A Preliminary Evaluation of the Cultural Appropriateness of the Tuning in to Kids Parenting Program in Germany, Turkey, Iran and China.

Background: Parenting interventions based on emotion socialization (ES) theory offer an important theoretically driven approach to improve children's emotional competence and behavioral functioning. Whether such approaches are effective in different cultural contexts, and whether the methods of delivery used are appropriate and acceptable, is an important empirical question. This paper reports on the preliminary evaluation of an ES parenting intervention, Tuning in to Kids (TIK), in Germany, Turkey, Iran, and China. Pilot studies of TIK have been conducted in each country with mothers of 4-6-year-old children. Method: The current study used qualitative methods with thematic analysis to explore the cultural appropriateness of the program in each site. Results: Culture-specific challenges were found across all sites in changing parents' beliefs about the value of encouraging children's emotional expression and supportive emotion discussions. Emotion literacy of parents depended on their access to emotion terms in their language, but also to parents' experiences with emotions in their family of origin and culture-related beliefs about emotions. Adaptations were required to slow the speed of delivery, to address issues of trust with parents in seeking help, and to provide more opportunities to practice the skills and integrate different beliefs about parenting. Conclusion: While this ES parenting intervention has been developed in a Western cultural context, slight adaptations to the delivery methods (rather than change to the content) appeared to contribute to cultural appropriateness. The next step will be to quantitatively evaluate these adaptations of TIK in the different countries using randomized controlled studies.

Lupin kernel fiber consumption modifies fecal microbiota in healthy men as determined by rRNA gene fluorescent in situ hybridization.

BACKGROUND: Changes in the composition of gastrointestinal microbiota by dietary interventions using pro- and prebiotics provide opportunity for improving health and preventing disease. However, the capacity of lupin kernel fiber (LKFibre), a novel legume-derived food ingredient, to act as a prebiotic and modulate the colonic microbiota in humans needed investigation. AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study aimed to determine the effect of LKFibre on human intestinal microbiota by quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. DESIGN: A total of 18 free-living healthy males between the ages of 24 and 64 years consumed a control diet and a LKFibre diet (containing an additional 17-30 g/day fiber beyond that of the control-incorporated into daily food items) for 28 days with a 28-day washout period in a single-blind, randomized, crossover dietary intervention design. METHODS: Fecal samples were collected for 3 days towards the end of each diet and microbial populations analyzed by FISH analysis using 16S rRNA gene-based oligonucleotide probes targeting total and predominant microbial populations. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of Bifidobacterium spp. (P = 0.001) and significantly lower levels of the clostridia group of C. ramosum, C. spiroforme and C. cocleatum (P = 0.039) were observed on the LKFibre diet compared with the control. No significant differences between the LKFibre and the control diet were observed for total bacteria, Lactobacillus spp., the Eubacterium spp., the C. histolyticum/C. lituseburense group and the Bacteroides-Prevotella group. CONCLUSIONS: Ingestion of LKFibre stimulated colonic bifidobacteria growth, which suggests that this dietary fiber may be considered as a prebiotic and may beneficially contribute to colon health.