Emergency out‐of‐home placements in Norway: Parents' experiences

The number of emergency placements of children has increased rapidly in Norway over the recent years. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge about how parents experience the processes involved in emergency placements. We conducted 64 survey interviews with parents who have experienced this kind of placement of their children. One third of the participants' children had received interventions prior to the emergency placement. Another third were known by Child Welfare Services (CWS) through reports of concern, which were dismissed without interventions and, in some cases, without investigation. The final third had no prehistory from CWS ahead of the emergency placement. A large proportion of the participants emphasized that they had experienced problems for a long time and had earlier requests for help unmet. Another large group of parents notified CWS themselves, and some of them wanted their child emergency placed. On the basis of parents' experiences, we suggest different implications for practice: (a) CWS should be more thorough in their investigation and assessment of the families, both when it comes to reports of concern and evaluation of initiated interventions. (b) Planned placement should be promoted to a greater degree, wherever possible. (c) A greater emphasis on follow‐up of parents after emergency placements is needed.     

Norwegian child welfare workers' perceptions of emergency placements

Emergency placements in child welfare services have increased during the last 10 years in Norway. At the time of placement, some of these children have been in the child welfare system for several years. Based on qualitative interviews, our study explores Norwegian child welfare workers' perceptions of long‐term cases resulting in emergency placements. The participants reported that they felt they had intervened too late, as it took them too long to understand the severity of the situation. This occurred mainly due to three factors: (a) The work had mainly been based on the parents' premises; (b) having too much distance to the child, as they talked too little with the child, too late in the process; (c) an experience of lacking methodological skills needed and sufficient opportunities to conduct proper observations and assessments; (d) supportive measures were tried for too long, and these measures were not properly evaluated. Giving other professionals' assessments considerable weight in the decision‐making process, and the use of legal language rather than independent, professional assessments, can be seen as another way of distancing themselves from both the family and the decisions being made.     

Divorce and Family Structure in Norway: Associations With Adolescent Mental Health

The aim of this study was to examine the association between family structure and adolecent mental health, after the considerable increase in divorced parents choosing joint physical custody (JPC) in Norway. Data stem from the youth@hordaland study, a population-based survey conducted in Norway in 2012. A total of 7,707 adolescents (47% male) 16 to 19 years old were included in this study. The adolescents were classified into 6 family structures. Mental health was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). No significant differences between nondivorced families (reference) and JPC were observed. Adolescents from single-parent and stepfather families scored significantly higher on all 3 SDQ scales, and adolescents from stepmother families scored significantly higher on the SDQ total and SDQ externalizing scales. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that adolescents living in JPC did not have more adjustment problems compared to their peers living in nondivorced families.     

Sexual diversity in urban Norwegians

The purpose of this study is to describe homosexual and heterosexual experiences in terms of sexual fantasies, sexual attraction, sexual conduct, and falling in love in an urban Norwegian population. In 1997, a random sample of 5,000 persons (18-49 years) was drawn from the population register in Oslo to participate in a sexual behavior survey. Data collection was carried out by means of postal questionnaires and 45% responded. The results indicated that exclusive homosexuality was rare in the population. One exception was the prevalence of homosexual fantasies in women. Compared to respondents who had had exclusively heterosexual contact, respondents reporting bisexual contacts had a significantly higher number of lifetime sex partners, higher frequency of anal and oral sex and masturbation, and lower age at orgasm and masturbation debut. What significantly separated the groups of exclusive heterosexuals, bisexuals, and exclusive homosexuals were attitudes towards various expressions of sexuality and number of lifetime sex partners.     

From Strength to Strength: A Manual for Professionals Who Facilitate Diverse Parent Groups

Abstract

This paper describes and analyses the program of Child Welfare Services (CWS) in Norway, using primary sources, aggregated data from Statistics Norway (SSB) and data from a recent study of 715 parents in contact with CWS. These data show that Norway's program orientation is on support, prevention, and early intervention, policies relevant to the emerging Australian policy context. Many of these services were beneficial for the general welfare of the children's family with over three- quarters of the children registered as clients in the Norwegian CWS receiving only supportive services during 2008. On the contrary, Australian systems primarily aim to identify and protect children under (possible) risk of abuse or neglect. Also, the survey data shows that families in contact with CWS are different to the general population in important ways, including family structure/demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and physical and mental health. The results demonstrated that most of the parents agreed to contact CWS, and many were satisfied with the help they received. The data demonstrate that the Norwegian CWS respond to the welfare needs of vulnerable and marginalised families. Possible implications the Norwegian system might have for the children and parents who are accessing services are discussed.     

Extradyadic Activity in a Random Sample of Norwegian Couples

The purpose of this study was to explore extradyadic sexual activity (ESA) in Norwegian heterosexual couples and to identify factors connected to each of the parties that may predict ESA. The study comprised a representative sample of 399 couples (798 individuals) between 22 to 67 years of age. The data were collected by means of self-administered postal questionnaires. In 6% of couples the female partner had had a concurrent sex partner, in 13% of couples the male partner had had a parallel sex partner and in 4% of couples both had engaged in ESA. A man with experience of ESA experienced negative work-to-home interference, was preoccupied with sex, and frequently thought of others during sex with his wife. The male partner of a woman with experience of ESA was reported being self-confident and she perceived him as easy to talk to about sex. Furthermore, his attitude was that two persons who love each other should not have secrets from each other. The woman with experience of ESA, on the other hand, reported having secrets from her partner and to think of others during intercourse.     

Family involvement in child welfare services: The association between socio-economic status and self-reported parenting practices

In child welfare policies, as in contemporary society in general, great attention has been given to parenting roles and investing in ‘positive’ parenting practices. Several studies have suggested that socio-economic factors frame parenting practices. There is broad evidence of a significant correlation between socio-economic inequalities and child welfare intervention rates. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated parenting practices in a child welfare population. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between socio-economic status (SES) and parenting practices in a Norwegian child welfare population. The study was based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2018–2019. The sample consisted of 256 parents (71.5% females). Linear regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounding and intermediate factors, was conducted. Lower SES was associated with higher levels of positive parenting/involvement practices (b = 0.146, CI: 0.026–0.266, P = 0.018), indicating an inverse pattern compared with the general population. When adjusting for symptoms of anxiety and depression, the association was slightly attenuated but remained statistically significant. No significant association was found between SES and inconsistent discipline/other disciplinary practices. The present study offers insights that should be useful in practice and further large-scale studies.