Developmental changes in mothers’ perception of knowledge,solicitation, and child disclosure during middle childhood

Parents can actively seek knowledge (solicitation) or receive information provided willingly by the child (disclosure). In adolescence, disclosure is the main source of parental knowledge, but its importance may take root earlier in the course of development. We examined: 1) the factor structure of an instrument adapted for middle childhood measuring maternal perception of knowledge, solicitation, and children's self-disclosure; 2) changes in these dimensions over middle childhood; and 3) the respective contribution of solicitation and disclosure to parental knowledge. The mothers of 793 elementary school students (61.5% boys, 80.2% Canadian-born) completed a questionnaire annually from Grades 1 to 4. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the instrument's structure at all time points. Growth curve analyses showed that mothers’ perception of knowledge slightly declined from Grades 1 to 4. With respect to mothers’ perceived parental solicitation and child disclosure, gender interactions emerged. Solicitation declined for girls but remained stable for boys, while disclosure declined for girls but increased for boys over time. In addition, mothers' perception ofdisclosure and solicitation are both main sources of maternal knowledge regardless of age and gender in middle childhood.     

Adult children of parents with mental illness: Family stigma and coping on sense of self

Family stigma is associated with persistent negative outcomes among adult children of parents with mental illness (ACOPMI). Loss of sense of self has been reported by ACOPMI; however, the role of family stigma on sense of self remains unclear. Additionally, research suggests coping behaviour (i.e. adaptive or maladaptive) influences the effect of stigmatization on sense of self. This study investigated the impact of family stigma and coping on sense of self among ACOPMI (N = 134, 63.4% female). As hypothesized, high family stigma was associated with weak sense of self (p < 0.001), and ACOPMI who endorsed adaptive coping demonstrated higher sense of self than those who coped maladaptively (p < 0.001). Further, coping moderated the relationship between family stigma and sense of self (p < 0.001). Unexpectedly, this relationship was only significant for ACOPMI with adaptive coping skills (p < 0.001). At higher levels of stigmatization, post hoc analysis revealed coping styles did not exert an influence on sense of self. Results suggest family stigma contributes to loss of sense of self among ACOPMI, with adaptive coping being protective only at lower levels of family stigma. Findings highlight the need for a systemic approach to eradicate family stigma.     

生-死-回归之旅——解读《麦田里的守望者》主人公霍尔顿

霍尔顿是美国中产阶级子弟,他孤寂、彷徨、痛苦,对这个世界有着种种困惑,在成长的呼唤面前踌躇不前,甚至逃避。霍尔顿所生活的社会对其精神失常负有不可推卸的责任,家庭关爱的缺失也使霍尔顿对社会无法具备成熟的视角。但是,在经历了生与死的洗礼后,霍尔顿逐步走上理性、成熟之路,以爱来宽容这个世界的不完美,最终回到社会的怀抱。     

论父母离婚后对未成年子女的监护

父母离婚后对未成年子女的监护,在大陆法系国家和英美法系国家表现为不同的法律样态,大陆法系国家以亲权制度来调整这一法律关系,而英美法系国家则以监护制度来调整。虽然两大法系在立法模式上有所不同,但实质内容都是要解决父母离婚后对未成年子女的抚养、教育等问题。本文从不同的角度对两大法系的相关制度进行了比较分析,并提出了父母离婚后对未成年子女保护的有效方式。      

离婚亲子关系立法趋势之研究

从家族本位到子女本位、从家长权力到父母责任、从家长决定子女的命运到子女最大利益原则,发端于20世纪下半叶的亲子关系立法改革席卷全球,并带动了离婚亲子关系的立法变革,成为本世纪离婚亲子关系立法不可逆转的大趋势。尽管我国离婚亲子关系立法已经考虑到了子女利益,并以保护子女权益为己任,但这种保护仍是以家长和社会利益为视角的,没有充分考虑子女的权利和愿望,没有将他们真正作为权利主体。以"子女本位"审视我国相关法律规定和司法解释,仍然可以发现不少"父母本位"立法思想的痕迹。转变立法观念、完善离婚亲子关系立法势在必行。     

Balancing parents' and very young children's rights in care proceedings: decision-making in the context of the Human Rights Act 1998

This paper explores whether the Human Rights Act 1998 has influenced the approach a range of professionals, including social workers, managers and children's guardians adopt when they examine and seek to balance the potentially competing rights of parents and children involved in care proceedings. Drawing on findings from an empirical study of the decision‐making process that influences the life pathways of very young children in care, it also explores some of the dilemmas professionals face in their day‐to‐day practice and examines whether parental rights are prioritized over children's rights in certain instances.     

Through the gender lens: a comparison of family policy in Sweden and China

In this study, Sweden and China's family policies, with a specific focus on their effect on gender equality, are compared. We describe the different goals and objectives of parental/maternity leave and childcare policies. The effect of family policies on gender equality, indicated by equal employment opportunities for women and the gender division of labour in the family in the two countries, is also discussed. A systematic comparison revealed that both countries included the promotion of gender equality in their policy agendas, but they varied in design and implementation. Swedish family policies assume childcare is a public concern, and women's participation in the labour market and men's involvement in childcare are considered to be crucial to achieving gender equality. In contrast, China's family policies emphasize women's participation in the labour market, but overlook the gender division of household work and childcare at home.     

Stable Postdivorce Family Structures During Late Adolescence and Socioeconomic Consequences in Adulthood

Using four waves of panel data from 6,954 American young adults in the National Education Longitudinal Study, we compare the long‐term socioeconomic consequences of growing up in two types of divorced families. Our findings show that the negative socioeconomic consequences of growing up in unstable postdivorce families are at least twice as large as those of staying in a stabilized postdivorce family environment through late adolescence. The study also finds that variations in parental resources during late adolescence partially explain the divorce effects on most attainment indicators. Further, parental divorce appears to affect the socioeconomic attainment of male and female offspring alike. Overall, the study underlines the importance of including postdivorce family dynamics in studying the effect of parental divorce.     

One’s Enough for Now: Children,Disability, and the Subsequent Childbearing of Mothers

This mixed‐methods study explores the subsequent childbearing of mothers whose firstborn children have disabilities. I make use of matched data from the 1993 NHIS ‐ 1995 NSFG (N = 4,468) to determine the effects of child disability on the hazard of a second birth and draw on a series of 24 in‐depth interviews that explore the lived experience of raising children with disabilities. My findings suggest that mothers whose firstborn children are disabled have a lower hazard of a second birth. This reduction stems from mothers’ recognition that children with disabilities have extensive needs and that, in order to meet those needs and maximize their potential, they need to make strategic choices such as delaying subsequent childbearing.     

Preadolescent Parenting Strategies and Teens' Dating and Sexual Initiation: A Longitudinal Analysis

In this article we examine the effects of preadolescent parenting strategies on timing of adolescents' dating and sexual initiation. Using data from the 2 waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (1987–1988 and 1992–1994) involving interviews with parents as well as adolescents 4 years later, we estimate the effects of preadolescent parental support, coercive control, and monitoring on the timing of teens' dating and sexual initiation. We also examine how adolescents' gender, race, family structure, and socioeconomic background affect relationships between earlier parenting strategies and adolescent dating and sexual debut. We find evidence for the effect of preadolescent parental monitoring, though relatively little connection between parental support and coercive control, and variations in the timing of adolescent dating and sexual initiation. The findings suggest that parental monitoring prior to the onset of adolescence is important as a basic foundation for young people who later must make behavioral choices outside of parental purview.