Parental Self-Efficacy and Social Support as Predictors of Parenting Practices and Children's Socioemotional Adjustment in Mexican Immigrant Families

SUMMARY

The current study examined the hypotheses that (1) parental self-efficacy partially mediates the relationships between social support and both parental warmth and control, and (2) these parenting variables relate positively to children's socioemotional adjustment. First-generation, Mexican immigrant mothers were interviewed regarding social support, parental self-efficacy, parenting practices, and their child's socioemotional adjustment. Overall, results from path analyses suggest that, for Mexican immigrant families, social support relates to parenting practices partly because those with greater social support feel more efficacious as parents. Findings also showed that parenting characterized by warmth or control is associated with greater socioemotional adjustment among children. This research supports the idea that, for programs designed to influence parenting practices, simply providing social support may be less important than taking steps to enhance parental self-efficacy.     

Improving Father Involvement in Child Welfare Practice and Research: Conceptual Considerations from the Social Science Literature

The positive benefits to children of their fathers' involvement in their lives have been well documented in the social science literature. This article reviews related child welfare literature and argues that several important concepts informing father involvement research in the social sciences—the significance of the parents' relationship, the potentially dangerous behaviors of fathers, and emerging trends in low-income families—need to be incorporated into work on father involvement in the child welfare context, in order to maximize the effectiveness of involvement efforts as well as the potential benefits to children. Implications for child welfare practice include the need for intensive involvement efforts, attention to fathers' progress in treatment, services to strengthen parental relationships and improve coparenting, and expansion of service eligibility to all those who play parental roles in children's lives. Implications for research include the need for studies examining the different kinds of fathers in child welfare households, how parental dynamics influence child and parent outcomes, and the influence fathers' problems may have in moderating the effects of their involvement on children.     

Chinese nationalism,Taiwan autonomy and the prospects of a larger war

In contrast to the belief that the 1995–1996 Taiwan Straits crisis was caused by the visit of the President of Taiwan to Cornell University, in fact, the post‐Mao ruling groups in Beijing made forcing early reunification with mainland China on Taiwan a top priority soon after assuming power in 1978. This new focus on Taiwan's reunification reflects a policy switch. It is not a continuation of Mao era policies. The switch is basic. It involves a profound change in the content of Chinese nationalism from Mao era nationalism, which is seen by its critics in China as insufficiently promoting the national interests of the Chinese people. The new, post‐Mao nationalism in China not only challenges Taiwan's autonomy, it also could endanger peace in the Pacific‐Asia region. Consequently, it is important to rethink the political dynamics at work in China and in the region if the parties involved hope to avoid a larger war.     

Stopping the Cycle of Child Abuse and Neglect: A Call to Action to Focus on Pregnant and Parenting Youth in and Aging Out of the Foster Care System

Each year, a significant number of adolescents become pregnant in the United States, with more than half of these pregnancies resulting in live births. Adolescent parenting is associated with poor outcomes, including increased risk of child maltreatment. Youth “aging out” of the foster care system may be at greater risk of maltreating their children due to their experiences of child maltreatment, a lack of social support, and little preparation for parenthood. This article examines current programs and policies targeting pregnant and parenting youth aging out and presents a research agenda that focuses on pregnancy prevention and positive parenting.     

Easing Postpartum School Transitions Through Parent Mentoring Programs

Summary

Alternative schools offer pregnant and parenting high school students smaller classes, a less stigmatizing environment, and specialized health and social services. Most alternative schools require that students return to their regular public high schools soon after they have delivered. Although students making this postpartum transition face extraordinary challenges, few supportive services are available. As a result, the academic performance of many postpartum students suffers and may eventually lead to high school drop out. Mentoring programs, which are initiated while students are still pregnant, may provide an important bridge between the alternative and regular school settings. Mentoring relationships can ease the stress associated with postpartum school transition and, ultimately, forestall or prevent the academic and social problems typically associated with adolescent pregnancy and parenthood.     

The Prenatal/Early Infancy Project

Summary

We describe a program of pregnancy and infancy nurse home visitation for families at social risk because of the mother's young age, single-parent status, or poverty. The program sought to prevent a number of maternal and child health problems that emerge early in the life cycle and that might be prevented with improvements in prenatal health habits, care of the child, and the psychosocial context of the family. The nurses carried out three major activities: (1) parent education regarding influences on fetal and infant development and regarding the mother's own education, employment, and family planning; (2) the involvement of family members and friends in the pregnancy, birth, and early care of the child; and (3) the linkage of family members with other health and human services. The nurses emphasized the importance of establishing a caring and supportive relationship with the mother and her family, building upon parents' strengths, promoting parental control over their life circumstances, and adapting the educational content of the program to the individual needs of the family.     

How to Operate the Primary School's Summer Camp?

正Recently,big cities like Beijing and Shanghai have begun to offer Summer Camp services on campus to primary school students.Students will be provided with libraries and reading rooms,and besides,they can also participate in organized sports and art activities,but they will not be forced to have academic classes.The summer camp service charges little to nothing,and students from families with financial difficulties need not pay any fee.While it's widely applauded by parents,the problem now is how to operate this new program in a way that satisfies both pupils,parents and teachers,and how to make it financially feasible.     

Parenting Education:

Television advertising offers a preventive tool that can influence behavior in positive directions. This paper reports on the evaluation of a television campaign on parenting designed to foster more positive emotional environments for young children (under 5) and to teach and remind parents of basic child-rearing skills. The results of a limited test-market campaign revealed positive changes in parenting beliefs in the primary target audience, mothers of young children, and self-reported changes in behavior in line with campaign objectives among 22% of campaign viewers. These positive results led to a modified Ontario-wide campaign with similar indications of positive impact on parenting.     

Intersectional Disadvantage: Exploring Differences Between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Parents with Intellectual Disability in the New South Wales Child Protection System

Background: Parents with intellectual disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents are overrepresented in child removal but research has not explored the intersection of Aboriginality and intellectual disability in child protection.

Methods: A case file review of 45 parents with intellectual disability (n = 14 Aboriginal and n = 31 non-Aboriginal) engaged in care proceedings in New South Wales was undertaken. Parent and child demographics and investigation triggers and outcomes were compared.

Results: Aboriginal parents were significantly younger than non-Aboriginal parents at initiation of an investigation, twice as likely to be investigated due to concerns about parenting capacity, and more likely to have children removed than non-Aboriginal parents.

Conclusion: The intersection of Aboriginality and intellectual disability appears to increase the risk of negative encounters with child protection systems. Targeted support for young Aboriginal parents and greater disability awareness and cultural sensitivity by child welfare workers are needed.     

以胡锦涛同志为总书记的党中央对"和平统一"理论的创新

以胡锦涛同志为总书记的党中央继承和发展了"和平统一、一国两制"的基本方针与实践。在形成对台工作的新理念、新思维、新举措的同时,确立了一系列的理论要点。它们是——把两岸关系定位于"共同家园"的关系,两岸关系的实质是中国的"和平发展",把两岸现状定位于"尚未统一",确定了两岸和平统一的"过程论",把两岸统一的途径定位于"共议统一",构建未来"一个中国"的方式则是两岸"共同缔造"的中国。这些理论要点是对"和平统一"理论的创新。     

Liberal Patriotism in Hong Kong

Since Hong Kong's reunification with the People's Republic of China in 1997, debates about patriotism have erupted from time to time in Hong Kong. Considering Hong Kong's socio-political background, the feelings and attachment of Hongkongers towards their motherland are unsurprisingly complex. We therefore need a multidimensional concept to capture the complexities of Hong Kong patriotism. Based on survey data, we propose that the term ‘liberal patriotism’ best describes the type of patriotism in Hong Kong society, which is that love of the homeland and the state are qualified by liberal democratic values.     

Screening for Substance Use Disorders as a Supplement to Caseworker Assessment Among Foster Care–Involved Families

Parental substance abuse is a major factor in families experiencing foster care placement, yet little is known about the potential of screening in determining risk or identifying subpopulations for which elevated risk occurs. One Midwestern state recently implemented screening. This research uses information gathered as part of the screen's implementation to conduct a latent class analysis. The research was extended to provide a detailed examination of differences in child and family characteristics across classes, and to compare the screen results with caseworker impressions. Three distinct typologies emerged, with the high-risk and moderate-risk designations comprising only one quarter of the cases.     

A Research Revolution in Women's Health

SUMMARY

Women's health research initiatives are emerging with evidence that there are unique diagnosis and intervention factors that provide a window into the specific health needs of women. The evidence of the need for this gender-specific research is being spurred by the establishment of The Office of Research on Women's Health by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A review of some of the more current and salient research findings that apply to women's health and the health needs of women in different lifestyles, at different stages of the life cycle is discussed. Also considered are women's roles in the health service delivery system and where they fit into the provision of services within the context of women's styles of accessing and using health care. Self-help and other support programs will be described as they apply specifically to women and a case will be made for providing comprehensive, multi-systemic women's health services in one facility at the community level through an overview of some of the more current and successful models.     

Mental Health Treatment Experiences and Expectations in Foster Care: A Qualitative Investigation

This study explores perspectives on mental health treatment experiences and expectations for youth in foster care and their foster parents. In-depth interviews were conducted and identified for major themes: (1) the dual stigma of foster care and mental health care; (2) the lack of engagement in mental health therapy; (3) trust issues with the therapist and other individuals; and (4) the desire to integrate mental health services with primary care services. These results have implications for mental health service delivery and suggest opportunities to improve mental health treatment through an integrated care approach.     

Using Cost Analysis to Examine Variability in Replications of an Efficacious Child Neglect Prevention Program

This article reports on a program- and case-level cost analysis of five replication sites of an efficacious child neglect prevention program. Approximately one-third of all sites' total labor hours were expended on direct family services and casework support for a specific family, with the remainder spent on indirect implementation support and program administration activities. Including non-personnel costs, the all-site mean total cost per family was $6,276, ranging across sites from $2,245 to $10,260. Costs varied greatly among individual families within sites. More research is needed to understand factors associated with differences in cost.     

Integration of the Family Therapy Specialist into Public School Pupil Personnel Services

SUMMARY

The integration of a full-time family counseling specialist into the Pupil Personnel Service (PPS) Team of the modern public school is described. The roles of the present specialists are delineated as well as the problems inherent within the present Pupil Personnel Services Team. Inclusion of a family counseling specialist on the PPS Team would help schools avoid the antagonist position they find themselves in when a family opposes their suggestions and interventions. In such cases, the PPS Team attempts to wrest control of the case from the parents which subjugates the family, limiting the family's inherent resilience and strength. The family comes to resent the PPS Team, seeing them as blameful and controlling. Conversely, the PPS Team comes to resent the family, claiming it is “dysfunctional” in some way and using diagnostic labels to satisfy themselves that their “expert” actions are justified. This antagonist position in the schools arises more out of fear of litigation than good case management. We propose a new integration of family system and school system. Creation of a family counseling specialist who is highly trained in systems, narrative and structural/strategic family therapy could ameliorate this antagonist problem. Numerous functions for such a new specialty are listed as well as suggestions for including this member into PPS Team work.     

Parental attitudes following exposure to child abuse prevention campaign materials: a randomized trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate child abuse prevention campaign materials. Using a randomized posttest design, 600 parents from an online research panel were recruited and surveyed. Multiple regression results indicate that exposure to the campaign materials had a significant relationship with four of the five domains (effects of child maltreatment, the appropriateness of harsh parenting, the physical dangers and needs unique to childhood, and the power to prevent child maltreatment). These results have implications for the child abuse prevention practitioners who seek to design and distribute effective campaign materials.     

Influence of Family,Agency, and Caseworker Dynamics on Caregivers' Satisfaction With Their Child Protective Services Experience

Numerous child protective services (CPS) agencies have adopted differential responses as a system reform hypothesized to facilitate family engagement. This research tests a conceptual framework developed to examine dynamics between caregiver, agency, and caseworker factors that are assumed to impact caregiver engagement. Data from a randomized control study and structural equation modeling methods were used to explore the influence of these factors on caregiver satisfaction with their CPS experience. The results indicate that receipt of alternative response, caregivers' ratings of their caseworker's interaction style, and caregivers' positive emotional response influenced satisfaction with their intervention experience, while negative emotional responses did not.     

Racial Disparities in Service Referrals for Families in the Child Welfare System

Among families in the child welfare system, family reunification depends largely upon the services to which families are referred. This study examines whether race/ethnicity influences the number and types of services to which families are referred. Findings suggest that compared to African American families, Hispanic families were more often referred to psychosocial services (e.g., mental health) than basic needs (e.g., housing). These findings indicate a need to reduce service referral disparities between ethnic groups.     

关于台湾问题的几点思考

解决台湾问题、实现祖国的完全统一 ,关系到中华民族的前途命运。在追求祖国完全统一的过程中 ,中国政府和人民无论何时何地都必须坚定不移地坚持一个中国原则 ;努力追求祖国的和平统一 ;对阻碍中国统一的国际势力要有清醒认识 ;同时要努力发展经济 ,不断增强军事实力 ,这是和平统一祖国的根本保证