Differences in child rearing attitudes between immigrant Chinese mothers and Anglo-American mothers

In order to explore cultural differences in child rearing attitudes, we studied 30 Anglo-American mothers and 30 immigrant Chinese mothers in the US, together with their preschool children and the children's teachers. Mothers completed a measure of child rearing attitudes, children were assessed for perceived competence, and teachers rated children's competence. Results showed that immigrant Chinese mothers were more authoritarian overall, as expected from previous research, but that they also were more likely to encourage independence and demand maturity from their children. Chinese-American children scored higher than Anglo-American children on cognitive competence, and their cognitive competence was related to authoritarian child rearing. The results are discussed in the context of Confucian and American cultural values. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incarcerated Mothers: Mutual Support Groups Aimed at Reducing Substance Abuse Relapse and Recidivism

Interventions to reduce relapse and recidivism for the increasing number of mothers incarcerated for illicit drug use are needed to prevent maternal/child separation and high public expenditures. This paper describes mutual support groups for women inmates aimed at strengthening family coping skills, especially communication, anger management, and parenting skills. Qualitative data collected during the group sessions indicated that the healing support of shared experiences, stories, poetry, and staying in the present were identified as spiritually uplifting. Problem solving and improved family interactions constituted additional themes extracted from the qualitative data. Future plans include including quantitative outcome measures of success.     

自闭症谱系障碍儿童心理测评的回溯与探索

自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童是一群已引起高度关注的群体,因其兼具社会发展、人际交流障碍等于一身,更因其中大部分儿童还伴有认知,言语发展和情绪障碍,对其进行心理测评是一个极为艰巨和重要的课题.本文从诊断性、认知性和教育干预三个方面对ASD儿童的心理测评进行了述评.同时还阐述了在此基础上建构"会聚式"、"分层式"和"分类式"ASD儿童心理测评体系之构想.     

Filial Responsibility and Transitions Involved: A Qualitative Exploration of Caregiving Daughters and Frail Mothers

One of the consequences of an aging society is the growing need for caregivers to the increasing number of frail older persons. This study is a qualitative examination of filial responsibility between caregiving daughters and frail mothers. It explores filial expectations and motivations and how incongruencies are met and negotiated. Twenty-two women (eleven caregiving dyads) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Employing the grounded theory methodology, interviews were analyzed both individually and dyadically for content and themes. What emerged from the analysis was a grounded theory framework of four intrapsychic caregiving and care-receiving transitions: (1) Realizing I am a Caregiver/Care-receiver; (2) Defining the Caregiver/Care-receiver Roles; (3) Redefining the Caregiving Relationship; and (4) Relationship Acceptance. The transitions identified here comprise a loose framework influenced by different levels of filial responsibility—personal, parental, family, and religious. In addition to the four transitions, one overarching theme called “Emotional Responses to Informal Caregiving and Care-receiving” was evident throughout the findings. Findings from this research provide a framework for understanding the often unclear transitions that daughters and mothers believe they go through. Research implications are discussed for researchers, therapists, caregiving support group leaders, and women who are contemplating or confronted with filial responsibility.     

Between-measure consistency in social-skills assessment

The purpose of the present study was to assess the between-measure consistency of general and specific social-skills assessment strategies. Nineteen mentally retarded adults were assessed using both common and newly devised measures of social skills: (1) specific (molecular) behavior ratings from role-play assessments, (2) general (molar) ratings based on the role plays, staff (3) molar and (4) molecular predictions of client social skills use in the described role-play situations, (5) peer sociometric ratings, and molecular in vivoobservations conducted in (6) cafeteria and (7) party settings. For all molecular measures, the subjects were assessed on eye contact, response relevance, response latency, voice volume, and appropriate affect, which allowed for direct comparisons to be made between each of these assessment modalities. In addition, the role-play assessment was conducted under two distinct conditions to determine whether role-play performance varied between standard and reinforced administrations; however, multivariate analyses (MANOVA) revealed no differences between the two assessments. Correlations between the molar and the molecular measures suggested a substantial overlap between the measures, with staff ratings having the highest consistency with the other measures. Furthermore, MANOVAs calculated between role-play ratings and those of staff revealed little difference between the two. The limitations on and practical significance of these findings are discussed.     

The Experience of Caregiving Among Mothers of Adults Suffering from Psychotic Disorders: Factors Associated with Their Psychological Distress

To identify correlates of psychological distress among multiple indicators, 99 women with adult children suffering from a psychotic disorder were interviewed. The women, who were recruited through hospitals and self-help groups, represented different socioeconomic levels. A face-to-face standardized interview was conducted, mainly in the participants' homes. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis showed that dimensions of burden and social support were strongly associated with distress reported by the participants. The negative interactions that participants had with their main confidant or spouse constituted a more powerful correlate than their perception of the quality of this relationship. Furthermore, a perception of their own health as poorer is a strong correlate of their distress. Since no control group was studied simultaneously, these results suggest, but do not prove, the presence of differences between mothers of adults with psychotic disorders and other mothers.     

The parental support networks of mothers and fathers: A multidimensional approach

This paper argues for a multidimensional approach to the study of the social support networks of mothers and fathers of young children. Network structure (e. g. size, density, member characteristics), support content (e. g. emotional, informational, economic and child care) and support quality (e. g. helpfulness, satisfaction with support, conflict associated with support and willingness to access support in future need) are distinguished. The goals of the study were: (1) to empirically test the multidimensionality of parental support networks; (2) to assess the relations among these three dimensions for mothers and for fathers; and (3) to examine how couples' support networks are interrelated. Individual at-home interviews were conducted with 100 parents to derive measures of parental support structure, content and quality. Fathers (N = 31) were compared to their spouses (N = 31) and to a comparison group of demographically similar married mothers (N = 38). For all three groups, the same three predicted dimensions emerged in the factor structure of their networks; in general, few gender differences were found. However, relations among structure, content and quality differed by gender, with network structure predicting support content and quality only for mothers. The network structure of couples was positively correlated, and overlap in network members was related to own and spouse's network helpfulness, satisfaction and child care support.