Spilling over: Partner parenting stress as a predictor of family cohesion in parents of adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Family cohesion relates to positive outcomes for both parents and children. Maintaining cohesion may be especially challenging for families of adolescents with developmental disabilities, yet this has been studied infrequently in this group. We investigated cohesion in these families, particularly with respect to partner stress, using the notion of the 'spillover effect' as a model. Adolescents with disabilities and their parents participated. Parents reported on teen adaptive and problem behaviours and on marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and family cohesion. The stress of one partner was tested as a predictor of the quality of family cohesion reported by the other. Adolescent behaviour problems were negative predictors of family cohesion in mothers, and marital satisfaction positively predicted cohesion for both parents. Above other factors, greater partner stress predicted poorer family cohesion for both fathers and mothers. Marital satisfaction acted as a suppressor of this relation. To improve the overall climate of families, care providers should take into consideration individual relationships, including the marital relationship. In addition, the possibility of spillover from one individual to another should be recognized as a factor in family functioning. Family-centred practices are likely to lead to greater feelings of cohesion and overall better individual and family well-being.

Bromeliad ornamental species: conservation issues and challenges related to commercialization / Espécies ornamentais de bromélias: conservação e desafios relacionados a sua comercialização

Bromeliads grow almost exclusively in the New World tropics and subtropics, mainly in South America in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (ca. 1200 species). Within the last few decades, their beautiful shapes and colors, low maintenance and easy adaptability to small gardens have brought bromeliads into worldwide use as ornamental plants. While the ornamental bromeliad trade could make significant contributions to household economies in rural areas, the trade may represent a significant threat in some of the bromeliad biodiversity hotspot countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. This paper presents an overview of production volumes, analysis of the Brazilian bromeliads trade chain ­ at the state, national and international levels ­ and recommendations to address development and conservation challenges.

Bromélias crescem quase que exclusivamente nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais do Novo Mundo, ocorrendo principalmente na Floresta Atlântica brasileira na América do Sul. (ca. 1200 espécies). Nas últimas décadas, pelas suas belas formas e cores, baixa demanda de manutenção e fácil adaptabilidade a pequenos jardins, as bromélias tem sido mundialmente utilizadas como plantas ornamentais. O comércio de bromélias ornamentais pode promover significante acréscimo de renda em áreas rurais, mas por outro lado pode também significar uma ameaça à manutenção da diversidade destes recursos biológicos, especialmente em países como Brasil, Bolívia e Colômbia. Este trabalho apresenta uma caracterização geral dos volumes de produção e da cadeia brasileira de comercialização de bromélias - em nível estadual, nacional e internacional assim como recomendações para promover o desenvolvimento deste setor e superar desafios relacionados ao uso sustentável deste recurso.

Bromeliad ornamental species: conservation issues and challenges related to commercialization - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v34i1.7314

Bromeliads grow almost exclusively in the New World tropics and subtropics, mainly in South America in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (ca. 1200 species). Within the last few decades, their beautiful shapes and colors, low maintenance and easy adaptability to small gardens have brought bromeliads into worldwide use as ornamental plants. While the ornamental bromeliad trade could make significant contributions to household economies in rural areas, the trade may represent a significant threat in some of the bromeliad biodiversity hotspot countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. This paper presents an overview of production volumes, analysis of the Brazilian bromeliads trade chain at the state, national and international levels and recommendations to address development and conservation challenges.

The well-being of mothers of adolescents with developmental disabilities in relation to medical care utilization and satisfaction with health care.

Parents of children with disabilities have been found to be more likely to experience stress and depressive symptoms than parents of typically developing children as a result of the increased challenges inherent in their parenting role. This study investigated the utilization of and satisfaction with adolescent health care services reported by mothers and their relation to maternal well-being. Participants included 73 mothers and their adolescents with developmental disabilities who had been recruited as infants and toddlers from early intervention programs to participate in a longitudinal investigation, the Early Intervention Collaborative Study. Data were collected through parent reports and structured assessments with adolescents. Regression analyses were conducted to test whether utilization and maternal satisfaction with care related to maternal depressive symptoms or parenting stress after controlling for child and family characteristics. The results demonstrated that both utilization and maternal satisfaction with health care added unique variance in predicting lower levels of maternal stress and depressive symptoms.