Parental involvement in school: A test of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model among Jewish and Arab parents in Israel

Parental involvement in children's schooling has been repeatedly shown to be positively and significantly correlated with a number of positive child outcomes. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995) proposed a multivariate model of parental involvement. There are indications that the model should be adjusted to include mediating effects of parental role constructions. Further, this model has not been tested in educational systems and cultural contexts outside the US. The goals of the present study were to model factors associated with parental involvement in schools in Israel, and compare model fit among two populations representing different cultures.A survey was conducted with 5999 parents of junior- and senior-high school students in Israel. Data were collected on the extent of parental involvement, parental role construction, invitation for involvement from school, homeroom teacher and the child, availability of resources such as time, energy, skills, and knowledge, parents' ethnic affiliation, and the socio-economic status of the school's local authority. Data were analyzed using SEM, Sobel test for mediation, and multivariate hierarchical regression.The findings support the original theoretical model. Findings also revealed significant but very weak mediating effect of parental role construction. The model had a similar fit for both Jewish and Arab samples. Little of the variance in parental involvement was explained by ethnic/cultural affiliation and socio-economic status. Implications for parental involvement interventions with diverse populations are discussed.     

Parents' perceptions of juvenile probation: Relationship and interaction with juvenile probation officers,parent strategies,and youth's compliance on probation

In the past several years, there has been a growing movement toward family-driven initiatives in many child-serving agencies, including the juvenile justice system. These initiatives underscore the importance of parental involvement in successful rehabilitation of at-risk and offending youth and highlight the unique role of parents to influence and inspire their child's behavior. Despite a growing consensus on the importance of parental involvement in juvenile justice processes, little empirical research has explored the nature of parental involvement in the juvenile justice system. This study examined parents' (n = 87) perceptions of relationship quality and interaction with probation officers, parenting strategies, and how these factors related to youth's compliance on probation. Findings revealed that parents generally had positive relationships with probation officers characterized as supportive, fair, respectful, and helpful toward youth. Most parents also employed practices such as use of reminders and encouragement to promote youth's compliance on probation. Parents' perceptions of probation officers' helpfulness toward youth were associated with decreased used of parenting practices that encourage probation compliance. However, parents' perceptions of supportive, respectful, and fair relationships with probation officers were associated with increased use of parenting practices that promote probation compliance. Supportive, fair, and respectful relationships with probation officers were also linked to fewer counts of technical violations of probation, but not new delinquent offenses, among offending youth. Implications for research, practice, and policy around the potential of collaborative relationships between parents and probation officers in facilitating successful probation outcomes are discussed.     

Intergenerational Patterns of Maltreatment in Families at Risk for Foster Care

Few qualitative studies have investigated the process of parental efforts to break intergenerational patterns of maltreatment. A grounded theory approach was used to understand how 24 parents who had been identified by CPS as being at‐risk of having their children removed from their homes due to allegations of abuse and/or neglect, perceived and connected their own experiences of childhood abuse in light of their experiences as alleged perpetrators of child maltreatment. Three major categories were identified: patterns, beliefs, and behaviors. A majority of the parents stated that they recognized intergenerational patterns, most expressed that they wanted to be different from their own parents, yet many described parenting actions that were “destructive.” We suggest that it is the interrelationship amongst patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that may offer opportunities for parents and therapists to enact change.     

The effects of parental involvement on academic performance of Ghanaian youth: Testing measurement and relationships using structural equation modeling

Research in developed countries suggests that parental involvement is associated with youth academic success. However, little is known about the overall impact of parental involvement on youth academic performance in developing countries. Further, it is unclear what type of parental involvement impacts the academic performance of youth from developing countries. This study examines whether parental involvement at home and school are meaningfully different constructs in a population of Ghanaian youth and their parents, and whether parental involvement predicts academic performance. Results suggest a multidimensional construct consists of home and school involvement. The effect of parental involvement on youth academic performance appears to be a function of the type of parental involvement. Home-based parental involvement is positively associated with academic performance, while school-based parental involvement is negatively associated with academic performance. Parental involvement in youth's education has important implications for academic performance. Parental involvement in education has the potential to model positive attitudes toward school as well as adaptive academic practices, thus sending the message to youth that school is important.     

Engaging substance-affected families in child welfare: parent perspectives of a parenting intervention at program initiation and completion

Families affected by substance abuse are at an increased risk of child welfare involvement and poor child welfare outcomes. One strategy to improve outcomes among these families is evidence-based parenting interventions. While these interventions show the potential for advancing the child welfare field, they have not been widely and rigorously evaluated with birth parents, especially those affected by substance abuse, who face marked vulnerability and marginalization. We sought to draw on parents’ expertise and to understand their first and changing impressions throughout involvement in a parenting intervention, as well as overall impressions at program completion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 parents who were involved in child welfare and a family drug treatment court. All parents were affected by parental substance use and had recently completed the Strengthening Families Program. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for prominent themes. The study’s findings showed that parents described four key themes that influenced their perspectives of the parenting intervention: program reputation as communicated by peers, relevance and applicability of the program, children’s involvement and enjoyment of the program, and program structure issues that pointed to the need for high-quality group facilitation. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

How Parental Involvement Affects Childhood Behavioral Outcomes

National Educational and Longitudinal Study 1988 (NELS88) data were used to examine the impact of parental involvement measures on the behavioral outcomes of high-school students. Parents’ general sense of involvement with the community, as well as non-school child-helping groups, were used as instruments for whether these parents were educationally involved with their child. The instrumental variables strategy helped quantify the true effect of parental involvement on own-child behavioral outcomes. The results showed that parental involvement led to better child behavioral outcomes at the high school level, and that this effect was strengthened in the instrumental variables results.     

Depression movement in family therapy with depressed adolescents

Family therapists presume, observe, and predict that depression can move from member to member in the family system depending upon the dynamics of the system as a whole. When an adolescent who is depressed begins to improve in family treatment, many family therapists have reported that the parents will often begin to experience an increase in their level of depression. This observation has been reported but has not been objectively measured. In this clinical study of four families, adolescent and parental depression during family therapy is measured to determine if depression movement does occur during family treatment. Results indicate that in three of the four families the parents did initially show depression level increases reactive to improvement in the adolescent. Such findings are supportive to the idea that some forms of adolescent depression often do serve a family system function.     

Pediatric Chronic Illness Management: A Qualitative Dyadic Analysis of Adolescent Patient and Parent Illness Narratives

In pediatric chronic illness, little is known about the relational interactions between adolescent patients, parents, and illnesses and how they influence self-management of illness. We conducted interviews with 32 individuals (16 dyads) representing adolescents diagnosed with a chronic illness and their primary parent who had been referred to a psychosocial treatment program for challenges with illness management. Interviews were conducted individually and analyzed dyadically using grounded theory to better understand the relational processes that may be contributing to illness management difficulties. Results include a theory of patient–parent illness responses and how parental illness meanings play a role in adolescent self-management. Results can be used to better understand and treat family relational patterns that may be influencing pediatric illness management challenges.     

Parental Involvement with Children at School, Home, and Community

Previous research has focused on examining the effects of parental involvement on children’s academic achievement. Less attention has been placed on exploring types of parental involvement from parental reports. This study combines in a single analytic framework predictors from earlier studies with parent-based reports of involvement in three venues: home, school, and community. We examine two categories of predictors: social and economic resources, and parent perceptions and experiences with child’s school. Using data from the Parent and Family Involvement Survey, analyses were performed for White, Black, and Latino parents. Consistent with previous findings, our research finds that minority parents are less involved at their child’s school than White parents. No ethnic differences in home or community involvement were found.     

Parent-Child Relationships,Parental Relationships and Children's Self-Esteem in Post-Divorce Families in Hong Kong

Abstract

In recent research on post-divorce families in Hong Kong, there has been a shift away from the assumption of pathology, and in favor of a trend of increasing attention to children's resilience and the benefits of a continuous parental relationship. There remains, however, a lack of empirical knowledge to guide social work practices in this area in contemporary Hong Kong. The present study is designed to examine how children's relationships with both parents and the different patterns of parental relationships impact children's self-esteem. Sixty-nine post-divorce families participated in the survey. The findings of a positive impact of quality relationship with both parents supported the promotion of active involvement of both parents. The likelihood of increased parental conflicts, however, makes the co-parental involvement a double-edged sword as far as the children are concerned, while an avoidance/low-conflict pattern of parental relationship is found to be the most beneficial pattern for the children. To enhance the well-being of children, a secure residential parent-child relationship with a noncompetitive nonresidential parent-child relationship is deemed beneficial.     

THE ROLE OF PARENTAL RELIGIOSITY IN HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION

Scientists have produced a modest literature documenting the associations between individual religious behaviors and educational outcomes. Most scholars hypothesize that religion provides a context of social capital in which students reap educational benefit (or detriment) from the adults in the religious community. Despite the intergenerational influence inherent in the various social capital explanations, few studies have directly examined the role of parental religiosity in the educational outcomes of adolescents. In this study, I begin to address this gap by investigating whether and how parental religiosity is associated with a student's chances of graduating from high school. I seek to answer three questions related to parental religiosity and students’ high school graduation. First, does parental religiosity affect a student's chances of graduating from high school? Second, if parental religiosity is associated with high school graduation, does it operate primarily through the student's own religiosity or is there an independent effect? Third, if parental religiosity is independently associated with a student's high school graduation, what are the mechanisms by which it is associated? Using data from the first and third waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), I find that students whose parents attend religious services more often have greater odds of completing high school, and students who attend religious services with parents are almost 40% more likely to finish high school, net of a number of other religious and sociodemographic factors.     

Looking at engagement and outcome from the perspectives of child protection workers and parents

This paper reports a study that sought to understand what facilitates engagement between parents and child protection workers and to ascertain the relationship between such engagement and intervention outcome. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through personal interviews with 131 worker-parent dyads (workers and corresponding parents receiving service) from 11 child protection agencies in Ontario, Canada. Measures included scales for engagement, parental well-being (depression and stress), and worker well-being (burnout, job satisfaction, stress). Outcome measures included perception of child safety, changed parenting practices and satisfaction. A relationship was found between workers' perception of parent engagement and parents' perception of their own engagement, as well as between the perceptions that workers and parents had around their own respective engagement. Workers who were satisfied with service outcomes were significantly more engaged than those who were unsatisfied. Parents thinking that their children were safer as a result of intervention were significantly more engaged than parents who thought that their children were less safe. The strongest reason given by parents for positive change was being able to trust their worker (p < .001) and believing that their worker was knowledgeable about parenting (p < .01). Qualitative data suggested that parents valued experienced workers because they thought such workers could better understand their problems and how to deal with them. Correspondingly, workers felt that experience enabled them to better understand clients' problems and provide more effective support. No relationship was found between parent engagement and parental depression or stress, but the mean depression score for parents placed them at risk of clinical depression. There was a negative correlation between worker stress and engagement. The study demonstrates that engagement between clients and workers is related to positive outcomes (as reported by workers and parents) and supports the contention that promoting engagement is integral to a successful child protection intervention.     

Hong Kong Parents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Involvement in Homework: A Family Capital and Resource Management Perspective

This qualitative study examines Hong Kong Chinese parents’ perceptions and experiences of involving in their primary school children’s homework process. It draws upon the theoretical frameworks of family capital theory and family resource management perspective to explicate the role of parents in enhancing children’s homework outcomes. Information was collected through individual and focus-group interviews with 52 parents who had at least one child attending primary school. Findings of this study provide a glimpse into the range of homework-involvement strategies used by Chinese parents, and reveal parental goals and cultural values embedded in the generation of family capital. Such understanding on parental involvement is helpful for schools and policy-makers in cultivating parents’ participation in home-based learning processes for children.     

Are At-Risk Parents Getting What They Need? Perspectives of Parents Involved with Child Protective Services

This qualitative study explores the perspective of 24 parents who were at risk for having their children placed in foster care but ultimately retained custody of their children. We asked participants to reflect on their parenting needs prior to Child and Protective Services involvement and if and/or how they implemented parent education skills post-intervention. Parents most frequently cited stressors such as financial strain and single parenthood as contributing factors associated with their involvement with the child welfare system. Many parents stated that they wanted help with their parenting practices and provided their thoughts about time-out and physical punishment. Implications include assessing parental stress at the onset of services, seeking to understand the unique needs of families, evaluating the impact of length of time services are offered, and helping parents utilize age-appropriate discipline strategies.     

Television as a diagnostic indicator in child therapy: An exploratory study

This paper explores the relation between television viewing and clinical indicators for the mental health profession. Television viewing is seen from a systemic process perspective, based on data about children in therapy from therapists and parents. Family viewing patterns appear to be related to certain types of clinical indicators, especially attention deficit disorder and acting out. Of particular interest is the finding of a strong association between parental viewing habits and ADD on the part of children. The results suggest that television may be a useful indicator of family health for mental health practitioners and researchers.     

Sex and sexual orientation as variables in therapists' biases and therapy outcomes

The extent to which the variables of sex and sexual orientation are factors in therapy efficacy and therapist bias are examined through an extensive review of the literature. Data analysis based on a large sample of lesbian women indicate that female therapists, either heterosexual or lesbian, were assessed to be more beneficial than male therapists. However, the author suggests that therapists' sex role ideology may be a more salient factor than sex or sexual orientation in positive therapy outcomes with lesbian women.     

DOES ACADEMIC TRAINING BACKGROUND MAKE A DIFFERENCE AMONG PRACTICING MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS?

Using a national sample of practicing marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and their clients, this study investigated whether academic training background is associated with differences in pracice patterns and client outcomes. Clinical members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy with academic training in psychology, social work, counseling, and marriage and family therapy were compared on a wide range of clinical practice variables, and their clients were surveyed about thier satisfaction and outcomes. Results showed highly similar practice patterns and client outcomes across all four disciplinary groups. Although the findings showed little evidence for the uniqueness of academic marriage and family therapy training among experienced MFTs, they also refute the notion that therapists trained in MFT degree programs practice in unusual or inferior ways compared to MFTs trained originally in other mental health disciplines.     

Enhancing Family Therapy's Relationships With Research

The contention of this article is that systemic family therapy has much to gain from a realistic appraisal of its research base, which is as positive as possible. And that through such an appraisal we can find ways of developing the scope of family therapy to the benefit of the profession and thereby, of our clients. Family therapy will benefit if practitioners can present an informed view of research. As a preliminary approach to this objective, I review reasons why perceptions of family therapy underestimate its research base, and why therapists might resist involvement with research. The article then explores the reasons for regarding randomised controlled trials as a ‘gold standard’, and why they are not well fitted for the purpose of evaluating or developing a relational therapy. Next is a consideration of alternative approaches to research, including a consideration of what clients actually want from their therapy, then a brief review of the positive findings of outcome research. Greater emphasis on researching processes in therapy is proposed, and consideration of the ‘common factors’ debate is shown to support priorities that are specific to systemic therapies. The article concludes with suggestions for increasing the involvement of family therapists with research, both as consumers and as research practitioners.     

Should I stay or should I go? A mixed methods study examining the factors influencing foster parents' decisions to continue or discontinue providing foster care

The recent economic recession has resulted in dramatic cuts to child welfare programs and services. Licensed foster homes represent an essential component of the child welfare system as these families provide for the care and safety of children during times when their own families are not able to do so. Despite the important role foster parents serve, little attention has been given to understand what impacts their decision about whether to continue fostering. This is especially important when considering the context of recent economic stressors on families and on the systems on which families rely. The purpose of this study was to understand what factors impact a parent's likelihood of continuing fostering. To accomplish this objective, a mixed methods concurrent triangulation design was conducted by sending an online survey to foster parents in one state located in the southwest. Findings based on this sample of 649 foster parents suggest foster families' intentions to continue fostering are positively impacted by their own intrinsic rewards and motivations, satisfaction with fostering, locus of control, and level of emotional and practical supports. Reduction in reimbursement rates, decreases in the amount of quality services available for foster children and for foster families, difficulty navigating the system, and individual-level family changes were cited as reasons foster parents would consider discontinuing fostering. Open-ended responses offer increased understanding about how these factors are perceived by respondents to impact their ability to continue to provide for our nation's most vulnerable children.