Child neglect and the law: catapults,thresholds and Delay

This paper discusses the dilemmas and challenges that arise when child neglect cases reach such a level of severity that court proceedings become necessary. It identifies the complexities of determining the appropriate social work and legal responses to child neglect, and of squaring these with wider organisational priorities and social policy imperatives. The paper draws on data from a series of interviews with local authority social work and legal staff. It highlights the ‘threshold criteria’ for the court's intervention, barriers to crossing them in neglect cases and the frequent need for a decisive event (a ‘catapult’) to do so. It shows the conflicts and tensions of reconciling social work and legal approaches, but also the overlaps and inter‐dependency between them. Despite the difficulties, the way forward lies in the interaction of different professional perspectives and skills, in ways that are both critical and supportive. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surabaya green and clean: Protecting urban environment through civic engagement community

ABSTRACT

This study explores the involvement of townspeople in efforts to protect their environment through environmental awareness program. The environmental program implemented is Surabaya Green and Clean (SGC) which was initiated by Surabaya City government since 2005 in kampung (community-based housing) in Surabaya (Indonesia). This study employed a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews, observations, and literature studies as data collection technique. The data were taken in Kampung Margorukun with a total of 14 informants involving the head of kampung, environmental cadres, and residents who are engaged in developing Kampung Margorukun to be one of the ecotourism models. The research results indicate that the resident involvement in SGC includes environmental cadres formation, environmental awareness education, waste recycling, waste bank management, and ecotourism development. The implementation of SGC in Kampung Margorukun is a form of operationalization of residents’ concern for environmental protection and sustainable development from ecological citizenship perspective.     

Low Birth Weight and Parental Investment: Do Parents Favor the Fittest Child?

Do parents contribute to birth weight disparities in status attainment? This study uses a nationally representative sample of 8,550 children and 1,450 twins from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort to investigate whether, as recent studies have suggested, parents favor healthier children. Children with poor health are found to receive fewer parental investments, including breast‐feeding and quality parent–child interaction, but results from between‐ and within‐family regression models, using low birth weight as a proxy for child health, find no evidence that parents compensate for or reinforce child health endowments. Instead, birth‐weight disparities in parental investment are linked with observable family, maternal, and child sociodemographic characteristics. Our results raise doubts about the utility of human capital models to explain health disparities in parental investment and shed new light on the broad spectrum of disadvantage faced by children with poor health.     

Parental Predivorce Relations and Offspring Postdivorce Well‐Being

This 2‐part study uses national longitudinal interview data from parents and their adult children to examine the way in which predivorce marital conflict influences the impact of divorce on children. In the 1st study, we find that the dissolution of low‐conflict marriages appears to have negative effects on offspring's lives, whereas the dissolution of high‐conflict marriages appears to have beneficial effects. The dissolution of low‐conflict marriages is associated with the quality of children's intimate relationships, social support from friends and relatives, and general psychological well‐being. The 2nd study considers how parents in low‐conflict marriages that end in divorce differ from other parents before divorce. We find that low‐conflict parents who divorce are less integrated into the community, have fewer impediments to divorce, have more favorable attitudes toward divorce, are more predisposed to engage in risky behavior, and are less likely to have experienced a parental divorce.     

Family Dispute Resolution: Use,Timing, and Outcomes

The mandatory requirement for separating or separated parents to mediate disputes over children before filing an application for the courts represents one of the key changes introduced in the 2006 Australian family law reforms. The process is known legally as Family Dispute Resolution (FDR). Based on the reports of three cohorts of parents who had separated in different periods after these reforms were implemented, this paper examines: (1) the socio‐demographic characteristics and circumstances of parents who used FDR; (2) the extent to which parents who attended FDR at different periods after separation differ in characteristics and circumstances; (3) FDR outcomes and the extent to which these outcomes vary according to parents’ circumstances and their timing of FDR use. The analysis shows that use of FDR was quite common among separated parents. Parents who went to FDR were typically able to reach an agreement and this positive outcome appeared to have increased over time, which may reflect improving and refining practice. The data show that the quality of inter‐parental relationship and circumstances surrounding separation such as family violence and other issues are closely linked with FDR use and its outcomes. They also reveal that parents who used FDR typically did so in the early stage of separation with its use much less common after separation for three or four years. Typically, in these cases, s60I certificates, which are normally required before the courts can intervene, were issued.     

Examining risk and protective factors on progression of romantic relational aggression among young adults: Parental control,parental care,and peer social support

Abstract

Romantic relational aggression is related to numerous mental health consequences but risk and protective factors of perpetrating this type of aggression, historically, have been unclear. This study fills in the research gap by evaluating the impact of parental control, parental care, and peer social support on later perpetration in romantic relational aggression among 84 predominately Chinese college students. Results revealed the positive association between parental control and perpetration in romantic relational aggression, however, this association diminished in the presence of high peer social support (HSS). Despite insignificance in the main effect, parental care was negatively correlated with later perpetration in romantic relationship in the HSS group while a positive association was found in the low peer social support (LSS) group. These highlights provided evidences how parental control and parental care during childhood could be risk factors for later romantic relational aggression as well as how current social support from peer could serve as a protective factor on the negative influence from parent–child relationships.     

Preadolescent Parenting Strategies and Teens' Dating and Sexual Initiation: A Longitudinal Analysis

In this article we examine the effects of preadolescent parenting strategies on timing of adolescents' dating and sexual initiation. Using data from the 2 waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (1987–1988 and 1992–1994) involving interviews with parents as well as adolescents 4 years later, we estimate the effects of preadolescent parental support, coercive control, and monitoring on the timing of teens' dating and sexual initiation. We also examine how adolescents' gender, race, family structure, and socioeconomic background affect relationships between earlier parenting strategies and adolescent dating and sexual debut. We find evidence for the effect of preadolescent parental monitoring, though relatively little connection between parental support and coercive control, and variations in the timing of adolescent dating and sexual initiation. The findings suggest that parental monitoring prior to the onset of adolescence is important as a basic foundation for young people who later must make behavioral choices outside of parental purview.     

Difference and equality: Icelandic parents' division of parental leave within the context of a childcare gap

Iceland's parental leave system, granting mothers and fathers equal benefits, may be interpreted as part of the development in the Nordic countries towards a dual-earner/dual-caregiver model. Even though uptake studies show fathers' increased participation in childcare, the use of the entitlement varies and a gendered pattern persists. This paper is based on interviews with 14 Icelandic couples who find themselves in a situation where they have to bridge a care gap between parental leave and state-subsidized childcare. While mothers tend to stretch their part of the leave on the argument that six months is too short a leave, fathers generally find three months to be long enough. The discussion revolves around the question of the relationship between difference and equality, inspired by Andrea Doucet's (2006) concept of strategic essentialism. May we envision a policy system that takes into consideration the way people invest in gender and at the same time develop policy measures that facilitate gender equality?     

Perceived Parental Acceptance‐Rejection and Psychological Adjustment: A Meta‐Analysis of Cross‐Cultural and Intracultural Studies

Meta‐analytic procedures were used to pool information from 43 studies worldwide to test one of the major postulates of parental acceptance‐rejection theory (PARTheory). Specifically, using child and adult versions of the Parental Acceptance‐Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) and the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ), these studies allowed us to assess the claim within PARTheory's personality subtheory that perceived parental acceptance‐rejection is associated universally with a specific form of psychological (mal)adjustment among children and adults, regardless of differences in gender, race, geography, language, or culture. Results of the analysis showed that the predicted relation emerged without exception in all studies. The mean weighted effect sizes across the full range of sociocultural and ethnic groups studied were r= .51 for children and r= .46 for adults. Analysis of fail safe N showed that 3,433 additional studies, all with nonsignificant results, would be required to disconfirm the pancultural association between the PARQ and PAQ among children; 941 such studies would be required to disconfirm this relation among adults.     

Helping parents to manage infant crying and sleeping: a review of the evidence and its implications for services

Infant crying and night waking are common concerns for parents, costly problems for health services and may trigger infant abuse or lead to serious child disturbances. Parents are given contradictory advice on how to manage infant crying and sleeping, indicating the need for evidence‐based guidance. This review of recent research draws distinctions between infant crying and sleeping problems, between the problem identified by parents and the infant behaviour underlying the problem, between different types of crying behaviour and their causes, and between the types of cases which present at different ages. It proposes that the two main approaches to parenting advocated by baby‐care experts, ‘infant‐demand’ and ‘structured’ parenting, have different benefits, and costs. Comparative studies have found that infant‐demand parenting is associated with low amounts of fussing and crying in the first three months of age, but with night waking which continues beyond three months. Randomised controlled trials have provided evidence that structured parenting leads to more overall fussing and crying during the first three months, but reduced night waking and crying after that. The findings are translated into recommendations for preventing and treating infant crying and sleeping problems, for policy debate, and for further research. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Single,Cohabitating, and Married Mothers’ Time With Children

Utilizing the 2003 and 2004 American Time Use Survey (ATUS), this study examines the relationship between family structure and maternal time with children among 4,309 married mothers and 1,821 single mothers with children less than 13 years of age. Single mothers spend less time with their children than married mothers, though the differences are not large. Marital status and living arrangement differences in time with children largely disappear or single mothers engage in more child care than married mothers after controls for socioeconomic status and other characteristics are introduced. Thus, less maternal time with children appears to be mainly attributable to the disadvantaged social structural location of single mothers rather than different proclivities toward mothering between married and single mothers.     

Educational Gradients in Parents' Child‐Care Time Across Countries, 1965–2012

Parental time with children leads to posive child outcomes. Some studies have reported a posive educational gradient: More educated parents devote more time to children than other parents. Furthermore, some research finds that parental child care increased over time. Less certain is whether more educated parents increased their time more than less educated ones did, whether parenting trends for mothers and fathers are the same, and whether observed patterns characterize all Western countries or only some. Hypotheses inspired by theories of social diffusion, class differentiation, and ideologies of child rearing are tested with time‐use data for 11 Western countries between 1965 and 2012. For both mothers and fathers, results indicated a widespread educational gradient and an increase in child‐care time. In a number of countries, the posive educational gradient increased; nowhere was it dished. Thus, the advantages of intensive parenting continued to accrue to the well‐educated elite.     

Understanding Unique Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children: Challenges,Progress, and Recommendations

Growth in U.S. incarceration rates during the 1980s and 1990s prompted a body of research focused on understanding the diverse effects of incarceration on individuals, families, and communities. An area of particular interest has been how the incarceration of a parent may affect child well‐being. Despite what appears to be converging evidence that parental incarceration poses a significant threat to child development, this area of inquiry has yet to overcome important methodological and conceptual challenges related to selection bias. It is therefore unclear whether the difficulties that have been observed among children whose parents are incarcerated are due to the incarceration itself or to other adversities that children have experienced. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to these issues, to summarize empirical and conceptual progress in overcoming these challenges, and to suggest directions for future research.     

Parental Education and Family Dissolution: A Cross‐National and Cohort Comparison

This is the first study to systematically analyze whether the association between parental education and family dissolution varies cross‐nationally and over time. The authors use meta‐analytic tools to study cross‐national variation between 17 countries with data from the Generations and Gender Study and Harmonized Histories. The association shows considerable cross‐national variation, but is positive in most countries. The association between parental education and family dissolution has become less positive or even negative in six countries. The findings show that the association between parental education and family dissolution is generally positive or nil, even if the association between own education and family dissolution is in many countries increasingly negative. The authors find suggestive evidence that the association is related to the crude divorce rate, but not to the generosity of the welfare state in these countries. The implications of these findings for understanding the stratification in family dissolution are discussed.     

Rodlach,Alexander. (2006). Witches,Westerners, and HIV: AIDS & Cultures of Blame in Africa. CA: Left Coast Press, (232272 pp., $29.95-pb,ISBN-978-1-59874-034-9)

This research explores the parental relationship (or lack thereof) between young adults in long-term care facilities and their children. The study explores not only the ecological impediments presented by the medical disposition of the parent but the psychosocial schism between parent and child, notwithstanding the redefinition of their role as parent and acceptance of the concept of interdependence. The article qualitatively addresses how such breaches are bridged through external parental substitutes and how the structural obstructions might be logistically addressed in the face of a parental inclination and desire to remain involved. Implications for practice, policy development, and future research are discussed.     

Impact of training on pre‐service teachers' attitudes and concerns about inclusive education and sentiments about persons with disabilities

Inclusion of students with disabilities into regular schools is now one of the most significant issues facing the education community both nationally and internationally. In order to address this issue there is widespread acceptance that teacher training institutions must ensure that new teachers are trained to teach effectively in classrooms where there are students with a variety of learning needs. Utilizing a data set of 603 pre‐service teachers from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore this study reports the effects of training in inclusive education on pre‐service teacher attitudes towards inclusion, their sentiments about people with a disability and their concerns about inclusion. The results are discussed in relation to a range of factors that could have produced different gains in their attitudes, sentiments and concerns among cohorts from different countries.