Long-term changes in parenting and child behavior after the Home-Start family support program

Background

The intervention Home-Start is a wide spread program in a number of countries, among which the Netherlands. In Home-Start, trained volunteers visit families with young children in need of support once or twice a week to help them to deal with problems in family life and parenting. Little is known, however, about the effects of Home-Start. This study describes short-term and long term changes in families that participated in Home-Start.

Methods

Three groups of families with young children (at the start mean age 1 1/2 years) were followed over a period of four years. One of the groups of families participated in the Home-Start family support program in the first 6.6 months of this period. The two other groups were (1) a randomly selected community sample and (2) a group of families with elevated parenting stress and a need for support. Data were collected at the beginning of the study, (after median 1.4 months), directly after the intervention (median 6.6 months) and at two follow-up occasions (respectively, median 12.5 and 49.2 months after the first measurement). At the last measurement, data were available for 33, 45 and 34 families respectively.

Results

Multilevel analysis showed more positive changes in parental wellbeing, competence and behavior (more consistent behavior and less rejection) during the intervention period in the Home-Start group than in the two other groups. At the three year follow up, the Home-Start group showed, compared to the other groups, more improvements in parenting (more responsiveness), but also diminished child externalizing and internalizing behavior problems (less oppositional defiant behavior, affective problems and anxiety problems).

Conclusions

Home-Start seems a promising family support intervention that deserves to be studied more extensively.     

Diffusing (let it happen) or disseminating (make it happen) innovations in health care

Management has different options for spreading new products. Our study empirically assessed the integral effects of both diffusion and dissemination on innovation adoption. Data on diffusion (as measured by social network density) and on dissemination (as measured by formulating objectives and executing focused activities) was gathered using a questionnaire given to 356 medical specialists, nested in 38 teams. We found both separate and integral effects for diffusion and dissemination. This shows the potential for both engaging the social network structures (diffusion) and adding process measures (dissemination) in order to optimize the innovation spreading process.     

Mind the gap: the extent of violence against women with disabilities in Australia

A comprehensive national response to violence against women with disabilities is long overdue in Australia. Work to date suggests that the issue is endemic yet largely invisible. Responses at the national level are hampered by the lack of information regarding violence against women with disabilities due to under‐reporting and inadequate capture of the prevalence of this violence. This article explores approaches to collecting data regarding violence against women with disabilities in Australia and adds to the limited body of knowledge about the prevalence of violence for these women through interrogation of available data. Further analysis of the 2012 Personal Safety Survey data indicates that among women with disabilities aged under 50, 62 per cent have experienced violence since the age of 15, and women with disabilities had experienced three times the rate of sexual violence in the past 12 months compared to those without disabilities. These findings still do not represent the full extent of violence against women with disabilities, since the Personal Safety Survey samples only women who reside in private dwellings and excludes those living in disability care settings. Insight is offered as to what is needed to comprehensively capture the required data and the implications for policy.     

Trickle-down or Rising Tide? Lessons on Mainstreaming Gender Policy from Colombia and South Africa

As a result of the United Nations Decade for Women (1976–1985) many member states of the United Nations in the South put in place some form of national machinery for the advancement of women. This paper considers that process, identifying three main phases. The first was heavily overlaid by the agendas of international development agencies and coincided with efforts to advance a women in development or WID agenda within international development cooperation. The second, explored here in relation to Colombia, saw a shift towards attempts to institutionalize gender awareness in development policy, the so-called gender and development or GAD approach. Against this background, the later South African experience is evaluated. It is argued that this potentially represents a third and distinguishable phase in the establishment of national machineries. Here structures were set up in the context of less aid dependence than many other countries and as a result of a process that was largely internally driven. Nevertheless, South Africa enjoyed tremendous support from international women's networks and lessons were learnt from past experience elsewhere, both positive and negative. The South African approach to advancing gender equality is arguably the most progressive to be found anywhere. What remains to be seen is whether it will be possible to implement, given the persistence of poverty and inequality nationally and South Africa's increasing identification with international neo-liberal agendas.     

Carers and Professionals' Perspectives on Foster Care Outcomes: The Role of Contact

This study investigates the association between the contact of children or young people in care with their family, and the foster care placement evaluation (positive or negative) in Portugal. According to the perspectives of foster carers and service professionals' perceptions regarding children and young people's reactions, during and after the visits, are measured. Utilizing a quantitative approach, two fostering services teams and 140 foster carers completed questionnaires, which had 212 children in common. Results indicated that despite the importance of continued contact, especially for children and their parents, it was not determined to be essential to long-term placement. On one hand, there was the perception that a high percentage of children expressed positive reactions during and after the visit, while on the other hand, this didn't influence the perception of placement success. This study also showed significant differences between foster carers' and the professionals' perceptions on several dimensions of foster care, especially the children's reactions during visits. These differences need to be further analyzed in future research and the outcomes used to help improve contact management.     

Social Capital and Livelihoods in Johannesburg: Differential Advantages and Unexpected Outcomes among Foreign‐Born Migrants,Internal Migrants,and Long‐Term South African Residents

Foreign‐born migrants – a group rarely compared with both internal migrants and long‐term residents – are often positioned as the most disadvantaged South African urban population. We use data from a 2008 cross‐sectional household survey conducted in Johannesburg to compare a contextually relevant measure of social capital and livelihood advantages between foreign‐born migrants, internal migrants, and long‐term South African residents. Our findings are counterintuitive and emphasize the need to explore the heterogeneity of urban migrant populations, and the mechanisms in which they better their lives, by showing that (1) foreign‐born migrants have better urban livelihood outcomes, and (2) indicators of social capital are not necessarily associated with improved livelihood outcomes.     

Response to Ermisch, Martin, and Wu

Our recent paper in Demography (Gray, Stockard, and Stone 2006) has attracted the close scrutiny of several prominent academics. Three sets of formal comments, authored independently by Ermisch, Martin, and Wu (EMW), appear in this issue of Demography. In this response we argue that the analysis and evidence of our 2006 paper have withstood the scrutiny of EMW. In particular, we find that a substantial part of the rising share of nonmarital births since 1970 is due to a selection effect associated with marriage. This same selection effect also explains how birth rates could rise in both groups, even though their combined birth rate did not. In sum, though we appreciate the opportunity to expand on several key aspects of our 2006 article, we see no reason to substantially revise any of our major conclusions based on the EMW comments.     

Teaching Consumer Demographics to Marketing Students

This paper reports on an initiative to incorporate consumer demographics—techniques and concepts that are not traditionally part of the curriculum of marketing students—into a second year consumer behaviour subject, for an undergraduate marketing degree, and also into related post-graduate study. It addresses three topics: (1) the position of demographics and demographic techniques in the field of consumer behaviour, and more generally in marketing; (2) approaches to the study of consumer behaviour; and (3) the authors’ recommended approach to teaching consumer demographics and behaviour. The authors’ views are informed by their experience teaching 15 undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts.     

Religion and New Media: A Uses and Gratifications Approach

This research examines specific relationships between new media and religion. While prior research has focused on the question of whether a relationship exists, we explore technology usage as a predictor of specific religious behavior. Using a sample (N = 423) comprising a cross-section of religious and cultural backgrounds, results indicate that attitudes toward technology and use of social media contribute to how people view religion as a mechanism for meeting needs. Applying uses and gratifications theory in a unique way, three needs related to religion emerged: religion as a means of passing time, religion as a mode of meeting self needs, and religion as a catalyst for learning. We discuss implications of our findings.     

First‐Generation African American Male College Students: Implications for Career Counselors

The path to upward mobility or economic success for African American men is often filled with obstacles and roadblocks. Many first‐generation African American men entering colleges and universities face limited resources and opportunities to aid in their career development and efforts to meet their career objectives. This article explores the career development needs of African American men attending colleges and universities. The article provides suggestions, techniques, and strategies that career counselors and student affairs personnel can use to assist these African American men in their career development. Implications for career counselors are also addressed.