BackgroundPregnancy is a specific condition that is neither a disease nor a normal state of health. The attention has been devoted to the relation between the normal, physiological process of pregnancy and the quality of life of women in this period is paid much less attention. Our study focuses on the evaluation of the quality of life by means of a specific questionnaire for physiological pregnancy. The main objective was to evaluate psychometric characteristics of a newly developed, specific QoL.MethodsTwo measures were used: a Czech version of the generic WHOQOL-BREF, validated in 2006, and a new specific-QoL measure. Both measures were administered in each trimester to a sample of 225 pregnant women in the first trimester of a routine pregnancy.ResultsThe reliability of the WHOQOL-BREF scales at different trimesters was evaluated, including the correlation between trimesters. Based on exploratory factor analyses of the specific-QoL measure with the working title QOL-GRAV, one 9-item scale was constructed expressing the degree of specific experiences during pregnancy. All scales were found to have satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach alphas > .7) apart from the social relations subscale of the WHOQOL-BREF.ConclusionsThe general quality and the specific quality of a pregnant woman’s life varies. The specific QOL-GRAV scale is more sensitive to the specific experiences during pregnancy that significantly affect a pregnant woman’s quality of life. A simple specific questionnaire, applicable within prenatal care as well, was designed and validated.
Czech adolescents continue to adopt the societal standards of Western countries, stigmatizing overweight peers. This may affect more obese adolescents. Future research has to evaluate different sources of appearance-related teasing. Interventions in schools are suitable for the reduction of appearance-related prejudices.
Although several studies have addressed developmental trajectories from childhood to adolescence of internalizing/externalizing problems, limited attention has been given to underweight children. Two groups were recruited for this study from a community sample: underweight (Ug, N = 80, 50% female) and normal weight (NWg, N = 80, 50% female) to examine the developmental trajectories of body mass index and emotional-behavioral functioning of underweight children from the age two years, and their risk of eating disorder at early adolescence. The study was organized over four waves, each of three years. Pediatricians measured BMI, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Eating Disorders Inventory-Referral Form (EDI-3-RF). Our results showed that children in the two groups recorded different BMI trajectories over time. In NWg, male and female subjects started from a higher BMI at T1 than their peers. In Ug, internalizing and externalizing problems in males and females remained higher than their peers at all points of assessment. Males and females in Ug scored higher than those in NWg on EDI-3-RF total score. Our results indicate a need for effective physical and psychological assessment of underweight children in community samples to prevent psychological difficulties and eating disorders in adolescence.
The prevalence of childhood overweight is a major social and public health issue, and primary assessment should focus on early and middle childhood, because weight gain in these phases constitutes a strong predictor of subsequent negative outcomes. Studies on community samples have shown that growth curves may follow linear or non-linear trajectories from early to middle childhood, and can differ based on sex. Overweight children may exhibit a combination of physiological and psychosocial issues, and several studies have demonstrated an association between overweight and internalizing/externalizing behavior. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of longitudinal studies on depressive and aggressive symptoms in children with high BMI. This study adopted a growth curve modeling over three phases to: (1) describe BMI trajectories in two groups of children aged 2–8 (overweight and normal weight) from a community sample; (2) describe the developmental trajectories of children’s aggressive and depressive symptoms from 2 to 8 years of age. Results indicate higher BMI in 2-year-old girls, with males catching up with them by age 8. While overweight females’ BMIs were consistently high, males’ increased at 5 and 8 years. The mean scores for aggressive symptoms at T1 (2 years of age) were the same in all subjects, but a significant deviation occurred from T1 to T2 in both samples, in divergent directions. With regards to children’s depressive symptoms, the two groups had different starting points, with normal weight children scoring lower than overweight youths. Overweight females showed lower depressive scores than overweight males at T1, but they surpassed boys before T2, and showed more maladaptive symptoms at T3. This study solicits professionals working in pediatric settings to consider overweight children’s psychopathological risk, and to be aware that even when children’s BMI does not increase from 2 to 8 years, their psychopathological symptoms may grow in intensity.
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