Mitigating Intergenerational Trauma Within the Parent‐Child Attachment

Nine‐year‐old Ben was said to hate women. His mother was terrified he'd ‘grow up a woman basher’. This paper describes the work done with Ben and his family at the Hobart Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. We drew predominantly on three therapeutic modalities: Theraplay, Family Attachment Narrative Therapy and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. Our work enabled Ben's mother to navigate the aftermath of her own trauma history in order to heal Ben's attachment trauma.     

Sexual Abuse in the Preschool Years: Blending Ideas from Object Relations Theory,Ego Psychology,and Biology

This paper uses concepts from relational psychodynamic theories and findings from neurobiology to conceptualize a young child’s experience of sexual abuse. Selected developmental tasks are discussed using an integrated theoretical framework. Literature which highlights the importance of the child’s environment is reviewed. A case of a sexually abused 5-year-old girl demonstrates consequences of sexual abuse using ideas from psychodynamic theories and neurobiology. It is recommended that social work practitioners expand on the biology domain when conducting a bio-psycho-social assessment. Social work students may benefit from additional content on biology in social work curricula.     

On Becoming a Good Enough Stepmother

Studies have shown that conflict over parent–child relationships are frequently at the root of stepfamily dissolution and that the stepmother/daughter relationship is the most problematic stepfamily relationship. This paper explores the stepmother–daughter relationship in the family where the biological mother is an active parent and discusses the unique challenges and internal conflicts that the stepmother confronts on entry into the family and its web of preexisting relationships and transferences. “An internal parental stance” which underlies “good enough” stepmothering is conceptualized and the complex psychological processes which underlie this achievement are explored in this paper along with implications for clinical strategies. The term good enough stepmothering is a play on Winnicott’s concept of the good-enough mother—the maternal figure whose attunement to her child enables her to adapt appropriately to her child’s stage of life thus allowing an optimal environment for the child’s development.     

Parents’ Health and Adult Children’s Subsequent Working Status: A Perspective of Intergenerational Transfer and Time Allocation

This paper frames how parents’ health problems may affect a child’s subsequent working status. Parental health problems occurring in their prime working years undermine an adult child’s resources and tend to affect the child’s preferences over time-allocations among leisure, market- and non-market-labor. Empirical applications in this paper focus on a situation with pervasive health problems, lack of social safety network, and a substantial gender gap in labor market return. Exploiting Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) for the period 1994–2004, empirical results indicate that a father’s poor health status is a significant predictor of lowering a daughter’s educational attainment and working probability during her subsequent, adulthood years.     

Gender preference,biased sex ratio,and parental investments in single-child households

This article investigates parental investments in single-child households. It shows that son preference triggers more parental investments in children and its effects are stronger on investments in sons. A rise in the sex ratio creates a marriage market squeeze. It, however, has ambiguous effects on investments in children, which depends on how strong these investments are as measures for influencing children’s marriage probability. A rise in the sex ratio may particularly raise investments in daughters and lower investments in sons, or vice versa, or it may induce more or less parental investments in both sons and daughters. If the sex ratio and preference of sons are correlated, then the effect of the preference for sons on investments in children is generally ambiguous. If the sex ratio is influenced by parental health investments, then son preference induces a higher sex ratio. However, the higher sex ratio has ambiguous effects on the subsequent parental investments before a child’s marriage. We also show that parental preference of child services over a child’s marital status may explain parental investments.

Parents’ income and children’s school drop-out at 16 in England and Wales: evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study

This paper investigates the effect of parents’ income on children’s drop-out from school at age 16 using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). Unlike previous papers using the same data set, we use a continuous measure of income derived from the grouped income variable available in the BCS70, we employ instrumental variable techniques to address the issue of endogeneity of family income and take account of the potential endogeneity of income response with respect to a child’s education by jointly modelling the school drop-out decision and response to the family income question. Our estimates show the exogeneity of response to the income question with a child’s education and are in line with the previous literature finding a statistically significant small negative effect of family income on school drop-out at 16. On the contrary, other non-pecuniary parental effects, such as parental education and social class, turn out to be both significant and of a sizeable magnitude. Early versions of this paper benefited from presentations at the University of Warwick, the ZEW Summer Workshop 2002 on Human Capital, the European Society for Population Economics 2002 Conference and the European Economic Association 2002 Conference and comments by Martin Andrews, Lorenzo Cappellari, Charlotte Lauer, Derek Leslie, Jeremy Smith, Mark Stewart, and two anonymous referees. The BCS70 data were kindly provided by, and used with permission of, the UK Data Archive (UKDA, University of Essex). Funding from the ESRC is gratefully acknowledged. The usual disclaimer applies.     

Family attachment narrative therapy: healing the experience of early childhood maltreatment

Based on attachment theory and research, Family Attachment Narrative Therapy is introduced as a new family therapy modality developed to heal the experience of early childhood maltreatment. Unresolved childhood trauma has been correlated with impaired and delayed cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning. Gentle, soothing, nonprovocative and nonintrusive narratives told by parents provide an alternative restorative experience designed to shift and change the child's destructive internal working model. The result is improved functioning and the ability to accept nurturing and care in relationships that offer love and safety. A representative case example is used to illustrate theory, practice and outcome. Pre- and posttherapy assessment supports the claim of improved functioning.     

Independent comment on Audio‐visual and Print Materials

Book reviewed in this article: Narrative Therapy: An Introduction for Counsellors Martin Payne Family Therapy: The Field's Past, Present and Possible Futures Volume 1 Case Studies in Couple and Family Therapy: Systemic and Cognitive Perspectives Dattilio, F. M. (Ed.) Child‐Focused Practice: A Collaborative Systemic Approach Jim Wilson BabyTalk: The Pioneering Book that will Change Childcare Forever Sally Ward 201 Questions to Ask Your Kids Pepper Schwartz Teen Pregnancy and Parenting — Social and Ethical Issues James Wong and David Checkland (Eds) The Fundamentals of Family Mediation J. M. Haynes and S. Charlesworth Family Group Conferences in Child Welfare Peter Marsh and Gill Crow Single Session Family Staging: Breaking Family Spells E. Zawidowski     

Why do larger families reduce parental investments in child quality, but not child quality per se?

Becker’s Quantity–Quality model (Becker in Demographic and economic change in developed countries, Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 209–240, 1960; Becker and Lewis in J Polit Econ 81(2): S279–S288, 1973; Becker and Tomes in J Polit Econ 84(4): S143–S162, 1976) suggests a trade-off between family size and parental investments in children. To date, only Cáceras-Delpiano (J Hum Resour 41(4): 738–754, 2006) tests this theory by considering private school enrolment. This study extends this work by using a unique data set containing a broader range of parental investments that are arguably linked to parental intentions for producing higher quality children, such as overall and non-sectarian private school enrolment, the number of computers in the home per child, and saving for the child’s education. Both studies find that fertility reduces parental investments. However, the literature generally finds that fertility has no impact on child outcomes. The study offers three potential explanations for this ‘puzzle’.     

Reviews

Raising Parents: Attachment, Parenting and Child Safety: Patricia McKinsey‐Crittenden The Child's Voice in Family Therapy: A Systemic Perspective: Gammer, Carole, WW Norton & Company Inc.     

The Impact of Parent,Child, and Therapist Mental Representations on Attachment-Based Intervention with Prepubertal Children

Although attachment-based interventions with mothers and infants are beginning to flourish, guidelines for developing attachment-based intervention with prepubertal children are lacking. This article remedies this lack by discussing the potential intervention points of entry with prepubertal children based on attachment theory. In contrast to attachment-based early intervention, in which parental characteristics are targeted, attachment-based intervention with prepubertal children must include the child as well as the parents. Therapists attempting such an intervention must take into account the quality of the child’s mental representation as well as their own quality of mental representation to provide an effective clinical experience.     

Michael White as Teacher,Mentor Friend: Considering Claims of Guru‐ism

A reflection written on the 20th anniversary of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy and around the first anniversary of the death of its first editor and respected Narrative therapist, author and theorist Michael White. This article reviews the influence of Michael White on the work and life of the author. In this reflection, it reviews some of the significant features of Michael White's teaching, which allows a consideration of claims of ‘guru‐ism’ occasionally related to Michael White's work.     

Treatment for Children with Trauma-Attachment Disorders: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy

Children with histories of maltreatment are at significant risk of developing severe psychiatric problems. Treatment of such children is difficult and there are no empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of outpatient treatment for children with trauma-attachment disorders. The present study examines the effectiveness of Dyadic Developmental Therapy, a treatment based on attachment theory, provided by one therapist in an outpatient setting. The 64 subjects all had trauma-attachment disorders, met the DSM-IV criteria for Reactive Attachment Disorder, and had histories of serious maltreatment. The 34 children in the treatment group were treated in weekly outpatient therapy at The Center For Family Development with Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. The 30 children in the control group were evaluated but did not received Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and received treatment from other providers at other clinics. Eligible subjects were children between the ages of five and seventeen years whose case had been closed in 2000 or 2001. All children had significant past histories of abuse, neglect, or orphanage care. Findings for children in the treatment group, as measured by the Achenback and Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire, were significant decreases (p<.01) in symptoms of attachment disorder, withdrawn behaviors, anxiety and depression, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behaviors, and aggressive behaviors. The findings for children in the control group showed no changes in the variables measured. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy appears to be an effective treatment for children with trauma-attachment disorders.The author would like to gratefully acknowledge Ms. Geraldine Gallucci, a master’s level social work intern, who was placed with The Center For Family Development. Ms. Gallucci ensured that the follow-up questionnaires were mailed to the families and returned to the agency.Arthur Becker-Weidmann is affiliated with Center for Family Development, Williamsville, USA.     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: The Sacred Willow: Four Generations in the Life of a Vietnamese Family Duong Van Mai Elliott, Cross‐Cultural Practice With Couples and Families Phillip Brown and John Shalett (Eds) Context: A Magazine for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice The Answer Within: A Family in Therapy Re‐Examined Moshe Lang and Peter McCallum. Time Bombs in Families and How to Survive Them Averil Earnshaw. Relationships into the New Millennium 1999: Papers to Celebrate 50 years of Relationships Australia Gail Bateman and D. Lamont. Narrative Counseling in Schools: Powerful and Brief: Practical Skills for Counselors J. Winslade And G. Monk. You Just Don't Listen: A Parent's Guide to Improving Communication Suzie Hayman.     

Maternal Self-Efficacy of Mothers of Children with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities,Down Syndrome,and Autism in Kuwait

This study aims to identify the perception of maternal self-efficacy among 95 Kuwaiti mothers of children with Developmental Disabilities (DD) to determine the differences in perception of maternal self-efficacy variables among the mothers based on demographic variables: Child’s age, Gender, Type of disability, Leisure time, and Mother’s age. A survey was conducted using Kandari’s (2005, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Simmons College, Boston) Arabic version of the Caregiving Self-Efficacy Scale. The mothers were selected from different special education settings in Kuwait. They had 33 children with Intellectual Developmental Disabilities (IDD), 41 with Down Syndrome, and 21 with autistic disorder. The children included both males and females, and ranged between the ages of 6 and 15. The findings showed that (1) mothers of children with DD did not differ in their beliefs about aspects of maternal self-efficacy according to the Child’s age, Child’s gender, and the Mother’s age; (2) mothers of children with IDD, when compared to other mothers, had negative beliefs of all aspects of maternal self-efficacy; (3) mothers of children who did not attend a respite facility for an afternoon had negative beliefs of all aspects of maternal selfefficacy except for the child’s behavioral management; and (4) all mothers’ groups had negative beliefs about their ability to control their child’s behavior and their own emotions. Implications are discussed to provide services for mothers to help them develop their adaptive skills and meet their children’s needs, as well as their own.     

Independent Comment on Audio‐Visual and Print Materials

Book reviewed in this article: 101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens: Using Metaphors in Therapy. George W. Burns Attachment Processes in Couple and Family Therapy. Susan Johnson and Valerie Whiffen (Eds) An Introduction to Marriage and Family Therapy. Lorna L. Hecker and Joseph L. Wetchler (Eds) Experiential Psychotherapy with Couples — A Guide for the Creative Pragmatist. Rob Fisher The Practical Practice of Marriage and Family Therapy: Things My Training Supervisor Never Told Me. Mark Odell & Charles E. Campbell Using Workbooks in Mental Health: Resources in Prevention, Psychotherapy and Rehabilitation for Clinicians and Researchers. Luciano L'Abate (Ed.) The Therapy Triangle: Empowering You with the Knowledge to Heal Emotional Cutoff: Bowen Family Systems Theory Perspectives. Peter Titelman (Ed.) Clinical Applications of Bowen Family Systems Theory. Peter Titelman (Ed.)     

Brief Emotion Focused Family Therapy: An Intervention for Parents of Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Issues

This study evaluated the 2‐day intensive modality of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). The intervention attempts to prepare parents to take a primary role in their child's recovery from a range of mental health issues. One hundred and twenty‐four parents completed the intervention and provided data a week prior to intervention, post‐intervention and at 4‐month follow‐up. Results include significantly reduced parent blocks and increased parental self‐efficacy in relation to involvement in their child's recovery, as well as significant improvement in child symptomatology. The findings confirm positive results from an earlier pilot study involving eating disorders and demonstrate the potential for EFFT as an intervention for a range of clinical problems in children and youth.     

Integrating Social Work Perspectives and Models with Concepts,Methods and Skills with Other Professions’ Specialized Approaches

In this article, the authors encourage social work practitioners to identify with and adopt distinctive social work perspectives and practice models rather than solely embrace models or approaches developed by and for other professions. We do so because these perspectives are most responsive to our professions’ mission of social justice and social purpose of paying equal attention to people and their environments. For heuristic purposes, we present and illustrate the ecological perspective and life modeled approach. Since no social work model or approach can take into account every type of life stressor, event and condition, we demonstrate how we can borrow and integrate specialized concepts, methods and techniques from other profession’s approaches. The authors identify five characteristics which borrowed content should meet in order to integrate well with social work models. Accordingly, concepts, methods and skills from a few approaches have particular relevance for social work direct practice: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; Motivational Interviewing; Narrative Therapy and Solution-Focused Practice. Moreover, the authors present and illustrate the process of borrowing and integrating concepts, methods and skills from other professions to deepen social work practice.     

The effects of measurement error and omitted variables when using transition matrices to measure intergenerational mobility

This paper examines the consequences of specification error when transition matrices are used to analyse patterns of intergenerational mobility. We show that classical measurement error in both the child’s and parent’s earnings can lead to biased results, with summary mobility measures biased by as much as 20% in some cases. Furthermore our results suggest that the extent of the bias is most severe in the tails of the distribution. Omitted conditioning variables appear to have a modest effect on transition matrices in our model.     

Institutionalization,Romanian Adoptions and Executive Functioning

The impact of a traumatic environment during early childhood is linked to short-term and long-term difficulties in adoptees. This study, utilizing a non-random, cross-sectional analysis of 123 children adopted from Romania, focused on executive cognitive functioning. One-third of the sample had not been institutionalized while the other two-thirds had been institutionalized for varying lengths of time from 1 month to more than 3 years, resulting in a “natural experiment” that allowed us to compare these two groups. Information from parents and teachers was obtained regarding their perception of the child’s executive functioning. Results indicate that, after many years in their adoptive families, 40% of the adoptees had physical challenges and 36% were in at least some special education classes. The best predictor of parental perception of current executive functioning was parent perception of the current parent–child relationship and not preadoptive history.