Search

Parenting styles have been found to be associated with child development outcomes and these relationships are consistent across different family structures, including nondivorced, divorced, and remarried families. This research is often criticized because it has been conducted primarily with mothers, despite the recognition of fathers' important role in children's development. The current study was conducted to explore the combined contribution of maternal and paternal parenting styles on their children's psychological adjustment. Participants were 518 children between the ages of 10 and 18 whose parents were married and subsequently divorced. Children completed a measure of parenting and co-parenting (the Co-Parenting Behavior Questionnaire), a measure of self-esteem (the Hare Self-Esteem Scale), and rated their own adjustive behaviors with the Behavior Problem Index. Parents also rated their children's internalized and externalized behaviors with the parent from the Behavior Problem Index. Mother's and father's parenting styles were categorized into the four, distinct and non-overlapping, parenting styles (Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, Absent/Disengaged) using the children's ratings of their parenting behaviors. Mother's and father's parenting style categories were then paired and yielded 235 mother-father pairs whose styles fell into seven combinations with sufficient numbers for statistical calculations. MANOVAs indicated that parenting style pairs influenced all of the adjustive outcomes. The healthiest children were those with at least one parent rated as authoritative and, in most cases, the presence of a parent rated as authoritative was found to mitigate the deleterious effects of both permissive and absent-disengaged parents. In contrast, children with at least one parent rated as absent/disengaged were found to have the greatest adjustive problems. doi: 10.1300/J087v48n03_01 KEYWORDS. Children and divorce, children's adjustment to divorce, child custody, divorce and parenting

Denied visitation occurs when one parent prevents the other parent from court mandated visitation allowances with the child. This complex issue affects many families of divorce, but unfortunately is an understudied topic. Additionally, the literature that is available on denied visitation suffers from methodological challenges that are inherent to the complexity of the subject. Denied visitation is not a homogeneous event, but one that is conceptualized into two major categories: appropriate (i.e., concerning safety of the child) and inappropriate (i.e., involving interparent hostility). These two types of denied visitation are further divided into subcategories based on a review of the literature. A discussion of each is offered as well as recommendations for handling each type of situation. The implications of denied visitation on children's well-being are considered. A review of the statutes from all fifty states concerning interference and changes in custody arrangements is presented. Alternatives for managing the situation are offered. KEYWORDS. Divorce adjustment, children and divorce, divorce visitation, custody

Little attention has been given to the perceptions of formal care providers on the nature and quality of home- and community-based dementia care. The purpose of this descriptive interpretive research was to explore formal care providers' perceptions of their experiences with Canadian home- and community-based dementia care. Participants within three personal interviews and six focus groups (n = 41) included nurses, social workers, therapists, home care aides, and Alzheimer Society personnel (front line/management) in rural and urban areas of Saskatchewan (n = 16), Manitoba (n = 20), and Ontario (n = 8). Two overarching thematic categories, Service Availability and Service Acceptability, emerged from the data analysis. Subthemes of availability were identified as: (a) challenges of service availability, including service wait lists, lack of home care provider training, lack of community-based dementia care infrastructure, and sociocultural and geographic barriers to accessing dementia services; and (b) essential facilitators of availability, including service infrastructure, service bridging, and agency partnerships to form coordinated care systems. Subthemes of acceptability were revealed as: (a) essential components of dementia care, including provision of comprehensive personal care and the use of dementia care professional practice knowledge within a home care setting; and (b) service challenges, including inadequate service time for the physical care and socioemotional support of the client and family caregiver, caregiver and formal provider difficulty with navigation of a fragmented care system, lack of system coordination, and financial costs of services. Essential, integrated dementia care could be established by listening to the "voices of formal care providers," thereby decreasing dementia care costs and increasing the quality of life for those with dementia, and their family caregivers.

Thirty-five percent of Canadians over the age of 85 have dementia, and up to 90% of their home care is provided by family and friends. The purpose of this study was to explore the use and satisfaction with home and community-based services for persons with dementia from the perspectives of family caregivers. The study was conducted using an interpretive, descriptive, qualitative approach. Six focus groups (N = 36) and three personal interviews were conducted with rural and urban caregivers in Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, Canada. Using Lubrosky's (1994) thematic analysis, the overarching themes identified were availability and acceptability of services. The findings suggest a need for an integrated continuing care model that includes the person living with dementia and their family caregivers as partners in care, addresses all of the determinants of health, and embraces sensitivity, diversity, flexibility, and supportive services to enhance the availability and acceptability of Canadian home and community-based services.