Toward Father‐friendly Parenting Interventions: A Qualitative Study

Levels of father participation in parenting interventions are often very low, yet little is known about the factors which influence father engagement. We aimed to qualitatively explore perceived barriers to, and preferences for, parenting interventions in a community sample of fathers. Forty‐one fathers across nine focus groups were interviewed using a semi‐structured interview. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Key barriers to father participation identified included: the perception that interventions are mother‐focused; beliefs about gender roles regarding parenting and help‐seeking; mothers’ role as ‘gatekeeper’; lack of knowledge and awareness of parenting interventions; and lack of relevance of interventions. Fathers reported preferences for specific content and intervention features, facilitator characteristics, practical factors, and highlighted the need for father‐targeted recruitment and advertising. Many of the barriers and preferences identified are consistent with previous research; however, fathers’ beliefs and attitudes around gender roles and help‐seeking, as well as the perception that interventions are predominantly mother‐focused, may be key barriers for community fathers. Strategies to overcome these barriers and better meet the needs of fathers in promoting and delivering parenting interventions are discussed.     

Vaginal births after caesarean: What does Google think about it?

AimVaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) is a relatively safe alternative to repeat caesarean birth in the proper context. This important decision to undergo an elective caesarean versus VBAC is ultimately a decision of the mother. The purpose of our study was to assess the quality of online information in relation to VBAC collected using the most common search engine: Google.MethodsThe 10 most common hit sites for the keywords “VBAC” and “Vaginal birth after caesarean” were evaluated using the search engine Google. The quality of websites was rated based on the Silberg scale for accountability, the modified Abbott's criteria for presentation and the SMOG index for readability. The content of each website was compared to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) guidelines for VBAC.Findings13 out of 20 identified websites met the adequate criteria for accountability, with 85% of the websites indicating authorship. 11 websites were deemed aesthetically agreeable. The target audience, assessed by the readability score, was notably above the non-medical population with an average SMOG index score of 14.75. Only half of the websites contained recommendations, as detailed by the SOGC guidelines.ConclusionAlmost all sites target a higher academic level, making it beyond the comprehension of the general population. Woman friendly web-assessment tools should be provided to enable pregnant women to take an active role in their decision making.     

老年流动人口的就医行为及影响因素研究

近年来,我国老年流动人口的规模持续上升。文章使用2015年全国流动人口动态监测调查数据,从门诊治疗和住院治疗两个方面出发,使用Logit模型和Heckman两步法检验分析老年流动人口的就医行为及其影响因素。结果显示,在患小病时,70岁及以上、以家庭其他成员收入为主要收入来源、家庭人均月收入水平较高、患有高血压或糖尿病的流动老年人选择门诊就医的可能性更高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。在患需要住院治疗的疾病时,以离退休金/养老金为主要收入来源、自评身体健康的老年流动人口更有可能选择住院治疗。参加医疗保险的类型也对老年流动人口的就医行为存在着显著的影响。此外,外出务工、依靠子女和退休养老三类老年流动人口在门诊就医行为及其影响因素方面也存在显著差异。     

Child protection and fathering where there is domestic violence: Contradictions and consequences

Children live in different contexts of protection and vulnerability when exposed to domestic violence. The negative impacts for many children are consistent and widely acknowledged. However, the implication that this requires men who use violence to address their fathering has been slower to emerge. This article draws from 69 in‐depth qualitative interviews with men, women, and workers across four men's behaviour change programmes in rural Victoria, Australia. Particular attention is given to men's attitudes to their fathering and the formal and informal consequences they experienced as a result of their violence and its impact on their fathering. Although most men came to recognize that their violence impacted their children, they failed to make the connection that the involvement of statutory child protection services in their lives was a direct consequence of their abusive behaviour. This article explores this disconnection by fathers who use violence, their attitude to the involvement of statutory child protection services, and identifies the implications for social work practitioners in addressing this issue.     

中英合作办学中学生学习行为方式的转变

中外合作办学项目是中外合作办学的一种形式,为广大学子出国深造提供了便利。然而,在国内外双校园合作培养模式下,已习惯了国内高等教育环境的学生能否适应国外高等教育体系是合作办学项目中需要关注的重要问题。以“3+1”中英合作办学项目为例,对英国高等教育管理手段、教学方法以及本科毕业设计(Final Year Project)进行分析,有助于中国学生在英国尽快转变学习方式以顺利完成学业,有助于国内教育阶段对教学改革进行更多有益的思考。     

Grandparent support and mental and behavioural health in middle childhood

This study explored the significance of grandparents in middle childhood and assessed the level of grandparental support provided to children in relation to other social network members. The association between grandparental support and grandchildren's mental and behavioural health was also examined. We conducted structured interviews with 120 grade 4 and 5 learners (mean age = 10.41 years) from four schools in Cape Town, South Africa. Results indicated that subsequent to parents, children perceived grandparents as the most important and close relationship category. Furthermore, grandparents provided the highest levels of support to grandchildren after parents. Grandmothers provided more support than grandfathers. No associations between grandparental support and children's internalizing and externalizing behaviours were found. However, results revealed that grandparental support was positively associated with children's prosocial behaviour, independent of child gender, and the amount of support provided by other relationship categories (p = .04). Findings underscore a need for research to move beyond the nuclear family when considering potential influences on children's well‐being.     

Attitudes to debt among indebted undergraduates: A cross-national exploratory factor analysis

This paper reports the results of a cross-national study spanning England, New Zealand and the United States. A total of 496 first year undergraduates studying business or social science completed a 20-item questionnaire. This focused on their attitudes to their debt incurred while studying, as measured on a five-point Likert scale. A factor analysis model was developed, from which four consistent factors emerged, explaining 45 percent of the variation and consistent between countries. These factors were named: Anxiety, Utility-For-Lifestyle, Utility-For-Investment and Awareness. The first three factors were found to be uncorrelated with each other, but higher Awareness was associated with lower levels of Anxiety and Utility-For-Lifestyle and higher levels of Utility-For-Investment. The relationship with previous studies and implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Advice to mothers about managing children's behaviours in Canada's premier woman's magazine: a comparison of 1945–1956 with 1990–2010

Recent research and theorizing has characterized contemporary mothering as medicalized, intensive and risky. The rate of diagnosis of children's mental health issues has grown rapidly, particularly since the 90s. This paper examines the construction of mothering in regard to children's behaviours and mental health through an exploratory and qualitative content analysis of the portrayal of advice to mothers in Chatelaine Magazine, the premier women's magazine published in Canada. The time periods chosen for comparison were 1945–1956 and 1990–2010. The first period was selected because it was a time of dramatic changes that occurred in family, occupational and domestic life for women immediately after World War II. The second represents the modern period. The findings of the paper suggest that mothering was intensive, medicalized and risky in both periods although the conceptualizations of problems differed.     

Early Childhood Education Centre Director Perceptions of Challenging Behaviour: Promising Practices and Implications for Professional Development

Given their key role in overall programme quality, it is critical to examine how early childhood programme centre directors in the United States perceive challenging behaviour. Participants completed a survey asking which behaviours they perceive to be most problematic, the number of children dismissed or expelled from the programme during the last year, and the most commonly used strategies for addressing challenging behaviours. Results point to several promising practices and highlight the variability in access to evidence‐based practices based on programme type. Areas that warrant more targeted professional development are discussed, and findings are situated within the larger early childhood context.     

For an integrative theory of social behaviour: Theorising with and beyond rational choice theory

Most sociologists are not content with merely relating macrosocial phenomena to preceding macrosocial causes in their causal explanations of social phenomena. Instead they are seeking to provide (non‐reductive) microfoundations with which they can corroborate and make understandable the connection between macrosocial phenomena. In order to do so a theory (or theories) of human action is required. One such theory, rational choice theory (RCT), has long been viewed with strong suspicion in sociology. I show such suspicion to be partially justified. RCT cannot be a general theory of social behaviour. Nonetheless, there are important insights in various versions of RCT that should not be discarded. In order to improve upon RCT and move toward a more unified or integrative theory of action social‐psychological research has to be taken note of. I demonstrate how dual‐process theories and the research on heuristics can help sociologists move beyond RCT without contradicting some of its more basic insights.