Child & Family Social Work最新文献

Children and young people in residential care continue to experience significant harmful sexual behaviour, dating violence and child sexual exploitation. Power to Kids is a programme developed in Australia to prevent and respond to these forms of abuse for this cohort. The aim of the study was to explore how a Communities of Practice initiative could further support the implementation of the Power to Kids programme in the residential care practice of a community service organisation. Qualitative data were collected through feedback loops (n = 12) with residential carers and senior staff and focus groups (n = 4). Quantitative data were collected through two surveys (n = 89) and (n = 46). The data revealed inductively the EMBED model: Executive commitment to Communities of Practice, Members of Communities of Practice engage with content, Becoming part of everyday practice, Enhanced knowledge of sexual health and safety and Decline in going missing and better relationships. Findings suggest that a Community of Practice approach to implementing Power to Kids is promising in embedding the sexual health and safety programme.

This study aims to explore the differences in psychological flexibility, psychological capital and the perception of marital quality between parents of children with and without autism and to examine whether psychological capital could serve as a moderator of the association between psychological flexibility and the perception of marital quality. One-hundred fifty parents of children with autism and 192 parents of children without autism completed an online survey. Parents of children with autism had lower psychological flexibility and psychological capital than the comparison group. The levels of psychological flexibility and psychological capital were also found to be significantly and positively correlated with the perception of marital quality of parents in both groups. Amongst parents of children with autism, hope significantly moderated the association between psychological flexibility and the perception of marriage quality. Hope buffers the relationship between psychological flexibility and the perception of marital quality amongst parents of children with autism. Designing unique, specific and tailored therapeutic interventions for parents of children with autism is recommended.

Kinship fostering in Igbo indigenous communities is an enduring alternative child care practice that promotes collective responsibility for child care in a family environment. The practice is believed to be fundamental for family and community continuity. Weakening extended family ties and a lack of social work support services in this care arrangement have cast doubt on the continual viability of this alternative child care practice This is an exploratory study using grounded theory. In-depth interviews with six community leaders and six senior public social welfare officers provided insight on belief systems promoting kinship fostering in Igbo indigenous communities. Findings were thematically analysed to show continuity of lineage, preservation of family name and challenges associated with kinship fostering. Belief systems on kinship fostering provides insights on how children are viewed in Igbo culture, which can help policymakers design intervention programme that are culturally relevant in child-care formation in Nigeria given challenges in kinship fostering. The study promotes indigenous knowledge that is vital for social work education and practice in Nigeria. Further study suggests exploring the belief of foster children and their experiences in kinship fostering.

This study focuses on Latino fathers and investigates the role that cultural concepts and fatherhood identity play in the stigma associated with having a child with a disability. Disability stigma is a widely held concept that acknowledges the role of culture; however, there is a lack of information on Latino fathers. Using a panel survey provider a US cross-sectional survey was completed by 92 Latino fathers who had a child with a disability. Multiple regression was used to investigate the relationship of cultural Latino constructs (personalismo, machismo, caballerismo and respeto) and fatherhood identity on the stigma experiences of Latino fathers who have a child with a disability while controlling for the child's age and acculturation (R² = 0.43, p < 0.001). Latino fathers with higher levels of personalismo (p = 0.05), and fatherhood identity (p < 0.001) had lower levels of stigma. Latino fathers with high levels of machismo had high levels of stigma (p < 0.001). There was no significant relationship between caballerismo and respeto towards stigma. Specific recommendations for Latino fathers include (1) the development of personalismo by focusing on the child–parent relationship; (2) a re-frame of machismo to focus instead on caballerismo characteristics to de-emphasize harmful effects on stigma experiences; and (3) heightening the identity as a father as a protective mechanism to strengthen resilience from stigma.

The scarcity of evidence on how supervision in the child protection system (CPS) is developed, specifically in residential care, calls for further research on this issue. The aim of this study is to provide new insights on staff perceptions in residential care about supervision's strengths, opportunities, threats and weaknesses, as well as their conceptions about the impact of supervision in this context. A total of 94 professionals (M_age = 28.20, SD = 12.21) participated in this qualitative study. Participants completed an online survey consisting of six open-ended questions and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Qualitative content analysis was performed using MAXQDA software and descriptive statistics using IBM SPSS. Participants perceived that supervision provided knowledge and interpersonal skills, allowing staff to receive support and guidance. Obtaining an external perspective was highlighted as a significant value of supervision, and the main constraints were related to economic and labour demands. Participants considered that supervision positively impacts mainly staff performance and the quality of intervention, with only residual references to the impacts on children or on the organizational structure. These findings can inform policies and practices aimed at improving supervisory mechanisms and structures. Changes in the recruitment and selection of supervisors, as well as guidelines outlining the roles and functions of supervision in care settings, are required.

The pervasive use of social media among adolescents has been linked to various aspects of their development, encompassing both beneficial and detrimental effects. However, the precise mechanisms through which social media influences adolescent development remain underexplored. This study seeks to elucidate the associations between social media use and the flourishing of Chinese adolescents, employing a strength-based perspective that integrates social comparison theory and identity theory. In this research, 786 Chinese adolescents aged 11–19 years participated by completing self-report questionnaires. Findings suggest that (1) neither social comparisons of ability nor opinions on social media exhibit any significant correlation with the flourishing of Chinese adolescents; (2) a diffuse-avoidant identity processing style is inversely related to adolescent flourishing, whereas normative and informational identity processing styles are predictive of Chinese adolescents' flourishing; and (3) informational identity processing style positively mediates the relationship between social comparisons of opinion on social media and the flourishing of Chinese adolescents. These results underscore the importance of factors such as social comparison tendencies and personal identity processing styles in influencing adolescent well-being in the context of social media use. Furthermore, the discussion delves into the implications of these findings for fostering adolescent flourishing.