The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to deliver parenting and mental health support services to families. This narrative review illustrates the diverse ways in which ICT is being used across Europe to provide family support to different populations. We distinguish between the use of ICT in professional-led and peer-led support and provide implementation examples from across Europe. We discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of different ways of using ICT in family support and the main developments and challenges for the field more generally, guiding decision-making as to how to use ICT in family support, as well as critical reflections and future research on its merit.

Family resilience is a construct based on interactive processes occurring in the family, enabling the family to effectively overcome everyday stressors, as well as developmental and unpredictable crises. By observing how the family deals with difficulties using family resilience processes, we are able to support both parents and protect children against the harmful effects of unfavourable conditions. The aim of our research was to carry out the procedure of adaptation to the Polish language and culture of the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire. In this study, 930 Poles participated (72.5% women), aged from 18 to 63 (M = 26.94, SD = 9.8). They filled in the questionnaire online. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the model with three factors: belief system, organisational processes, and communication processes. The model indicators were found to be well suited to the data: χ²/df = 1.12, RMSEA = 0.01, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, SRMR = 0.04. The reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) of the scales was also satisfactory (0.94 for the belief systems, 0.86 for the organisational processes, and 0.94 for the communication processes). Tool validation with FRAS-PL scales showed convergence. We named the Polish version of the WFRQ Questionnaire Kwestionariusz Prężności Rodzinnej Walsh (WFRQ-PL) and found it to be a good tool for assessing the processes of family resilience in our country.

Parentification is a form of distorted division of roles and responsibilities in the family where the roles of parent and child are reversed. A situation that goes beyond the child’s capabilities and exhausts resources usually yields numerous negative consequences. Nevertheless, in some circumstances, parentification may be beneficial by shaping resiliency. The main aim of the study was to examine the relations between parentification characteristics and resiliency. There were 208 adolescents (M_age = 14.55; SD_age = 1.00) who participated in the study. Resiliency was evaluated using the Polish Scale for Children and Adolescents SPP-18. Parentification level was measured with the polish Parentification Questionnaire for Youth. The analyses revealed significant relations between parentification and resiliency dimensions. The relations were different based on the participant’s gender. The obtained results underline the role of resiliency in shaping the perception of family role dysfunctions such as parentification.

The aim of the study was to propose a model of risk factors for adolescent materialism related to insecurity feeling from parents and peers. Teenagers aged 13–16 were surveyed. The results of the study showed a good fit for the tested model of the sources of materialism linked to insecurity feeling. Parental emotional support, occurrence of threatening events in the life of the teenager and peer pressure were important predictors of teen materialism. Peer pressure mediated the relationship between parental support, both emotional and material, and teen materialism. The assumed effect of peer pressure mediation in the relationship between peer to peer consumer communication and teen materialism was not confirmed while a direct relationship between peer to peer consumer communication and adolescent materialism was observed. In conclusion, the results of the presented study indicate that the simultaneous occurrence of the three: lack of parental support, occurrence of life-threatening events, and peer pressure constitutes a risk factor of adolescent materialism.

Background: Despite extensive knowledge about the quality of life of people suffering from rare diseases, data on patients with Marfan syndrome (MFS) are scarce and inconsistent. Hence, the problem of assessing the quality of life (QOL) and its relationship with the assessment of which ailments are the most burdensome for these patients is still open. Aim: Comparison of the quality of life of patients with MFS and determination as to which of the reported complaints in patients with MFS are related to the QOL of patients. Methods: The study included 35 patients with MFS and 35 healthy controls, matched for gender and age. In the study, the questionnaire of quality of life assessment SF-36 was used to assess the level of health-related quality of life, as well as an interview of the most severe symptoms reported by patients with MFS. Results: The level of the physical dimension of the QOL (p < 0.001) and limiting of roles due to physical health (p = 0.002), as well as the level of general index of the QOL (p < 0.001), were statistically significantly lower in MFS patients when compared to controls. People from both studied groups do not vary in the scope of pain, vitality, social functioning, limiting the roles due to emotional problems, and state of mind but also in the mental dimension of the health-related quality of life (HRQL). Additionally, there has been a correlation between HRQL and the subjective assessment of the effects of orthopedic, ophthalmic, and cardiological problems in life, as well as lower exercise tolerance in the evaluation of people with MFS and QOL in most areas. Conclusions: Patients with MFS present a reduced QOL in the areas of physical functioning, limiting roles due to physical health, general feeling of general health, the physical dimension of the HRQL, and the general index of the QOL; in these areas, they require careful evaluation, as well as medical and psychosocial assistance.

Aim. The purpose of the study was to analyze the functioning of a family as perceived by a person with Marfan syndrome and to look for relationships between the characteristics of the system and the overall quality of life of the ill. Material and method. Participants included 33 individuals with Marfan syndrome and 33 individuals without chronic illness. We used the Family Evaluation Scale - the Polish adaptation of the FACES-IV by D.H. Olson and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) by Diener, Emmons, Larson and Griffin. Results. People with Marfan syndrome perceive their families as significantly less coherent and significantly more disengaged than people without chronic illness. This family system of people with Marfan syndrome can be characterized by low scores on the "Cohesion" and "Flexibility" and high scores on the other four scales showing the level of imbalance of the family as a system, which makes this family profile similar to an 'unbalanced' system. Life satisfaction of people with Marfan syndrome correlated positively with "Cohesion", "Flexibility" and "Family Satisfaction" as features of family system perceived by them Conclusions. The obtained results confirm the importance of supporting families of people with Marfan syndrome and specialist help aimed at dealing with emotional burden related to the health of the patient.