Parenting in Context: Impact of Neighborhood Poverty,Residential Stability,Public Services,Social Networks,and Danger on Parental Behaviors

This prospective longitudinal study examined the unique and combined effects of neighborhood characteristics on parental behaviors in the context of more distal and more proximal influences. With a sample of 368 mothers from high‐risk communities in 4 parts of the United States, this study examined relations between race (African American or European American), locality (urban or rural), neighborhood characteristics, family context, and child problem behaviors, and parental warmth, appropriate and consistent discipline, and harsh interactions. Analyses testing increasingly proximal influences on parenting revealed that initial race differences in warmth and consistent discipline disappeared when neighborhood influences were considered. Although generally culture and context did not moderate other relations found between neighborhood characteristics, family context, and child behaviors, the few interactions found highlight the complex influences on parenting.     

Children's response to the medical visit for allegations of sexual abuse: maternal perceptions and predicting variables

This study examined maternal perceptions of their child's response to the medical evaluation for alleged sexual abuse. A total of 50 mothers were interviewed 6 months after a visit to a Child Protection Clinic for a medical evaluation of alleged sexual abuse. The mothers answered a questionnaire on their child's reactions to the medical visit. More than 60% of children were perceived as being reassured about physical integrity. The degree of psychological distress was independent of perpetrator's identity and severity of the abuse. Mothers considered that a hypothetical second visit would generate in their child a level of anxiety that increased with perceived intensity of fear of the examination and decreased with perceived kindness of the physician. These results suggest that the physician's behaviour during the medical evaluation for alleged sexual abuse has an influence on the child's degree of distress that is independent of type and severity of abuse. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Preliminary Evaluation of the 1-2-3-Magic Parenting Program in an Australian Community Services Setting

Cognitive-behavioural parenting programs provide caregivers with alternative strategies to harsh disciplining practices but the choice of programs that are evidence-based in Australia is limited. Australian community service workers suggest that having a choice of evidence-based programs is important when matching programs to client needs, and that 1-2-3 Magic is a program used widely in Australia despite its small Australian evidence base. The efficacy of the 1-2-3 Magic program has previously been shown in a controlled trial in an Australian university research setting but little is known about its effectiveness in a “real-world” setting. This study examined a three-session group-format of the Australian 1-2-3 Magic & Emotion Coaching program in a typical metropolitan community service setting. Thirty-eight caregivers with children aged 2–6 years reported a significant decrease in disruptive child behaviour (ECBI), permissive parenting (PS), and parental depression and stress (DASS) from pre- to post-intervention, with results maintained at 3-month follow-up. While these findings suggest that a brief 1-2-3 Magic program is beneficial, it is important to note that methodological limitations (intervention-group only study design and possible confounding variables) do not allow ruling out alternative causes for these improvements. Further research will be needed to confirm that this program can generalise to “real-world” settings.     

The Role of Behavioral Theory in Model Development Research with Single Parent Families

In this paper, the authors critically examine the plight of single parent families with young children. Next, they lay out in detail the contributions of the behavioral perspective to practice model development research with single-parent families of children under the age of 12. The authors discuss implications for future theory driven practice model development research with cultural specific single parent families. They believe that future model development research efforts with culturally diverse single parent families will aid in advancing the state of cultural competence research in social work while assisting single parents relieve suffering and enhance child and family well-being.     

Playing in the White Man's Yard Reflections on Jane Flax's The American Dream in Black and White—The Clarence Thomas Hearings

This essay engages Jane Flax's The American Dream in Black and White: The Clarence Thomas Hearings through an elaboration of both the manifest and latent beliefs that mine the actions of a promising man of color, and a powerful group of men who sit in judgment of him. Noting the role assumed by gender politics in this drama, the author highlights Max's lucid commentary on the progress of the American dream, as women and people of color still serve as dispensable commodities for the men of the mainstream.     

Preventive Care's Forgotten Women: Life Course,Sexuality, and Sexual Health among Homosexually and Bisexually Active Women in France

Although studies show that women who have sex with women (WSW) have poorer sexual health and more limited access to health care for gynecological problems than other women, the social processes giving rise to such health differences have not, so far, been explored. These processes may be formed in response to a dominant social norm, which assigns women to a heterosexual and monogamous sexuality. Based on data from a national random survey of sexuality (N = 6,824), enriched by qualitative interviews with WSW (n = 40), this analysis shows that bisexually active women had similar socio-demographic profiles to heterosexually active women, whereas homosexually active women appeared to be more highly educated than other women and less likely to live as couples than bisexually active women. Bisexually active women had more diversified sexual trajectories and sexual networks than other women. Chlamydia prevalence was found to be higher among bisexually active women, and homosexually active women reported fewer medical consultations for gynecological reasons. These analyses highlight the need to deconstruct the binary classification of homosexual versus heterosexual women. Because of constraint by the monogamous heterosexual norm, bisexually active women were less likely to be tested for sexually transmitted infections, and homosexually active women were less likely to have had gynecological follow-ups.