Our Story: The Parent and LGBTQ Child Relational Process

This study explores the parent-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) child relational process, before and after the child discloses his or her sexual orientation and/or gender identity to his or her parent(s). Eleven parent-adult child dyads were interviewed in this grounded theory study. Participants included children representing the full LGBTQ spectrum and their parents. Results indicate that parent-child dyads experience a relational process occurring in five sequential phases, the last one continuing indefinitely. Parent-LGBTQ child close relationships manifest societal beliefs regarding LGBTQ identities. Dyad members share an evolving relational identity and construct a shared narrative that shifts in response to familial life events and broader societal changes.     

后喻文化背景下我国代沟现象微探

后喻文化背景下,我国代沟现象出现新的特点,即代际根本利益的一致性、代际影响的相互性、代际评价的理解性、代沟影响的双重性。代际间要正视和理解代沟,相互尊重,共同致力于代沟弱化;亲代和子代要提高各自的媒介素养,拓展沟通渠道;淡化文化的区别化、对象化,构建代际间沟通平台;长者和教师在与子代的沟通中要注重方法的艺术性;子代要学会反思和换位思考,主动关心亲代的娱乐和生活。     

A Barrenness or Body and Theory: An Analysis or Infertility

This essay tracks the vicissitudes of woman's analysis during her three year attempt to become pregnant, and in her own words, “to become a real mother”. As a lesbian daughter of heterosexual parents, she attempted to “cure” her infertility, and redress her self- perceived sexual sins through compliance with a fantasy of heterosexual completion. This fantasy came to be seen as a diversion from the more difficult task of re-engaging with a symbolic oedipal dilemma and bearing parricide guilt.     

Exploring trends: tracking evaluations data over several months by therapists and parents of children with cerebral palsy

A pilot study was conducted at the outpatient rehabilitation unit of a children's hospital to explore the overall performance trends of children in daily life as perceived by their parents, compared to the evaluations of therapists. A performance goal was set for each child by his/her therapist and parent at an initial consultation. Over a six-month period, data were collected from the parents of children with cerebral palsy (N = 53), and therapists assessed children at each therapy session as well. The evaluations of both parents and therapists showed statistically significant upward trends in performance over several months.     

Clinical observations on interferences of early father absence in the achievement of femininity

In clinical work, we have observed that the loss of the father through divorce has a significant effect on the young girl's developing sense of feminity. This paper briefly reviews the research findings from sex-role development theory and psychoanalytic theory, and presents clinical discussions of latency aged girls whose parents divorced during their daughter's early and oedipal years. The most common defensive or coping patterns seen in these child patients during latency are identified, with clinical material presented to illustrate both the existence of these patterns and implications for treatment.     

Modelling the initial placement decision for children received into care

Initial placements of a cohort of 93 children received into the care of an English local authority over a 3-month period are examined. Sixty-five of the children were immediately placed in a foster home, 20 were placed in a residential home, 4 were received into care in hospital, and 4 remained home on trial. The research reported here focusses on the 85 children initially placed in either a substitute family home (a foster placement) or a residential home. Logit analysis is used to examine the pattern of initial placements. A clearly consistent pattern of placement emerges and a small number of factors explain or predict the initial placement decision. These factors include such child characterstics as age and health, family size and accommodation, and previous care experiecne of a child and his or her siblings.     

Some theoretical considerations on confidential adoptions part III: The adopted child

In all cases of newborn adoption where placement is made directly into the permanent adoptive home, the adoptive parents become the psychological parents for that child. While adopted children do have separate psychological and genetic parents, the capacity for intimacy, identity, and a cohesive sense of self develops through the consistent empathic attachment between the adoptive parents and the child. We discuss the adopted child's psychological development through infancy, pre-oedipal, oedipal, latency, and adolescence and focus on the child's intrapsychic tasks at each developmental phase. We note how development is different for the adopted child and how this development would be diminished or enhanced by the direct or subtle indirect involvement in an open or confidential adoption. Open adoptions appear to have the risk of serious interference at each developmental phase. Confidential adoptions appear to provide the child with the psychological protection for the unfolding of development. There is a new trend in the field of child welfare toward openness in adoption, which purports to change traditional confidential adoptions. We discuss the crucial aspects of the intrapsychic difference for an adopted child experiencing an open or confidential adoption.And so they wrangled before the King... Kings II, Ch. VThis paper was presented to the National Committee for Adoption Convention, October, 1982; the First International Conference on Pediatric Social Work, August, 1982; and to the Child Care Association of Illinois Convention, April, 1982. All authors have the M.A. degree     

Considering the best interests of infants in foster care placed separately from their siblings

This article offers a perspective on the child welfare practice of placing infants and their siblings in foster care using the theoretical frameworks of attachment and infant mental health. The authors highlight issues for child welfare workers to consider when determining if moving an infant or young child from one home to another for the purpose of placing him with his siblings would cause trauma or disruption; and also issues to consider when determining the infant or young child's best interest when separated from siblings. First, the authors summarize the literature regarding attachment relationships and attachment disruptions. Then, they review outcome studies of children residing in foster care who are placed with their siblings and of those who are placed separately. Finally, the authors conclude with specific recommendations for child welfare workers to aid in making such difficult decisions about placing infants in foster care.     

The Impact of Complex Family Structure on Child Well‐being: Evidence From Siblings

Evidence from the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort on children at ages 3 and 5 with older siblings addresses the questions of whether those living with both biological parents and only full siblings have better emotional and behavior outcomes than other children, and whether nonfull siblings affect children's outcomes independently of parents' partnership status. Adjusting for measured family circumstances and resources in cross‐sectional regressions accounted for much of the adverse association of family complexity with child outcomes. Controlling for unobserved family and child fixed effects did not, however, attenuate all estimates further. Fixed unobservable factors appeared to be masking underlying associations. Allowing for them intensified some, albeit modest, estimates. These revealed excess externalizing behavior problems for boys with single or stepparents but only full siblings. For girls with single mothers, the chances of internalizing problems were raised. Whether siblings were full or not made little difference to outcomes in general.     

Images of stillbirth: memory,mourning and memorial1

When a baby is stillborn, maternity units in the United Kingdom and USA encourage mothers, fathers and other family members to hold the dead baby, take photographs and gather other mementos. The rationale for these activities is that acknowledging the stillborn child helps the grieving process. In the context of conventional family photography, however, stillbirth images are contradictory. The body of the baby in the arms of his or her mother, whilst conventional in terms of pose, is unconventional in terms of content. This article explores the meaning and function of contemporary private and public stillbirth images, arguing that they help create a social identity for the baby, reconstructing the disrupted biography of the family to include the dead child, thereby allowing him or her to be remembered, mourned and memorialized; also that public stillborn images reflect the development of new mourning practices that help parents cope with a hitherto invisible loss.     

Fatal child neglect

This study examined the circumstances associated with fatal child neglect in one state to differentiate fatal child neglect from fatal physical abuse and from other types of neglect that are not life-threatening. The typical neglect fatality was a male child, younger than three, living with his mother and two or three siblings. The fatalities from physical abuse were characterized by deliberate, hostile acts on the part of a caregiver, but in the vast majority of fatalities from neglect, a caregiver was simply not there at a critical moment.     

Changing methods of disclosure. Literature review of disclosure to children with terminal illnesses,including HIV

More than 30 years after the first discovery of the deadly HIV virus, and in the wake of increased knowledge of transmission, treatment and behavioral intervention development, parents are still faced with the difficult task of whether, when and how to inform their child about her or his HIV status. Except for some general ethical considerations, there are no national or international guidelines available for handling HIV status disclosure to a child by parents and health professionals. Most studies on disclosure address the problem of stigma and the barriers to disclosure of HIV-positive status by adults to their sexual partners, caretakers, families and communities, but very few studies focus on disclosure to HIV-positive children. The majority of the studies that address disclosure to children limit themselves to stipulating reasons for barriers to such disclosure instead of the skills and knowledge necessary for effective disclosure to a child. Increasing availability of therapy for HIV across the world presses the issue of disclosure to the child. Even so, disclosure for children who are HIV-positive due to vertical transmission continues to be very difficult. There is a lack of interventions that consider guidelines for healthcare professionals, parents or persons involved with taking care of HIV-positive children. These interventions should be designed in an understanding manner towards the culture where they might be implemented and be as appropriate in the view of integrating different family structures and the child's development.     

Linkages Between Parents’ Differential Treatment,Youth Depressive Symptoms,and Sibling Relationships

We tested social comparison predictions about cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between parents’ differential treatment of siblings and both youth depressive symptoms and sibling relationship qualities from middle childhood to late adolescence, controlling for dyadic parent‐child relationships and siblings’ ratings of parents’ fairness. Participants were parents and first‐ and second‐borns (M= 11.8 and 9.2 years old at Year 1) from 201 White, middle/working‐class families. Three‐level models revealed both cross‐sectional and longitudinal linkages between differential treatment and outcomes. For example, youth whose parent‐child relationships decreased in warmth relative to those of their sibling reported increases in depressive symptoms and decreases in sibling warmth. Gender and age moderated differential treatment‐depressive symptoms associations; birth order moderated differential treatment‐sibling relationship associations.     

Parental Modeling and Deidentification in Romantic Relationships Among Mexican‐Origin Youth

This study investigated youth's modeling of and deidentification from parents in romantic relationships using two phases of data from adolescent siblings, mothers, and fathers in 246 Mexican‐origin families. Each parent reported his and her marital satisfaction and conflict, and youth reported on parent–adolescent warmth and conflict at Time 1. Youth's reports of modeling of and deidentification from their mothers and fathers and three romantic relationship outcomes were assessed at Time 2. Findings revealed that higher parental marital satisfaction, lower marital conflict, and higher warmth and lower conflict in parent–adolescent relationships were associated with more modeling and less deidentification from parents. Moreover, higher deidentification was linked to a greater likelihood of youth being involved in a romantic relationship and cohabitation, whereas more modeling was linked to a lower likelihood of cohabitation and older age of first sex. Discussion underscores the importance of assessing parental modeling and deidentification and understanding correlates of these processes.     

The right to be different: Implications for child protection

This paper traces the historical emphasis of defining the disabled child or adult as ‘abnormal’—to be made ‘normal’! Such an emphasis disempowers the child, who comes to believe that his or her difference is as ‘bad’, ‘unacceptable’, and readily allows him or her to be viewed as ‘useless’. Such disabilist attitudes have fostered the belief that child protection services would not be relevant for this child population. The experiences of disabled women are explored, and clear messages emerge that can help us consider the environment of disabilism and the effects of this on disabled children. It helps us to see that, even before the disabled child is abused, his or her experience is one of oppression.     

Foster parent perceptions of placement breakdown

The purpose of the study was to describe the perceived causes of placement breakdown by foster parents. Sixty-three foster parents from fifty families were asked to describe their challenges in response to the following question: “What would make you consider ending a foster placement”? The responses to this question were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, to yield nine themes. Foster parents indicated that they would consider ending a placement if there was a danger to their family, if the child could not adapt to the home or if they could not handle the child's behavior. Participants reported that the complex health needs of a foster child, problems dealing with the foster agency, and several unsuccessful attempts to make the placement work would cause a placement to breakdown. Foster parents also indicated that they would consider ending a placement if their personal circumstances changed, their own health deteriorated, or there was a lack of appropriate external support in place. The results of the study point to gaps in the research on violence in general foster care, foster parent perceptions of contributions to a foster child's transition back to his or her birth family, and the process of foster parent decision-making in cases of placement breakdown.     

Substance-abusing parents and their children in termination of parental rights cases in Israel

Parental substance abuse significantly increases the risk of child maltreatment and loss of custody. If parental capacity due to substance abuse cannot be rehabilitated within a limited time period and if the child cannot be safely returned to his/her home, the state, in various jurisdictions, is empowered to initiate termination of parental rights proceedings. Despite the connection between substance abuse and termination of parental rights, the research literature in this area is limited. Based on a sample of 212 rulings in favor of termination of parental rights by Israeli courts, the present study examines factors that differentiate substance-abusing from non-substance-abusing parents. The findings indicate that substance-abusing parents constitute a unique high-risk group among parents whose parental rights were terminated. This group is characterized by a higher cumulative risk that includes mental health issues with an emphasis on personality disorders and emotional problems, criminal records, child neglect and maternal single parenthood. All these factors, as well as the overall number of risk factors in a particular case, were found to predict substance-abusing parenthood. A discussion of the findings and their implications for social work practice with families involved in the child welfare system follows.     

Parental Perspectives on the Emotional,Relational and Logistical Impacts on Siblings of Youth Who Sexually Offend

This qualitative study explored parents’ perspectives on the collateral consequences of youth sexual offending on siblings through the analysis of interview data among 16 caregivers from 10 Canadian families. Using thematic coding procedures, findings indicated that parents identified a range of safety, emotional and interpersonal impacts on siblings beginning with the criminal justice and child welfare investigations of the sexual offending and extending to siblings’ relationships with the offending youth, their caregivers and other relatives. Results demonstrate the need for greater acknowledgement of, and parent‐informed interventions that specifically address the impact of youth sexual offending on siblings by professionals and non‐professionals (e.g. relatives) alike.     

Consulting the Children: Interviews with Children Using Residential Respite Care Services

The Children Act, 1989, requires that services for children are provided in partnership with parents and that the wishes and feelings of the child and his/her parents are ascertained and given due consideration (sect. 22). As part of a research project assessing the quality of services to children with disabilities under the Children Act, the authors carried out evaluations of six residential respite care services. The services were used mainly by children with learning difficulties, some of whom had little or no speech. Staff at the schools attended by the children were asked to interview them, so that their views could be included in the evaluation reports. Interview schedules and aids to communication were devised to try and enable all the children to express their views. This article describes the initial schedules and the changes made in the light of experience during the research. The authors then summarise the children's responses and consider how the process of consultation could be improved in future.