Portal surveys of time-out drinking locations: a tool for studying binge drinking and AOD use

Portal surveys, defined as assessments occurring proximal to the entry point to a high-risk locale and immediately on exit, can be used in different settings to measure characteristics and behavior of attendees at an event of interest. This methodology has been developed to assess alcohol and other drug (AOD) use at specific events and has included measuring intentions to use collected at entry and reported use on exit, as well as chemical tests for AOD consumption at both entrance and exit. Recent applications of the portal survey procedure to electronic music dance events that occur in established venues (e.g., bars or nightclubs) are discussed.     

Children's participation in post-divorce decision-making: The role of conflict and attachment

Increased child participation in decision-making about custody and visitation when parents separate is an explicit political goal. This study delineates central family processes associated with child participation in post-divorce decision-making, both in mediation and in the home. Children recruited to the Dynamics of Family Conflict Study at Norwegian family counselling centres (7–15 years, n = 554) completed surveys about interparental conflict, attachment security and whether they had been invited to participate in mediation and share their views at home. Results showed a strong correlation between the two decision-making arenas as children who were invited to participate in mediation were also more likely to have been asked about their views at home, and vice versa. Mixed-effects logistic regression analyses indicated that attachment security to mothers predicted that children were invited to participate in mediation. Older children were more likely to have been invited to participate both at home and in mediation. More child-related interparental conflicts predicted that children did not know if they had been consulted at home. The study points to the need for developing better practices for including younger children.     

Lesbian and gay individuals' path into foster parenting in Norway—Barriers and facilitators at the person and system levels

Growing numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) people are becoming foster parents in several western countries. The LGBTQ perspective on the child welfare system has received little attention in practice, research and policy. Despite their increased rights, LGBTQ foster parents continue to face challenges related to fostering. Knowledge is needed on LGBTQ individual perceptions of the process of becoming foster parents, including barriers and facilitating factors. This paper reports on the experiences of 13 gay or lesbian foster parents in Norway. The study shows a lack of knowledge about the possibility of becoming foster parents due to lack of information directed at them as a minority group. Participants felt vulnerable and experienced “minority stress” before encountering the child welfare system, while mainly experienced the encounter with the staff as good and respectful. Although several valued being treated “like everyone else” by the system, others questioned why LGBTQ-specific parenting issues were not raised and discussed. Apart from lack of information, the process towards foster parenting seemed mostly hampered by participants' own assumptions that sexual identity would be a barrier and to some extent biological parents' refusal. The study suggests that foster care and child welfare services would benefit from information in recruitment of foster parents, aiming at being more inclusive. Furthermore, we address gender and sexuality diversity related to foster care work and highlight the strengths and challenges it may offer.