Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal最新文献

Background

In 1983, 2001, 2002 and 2020 Swedish legislation has sought to strengthen children’s rights to family belonging in foster care, as well as their voices in decision making. The aim of this study was to understand how children in long-term foster families and children whose custody has been transferred experience family belonging within these different legal contexts. Methods: Six participants aged 11–17 years were recruited. The data were collected through narrative interviews. Both verbal and visual methods were used in data collection and narrative analysis was used to capture a comprehensive understanding of the stories. Findings: It is suggested that a sense of family belonging can be understood through the following themes: “To spend time”, “To share experiences”, “To be seen, cared for, and supported”, “To resemble someone”, and “To know or not to know”. Conclusion: Practical implications of the findings are discussed in relation to planning, guidance, and decision-making within foster care. The results, if implemented in practice, could have an impact on how to discuss foster children’s sense of family belonging within the foster care system.

The numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children (UCs) seeking asylum in the United States (U.S.) has grown dramatically in the last couple of years. However, there is limited research on the lived experiences and mental health needs of caregivers who support UCs throughout the process of integrating into their new lives in the U.S. This study explores the lived experience and mental health needs of UCs and their caregivers with the goal of guiding best practices for community providers. This qualitative action research study included interviewing UCs, their caregivers, healthcare professionals, mental health providers, and community leaders in Houston, Texas (N = 36). Seven key themes emerged highlighting the comprehensive needs of UCs in the community, the prioritization of legal support over health needs, and the unique cultural and developmental challenges UCs face. Caregivers’ narratives underscored their critical role in supporting UCs, marked by financial strain, guilt, and the struggle to provide a secure and nurturing environment amidst post-migration challenges. This research underscores the urgency for holistic, culturally attuned, and trauma-informed community services that address both UCs and their caregivers’ needs.

While the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health problems (depression, suicidal thoughts, PTSD, and functional impairments) among youth is well studied, there is less known about the mediating role played by resilience for youth receiving child welfare services. This study explored the mediating effects of resilience in relationship to ACEs and mental health outcomes for youth receiving child welfare services. Participants and setting: The study included 251 participants (14–19 years of age, 58% female) receiving child welfare services from the government of Nova Scotia, Canada. A cross-sectional design was used with seven measures administered to youth through phone interviews. Risk exposure was measured using the ACEs scale while resilience was assessed with the CYRM-17. Mental health outcomes included depression symptoms (BDI-II), suicidal thoughts (SBQ-R), post traumatic stress reactions (PTSRS), and functional impairment (IATSS). Structure equation modelling (SEM) and general linear model (GLM) were used to analyze the data. Resilience directly affects mental health outcomes (β = − 0.409, p < .001) and indirectly mediates the effect of ACEs on outcomes (β = 0.236, P < .001). Resilience showed different patterns in terms of sex and education. The youth who identified themselves as non-binary and were not enrolled in an educational program had lower levels of resilience. Resilience decreases the risk of mental health problems among youth receiving child welfare services. The impact of resources to build relational, caregiver, and social-contextual resilience may be influenced by a youth’s sexual identity and engagement in education.

This study examines to what extent peer relationships mitigate the effects of emotional maltreatment on self-esteem among adolescents who remained with their parents after a child maltreatment investigation. Its second aim is to explore how gender, race, and ethnicity moderate the association between peer relationships and self-esteem. The study sample consists of adolescents between 11 and 17 living with a biological parent after the initial CPS investigation from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II. The analysis is limited to the cases with valid responses on youth-reported emotional maltreatment, negative self-esteem, and peer relationships at Wave 2 and demographic data and child welfare involvement in Wave 1, yielding 393 adolescents. Findings confirm the protective effects of peer relationships and the adverse effects of emotional maltreatment on self-esteem. The impact of peer relationships is significantly more robust among female and Hispanic adolescents. Implications for practice include peer-based interventions and preventive services.

The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobb’s v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has heightened interest in the link between restrictions on abortion access and child maltreatment. Connecting decreased access to abortion to increases in child maltreatment and subsequent foster care entries presents substantive challenges related to the magnitude of any effect of abortion restrictions, methodological challenges related to limitations of existing sources of national child welfare data, and conceptual challenges related to the structure and function of child welfare systems. In this paper, we explore these substantive, methodological and conceptual challenges. Specifically, we consider both the actual impact of abortion restrictions on the occurrence of abortions and the complexities that studying the link between abortion restrictions and child maltreatment presents. We caution researchers about making causal links between abortion restrictions and either child maltreatment or foster care entries without sufficiently documenting limitations of national sources of child welfare data and accounting for multiple confounding factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed substantial challenges to all parents and families with children. However, women with substance use disorder (SUD) raising young children were particularly burdened, primarily stemming from their responsibilities and challenges concerning family and parenting, child welfare involvement, and substance use recovery. This qualitative study sought to elucidate the complex intersection among parenting, child welfare, and substance use treatment for pregnant and postpartum women raising young children during the pandemic. Participants were 35 women enrolled in a clinical trial of a therapeutic parenting intervention within a prenatal clinic for people with SUD. They were interviewed remotely using a semi-structured Coronavirus Pandemic Qualitative Interview protocol developed for the study. Following a thematic analysis approach, two coders analyzed transcribed interviews through line-by-line coding using NVivo 12. Findings revealed that participants encountered both similar and distinct challenges compared to the general population of families with young children during the pandemic. Like other families, they expressed struggles with typical life tasks and concerns over children’s health and development. Distinct to families managing substance use recovery, they described adverse interactions with the child welfare system, conflicting feelings about changes in substance use treatment, and positivity amidst uncertainty. Findings provide insight into the difficulties faced by families involved in the child welfare system managing parental SUD and recovery. Furthermore, they highlight the need to address more effectively the often-hidden struggles faced by this population through specialized interventions and greater collaborations among various services.

Purpose

Transracial adoption (TRA), where parents from one race adopt a child from another race, usually occurs with Black children being adopted by White parents in South Africa.

Method

Using multiple case studies (seven children) and a qualitative research design, the self-identity (personal and social) of six- to ten-year-old TRA children was explored. Data were collected from the adoptive parents and teachers by means of semi-structured interviews and the Child Behaviour Checklist. Additionally, parents completed a questionnaire and a Likert-style response scale. Participating children were assessed by an independent psychologist using three projective techniques. The data generated were thematically analysed.

Results

There were six emergent themes, all conducive to healthy self-identity development by securing primary identity motivators of belonging and acceptance. The children exhibited advanced communicative skills and a novel approach to group membership, increasing their social accessibility and inclusion. A distinctive theme was a desire for a dedicated personal space and possessions symbolizing permanence in the family. The universal adoptive elements of loss and rejection was confirmed, possibly more prevalent due to an observable adoptive status and physical dissimilarity from the adoptive family. Intentional parenting promoting healthy self-identity was apparent. Lastly, the importance of placing the children in an accommodating and sensitive school environment was noted.

Discussion

While not a comparative study, and with only seven children, it appears that these TRA children, with the acquisition of positive social skills and a sensitive and purposeful home and school environment, possessed the building blocks necessary to nurture a healthy self-identity.

Purpose: Exposure to violence within peer and community contexts, including peer victimization, peers’ dating violence and aggression, exposure to community violence, and having friends in gangs, are independently associated with an increased risk of adolescent dating violence. However, research examining these experiences together in relation to dating violence is limited, particularly among racial and ethnic minority adolescents living in disadvantaged urban communities. The current study aims to address these gaps, examining how exposure to violence within peer and community contexts are related to dating violence within a sample of African American and Hispanic/Latine adolescents living in urban communities of concentrated disadvantage. Method: Data from 233 dating adolescents (55% African American; 45% Hispanic/Latine) between the ages of 13 and 17 (M = 15.48) from 30 urban communities with high levels of concentrated disadvantage were analyzed. Data was obtained via verbally administered surveys. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Adolescents reported high levels of violence within their peer, community, and dating contexts. Peer victimization and exposure to community violence emerged as salient risk correlates, as both were associated with higher odds of dating violence victimization and perpetration. Perceptions of peers’ dating violence were associated with higher odds of dating violence perpetration. Having friends in gangs was associated with higher odds of dating violence victimization. Discussion: The current study examined violence within adolescents’ peer and community contexts, finding distinct risks for dating violence victimization and perpetration. These findings inform future directions for dating violence prevention programming to consider, particularly for African American and Hispanic/Latine adolescents in urban disadvantaged communities.

This study explores the reported experiences of youth in congregate care facilities, focusing on their perceptions of support, relationships, and safety during their time in care. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 young adults, previously placed in group homes or residential facilities in Ohio, to identify themes related to their experiences. Three main themes resulted from the analysis: (1) lack of agency, (2) importance of relationships, and (3) coping and transitioning in congregate care. The findings revealed that participants felt a total lack of control over the decisions made on their behalf, and they felt powerless to advocate for their needs. Furthermore, participants reported a lack of support from facility staff, and they faced barriers in maintaining connections with their families. Despite these challenges, many participants demonstrated resilience and gained positive insights from their experiences in congregate care. This study highlights the need for improved support systems, increased focus on youth self-advocacy, and a better understanding of the complex experiences faced by youth in congregate care settings.

Although the link of depression and self-esteem with disordered eating is well reported in literature, there is insufficient insight into the underlying processes that inform the relationship. The present study examined the mediating effects of comparison of appearance and internalization of appearance ideals in the relationship of depression and self-esteem with disordered eating. The study sample comprised of 381 school-going adolescent girls, aged 13 to 18, from Islamabad, Pakistan. As part of the study, participants were required to complete several measures, including the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire—Short Form, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Physical Appearance Comparison Scale—Revised, and Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire—4. Findings revealed significant relationships between depression, self-esteem, comparison of appearance, internalization of appearance ideals, and disordered eating. Path analyses indicated that comparison of appearance and internalization of appearance ideals partially serially mediated the relationship between depression and disordered eating. Additionally, these two mediators were found to fully serially mediate the relationship between self-esteem and disordered eating. This study implicates the importance of considering depression and self-esteem in predicting disordered eating. Furthermore, findings posited that comparison of appearance and internalization of appearance ideals posed as potential risk factors in aggravating disordered eating. This study extends an opportunity for clinicians and community workers to initiate projects of social welfare such as awareness programs to address eating-related pathologies in educational as well as community settings, specifically amongst the adolescent population.