Exploring the Relationship Between Adoptive Parents and International Adoptees: From the Perspectives of Cross-Cultural Communication and Adaptation

Existing studies demonstrate that the identity formation of internationally adopted children and the adjustments of adoptive families reside in the processes of cross-cultural and intercultural communication. However, there have been few studies on international adoption from the perspectives of intercultural and cross-cultural communication. Following a previous qualitative study on the experiences of adult international adoptees, this project employs a quantitative method to examine the ongoing (before, during, and after adoption) cross-cultural adaptation and identity formation of international adoptees from the perspectives of adoptive parents. The findings of the study have identified the key issues involved in the cross-cultural adaptation process and discussed experiences of adoptive families for dealing with those issues.     

CHANGE, DISENGAGEMENT, AND RENEWAL: RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS BETWEEN YOUNG ADULTS AND THEIR FATHERS AFTER DIVORCE

Little is known about children's perceptions of their parents' divorce or how children construct meaning around the divorce and their subsequent relationships with their parent. The focus of this was to learn about the experiences and the meanings young adults had constructed about the divorce process and their relationships with their fathers in the years after the divorce. The findings revealed a broad spectrum of experiences and several key issues that gave meaning to both the disengagement and the reengagement with their fathers. Loss, acceptance, availability, and support are a few of the vital issues addressed. Implications for family therapists are discussed.     

Reviews

This paper presents the findings of a study of Aboriginal children whom the South Australian Department of Aboriginal Affairs placed in foster homes between 1954 and 1966. It is an attempt to follow up one of the many problems expressed by social workers in Adelaide during a study of Aborigines and their use of social agencies.     

Introduction: Safe Passage

Adolescence is a period fraught with developmental challenges for all individuals. Those encountered by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual minority youth are particularity difficult. The Knowledge that they are “different” show how, although not yet necessarily full aware of how they are different, leaves many isolated and unable to work thought some typical developmental issues having to do with establishing romantic relationships and learning diverse social skills. Such teens may develop a host of coping mechanisms to ease the dissonance experienced when their forming identities are in conflict with peer, parental or, more broadly, societal expectation.     

Sex Differences in Perceived Family Functioning and Family Resources in Hong Kong Families: Implications for Social Work Practice

Although enhancing family functioning has become a rising concern of social workers in Chinese contexts such as Hong Kong, little has been known on perceived family functioning and family resources. To fill in this knowledge gap, this article reports part of the results of a telephone survey conducted in Hong Kong, aiming to identify the sex differences in these two areas. The results of the study have shown that Chinese women perceived better affective involvement, one of the crucial indicators of family functioning, than Chinese men. However, among the different family resources, men rated better physical and mental well-being whereas women's social connection was stronger than men's. Further analysis have shown that the linkage of three family resources (namely stress coping efficacy, time spent with family and income) to perceived family functioning was statistically significant irrespective of genders. Implications of this study for social work practice are discussed at the end of the article.     

Perceived social support,perception of competence,and hope among Chinese children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a Chinese context: Children's perspective

This paper reports on the results of a study (n = 113 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) that examined the effects of the children's perception of the social support (PSS) they receive from their mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends on their sense of competence and hope. PSS explained 13% of the children's overall sense of competence and 4% of their sense of hope. In the perspective of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the amount of maternal support, both in terms of importance and availability, was higher than that of their paternal support. However, the results of a multiple regression analysis have shown that paternal support accounted for 3% of the variance in the children's overall sense of competence and 5% in the variance of their physical competence. PSS from teachers had significantly explained 5%, 4%, and 4% of the variance in the children's overall, social, and physical competence, respectively. The PSS from friends significantly explained 7% of the variance in the children's cognitive competence and 4% of the variance in hope. Theoretical and clinical implications of the study are discussed.     

Interactive association between negative emotion regulation and savoring is linked to anxiety symptoms among college students

Abstract

Objective: This study tested the interactive relationships between college students’ perceived capability of regulating negative emotions and savoring positive emotions on mental health outcomes, including anxiety and depressive symptoms. Participants: Participants were healthy undergraduates (n?=?167) recruited from two universities in Hong Kong. Methods: Students completed four scales assessing their perceived capability of using strategies to regulate negative and positive emotions and their anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results: Findings revealed that both anxiety and depressive symptoms were negatively linked to perceived capabilities of regulating negative emotions and savoring positive emotions. Furthermore, regulating negative emotions interacted with savoring positive emotions to predict anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: The need to simultaneously perform negative and positive emotion regulation is highlighted. The results suggest the priority of regulating negative emotions over savoring positive emotions in alleviating anxiety symptoms. Nevertheless, enhancing positive emotion shows greater benefits for those who are less adept at regulating negative emotions.     

Sibling Discord: A Force for Growth and Conflict

Drawing on research findings and clinical experience, this paper considers the contributions that sibling envy, jealousy, and rivalry can make to healthy development as well as the way in which sibling discord may compromise development and in some cases lead to pathology. An account of the treatment of a depressed and anxious woman, Marcia, whose pain and rage at being displaced by her 4-year-younger brother contributed to her pathology, is offered. Through attention to sibling transferences, countertransferences, and the enactments that occurred during the treatment, the paper demonstrates how an individual may misperceive and misrespond to her children as well as her therapist as if they were a sibling rival or the mother who they experienced as rejecting them in favor of a brother or sister. The paper attests to the importance of recognizing siblings as persons in their own right who hold an important place in each other’s minds, rather than as simply displacement objects for parents, as they were often regarded in the past.