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With improved health care, increasing numbers of children and adolescents with chronic illness and disability now live into adulthood. With this change, the health care community needs to address problems related to the transition from parents caring for their young children's needs to increasing health care responsibility being required of adolescents and young adults (AYA). The current article presents a conceptualization of relevant research related to the transition of health care responsibility from parent to AYA. Using a developmental systems perspective, representative literature on adolescent and dyad-level factors related to the transition of health care responsibility is reviewed to inform clinical practice and future intervention research. To identify the health care tasks that researchers have thus far considered as most important for successful transition, we review assessment measures in this area. The varying levels of agreement on transition of health care behaviors provide an index of current thought by experts in this field. Those behaviors consistently identified as key for successful transition of responsibility from parent to adolescent are outlined to inform future research and clinical practice.

The aim of our study was to examine psychosocial changes associated with participation in a camp for children with cardiac defects. We enrolled 29 children with cardiac defects aged from 8 to 18 years, along with their parents. Both the parents and the children completed measures of expectations for the camp and anxiety. Analyses of repeated measures indicated that levels of anxiety amongst the children decreased significantly at the end of camp when compared to its beginning. Levels of anxiety amongst the children were not statistically different at follow-up. Anxiety amongst the parents concerning the separation from their children also decreased at follow-up when compared to before the camp. Higher levels of anxiety reported by the children prior to the camp were associated with greater anxiety amongst the parents concerning the anticipated separation, more negative parental expectations of the camp, fewer experiences of separation from their children, and lower expectations by the children for the camping experience. Reductions in anxiety amongst the children following the camp were associated with negative parental expectations about the camping experience. The camping environment can provide a naturalistic exposure to new experiences for the child, and a successful separation for the parent, thereby promoting confidence amongst the parents in the ability of their children to function independently.

Assessed the influence of adult in-session behavior and psychological variables on 77 preschool children's coping and distress during routine immunizations. Maternal anxiety was not related to the behavior of the parent, staff, or child. However, in-session behavior by one person was highly correlated with in-session behavior by the other people in the treatment room. The effects of parent and staff in-session behaviors, previous child medical experience, and maternal anxiety on child distress and coping was examined using hierarchical multiple regression procedures. Child coping was predicted by parent and staff behavior whereas child distress was predicted by parent behavior and by the level of the child's distress during previous medical and dental experiences. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

Psychosocial programs for children must be both efficient and efficacious. Efficiency is dictated by cost, case of implementation, and likelihood of program compliance. Unfortunately, in attempting to promote efficient programs, inefficacious programs have been disseminated. Also, there are instances of failing to disseminate efficacious programs because they are not efficient. This paper presents a three-stage model as a guide for the dissemination of psychosocial programs. Further, specific suggestions are given as to how we may move from the level of efficacious treatments that are currently used on a limited scale to widespread dissemination.