Not so far from home: How family characteristics predict child care quality

This study examined the relationship between family background and child care quality for 636 children enrolled in 120 day care centres in three states in the US with widely varying regulations for child care centre quality. Family characteristics accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in day care quality. Mother' attitudes towards child-rearing and parent' education were the most potent family-level predictors of quality. State child care policy variables were also strong predictors of quality. Findings also suggest that the influence of environment on children's development cannot be partitioned simply into family and out-of-home child care effects; rather, the child care environment is an extension of the family environment, with parents determining characteristics of both.     

I Love to Tell the Story: Reshaping the Narrative of Adoption

Abstract : This article argues that a Christian theological understanding of adoption can be a helpful corrective to some of the negative interpretations and assumptions around adoption that continue to circulate in secular culture. The article proceeds as follows: First, I argue that the way in which Christians understand and describe the experience of being adopted into God's family counters the idea that one's birth family is one's “real” family. Second, I argue that a Christian understanding of adoption mitigates the tendency to view adoption as a sort of “Plan B.” Finally, I argue that because of the value Christians place on caring for those in need, and the replacement of kin relationships with relationships of love and faith, the metaphor of adoption can and should be used more widely, to create broader networks of family that encompass far more than mere blood ties.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Contending Place Identities

Although a considerable amount of research exists regarding the transfer of political orientations within the family, little systematic attention has been devoted to studying the transmission of place (territorial) identities in contexts where such identities constitute a basic cleavage of political competition. This article examines the transfer of place identities in Catalonia, Spain, where contending identities, along with left‐right ideology, give shape to a distinctive regional political life. Using data from region‐wide household surveys, we analyze the reproduction of place identities as observed in parent‐child pairs and triads and find that it exceeds the reproduction of other political orientations, including left‐right self‐location and party preference. The direct transmission model fares well against the rival hypothesis of indirect transmission via parental social characteristics and the competing impact of the local context. Parent‐child congruence varies according to the homogeneity of parental place identities, the same‐sex and cross‐sex combinations of parents and their children, and the ethnic composition of neighborhoods.     

Materialism and well-being: the moderating effects of religiosity on young Malaysian consumers

This article presents the results of a large-scale study of the relationship between materialism and well-being by examining the moderating role of religiosity. By confining the present study to a sample of young consumers drawn from Malaysia – a country of diverse subcultures who share similar cultural values (collectivistic), we attempt to validate findings of previous research that may reflect the influence of age, country, culture, subculture, and the variety of measures of religiosity, materialism and well-being. This study finds that having strong religious orientations makes Muslim youths happier, whereas such a relationship does not hold for their Buddhist counterparts. The present study also finds no relationship between materialism and well-being among youths in either religious subculture, but finds that religiosity has a significant negative effect on the well-being of Muslims who have strong materialistic values as their Buddhist counterparts who hold equally strong materialistic orientations.     

An Exploration of Families' Psychosocial Well-Being in a South African Context

The aim of this study was to explore and describe aspects that contribute to the psychosocial well-being of families from diverse cultures in a South African context by analysing data obtained through narratives, drawings and interviews with families. Participant families took part voluntarily in family interviews (N=36), written narratives (N=23) and drawings (N=14). These different methods of data collection provided rich data on family psychosocial well-being in a South African context with culturally diverse families, as well as on those aspects that influence family psychosocial well-being. The findings suggest that communication, mutual support, togetherness as a family and spirituality are the most prominent contributing factors, while financial difficulties and interpersonal conflicts or arguments are the most prominent hindering factors with regard to family psychosocial well-being in this group of participants.     

Assessing Parenting Behaviors in Euro–Canadian and East Asian Immigrant Mothers: Limitations to Observations of Responsiveness

The use of parenting measures that are developed for use with Western families without testing their validity among families from non-Western cultural backgrounds may not be appropriate. Similar parenting behaviors may affect child outcomes in different ways across different cultures. This study examined the cross-cultural validity of an observational Maternal Responsiveness coding system and of self-reports of lax/inconsistent parenting in Euro–Canadian (n = 23) and East Asian immigrant mothers (n = 23) of 4- to 7-year-old sons. In Euro–Canadian mothers, observed parenting responsiveness was associated with less lax/inconsistent parenting and fewer child behavior problems. In East Asian immigrant mothers, however, observations of greater responsiveness were not related to reports of lax/inconsistent parenting, and were associated with greater child behavior problems. Implications for the use of these parenting measures across culture groups are discussed.     

Gentrification and Urban Children’s Well-Being: Tipping the Scales from Problems to Promise

Gentrification changes the neighborhood and family contexts in which children are socialized-for better and worse-yet little is known about its consequences for youth. This review, drawn from research in urban planning, sociology, and psychology, maps out mechanisms by which gentrification may impact children. We discuss indicators of gentrification and link neighborhood factors, including institutional resources and collective socialization, to family processes more proximally related to child development. Finally, we discuss implications for intervention and public policy recommendations that are intended to tip the scales toward better outcomes for low-income youth in gentrifying areas.     

Improvements in Unmarried African American Parents' Rapport,Communication, and Problem‐Solving Following a Prenatal Coparenting Intervention

This report examines effects of a coparenting intervention designed for and delivered to expectant unmarried African American mothers and fathers on observed interaction dynamics known to predict relationship adjustment. Twenty families took part in the six‐session “Figuring It Out for the Child” (FIOC) dyadic intervention offered in a faith‐based human services agency during the third trimester of the mother's pregnancy, and completed a postpartum booster session 1 month after the baby's arrival. Parent referrals for the FIOC program were received from a county Health Department and from OBGYNs and Pregnancy Centers in the targeted community. All intervention sessions were delivered by a trained male–female paraprofessional team whose fidelity to the FIOC manualized curriculum was independently evaluated by a team of trained analysts. At both the point of intake (“PRE”) and again at an exit evaluation completed 3 months postpartum (“POST”), the mothers and fathers were videotaped as they completed two standardized “revealed differences” conflict discussions. Blinded videotapes of these sessions were evaluated using the System for Coding Interactions in Dyads. Analyses documented statistically significant improvements on 8 of 12 variables examined, with effect sizes ranging from moderate to large . Overall, 14 families demonstrated beneficial outcomes, 3 did not improve, and 3 showed some signs of decline from the point of intake. For most interaction processes, PRE to POST improvements were unrelated to degree of adherence the paraprofessional interventionists showed to the curriculum. However, better interventionist competence was related to decreases in partners' Coerciveness and Negativity and Conflict, and to smaller increases in partner Withdrawal. Implications of the work for development and delivery of community‐based coparenting interventions for unmarried parents are discussed.     

Neighborhood and Housing Disorder,Parenting, and Youth Adjustment in Low-Income Urban Families

Using two waves of data, this study examined relations among neighborhood and housing disorder, parents’ psychological distress, parenting behaviors, and subsequent youth adjustment in a low‐income, multiethnic sample of families with children aged 6–16. Results supported the hypothesized indirect relation between disorder and youth outcomes via parenting processes. Higher levels of neighborhood and housing disorder were associated with higher levels of parents’ psychological distress, which was in turn related to more frequent use of harsh and inconsistent discipline strategies and lower parental warmth. More frequent use of harsh and inconsistent discipline was associated with higher levels of youth internalizing and externalizing behaviors 3 years later. Housing disorder contributed more strongly to parents’ psychological distress than neighborhood disorder, whereas neighborhood disorder contributed more strongly to youth externalizing behaviors compared to housing disorder. Multiple‐group analyses showed that the patterns of relations were similar for younger and older children, and for girls and boys.