According to family systems theory, a family is regarded as an organized whole and relations within this system are interconnected. However, it is not clear to date whether the interparental and the sibling relationship are associated and, if such an association exists, whether it is positive or negative. Previous findings on the associations between the interparental and sibling relationships are inconsistent and there is as yet no pertinent review or meta-analysis. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis set out (1) to aggregate previous studies investigating the links between the interparental and sibling relationships and (2) to examine potential moderators in this link. Based on 47 studies reporting 234 effect sizes (N = 29,746 from six nations; 6–12 years; 49% boys), meta-analytic results suggest a small positive correlation between interparental and sibling relationship quality (r = .14). Only the percentage of male children in the sample moderated this effect. Sex composition of sibling dyad and source of publication affected whether positive or negative associations were found. The findings support a growing consensus that family relations do not function in isolation, but are mutually interdependent, which should be considered in clinical practice.

Scientific evidence has shown that healthcare clowning can decrease the level of stress and anxiety in pediatric patients. However, little attention has been devoted to the potentially beneficial impact of clown visits in the child and adolescent psychiatry setting. Therefore, this pilot study aims at investigating short-term effects of clown visits by RED NOSES Clowndoctors Austria on stress and mood levels of children and adolescents in psychiatric care. The sample will consist of approximately 50 children and adolescents in inpatient psychiatric wards who receive clown visits on a weekly basis over four consecutive weeks. The examined intervention, i.e., the clown visits, is an integral part within the selected psychiatric institutions. Using a non-controlled pre-/post-test design, the level of salivary cortisol and self-reported stress and mood will be measured as primary outcomes before and immediately after each clown visit. Additionally, self-reported effects on care staff at the health care facilities will be assessed based on a questionnaire after each clown visit within the same time period of four weeks. Secondary outcome measures (i.e., health-related quality of life, emotional and conduct problems, perceived chronic stress) will be assessed at baseline and at close-out assessment after the four intervention weeks. Further control variables and potential moderators are included at baseline. Due to the nested data structure, multilevel modeling will be used to analyze the data. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the stress-reducing and mood-improving effects of clown visits on inpatients in child and adolescent psychiatry. Results will be relevant for the design of future large-scale RCTs and might provide valuable implications for the use of healthcare clowning to reduce stress and improve mood in children and adolescents in psychiatric care. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT04844398).

Longitudinal psychological research on family outcomes provides crucial information about families in a changing society, but an evidence synthesis for Austria is currently lacking. Therefore, we aim to summarize psychological longitudinal research on family-related outcomes in Austria using a scoping review approach. Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, we searched five scientific databases (PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science) and conducted manual searches to identify additional grey literature. Ten sources reporting on six data collection efforts between 1991 and 2015 were identified. Most samples consisted of heterosexual nuclear families, while research on more diverse family types is needed. Methods were primarily quantitative with conventional designs, but noteworthy exceptions exist. Comprehensive longitudinal data collection efforts across child development are lacking for the new millennium. State-of-the-art research implementing a triangulation of methods, designs, and perspectives that incorporate diverse family types is needed to draw accurate conclusions about the changing family landscape in Austria.

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Virtual Reality (VR) wird zunehmend als Hilfsmittel für psychologische Interventionen eingesetzt. Auch für sozial-emotionale Fähigkeiten kann VR realitätsnahe Übungsszenarien kreieren. Fragestellung: Dieses systematische Review gibt einen Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand zu VR-Trainings sozial-emotionaler Fähigkeiten. Methode: Die systematische Literaturrecherche erfolgte in PSYNDEX, PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed und Web of Science und orientierte sich an den PRISMA-Richtlinien. Eingeschlossen wurden deutsch- und englischsprachige empirische Studien zu VR-basierten Trainings sozial-emotionaler Fähigkeiten für gesunde oder psychisch beeinträchtigte Personen aller Altersstufen. Ergebnisse: Elf Studien wurden eingeschlossen. Die Mehrheit untersuchte klinische Stichproben. Die methodische Qualität wurde bei zehn Studien positiv beurteilt. Schlussfolgerungen: Insgesamt spricht das Review für die Nützlichkeit VR-basierter Trainings sozial-emotionaler Fähigkeiten, aber der aktuelle Forschungsstand erlaubt noch keine eindeutigen Schlussfolgerungen bezüglich ihrer Wirksamkeit.