Nothing new here, just venting. Giannakopoulos G, et al (2009). Adolescents' wellbeing and functioning: Relationships with parents' subjective general physical and mental health. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 7:100 doi:10.1186/1477-7525-7-100
>From the abstract: "Parental subjective mental health status was significantly correlated with adolescents´ better physical and psychological wellbeing, moods and emotions" "Conclusion: This study reinforces the importance of parental subjective health status, along with other variables, as a significant factor for the adolescents´ HRQoL [health-related quality of life]". Doesn't that sound like a causal conclusion, namely that parental mental health has a (childrearing) causal effect on the mental and physical health of their adolescents? They make this clearer in the body of the paper itself, where they argue in the conclusion that when professionals treat adolescents, "Great attention should be given to addressing parental mental health issues through targeted psychosocial individual and/ or family therapies". In other words, to treat the kids, you have to treat the parents". Yet buried elsewhere in their report is this disclaimer: "As the study was cross-sectional, it was not possible to assess whether there was a causal relationship between parental subjective health status and adolescents´ HRQoL". Then why are they drawing conclusions and making recommendations as though it was? That their correlations could be due to genetic transmission from parents to child doesn't seem to have occurred to them. In other words, they're still at it. Full text of the paper available at http://www.hqlo.com/content/pdf/1477-7525-7-100.pdf Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
