Child & Family Social Work最新文献

Literature on street children has documented the life of street children in four phases: at home, on the streets, in child care institutions and post institutionalization. However, the journey to the streets has not received sufficient scholarly examination. This article documents street children's experiences in search of survival in Nakuru City, Kenya. The study adopted a qualitative research design with Nakuru City being purposively selected as an emerging city and a fourth city in Kenya with the highest number of street children. Data was collected from 14 purposively street children through in-depth interviews and analysed thematically. The study demonstrates unique experiences of the journey to the streets and recommends policy development that guarantee survival and protection rights. We conclude that the desire for survival generates resilience in children that powers them through the journey to the streets.

African American caregivers providing informal kinship care are vulnerable to chronic stress. Research has indicated stress increases individuals' risk for many adverse physical and mental health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and depression. Given the adverse outcomes related to stress, identifying mechanisms to help these caregivers lower and manage their stress is critical to their overall health and well-being. This pilot qualitative study aimed to explore the self-care practices of 12 African Americans providing informal kinship care using a phenomenological approach. Three themes emerged: (a) behaviours to manage stress levels, (b) support network reminding caregivers to take care of themselves and (c) prioritizing my own needs. Specifically, our findings indicate that some caregivers have high-stress levels and engage in maladaptive coping behaviours. The children they cared for reminded them to take care of themselves by attending doctors' appointments or getting their nails done. Nevertheless, some caregivers prioritized their needs by participating in positive self-care behaviours, such as listening to jazz and gospel music and exercising. Prevention and intervention programs that focus on improving caregivers' health should consider the role of self-care practices.

Resilience is essential for students to resist adversity, and low academic achievers (LAA) may experience more challenges in resilience development than high academic achievers (HAA). This study aimed to compare resilience between LAA and HAA and to analyse the effects of protective factors in order to inform social work practices. This study analysed 1125 school-aged subjects derived from a large survey conducted in 23 districts/counties in eight provinces in mainland China. We ran independent sample t-tests to compare resilience between LAA and HAA, ran linear regression models to analyse the effects of internal and external protective factors on resilience, and tested the mediation effects of the protective factors. This study found that LAA were less resilient and more vulnerable to adversity than HAA. Internal protective factors helped to explain resilience, two main subfactors of which—self-efficacy and confidence—fully mediated the effects of academic performance and resilience. External protective factors did not significantly impact resilience. We propose service strategies to enhance self-efficacy and confidence in LAA in order to improve their resilience in social work practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken most part of the world by surprise. The orders of nationwide movement control and social distancing by the Malaysian authority to curb the spread of the airborne virus have sent working-class families into a novel work-from-home condition. This study aimed to examine the association between positive experiences in parent–child relationships, parental stress and working parents' psychological well-being in Malaysia during the pandemic by considering the mediating role of parental stress and the moderating role of parental gender role. A total of 214 working-from-home parents (M_age = 46.39; SD_age = 9.06; 51.9% working mothers; 76.6% Chinese) participated in a cross-sectional quantitative online survey. A significant positive relationship was found between parent–child relationships and parents' psychological well-being. Parental stress was negatively correlated with parent–child relationships and parents' psychological well-being. Meanwhile, parental stress significantly mediates the link between parent–child relationships and parents' psychological well-being. Besides, parental gender role was found to be a significant moderator where fathers experience better psychological well-being when they have more positive parent–child relationships. The findings further support the importance of positive interaction between parents and children and parental stress, which could affect parents' psychological well-being. This study may fill a knowledge gap by providing an overview of working parents' psychological well-being in their experience of working from home during the pandemic.

Children in Western countries are being referred for therapy at increased rates. There is, however, a lack of research that explores how social workers, in the role of therapist, engage children and their caregivers to determine the ‘presenting concerns’ for therapy. This study uses a Critical Discourse analysis of therapy transcripts to investigate if and how children are afforded the right to name the issues they may face. The study examines the politics of knowledge production in the therapeutic triad between the therapist, child and caregiver. The messy realities of child-centred practice are shown. The findings reveal the complex operations of power in therapy interactions and the influence of behavioural discourses in framing children's mental health issues, positioning children as therapeutic subjects. Findings underscore the need for social workers to find socio-political ways to conceptualize, with children, the issues that impact on their lives, using externalizing practices and therapeutic resources.

Corporal punishment (CP) of children has many negative consequences, yet many parents still use CP to discipline their child. This study used an online questionnaire to determine the prevalence of CP among Flemish mothers, which specific physical disciplinary techniques (PDT) they consider CP and which PDT they use. In addition, the association of attitudes regarding CP, personal experiences with CP and cultural acceptance with the use of CP was examined. A total of 411 Flemish mothers with a child aged between 2 and 11 years participated in the study. About 38% of the mothers reported to use CP. In case of the use of PDT, they mostly used mild PDT. The results also show that there is a lack of consensus regarding the conceptualization of CP among Flemish mothers. Furthermore, positive attitudes towards the use of CP was a predictor of its use. Because the use of CP is associated with many negative consequences, it is important to set up prevention programmes to dissuade mothers form using of CP, to alter positive attitudes regarding CP and to raise awareness regarding the negative impact of CP on the development of children.

Children living in the orphanages of low- and middle-income countries often face maltreatment and inadequate caregiving, and caregivers are unprepared and lack training for their role. This study involved a qualitative design with a thematic analysis approach, consisting of focus group discussions with 14 caregivers working in Pakistani orphanages who had participated in Group Triple P. Four main themes emerged: caregiving skills enhancement, behavioural outcomes, personal wellbeing and change in relationships. Findings suggested that the Group Triple P was beneficial in improving the perceived wellbeing of caregivers by equipping them with parenting skills which enhanced caregivers' self-confidence in handling challenging caregiving situations. Group Triple P promoted the use of positive caregiving practices that reduced emotional and behavioural problems in children under their care, along with building a positive child–caregiver relationship. It also fostered a supportive environment in the orphanages by building respectful relationships among caregivers and the orphanage administration.

The survival of children who are raised in kinship care is largely influenced by the way their primary caregivers manage their family dynamics. Although research has focused on the effects of family structure and other extended kin effects on various child health outcomes, it remains largely unknown how kin caregivers' family functioning influences child survival, particularly in the South African context where the practice of kinship care is widely spread. An inductive thematic approach was employed, and data were collected from 24 kin caregivers who were providing care to under-five children. Analysis of the data resulted in the development of three superordinate themes, namely, (1) relationship with family members, (2) poor relationships and (3) family attachment and communication. Each superordinate theme was linked to subthemes that helped explain the phenomenon under study. Overall, the kin caregivers' family environments serve as both protective barriers and risk factors for child survival depending on the state of familial relationships, collaboration and involvement of other kin within the households of primary kin caregivers. This translates into the survival of children being greatly determined by the family environment in which they live and the quality of care that they receive in that family environment.

Independent experts are commonly used in child protection care proceedings to assess families and contribute to a sound basis for care order decisions. Yet the role and function of these experts varies across contexts, with issues raised concerning the quality and impact of their reports. Based on six focus group discussions (FGDs) with child welfare service (CWS) social workers in Norway, this study aims to advance the understanding of how independent experts are used when it comes to child protection. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted, which revealed that the social workers mostly found the experts' contributions useful in that they provide a fresh pair of eyes and reduce the complexities in a case. However, the use of independent experts also had some negative aspects. The social workers experienced that their competence was undermined in court and had some experience working with experts whose work was of poor quality, which was unrecognized by quality control measures. This study raises timely questions about the role of the expert and suggests a clearer distinction between the function of providing expert knowledge to complement the social workers' assessments and the function of providing an independent assessment of the family on behalf of the courts.

In Sweden, preventive support groups for children exposed to domestic violence, substance abuse or mental illness are provided by local child protection services (CPS). The stigma of parental problems and contact with CPS are barriers to recruiting children. This article investigates how such barriers are experienced and handled by professional support group leaders. The empirical data is drawn from five group interviews with 16 professionals, recruited from a purposive sample of nine local authorities in Sweden. It is found that professionals experience stigma as a barrier to recruiting children, mainly the parents' shame but also their fear of CPS involvement. Professionals describe parents' problems on a ‘scale of shamefulness’, ranging from divorce to domestic violence, and the barriers vary in strength relative to the shamefulness of the problem. Parents are gatekeepers for their children's participation, so destigmatizing and shame-reducing strategies, whether on the interpersonal, organizational or structural level, are called for to increase children's access. However, strategies targeting parental shame are not without their challenges and risks.