Journal of Child and Family Studies最新文献

Abstract

Using time use diary data collected among 2603 teachers from the Flemish community of Belgium, this article investigates the ‘family friendliness’ of the teaching profession by exploring the family time of teachers in couple households with children. Teachers are an interesting case as the teaching profession is heavily feminised and considered to be a ‘family friendly’ occupation; it allows to synchronize the workers’ schedule with their children’s. Flexible work arrangements such as schedule or work-place flexibility function as so called ‘boundary-spanning strategies’. However, research on the impact of flexible work on work-life balance has shown mixed results. This paper develops a number of time-use based indicators to measure the quality of family time and validates these by relating them to work-life balance. Subsequently, it is assessed how teachers’ use of work time flexibility affects the quality of family time to evaluate whether this flexibility can be understood as a resource for increasing work-family balance. Results show that teachers with children have a better quality of family time and subsequently a better work-life balance if they work on standard hours rather than using their schedule flexibility to optimize the amount of family time.

Tools that assess school supports for highly mobile, military-connected students are lacking. This study describes the development and preliminary validation of the Inventory of School Supports-Parent Report (ISS-PR). Participants were 433 parents (74% female; 62.5% White, 12% Black, 6.5% Asian, 5.5% Pacific Islander, 4% Native American, and 9.5% bi/multiracial; 19% Latinx) of students (grades 3–5) from families with an active-duty military parent. Parents completed the ISS-PR and rated: (a) how welcoming schools were toward military-connected families; (b) parent-teacher relationship quality; and (c) satisfaction with their child’s school. We created three proportional index composite scores: a 26-item school supports score, a 13-item parent-focused supports score, and a 13-item child-focused supports score. Results supported the ISS-PR’s psychometric properties: summary scores were positively linked to parent-teacher relationship quality, school welcoming, and parent satisfaction with the school. We also found evidence for test-retest reliability for parents completing the inventory with students who had either moved schools or remained in their previous schools. Future studies could use the ISS-PR to assess whether parents’ perceptions of the availability and importance of school supports for military-connected families are related to other constructs such as overall school climate, student academic performance, and socioemotional functioning. Schools could use the inventory to determine which supports could potentially have the greatest impact for military-connected families and to what extent parents are aware of the supports schools offer.

Abstract

High levels of between-sibling parental differential treatment (PDT) have been associated with several negative outomes, including externalizing behavior, emotional maladjustment, and depressive symptoms, as well as with hostility in sibling relationships. In contrast, high levels of family obligation have been associated with positive adolescent adjustment and family dynamics. Given the substantial risks associated with PDT and the benefits of family obligation for emotional health and family relations, we investigated family obligation as a potential buffer against the negative effects of PDT on sibling relationships. We hypothesized that 1) younger and older siblings experiencing higher levels of PDT would demonstrate greater sibling hostility, and 2) family obligation would buffer against these associations. Adolescent younger siblings (Mage = 12.1; 24 females) and their adolescent older siblings (Mage = 14.5; 21 females) participated in a collaborative problem-solving task, which was coded for directional expressions of hostility. Siblings also independently completed questionnaires on PDT and family obligation. Greater PDT was associated with more hostility expressed from younger sibling to older sibling, and a greater sense of family obligation buffered against this association. Greater PDT was also associated with increased hostility from older sibling to younger sibling, but no significant interaction effect was found with family obligation. Findings highlight the potential of family obligation to improve sibling relationships in the context of PDT and can inform future sibling research and family intervention work; the import of these findings is limited due to the homogeneous nature of the sample and we recommend inclusion of more diverse populations.

We report midline impacts of a community-randomized cash transfer intervention to 1857 vulnerable mothers in 140 rural cocoa-farming communities of Côte d’Ivoire. Compared to mothers in the comparison group who participated in village savings and loan associations (VSLAs), treatment mothers participated in VSLAs and received 8 € each week for up to one year with no conditions attached (the midway point of a two-year program). We find small- to moderate-sized treatment effects on four of six indicators of economic well-being (d = 0.23–0.75), as well as small reductions in maternal stress (d = −0.27). We find no statistically detectable impacts on educational engagement, educational aspirations, or educational expectations for children. Results suggest that cash transfer programs in rural West African communities can improve economic well-being and reduce maternal stress. Implications for children and families and for future cash transfer evaluations are discussed.

Abstract

There is a need to address the disparities in service use for Latino youth with developmental disabilities and their families. The PUENTE program is a multi-agency service model that utilized an 11-session Promotora-delivered curriculum (Parents Taking Action, Magaña et al., 2017) to promote service utilization among underserved Latino families of youth with developmental disabilities. This study applied two implementation adaptation frameworks (FRAME; Stirman et al., 2019; FRAME-IS; Miller et al., 2021) to elicit feedback from community partners and characterize adaptations for scale up and sustainment. Mixed qualitative and quantitative methods were used to characterize adaptations used and recommended for future use. Promotoras reported adaptations made during the delivery of the intervention via end-of-service surveys for 20 families. Respondents, including Promotoras (n = 5), caregivers (n = 11), and staff (n = 2), were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Rapid analysis of qualitative data was conducted and integrated with quantitative data to generate and categorize adaptations. Using FRAME and FRAME-IS, adaptations were noted at multiple levels of the program (e.g., content, context, and training). The most common Promotora-reported adaptations were Covering One Topic Across Multiple Sessions (M = 1.65, SD = 1.35) and Adding Content (M = 1.00, SD = 0.86). Additional adaptation themes from the qualitative data, such as the context-level adaptation recommendation of Individualizing for Engagement, converged with the quantitative data. This study builds on a multi-phase, community partnered approach to reducing disparities in access to services for Latino youth with developmental disabilities. These adaptations will be incorporated as part of a large-scale implementation effort to ensure that the program successfully addresses community needs.

Abstract

Time pressures make brevity important for parent self-report measures, yet evidence highlights the multi-faceted nature of parenting and contextual influences. To straddle these competing goals, we developed a brief (23-item) yet broad Index of Parental Activities, Context, and Experiences (I-PACE) aimed at parents of toddlers and pre-schoolers. In two studies we assessed the validity and reliability of the I-PACE. Study 1 involved 870 caregivers (95% female, 75% with degrees, 90% White British) and examined I-PACE ratings alongside; (a) ratings of children’s social-emotional skills and behavior problems; and (b) child age and parental depressive symptoms, to assess its sensitivity to contrasts in child development and parental experience. Study 2 included 191 families with 14-month-olds, for whom 188 mothers and 178 fathers completed the I-PACE and an index of life satisfaction. Supporting the replicability of findings from the I-PACE, both studies showed the same differentiated 5-factor structure (i.e., parental experiences, parenting activities, home environment quality, neighborhood environment quality and childcare environment quality). Supporting the I-PACE’s validity, Study 1 showed that all 5 factors were independently related to both children’s social-emotional skills and behavior problems, with predicted associations with child age and parental depressive symptoms. Supporting the I-PACE’s inter-rater reliability, within-couple associations were significant for parenting activities, home environment, neighborhood quality and childcare quality. Together, these findings indicate that the I-PACE offers a broad yet brief index of early parenting with good psychometric properties and we discuss promising avenues for future research.

Research on institutional child care consistently has documented detrimental developmental outcomes. However, recent work in Ghana revealed a range in patterns of adjustment among children living in institutional care. The developmental patterns of children living in institutional care often were not significantly different from patterns seen among children living in families. A grounded-theory approach was used to understand Ghanaian adults’ perceptions of adjustment of children living in both institutional care and with families, and their beliefs about contributions to positive functioning. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 caregivers, social workers, and teachers recruited from the Accra region in Ghana. Thematic analysis of responses was used to identify common themes described in the interviews. Interviews with participants revealed beliefs that children may struggle in one or more areas while still having strengths. Having basic needs met, a stable home, and a high level of adult support were the most common factors believed to contribute to positive functioning in both groups of children. Future studies or interventions targeting these areas will likely gain buy-in from stakeholders.

Limited research has examined the ramifications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS) on children and their families. This study builds on secondary data analysis and representative survey findings from the multi-method, multi-phase Gulf Coast Population Impact (GCPI) project. Specifically, this phase of the GCPI research draws on in-depth, semi-structured interview and focus group data to illuminate the social conditions that influenced poor child health outcomes in the aftermath of the DHOS and amid other disasters. These qualitative data were collected two years after the spill with caregivers, teachers, faith- and community-based leaders in five highly impacted Gulf Coast communities. Exploratory qualitative analysis revealed that children were affected by the DHOS and other related challenges through exposure to familial stress emerging from livelihood disruptions. Such disruptions were the result of ongoing poverty, damage to the fishing industry, and exposure to cumulative and compounding environmental disasters. In cases of severe familial stress, children may have experienced toxic stress because of caregivers’ displaced distress; ambiguous loss through caregivers’ physical and/or emotional absence; and the children’s recognition of their families’ dire financial situations. Toxic stress was most often expressed through acute and chronic physiological, emotional, and behavioral health challenges. This study expands current understandings of the impact of technological disasters and cumulative environmental disasters on children and families. It underscores the importance of investing in harm prevention strategies to reduce threats to the health and wellbeing of young people living in ecologically and socioeconomically insecure environments prone to intensifying technological and climate-fueled disasters.

In refugee contexts, relatively little is known about men’s child- and family-directed behaviours and even less about the impacts of father involvement. We examine father and mother reports of levels of father involvement, and their associations with family functioning and child development during forced displacement. In 2021–22, we prospectively collected data from Syrian refugee families with 4–8 year old children in Jordan, at two time points (father-mother-child triads, n = 160 at T1, n = 105 at T2). Syrian fathers viewed themselves as highly involved with their children, but mothers disagreed: fathers rated themselves as 13% more involved with their children than mothers reported them to be. Levels of father involvement were largely unrelated to child outcomes. However, spousal disagreement about father involvement was negatively associated with relationship quality, mother mental health, and child social emotional learning (SEL). In the most discordant families, child SEL was more than a standard deviation (43%) below levels observed in the most concordant families. This study builds the evidence base for the impacts of father involvement in refugee families and deepens understanding of father-mother reporting discordance. In terms of impacts, there is an important distinction between levels of father involvement and levels of father-mother agreement about father involvement. Helping parents negotiate caregiving interactions and responsive parenting may benefit child mental health and social emotional learning.

Early identification and interventions are imperative for mitigating the harmful effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Nonetheless, a substantial barrier persists in identifying adolescents experiencing ACEs. One understudied avenue for early identification of ACEs is through the examination of somatic symptoms endorsed by adolescents. Understanding the relationship between recent ACEs exposure and somatic symptoms may serve as a useful indicator for identifying adolescents affected by ACEs. This study examines the relationships between recent exposure to ACEs (within the past one to two years) and somatic symptoms across adolescence (ages 12–16 years). Longitudinal prospective data of 1354 child and caregiver dyads from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect were used in this study. Data from three time points, when adolescents were 12, 14, and 16, were used to conduct longitudinal path analyses. Somatic symptoms- defined as physical symptoms without known medical causes- were measured using the caregiver-report subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist. Recent ACEs in the past one to two years were measured using an index score summing exposure to nine ACE variables. The results indicated a significant association between recent ACEs and increased somatic symptoms at age 12. However, there were no significant associations between recent ACEs and somatic symptoms at ages 14 and 16. The findings indicate a notably stronger relationship between recent ACEs exposure and the presence of increased somatic symptoms at the age of 12, in contrast to what is observed at ages 14 and 16. This finding suggests that somatic symptoms during early adolescence may suggest underlying issues, potentially stemming from stressors such as ACEs.