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The authors claim that the recognition of interdependence as a guiding principle of child and family policy has the potential to transform legal systems to make them less punitive and more constructive, less judgmental towards individuals and more empathic to the protection of relationships and self-constructed identities. By embracing the notion of interdependence, our societies can be moved toward greater recognition of our common humanity to the great benefit of children and their families, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Four lenses are articulated in this paper Therapeutic jurisprudence, preventive law, family systems theory, and culture. The. paper shows how these lenses point toward mare supportive rather than punitive types of interventions in the lives of children and their families. The paper demonstrates that, despite the fact that questionable parental behavior may initially engender feelings of anger and aversion, an empathic public response-one that recognizes the reality of the interdependence between parents and children-not only comports with current enlightened interdisciplinary approaches, but also promotes child and family well-being. The authors suggest that such a response not only be contemplated and understood, but that it should also reframe child and family policies and practices. The family group conference model represents a tool for such reframing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While approaches to the analysis of multiple perspectives have been explored, the earlier stage of arranging fieldwork with multiple family members has received relatively little reflection within the literature. Drawing on data from a qualitative study exploring family communication about sex and sexuality, this paper examines parents' and children's accounts of how their families became involved in the research. A key finding notes how dynamics of parent-child communication about sex were played out through families' interactions concerning research participation. Particular focus is paid to the ways in which information about the study was mediated between parents and children and also individuals' differential agendas for participation. Evidence of the persuasive practices of some parents to engage their families in research underlines the importance of accessing all potential participants directly. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of sensitisation to interactions between family members themselves when engaging families in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a study comparing the efficacy of Milan family therapy with that of other treatments routinely used in an out-patient child psychiatry department. Some 118 subjects were allocated on a random, prospective basis to one of two treatment groups, the Milan family therapy group or the other treatments group. The methods of assessment included semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, visual analogue scales and standardized therapy schedules. The results showed that whilst subjects in both treatment groups achieved comparable symptomatic improvement at the end of treatment and at six-month follow-up, the Milan approach produced more changes for family members other than the referred child as well as requiring less treatment time than the other treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues for a family systems approach to families who are in conflict during the process of divorce, particularly in relation to custody and access for their children. The concept of ‘conciliation’ as a brief method of intervention is both defined and discussed and principles and skills are identified. The influence of the context within which conciliation is practised and in particular, the power which the conciliator holds, or is perceived by the family to hold, is also discussed. These ideas are illustrated by case examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the Asia Pacific Family Dialogue hosted from October 11-13, 2004 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Asia Pacific Family Dialogue was the final in a series of four Regional Dialogues, leading up to an international conference on the family held in Doha, Qatar, from November 29-30, 2004, as agreed upon at the United Nations General Assembly in December 2003. The other three gatherings took place in Mexico City, Stockholm and Geneva. The ultimate aim of this entire process is to provide recommendations to strengthen and fortify the natural and fundamental group unit of society. The Dialogue was hosted by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, in conjunction with the World Policy Center, Brigham Young University, Utah. More than 70 papers were presented by speakers from 20 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. In addition, round-table discussions were held on such issues as marriage, parents and children, family life, family values and families and government policies.

To understand and fully incorporate low-income, multiproblem families into treatment, clinicians need a comprehensive yet efficient assessment tool that addresses both family resources and stressors and privileges the family's voice. The Family Inventory of Resources and Stressors (FIRST) is a broad-based family assessment measure developed to address this need. This study, using clinical, nonclinical, and at-risk populations, examined the factor structure and utility of the FIRST as well as the role of defensive answering. Results indicate that the FIRST has an adequate factor structure and that families find the measure useful and worthwhile. Implications for professionals working with low-income, multiproblem families are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines long-term effects of parental divorce on sibling relationships in adulthood and the role of predivorce parental conflict. It used large-scale retrospective data from the Netherlands that contain reports from both siblings of the sibling dyad. Results show limited effects of parental divorce on sibling contact and relationship quality in adulthood but strong effects on sibling conflict. The greater conflict among siblings from divorced families is explained by the greater parental conflict in these families. Parental conflict is a far more important predictor than parental divorce per se. Siblings from high-conflict families have less contact, lower relationship quality, and more conflict than do siblings from low-conflict families. Finally, when it comes to sibling relationship quality, the effect of parental divorce depends on the amount of parental conflict. Parental divorce has little effect on the quality of the relationship in low-conflict families, but it improves the relationship in high-conflict families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand and serve Asian-Americans, it is imperative for the family science related fields to take a leadership role in providing in-depth insight into Asian-American families. In this article we report a descriptive analysis of articles published in prominent family-based journals over a 14-year period (1992-2006) relative to their attention to Asian-American families. This study examines the types of research conducted and the knowledge that has been generated about Asian-American families. It also provides a framework for considering future culturally centered research with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study extends Goffman's idea that frames are laminated in various ways in interaction by demonstrating how work and play frames are interrelated in two distinct ways in naturally occurring family conversations. An analysis of excerpts from everyday interactions between parents and young children in three families illustrates how frames of play and parenting are laminated (i) by using language to sequentially transform inter- action from a literal frame to a play frame (reframing), and (ii) by creating two definitions of the social situation simultaneously through language and sometimes through physical actions as well (blending frames). It identifies linguistic and paralinguistic features by which these laminations are accomplished and shows how the parents in each family use the two different types. Finally, the analysis demonstrates in what ways play constitutes "work" for parents, contributing to our understanding of play as both ambiguous and "paradoxical." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reporting a study of German 2-child families, the article focuses on a neglected issue in value transmission studies: contemporaneous societal context. Parent-child value similarity depends not only on family characteristics but also on zeitgeist, the modal value climate of a society. To evaluate the role of zeitgeist in value transmission, differences in parent-child value similarity between families agreeing and disagreeing with the zeitgeist are studied, focusing on a core value of modern societies: hierarchic self-interest. Results show a weak general zeitgeist effect. A family’s relative position vis-à-vis the societal value climate, however, is shown to strongly influence intergenerational similarity in hierarchic self-interest, families distant from the zeitgeist showing a much higher intergenerational value similarity than families close to the zeitgeist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family life practitioners are increasingly being called upon to help families meet work-life challenges. This article describes the grassroots beginnings, program development, and formative evaluation findings for 1 module of a Cooperative Extension work-life management program. Although the curriculum module is based on theory and research, it emphasizes practical strategies. A total of 101 employed parents participated. An intervention group received the curriculum and materials, whereas a comparison group did not. Pretest and posttest comparisons provide initial support for the success of the curriculum in encouraging effective work-life management practices among employed parents. Directions for further program revision and evaluation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the lack of consensus about what constitutes child neglect. Existing research and professional groups can't agree on the standards for minimally adequate childcare. Research and statistics show that children of a young parent with no partner or family support or a young parent with learning difficulties is at an increased risk of suffering neglect. It appears that parents with learning difficulties can be taught to care for their children adequately. A study confirmed that parenting skills training can be used to assess and improve basic childcare skills, especially with regard to bathing, but less so with regard to feeding.

Using data collected from 10,511 kindergarten children and their parents from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort, this study examines child well-being across cohabiting 2-biological-parent families; cohabiting stepfamilies; married stepfamilies; and married 2-biological-parent families. Findings indicate no differences in child well-being for children living in cohabiting stepfamilies and cohabiting 2-biological-parent families. Multivariate models controlling for child characteristics, economic resources, maternal depressive symptoms, stability, and parenting practices show no significant differences across family types in child well-being indicators, with the exception of reading skills. Important factors in explaining the link between cohabitation and child well-being include economic resources, maternal depressive symptoms, and parenting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary legal and scholarly debates emphasize the importance of biological parents for children's well-being. Scholarship in this vein often relies on stepparent families even though adoptive families provide an ideal opportunity to explore the role of biology in family life. In this study, we compare two-adoptive-parent families with other families on one key characteristic—parental investment. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten-First Grade Waves (ECLS-K), basic group comparisons reveal an adoptive advantage over all family types. This advantage is due in part to the socioeconomic differences between adoptive and other families. Once we control for these factors, two-adoptive-parent families invest at similar levels as two-biological-parent families but still at significantly higher levels in most resources than other types of families. These findings are inconsistent with the expectations of sociological family structure explanations, which highlight barriers to parental investment in nontraditional families, and evolutionary science's kin selection theory, which maintains that parents are genetically predisposed to invest in biological children. Instead, these patterns suggest that adoptive parents enrich their children's lives to compensate for the lack of biological ties and the extra challenges of adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying construct of overexcitabilities (OEs) and to identify individual- and family-level factors that may explain gifted students' patterns of OEs. Data are collected from a convenience sample of identified gifted students (N = 143) and their parents (N = 161) using a Likert-type questionnaire, the Overexcitabilities Questionnaire II, developed to measure levels of the five intensities of the OEs. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance and hierarchical linear modeling are used to differentiate between gender and age groups and to explain between- and within-group variance on the five subscales of the OEs: Psychomotor, Intellectual, Imaginational, Sensual, and Emotional. Results suggest that there were significant differences between gender and age groups and that most of the variance among students on the OEs was explained by family membership. This study represents an important step in our understanding of affective characteristics of giftedness and creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the attitudes and approaches to literacy in the homes of eight Chinese families settled in a region of Central Scotland. The Chinese parents in the study were interviewed at home, using the assistance of a bilingual teacher. The findings indicate that the Chinese parents have varied educational backgrounds and linguistic profiles. Almost all the families do, however, have a commitment to maintaining Chinese literacy skills and are supporting their children at home in developing these skills. What also emerged from the investigation was that acquiring Chinese literacy was perceived by the parents to be linked with the transmission of traditional Chinese cultural values. The study revealed that some parents searched for innovative approaches in their teaching of Chinese characters to their children, whilst approaches adopted by other parents were more influenced by the process of reading and writing Chinese they had experienced within their own formal education. The findings indicate that strategies need to be developed and implemented in order to enhance the dialogue between Chinese parents and schools. Finally, further implications of the findings for educational policy and practice in Scotland are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family life education sites on the internet were searched for and classified into the topic areas of the Framework for Life-Span Family Life Education. A total of 356 sites were found and a content analysis was performed to discover trends within each topic area. Many Web sites were found in the topic areas of parenting and human development, while fewer sites were found in other areas such as family resource management. These findings will help family life educators identify gaps in information available through the World Wide Web. Recommendations are offered for improving the use of technology in educating families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the effect of three parenting dimensions on school-aged children of low-income urban families. Authoritarian parents valued obedience and respect for authority, favored punitive discipline, and expected their children to accept parental authority unquestioningly. Authoritative parents were firm as a means of meeting their children's needs, set attainable standards, and explained reasons for their rules. Permissive parents were lax about behavioral standards, failed to monitor children's activities, and had few requirements for their children. These variations in parenting have been linked to children's concurrent adjustment. Children whose parents were firm-responsive have been indicated to have fewer adjustment problems and better academic performance, whereas children with permissive parents were more likely to act out behaviorally. Harsh or authoritarian parenting, in contrast, has been associated with children displaying poorer academic performance. Despite the extensive research literature examining parenting expectations and behaviors, there are a number of important issues that require additional investigation. Most of the previous studies have focused on child rearing in White, middle-class families.

Thirty-six families with one toddler child were observed for 7 hr in their own homes with both parents and the child present. The parents interacted less in the first two sessions than in the last five and were more negative and less positive when they did interact in the early sessions. There was also a sex of child by time interaction, with boys receiving many more negative interactions early in the observations. It was suggested that observation data should be checked for stability prior to interpretation and that care should be taken to collect enough data to ensure stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three year follow-up study of children discharged from a residential treatment program was conducted to determine long-term family reunification rates. The primary interest was a comparison of families which had received different types of parent involvement programs during their child's placement. Results indicated that families which had received a combination of experiential and didactic involvement programs reunified at a significantly higher rate than did those receiving either program separately. Results are discussed with regard to the difficulties of achieving successful reunification for families with children in placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of changes in family role distribution generated by the Women's Movement, many fathers are participating more directly in the care of their infants and young children. To be responsive to this change in the ecology of parenting, clinicians must reconsider and update traditional formulations about fatherhood toward an expanded. theoretical perspective for learning about and helping families. Using Mahler's phases of separation-individuation as an organizing conceptual framework, the author reviews recent theory and empirical findings regarding the role of the father in preoedipal development and discusses some implications for social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the childhood perceptions of their parents of college students scoring deviantly on Scales of psychosis proneness measuring physical anhedonia and perceptual aberrations. The family measures administered included the Kvebaek Family Sculpture Technique and the Childhood Experience Scale. As compared with control subjects (n = 29), the anhedonic subjects (n = 21) reported less support and greater disinterest from their mothers during childhood, while the perceptual aberration subjects (n = 29) reported more criticism, less support, and greater distance from their mothers as well as more criticism from their fathers. Interactions with dependence-independence of the childhood behaviors and sex differences are described, along with implications and future directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of research on the stresses associated with normative developmental transitions, the effects of psychological stress on adult parenting and parent-child interactions, and the stresses associated with the transition to parenthood during adolescence, with an emphasis on school-age parents. Suggestions are provided for the design of developmentally and ecologically valid research and interventions, and for broadly based public policy addressing the unique problems associated with adolescent parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific progress in understanding the nature of associations between teen childbearing and social or reproductive disadvantage has increased the complexity of this knowledge, offered some surprising findings, and led to expectable confusion. Assessing these new research findings and incorporating them into appropriate policy debate and development is a challenge complicated by the failure of those translating them for practitioners to do so accurately. Examples of such inadequate translations are discussed, in the context of recent findings raising doubts about traditional estimates of the contribution teen childbearing, per se, makes to social and public health problems. A call for unbiased assessment and open discussion of new research findings is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the parental responsibilities of rearing adolescent children as well as the factors that can support or undermine a parent's ability to perform them. Current research and theory on child rearing, adolescent and adult development, and parent-adolescent relations are integrated to present a conceptual framework for parenting adolescents. Implications for developing programs for families with adolescents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recent research has focused on the unique characteristics of adolescent mothers and their children, critical questions remain concerning the conceptualization and measurement of social support and its effects on adolescent parenting and child development. In this article, various perspectives on the meaning and measurement of social supports available for adolescent mothers are summarized, with particular attention devoted to types, sources, and amounts of support, and the ways in which these dimensions differ for teen and adult mothers. A model of adolescent parenting is presented, emphasizing the multiple influences that social support has on maternal personality, health and nutritional status, and cognitive readiness for parenting, as well as on actual parenting behavior and child development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relative importance of demographic characteristics, perceived alternatives to early childbearing, attitudes toward adoption and expectations regarding pregnancy, and relationships and experiences in adolescent mothers' decisions to keep or release their children for adoption. Data from 177 adolescents indicate that demographic characteristics and perceived alternatives to early childbearing are the strongest discriminators between those who keep and those who release a child for adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes family interaction, depicting borne socialization around education issues in six families in a California community. Departing from the deficit hypothesis applied to Mexican-American families, I assert that the strengths of the family, as portrayed in the tradition of social science theory, have important relevance to education. A close-range examination of the borne interactional environment revealed three significant components leading to an understanding of the strengths of the family. These components were physical resources, emotional climate, and interpersonal interactions. Physical resources available to the parents extended beyond space, time and disciplinary boundaries in the borne. The parents 'social linkages outside the home served to facilitate an exchange of information about children's schooling issues. Parents provided children with the emotional support that encouraged them to value education. The common thread with all parents was that they cared about their children's education. However, the ways in which they exercised their roles varied, especially in reference to parent -child interactions involving homework, which were directly related to parents' cultural knowledge about school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]