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It is argued that the theoretical framework used in earlier studies of children's use of the articles is inadequate, failing in some important ways to capture even normal adult usage. A new theory of article usage is proposed which is based on the concept of mental models. Previous psychological investigations are evaluated in the light of this theory and the major issues raised are investigated experimentally. Nine experiments involving approximately 310 three to seven-year old children and 65 parents are reported. The experiments were designed to investigate the effects of two main factors on children’s use of the articles, namely, the knowledge of the listener and the composition of the referential array. Different kinds of tasks were employed which required responses varying from article plus noun to single sentences and extended narratives. The results of the experiments showed that although young children can, and do, take into account the status of an object within a referential array, the over-riding factor in their choice of referring expression is their perception of the knowledge of the listener. When they judge that the listener's model does not contain the same number and kind of objects as their own (the listener is ignorant), children will use an indefinite description to introduce a referent regardless of the status of that referent in the array. However, when the listener is knowledgeable indefinite descriptions are reserved for one of several identical or similar objects and definite descriptions are used for objects which are known to be unique in the listener's model. Other factors which influence children’s use of the articles include the difficulty of the task, the child’s perception of the purpose of the task, and the range of descriptions in the child's linguistic repertoire.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that maltreatment increases the likelihood of criminality when compared to a non-maltreated population. What remains unclear is how maltreatment directly or indirectly affects criminality. This study was conducted to delineate any existing relationships between age of onset, type, severity and chronicity of maltreatment and age of onset, type, severity and chronicity of criminality in a Canadian context. The possible impacts of gender, parental capacity impairments, and reduced child functioning were taken into account when examining this relationship. In addition, the characteristics of these children were examined to see if there were major differences within this group. This retrospective study examined the complete official youth protection and young offender dossiers of 87 subjects, involved with Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, who were maltreated and criminal during the period April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2003. A survey instrument was designed to collect quantifiable data on each child. Findings indicate that maltreated and criminal children are characterized as an extremely high needs population. Within this group, children who came to the attention of DYP in infancy had the highest likelihood of parental and personal functioning issues throughout their lifespan and committed their first official crime at the earliest age. Multiple regressions indicated that parent risk score and age of first known DYP involvement were significant predictors of criminality. These results confirm the important role parents play in determining their child’s life outcomes, and suggest that parenting capacities should be fully evaluated, treatment plans should be comprehensive in nature and based on cognitive abilities of both parent and child, and focus should be placed on permanency planning. / La recherche a à plusieurs reprises, démontré que le mauvais traitement augmente la probabilité de la criminalité une fois comparé à une population non-maltraitée. Ce qui reste peu clair est comment le mauvais traitement affecte directement ou indirectement la criminalité. Cette étude a été entreprise pour tracer les rapports existants entre l’âge du début, le type, la sévérité et la chronicité de mauvais traitement avec l’âge du début, du type, de la sévérité et de la chronicité de criminalité dans un contexte canadien. L’impact possible du genre, des affaiblissements parentaux, et le fonctionnement réduit d’enfant ont été pris en considération en examinant ce rapport. En outre, les charactéristiques de ces enfants ont été examinées pour voir si elles différaient de quelque façon les uns des autres. Cette étude rétrospective a examiné la protection officielle complète de lajeunesse et les jeunes dossiers de contrevenant de 87 sujets, impliqués avec Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, qui ont été maltraités et criminels pendant la période du 1 avril, 2002 au 31mars 31, 2003. Un instrument d’aperçu a été conçu afin de rassembler des données quantifiables sur chaque enfant. Les résultats indiquent que maltraité et des enfants criminels sont caractérisés, en tant que population extrêmement haute des besoins. Chez ce groupe, les enfants qui sont venus à l’attention de DYP dans la petite enfance ont eu une probabilité plus élevée des issues de fonctionnement parentales et personnelles tout au long de leur durée de vie et ont commis leur premier crime officiel à un âge plus jeune. Les régressions multiples ont indiqué que des points de risque de parent et l’âge de la première participation connue de DYP étaient les prédiseurs significatifs de la criminalité. Ces résultats confinnent les conséquences du comportement parentale sur la vie de leur enfant et suggèrent que les capacités paren

The growth of grandparent caregivers has significantly increased in recent years, and therefore, more research is needed in this area. This particular qualitative study explored the feelings and experiences of permanent grandparent caregivers between the ages of 58 and 71. Data was collected using a semi structured interview format from four separate couple grandparents and one single grandmother. Although the study was limited due to the small sample size, the findings showed that despite some rewards, grandparent caregivers experienced a number of emotional issues. In analyzing the written transcripts, several themes emerged, included: feelings of loss; anger and frustration, disappointment and guilt; fears and concerns; isolation and lack of supports and, positive aspects. There were also several variations on these themes. The need for grandparent caregivers to be able to access services, and especially support groups for themselves, was evident.

Objectives: Concerns have been raised that child welfare systems may inappropriately target poor families for intrusive interventions. The term “neglect” has been critiqued as a class-based label applied disproportionately to poor families. The objectives of the study are: to identify the nature and frequency of clinical and poverty-related concerns in child neglect investigations and to assess the service referral response to these needs; to examine the contribution of poverty-related need to case decision-making; and to explore whether substantiated cases of neglect can be divided into subtypes based on different constellations of clinical and poverty-related needs. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected through the 2008 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS‑2008), a nationally representative dataset. A selected subsample of neglect investigations from the CIS‑2008 (N = 4,489) is examined through descriptive analyses, logistic regression, and two-step cluster analysis in order to explore each research objective. Results: Children and caregivers investigated for neglect presented with a range of clinical and poverty-related difficulties. Contrary to some previous research, the existence of poverty-related needs did not influence case dispositions after controlling for other relevant risk factors. However, some variables that should be, in theory, extraneous to case decision-making emerged as significant in the multivariate models, most notably Aboriginal status, with Aboriginal children having increased odds of substantiation, ongoing service provision and placement. Cluster analyses revealed that cases of neglect could be partitioned into three clusters, with no cluster emerging characterized by poverty alone. Conclusions: The majority of children investigated for neglect live in families experiencing poverty-related needs, and with caregivers struggling with clinical difficulties. While poverty-related need on its own does not explain the high proportion of poor families reported to the child welfare system, nor does it account for significant variance in case decision making, cluster analysis suggests that there exists a subgroup of “neglected” children living in families perhaps best characterized by the broader notion of social disadvantage. These families may be better served through an orientation of family support/family welfare rather than through the current residual child protection paradigm.

The purpose of this study was to develop a measure to assess parental attitudes toward childrearing. Through a review of the literature, seven constructs delineating varying maternal attitudes, styles and patterns were identified; Maternal Warmth, Control, Indulgence, Protection, Sensitivity, Play and Learning Receptivity. Employing item and correlational analyses, items were constructed and revised resulting in a new research instrument: The McGill Parental Attitude Toward Childrearing Questionnaire (MPATCR). Other variables considered included prior parenting experience, maternal age, ethnicity, occupation, employment, socioeconomic status, education, infant gender and medical birth complications. / The results substantiated the importance of previous research findings indicating the importance of certain variables in differentiating childrearing attitudes and styles. Suggestions for modifications of the instrument and further research are discussed.

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