Behavioral & Community Health

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2271

Prior to January 24, 2011, this unit was named the Department of Public & Community Health.

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    Experiences of young parents with foster care backgrounds during the COVID-19 pandemic: Brief report
    (2021-12) Shpiegel, Svetlana; Aparicio, Elizabeth
    The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unique challenges to parents of young children due to the closure of schools and childcare centers and increased caregiver burden. These challenges may be especially pronounced for youth with foster care backgrounds, as they often lack family supports and other critical safety nets. This multi-method qualitative study aimed to explore the unique experiences of parenting foster care alumni during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study included 26 young parents ages 18-26, who participated in in-depth interviews or Photovoice sessions between January and March 2021. A structured thematic analysis approach was used to examine youths` accounts. Findings indicated that young parents with foster care backgrounds faced significant challenges due to COVID-19, and often struggled to access critical resources and supports. Implications for policy and practice are discussed below.
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    Storms and blossoms: Foster care system alumni parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2021-05) Martínez-García, Genevieve; Sanchez, Alexander; Shpiegel, Svetlana; Ventola, Marissa; Channell Doig, Amara; Jasczyński, Michelle; Smith, Rhoda; Aparicio, Elizabeth
    Our team conducted this PhotoVoice project from January to March 2021. Parenting foster youth and foster system alumni aged 18-26 met for three sessions to use photography to explore their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This photobook was designed as a keepsake for PhotoVoice group participants to be able to share their photographs, experiences, captions, and stories with one another as well as with researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Names used in the book are pseudonyms.
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    Aggression and Perceptions of Parenting among Urban Public Middle School Students
    (2008-02-28) Murray, Kantahyanee Whitt; Murray, Kantahyanee W; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Adolescent aggressive behavior is a major social problem in the United States and is linked to violence and violence-related injury. Understanding the relationship between parenting and early adolescent aggression provides important insights for developing prevention interventions. This study explored the relationship between parenting and early adolescent aggression in an urban low-income, predominately African American sample. The first aim was to examine whether aggression-specific parenting practices and parenting style predicted subsequent early adolescent aggression. The second aim was to examine the extent to which parenting style moderated the relationship between aggression-specific parenting practices and subsequent early adolescent aggression. The third aim was to explore the bidirectional relationship between parenting (parenting style and aggression-specific parenting practices) and early adolescent aggression. A total of 209 sixth grade early adolescents attending two Baltimore City middle schools completed questionnaires about their overt and relational aggressive behaviors at two time points. Early adolescents also reported on their perceptions of a parent or guardian's parenting style (support/behavioral control and psychological control) and aggression-specific parenting practices (aggression-avoidance parenting practices and aggression-endorsing parenting practices). Adjusted logistic regression results indicated that early adolescents who reported having a parent who supported aggression avoidance strategies were less likely to engage in overt aggression. Study findings also showed that parent support for aggression avoidance strategies ameliorated the tendency toward aggressive behavior when parenting styles were at their least protective levels. A bidirectional relationship between parenting and early adolescent aggression was not found; however, Structural Equation Modeling results indicated significant relationships between early adolescent aggression and subsequent parenting. Early adolescent overt and relational aggression predicted declines in parenting practices and parenting styles associated with buffering early adolescents from aggression. The results of this study suggest that parenting practices and parenting styles may exert a minor influence on early adolescent aggressive behavior in an urban low-income, predominately African American sample. Future research should investigate the role of multiple environmental influences (i.e., parenting, family, peer networks, community violence exposure, school environment) in the prediction of early adolescent aggressive behavior in this population.