面部痉挛治疗:父亲是子女健康成长的基石

Fathers who actively engage in raising their children can help make their offspring smarter and better behaved, according to new research. (Credit: © Monkey Business / Fotolia)

最新研究表明积极地参与抚养子女的父亲会使他们的后代更聪明、更有教养

ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2011) — Fathers who actively engage in raising their children can help make their offspring smarter and better behaved, according to new research from Concordia University.

　　康考迪亚大学最新研究表明，积极参与抚养子女的父亲会使他们的后代更聪明、更有教养。

Published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, the long-term study examined how fathers can positively influence the development of their kids through hands-on parenting.

　　这项长期研究的报告发表于《加拿大行为科学杂志》上。它考察了父亲是如何通过积极地言传身教影响子女的成长的。

"Fathers make important contributions in the development of their children's behaviour and intelligence," says Erin Pougnet, a PhD candidate in the Concordia University Department of Psychology and a member of the Centre for Research in Human Development (CRDH).

　　艾琳·鲍格内特说，“父亲在子女行为和智力培养方面扮演重要角色。”她是康考迪亚大学心理学系博士生，也是人类发展研究中心（CRDH）的成员。

"Compared with other children with absentee dads, kids whose fathers were active parents in early and middle childhood had fewer behaviour problems and higher intellectual abilities as they grew older -- even among socio-economically at-risk families."

　　“与缺少父亲的单亲家庭的儿童相比，双亲家庭中的父亲如果在孩子儿童时代的早中期积极尽到抚养义务的话，这些孩子在长大之后，较少出现行为问题并表现出比较高的智力水平---即便是出身于经济与社会条件糟糕的家庭中的孩子也是如此。”

A patriarch's influence

家长的影响

Regardless of whether fathers lived with their children, their ability to set appropriate limits and structure their children's behaviour positively influenced problem-solving and decreased emotional problems, such as sadness, social withdrawal and anxiety," continues Pougnet.

　　鲍格内特继续说，“不管父亲是否与子女住在一起，他们具有设置适当限制并规范子女的行为的能力可以非常积极地提高（子女）解决问题的能力并减少诸如忧伤、社交退缩和焦虑等情感问题。”

A total of 138 children and their parents took part in the study and were assessed by researchers in three separate sessions.

　　总共有138名儿童和他们的父母参加了这项研究并被研究人员分在三个不同的考察期给与评估。

Kids were evaluated between the ages of three- to five-years-old and again from nine to 13-years-old. They completed intelligence tests, while their mothers completed questionnaires on home environment and couple conflict. All children were recruited as part of the larger Concordia Longitudinal Risk Research Project, an intergenerational study launched in 1976.

　　孩子们按照两个年龄段进行评估，一个是2-5岁年龄段，另一个是9-13岁年龄段。他们完成的是智力测验，而妈妈们完成的是家庭环境和夫妻矛盾的问卷调查。所有孩子都是作为一个更大的项目的部分内容招募进来的。这个更大的项目叫康考迪亚大学纵向风险研究项目，是一个在数代人中持续进行着的的研究项目，最早发布于1976年。

School teachers were also recruited as observers of child behaviours outside homes. "Teachers were a somewhat more independent source of information than mothers, fathers or children themselves," says Pougnet, "because a father's absence can result in home conflict,maternal distress  and child distress."

　　学校老师也被招募进来作为家庭以外儿童行为的观察员。鲍格内特说，“与儿童的母亲、父亲或者儿童自己相比，学校老师在某种程度上属于更加独立的信息来源，因为缺少父亲的单亲家庭会导致家庭矛盾，带来母亲的苦恼和子女的苦恼。”

Greater impact on girls

对女孩的影响更大

The study found girls to be most affected by absentee dads, although the researchers caution that paternal absence can foster other problems such as lack of support or discipline.

　　尽管研究人员警告说，父亲角色的缺失可能招致诸如缺乏支持或训导之类的其它问题的发生，但是研究发现女孩受父亲缺失的影响更大。

"Girls whose fathers were absent during their middle childhood had significantly higher levels of emotional problems at school than girls whose fathers were present," says Pougnet.

　　鲍格内特说，“在儿童时代的中期，没有父亲的女孩发生情感问题的水平明显高于有父亲的女孩。”

Mothers, caregivers equally important

母亲-同样重要的关爱者

According to 2007 Statistics Canada figures, there are an increasing number of single-parent homes across the country. The agency estimates some 13 per cent of Canadian families and 22 per cent of Quebec families are composed of households where biological fathers are absent.

　　根据加拿大统计局2007年的统计数字，单亲家庭的数量在加拿大全境呈增加之势。该机构估计，大约有13%的加拿大人家庭和22%的魁北克人家庭属于缺少生物学意义上的父亲的家庭。

"While our study examined the important role dads play in the development of their children, kids don't necessarily do poorly without their fathers," stresses co-author Lisa A. Serbin, a professor in the Concordia Department of Psychology and a CRDH member. "Mothers and other caregivers are also important. No doubt fathers have a major impact, but there are definitely many alternative ways to raise a healthy child. Some kids with no contact with fathers, or with distant dads, do well intellectually and emotionally."

　　“我们考察的是父亲在子女成长过程中的重要性，但即便没有父亲，孩子们也不一定会把事情搞得一团糟，”联合作者丽萨·A·瑟宾强调说，她是康考迪亚大学心理学系的教授还是CRDH的成员。“母亲和其它关爱者同样重要。毫无疑问，父亲会施加主要的影响力，但是肯定有许多替代方式也可以培养出健康的孩子。一些孩子与父亲没有联系，或者父亲离的非常遥远，但并没有妨碍孩子在智力发育和情感培养方面都很出色。”

The findings, however, should encourage governments to formulate policies that encourage increased and positive forms of contact between children and their fathers. "Initiatives such as parental leave for men and parenting classes that emphasize the role of fathers could help to maximize children's development from early childhood to preadolescence," says Serbin.

　　不管怎样，这个发现应当刺激政府制订政策以鼓励子女和父亲之间增加积极的交流形式。瑟宾说，“比如倡导增加男人产假和开办育儿课堂等方式来强化父亲的角色，以使儿童从儿童早期到青春期前期的发育获得最佳的家庭环境。”

This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

　　这项研究得到了加拿大健康研究协会（CIHR）和加拿大社会科学与人文研究委员会（HRCC）的支持。