“They're not my favourite people”: What mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence say about involvement in the child protection system

Although the primary aim of child protection services (CPS) is to ensure the well-being and safety of children, policy decision-makers and service providers are increasingly concerned about the potential harm children encounter when they witness the abuse of their caregivers. Researchers who have conducted reviews of child protection files in both Canada and the United States report that few cases in which intimate partner violence (IPV) is substantiated are referred for additional services. In this article, we question whether this response is appropriate. Through examining the results of a qualitative study with sixty-four women who experienced IPV and were thus involved in the child protection system, we have been able to analyze the impact of CPS practices on those women who received services and those who did not. Our findings suggest that CPS can be an important resource for women who experience IPV, but changes to current practices are necessary to ensure that services offered are beneficial.     

Culture and leadership: women in nonprofit and for-profit leadership positions within the European Union

Research has shown that women commonly hold positions of leadership within nonprofit organizations, while men typically hold the leadership positions within for-profit organizations. However, little research on women's leadership roles has been conducted within European Union countries. The purpose of this article is to examine women's leadership positions within nonprofit and for-profit organizations within the European Union and, using Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, to further investigate a potential correlation between national culture and female leadership. Fifty-one companies were examined based on type, country characteristics and gender dominance. A significant difference was found between organization type (nonprofit/for-profit) and organizational dominance (masculine/feminine). The findings suggest that the European Union has patterns of gendered leadership positions similar to patterns found previously in the USA. However, countries that were characterized as feminine had more than expected nonprofit organizations, while masculine countries had more for-profit organizations.     

The Single Assessment Process in Primary Care: Older People's Accounts of the Process

Recent government policies have been active in addressing socialinclusion and active participation of older people in many aspectsof societal life. Independence and well-being animate thesedevelopments and are evident in the emphasis on person-centredservices within the single assessment process for older people(Department of Health, 2002b). Drawing on a feasibility study of the Single Assessment Processas a ‘case-finding’ approach, this paper presentsfindings drawn from older people’s accounts of this experience.These accounts indicate the potential of the process for identifying‘low-level’ need, whilst raising issues of accessto formal services and resource constraint; also they underlinethe importance of understanding how older people seek ways ofmanaging their own health and well-being, whilst continuingto contribute to the social cohesion of society by providingsupport to their peers and to younger generations. Interdependence, it is suggested, rather than dependence shouldunderlie any approach to assessing older people’s needs,if we are to appreciate and build upon the complexity of olderpeople’s strategies for actively managing their lives.     

Maternal Differential Treatment and Child Adjustment: A Multi-informant Approach

The study aimed to replicate previous links with children's adjustment as well as using children's reports of maternal differential treatment (MDT) to test whether difference scores or favouritism scores demonstrate stronger links with child outcome. Finally, it tested for a unique prediction of children's adjustment from distinct aspects and informants of MDT. The sample consisted of 173 working- and middle-class English families with two children aged four to eight years. Mothers provided reports of the mother–child relationship, and both mothers and fathers provided reports of the children's problematic behaviour. The children also provided reports of parent–child relationships and perceived favouritism via a puppet interview. Results confirmed moderate links between MDT and children's adjustment and showed that difference scores provided a better prediction of adjustment than did the favouritism scores. Finally, the results showed that mothers' reports of differential positive feelings were the most salient aspect of MDT for older siblings whereas mothers' reports of negative feelings and positive discipline were the most salient aspects of MDT for younger siblings.     

Like parent,like child? Exploring the association between early maladaptive schemas of adolescents involved with Child Protective Services and their parents

Although early maladaptive schemas (EMS) have been successfully identified in a variety of adult samples and increasing evidence suggests that core maladaptive schemas can also be retrieved in children and adolescents, there is a dearth of research examining the association between maladaptive schemas of parents and their children. We designed the current exploratory study as a first step to investigate similarities and differences in EMS of adolescents (n = 20) involved with Child Protective Services and their parents (n = 20). Results demonstrated that there were some similarities in the specific EMS endorsed by both groups and that most of the significant correlations that were found between parents' and youths' EMS involved parent schemas of the Impaired limits and Disconnection/rejection domains and youths' schemas of the Disconnection/rejection and Impaired autonomy and performance domains. We also found significant positive correlations between several children's EMS and perceived parental rearing styles (i.e., rejection, control/overprotection, anxious rearing) and attachment anxiety.