Maternal fatigue, parenting self-efficacy, and overreactive discipline during the early childhood years: A test of a mediation model
- Authors: Lesniowska, Raelene , Gent, Angela , Watson, Shaun
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Clinical Psychologist Vol. , no. (2015), p.
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- Description: Fatigue is common among mothers of infants and young children and associated with a range of negative parenting outcomes. Little is understood, however, about the mechanisms by which fatigue may impact on parenting, particularly among mothers beyond 12 months post-partum. This study investigated the relationship between maternal fatigue and overreactive discipline, and whether parenting self-efficacy mediates this relationship. Methods: Participants were 252 Australian mothers of 1-4 years old children. Levels of fatigue, parenting self-efficacy, and overreactive discipline were recorded via a self-report questionnaire. Results: A simple mediation model analysis provided support for the direct effect of fatigue on overreactive discipline, as well as the mediation of this relationship by parenting self-efficacy. Conclusions: These findings suggest fatigue may contribute to overreactive discipline in mothers of young children via two pathways: directly, and indirectly via parenting self-efficacy. Interventions that support mothers to manage fatigue and maintain a sense of parenting self-efficacy while facing ongoing exhaustion may promote the use of more effective and less adverse discipline responses with children.
The effect of schizotypy on the relationship between women's red clothing and perceived sexual interest
- Authors: Wagstaff, Danielle , Van Doorn, George
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Psychology Vol. 70, no. 3 (2018), p. 277-283
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Objective: Red may increase perceptions of sexual intent and the sexual attractiveness of women. As such, red is purported to serve a function in sexual attraction, although findings have been mixed. Individual differences in observers can affect the perception of sexual intent. One of these individual differences (i.e., sub-clinical schizotypy) has not been investigated in relation to the perceived sexual intent of women wearing red, hence this was addressed. Method: This study involved 72 men and 144 women, recruited to complete an online survey. Participants completed a schizotypy symptom scale, and rated women wearing red and green dresses on sexual desire, sexual receptivity, and sexual attractiveness. Results: In line with the hypothesis, increases in schizotypy scores were associated with increased perception of sexual interest (summed ratings of sexual desire and sexual receptivity) for the model wearing the red dress more so than the green dress. However, no main effect of colour was observed. Conclusions: Individuals high in schizotypy showed an exaggerated perception of sexual interest for women wearing red, implying that intentionality biases in schizotypy could be extended to the perception of sexual intent. The effect of colour on sexual intent perception may be dependent on measurement of individual variation.
Ambient hate : Racist graffiti and social apathy in a rural community
- Authors: Wilson, Jacqueline
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Vol. 53, no. 4 (2014), p. 377-394
- Full Text: false
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- Description: This article examines racist street graffiti found in the rural city in which the author lives, especially in the environs of schools. Local authorities' commitment to the timely removal of such graffiti is questioned, and the ambiance in which expressions of hate are considered an unremarkable aspect of the social environment is examined. As Australia experiences influxes of migrant and refugee groups, plus increasing numbers of temporarily-resident overseas students, many municipalities, rural and urban, are seeing major changes in their demographics. Such changes can exacerbate social tensions that can, in turn, be subsumed into the social matrix. © 2014 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Australian rural maternity services: Creating a future or putting the last nail in the coffin
- Authors: Francis, Karen , McLeo, Margaret , McIntyre, Meredith , Mills, Jane , Miles, Maureen , Bradley, Angela
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Rural Health Vol. 20, no. 5 (2012), p. 281-284
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Nurses and midwives are the largest group of health providers in Australia (60%), and with increasing remoteness, this proportion increases substantially.1 The recruitment and retention of nurses, and more specifically midwives in rural health services, is at crisis point. Sustainable birthing services will be reliant on a stable, regenerative workforce. Key to this goal is the education of nurses, midwives and doctors, all of whom have stringent pre-service professional placement quotas in order to meet required competencies to practice. The rural workforce crisis in maternity care has been a driving force in health care reform.2 Rural innovation has involved negotiating the space between increased medical risk and the need for a healthy pregnant woman to have the option of staying within her local community to have her baby.3,4 Rural nurses and midwives together with rural doctors agree that continuity of care, irrespective of how it is achieved, is associated with the best outcomes for women and their families in rural locations.4–6 Continuity of care can be achieved using a shared-care medical model involving obstetricians and general practitioners, or midwifery-led primary maternity care services. In the process of securing maternity services that provide continuity of care, the influence of specialist obstetricians, a limited resource in rural locations, has been moderated, and unique solutions to local problems have resulted in the formation of collaborative relationships involving rural nurses, midwives and general practitioners. This polemic makes an argument for a review of the current regulatory requirements for both the education of undergraduate rural nurses and midwives, and the continuing registration of rural midwives who work predominantly in nursing roles. In doing so, the authors provide an overview of the dilemmas facing policymakers, educators, health services managers and clinicians in the provision of sustainable maternity services in rural and remote Australia.
Effects of environmental variation and livestock grazing on ant community structure in temperate eucalypt woodlands
- Authors: Barton, Philip , Sato, Chloe , Kay, Geoffrey , Florance, Daniel , Lindenmayer, David
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Insect Conservation and Diversity Vol. 9, no. 2 (2016), p. 124-134
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- Description: Grazing by livestock is a major ecological disturbance, with potential effects on vegetation, soil, and insect fauna. Ants are a diverse and functionally important insect group with many associations with the ground layer, yet recent global syntheses question the importance of grazing effects on ant communities relative to vegetation or soil. We examined the effects of vegetation, soil and grazing on the whole ant community, ant functional groups, and abundant species in temperate eucalypt woodlands, southeastern Australia. We found limited influence of grazing on our vegetation and soil measures, except for a positive association between grazing and exotic perennial grass cover. We also found that exotic grass cover had a negative effect on overall ant abundance and richness, but not functional groups or individual species. Soil C:N ratio had a positive effect on the subdominant Camponotini, and leaf litter cover had a positive effect on the abundance of cryptic species. Partial Mantel tests revealed an effect of both environmental and grazing measures on ant assemblage composition, but constrained ordination showed that leaf litter cover, grass biomass, and native and exotic perennial grass cover had stronger correlations with ant community structure than grazing. Our study shows that both environmental variation and grazing play a role in driving ant community structure, but that key environmental variables such as grass biomass and leaf litter cover are particularly important in temperate eucalypt woodlands. Monitoring of ant communities to measure the benefits of changed grazing regimes for biodiversity should consider contemporary grazing pressure as well as the underlying effects of variation in plants and soils. © 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.