Psychometric Testing of Behavior Assessment for Children

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Behavior Assessment for Children (BAC) in a community of school-aged children in Taiwan. METHOD: A school-based sample comprising third grade and fourth grade students was recruited from Taichung City in Taiwan. The parents (n = 248) and teachers (n = 15) of these students completed structured questionnaires, including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the proposed BAC. Content validity, concurrent validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability of the BAC were assessed. RESULTS: The BAC comprised three subscales (attention, emotion, and self-control) that included 17 items. The content validity index (CVI) score was 0.98. The result of the confirmatory factor analysis (goodness of fit = .90, root mean square of residual = .03, root mean square error of approximation = .06, and comparative fit index = .94) supported the construct validity of the three BAC subscales. The concurrent validity of the BAC subscales significantly correlated with the compatible CBCL subscales (r = .59-.78, p < .001). Cronbach α of the subscales of the BAC ranged from .78 to .92. The intraclass correlation coefficient between the parents and teachers ranged from .31 to .44, and the joint probability of agreement ranged from 31.4% to 92.2%. CONCLUSIONS: The BAC is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating behavioral problems in schoolaged children.

Growth changes in infants born of adolescent mothers; results of a national cohort study in Taiwan

Adolescent pregnancy and childbirth are associated with increased risk and challenges for both mothers and birth outcomes. To investigate the associations of growth change over time with parenting factors and to compare the differences between children born to adolescent and adult mothers in Taiwan, The dataset retrieved from Taiwan birth cohort study [TBCS] was collected by interviews using structured questionnaires, birth certificate and Passport of Well-baby Care of each child. Changes in body weight, body height and head circumference from birth to 18 months, as well as other variables were assessed by statistical analysis. There were 4.13% births born to adolescent mothers in 2005. Higher ratios of breastfeeding and working were found among adult mothers [p<0.001]. Significantly higher percentage of adolescent mothers caregave their infants up to 18 months [p<0.001]. Children born to adolescent mothers were associated with statistically significant lower body weight [p<0.001], body height [p<0.001] and head circumference [p<0.001] in spite of velocity and slop of growth patterns were similar over time. Breastfeeding did not significantly affected growth rate during the first 6 months. Generalized estimated equation models showed that gender and preterm birth were predictive factors for birth outcomes [both p<0.001] and correlated to changes over time. Adolescent childbearing was associated with preterm birth and lower body weight, body height and head circumference from birth to 18 months. The changes in growth and development among children born to adolescent mothers remain to be followed and evaluated with the TBCS

Parenting confidence and needs for parents of newborns in Taiwan

Parenting confidence with regards to caring for their infants is crucial for the healthy adaptation to parenthood and the development of positive parent-infant relationships. The postpartum period is a tremendous transitional time for parents, so their unique needs should be considered. This study explored parenting confidence and needs in parents when their newborns are discharged from hospital, and explored the best predictors of parenting confidence and needs. A cross-sectional design with a questionnaire survey was used in this study. The questionnaire included three parts: Demographic, Parenting Needs and Parenting Confidence Questionnaire. We survey a convenience sample of 96 parents from a postnatal ward and a neonatal intermediate care unit of the medical central hospital in Taichung, Taiwan. The mean age of the subjects was 32 years and 67.7% of the subjects' education level was college or above. Approximately one half of the subjects was multiparous, vaginal delivery and had planned pregnancy. The mean gestational age and birth weight of the newborns was 37.7 weeks and 2902 g, respectively. Parents who had a planned pregnancy [t=2.1, P=0.04] or preterm infants [t=2.0, P=0.046] and those whose infants were delivered by cesarean section [t=2.2, P=0.03] had higher parenting needs. In addition, parents of low birth weight infants had higher parenting needs [r=-0.23, P=0.02]. Regarding parenting confidence, multipara parents perceived higher confidence than primipara parents [t=2.9, P=0.005]. Needs in psychosocial support were significantly correlated with parenting confidence [r=0.21, P<0.05]. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that parity and needs in psychosocial support predict parenting confidence of 13.8% variance. The findings of this study help care providers to identify parents with low parenting confidence at an early postpartum stage. Health care teams should provide appropriate psychosocial support and health education based on parents needs

pregnancy health and birth outcomes of women who underwent assisted reproductive technology: results of a national survey

There is an upward trend for parents to resort to assisted reproductive technology [ART] treatment due to delayed childbirth or birth difficulties. This study investigates the pregnancy health and birth outcomes of women who underwent ART and analyzes the factors that influence birth weight to become<10 percentile when undergoing ART. This study analyzed results of the first wave of the Taiwan Birth Cohort study. Through stratified systematic sampling, 24,200 mother-and-child sampling pairs were obtained from a total of 206,741 live births in Taiwan in 2005; 366 of the babies were born with the use of ART. During pregnancy, mothers who used ART suffered from higher risks of complication than the natural conception counterparts, including gestational diabetes mellitus [GDM], pregnancy induced hypertension [PIH], and placenta previa. Additionally, babies born through ART had poorer outcomes than the natural conception groups: the low birth weight [<2500g] was 33.1% compared to 6.4% for babies born naturally. Pregnancy health and birth outcomes of women who underwent ART were worse than those who got natural conception. Types of maternal complication among ART women included GDM, PIH, and placenta previa. Having multiple births was the most important factor that causes low birth weight in babies. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the health and care of mothers and babies who use ART