Swedish parents' self‐reported use of discipline in response to continued misconduct by their pre‐school children

This study examined the effects that re‐occurring episodes of child transgression have on Swedish parents' use of discipline strategies. Mothers and fathers from 84 two‐parent families were interviewed about their responses to first‐ and second‐time episodes of hypothetical transgressions committed by their 3‐6‐year‐olds. The results showed that when their children did not respond to initial discipline, parents exchanged their use of verbal control for the strategies of coercion and behaviour modification and thereby increased the pressure on their children to comply. However, this finding was valid only for serious transgressions. For mild transgressions, parents' behaviour was consistent across first‐ and second‐time episodes. The conclusion that is drawn is that parents appear to be willing to follow up initial disciplining attempts. The Swedish corporal punishment ban, which has been in force since 1979, therefore appears not to have influenced parents to become permissive in their attitudes toward their children's misconduct. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived Child Rearing Practices as Predictors of University Students' Satisfaction with their Sexual Relationships

The aim of this study was to determine the effects that perceived child-rearing practices have on the sexually intimate relationship satisfaction of a sample of 130 male (n=62) and female (n=68) fourth year South African university students. Participants completed the Parenting Bonding Instrument (Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979), Stevens Relationship Questionnaire (Stevens & Stevens, 1994) and the Sexual Knowledge Questionnaire (Louw, 2000) to measure perceived parent-child attachment, respondents' sexually intimate relationships and level of sex education. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of perceived child rearing practices on sexually intimate relationship satisfaction. The results suggest that parent-child attachment explained a significant percentage of the variance in intimate relationship in young adulthood.     

Child Abuse and Neglect: Counseling and Healing Practices with People of African Ancestry

Communities worldwide condemn child abuse and agree that any form of harm should be mitigated by culturally sensitive methods. In African settings such methods are underrepresented in the literature. This article sought to identify and highlight the healing practices that counselors should consider when dealing with abused children of African descent. It further, proposes prevention that should be prioritized since most African communities are living in precarious circumstances which could expose children to further abuse. The article recommends that counselors in African settings need to adopt holistic approaches such as involving parents, community and other relevant institution when dealing with survivors of abuse, rather than to work in isolation. In addition, the legislation that protects children and the traditional support system needs to be strengthened and aligned to international conventions as inconsistencies could undermine their effectiveness and hamper the implementation of anti-child abuse policies.     

Child sexual abuse and literacy achievement in a sample of South African primary school children

This study investigated child sexual abuse (CSA) and literacy achievement among South African primary school children. Data on self-reported experience of CSA and actual literacy achievement were collected from a convenience sample of 160 learners from a Soweto school in Johannesburg. The literacy tests measured five domains of reading and spelling competencies. The results show a statistically significant relationship between CSA and literacy scores, with learners who were sexually abused scoring significantly lower on the literacy tests used in this study. Specifically, learners with CSA experience performed noticeably lower in the real word test, followed by spelling, words spelt correctly, reading fluency, and non-word spelling. School psychologists could adopt a social justice framework in providing psychological and literacy support for children who are sexually abused.     

Early literacy among Arabic-speaking kindergartners: The role of socioeconomic status,home literacy environment and maternal mediation of writing

We explored the sociocultural context of early literacy development among Arabic-speaking kindergartners in Israel, focusing on the nature of mother–child joint writing. Eighty-nine kindergartners and their mothers participated. Mothers were videotaped in their homes while helping their children write words. Early literacy was evaluated by alphabetic knowledge, concepts about print, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Kindergartners’ early literacy was related to socioeconomic status (SES), home literacy environment (HLE) and maternal mediation level. Hierarchical regressions indicate that HLE predicted alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and vocabulary beyond SES. Maternal mediation of writing predicted all children's early literacy measures except vocabulary, after controlling for SES and HLE. We discuss maternally mediated joint writing interactions as a possible context for early literacy enhancement among young Arabic-speaking children in Israel.     

儿童早期读写能力发展的环境影响因素研究

自1966年Clay首次提出早期读写能力(Emergent Literacy)的观点以来,对于0—6岁学前儿童读写能力的研究引起了教育学家、心理学家、语言学家的广泛关注和重视,该文首先介绍了早期读写能力的提出与界定．然后具体从社会文化背景、家庭读写环境、幼儿园读写环境三个方面对影响儿童早期读写能力的环境因素进行了分析。最后对目前的研究进行了简单的小结,并指出了在我国进行相关研究的迫切性和重要意义。     

Maternal conceptions of the parenting role and mother–child collaborative behaviours in at-risk context

This study investigated to what extent mothers' conceptions of the parenting role drive mother–child collaborative behaviour as well as expert ratings on maternal practices. It also investigated whether there is any direct link between mother and child behaviours and expert ratings. Self-report measures for maternal conceptions and observed mother–child behaviours in the shopping task were obtained from a sample of 75 at-risk mothers with a child 8 to 12 years old. Social workers reported on mothers' negligent, coercive and resilient practices. Structural equation models showed that high power conception had a negative influence on mother and child's collaborative efforts, whereas reciprocity and parental support conceptions had a positive influence. Reciprocity, low power and parental support schemas consistently predicted experts' view on maternal practices. However, only mother's passivity predicted negatively expert ratings on resilient practice, indicating that expert views were mostly derived from mothers' reflections on their parenting role. Results suggested ways for improving experts' assessment of parental capacities and the use of intervention programmes to promote mothers' positive conceptions and actions.     

Indigenous Healing Practices in Malawi

One of the most important areas of African culture in which the significant presence of traditional beliefs can be seen is through sickness and healing. In many traditional cultures, illness is thought to be caused by psychological conflicts or disturbed social relations that create a disequilibrium expressed in the form of physical or mental problems. In Malawi, traditional healing has been practised for centuries even before colonialisation. It is said that about 80 per cent of the population utilise traditional healers and medicine for their health needs. This paper sets out several of the issues and controversies that surround traditional healing and medicine in Malawi. An overview of the traditional Malawian theory of illness, the diversity of healing practices for somatic and psychosocial disorders, the socio-cultural context of healing and cultural interpretations of disease and intervention are provided. The problem of efficacy and scientific validation of traditional medicine is discussed.     

Understanding the influence of literacy on consumer memory: The role of pictorial elements

This research examines the relationship between literacy and consumer memory. The effects of a variety of stimuli at exposure (i.e., brand names, brand signatures, and products in usage) on memory (i.e., recognition, stem-completion tasks) were examined for a range of literacy. In a series of experiments, we find that the use of pictorial representations of brands (i.e., brand signatures) results in superior brand memory for individuals with lower literacy levels when compared to those at higher literacy levels. This effect is shown to occur not due to pictorial elements per se, but due to pictorial elements with a 1-to-1 correspondence with reality, i.e., which match the form in which they were originally encoded in memory. Moreover, this effect does not persist with stimulus-rich pictures of brands in usage, pointing to boundary conditions with the use of pictorial information.     

Children's Emotional Security in the Interparental Relationship

ABSTRACT— In response to the societal premium placed on understanding the difficulties faced by children from high-conflict homes, emotional security theory aims to understand precisely how and why interparental discord is associated with children's psychological problems. One of its main premises is that interparental discord increases children's vulnerability to mental illness by undermining their sense of safety or security in the context of the interparental relationship. In this article, we highlight the main assumptions of a new ethological formulation of emotional security theory and its predictions and findings regarding the organization, precursors, and consequences of individual differences in children's emotional insecurity. We conclude with a synopsis of the value of the new formulation for future work.     

The narratives of children in armed conflict: an inference to spirituality and implication to psychological intervention

From the life narratives of disadvantaged children who were victims of armed conflict, spirituality could be understood in the context of family, community, friends and aspirations. However, this initial finding needed further validation with the participants. Likewise, to utilise the findings for psychological intervention, spirituality needs to be developed with them. By doing this (living and reflecting with the children), psychologists or researchers will be able to develop programmes (spiritual or psychological) that are more meaningful and empowering to children; rather than imposing a spiritual or psychological processes that are totally alien to them. After all, at the end of the day, family, community, friends and aspirations are the most reliable resource which the disadvantaged children could constantly cling on to.     

Ethical aspects of bribing people in other countries

Some argue that individuals and organizations doing business in countries where corruption is prevalent should not be expected to adhere to strict standards of ethical practice. The basis for such arguments is faulty. Ethics, unlike etiquette, has a universal basis; it is fundamentally the same all over the world. Even in a practical sense, there are long range advantages to be gained by ethical behavior in these situations. Engineering employees of companies operating in areas where corruption is common are sometimes forced to make very difficult decisions. The focus in this paper is on the ethical aspects of the problem. Laws applying to companies doing business abroad, for example the US Corrupt Practices Act, are not discussed. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Engineering Foundation Conference on “Ethics for Science and Engineering Based International Industries”, Durham, NC, USA, September 1997.     

Language and Literacy in a Developmental Perspective

Snow et al. have provided an unusually comprehensive, even-handed, and thoughtful review of research on early reading development. Here we expand on an important theme—the value of a developmental and transactional perspective. Using results from studies of verbally precocious children and children with language impairments, we illustrate the qualitatively changing nature of the task of learning to read, and its connection to oral language development. We also discuss the bidirectional influence of adults and children on each other. This perspective has implications for what, when, and how to teach reading.     

Prosecutors' Perspectives on Clarifying Terms for Genitalia in Child Sexual Abuse Interviews

In investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse, professionals must establish the nature of the alleged abuse by determining what body parts were involved in the offending. This can be difficult, however, because children often use colloquial (non‐anatomical) terms to describe genitalia, and there has been little direction for interviewers about clarifying these terms sufficiently to establish the charge. The aim of this study was to address the need for guidance from prosecutors about the level of clarity in terms required from a legal perspective, and how this clarity can be achieved. A focus group of nine prosecutors (representing all but one Australian State and Territory) were asked to consider what degree of clarity in terminology for genitalia was adequate and how such clarity could be achieved. Thematic analysis revealed that a reduction in specific questioning around genitalia would improve the usefulness of investigative interviews with children from a legal perspective. Recommendations for improving interviews about abuse with child witnesses are discussed.     

The relationship between multidimensional economic well‐being and children’s mental health,physical health,and executive function development in South Africa

Conceptualizing both economic well‐being (EWB) and children's development as multidimensional constructs, the present study examines their association using bioecological developmental theory and structural equation modeling with Zulu children (ages 7–10) in KwaZulu‐Natal, a highly impoverished region of South Africa (N = 1,958). Relative EWB within impoverished communities consists of three dimensions: material assets (durable goods and living environment), fiscal appraisal (subjective experiences of access to/allocation of resources), and fiscal capacity (monetary inflow/outflow). Children's development also is measured across multiple dimensions: physical health, mental health, and executive functioning. In addition to an overall association between EWB and children's development across outcomes, the sub‐dimensions of EWB are differentially related to aspects of children's development. The dimension of material assets exhibits the greatest association with child outcomes, while fiscal capacity exhibits the least. Implications of these findings are discussed, including the use of multidimensional approaches to measuring EWB to understand, more clearly, its relationship to multiple dimensions of children's development. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcawZ6oOt-Q     

Culture-bound syndromes and healing practices in Malaysia

This paper describes prominent culture-bound syndromes (CBS) in Malaysia. While some of the syndromes are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV), their causation and treatment are not addressed. It is important for mental-health professionals to know that while the DSM-IV is widely used in many non-Western countries, the local population continues to believe in and practice indigenous methods of healing. Mental-health concepts and healing practices in the Malay and Chinese cultures, their clinical implications, and the need for ongoing research are emphasized.