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Interactions among siblings are finely balanced between rivalry and cooperation, but the factors that tip the balance towards cooperation are incompletely understood. Previous observations of insect species suggest that (i) sibling cooperation is more likely when siblings hatch at the same time, and (ii) this is more common when parents provide little to no care. In this paper, we tested these ideas experimentally with the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Burying beetles convert the body of a small dead vertebrate into an edible nest for their larvae, and provision and guard their young after hatching. In our first experiment, we simulated synchronous or asynchronous hatching by adding larvae at different intervals to the carrion-breeding resource. We found that ‘synchronously’ hatched broods survived better than ‘asynchronously’ hatched broods, probably because ‘synchronous hatching’ generated larger teams of larvae, that together worked more effectively to penetrate the carrion nest and feed upon it. In our second experiment, we measured the synchronicity of hatching in experimental populations that had evolved for 22 generations without any post-hatching care, and control populations that had evolved in parallel with post-hatching care. We found that larvae were more likely to hatch earlier, and at the same time as their broodmates, in the experimental populations that evolved without post-hatching care. We suggest that synchronous hatching enables offspring to help each other when parents are not present to provide care. However, we also suggest that greater levels of cooperation among siblings cannot compensate fully for the loss of parental care.

ObjectiveTo understand the psychological and social impact of shielding on people with sickle cell disorders and their carers in the Midlands region of England. This region was badly affected during the pandemic, with the city of Birmingham having some of the highest rates of COVID-19 deaths.DesignA mixed-methods project with a quantitative survey on shielding and adapted SF36 V.2 questionnaire, which was supplemented by qualitative semistructured interviews analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA).ParticipantsFifty-one participants who were predominantly of Black Caribbean or Black African heritage anonymously took part in the online survey. We supplemented this with eight in-depth semistructured interviews with adults with sickle cell disorders using IPA.ResultsThe adapted 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF36) version 2 (V. 2) survey indicated worse quality of life and mental health. The open-ended questions from the adapted survey also identified shielding concerns about hospital care, pain management and knowledge of sickle cell by healthcare professionals. From the interviews, it emerged that the racialised element of the pandemic caused significant psychological distress for a population group that had to regularly access hospitals. It was noted that psychological health needs both during a pandemic and outside of it were poorly understood and became invisible in services. The psychological impact of experiences of hospital care as well as growing up with an invisible chronic condition were important to understand psychologically.

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This study examined whether the American family preservation program Families First was successfully implemented in the Netherlands. Data were collected on 250 children of 177 families who received Families First. At the start of treatment 78% of the children appeared to have serious behavioral problems, 67% of the parents experienced a high level of parental stress, and 63% of the children went through a substantial number of life events during the year preceding the treatment. On average the treatments had the intended duration (about 4 weeks), intensity (about 10 hours a week) and availability (during working hours as well as in evenings and in weekends), and family workers did adhere to important guidelines of treatment delivery. One year after treatment 76% of the children were still living at home. Moreover, children's behavioral problems, parental stress and the number of life events turned out to be significantly decreased. It was concluded that Families First had reached its intended target group, delivered the treatment as intended, and achieved its intended outcomes, suggesting a successful implementation in the Netherlands.KEY WORDS: family preservation; Families First; out-of-home placement; follow-up.Within the Dutch child welfare system, there has been a tendency during the last two decades to develop programs intended to prevent