Child Abuse and Interventions

Programs for Parents of Infants and Toddlers: Recent Evidence From Randomized Trials My initial thoughts and feelings were: Infancy is a very important stage in children's development. It is at this stage that children are most receptive to both mental and physical change and they are at greater risk of potentially harmful influences than their older counterparts. Infants also get affected much more by parental disruptions than older kids. It has been shown that parent-child interactions during the early stages are great predictors of several late and early developmental outcomes.

Lending parents support in coming up and implementing good parenting skills can lead to great child development (Pontoppidan, Klest & Sandov, 2016). Since the child is most malleable during infancy, experiences at this stage shape the child's behavior, wellbeing and brain development and so the effects can last for the entire life of the infant. Parenting interventions given to newborn parents help support parents as they give responsive and sensitive care to newborns, and so ensure healthy infants (Pontoppidan, 2015).

Input from the readings have altered my perceptions in the following ways: There is controversy as to the influence of parenting in a child's functioning given their shared genetic profiles and the possibility of children evoking different behavior patterns from the parents. Is the behavior because of the genetic profiles or are they caused by the relationship? Despite the controversies, there is growing evidence that parenting and the immediate environment play a significant role in a child's functioning.

The extent of such influence is not easy to determine but studies of adoptions have revealed that children who are vulnerable genetically are more likely to record criminality or psychiatric issues on being raised in a dysfunctional family than when raised in a balanced and functioning family (Olds, Sadler, & Kitzman, 2007).

Research indicates that polymorphisms present in genes encoding monoamine oxidase-A and serotonin transporter have interactions with the child's environment, especially neglect and child abuse, to determine the possibility of the child exhibiting, respectively, extreme antisocial behavior and or violence or depression. Such genetic problems only occur where there is extreme and serious stress such as child abuse. It therefore shows that in extreme conditions, the genotype can interact with parenting to influence child outcomes (Olds, Sadler & Kitzman, 2007).

The past few years has seen prevention science come up with sets of standards to develop good interventions that are grounded on sound theory, epidemiology and research so as to identify both risk as well as protective factors. This process has resulted in highly effective interventions being developed for both children and adolescents that have consistently met high evidentiary standards and that have met the threshold to receive public funding (Olds, Sadler & Kitzman, 2007).

A lot of attention has been given to issues concerning implementation of programs developed in intervention research. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) proposes that preventive interventions be subject to pre-trial intervention development stages as well as formative research to raise the chances of success. These efforts include using epidemiologic data to identify those putative mediators contributing to the targeted outcomes, and using strategies informed by sound theory and empirical research to change mediators, and carefully pre-test and pilot interventions (Olds, Sadler & Kitzman, 2007).

Several studies have consistently shown that there is a relationship between early parental care features and child intellectual, emotional and behavioral outcomes. Responsive and sensitive care should be given to a child if he/she is to grow healthily. Children who receive better care record better emotional adjustment in adult life. These studies are in line with an evolutionary view on the relationship between parent and child which tries to emphasize how important parental commitment and meeting a child's needs are (Olds, Sadler & kitzman, 2007).

The experiences a child has in the first 5 years can be linked to adult conditions later on such as health problems, teenage pregnancy, drug use, delinquency and depression. It is a cumulative relationship as the more the stressors in early life the greater the effects later on in adult life. This explains why it is extremely vital that a child be accorded a caring and responsive environment where caregivers are always available and willing to help. A child is more receptive to the influences of the surroundings when in infancy.

Infants can therefore be influenced to the negative or positive given this reality. Interventions in early childhood work better than interventions in adult hood as the child is more responsive to change. Waiting till adulthood leads to the problems becoming entrenched and so difficult to deal with. Parent interventions can be either universal or targeted. Targeted interventions involve a family being singled out when they are thought to be in need of assistance while universal interventions target all people living in a given geographic location (Pontoppidan, 2015).

Three implications for my nurse practitioner practice that are unique to that role and distinct from my current role as a Registered Nurse: 1. Participation in Nurse home visiting: The past decade has seen several articles being published on the potential of this service delivery method when appropriate program content and methods are incorporated in the clinical model.

A big part of nurses being accepted in homes to carry out such programs is that people already trust that they are competent on matters of women and children and so vulnerable families warmly welcome them. Nurses are the backbone of these programs and the trust they enjoy with the public is one of the reasons these programs can be massively successful. Generally, nurses are rated the highest in honesty and ethics in the United States public service (Olds, Sadler & Kitzman, 2007). 2.

Nurse-Family Partnership: This program involves nurses helping improve pregnancy outcomes by assisting women in improving their prenatal health-related habits and behaviors such as reducing cigarette use, cutting out alcohol and spotting and getting help for various obstetric complications. They also help with post-natal health as they instruct parents on how to best take care of themselves and their children. Those families that are not economically self-sufficient shall also be guided on how to attain financial self-sufficiency.

The program ensures that all members of the family in contact with the child or mother such as father, grandfather and grandmother are involved (Olds, Sadler & Kidzman, 2007). Nurse-Family Partnership is now the most tested and implemented home visiting model.