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Biomedical subjects

B Sachs

Publications and source records attributed to B Sachs.

78 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Mothers' potential for child abuse: the roles of childhood abuse and social resources.

BACKGROUND: The mechanism by which some victims of childhood abuse become abusive parents, whereas others do not, is not well understood. Previous empirical evidence indicates that social resources may modify the cycle of abuse or maladaptive parenting; however, the effects of different dimensions of social resources have not been compared. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a measure of mothers' potential for physical child abuse was related to their retrospective reports of physical and sexual abuse before 18 years of age and to investigate the potential buffering effects of multiple dimensions of social resources on the relationship between childhood abuse and mothers' potential for physical child abuse. METHODS: The potential role of social resources as a moderator of the relationship between a history of childhood abuse and potential for physical child abuse was investigated in 206 low-income single mothers of young children. RESULTS: The levels of physical and sexual abuse in childhood were positively associated with the mothers' child abuse potential; sexual abuse displayed the strongest association. Compared with mothers who were not sexually abused in childhood, those reporting violent sexual abuse as children were almost six times more likely to have high potential for physically abusing their children. There was no evidence that any of the social resources modified the relationship of either type of childhood abuse with the mothers' potential for abuse. However, all four dimensions of social resources demonstrated significant main effects on child abuse potential. CONCLUSIONS: Low-income mothers face many stressors because of their lack of economic resources. This, coupled with a lack of social resources and a history of childhood abuse, makes low-income, single mothers particularly at risk for abusive parenting. The lives of these women and their children may be enhanced by assisting the women to improve their social resources which, ultimately, may reduce their potential for child abuse. Future research should focus on identifying factors that predict and/or modify the potential for abusive parenting as well as actual abuse.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Histamine receptors on lymphocytes: distribution and functional significance.

Several investigations reported modulation of lymphocyte functions following activation of the histamine H2 receptor. However, few data have accumulated with regard to the distribution of histamine H2 receptors on different lymphocyte subsets. Conversely, the distribution of histamine H1 receptors on different lymphocyte subsets has been thoroughly analyzed using specific radioligands, whereas the functional significance of histamine H1 receptor ligation on lymphocytes has not been fully elucidated yet. Recent investigations suggest that H1R signaling on lymphocytes may enhance whereas activation of the H2R may inhibit lymphocyte responses. In this review, the authors discuss the current knowledge on distribution and functional significance of histamine H1 and histamine H2 receptors on human lymphocytes.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The skin: target organ in immunotoxicology of small-molecular-weight compounds.

Immunotoxicology studies two different effects of xenobiotics: immunosuppression and dysregulation of immune responses leading to hypersensitivity or autoimmunity. The skin is a major target organ of immunotoxicity which is provoked by small-molecular-weight compounds. Methods may be helpful for immunotoxicological investigations and screenings for adverse effects of xenobiotics which are used for diagnosis or studies on the pathophysiology of skin disorders such as allergic contact dermatitis, cutaneous drug-allergic reactions or autoimmune diseases of the skin. Examples include well-designed patch tests, assays involving antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells, but also T lymphocytes, basophiles or keratinocytes.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychosocial predictors of maternal depressive symptoms, parenting attitudes, and child behavior in single-parent families.

The purposes of the study were to identify psychosocial predictors of depressive symptoms among low-income, single mothers and to investigate the effects of maternal psychosocial factors, depressive symptoms, and parenting attitudes on children's behavior. In-home interviews were conducted with 225 mothers to obtain data on their everyday stressors, coping strategies, social resources, depressive symptoms, and parenting attitudes, as well as reports of their children's behavior. High depressive symptoms occurred among 59.6% of the women. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with greater everyday stressors, fewer social resources, and greater use of avoidance coping. Neither social resources nor coping strategies buffered the relationship between everyday stressors and depressive symptoms. Maternal depressive symptoms predicted parenting attitudes. Parenting attitudes, in turn, predicted child behavior. These findings suggest that depressive symptoms are indirectly associated with mothers' reports of child behavior through their influence on parenting attitudes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗