The STAFF Project

Abstract

The Support and Training for Adoptive Families (STAFF) project was developed as a response to concerns about large numbers of infants with prenatal substance exposure being placed in foster care or for adoption with families who were not prepared for their special needs. This article describes the ongoing STAFF project and how it was designed to meet the identified needs of infants with prenatal substance exposure, their families, and their workers.     

Web-Enhanced Preservice Training for Prospective Resource Parents: A Randomized Trial of Effectiveness and User Satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, prospective resource parents must attend all preservice training in person. Although live sessions are necessary for screening applicants, instructional portions of training could be enhanced by Web-based sessions. This pilot study compares the effectiveness of online and classroom versions of one session from a widely used preservice training program. Ninety-two individuals enrolled in the program in two states were randomly assigned to a treatment group that viewed an online version of the class on child abuse and neglect or to a comparison group that took the same class in person. Written questionnaires were completed before and after the class. Significant group differences on knowledge of child maltreatment and empathy toward birth parents plus high user satisfaction were hypothesized. Analysis of covariance results showed the online training was more effective than the live training at increasing knowledge. Multivariate analysis of covariance findings on empathy were not significant but trended toward greater empathy for the online group. Feedback indicated high satisfaction with the online course. The finding that online instruction is more effective than live instruction has positive implications for practice, because Web-based training offers advantages like standardizing instruction, cutting agency and trainee costs, and providing greater flexibility.     

CHAPTER 12: Services to Families During Three Stages of a Handicapped Person's Life

No abstract available for this article.     

Narratives of Low-Income Mothers in Addiction Recovery Centers: Motherhood and the Treatment Experience

ABSTRACT

This study examines the narratives shared by low-income women in addiction recovery centers about the meaning they attach to being a parent in recovery and how they view current program models that include children in daily treatment. Their stories reflect the centrality of the mothering role to women in recovery and offer insights that can guide treatment and program planning with families.     

Validation of the Career‐Related Parent Support Scale Among Chinese High School Students

The Career‐Related Parent Support Scale (CRPSS; Turner, Alliman‐Brissett, Lapan, Udipi, & Ergun, 2003 ) was translated and modified to form the 24‐item Chinese version of the scale. As in the case of the original CRPSS, the Chinese version includes 4 subscales (Instrumental Assistance, Emotional Support, Verbal Encouragement, and Career‐Related Modeling). The Chinese version of the CRPSS was validated in this study with a sample of Hong Kong high school students (N= 677). Reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales were internally consistent. The results of the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the Chinese version of the CRPSS provided adequate indicators of Chinese adolescents’ perceptions of parent support for their career aspirations.     

Parent and Sibling Influences on the Quality of Children's Conflict Behaviours across the Preschool Period

Parent and sibling influences on children's development of conflict management strategies were examined. Data consist of naturally occurring, in‐home sibling disputes of 37 families at two time points. The siblings were approximately two and four years old at Time 1, and four and six years old at Time 2. Parents' and children's use of conflict strategies that reflect proactive autonomy assertions such as opposition and verbal and physical power were the focus of the current study. Results suggest that parents and siblings play an important role in shaping children's conflict behaviours over time. For instance, parents' reliance on unelaborated opposition to the child, and older siblings' increased use of physical power predicted decreases in younger siblings' ability to assert themselves during conflict. In addition, increased proportions of opposition from a younger sibling was associated with the older siblings using less verbal aggression and using more mature conflict strategies such as justifying their own behaviour to their younger sibling. As sibling conflict is a salient child rearing concern for parents, practical implications are discussed.     

新时期榜样示范的出路

在社会转型的新时期下,随着价值观念日益趋向多元化,榜样示范面临着巨大的挑战和困境。如何洞悉榜样示范所面临的困境,并超越现实找到出路,是我们必须认真对待和深刻思考的。     

独立学院独立性问题研究综述

独立学院是高等教育大众化进程中诞生的新生事物,从最初的公有民办二级学院改名为独立学院,正是其发展经受实践检验、不断适应我国现阶段高等教育发展需要的过程。“独立”所诠释的不仅是身份认证,更标识了独立学院未来的发展道路。独立学院独立性问题近年来得到高等教育界的普遍关注,本文拟对相关学术文章进行综合评述,以期为其他研究者提供参考和借鉴。     

Influence of Gender on Parental Socialization of Children's Sadness Regulation

Mothers' (N = 60) and fathers' (N = 53) perceptions of and desire for change in their 6‐ to 11‐year‐old daughters' (N = 59) and sons' (N = 54) sadness regulation behaviors (i.e., inhibition, dysregulation, coping) were examined in addition to parental responses to children's hypothetical sadness displays. Results of multivariate analyses of variance and regression analyses suggest that parental perceptions of and desired change in children's sadness behavior differ as a function of parent gender, child gender and child age (younger (grades 1, 2), older (grades 4, 5)), and predict the likelihood of contingent responses to children's sadness behavior. Overall, fathers reported being likely to respond to sadness with minimization whereas mothers reported being likely to respond with expressive encouragement and problem‐focused strategies. These parent‐reported socialization response tendencies, however, were more fully explained by the interaction between perceptions of children's sadness regulation behaviors and satisfaction with these behaviors. These findings highlight the need to include parent gender and parental cognitions as important variables in emotion socialization research.