Sons and daughters of foster carers and the impact of fostering on their everyday life

The paper presents results from a study of sons and daughters of foster carers, and the impact of fostering on their lives. Children and young people participated in focus groups and discussion groups, and 684 answered a questionnaire. Eight were interviewed in‐depth. The results from the study showed that sons and daughters of foster carers were highly involved in the fostering assignment. Most children and young people valued their relationship with foster children, but even though relations to foster children were good, fostering could imply complicated changes of everyday life. Sons and daughters of foster carers may have to cope with conflicts connected to behavioural disorders of foster children, and they gained knowledge about foster children’s problematic lives. Fostering also implied contact with natural parents of foster children. Such contact could challenge children’s and young people’s’ perception of adequate parenthood. For some respondents it was hard to become aware of the dysfunctional parenting, abuse and/or neglect to which foster children might have been exposed. The results of the study provided evidence of the need to acknowledge the contribution to fostering made by sons and daughters of foster carers, and also to recognize the impact fostering may have on their lives.     

儿子养老还是女儿养老？：基于家庭内部的比较分析

本文使用2010年中国家庭追踪调查数据,通过家庭内部比较,从经济支持和生活照料两个方面对儿子和女儿的赡养行为进行系统的比较研究。结果发现,在当代中国家庭中,儿子在赡养父母时的总效应依然显著大于女儿,这主要是因为他们更可能与父母同住。一旦控制子女与父母的居住方式,儿子的直接效应就仅在经济支持方面大于女儿。在生活照料方面,女儿的直接效应已经显著超过儿子。从城乡对比来看,这种“儿子出钱、女儿出力”的性别分工模式主要出现在农村。在城市,女儿在经济支持和生活照料两个方面的直接效应都超过儿子。所以,中国传统的以儿子为核心的赡养方式虽然没有彻底瓦解,但已发生明显变化,快速的人口转变和女性社会经济地位的提高是导致这些变化的重要原因。     

Wait Until Your Mother Gets Home! Mothers' and Fathers' Discipline Strategies

From a traditional viewpoint, fathers are seen as the main disciplinarian in the family. However, recent studies suggest that these traditional family role patterns may have changed. In this study, we observed discipline strategies of mothers and fathers toward their sons and daughters. Participants included 242 families with two children (1 and 3 years of age). Findings revealed that parental discipline varied by the age of the children, but that mothers disciplined their children more often than fathers. Fathers, conversely, showed more laxness in response to child non‐compliance. Gender of the children was only related to physical interference, with mothers using more physical interference with boys than fathers, irrespective of birth order. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of parent gender for parent–child interactions in early childhood, but also suggest that child age should be taken into account as important explanatory factors.     

Parents' depressive symptoms and support from sons and daughters in Rural China

This investigation examined how initial levels of elder parents' depressive symptoms influenced financial, instrumental, and emotional support from sons and from daughters in rural China. Data derived from a two-wave (2001, 2003) longitudinal survey of 1,324 parents aged 60 and over living in rural areas of Anhui Province, China. Structural Equation Modeling with latent difference score was used to estimate the reciprocal relatioships between children's support and elder parents' depressive symptoms. Results showed that older parents who had higher levels of depressive symptoms at baseline experienced reduced financial, instrumental, and emotional support from sons, but not from daughters. In rural China where the patrilineal family system has distinguished sons and daughters with respect to their functions in elder parents' support networks, the roles of sons and daughters warrant further examination, particularly when elder parents have some depressive symptoms, which elevates the needs of the parents and puts a strain on intergenerational relationships.     

More Daughters in Child Care? Child Gender and the Use of Nonrelative Child Care Arrangements*

Objectives. This article examines whether families with white mothers make different child care decisions for sons than for daughters before the children start school. Methods. We estimate logistic regressions of the use of nonrelative child care for the youngest child in the family six years old or younger with data from the 1990 National Child Care Survey. Results. We find that girls are significantly more likely than boys to be in regular, nonrelative care when they are between three and six years old. Conclusions. Recent evidence from the United States indicates that child gender influences various aspects of family dynamics. These differences tend to put boys at an advantage. Our findings add to this literature by showing that child care decisions are also related to child gender. Gender differences in the use of child care may reflect appropriate responses to children's developmental needs. However, they may contribute to gender differences in children's well‐being.     

Parental Emotion Socialization in Adolescence: Differences in Sex, Age and Problem Status

There is a paucity of research on how mothers and fathers socialize emotion in their adolescent sons and daughters. This study was based on 220 adolescents (range 11‐ to 16‐years‐old) who exhibit a range of emotional and behavioral problems and their parents. Parental responses to their children's displays of sadness, anger and fear were assessed. Mothers were found to be more engaged in their children's emotional lives than were fathers. With a few important exceptions (e.g., boys were punished for expressions of anger more than girls), adolescent girls and boys were socialized in much the same way. Parents of older adolescents were generally less supportive and more punitive toward emotional displays. Systematic links between adolescent problem status and parent approaches to emotion socialization were found. These findings on how parents socialize emotions in their adolescents have important implications for theory as well as practice.     

Family Configurations and Child-Care Patterns: Familes with Two or More Preschool-Age Children

Objectives . This article examines the extent to which mothers must find child-care arrangements for more than one preschool child and, when they do, the strategies they adopt to juggle their work and family roles. Methods . We use national data from numerous studies with information on fertility and child care among employed mothers with children. Results . We find that it is a common life-course experience for mothers to need child care for two or more preschool-age children. Employed mothers' preferred strategy for child care for their multiple preschool-age children is to place all preschoolers in the same type of arrangement, choosing parental care more often and center care less often than employed mothers with one preschooler. Conclusions . Previous child-care research has ignored the complexities parents face when they must make child-care decisions about all their preschool-age children simultaneously. Child-care decisions need to be studied within the family and household context.     

Predictors of Cambodian parents’ perceptions of corporal punishment

This cross‐sectional study was conducted to examine the predictors of parents’ positive perceptions of using corporal punishment on their children. We investigated whether there is a gender difference in the use of corporal punishment according to parents’ gender and socioeconomic variables and what factors predict Cambodian parents’ positive perceptions of the use of corporal punishment toward sons and daughters. Cambodian parents hold different views on raising boys versus girls. Younger parents with more children, limited education, low socioeconomic status, unemployed, living in rural areas, and parents who hold positive perceptions of spousal abuse of women were more likely to approve of the use of corporal punishment. Our results present implications for social work practice and policy, particularly in child welfare in Cambodia. Most importantly, in order to prevent the use of corporal punishment on children in the home, the government of Cambodia as well as domestic and international organizations need to make more active efforts to promote parenting education.     

Teenagers' household and caring work: the relevance of 'secondary activities' in Australian time use surveys

Time use studies are routinely used to comment on the distribution of labour between adults. More recently considerations of concurrent (or secondary) activities have been used to highlight the full social extent of childcare, and to show that mothers work disproportionately long hours. This paper addresses a blind spot in such studies: the domestic usefulness – or otherwise – of teenage children. It examines how measurements of secondary activities in Australian time use surveys contribute to understanding of the division of household, caring and total productive work between parents and teenagers. In this way the paper addresses a recent call by youth studies scholars to ‘bring the family back into focus‘. We found that secondary activities accentuate already inequitable division of labour between mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. However, the results were not uniform, and show that a minority of teenagers shoulder substantial domestic responsibilities. The paper concludes by arguing that teenagers need to be included, conceptually as well as practically, in considerations of sustainable and equitable divisions of household and caring work.     

Maternal Employment: Does it Affect the Children When They Grow Up?

Using data on a random sample of young adults in Melbourne, this paper examines the effects of maternal employment during their childhood and adolescence on their educational attainment, relationship with their parents, premarital sexual behaviour, and attitude towards working mothers. Maternal employment has little effect on the characteristics of the son, although men whose mothers work during their adolescence were more likely to have had premarital sex than those whose mothers did not work. Maternal employment has more effect on daughters but the effects were mainly positive rather than negative.     

Parents at‐risk and their children: intersections of gender role attitudes and parenting practices

Existing research demonstrates that parent and child gender may influence important aspects of family relationships; however, most research in this area has been conducted with non‐clinical samples. As clinicians, it is important to consider how gender impacts family relationships, particularly among vulnerable families. This study examined the intersections of gender role attitudes and parenting practices among 34 parents involved with the child welfare system and referred for clinical intervention. Using a mixed methods design, themes regarding gender role beliefs and parenting practices were found through qualitative interviews with parents. Findings suggested that fathers felt responsible for financially providing for their families and expressed challenges in communicating with mothers, and mothers described challenges they face because of a lack of father involvement. Parents also discussed a perceived need to monitor daughters closely while fostering the independence of their sons. Results of the qualitative analyses were supported by quantitative findings indicating significant differences in harsh and inconsistent discipline practices and clear expectations for girls compared to boys. The discussion addresses implications for clinicians, including how a feminist family therapy perspective may help promote client influence over traditional gender norms by questioning gender role attitudes and exploring alternate narratives that may impact family dynamics.     

Leaving children unattended at home: decision-making on the use of self-care in Hong Kong

This paper examines decisions among low-income mothers in Hong Kong on the use of self-care, or the arrangement of leaving children unattended at home. An analysis of individual interviews with 23 mothers, based on a family ecology perspective, highlighted the contexts in which mothers make decisions based on economic, social and technical grounds. Findings showed that self-care was used with family orientated demands, in spite of the worries and fears associated with the self-care arrangement. Self-care was generally favoured when it was felt to be an efficient way of carrying out family and domestic tasks. An argument was also made that self-care encouraged appropriate independence in children. Nevertheless, mothers recognised the risks involved in self-care and planned to minimise the potential dangers of young children being left unattended. The views of the children themselves, as well as their fathers, often influenced the care arrangements made by mothers. Social policies in relation to unattended children are also examined. This analysis reveals ideological assumptions about the nature of good parenting that places great pressure on mothers to fulfil their responsibilities even though they often lack adequate economic, social and technical support. Rather than deploy deterrent legal measures, it is suggested that social measures, including the provision of `family life education', occasional child care services and enhancement of community support, be developed to help parents carry out their child-rearing roles effectively.     

Parenting: Can Skills be Learned?

The effectiveness of parent education courses conducted in the northern suburbs of Sydney was assessed in terms of Hereford's Parent Attitude Scale after norms for this area had been established. The results indicated that on completion of these courses participants had greater confidence in their abilities as parents, were more aware of the influence of environment on their children and had a more trusting relationship with their children. Kavanagh doubted the relevance of a course such as PET to parents of lower socioeconomic status—these parents have also been shown to score lower on the PAS. However in this study participants who scored lowest initially improved most, showing that the course is reaching those who are not very well informed about childrearing.     

How do immigrant parents of children with complex health needs manage to cope in their daily lives?

Daily life with children who have complex health needs can be stressful for parents. Immigrant parents are vulnerable to stress because they may lack language skills and knowledge about the health care system and have limited social networks. In this study, we focus on how immigrant parents of children with complex health needs use emotion‐focused and problem‐focused coping strategies to manage their daily life, and how their self‐efficacy and the immigration process may affect their coping. This qualitative study had an exploratory design with individual and focus group interviews. The sample comprised 27 parents—18 mothers and 9 fathers—from Pakistan, Poland, and Vietnam. The findings indicated that the parents' love for their child helps them to cope in their daily life. Newly arrived migrants, single mothers with a severely ill child who lacked support and migrant parents with language difficulties struggle to cope. Some of the stress is related to personal, social and structural problems, and to the insufficient resources available to meet the child's needs. The parents used both emotion‐focused and problem‐focused coping strategies. The parents noted that access to both universal and selective welfare services is an important factor that contributed to their self‐efficacy and coping.     

A survey of adolescents’ perception of parents with a son preference

Preference for sons derives from the agricultural economy of the past. It is surprising, however, that this preference still exists in countries which have progressed from an agricultural to an industrial economy. The main aim of this study was therefore to explore the perception of adolescents to parents who did or did not have a preference for sons. Adolescents aged from thirteen to fifteen (n = 1,982) from six Chinese independent schools were invited to fill in a questionnaire in a cluster sampling study. Factor analyses were used to examine the reliability of measurements. Chi-square and independent t tests were run to analyze the data. The results showed significant differences between respondents’ perception of their parents in terms of whether their parents had a preference for sons or not, and that respondents whose parents who had this preference were more likely to have a poor perception of their parents than those whose parents who did not have this preference. Also, both males and females had a poorer perception of parents who had a preference for sons, even though males had received better treatment from parents who had such a preference. In the light of the continued prevalence of preference for sons in some Asian countries, it is suggested that more studies should explore the attitudes and behaviors of those children whose parents have a preference for sons, so that the government and the public are aware of the potentially negative impacts of the preference culture and effective action can be taken to tackle the problem.     

Korean Children's Evaluation of Parental Restrictions Regarding Gender‐stereotypic Peer Activities

Korean children's evaluations of parental restrictions of children's activities based on gender stereotypic expectations were investigated. Third and sixth grade Korean (N = 128) children evaluated scenarios in which a boy or girl desired to play ballet or soccer. Participants used stereotypes to support children's desires to play gender‐consistent activities and adhered to parental authority for choice of gender‐consistent social activities. Yet, they also rejected parental decisions to treat sons and daughters differently based on the view that it would be unfair. Stereotypic expectations decreased with age and were used more by boys than by girls when evaluating exclusion. The results are discussed in terms of exclusion, development, and culture.     

What should we call our kids? Choosing children’s surnames when parents’ last names differ

We examine the last and middle names given to first-born sons and daughters in a sample of 600 married women selected from the staff directory of a university system. Women with unconventional marital surnames were more likely to include their birth surname in their child’s name than were women who took their husband’s last name at marriage. Around 90% of women with an unconventional marital surname still gave their children their husband’s surname. Among women who selected an unconventional last name, a number of variables correlated with whether or not the child’s name contained the mother’s birth surname, including type of last name used, gender role attitudes, political liberalism, religiosity, importance of last name to the woman’s self-concept, feminist motivations for the woman’s last name choice, and education of the mother and her husband. Logistic regression analysis found that self-identification on political liberalness and husband’s education were the most powerful predictors, reducing the other effects to nonsignificant levels.     

Preschoolers' Mind‐related Comments During Collaborative Problem‐solving: Parental Contributions and Developmental Outcomes

Preschool children's mind‐related comments were analyzed during collaborative problem‐solving interactions with mothers and fathers, and in relation to parental mind‐mindedness (MM) and children's concurrent theory of mind (ToM). Seventy‐two parents (36 fathers, 36 mothers) and their four‐year‐olds participated. Parents' comments to encourage independent thinking and children's own mind‐related comments were expected to mediate, in serial, the relationship between parental MM and children's ToM. The proposed model of mediation received empirical confirmation. In addition, mothers and fathers were found to perform similarly on two measures of MM and in their usage of autonomy promoting and control comments. Finally, no differences were found in the frequency of children's mind‐related comments during interactions with fathers and mothers.     

父母期望的自证预言效应农民工子女研究

自证预言效应广泛存在于社会生活各个领域。本文在概要评述自证预言概念的缘起、发展及其实现过程的基础上,运用质性研究与量化研究相结合的三角测量法,考察了农民工子女的父母期望对其学业成就的影响。研究认为,父母期望具有强有力的自证性影响。在“父母感知”与“孩子学业成绩”之间的相关关系中,有3/5是源于父母期望的自我证实。研究还发现,亲子沟通质量是父母期望正确性的调节变量,父母期望存在着言语报告和行为表现上的不一致。     

“单方索取”还是“相互需要”——代际同住中的需求组合与亲子选择

基于2018年中国老年社会追踪调查的数据,本文深入挖掘老年人与成年子女的同住需求组合类型,并分析其中子女的性别和排行两个维度的同住机制。研究发现,在中国,代际互惠的合作型同住占据首要地位,代际重心下移和浓厚的互惠色彩是当今代际同住的主流, 城乡之间代际互惠的逻辑存在差异。从代际同住机制看,特别是在农村,儿子依旧是同住选择偏好的对象,但女儿在代际同住中更有可能承担赡养的责任;农村地区排行靠后的子女在代际同住中更有可能得到父母的帮扶,也更有可能承担赡养的责任。