts of ...time together in the home. This narrative review aimed to summarize empirical findings on existing or new pandemic-related risk factors among caregivers. A combination of search terms related to CM and COVID-19 were used to identify articles published within five databases between February 2020 and July 2022. Literature searches produced 113 articles, of which 26 published across 12 countries met inclusion criteria. Four previously well-established risk factors for CM perpetration continued to persist during the pandemic, including stress, parental mental health, financial concerns, and parental substance use. Of note, inconsistent definitions and measures were used to capture these risk factors. Several additional emerging and understudied risk factors were also identified among limited articles, such as food insecurity and parental education. Findings emphasize the ongoing need for evidence-based interventions to address CM risk during the pandemic, including parent training programs. However, consolidated measures and consistent conceptualization of risk factors are needed to advance the study of CM. Going forward, practitioners and researchers should (a) strengthen the identification process for families at greatest risk for CM, and particularly those vulnerable to pandemic-related stressors; and (b) augment delivery of CM prevention strategies and evidence-based programs to fit the pandemic context.
Adolescence, the transition phase to adulthood, is a critical period for physical and psychological development. Disruptions during this period, such as getting married, could result in various ...adverse short- and long-term health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the differential risk of two common chronic conditions—high blood pressure and high blood glucose—in adult women (20–49 years) who were married during different stages of adolescence (10–19 years) compared to women who were married in their youth (20–24 years). Using the most recent nationally representative data from India, we separately assessed the odds in favor of having the two chronic conditions for women who were married during early (10–14 years), middle (15–17 years), and late (18–19 years) adolescence. We found that an earlier age at marriage during adolescence was associated with a higher risk of chronic conditions later in life. Women who were married during early adolescence were respectively 1.29 and 1.23 times more likely (p < 0.001) to have high blood pressure and high blood glucose compared to women who were married in their youth. These findings highlight the importance of preventing underage marriage among adolescent females to address the risk of downstream chronic health consequences as adults.
Caregiver history of childhood maltreatment can have pervasive effects on familial and household dynamics. Maternal history of child maltreatment (MCM) is linked to maternal depressive symptoms and ...offspring behavioural problems. Further, maternal and child mental health are associated with chaotic home environments. In this study, we examined the potential mediating roles of maternal depressive symptoms and child behavioural problems in the association between MCM and household chaos. A sample of 133 mother–child dyads participated in home visits during which mothers completed questionnaires measuring their history of child maltreatment, depressive symptoms, household chaos and child behaviour problems. Mothers also conducted videotaped home tours related to household chaos. Structural equation modelling results indicated that MCM was indirectly associated with higher household chaos via elevated maternal depressive symptoms and child externalizing, but not internalizing behaviour problems. Interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of MCM on maternal and child psychopathology may positively influence household dynamics.
The purpose of this study was to examine associations between three subtypes of childhood maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to intimate partner violence) and two forms of adult ...police contact (criminality, victimization) using nationally representative Canadian data. Presence of a mental health disorder was also explored as a potential mediating variable in these associations. The weighted sample included 23,846 adult participants from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey–Mental Health. Logistic and multinomial regression analyses examined associations among individual and multiple exposures to subtypes of childhood maltreatment with police contact. The Sobel test was used to assess the mediating effect of mental health disorders. Adjusting for sociodemographic variables, results indicated that all maltreatment subtypes were significantly associated with increased odds of both forms of police contact (adjusted odds ratios ranged from 2.06 to 2.95). Presence of a mental health disorder was a partial mediator in the associations between child maltreatment and both forms of adult police contact (adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.52 to 2.32). In addition, a dose–response relationship was observed for victimization; as the number of subtypes of maltreatment increased, there was an incremental increase in risk of victimization. Future efforts are needed to prioritize child maltreatment prevention, trauma-informed approaches, mental health awareness, and training in law enforcement.
Though the harmful impacts of child marriage have been evaluated across several domains, evidence on the relationship between child marriage and health behaviors over the life course is limited. In ...this paper, we examined whether getting married as a child is associated with one of the most common risky health behaviors, tobacco use, in adulthood.
Using nationally representative data from India, we compared the odds in favor of tobacco use among early adult (age 22-34) and early middle-aged (age 35-44) women who were married before age 18 with that of those who were married as youths (age 18-21). We estimated univariate and multivariable logistic regressions to obtain odds ratios in favor of any tobacco-use and relative risk ratios in favor of mutually exclusive types of tobacco use (smoking-only, smokeless-only, and dual-use). We also explored the intensive margin of the relationship by assessing if the odds of tobacco use in adulthood were affected by how early (13 or less, 14-15, or 16-17) a child bride was married.
We find that the adjusted odds of tobacco use for those who were married as a child were 1.3 and 1.2 times that of those who were married as a youth among early adult and early middle-aged women, respectively. The younger was the child bride when married, the higher were the odds of tobacco use as an adult. The relative risks of different types of tobacco use were also higher for child brides than their peers.
These results are the first evidence of the association between child marriage and a major risky health behavior, tobacco use, over the life course. These findings will inform policies to strengthen child marriage prevention efforts and targeted tobacco control initiatives in the low-and-middle income countries.
Child marriage, defined as union before age 18 years, has detrimental health and socioeconomic consequences. This study examines whether women married as children have a disproportionately higher ...risk of being obese at adulthood compared to their peers married as adults. Using data from the 2012 and 2017 waves of the Tajikistan Demographic and Health Survey, we matched women aged 25 to 49 years by birth year and month to create four birth cohorts. We fitted multivariable logistic regressions to assess the differential odds of being obese and estimated simultaneous quantile regression models to examine the differences in average body mass index (BMI) between women married as adults and as children within birth cohorts. We found that the adjusted odds of being obese for women married as children were 1.5 (CI: 1.3–1.7) times those of those who were married as adults, after controlling for sociodemographic correlates along with birth cohort and survey wave fixed effects. Results of the quantile regression analyses suggest higher expected BMI levels among women married as children compared to those of women married as adults across different quantiles of BMI. The differences though were more pronounced in the younger cohorts than in the older cohorts.
The association between child marriage and the access to or utilization of maternal and antenatal healthcare has been widely studied. However, little is known about child brides’ access to healthcare ...for illnesses later in life. Using data on 496,283 married women aged 18 to 49 years from the India National Family and Health Survey 2015–2016, we developed an 11-point composite score (ranging from 0 to 10) outlining the extent of problems accessing healthcare, as follows: (i) no/little problem (score 0 to 2), (ii) some problems (score 3 to 6), and (iii) big problems (score 7 to 10). The differences between child brides and their peers married as adults were assessed by the relative risk ratios obtained from multinomial logistic regressions. The adjusted risk of having “some problems” and “big problems” accessing healthcare relative to “no/little problem” for child brides was found to be 1.22 (95% CI: 1.20–1.25) and 1.26 (95% CI: 1.22–1.29) times that of those married as adults, respectively. These findings highlight the disproportionate barriers to healthcare access faced by women married as children compared to women married as adults and the need for further research to inform policies regarding effective public health interventions to improve healthcare access.
Child marriage is associated with negative health trajectories among women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Marital disruptions in LMICs are also associated with adverse socioeconomic and ...health outcomes in women. Yet, little is known about the compounded health effects of experiencing both child marriage and marital disruptions. Using nationally representative data from India among women aged 18–49 years, we examined the effects of marital age (i.e., marriage before or after 18 years) and martial disruptions (i.e., widowed/divorced/separated) on the odds of having hypertension. Findings suggest that together, marital disruptions and child marriage increase the risk of hypertension. Specifically, women married as children and who experienced marital disruptions were 1.2 (95% CI: 1.2–1.3) times more likely to have hypertension compared to women who married as adults and currently in marriage. Additionally, among women married as children, those who experienced martial disruptions had a higher risk (AOR = 1.1, 95% CI: 1.0–1.2) of hypertension compared to their currently married peers. These results suggest public health strategies must consider contextual effects of being widowed/divorced/separated among women who were married as children. Simultaneously, prevention initiatives should be strengthened to reduce the incidence of child marriage in LMICs and associated downstream health consequences.
•No studies have examined links among marital disruptions, child marriage and health outcomes.•Approximately 26.1% of women married as children with marital disruptions had hypertension.•Marital disruptions increase risk of hypertension among child brides.•Culturally sensitive prevention and intervention strategies should be developed.
This study assessed the association between cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the United States, among parents and child mental health.
Our sample included 9076 children ...aged 6 to 17 years. Data were pooled from the 2016-2018 waves of the National Health Interview Survey. We fitted a logistic regression to obtain the odds ratios in favor of child mental health problems for parental CVD. We also fitted a multinomial logistic regression to obtain the odds in favor of the severity of mental health problems (i.e., minor, definite, and severe).
The adjusted odds of facing difficulties for a child of a parent with CVD were 1.64 (95% CI: 1.28-2.11) times that of their peers whose parents did not have CVD. The adjusted relative risk of facing minor and definite difficulties for a child of a parent with CVD were 1.48 (95% CI: 1.13-1.94) and 2.25 (95% CI: 1.47-3.46) times that of their peers of parents without CVD.
The results suggest a strong association between child mental health and parental cardiovascular morbidity, demonstrating the need for the development or adaptation of existing public health interventions to facilitate mental health support for children of parents with CVD.
