Discrepancies between children's and caregivers' child maltreatment reporting and their associations with child wellbeing.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment reporting is critical for case investigation and service disposition. However, reporting discrepancies across informants is a challenge for child welfare services. METHODS: Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3150), the current study examined child-caregiver discrepancies in reporting the frequencies of psychological and physical maltreatment. Multivariate models were used to examine how caregivers' reports, children's reports, and discrepancies between the two were associated with child anxiety, depression, aggression, and delinquency. RESULTS: A quarter of the children reported psychological maltreatment at a higher (25.7 %) or lower (23.8 %) frequency than their caregivers' report, respectively; 8.4 % and 8.7 % of the children did so in physical maltreatment reports, respectively. Multivariate models showed that children's maltreatment reports were more closely associated with children's anxiety, depression, and delinquency than caregivers' reports, while caregivers' reports were more closely associated with children's aggression. After accounting for caregivers' reporting and other covariates, children who reported more frequent psychological maltreatment than their caregivers' report had a higher level of anxiety, depression, and delinquency (b = 0.17 to 0.25, p < 0.001), and the opposite was true (b = -0.36 to -0.13, p < 0.001). Similarly, children who reported more frequent physical maltreatment than their caregivers' report had a higher level of all negative outcomes (b = 0.04 to 0.44; p = 0.04 to <0.00), and the opposite was true for aggression (b = -0.08, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that in addition to other reporting barriers, children and caregivers may perceive maltreatment differently, and such discrepancies are related to children's wellbeing.

The relationship between social support and anxiety amongst children living with HIV in rural northern Namibia.

This study examined how HIV-related stigma and social support are related to anxiety among children living with HIV in rural northern Namibia. This is a cross-sectional exploratory study with a sample of 132 caregiver-child dyads. Our study found that higher levels of social support was correlated with lower levels of anxiety among children living with HIV, but higher levels of HIV-related stigma was not correlated with higher levels of anxiety. These findings point to the need for the development of more culturally and age specific interventions that enhance social support among children living with HIV, especially those in high-prevalence and socio-economically deprived settings.

Burden of Care among Caregivers of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Rural Namibia: Correlates and Outcomes.

This study examined the correlates of burden of caregivers providing care to people living with HIV/AIDS in rural northern Namibia and the consequences of caregivers' burden on their physical health and mental health. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit a total of 97 primary caregivers (N = 97) in rural Namibia. We found that hunger and HIV stigma were both positively associated with caregiver burden. Caregiver burden was positively related to depression and negatively related to quality of life. The findings underscore the complex relationships between food insecurity and HIV stigma on caregiver burden and the outcomes of burden on quality of life and depressive symptoms. Policy and practice implications are also discussed.

The Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Functioning in Older Hispanic/Latino Adults Enrolled in an Exercise Intervention: Results From the "¡Caminemos!" Study.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning in older Hispanics/Latinos enrolled in an exercise intervention. METHOD: We analyzed baseline, 1-year, and 2-year in-person interview data collected from Hispanics/Latinos aged ≥60 years participating in an exercise intervention across 27 senior centers ( N = 572). RESULTS: Mean age was 73.13 years; 77% female. At baseline, older adults screening positive for depression were 1.58 times more likely to experience cognitive impairment ( p = .04); controlling for demographics and comorbid chronic conditions. Compared to peers with little to no depressive symptoms, lower cognitive functioning scores were evident at each follow-up assessment point where elevated depressive symptoms were present, but baseline depression was not associated with cognitive function in longitudinal analyses. DISCUSSION: In older Hispanics/Latinos enrolled in an exercise intervention, though baseline depression did not predict cognitive function over time, elevated symptoms of depression were associated with greater cognitive impairment at every point in this study.

Adoption and guardianship: A moderated mediation analysis of predictors of post-permanency continuity.

The original thinking behind permanency planning for foster children was to secure a caregiver's intention to provide a permanent home, not to guarantee it. Little is known, however, about how intentions change after permanence or what effect this change has on post-permanency continuity of care. This study examined the mediating effects of caregivers' thoughts about ending an adoption or guardianship, and how this mechanism may be contingent on primordial and bureaucratic factors that child welfare agencies rely on to ensure family continuity after legal permanence. In 2006, a sample of 346 Illinois caregivers who finalized an adoption or guardianship between 1998 and 2002 completed surveys about child behavior problems, the adequacy of financial assistance, and thoughts about maintaining the permanency relationship. Responses were linked to administrative data that tracked continuity of care through 2012. Simple mediation and moderated mediation hypotheses of the effects of caregiver thoughts on post-permanency continuity were tested. At last observation, 8% of caregivers were no longer living with the child or stopped receiving subsidies on the child's behalf. Thoughts expressed at survey time about ending the permanency relationship mediated the effect of child behavior problems on post-permanency discontinuity rates. This indirect effect was more pronounced among distantly related kin, lone caregivers, and caregivers who felt the subsidy was inadequate to cover their expenses. Our findings suggest that post-permanency services should target a narrow segment of caregivers who express weakened permanency commitments that arise from the challenges of parenting a child with multiple behavioral problems.

Subsidized child care by grandparents: profiles of caregivers in an emerging public service context.

Grandparents have become an important source of subsidized noncustodial child care provision as states have developed child care subsidy programs for working families. Based on a sample of 140 grandparents providing care in one state subsidy program, this article examines grandparent characteristics, caregiving patterns, experiences with care provision, and training and resource needs in this emerging public service context. Our findings indicate that grandparents provide care largely for altruistic reasons. They offer vital care during nontraditional work hours and are more receptive to training provision than often is understood. Based on study findings, several strategies are presented for supporting subsidized grandparent caregivers.