It’s OK not to be OK: Shared reflections from two PhD parents in a time of pandemic

Adopting an intersectional feminist lens, we explore our identities as single and co‐parents thrust into the new reality of the UK COVID‐19 lockdown. As two PhD students, we present shared reflections on our intersectional and divergent experiences of parenting and our attempts to protect our work and families during a pandemic. We reflect on the social constructions of ‘masculinities’ and ‘emphasized femininities’ as complicated influence on our roles as parents. Finally, we highlight the importance of time and self‐care as ways of managing our shared realities during this uncertain period. Through sharing reflections, we became closer friends in mutual appreciation and solidarity as we learned about each other’s struggles and vulnerabilities.     

Facilitators and barriers to family engagement and retention of young children in mental health care: A qualitative study of caregivers’ perspectives

This study examines facilitators and barriers that influence family engagement and retention of children in mental healthcare from the parent and caregiver perspective. Researchers recruited and interviewed parents and caregivers (n=18) from urban community health and early childcare centers. The study team analyzed the data and identified barriers to retention in care, including stigma, lack of integrated health care services,and a shortage of providers with the expertise in early childhood mental health care. Social workers, case managers, parent peers, and community support groups helped facilitate parent and caregiver engagement and retention of children in care. Education,community support programs, and integrated healthcare systems would improve access to quality early childhood mental health care.     

Impact of child sexual abuse disclosure on the health of nonoffending parents: A longitudinal perspective

The impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure on parents’ psychological health has been documented among samples of nonoffending parents. Much less is known about the parents’ physical health. This study assesses the longitudinal impact of CSA disclosure on both the mental and physical health of parents and explores potential gender differences. Interviews with 92 mothers and 32 fathers were completed approximately 12 months and 18 months following disclosure. Generalized as well as mixed model analyses revealed that mothers reported more psychological distress, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and activity limitation than fathers. With the exception of PTSD symptoms which showed a significant reduction over time, all other psychological and physical symptoms persisted. The findings highlight the importance of ensuring services for an extended period for the small proportion of parents who display especially high vulnerability.     

Collaborating with parents during intervention with parental agreement: Practitioner perspectives on procedural justice

With growing concerns about the efficacy and costs of intrusive child protection interventions and increasing recognition of citizen rights to participation in governance, jurisdictions are looking to collaborative alternatives that divert families from the courts and out‐of‐home care. In Queensland (Australia), “intervention with parental agreement” (IPA) is one such response. Under IPA, the statutory child protection authority can work collaboratively with families, without a court order, to respond to children assessed as “in need of protection.” In this paper, we use procedural justice theory as a lens to explore how IPA policy is enacted in practice. Procedural justice relates to the quality of treatment a person receives and the fairness of the process than an authority uses during decision‐making (Tyler, 2006 ). It is associated with voluntary cooperation and compliance; key practice concerns when working to address child maltreatment via parental agreement rather than court ordered intervention. We report on a qualitative study that utilized semistructured, in‐depth interviews to capture the perceptions of 30 practitioners regarding the factors that shape the extent to which they enact IPA policy in a procedurally fair manner. Strategies for enhancing procedurally just enactment of IPA policy in practice are discussed.     

0~3岁婴幼儿父母的养育压力类型及其养育指导需求---基于潜在剖面分析的结果

为了解0~3岁婴幼儿父母的养育压力类型与养育指导需求,采用养育压力量表和养育指导需求问卷对745名婴幼儿父母进行调查。结果发现,婴幼儿父母养育压力的总体水平偏高,尤其体现在幼儿教养、外界环境、生活调适三个维度;婴幼儿父母养育压力可划分为低压力型、中压力型、高压力型三种潜在类别,中压力型父母占比最高,高压力型次之,低压力型父母占比最低;三类父母在最小子女年龄、与子女关系、居住地、主要照料人、家庭月收入、父亲学历、母亲学历变量上存在显著差异;在养育指导内容与指导形式上,三类父母既有共性需求,也有差异化需求。为缓解婴幼儿父母养育压力,建议父母自身加强养育知识学习,提前做好养育规划;家庭成员密切配合,相互支持;政府为家庭早期教养提供支持。     

Parental emotion regulation strategies and parenting quality predict child internalizing symptoms in families experiencing homelessness

Adaptive emotion regulation (ER) in parents has been linked to better parenting quality and social–emotional adjustment in children from middle‐income families. In particular, early childhood may represent a sensitive period in which parenting behaviors and functioning have large effects on child social–emotional adjustment. However, little is known about how parent ER and parenting are related to child adjustment in high‐risk families. In the context of adversity, parents may struggle to maintain positive parenting behaviors and adaptive self‐regulation strategies which could jeopardize their children's adjustment. The current study investigated parents' own cognitive ER strategies and observed parenting quality in relation to young children's internalizing and externalizing problems among families experiencing homelessness. Participants included 108 primary caregivers and their 4–6‐year‐old children residing in emergency shelters. Using multiple methods, parenting and parent ER were assessed during a shelter stay and teachers subsequently provided ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing difficulties in the classroom. Parenting quality was expected to predict fewer classroom internalizing and externalizing behaviors as well as moderate the association between parent ER strategies and child outcomes. Results suggest that parenting quality buffered the effects of parent maladaptive ER strategies on child internalizing symptoms. The mediating role of parenting quality on that association was also investigated to build on prior empirical work in low‐risk samples. Parenting quality did not show expected mediating effects. Findings suggest that parents experiencing homelessness who use fewer maladaptive cognitive ER strategies and more positive parenting behaviors may protect their children against internalizing problems.     

Letting Her Go: Western Adoptive Families’ Search and Reunion With Chinese Birth Parents

This is the first study to investigate the trend of adopted individuals from China who search for and reunite with their birth parents. The authors suggest that the closed nature of China's international adoption program and growing ethical concerns about children's true origins impact the desire to search. Due to the generally younger ages of Chinese adoptees, adoptive parents have taken an unprecedentedly proactive role in this process. This article relies on in-depth interviews with adopted children and adoptive parents from seven Western families who reunited with Chinese birth parents. Interviews focused on the decision to search and methods used; the initial reunion; the development of bonds between adoptive and birth families; and post-reunion views of searching.     

How Much In‐Kind Support Do Low‐Income Nonresident Fathers Provide? A Mixed‐Method Analysis

Past child support research has largely focused on cash payments made through the courts (formal support) or given directly to the mother (informal support) almost to the exclusion of a third type: non‐cash goods (in‐kind support). Drawing on repeated, semistructured interviews with nearly 400 low‐income noncustodial fathers, the authors found that in‐kind support constitutes about one quarter of total support. Children in receipt of some in‐kind support receive, on average, $60 per month worth of goods. Multilevel regression analyses demonstrated that children who are younger and have more hours of visitation as well as those whose father has a high school education and no current substance abuse problem receive in‐kind support of greater value. Yet children whose fathers lack stable employment or are Black receive a greater proportion of their total support in kind. A subsequent qualitative analysis revealed that fathers' logic for providing in‐kind support is primarily relational and not financial.     

Dimensions of Parenting Associated with Child Prekindergarten Emotion Regulation and Attention Control in Low‐income Families

Delays in emotion regulation and attention control are common among children growing up in poverty, and they contribute to significant socioeconomic gaps in school readiness and later school attainment. In this study, the emotion regulation and attention control skills of 210 prekindergarten Head Start participants were assessed (M age = 4.80 years old). Home interviews and videotaped parent–child interactions were used to evaluate three aspects of parenting (e.g., warm‐sensitive, directive‐critical, and parenting stress). Structural equation models documented significant, unique associations linking directive‐critical parenting and parenting stress with poor child emotion regulation skills. Directive‐critical parenting was also uniquely associated with low levels of child attention control. Warm‐sensitive parenting was not uniquely related to either emotion regulation or attention control at this age. The findings suggest that, by prekindergarten, parent stress management and reduced directiveness emerge as the primary correlates of child emotion regulation and attention control whereas warm‐sensitive parenting plays a diminished role.     

残障儿童家长学前教育需求调查研究

学前阶段作为残障儿童接受教育的开端,是我国残疾人教育事业的重要组成部分。以残障儿童家长学前教育需求调查 问卷为研究工具,对随机整群选取的S市3所特教幼儿园和2所特殊学校学前部的110名残障儿童家长进行了问卷调查。结果 表明,残障儿童家长学前教育需求整体水平较高,尤其对学校性质及形象需求、保育及服务需求最为迫切;残障儿童家长的学 前教育需求与儿童残障程度呈显著负相关,与儿童年龄段、家长学历、家庭月收入呈显著正相关;残障儿童家长年龄、家庭月收 入、家长学历、儿童年龄对其学前教育需求具有显著的预测作用。相应的建议：地方政府要积极推进公办融合幼儿园和特色融 合幼儿园的建设;加强残障儿童家庭和校（园）间的合作,促进康教（育）结合;对残障儿童家庭实施政策倾斜,确保其享有经济 保障;根据儿童残障程度,实施差异性教育;教育主管部门应充分认识到家长年龄、学历、家庭月收入等因素对其学前教育需求 的影响,改善相应的管理工作,满足家长的教育需求。