Entrepreneur?s Family Communication Questionnaire-Psychometric properties of the tool

Entrepreneurial success is related to many factors, among which, those relating to the psychological dimensions of the successful (or unsuccessful) entrepreneur are often overlooked and rarely studied. In particular, some of the most significant psychological determinants of entrepreneurial success may be rooted in the family of origin, such as the patterns of family communication. Family communication in relation to entrepreneurial success has been the object of some research but only in the context of communication within family businesses. The current study presents the theoretical basis and the stages of development of a tool to measure communication in en-trepreneurs' families, irrespective of the fact that those families run their own business or not. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the psychometric parameters (factor structure, reliability, validity) of the proposed Entrepreneur's Family Communication Questionnaire (EFCQ). The tool we propose, though inspired by other existing tools measuring the quality of communication within families, is new as it includes a scale specifically devoted to the quality of the communication related to entrepreneurial behaviors, and hence is expected to be useful in a more comprehensive study of psychological determinants of entrepreneurial success we are presently conducting. The validation study results we obtained are promising and confirm that the proposed tool has good psychometric parameters.

The creation of educational resources through the use of blogs during the lockdown period: a case study of a nursery school

During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, educational centres made a considerable effort to adapt to the unforeseen circumstances. This article analyses how a nursery school (0-3 years) used a blog between the months of March and June 2020. It examines the use of a blog to develop and implement educational ma-terials and activities that were targeted at the school's students and families who were confined at home. The use of a blog allowed the educational staff to maintain the same educational approach that the nursery school had been using since its beginnings. © GKA Ediciones, authors.

Teacher Candidates' Communication and Collaboration with Family and Community During COVID-19

After schools were closed in AY 2019–2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were expected to continue two-way communication and collaboration with their students' families without much guidance. In this study, we focus on how five teacher candidates navigated and continued their efforts of communication and collaboration with students' families and the larger community during the pandemic. Through storytelling during interviews, the five teacher candidates provided valuable insight that focused on communication during the pandemic. Findings indicated that these teacher candidates struggled with establishing professional boundaries with students' families, wrestled with the unforeseeable challenges of "being” in the homes of their students' families, and experienced a disconnect from the community. Implications of this study suggest that lessons learned during COVID-19 could transform how teacher candidates and Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) practice future two-way communication and collaboration with students' families. © 2022 Association of Teacher Educators.

Educational inequality during isolation for COVID-19 in Buenos Aires

This article presents the results regarding the issue of education from the "Survey on living conditions and infant care during the preventative and obligatory social isolation of COVID-19." This survey was filled out by a sample of families (n=4,008), whose children were in three levels of public (62.6%) and private (37.4%) education in three districts of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. According to the results, the majority of the families sustained communication with the educational institutions;however, cases in which difficulties manifested were linked to limitations in connectivity or lack of technological apparatuses (above all, in public schools). Due to this, the interactions among teachers and students were limited, without the possibility of establishing synchronic communications, which made it difficult to carry out high-quality virtual education over a prolonged period, an impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, this article concludes by highlighting the limitations and reach of the study in order to analyze issues relating to educational equity and thus contribute to the possibility of designing policies that improve educational access. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR]

Communication with families: Understanding the perspectives of early childhood teachers

Communication between teachers and families in early childhood is a key aspect of successful teacher-family engagement. The goal of this exploratory study was to investigate how teachers communicated with families in early childhood classrooms and what they communicated about. This study of 31 teachers working with children birth to age five, primarily in the Midwestern U.S. examined how they described communication with families using semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that teachers used multiple formats to communicate with families about children's daily routines, developmental progress, and other relevant information. Teachers preferred in-person communication although challenges occurred due to classroom dynamics and the global COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Technology such as apps and messaging emerged as an efficient way to reach most families, however difficulties facilitating reciprocal communication with families were described. Further research is needed to identify successful communication strategies for both teachers and families, thus building higher quality teacher-family partnerships.

Seeking Information from Traditional and Modern Means of Communication and its Relationship to the Behavioural Responses of the Yemeni Public During the Corona Pandemic (A Survey Study)

The study dealt with the relationship between the Yemeni public's seeking of information from traditional and modern means of communication about the Corona pandemic and the achieved cognitive, emotional and behavioural responses, and it monitored the role of some important variables such as demographic variables, fear variables and risk perception. The study concluded that the public's interest in information about Corona was average, and that the communication activity of nearly half of the respondents was low, especially among females, and the most important communication sources about the pandemic were family, friends and doctors, then some social networking applications and websites, especially WhatsApp and then television, and it was the most important The information that the public is seeking about the Corona epidemic is about preventive methods, then about the symptoms, then about the causes, and the motive to protect oneself and the family from the danger of the epidemic is the public's motives in seeking information, then the motive to get rid of the feeling of anxiety and fear, and the respondents showed a good level of knowledge about information about symptoms. And how to prevent, and one of the most important psychological effects caused by the spread of the epidemic: anxiety and fear, and the level of the respondents' behavioural response towards precautionary measures against the Corona epidemic was high, and the study showed a positive and significant correlation between the rate of public seeking information from modern and traditional means of communication and their positive behavioural responses. [ FROM AUTHOR]

College Students' Degree of Support for Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Educational institutions worldwide have experienced the suspension of offline teaching activities in favor of online teaching due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have focused on the degree of support for online learning among college students in mainland China. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the degree of support for online learning among Chinese college students during the epidemic and whether depression, loneliness, family communication, and social support were associated factors. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional data from 9319 college students in mainland China, and a structural equation model was analyzed. RESULTS: The results of the study showed high degrees of support for online learning among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than half expressing support. The SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) results showed that depression had a negative and significant effect on college students' support for online learning (ß = -0.07; p < 0.001); family communication had a positive and significant effect on college students' support for online learning (ß = 0.09; p < 0.001); social support had a positive and significant effect on college students' support for online learning (ß = 0.11; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Social support and family communication can alleviate the negative psychological status of college students, and depression plays a mediating role in the effect of social support and family communication on college students' degree of support for online learning. In addition, a significant chain-mediating effect was found of family communication, loneliness, and depression between social support and college students' degree of support for online learning. Government and education institutions must focus on college students' mental health issues and consider family interventions and general support that college students require.

[Prevalence and factors associated with eating disorders in Peruvian Human Medicine students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentre study]. / Prevalencia y factores del trastorno de conducta alimentaria en estudiantes de Medicina Humana del Perú en el contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19: estudio multicéntrico.

INTRODUCTION: Eating disorders (ED) are serious conditions that have diverse consequences, associated with high morbidity and mortality: Among the factors associated with their development are, being female, and stress, which increased during the pandemic, and was higher in medical students. Our objective was to identify the prevalence and factors associated with ED in medical students. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, conducted with an online questionnaire, between January 1 and 31, 2021, in 22 universities, using the Eating Disorder Scale (EAT-26) and the Family Communication Scale (FCS). Generalized logistic regressions were used to identify the association between variables. RESULTS: A total of 1224 participants were recruited, and the prevalence was 12.5%. Associated factors included a poor perception of health in 34.3%, having a family and/or social environment member with an eating disorder in 21.7%, and medium or low satisfaction with family communication in 57.3% and 34.9% respectively, in addition to the academic year, dieting, concern for body image and the perception of inadequate eating. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1-2 out of 10 Human Medicine students had an ED. The associated factors that influenced development of the condition included a fair or poor perception of health, the academic year completed, and medium or low satisfaction with family communication.

Parents who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: role conflict and marital aggression.

The present study investigates the correlation between the experience of work-family role conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic and expressions of marital aggression. Expressions of aggression were assessed in terms of hostility in current spousal relationships and adopting inappropriate marital conflict management patterns: physical violence, verbal-emotional violence and avoiding conflict resolution. The research sample included 406 Jewish participants (206 women and 200 men) who worked from home at least three days a week during August 2020, and are parents to young and middle-childhood age children. The findings indicate a positive correlation between role conflict, marital hostility and the use of a pattern of verbal-emotional violence during conflict management. Furthermore, we observe that marital hostility mediates the relationship between role conflict and the use of inappropriate marital conflict management patterns. A negative correlation was also found between resources of flexibility in crisis management and relaxed communication in the family, on one hand, and marital hostility and to use of physical violence patterns in marital conflict management. No differences were found between mothers and fathers in terms of role conflict experience or assessment of expressions of marital aggression. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Social Security, Journal of Welfare & Social Security Studies (0334-231X) is the property of Editorial Board of Social Security, Journal of Welfare & Social Security Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Examining the Impact of Turkish Couples' Intimacy Levels in Romantic Relationship on Children's Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Intimacy refers to closeness and an expressive and personal romantic relationship between couples/partners. More importantly, intimacy in romantic relationships is known to influence children's well-being and mental health. Couples who suffer from a lack of intimacy in their relationship are more vulnerable to psychophysiological disorders, depression and other non-psychiatric disorders and these disorders may have an impact on the children living with them. Under today's circumstances, little is known about the link of intimacy in romantic relationships with children's anxiety particularly within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between intimacy in romantic and children's anxiety levels during COVID-19 disease. Participants were 12,126 Turkish couples (mean age=35.27 +/- 5.37) who completed the intimacy in romantic relationship scale and state-trait anxiety inventory for children online. Socio-demographic data form was created to measures variables such as age, gender, and the COVID-19 experiences. The results suggest that single couples were found to have a better romantic relationship than married couples. Self-disclosure, physical attraction, support, and trust were found to be related to anxiety levels of children. This pattern of results highlights the importance of intimacy in a romantic relationship on children anxiety levels in the face of adversity which have important implications for research and practice.

A Population Study on COVID-19 Information Sharing: Sociodemographic Differences and Associations with Family Communication Quality and Well-Being in Hong Kong.

Family support through the sharing of information helps to shape and regulate the health and behaviours of family members, but little is known about how families are sharing COVID-19-related information, or about its associations with family communication quality and well-being. We examined the associations of COVID-19 information sharing methods with sociodemographic characteristics, the perceived benefits of information communication and technology (ICT) methods, and family communication quality and well-being in Hong Kong. Of 4852 respondents (53.2% female, 41.1% aged over 55 years), the most common sharing method was instant messaging (82.3%), followed by face-to-face communication (65.7%), phone (25.5%) and social media (15.8%). Female sex (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) 1.09), older age (aPRs 1.14-1.22) and higher household income (aPR 1.06) (all p ≤ 0.04) were associated with instant messaging use, while post-secondary education was associated with face-to-face (aPR 1.10), video call (aPR 1.79), and email (aPR 2.76) communications (all p ≤ 0.03). Each ICT sharing method used was associated with a higher likelihood of both reported benefits (aPRs 1.26 and 1.52), better family communication quality and family well-being (adjusted ßs 0.43 and 0.30) (all p ≤ 0.001). We have first shown that COVID-19 information sharing in families using both traditional methods and ICTs, and using more types of methods, was associated with perceived benefits and better family communication quality and well-being amidst the pandemic. Sociodemographic differences in COVID-19 information sharing using ICTs were observed. Digital training may help enhance social connections and promote family well-being.

Visiting and Communication Policy in Intensive Care Units during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey from South Asia and the Middle East.

Purpose: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had affected the visiting or communicating policies for family members. We surveyed the intensive care units (ICUs) in South Asia and the Middle East to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on visiting and communication policies. Materials and method: A web-based cross-sectional survey was used to collect data between March 22, 2021, and April 7, 2021, from healthcare professionals (HCP) working in COVID and non-COVID ICUs (one response per ICU). The topics of the questionnaire included current and pre-pandemic policies on visiting, communication, informed consent, and end-of-life care in ICUs. Results: A total of 292 ICUs (73% of COVID ICUs) from 18 countries were included in the final analysis. Most (92%) of ICUs restricted their visiting hours, and nearly one-third (32.3%) followed a "no-visitor" policy. There was a significant change in the daily visiting duration in COVID ICUs compared to the pre-pandemic times (p = 0.011). There was also a significant change (p <0.001) in the process of informed consent and end-of-life discussions during the ongoing pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times. Conclusion: Visiting and communication policies of the ICUs had significantly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies are needed to understand the sociopsychological and medicolegal implications of revised policies. How to cite this article: Chanchalani G, Arora N, Nasa P, Sodhi K, Al Bahrani MJ, Al Tayar A, et al. Visiting and Communication Policy in Intensive Care Units during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey from South Asia and the Middle East. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(3):268-275.

Family Communication and Psychological Distress in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Role of Coping.

This study aims to examine the association between family communication and psychological distress with coping as a potential mediator. The study also developed and validated the Family Communication Scale (FCS) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (n = 658; 74.9% female) were general public ranged in age between 18 and 58 years (mean age = 26.38, SD = 10.01). The results showed that family communication directly influenced psychological distress and indirectly influenced through approach coping. However, avoidant coping was not directly associated with psychological distress, nor did it mediate the association between family communication and psychological distress. The findings suggest that people, who have better family communication, highly engage in approach coping which in turn leads to better psychological health in face of adversity. The findings have important empirical and theoretical implications.

Conversation Breeds Compliance: The Role of Intergenerational Communication in Promoting Preventive Behaviors against COVID-19 among Middle-Aged Parents in China.

This study aims to explore and compare the influences of two crucial information channels used by middle-aged parents-media and their adult children-on their health knowledge, emotions and preventive behaviors against COVID-19, based on media exposure and the family communication patterns (FCP) theory. Parents of college students in Guangzhou, China were invited to participate in an online survey between February 10 and 24, 2020. A total of 193 respondents, aged between 40 and 65 years, completed the study questionnaire. Media exposure was a positive predictor of negative emotions, intergenerational discussions, and preventive behaviors among Chinese middle-aged parents. Conversation orientation was a positive predictor of scientific discussions and preventive behaviors, whereas conformity orientation was a negative predictor of knowledge, but a positive predictor of intergenerational discussions and negative emotions. Intergenerational discussions mediated the relationships between media exposure and preventive behaviors, as well as between FCP and preventive behaviors. Health communication efforts require the help of adult children as intergenerational communication serves as an important amplifier in terms of influencing the health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of middle-aged and elderly populations.

Family E-Chat Group Use Was Associated with Family Wellbeing and Personal Happiness in Hong Kong Adults amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Instant messaging (IM) is increasingly used for family communication amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. However, evidence remains scarce on how family e-chat groups were used and their associations with family and individual wellbeing amidst the pandemic. The numbers of family e-chat groups, functions used, and messages sent and received daily in groups were reported by 4890 adults in May 2020, and their associations with family wellbeing and personal happiness and the mediation effect of family communication quality were examined. Results showed that sending/receiving text messages was most commonly used, followed by receiving/sending photos/pictures, making voice calls, receiving/sending short videos and voice messages, and making video calls. Women and older people used more non-text functions. Higher levels of family wellbeing and personal happiness were associated with having more groups, receiving/sending photos/pictures, video calls, more IM functions used, and more IM messages received/sent daily. Forty-six point two to seventy-five point five percent of their associations with more groups and more functions used were mediated by family communication quality. People having more family e-chat groups and using more IM functions may be more resilient amidst the pandemic, while those without or with low use of family e-chat groups amidst the pandemic would need more attention and assistance in the presence of social distancing.

Developing an Innovative System of Open and Flexible, Patient-Family-Centered, Virtual Visiting in ICU During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Collaboration of Staff, Patients, Families, and Technology Companies.

Few challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic strike at the very core of our humanity as the inability of family to sit at the bedside of their loved ones when battling for their lives in the ICU. Virtual visiting is one tool to help deal with this challenge. When introducing virtual visiting into our ICU, we identified 5 criteria for a sustainable system that aligned with patient-family-centered care: virtual visiting needed to (1) simulate open and flexible visiting; (2) be able to accommodate differences in family size, dynamics, and cultural practices; (3) utilize a video conferencing platform that is private and secure; (4) be easy to use and not require special teams to facilitate meetings; and (5) not increase the workload of ICU staff. There is a growing body of literature demonstrating a global movement toward virtual visiting in ICU, however there are no publications that describe a system which meet all 5 of our criteria. Importantly, there are no papers describing systems of virtual visiting which mimic open and flexible family presence at the bedside. We were unable to find any off-the-shelf video conferencing platforms that met all our criteria. To come up with a solution, a multidisciplinary team of ICU staff partnered with healthcare technology adoption consultants and two technology companies to develop an innovative system called HowRU. HowRU uses the video conferencing platform Webex with the integration of some newly designed software that automates many of the laborious and complex processes. HowRU is a cloud based, supported, and simplified system that closely simulates open and flexible visiting while ensuring patient and family privacy, dignity, and security. We have demonstrated the transferability of HowRU by implanting it into a second ICU. HowRU is now commercially available internationally. We hope HowRU will improve patient-family-centered care in ICU.

Young African Americans' Communication with Family Members About COVID-19: Impact on Vaccination Intention and Implications for Health Communication Interventions.

Communication with family members about the COVID-19 vaccine may play an important role in vaccination decisions, especially among young people. This study examined the association between family communication about the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination intention. Participants were Black/African Americans aged 18-30 years (N = 312) recruited through an online survey in June 2020. We assessed family communication, vaccine attitudes, perceived norms, outcome expectancies, and vaccination intention. More than half (62%) of the participants had talked to family members about the vaccine. Females were more likely than males to have engaged in family communication (63% vs. 59%) (p. > .05). Family communication, injunctive norms, and descriptive norms were significantly (p. < .01) associated with vaccination intention. Family communication was the strongest predictor of intention.Promoting discussions about vaccinations between young Black adults and their families may increase the likelihood of adopting positive vaccination beliefs and influencing vaccine decision-making.

The Role of a Liaison Team in ICU Family Communication During the COVID 19 Pandemic.

CONTEXT: In the name of public safety, a general suspension on hospital visiting was imposed in the U.K., prohibiting family and friends to visit hospitalized patients, even if they were critically ill. OBJECTIVES: we aimed to assess the impact of the FLT on the communication with patients' family and friends (PFF), especailly around end-of-life care, and their interaction with CC clinicians. METHODS: A retrospective, mixed-methods analysis of a family liaison team (FLT) formed by redeployed clinicians in critical care (CC) during the first surge of the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic. RESULTS: The FLT was constituted predominantly of non-ICU consultants (30/39, 77%). Following two one-hourly webinars around basic communication skills, the FLT facilitated over 12,000 video and telephone calls with 172 patients' family and friends (PFF). The majority of the PFF interviewed were mostly, very or extremely satisfied with the frequency, ease, understanding, honesty, completeness, and consistency of the information provided. Approximately 5% of the interviewees reported to be slightly or very dissatisfied in one or more of the following 3 categories: frequency, consistency, and ease of getting the information. The thematic analysis identified 3 themes: 1) being there with/ for the patient; 2) breakdown in communication; 3) disbelief at the speed of deterioration. In 14.9% of cases there was documented discrepancy between the information transmitted by the CC team and that by the FLT, particularly around the severity of the patient's illness and their imminent death. CONCLUSION: The formation of a dedicated FLT was feasible and associated with high levels of satisfaction by the PFF. Friction was created when communication was not consistent and did not convey the severity of the patient's condition, to prepare the PFF for a bad outcome.

Hearts above water: Palliative care during a pandemic.

Social workers and nurses, as members of interprofessional palliative medicine teams, faced unfamiliar challenges and opportunities as they endeavored to provide humanistic care to patients and families during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Typical methods for engaging patients and families in medical decision-making became thwarted by visitation restrictions and patients' dramatic health declines. This paper presents an innovative social work and nursing intervention aimed at enhancing humanistic patient/family care and advanced directive dialogs. Through incorporating a narrative synthesis of the teams' reflective journals from COVID-19, the paper chronicles the intervention implementation, patient/family responses, and team members' personal and professional meaning-making processes.