Sense of School Membership and Associated Academic and Psychological Outcomes in Post-Institutionalized Adopted High School Students

Research highlights lasting cognitive and academic challenges in youth internationally adopted from institutional care. However, there is a lack of research examining internationally adopted students' sense of membership at school and associated academic and psychological outcomes. The current study measured sense of school membership and academic and psychological outcomes in post-institutionalized internationally adopted high school students (n = 29) compared to adolescents internationally adopted from foster care (n = 28) and non-adopted adolescents (n = 32). Post-institutionalized males had a lower sense of school membership than males adopted from foster care or non-adopted males. Group differences in school membership were mediated by academic achievement and psychological well-being.     

Becoming the mother of a child with disabilities: a systematic literature review

The transition to motherhood starts early in pregnancy and is completed when the mother feels competent in caring for the infant. Becoming the mother of a child with disabilities is demanding as their needs are complex. The aim of the review was to appraise completed qualitative and quantitative reports on the challenges of mothers of children with disabilities regarding their own transition to motherhood. A review of the literature was carried out through, first, a computerized search strategy to identify relevant studies from selected databases and, second, quality appraisal and thematic analysis of selected studies. The transition to motherhood of children with disabilities takes place in the inside world at home, the outside world external to home and the ‘going-between’ world of travelling between the two worlds. The mothers are challenged at home to integrate basic infant care with technical care of their children. In the outside world they often struggled to ensure that their children got the necessary professional care. Travelling between their homes and healthcare services posed many problems.     

Is multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) more effective than treatment as usual in a three-year follow-up? Results from MTFC in a Swedish setting

This study examines three-year post-baseline outcomes for a randomized controlled trial of Swedish antisocial youths who received either multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) or treatment as usual (TAU). Several studies in our literature review indicated that MTFC intervention is preferred to the alternative (TAU) in the USA during follow-up. Two studies (one conducted in the UK and one in Sweden) have shown indications of a washout effect between the intervention alternatives during follow-up. However, this study showed few but positive significant outcomes at follow-up for the MTFC programme in comparison to TAU. Juveniles who participated in MTFC spent fewer days in locked settings and had committed fewer violent crimes, according to the social case records. Two key features of the MTFC programme certainly merit use in general social service—namely, reducing exposure to deviant peers and increasing school participation.     

构建完善的高校贫困生关怀体系

贫困生工作是高校学生工作中的重点攻关工作,是一个系统而细致的爱心工程.策略上要采取高度重视,重点攻关,畅通绿色通道,严把学杂费缓交关;建立贫困生档案,实行动态管理等.具体实施当中,要从多方面、多渠道地给予贫困生润如春风的人性关怀,构建完善的高校贫困生关怀体系,营造和谐的校园人文环境.     

幼儿园教师教学效能感与园长保教领导力的关系

为考察幼儿园教师教学效能感与园长保教领导力的关系,对X省6市共784名幼儿园教师进行问卷调查。研究结果表明：幼儿园教师教学效能感总体处于中等偏上水平,其中教师自我效能信念水平最低;幼儿园教师对园长保教领导力有着较高水平的感知,园长保教领导力水平越高,幼儿园教师教学效能感越强;园长保教价值领导力与组织领导力能显著正向预测幼儿园教师教学效能感。应多主体协同提升教师的自我效能信念,聚焦提升园长保教价值领导力和关注发展园长保教组织领导力,以此促进教师教学效能感水平的提升。     

Delaying factors for maternal health service utilization in eastern Ethiopia: A qualitative exploratory study

BackgroundIn Ethiopia, maternal health service utilization is still unacceptably low. The societal and cultural factors that constrain women from attending these services have not yet been sufficiently explored. Using qualitative methods, we aimed to explore the factors that delay maternal health service utilization in eastern Ethiopia.MethodA total of 13 audio-recorded focus group discussions were conducted comprising 88 participants. We conducted separate group discussions with reproductive aged women, mothers-in-law, traditional birth attendants, husbands, and Health Extension Workers to capture their knowledge, practices, feelings, thoughts and attitudes towards maternal health service utilization. The recorded sessions were transcribed into the local language and then translated into English for analysis.ResultThe study identified a number of factors that may delay maternal health service utilization. Factors were grouped using the Three Delays model as a framework. Low level of awareness regarding need, poor involvement of husband, perceived absence of health problems, social power, community misperceptions and cultural restrictions, negative attitudes towards male midwives, acceptance of traditional birth attendants and poor social networking were Delay One factors. Lack of physical accessibility and high transportation costs were categorised as Delay Two factors for skilled birth care attendance. Perceived or experienced poor quality of care were categorised as Delay Three factors for both skilled birth and postnatal care utilization.ConclusionDespite the ongoing government measures to improve maternal health service utilization in Ethiopia, numerous factors continue to contribute to delays in service use, which in turn contribute to high maternal mortality.     

Pregnancy after loss during the COVID19 pandemic

BackgroundRapid changes to how maternity health care is delivered has occurred in many countries across the globe in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maternity care provisions have been challenged attempting to balance the needs and safety of pregnant women and their care providers. Women experiencing a pregnancy after loss (PAL) during these times face particularly difficult circumstances.AimIn this paper we highlight the situation in three high income countries (Australia, Ireland and USA) and point to the need to remember the unique and challenging circumstances of these PAL families. We suggest new practices may be deviating from established evidence-based guidelines and outline the potential ramifications of these changes.FindingsRecommendations for health care providers are suggested to bridge the gap between the necessary safety requirements due to the pandemic, the role of the health care provider, and the needs of families experiencing a pregnancy after loss.DiscussionChanges to practices i.e. limiting the number of antenatal appointments and access to a support person may have detrimental effects on both mother, baby, and their family. However, new guidelines in maternity care practices developed to account for the pandemic have not necessarily considered women experiencing pregnancy after loss.ConclusionBereaved mothers and their families experiencing a pregnancy after loss should continue to be supported during the COVID-19 pandemic to limit unintended consequences.     

Educational assortative mating and time use in the home

This study examines the association between individuals' educational assortative mating and time spent on child care and housework. Focus is put on hypogamous couples, or couples in which wives have more education than their husbands. Relative resources and gender revolution frameworks are considered as contexts to explain why hypogamous couples may share their time differently than other couples. A series of ordinary least squares regressions with population and sampling weights are employed using American Time Use Survey data from 2003 to 2018. Three, separate analyses using relative education, gender, and all educational pairings as the independent variables of interest are presented with child care and housework as the dependent variables. The current findings show that men in hypogamous marriages perform about 10 min more of child care per day on average than their peers in hypergamous and homogamous marriages, and that this comes primarily from basic care activities. This accounts for approximately 43% of the difference between men and women in the average amount of time spent on child care. No clear pattern of significance is apparent comparing individuals’ time spent on housework by relative education, suggesting that housework and child care have evolved differently in the context of gendered domestic responsibilities. Men in hypogamous marriages are more egalitarian in their sharing of child care. However, this is only true for couples in which men have at least a high school diploma and women are highly educated.     

Loss and grief: The experience of transition to residential aged care

There is growing recognition of the experience of non-death-related loss and grief. One unexplored area of non-death-related loss and grief is associated with older people’s transition from home to residential aged care (RAC). This paper reports findings from a qualitative study that explored the experiences of people living in RAC, carer-relatives of people living in RAC and RAC staff. Using theories of loss and grief, the paper identifies features of the transition to RAC that are associated with unresolved loss and maladaptation to changed circumstances, and the types of support that would mitigate these. Using a series of focus groups with both residents and carer-relatives, as well as staff, the study found that residents and their families need more support to negotiate the multiple, often necessarily hasty decisions and bureaucratic requirements associated with transitioning to RAC, while simultaneously experiencing loss and grief. The types of support that families would welcome from service providers include facilitating shared decision making, valuing family and community carer expertise and providing practical information and assistance to fulfil administrative obligations.     

Issue Information

In 2017, the number of applications for care orders in England and Wales was the highest ever recorded at 14,207. This is a significant factor, contributing to the rise in the number of children who are looked after, which is at the highest level since 1985. The authors reflect on the recently published Care Crisis Review 2018, a sector‐led review, which examines the reasons for the rise in care proceedings and the number of children in care. The review sought to identify changes to policy and practice within local authorities and the family justice system, in an attempt to divert cases away from the family courts and to reduce the number of children in care, where it is safe to do so. Whilst the legislative framework is largely effective and the system generally works well, there is insufficient funding and resources to meet the needs of children and their families when they seek help, regardless of whether this is at an early stage or when they are in crisis and most in need of care and protection.