Parental self‐esteem,parent–child relationships,and authoritative parenting of Chinese migrant parents of left‐behind children: Implications for social policy and services

In this study, we aimed to examine whether and how parental self‐esteem and parent–child relationships interact and associate with the authoritative parenting of Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrant mothers and fathers of left‐behind children. Results from a cross‐sectional survey of 295 Chinese migrant parents living in Shenzhen revealed no statistically significant differences between migrant mothers and fathers in parental self‐esteem, parent–child relationships, and authoritative parenting. Both parental self‐esteem and parent‐child relationships had positive associations with authoritative parenting among two groups of respondents; however, the perceived parent–child relationship quality was a more important predictor than parental self‐esteem. There was also an interaction effect between parental self‐esteem and parent–child relationships on migrant mothers’ authoritative parenting. The findings indicate that migrant parents’ perception of their encounters with their children has a profound influence on their parenting behaviors. Social services should, thus, be provided to strengthen both virtual and face‐to‐face parent–child interactions via mobile phone parenting and periodic visits. New policies should be developed to provide migrant parents with more options regarding family reunion.     

“Go forth and wrestle with the legal system”: Some perceptions and experiences of lesbian parents in rural Australia

This study explores the perceptions and experiences of a small group of lesbian parents living in rural Australia, who discussed the decisions they made in creating their families, their expectations and understanding of their roles and relationships and their concepts of family and parenthood. The study also explores how these lesbian‐parented families have negotiated the complex legal frameworks under which they exist.     

自闭症儿童家长知晓度调查

对8个城市共309名自闭症儿童家长的问卷调查发现：家长对自闭症障碍的认识参差不齐,对现有自闭症干预服务的质量和效果一致评价很低;家庭尤其是母亲存在很大的心理压力;家长更信赖专业人员和政府主办的康复干预机构;家长迫切希望得到更充分的社会支持和更有效的专业服务。尽快采取行动,加强对自闭症儿童及其家庭的研究,切实提升公众意识与理解,提供更多的公共服务和社会支持,已成为迫切的议题。对家长进行有效培训是首要任务。     

Beteiligung von Eltern an Schulentwicklungsprozessen

Parents’ participation in school development processes In the course of internal development schools are increasingly striving for the participation of parents. The example of an independent school, where the involvement of parents is part of the pedagogical concept, shows some possibilities. The beginning of the implementation of a school development process with the participation of parents is delineated and its transfer to public schools is discussed. Possible setting factors for the involvement of parents are derived from that.     

Supporting Adoptive Parents: A Study on Personal Self-Care

This study explored the personal self-care practices of adoptive parents (N?=?229) in one southeastern state. Overall, findings indicate that adoptive parents only engage in moderate modest self-care practices. Significant differences in self-care practices were detected by health status (self-report) and current financial status. In summary, the healthier one perceived themselves to be and the more financially stable they were, the more they tended to engage in self-care practices. Data suggest the need for entities involved with potential and/or adoptive parents need to explicitly engage adoptive parents in education about self-care and training in support of self-care practices. As well, data indicate the need for reframing self-care from an ancillary activity to an integrated tool to assuage the challenges facing adoptive parents.     

Postdivorce Coparenting and Children’s Well-Being in Hong Kong

This article reports a survey study on postdivorce coparenting and its relationships with children’s well-being in Hong Kong. Based on data from 142 resident parents and 84 children, the results revealed that interparental conflict and triangulation of children within parental conflict adversely affected children’s well-being, whereas interparental support fostered children’s well-being. Parental communication and interparental support coexisted simultaneously with parent conflicts. These conflicting effects make postdivorce coparenting a mixed blessing for children. Fortunately, residential parent–child intimacy and quality parenting by both parents protected children’s well-being from the effects of negative relational dynamics. Promoting postdivorce coparenting should always accompany effective interventions in conflict resolution, the renegotiation of growth-enhancing boundaries among family members, the support of parental functioning and individual recovery of both parents, and the facilitation of noncompetitive parental involvement of nonresident parents.     

Agency-Related Barriers Experienced by Families Seeking to Adopt From Foster Care

ABSTRACT

Although about 100,000 children in foster care await adoption, families approved to adopt encounter obstacles in the adoption process. This nationwide longitudinal study identified agency-related barriers faced by prospective adoptive parents. A pur-posively recruited sample of 300 families seeking to adopt from foster care completed an in-depth, semi-structured telephone interview and quarterly follow-up surveys until they either finalized a foster care adoption (n = 98) or discontinued (n = 102) the process, followed by an exit interview by telephone. Findings revealed the top barriers encountered were adoption process logistics (n = 185, 92.5%), agency communication and responsiveness (n = 159, 79.5%), agency emotional support (n = 130, 65%), availability of services (n = 65, 32.5%), and juris-dictional and interjurisdictional issues (n = 52, 26%). Policy and practice implications are provided with recommendations for improving procedures, services, support, and communication to better retain prospective adoptive parents and improve adop-tion outcomes.     

Hope and subjective well‐being among parents of children with special needs

The current study examined subjective well‐being (SWB) in parents who raise children with special needs. Previous studies that focused on parenting children with special needs stressed increased risk of depression. This study examined parental level of hope, the significance of being involved in a partner relationship and parental perception of the seriousness of their child's disability, each a factor that may influence parental SWB. A random sample of 92 parents raising children with special needs in Israel participated in the study. They completed three questionnaires, examining parent's perception of the severity of their child's disability, parental SWB and parents' level of hope. Results revealed that a high level of hope, being in a partnered relationship, and perception of the child's disability as having some positive influence on central aspects of the parents' life, are all significant contributors to raising parental SWB. Study findings show that ‘agency’, a component of the concept of ‘hope’, is a significant factor in predicting SWB in parents of a child with special needs. Perhaps awareness of how they can improve their SWB by using certain aspects of their lifestyle to their advantage can help improve quality of life for parents of children with special needs.