Child & Family Social Work最新文献

This article reports on an exploration of social workers' perspectives on the social policy and agency processes that shape their experiences of working in child protection services. A qualitative constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed, and 17 qualified social workers and managers were recruited. Social workers described working within an oppressive system, balancing unrealistic demands placed on them, and struggling to restore balance and hope. They shared how this filtered into the work they do with families and the role that relationality and peer support has in surviving the work.

This study examined the role of parental aggravation in the pathway from maternal depression to child depression in different family structures. While studies have extensively examined the transmission of maternal depressive symptoms to children, there is still a limited emphasis on potential contributors, such as parental aggravation. Meanwhile, cohabiting and single-parent families are more vulnerable to multiple risk factors than married families. Using a large national longitudinal dataset, this study examined the indirect effect of parental aggravation on the association between maternal depression and child depression among married, cohabiting and single-mother families. Secondary data analysis was performed using multigroup mediation analysis on three waves from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Studies (n = 3 117). The study results show that only in cohabiting households did maternal depression have a direct association with child depression. Furthermore, in married, cohabiting and single-mother families, parental aggravation had indirect effects on the association between maternal depression and child depression. Implications for social work professionals to address the mental health of parents and children from non-traditional families are discussed.

Laying a strong foundation for emotional development in children birth to 5 is of critical importance, but the extent to which this is considered following child abuse and/or neglect, foster care placement, reunification, and potential re-entry into foster care remains unclear. Using a convergent mixed methods design, we investigated perceptions among child welfare professionals given the contributing role they could play in both initiating provider–parent dialogue and connecting families with timely resources to better support early emotional development post-abuse/neglect. Fifty eight child welfare professionals in an urban, Northeastern County of the USA participated (73% response rate). Survey data and focus group insights shed light on satisfaction with and roadblocks to supporting foster and biological parents in promoting emotional development. A low proportion of respondents offered advice on emotional development, referred families to relevant parent education, or perceived biological or foster parents as extremely prepared. Self-reported likelihood of providing advice to families was positively associated with access to information on emotional development, years employed, and job satisfaction. Multilevel roadblocks were identified. Results inform systems-level, family-centred initiatives and information sharing to better support emotional development post-abuse and/or neglect.

The study of the antecedents of child maltreatment has advanced through ecological research, but there has been a limited focus on the role of community social capital. This study investigates the effects of community social capital on child maltreatment and how these associations differ by regional type, using data on child maltreatment rates in 226 localities in South Korea from 2014 to 2019. Surprisingly, our results show that social trust, networks, and engagement in community affairs are positively associated with child maltreatment rates. Additionally, the mechanisms of social capital effects on child maltreatment vary by place, being more pronounced in small- and medium-sized cities and rural areas. Our findings suggest that a more nuanced understanding of social capital mechanisms across dimensions and locations is required to effectively address child maltreatment. This study contributes to both theory and practice by highlighting the importance of community social capital in preventing child maltreatment and demonstrating the contextual nature of these associations.

Pandemics, a current and important public health problem, can increase the risk of cyberbullying. Especially in adolescence, knowledge about coping with this type of victimization is limited. This study aimed to reveal the cyberbullying victimization experiences of adolescents with the increased digitalization during the pandemic and the coping strategies they employed. The study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The research sample consists of adolescents (n = 344). The data were collected online using Personal Information Form, Cyber Victim Scale, and Coping with Cyberbullying Scale. The mean Cyber Victim Scale score of the adolescents was 21.97 ± 5.83, and the mean Coping with Cyberbullying Scale score was 63.33 ± 9.06. It was found that the increase in the frequency of Internet use, the change in the purpose of Internet use during the pandemic, and the sharing of the negative experiences with others negatively affect cyber victimization (p < 0.05). In today's world where digitalization is increasing, it is recommended to provide interdisciplinary trainings to adolescents, to include families in various trainings with school–family cooperation, and to receive support from nurses in this process.

Financial incentives and support have positive impacts on child development and health. The brief uses data collected from a randomized experiment to examine parents' views of child development accounts (CDAs), a universal asset-building policy to deliver financial subsidies for adolescent development, education, health and other developmental outcomes. Parents in the treatment and control groups have similar views on the universal CDA policy model, and more than 80% of them supported nine tested policy features of CDAs. Public opinion reflected in parents' views is critical for successful policymaking of such policies for children and families in the future.

Children who are indirect victims of domestic violence can exhibit the same negative outcomes as children who are direct victims. This study investigated the consequences of children's exposure to domestic violence among parents on a range of children's outcomes: mental health, well-being, school performance and placement in out-of-home care. We used administrative records from full population cohorts of children in Denmark (N = 399 519, born 1997–2003). We examined a target group of children exposed to domestic violence and a comparison group not exposed to it, both groups having similar personal and family backgrounds, including pre-birth history of family domestic violence. To construct the comparison group, we used propensity score matching. Exposure to domestic violence had a substantial negative impact on academic performance (age 9–15), self-reported well-being in school (age 10–15) and also increased the likelihood of being placed in out-of-home care (age 9–15) and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (age 9–15). The discounted additional cost (medical and child welfare system) per child indirectly experiencing domestic violence was at least $31 000 (age 0–15). Thus, our results show important adverse effects and suggest that earlier prevention and more preventive social interventions could help reduce the long-term consequences of childhood exposure to domestic violence.

National and state governments in settler colonial countries are increasingly committing to policies and practices aimed at strengthening Indigenous frameworks, programmes and leadership in child protection services. However, research-based information on Indigenous child welfare services and programmes is sparse. This qualitative literature review explores and documents key features of Indigenous child welfare and protection models and/or frameworks in an international context, with a specific focus on Indigenous children, young people, families, and communities. Twenty-four publications meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. Published frameworks, models, services, interventions and/or programmes within the broader area of child welfare and children protection that are Indigenous-designed and/or led or developed in partnership or collaboration with Indigenous peoples were identified. The review highlights 11 key dimensions that underpin the frameworks, models, services, interventions and/or programmes. Findings of the review also reveal commonalities across Indigenous cultures and contexts that from an Indigenous perspective are considered fundamental to supporting Indigenous children, young people and families involved with child protective services. Additionally, the findings point to the critical need for ongoing advocacy for Indigenous-designed and led services and programmes, including support for Indigenous research, evaluation and intellectual leadership.

Some English-speaking Caribbean nations continue to maintain large residential homes for children and youth who need out-of-home care. My doctoral study with alumni from a number of these homes reported that their overall experiences were positive. However, transition and discharge were less favourable, with women suffering more hardships than men. These hardships included homelessness, which often led to sexual exploitation for women. A number of young women became pregnant within a year of discharge from the home (which normally happened at the age of 16 or 18). An unplanned pregnancy can have immediate and lasting consequences for a young woman's health, education, and income-earning potential. It often alters the course of her entire life. This study provides information from a sample of 15 young adult women in Trinidad and Tobago on the risk factor of living in a residential care facility and unplanned teenage pregnancy. Recommendations are proposed to better prepare young women who grew up in residential care.