Helping parents decide on ADHD treatment for their children

In the United States, medication is often the first intervention used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Yet psychosocial interventions with both parents and teachers working together to shape the child's behavior can also be an effective approach, enabling smaller amounts of medication to be used with fewer side effects. An overview of behavioral interventions is provided with a focus on parent training in child behavior management and teacher training in classroom management. Key nursing interventions on behalf of children with ADHD include assessing parental knowledge about treatment, listening supportively to parents, and promoting partnerships among parents, teachers, and providers.     

The Social Experiences of Children with Disability and the Influence of Environment: a framework for intervention

This paper explores the influence of environment on the quality of social experiences of children with disability in Sydney, Australia. The social experiences of four children with fragile X syndrome were described using ethnographic methods that included participant observation at 'special' and regular schools and in-depth interviews with parents, teachers and occupational therapists. An environmental perspective is presented here to complement existing individualist perspectives that address the social problems faced by children with disability. The environmental perspective involves (i) perceptions of disability, (ii) the child's family (relations, advocacy, encouragement, education, identity creation, dependence and separation), and (iii) the child's school (physical environment, other children, principal, teachers, therapists, policy and ethos). The paper serves as a basic framework to be adapted in further research and practice into the environmental influence of children's social experiences.     

The extent of family and school social capital promoting positive subjective well-being among primary school children in Shenzhen, China

This study aimed to examine, first, the extent to which variations in family and school social capital can be explained by child's differing socioeconomic and demographic background and school characteristics; and second, the extent to which family and school social capital in combination might be associated with variations in child subjective well-being in Shenzhen, China. This study was a cross-sectional survey design, using stratified random sampling. A total of 1306 sixth-grade primary school children and their parents were drawn from 16 schools, and a self-administered questionnaire was used. The results suggested that gender difference, the only child status at home and hukou status had impacts on family and school social capital accrued among primary school children in Shenzhen. There were also links between child's perception of connectedness to their parents, peers, and teachers, and their positive child subjective well-being.     

Helping parents address their child's sexual behavior problems

This article describes a model for helping parents address their child's sexually inappropriate behavior. The model focuses on: supporting parents and facilitating their ability to accept their child's sexual problems, processing their affective and cognitive reactions, and devising a plan to help parents talk directly with their child about the sexually problematic behavior. Each step of the model outlines the rationale and interventions used to accomplish prescribed goals.     

Marital satisfaction and social learning family therapy for child conduct problems: generalization of treatment effects

Successful treatment outcome and maintenance for families with aggressive children by means of social learning family therapy were reported by Sayger, Horne, Walker, and Passmore (1988). The present study examined the generalization of treatment effects to the child's classroom, the parental level of marital satisfaction, the general family relationship environment, and the parental level of depression. Results of this study show that teachers reported improved child behavior following treatment. Parental level of marital satisfaction was increased and sustained for those parents who were experiencing low levels of marital satisfaction prior to treatment. The participating families also became more cohesive and expressive, and less conflictual. Although pretreatment levels of parental depression were moderately low, these levels were alleviated.     

Interpersonal Relationships in Multiracial Schools in a South African Context

Using a qualitative approach, I investigated the problems experienced by the different systems in a South African school that became racially integrated, and the ways in which the problems were addressed. Focus group interviews with ninth- and eleventh-grade pupils, teachers, white and black parents, as well as written information supplied by pupils and teachers were used to assess the changing situation. To determine how some of the problems in the school could successfully be resolved, group therapy was implemented with a group of pupils and with teachers. A needs analysis and problem solution session with White and Black parents was also implemented. It is concluded that school psychologists and school management have an important role to play in facilitating positive changes in the new political and sociocultural environment.     

The abused and neglected foster child: Determinants of emotional conflict and oppositional behavior

Behavioral and emotional problems have been observed in emotionally vulnerable children in foster care under certain circumstances. A common pattern involves the unpredictable appearance of a previously absent or unavailable natural parent. Such an occurrence precipitates the reawakening of the child's ambivalent feelings toward both natural and foster parents as well as their fears of abandonment. This frequently leads to behavior that is oppositional and difficult to manage. If the foster parents find the child's behavior unmanageable, and if they are not provided with appropriate professional support during this difficult period, a crisis often follows that precipitates the child's removal from the foster home. Individual, familial, and systemic contributions to this dilemma are discussed. This article emphasizes the origins and nature of the intrapsychic dilemma faced by these children. Particular emphasis is placed on the manifestations of a conflict of loyalty, in the child, and its relationship to the oppositional behavior of these children in foster care. Additional considerations include the impact of inconsistent parenting, abuse and neglect by the natural parents, the assumption of a parental role by the child and a concomitant renunciation of the child's dependency needs, as well as an examination of the role of the foster parent's fantasy of what it will be like to parent a traumatized child.     

Clinical aspects of the training of foster parents

This paper recognizes that training programs for foster parents are as good as their implementation for which the author emphasizes the need for clinical expertise. It is important to help foster parents emphasize and understand issues of grief over loss and separation and the child's expressions through behavior. Techniques to help foster parents with these issues are identified.     

Termination visits in closed adoptions

Although either voluntary or involuntary termination of parental rights may be in a child's best interests, it is understandably difficult for a child to cope with final separation from parents. A "goodbye visit" can greatly help the separation process for both the child and the parents.     

Experiences, concerns, and service needs of families adopting children with prenatal substance exposure: summary and recommendations.

Parents who adopted children from out-of-home care with prenatal substance exposure were interviewed four months after the child's placement in the home, and again after the first year regarding their experience with adoption and their concerns about their child's development, attachment, and behavior; aspects of parenting and the adoption process; effects of prenatal substance exposure; and availability and helpfulness of resources. Adoptive parents found parenting children with prenatal substance exposure to be both more rewarding and more difficult than they had imagined.     

You Have to Start from Scratch and You Need Someone by Your Side”: Perspectives of Parents and Teachers on Immigrant Students’ Adaptation to School

This article analyses the issue of immigrant students’ adaptation in Israeli schools, as perceived by their parents and teachers. The study integrates data from two qualitative, phenomenological studies: one explored immigrant parents’ perceptions of Israeli education and their children’s adaptation in school, while the other studied teachers’ perceptions of immigrant students’ education and their practices in the field. The data was gathered from in‐depth interviews with 17 parents and 20 teachers. The analysis yielded a list of themes related to parents’ and teachers’ views of the children’s adjustment, and their own roles in this process: their personal experiences in the field, the challenges and difficulties in interpersonal interactions between parents and teachers, and policy issues related to the educational integration of immigrant students. Findings emphasize the vital importance of parent‐teacher collaboration, clarification and better implementation of existing policy, and teachers’ qualifications for the successful educational integration of immigrant students.     

Keeping Foster Children Connected to Their Biological Parents: The Impact of Foster Parent Training and Support

A primary goal of the foster care system is to reunite foster children with their biological parents. Keeping foster children connected to their biological parents, through visiting and other forms of contact, is essential for reunification because it helps to reestablish and maintain family ties during out-of-home placement. Parent-child contact can also increase the child's well-being while in care. Although foster parents are expected to help foster children stay connected to their biological parents, their actual involvement in this process remains problematic. This study tests the hypothesis that agencies can promote foster parent involvement in the parent-child connection by providing foster parents with specialized training and ongoing support. The findings support the notion that training and support increases the involvement of foster parents in parent-child contact.     

The treatment of borderline neurocognitively impaired children: A perspective from self psychology

The applicability of the definition of the borderline syndrome to children is questioned, as is the traditional view that its etiology lies in the type of interaction the child had with its parents. The redefinition of the syndrome of borderline proposed in prior publications using the conceptual framework of self psychology opens the door to new treatment approaches. This article addresses some of the issues related to these treatment approaches.     

Do bullied children have poor relationships with their parents and teachers? A cross-sectional study of Swedish children

Parents and teachers play an important role in helping victims of bullying to prevent, cope with and end bullying. Despite that, victims' relationships with adults have often been overlooked in previous research. The aim of this study was to investigate bullied and not bullied children's perception of the quality of their relationship with teachers and parents and to examine if there were any differences in the perception associated with bullying frequency or type of victimization. Data came from the Swedish Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey from 2013/14, which included 7867 students aged 11, 13 and 15. A multi-level multinomial logistic regression model was created to estimate association between the type of bullying victimization and the quality of relationships with parents and teachers. The result showed that bullied children had poorer relationships with parents and teachers than nonvictims. Victims had higher odds of finding it difficult to talk to parents about things bothering them, of feeling that the family was not listening to what they had to say, and of having low confidence in their teacher. Frequent cyber victims had the highest AdjOR (2.09–3.37) compared with non-victims to have poor quality relationships with teachers and parents.     

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.     

The trans-theoretical stages of change model and motivational interviewing for building maternal supportiveness in cases of sexual abuse

When a child has been sexually abused, the non-offending parent plays a crucial role in determining that child's recovery. However, the disclosure of sexual abuse in families often throws non-offending parents into a dilemma about whether or not to side with the perpetrator or child, leaving them in an ambivalent position. In order to enhance the ability of parents to protect and support their children, this paper proposes the use of the Trans-theoretical Stages of Change model and Motivational Interviewing. Techniques of Motivational Interviewing will be discussed and then illustrated with a case example.     

Responsibility in Home–School Relations — Finnish Parents' Views

Finnish parents' views on responsibility in the home–school relations were explored. Responsibility was here understood as responsibility over education and upbringing. The data consist of semi‐structured interviews with 24 mothers and four fathers. In the home–school discourses, parents and teachers were often referred to as partners, and active parental involvement in school life was seen as a key to children's success. However, in some discourses teachers and parents were seen as polar opposites, e.g. teachers as experts — parents as laymen. Few references were made to children's responsibility.     

The Child's View of Death

This paper presents an overview of current theory related to the way in which children learn to cope with death. Additionally, the paper discusses ways in which therapists and parents might help children learn to deal more effectively with death. The paper suggests that an inability to cope effectively with death may have significant negative impact on the child's emotional life.     

SHOULD WE GET MARRIED? THE EFFECT OF PARENTS' MARRIAGE ON OUT‐OF‐WEDLOCK CHILDREN

Using a representative sample of children all born to unwed parents drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and a potential outcome approach to account for self-selection into marriage, we investigate whether marriage after childbearing has a causal effect on early child development. Comparing children with similar background characteristics and parental mate-selection patterns who differ only in terms of whether their parents marry after childbirth, we find that marriage after childbirth significantly increases a child's early cognitive performance but there is no evidence that it affects child asthma risk or behavioral outcomes.     

Birth of a sick or handicapped infant: impact on the family

The experience of bearing and caring for a sick or handicapped infant is described from the point of view of parents, whose responses were gathered from a clinical study. Implications for the child's development and ways of supporting the family are discussed.