Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

State-sponsored child separation as a method of cultural genocide and parental control has a long history around the world. While some may view this only as a historical occurrence, Russian actions in Ukraine and the previous U.S. policy of child separation at its southern border as a deterrent to seeking asylum are contemporary occurrences. Lessons from other countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia are presented to illustrate the inherent human rights violations of these actions. The implications of cultural genocide are viewed through the lens of applicable United Nations conventions. Ethical implications are presented with actions to ensure the fulfillment of these human rights.

White parents who adopt transracially raise their children within a context of racial disparity, a history of generational inequity, racial bias, and discrimination. The purpose of this research study was to learn more about the experiences of white parents of transracial children, who had adopted within the United States. The research questions focused on how the parents understood and dealt with parenting a child of another race. This mixed-methods study identified five key themes that these white parents experienced as significant in raising children of color. The themes include motivation for transracial adoption; parental racial identity development; coexisting issues of race, trauma, and mental health; recognition and the impact of parent’s white privilege; and seeking and not seeking exposure to diversity for the entire family.

Identifying the strengths and risks of prospective matches in adoption is crucial to adoption placement stability. With the aim to deliver a consistent and service-led approach to matching children in care with prospective adopters, a tool to identify strengths and risks related to adoption placement was developed. Using a mixed-methods approach, this tool was developed in line with the psychometric theory of test construction, from item generation using semi-structured interviews and survey methods, and exploratory factor analysis to determine the factor structure of the assessment-to-assessment of retest reliability and finalization. Comprising three main components (adopter capabilities and skills, adopter profiles and characteristics, and adoption plans, preparations, and transitions), this tool can be used by practitioners to identify strengths and risks in proposed matches at any point during the linking and matching process.

This study explored parental motivations to adopt and associations between motivations and family well-being. Multivariate OLS regression was used to examine responses from Young Adult Adoptee (n = 206; average 24 years old) and Adoptive Parent (n = 295) samples. When adoptees perceived that their parents were motivated by love for them, or helping a child in need, they reported higher levels of family functioning. Adoptive parents who endorsed the motivation that the child was already part of the family reported lower family functioning. While the motivation of loving the child was endorsed universally by both groups, the other motivations were less consistent. Open discussions about adoption, from the motivation to adopt through current family functioning, are important conversations for adoptive families.

This qualitative study examines the advice from 2,131 adoptive parent responses, answering: “What do you believe is important for future adoptive parents to know?” An inductive thematic analysis yielded the following major findings: Various reasons adoption is challenging, strategies to confront challenges, and how adoption is worth the challenges. Parents describe adoption as difficult because (a) parents have unmet expectations, (b) it is time-consuming, (c) emotionally taxing, (d) there are limited resources, and (e) adopted children have behavioral challenges. Strategies for responding to challenges include (a) educating oneself, (b) establishing support, and (c) being patient. These findings suggest there are many absences in information for prospective adoptive parents, indicating the need for increased training, education, and knowledge dissemination. Implications for adoptive parents are delineated.

This exploratory study examined whether the kindergarten PLAYBAG intervention protocol administered for parents and children during the pandemic in Hong Kong could generate positive outcomes in embracing play freedom, fostering positive parent–child relationships, and promoting parents’ mental health. Self-administrated questionnaires were used to generate quantitative data before and after the distribution of the PLAYBAG intervention protocol. A total of 32 parents who completed both the pre-test and post-test were investigated regarding the outcomes of PLAYBAG. Recommendations from the study suggest enhancing the PLAYBAG protocol to address the specific needs of parents from different socio-economic backgrounds and help resolve the difficulties experienced by parents in engaging in free play with their children. Consideration should also be given to empowering children’s voices in the co-creation of a free play environment.

Despite increasing father involvement in rearing their children, research on the determinants of parenting stress has focused on mothers, ignoring the mutual influence between the two parents—fathers and mothers. Using the actor–partner interdependence model, we examined fathers’ and mothers’ reciprocal influences on parenting stress, with a focus on interparental relationship and co-parenting. Data from 174 couple dyads from the Dads Matter-HV© program were analyzed. Findings showed that both mothers’ and fathers’ co-parenting directly reduced their own parenting stress. Fathers’ co-parenting significantly mediated the association between their own interparental relationship and parenting stress and the association between their own interparental relationship and mothers’ parenting stress. Findings suggest fathers’ perceptions of co-parenting are an important protective factor to be targeted by early child and family programs among parents at risk for chronic and parenting stress.

The absence of father-focused perinatal research and the prioritizing of child- and family-focused perinatal research is particularly noticeable within social work literature. While recent social work scholarship on research related to paternal mental health and the experience of fathers exists, it is sparse. Focused on what is currently known about helping fathers in the perinatal period, this mapping review was done to explore existing and relevant knowledge related to practices to better serve fathers and their families. Themes among the existing knowledge related to developmental change, traumatic birth, paternal mental health, interventions, neurobiology, and policy will be discussed before concluding with a focus on emerging focal points for future research related to nurturing fathers during perinatal care.

Previous research points to the importance of parenting self-efficacy in facilitating father engagement, thereby promoting optimal developmental outcomes in children. Nonresident fathers’ engagement differs from resident fathers, resulting in a need for a novel measure of paternal self-efficacy (PSE). This article presents two studies: Study 1—the development of a measure of nonresident PSE and Study 2—the validation of this measure with low-income, nonresident fathers. Nine focus groups were conducted at nine urban responsible fatherhood programs in low-income, high-poverty areas in the northeastern United States (n = 71), yielding seven items for PSE. The Father Appraisal Inventory (FAI) was disseminated through a survey to nonresident fathers (n = 542) in responsible father programs to assess convergent and predictive validity. Analyses demonstrated convergence with father satisfaction and predicted quantity and quality of father involvement and co-parenting.

The current study explores the experiences of nonresidential fathers and the potential barriers to engagement with their children. Using a phenomenological approach, we explored issues of perceived parenting supports, co-parenting, and self-efficacy, and how these might impact fathering behaviors and attitudes. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 12 self-identified Black fathers in Fulton County Georgia. The results indicate that co-parenting issues and lack of community support were viewed as barriers. Despite the challenges they faced as fathers, men often demonstrated resilience and persistence in being a positive presence to their children. This study highlights the need for social service organizations to increase services they offer to fathers paying close attention to nonresidential fathers.

One important concept in the analysis of American attitudes toward those without homes is relational poverty. Having few, if any, ties to other people, especially those people that can provide resources, is a commonly accepted definition of relational poverty, especially for those experiencing homelessness. This essay will expand this definition substantially and will suggest that the housed population in this country bears a significant responsibility for homelessness by forgetting the humanity of those without homes and by continuing to exhibit unwarranted negative attitudes toward the unhoused. In its analysis, this essay explores the dimensions of each of these aspects of relational poverty, their negative impacts, and some possible ways of altering these impacts.

We estimated the prevalence of high school homelessness and examined associations among homelessness, demographic factors, victimization experiences, and poor functioning using variable- and person-centered approaches. Anonymous self-report survey data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System represented approximately 6.5 million high school students in 29 regions of the United States. An estimated 9.32% of students experienced homelessness. Path analysis found homelessness was related to poor functioning, accounting for victimization and demographic factors. Latent class analysis found the highest risk profiles had high levels of homelessness, victimization, and poor functioning and an overrepresentation of multiracial, Native, and Hispanic/Latino students, and students with LGBT identities. Interventions to prevent, identify, and respond to youth homelessness should address sources of marginalization and adversity.

This article describes the challenges and issues associated with providing meaningful individualized support for youth who have experienced homelessness through the lens of a not-for-profit supportive employment and housing program provider based in a tourist town in Canada. This article challenges common atomistic approaches to individual support that fail to recognize the importance of the community in which they are provided and tend to underplay the vital role of relationality. Drawing on findings from a qualitatively-driven participatory action research multi-year project, this article describes a qualitative meta-analysis of findings from one organization that articulate the human needs required for optimal functioning, through the lens of Siksika wisdom, Cross’s relational worldview model, and Blackstock’s Breath of Life theory. The research findings emphasized the importance of the intersection of community, relationality, and communications to support program and participant success.

Hostility is a key dimension of parenting for adolescent outcomes. This study purposed to examine the predictive effect of maternal and paternal hostility on adolescents’ emotional problems and whether adolescent gender and age moderated this relationship. These aims were examined in a sample of 1,408 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years and their cohabiting mothers and fathers, with a total of 4224 Turkish participants. The findings demonstrated that maternal and paternal hostility were linked to adolescents’ emotional problems regardless of gender and age. In addition, girl adolescents exposed to maternal hostility reported more emotional problems than boys exposed to maternal hostility. Overall, adolescents’ age and gender did not moderate the relationship between parental hostility and adolescents’ emotional problems. As a result, parental hostility seemed to be an important risk factor for adolescents’ emotional problems.

Acculturating to the Active Duty military lifestyle can be challenging yet rewarding. Using acculturation theory as a lens, this qualitative study explored experiences of women who transitioned into Active Duty culture through marrying a male service member. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via online survey from women married to men currently or recently serving on Active Duty. In total, 202 survey responses were received, with 194 providing qualitative data. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: descriptions of military culture, acculturation strategies, and processes involved with acculturation. Limitations include the cross-sectional and preliminary nature of the data. Findings can inform culturally responsive practice at all levels and indicate this is a fruitful area for further study.

Researchers are referring to polysubstance use as the “fourth wave” of the opioid epidemic. Prenatal polysubstance exposure is on the rise, leading to increased health and safety complications among infants and caregivers. This study examined the co-occurrence of polysubstance exposures and child maltreatment concerns using Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA) notifications made in Connecticut. Sixteen percent of notifications included polysubstance exposures. The average total number of substances identified among polysubstance cases was 2.39 (range: 2–7). Each additional substance identified was shown to have 2.5 times higher odds of maltreatment report controlling for maternal age, infant race/ethnicity, and toxicology test type. Findings from this study suggest that the total number of substances is a primary factor contributing to maltreatment reports among infants with prenatal substance exposure.

Family support, as an aspect of social life, is crucial for individuals, including people living with HIV (PLWH). This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of family support among PLWH in Nigeria and tested the consequences of HIV disclosure. It adopted a cross-sectional study design, using systematic random sampling to select 404 PLWH. Most respondents were female (mean age: 42.65 [12.74] years). Strong family support was prevalent at 67.6%. Family support was positively correlated with disclosure of HIV status and social quality of life, while negatively correlated with adherence and independent quality of life. Our findings support the consequences theory of HIV disclosure. It implies that family members of PLWH must provide more support to improve their quality of life.

Although street-based prostitution is a rapidly growing social phenomenon in Ethiopian cities, there is little scholarly attention given to address the issue. This qualitative study aimed to understand the lived experiences of women who attempted to exit street prostitution in Gondar city. Thirteen study participants were chosen using the snowball sampling technique. In-depth interviews were used to gather qualitative data, which were then analyzed thematically. The study revealed formal support services, family support, spirituality, and saving money as important factors leading women to successfully exit from prostitution. However, some participants reported that structural problems, drug addiction, and societal attitudes led them to return to street prostitution. This study suggests that to help women successfully leave prostitution, interventions for exiting strategies should focus on economic strengthening activities as well as rehabilitation services including substance abuse treatment.

Adolescents experience higher risk for opioid misuse and suicide, and those with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to suicide risk. Using secondary data, this study presents findings on nonmedical prescription opioid use (NMPOU) and suicidality among adolescents with and without disabilities (N = 10,676). Results indicated NMPOU was associated with higher odds for serious thoughts of suicide. Having a disability was associated with higher odds for having a plan for suicide and having a suicide attempt. Adolescents with disabilities who engaged in NMPOU had over 3 times the likelihood for serious thoughts of suicide. Social work services can be tailored for adolescents with disabilities within the context of the family unit to address the impact of the opioid epidemic using a disability-oriented framework.

This study compared aging male and female parents of autistic adults to determine if self-reported caregiver health, quality of life, caregiver burden, informal social support, and formal social support differ between the two groups. Fifty-seven female caregivers and 57 male caregivers were selected using data from a larger study. T-tests for independent samples compared dependent variables between female and male parents. Statistically significant differences were found on four dependent variables, self-reported health, quality of life, overall caregiver burden, and emotional burden. Male parents had better self-reported health, greater quality of life, and less emotional burden, while female parents experienced greater overall caregiver burden. Social workers and other professionals should be cognizant of differences experienced by aging caregivers when providing tailored support and services.

Challenging behaviors (CBs) are frequently observed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are known to have negative effects on parents’ stress and well-being, as well as on overall family quality of life. Research has shown that professional support such as the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) program has the potential to alleviate those effects. Although several studies have empirically demonstrated this positive behavior support program in managing children’s CB, its implementation by community-based educators among parents of children with ASD has yet to be examined. This study assessed the facilitators and obstacles to this program’s implementation as perceived by 19 parents using interviews and questionnaires. Participants emphasized the significance of setting clear expectations, defining roles, and providing continuous feedback during the implementation process to promote their initiative and enhance their active participation. They recognized the difficulties of implementing the program within a family setting but emphasized the valuable presence of educators in the home, which improved their understanding of family dynamics. Parents valued effective and respectful support from educators, although some encountered disagreements during coaching sessions, highlighting the need for improved educator training with practical coaching and a greater recognition of the family’s perspective.

This study’s purpose was to determine the effectiveness of relationships between a family support navigator (FSN) and older caregivers of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who participated in a family support project. The Beach Center’s Family Professional Partnership scale modified for use with older caregivers (N = 96) was found to be valid and reliable. Two factors (FSN skills and family needs) emerging from the exploratory factor analysis explained 77% of the variance in FSN satisfaction. Most caregivers were satisfied or very satisfied with their FSNs’ ability to build upon their family’s strengths. Analysis of the open-ended comments of caregiver experiences with FSNs yielded four themes (person, process, challenges, and relationships) that supported caregiver satisfaction with peer mentoring.