Complicated narratives of ‘Korean-ness’: towards strategic provisionality in parental involvement

The purpose of this paper is to advance the discourse on parental involvement drawing from Butlerian notion of strategic provisionality. In developing a new approach to understanding cultural differences and their relation to Korean parental involvement, the authors analyze qualitative and quantitative data from five New York metropolitan elementary schools. The authors examine the ways in which ‘Korean-ness’ and Korean parental involvement are discursively constructed and embodied in sociopolitical and historical contexts in the United States. We present two themes related to Korean parental involvement: (a) the double-edged component of respect for teachers and (b) biopolitics related to English language and parental involvement. By challenging normalized understanding about Korean-ness, the authors suggest a different approach to ethnoepistemology in order to enrich discourses concerning parental involvement and ethnic/racial studies.     

“I Was in Crisis”

This article explores the illicit labor and imprisonment of two women, Cynthia and Dinah, in the Santa Monica prison in Lima, Peru through the lens of gendered motherwork. Because the unequal distribution of care places the burden of this labor on women, Cynthia and Dinah were primarily responsible for the care of their adult children who were diagnosed with AIDS. Both women entered the transnational cocaine commodity chain in order to provide their children with medication that was not administered by the state. Neoliberal healthcare in the form of cuts to national health systems makes the motherwork of poor women more difficult to perform. In order to afford care for their children's health, Cynthia and Dinah entered a labor market that is criminalized by punitive war on drug policies and they were subsequently imprisoned. Illicit labor was therefore an extension of their motherwork and the removal of this care from their children resulted in tragic health consequences. This article is based on ethnographic dissertation fieldwork in 2008–09 in the largest women's prison in Peru.     

Adjustment to Stepfatherhood:

Marital history and characteristics of stepchildren were viewed as factors ,which influence adjustment to step- fatherhood. It was hypothesized that marital history affected the amount of conflict present in the relationship between the stepfather and his stepchildren. Characteristics of the stepchildren were viewed as factors which allowed stepfathers to successfully handle potential conflict. Using a sample of stepfathers who were married in 1980- 1983 in Orange County, California, it was found that marital history was somewhat related to the stepfathers' involvement with theu stepchildren in some activities. Marital history was also somewhat related to the stepfather's feelings about and reactions to his step- children. However, the key to the stepfather's adjustment was whether his biological children were present in the household. The effects of this variable were found to be positive. It was concluded that the relationship between marital history and stepfather adjust- ment is complex and varying.     

Keeping Parents in the Driver's Seat

Parents receive social work services (both voluntary and involuntary) in a variety of settings. Although the parents may have come to need social work interventions for different reasons, one reason is constant: They are experiencing some difficulty with their children. Children are likely to benefit when parenting ability is strengthened. In all settings, social workers have a unique opportunity to assist parents in establishing, restoring, or maintaining healthy family dynamics.     

A Critical Analysis of Parental Alienation Syndrome and Its Admissibility in the Family Court

Abstract

Over the past three decades, parental alienation syndrome (PAS) has been proposed to explain behaviors by a child who refuses to spend time with a parent and actually denigrates that parent within the context of a child custody dispute. Although some mental health professionals and child custody evaluators, attorneys, and judges have been quick to accept and admit PAS as evidence in these disputes, there has been no consistent empirical or clinical evidence that PAS exists or that the alienator's behavior is the actual cause of the alienated child's behavior towards the target parent. This article attempts to help those working with custody issues understand how the PAS construct fails to meet scientific standards and should not be admissible in courts.     

Are the voices of parents heard? A scoping review of satisfaction in parenting programs

Parenting programs are an effective approach to promote positive parenting. In evidence-based practice, client’s values and preferences contribute to promoting quality, and are a crucial component of service evaluation. The current scoping review summarizes quantitative research that examines parental satisfaction with parent training for families with child conduct problems. We aimed to know how much research had been undertaken; what measures have been used; and what were the findings related to parental satisfaction. A scoping review was conducted to retrieve peer-reviewed original articles.Out of 420 papers 5.5 % obtained data on parental satisfaction. Seven different measures were used, mainly Therapy Attitude Inventory and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire. Out of 23 papers, ten studies reported Cronbach's alpha coefficients on the assessment that was used to evaluate parental satisfaction. All of the 23 included studies found that parents are very satisfied with the parenting program they have received.The findings indicate that only a few studies included parents’ values and preferences in quantitative evaluation studies on parental programs. In addition, there is a limited arsenal of assessment tools to measure what matters to parents. There is a need to develop measures with high psychometric quality, which will promote more quality in service evaluation.     

Social support,parental role competence and satisfaction among Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundA sense of parental competence and satisfaction during the transition to parenthood can have a tremendous impact on the quality of parenting behaviors, with social support being an important facilitator.AimTo examine parental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period with regard to social support.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. The study was conducted between June 5 and November 16, 2015. One hundred and eighty parental pairs at 6–8 weeks after birth completed the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and socio-demographic questionnaires.ResultsParental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers were at a moderate level, affected each other and there were no significant differences between the mothers and the fathers. The Competence Scale scores had a significant positive correlation with social support. Multiple regression analysis revealed two variables that predicted maternal Competence Scale scores: maternal social support and the paternal Competence Scale scores. Paternal social support and maternal Competence Scale scores contributed significantly to paternal Competence Scale scores.ConclusionParental role competence and satisfaction of mothers and fathers were at a moderate level and affected by the parenting partner. To improve parental role competence and satisfaction, health care professionals should develop strategies that impact the whole family and not just a single individual. Supportive parenting programs should be implemented for both mothers and fathers.     

Understanding Unique Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children: Challenges,Progress, and Recommendations

Growth in U.S. incarceration rates during the 1980s and 1990s prompted a body of research focused on understanding the diverse effects of incarceration on individuals, families, and communities. An area of particular interest has been how the incarceration of a parent may affect child well‐being. Despite what appears to be converging evidence that parental incarceration poses a significant threat to child development, this area of inquiry has yet to overcome important methodological and conceptual challenges related to selection bias. It is therefore unclear whether the difficulties that have been observed among children whose parents are incarcerated are due to the incarceration itself or to other adversities that children have experienced. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to these issues, to summarize empirical and conceptual progress in overcoming these challenges, and to suggest directions for future research.     

A qualitative analysis of African American fathers’ struggle with reentry,recidivism, and reunification after participation in re-entry programs

The experiences of African American fathers with reentry, recidivism, and reunification after a period of incarceration and after participation in a re-entry program. Results of the thematic analysis yielded the following major themes: unaddressed childhood trauma, self-identification, reentry; self-esteem and self-worth; reentry; family reunification after incarceration; and recidivism. Unaddressed childhood trauma and post-release stress emerged as the major barriers to successful transition from incarceration. Implications for social work policy, research, practice, and education are provided.     

Household Support and Social Integration in the Year After Prison

The conventional household is typically conceived as a fixed residence where married adults pool incomes and raise their children. In poor communities, however, households are often residentially unstable, fluid in composition, and economically insecure. Men and women who leave prison face extreme disadvantage, and their households are likely to shape social integration after incarceration. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data from the Boston Reentry Study, this article describes the complex living situations of men and women newly released from prison and proposes a multifaceted concept of household support. Regression analysis with an index measuring household support shows that living in a stable well‐resourced household just after prison release is associated with reduced risks of a new criminal charge, social isolation, and unemployment six to twelve months later. More than just a social unit for sampling and enumeration, the analysis suggests the household is an explanatory concept that can account for the social integration of poor, minority populations often detached from formal sources of economic and social support.