Women who sacrifice themselves for everybody: qualitative research with mothers of disabled children

This study, from a feminist perspective, aimed at examining the experiences of women whose children with cerebral palsy received a treatment at a physiotherapy and rehabilitation center located in Ankara, Turkey. The study intended to reveal the perceptions of in-family roles of women with disabled children, their participation in public life, and their self-concept within the scope of feminist social work. Thus, the objective of the present study was to contribute to the understanding of the fact that non gender-blind services should be developed in this field on the basis of social justice and human rights, which constitutes the fundamental philosophy of social work. Qualitative research method was employed in the study where data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings of the study were interpreted under four main themes: the lives of the women with disabled children after their disabled children were born; being a woman within the scope of family life, participation in decision-making processes, and domestic division of labor; participation in public life and relations with women's associations; the self-sacrifice; and the suggestions of women concerning self-realization within the scope of self-concept.     

Obstacles to employment among mothers of children in foster care

This article reports on a study of obstacles to employment among mothers with children in foster care. The study relies on standardized measures, has a cross-sectional design, and includes a sample of 158 mothers. The analysis shows a high prevalence of obstacles; identifies three co-occurring obstacles, each involving substance abuse, that are related to a low probability of employment (p < or = .05); and reveals that employment and access to transportation are related to higher income relative to mothers' needs (p < or = .05).     

An evaluation of a group intervention to increase the personal social networks of abusive mothers

This paper reports the results of a treatment study of abusive mothers to determine (a) the constitution of the mothers' networks, (b) the amount of social support perceived by mothers from members of their networks, and (c) the extent of change in the networks over time associated with intervention seeking to increase social support. The research was conducted with mothers whose children were attending a privately operated therapeutic day care designed for maltreated preschool-aged children. Mothers met one-half day per week. Transportation was provided by the agency. The curriculum covered a 26-week period. Participants were interviewed at Time 1 and again at six months to collect information on their personal social networks. Mothers' networks were characterized by a high proportion of family and professionals, a lack of reciprocity, and a lack of support with child care. Attendance in the program was associated with a tendency towards an increase in the proportion of professionals in their social networks as opposed to other group members. The implication of these findings for future interventive efforts is discussed.     

No place to play: Implications for the interaction of parents and children

A disproportionate number of impoverished families live in housing which does not allow easy access to safe outdoor play. This paper uses Bowlby's theory of attachment as a framework for considering the implications of a lack of outdoor access for parental strategies and for the interaction of parents and children. The situation of one family is discussed in detail in order to clarify how a lack of outdoor play opportunities may contribute to anxious and over-protective parenting, or to a fatalistic abdication of responsibility. Especially in situations of poverty where alternative opportunities are likely to be limited, the availability of outdoor play space can be a significant factor in supporting healthy development and flexible, responsive parenting, ana it should be a priority in the planning and management of low-income housing intended for families with young children     

Mothers and deployment: Understanding the experiences and support needs of deploying mothers of children birth to five

ABSTRACT

Military deployments can demand long separations of service members and their families. The strain of separation is particularly acute for mothers of very young children. This study aimed to better understand the deployment and reintegration experiences of service members who are mothers of young children. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 12 service member mothers who deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan when one or more of their children was younger than age 6. Discussions explored experiences before, during, and after deployment; needs and challenges at each stage; available support resources and gaps in support. Thematic data analysis was conducted, drawing on principles of grounded theory. Disruption and continuity were central themes as participants illuminated the challenges they faced and their profound dedication to sustaining strong family relationships across the deployment cycle. Relinquishing, reassuming, and balancing multiple roles and responsibilities are additional themes that were frequently evoked. Participants noted a lack of formal resources responsive to their needs and circumstances and highlighted a need for services tailored to mothers who are deploying. Military mothers, particularly mothers of young children, face distinct challenges surrounding deployment. Better understanding their experiences and support needs can inform tailored services to meet their needs.     

Assemblages and affect: migrant mothers and the varieties of absent children

Drawing from stories told by migrant women in Hong Kong, this article builds on previous studies of ‘left‐behind children’ and calls for greater attention to the spectrum of sorts of absent children and to the formation of queer or less normative forms of migratory families. Taking a two‐pronged approach, I present an on‐the‐ground ethnographic and affective approach through several vignettes, and consider key elements of a more mid‐range and distanced ‘global assemblage’ approach to the institutions and expert knowledge that shape the experiences and practices of migrant mothers, migratory families, and the spectrum of absent children. This article posits that one's biological children, perhaps the most familial of kin, can become familiar or even unfamiliar strangers through contemporary processes, technologies and practices of migration and separation, and that the process of migration makes and unmakes conventional and unconventional sorts of families. While affective and assemblage approaches are independently valuable, combined they offer richer understandings of the complex interplay of factors – at various levels – that shape normative and queer families and different types of children's absences.     

The health and development of children whose mothers are on methadone maintenance

The health and development of a group of children aged 3-7 years born to and reared by mothers who abused opiates when pregnant and who remain on methadone maintenance was compared to a group of age and socially matched control children. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of health and development although the children whose mothers were on methadone had smaller head circumference measurements than the controls. More than half of the index children had been on the child protection register during infancy; all but one were off the register at the time of the study. The results suggest that drug-abusing women who are on methadone maintenance and attending a drug dependency unit may rear and care for their children as well as parents from a similar social background who are not drug abusers.     

Child protection and out-of-home placement experiences of preschool children born to mothers enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment during pregnancy

Children born to opiate-dependent women engaged in methadone maintenance treatment are at high risk of child welfare concern. However, few studies have examined the early child protection service (CPS) contacts of this group or the risk factors that place some but not other mother–infant dyads at increased risk of serious concern resulting in the removal of the child from the family home. As part of a prospective longitudinal study based in New Zealand, 73 women enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment during pregnancy and 54 non-methadone maintained comparison mothers were recruited during pregnancy and interviewed close to delivery, 18-months and 4.5-years. At each follow-up evaluation, detailed life history methods were used to describe children's family circumstances and all CPS contacts. By 4.5-years postdelivery, methadone maintained mothers were ten-times more likely to have been investigated by child protection services than comparison mothers (59% v. 6%, p < .001). Of these contacts, almost half (44%) resulted in the removal of the child from the family home compared to no comparison children (p < .001). These children were most frequently placed before age 1, with an average of 1–2 caregiver changes (range: 0–7). In addition to maternal methadone maintenance treatment during pregnancy (p < .001), significant independent predictors of child out-of-home placement included maternal depression (p = .01), maternal history of child custody loss (p = .02), and to some extent, high levels of family socioeconomic adversity (p = .06). Findings highlight the complex psychosocial needs of this high-risk group, as well as the need for careful monitoring and parenting support following hospital discharge.     

Conceived in violence: enslaved mothers and children born of rape in nineteenth-century Louisiana

ABSTRACT

Through the examination of testimony from formerly enslaved people who had been fathered by white men under slavery, this paper considers how enslaved women negotiated motherhood when their child had been conceived through rape. Evidence reveals that the relationship between enslaved mothers and their children remained strong, despite sexual violence and interference into childrearing by slaveholding families. Informants had close knowledge of the non-consensual nature of their conception, and their willingness to discuss sexual violence reflects the lack of stigma attached to rape victims in the slave community, and hints at the way that enslaved communities coped with sexual violence on an institutional level.     

Children who refuse to speak: Ethnic background of children with special educational needs described as elective mute

SUMMARY. Headteachers reported on the characteristics of 8,067 children in a large sample of urban special schools and units. Twenty-three children were identified as elective mute. The age, sex, ethnic background, and other behaviour difficulties described in this sample are outlined. It is argued that previous explanations for the ethnic composition of samples of elective mute children need to be reconsidered in the light of this data.     

Development and piloting of a mother and child intervention to promote resilience in young children of HIV-infected mothers in South Africa

This paper describes the process of developing a parallel intervention for HIV-positive mothers and their young children (6–10 years) with a view to strengthening the relationship between them. Strong mother–child relationships can contribute to enhanced psychological resilience in children. The intervention was developed through action research, involving a situation analysis based on focus group discussions; intervention planning, piloting the intervention and a formative evaluation of the intervention. Participants supplied feedback regarding the value of the intervention in mother–child relationships. The findings obtained from the formative evaluation were used to refine the intervention. Two parallel programmes for mothers and children (15 sessions each) were followed by 10 joint sessions. The intervention for mothers focused on maternal mental health and the strengthening of their capacity to protect and care for their young children. The intervention for children addressed the development of their self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and survival skills. The formative evaluation provided evidence of good participation, support and group cohesion. Qualitative feedback indicated that the activities stimulated mother–child interaction. A similar intervention can easily be applied elsewhere using the detailed manual. The insights gained and lessons learnt related to mother and child interaction within an HIV-context that emerged from this research, can be valuable in other settings, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.     

Development and piloting of a mother and child intervention to promote resilience in young children of HIV-infected mothers in South Africa

This paper describes the process of developing a parallel intervention for HIV-positive mothers and their young children (6-10 years) with a view to strengthening the relationship between them. Strong mother-child relationships can contribute to enhanced psychological resilience in children. The intervention was developed through action research, involving a situation analysis based on focus group discussions; intervention planning, piloting the intervention and a formative evaluation of the intervention. Participants supplied feedback regarding the value of the intervention in mother-child relationships. The findings obtained from the formative evaluation were used to refine the intervention. Two parallel programmes for mothers and children (15 sessions each) were followed by 10 joint sessions. The intervention for mothers focused on maternal mental health and the strengthening of their capacity to protect and care for their young children. The intervention for children addressed the development of their self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and survival skills. The formative evaluation provided evidence of good participation, support and group cohesion. Qualitative feedback indicated that the activities stimulated mother-child interaction. A similar intervention can easily be applied elsewhere using the detailed manual. The insights gained and lessons learnt related to mother and child interaction within an HIV-context that emerged from this research, can be valuable in other settings, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.     

Chronic sorrow: the experience of parents with children who are developmentally disabled.

1. Adaptation mechanisms differ between mothers and fathers of developmentally disabled children. 2. Mothers' emotions radiate into chronic sorrow while fathers' reactions move toward resignation. 3. Patterns of grief and sadness reemerge and are most often precipitated by a health care crisis in women and comparison with social norms in fathers.     

Whose job is poverty? the problems of therapeutic intervention with children who are sexually violent

Children who commit sexually violent acts have been identified in increasing numbers since the 1980s. Professionals who practise therapeutic intervention with this group have struggled to find explanations for their client's deviant behaviour. Current explanations for, and discourses on, the occurrence of sexual violence minimize the effect of poverty in the therapeutic arena. The most difficult and worrisome child clients for participants of this research are the poor ones, yet the practice of counselling is unable to address structural disadvantage. This leads to a poverty culture explanation for sexual violence and child abuse which recognizes poverty yet pathologizes the individual. The identification of a new problem—children's sexual violence—the individualized case‐based approach to intervention and current social policy minimize the continuing and persistent problem of poverty. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The hidden history of the PFIs: The repatriation of unmarried mothers and their children from England to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s

The circumstances related to the ‘repatriation’, from Britain to Ireland, of Irish unmarried mothers and their children has still to be explored by social historians. One reason for this omission is connected to the absence of women and children within Irish historiography. None the less, adoption agency records throw light on the ‘repatriation’ process in the 1950s and 1960s. In seeking to understand the way that Irish unmarried mothers were responded to, it is necessary to have regard to the more encompassing and dominant professional discourse on unmarried mothers and child adoption during this period. Importantly, however, the treatment of these women and the practice of ‘repatriation’ needs also to take into account other historically rooted, exclusionary practices directed at Irish migrants to Britain.     

Promoting fruit,vegetable and simple water consumption among mothers and teachers of preschool children: An Intervention Mapping initiative

For preschool children, mothers and teachers are the principal models and promoters of fruit, vegetable and simple water consumption at home and school, respectively. However, the daily intake of these food and drink items falls below recommended standards among Mexican adults, posing a high risk of non-communicable diseases such as overweight and obesity across all age groups in the country. The objective of this article is to describe the design, implementation and evaluation of an educational initiative conducted in a Mexican locality with the aim of promoting the consumption of fruits, vegetables (FVs) and simple water (SW) among preschoolers through the influence of their mothers and teachers. We used the Intervention Mapping methodology with qualitative and quantitative components. Mothers attended eight theoretical and practical sessions and two school meetings, while teachers were offered two workshops. Our results revealed positive changes among both groups: participants took greater interest in healthy nutrition, increased their purchase, preparation and intake of FVs and SW and promoted their consumption. This confirms that it is possible to achieve favorable changes in eating habits among those who participate in educational initiatives in Mexico.