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Although the term 'genetic screening' has been used for decades, this paper discusses how, in its most precise meaning, genetic screening has not yet been widely introduced. 'Prenatal screening' is often confused with 'genetic screening'. As we show, these terms have different meanings, and we examine definitions of the relevant concepts in order to illustrate this point. The concepts are i) prenatal, ii) genetic screening, iii) screening, scanning and testing, iv) maternal and foetal tests, v) test techniques and vi) genetic conditions. So far, prenatal screening has little connection with precisely defined genetics. There are benefits but also disadvantages in overstating current links between them in the term genetic screening. Policy making and professional and public understandings about screening could be clarified if the distinct meanings of prenatal screening and genetic screening were more precisely observed.

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This paper describes the psychological and psychosocial aspects of prenatal care, which are believed to be of particular importance for medical/psychological practice. The emotional changes that "normally" take place during pregnancy are surveyed and evidence is provided linking these changes with potential adverse effect on pregnancy and labour. The salience of anxiety and life stresses in pregnancy research is highlighted as well as their intricate inverse relationship with social support. Antenatal classes are offered as an example of social support provision. The different kinds of such classes and evaluation of their effectiveness are briefly presented, as well as a number of controlled trials of enhanced support during pregnancy. Finally, the effect provision of prenatal care has on women as well as their role in their own care are raised. The need is stressed for further sophisticated longitudinal and multivariate research exploring further the causative links between quality of prenatal care, pregnancy outcome, and subsequent child development.

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This study explores the psychosocial problems experienced by families with children aged 6 to 14 years suffering from beta-thalassemia major (N = 188). The psychosocial problems and the family's adjustment to the effects of the illness were compared across a number of cultures where the disease is prevalent, namely Cyprus, Greece, and Italy. A small number of migrant children in the United Kingdom was also included in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents who also completed the Rutter Parental Questionnaire and the Goldberg General Health Questionnaire. Teachers were asked to complete a Children's Behaviour Questionnaire designed by Rutter. In all countries the disease seemed to have a binding effect on the family, thus mobilizing adaptive mechanisms. Father's low education level and the presence of major medical complications were predictors of poor family adjustment. Differences between and within countries may well reflect differences in health policies, existing level of socio-economic development, and in the cultural patterns in coping with a chronic illness.

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The paper presents the study design of the development and organisation of an EU/WHO multicentre study on the promotion of children's early psychosocial development through primary health care services. The aim of the programme is to develop training for primary health care workers (PHCWs) that improves their ability to assess factors relevant to psychosocial development and gives them preventive approaches to foster that development, building on families' strengths. The focus is on the period from conception to the end of the second year of the child's' life. Two main components are the training of the PHCWs and the semi-structured interviews that guide the workers in practice. The training has content and structure that is feasible within primary health care resources working in collaboration with mental health services. The programme is evaluated in terms of (a) the impact of training on both the PHCWs' knowledge and attitudes with regard to infant behaviour and development, and on practice as assessed by the delivery of the semi-structured interview; and (b) the effect of the intervention on maternal well-being, infant language development and behavior, home environment and mother-infant interaction. The programme is taking place in Cyprus, Greece, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Portugal, Slovenia and Turkey.

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In this paper the authors discuss the problematics of the phenomenon of going into fatherhood within a transient Society, Greece, that was framed in the course of a clinical research. The main goal of this study was to describe the social psychological dynamics and long term dimension of the phenomenon through analysis of interviews with young men becoming fathers for the first time in their lives. The theoretical framework and the social psychological context of the research are presented, together with the analyses of two accounts by fathers interviewed each three times, before and after their child's birth. This clinical material serves as an illustration of the psychodynamic processes of going into fatherhood and points to two dimensions: one is intrapersonal (essentially marked by identifications to parental images) and the other interpersonal (essentially marked by the relationships with the partner). Analysis of the subjects' affects and representations shows that resolution of conscient and unconscious conflicts which takes place during the going into fatherhood are dependent on the process of disengagement from the family of origin and on the ability of both partners to construct a conjugal space. Men (and fathers-to-be) when faced with the situation may either confine themselves to culturally established schemes or/and their own history, or find a new meaning to their personal and relational life.

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Greek fathers' (n = 157) reactions to their presence at the delivery, their expectations about the baby and their childcare practices were explored at the 4th-6th week postpartum. Only 10% of the sample attended the delivery. Their non-attendance was attributed, by the greatest number of fathers, to official hospital policy while the rest claimed it was entirely their decision. Half of the non-attenders expressed the desire to have been present while a large percentage of mothers were said to have wanted them to be present. The small number of fathers who attended the birth felt strong and satisfied. In respect to early fatherhood, three main themes were explored: reaction to fatherhood, enjoyment of the child and involvement in childcare. All three dimensions were strongly correlated.

PIP: In Athens, Greece, 157 fathers of 4-to-6-week-old newborns completed a questionnaire as part of a study examining their reactions to being present at delivery (if, indeed, they were present), their expectations about the child, and their child care practices. Just 16 fathers (10%) were present during childbirth. Most of the fathers (68%) who did not attend the delivery claimed the hospital policy forbade their presence during delivery, while most of the remaining fathers (29%) chose not to attend. 64% of the fathers who could not attend for other reasons would have liked to have attended the delivery. Further, 73% of mothers would have preferred the fathers' presence during delivery. The fathers who were present during childbirth reported that their attendance resulted in a closer emotion bond with their partner and newborn. In fact, 71% either cried or felt like crying. Almost none of the fathers believed that a woman's place was in the home. 92% played with the newborn daily. 16% to 25% were actively involved in child care (e.g., walking with the infant, bathing, and changing diapers). 68% wanted to spend more time with the newborn. 92% looked forward to coming home to be with their wife and newborn. On the other hand, 50% felt too tired to care for the infant and 42% though it was difficult to cope with the baby. Reaction to fatherhood, enjoyment of the child, and involvement in child care were all significantly correlated with each other (p .0001), especially enjoyment of the child and involvement in child care. The more emotionally depressed a father was, the more likely it was that he did not like fatherhood (p .0001). In addition, manual laborers and fathers with just a primary education tended to react negatively to fatherhood (p = .06 and p = .09, respectively).

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Early developmental factors implicated in subsequent infant and child development are presented. The orientation adopted emphasizes both the interplay between constitutional and environmental factors and the mutual interaction between the child and its environment. The present paper concentrates on pre- and perinatal factors and maternal psychopathology affecting mainly the early mother-child interaction and, in turn, child developmental outcome.

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This paper describes the research conducted by a WHO collaborative study group for the development of a questionnaire method for the assessment of quality in child-care settings. The results of an inter-rater reliability study undertaken in Greece and Nigeria suggest that the Child Care Facility Schedule (CCFS), composed of 80 items, offers a satisfactory system of rating, especially after modifications were made to refine certain items, alter the scoring system so as to grasp nuances, and clarify the instructions in the users' manual, including revisions in the interviewing technique. A validity study to confirm the usefulness of this method is being carried out in Athens.

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This paper describes the research conducted by a WHO collaborative study group for the development of a questionnaire method for the assessment of quality in child-care settings. The results of an inter-rater reliability study undertaken in Greece and Nigeria suggest that the Child Care Facility Schedule (CCFS), composed of 80 items, offers a satisfactory system of rating, especially after modifications were made to refine certain items, alter the scoring system so as to grasp nuances, and clarify the instructions in the users' manual, including revisions in the interviewing technique. A validity study to confirm the usefulness of this method is being carried out in Athens

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