The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the tested intelligence of children in a public children’s shelter and the length of time these children had been institutionalized.

Previous research has linked attributional style in children to self-esteem, loneliness, depression, general distress, and reading persistence to the learning disabled. The current study sough to determine if specific attributional styles in children were correlated with their length of stay in a behaviorally based Alternative Education program. Sixty-two first-grade through sixth-grade children were recruited from two Alternative Education campuses in Polk County, Florida. They each completed two administrations of the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ), separated by a two-week interval, and one administration of the performance Expectation Questionnaire, (PEQ), which assessed the children's expectation of their ability to perform tasks specific to the responses cost system of the Alternative Education program. A backward stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship among attributional style, self-efficacy, and length of stay in the Alternative Education program. It was predicted that internal-stable-global attributions for failure, external-unstable-specific attributions for success, and both the level and strength of efficacy expectations would all correlate significantly with length of stay. None of the hypotheses were supported.

This is a qualitative research project conducted on children in institutional care who have incarcerated parent(s) in China with the purpose of exploring the subjective living experiences and self-identity of these children. A homogeneous sample of seventeen children in institutional care who have incarcerated parents, a sample of seven institutional staff, three school teachers, and four family members who were these children’s previous caregivers, were included according to purposive sampling procedures. This study employed narrative analysis as the method used to analyze the data collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. / With the assumption that identity formation is a process of social construction, the study proposes a theoretical framework consisting of Chinese social and cultural contexts, the family, the societal context, and the children’s subjective experience and identity. This comes after a comprehensive review of the literature on empirical services, polices, and research on children with incarnated parents, theories concerning identity and identity development, and the dominant ideologies about incarceration in the Chinese context. / This study finds that parental incarceration eventually changes these children’s lives so that they suffer helplessness, abandonment and uncertainty. Grateful feelings emerge when they enter a charitable institution that provides them with a relatively stable and secure living environment. There children are referred to or refer to themselves as “children of the institution”. This public label covers their status as inferior, as service recipients of an institution, and the misunderstood status of “orphan. These children develop paradoxical feelings towards these different labels and their self-identity is actually incarcerated in the parent-child relationship along with the incarcerated parents. The internalized ignominy of being children of incarcerated parents further enhances their feeling of inferiority as service recipients of an institution. / To understand the self-identity of these institutionally reared children with incarcerated parents (CIP), as well as its formation process in the Chinese socio-cultural context, the study develops a model that includes elements such as the Chinese moral censure of criminals, familial belief, and the individual-familial responsibility and the concept of “Bao”. These three ideas not only directly impact these children’s self-identity, but also comprise the basis for discourses in the three sub-contexts in which these children derive their living experiences and develop their self-identities. These socio-cultural beliefs are generally held by actors in various situations, and cultural messages are conveyed to these children by those actors through interaction with the children, and these cultural messages shaped the children’s’ subjective experiences and identities. / Based on the findings of this research, the researcher proposes suggestions for social works services for children with incarcerated parents from both micro and macro perspectives, and suggests directions for future research. / 置身中國社會文化語境、以建構主義為理論嚮導，本是一項探索機構照料的服刑人員子女的主觀生活經驗和身份認同及其形成過程為目敘事研究。通對以往服刑人員子女相關務與研究、身份認同理論以及中國社會於"服刑"的敘說進行較為全面回顧與梳理，研究者提出一個囊括中國文化、家庭、社會語境、機構環境及服刑人員子女主觀經驗的互動過程框架用以指導研究。該研究採用目的抽樣，從中國大陸某專門資助、代養服刑人員未成年子女的民間慈善機構選取符合條件的17名服刑人員子女 、7名機構工作人員 、3名學校老師和4名兒童親屬。 通過半結構化的深入訪談收集資料，使用 Nvivo 軟件對訪談資料進行細緻編碼，最後總結顯著主題并撰寫報告。 / 該研究發現，父母服刑給其子女帶來諸多負面後果。被訪兒童在父母服刑后都經歷生活困難、無助與被拋棄，由此產不安全感。入住該機構，他們遇上相對穩定全的生活，也自賦或被予一個“公共身份” —— 機構的孩子。對這一身份他們有著複雜而糾結的情感，一方面這身份昭示其作為服務受助者低人一等并隱含被誤解為“孤兒”的尷尬；另一方面，這公共身份也像個保護傘，使其"服刑人員子女”這一身份在某種程度上得以掩蓋。他們都強烈感知并內化作為服刑子女的羞恥以及作為服務受助者的低人一等。從此意義而言，他們自我被禁錮其中。 / 文章最後得出包含社會化因素、主流言論、家庭、機構以及服刑人員子女等因素的多方互動模型用以呈現和解釋他們主觀生活經驗與自我身份認同及其形成過程。中國社會三個主要觀點 —— 對罪犯的道德譴責、家庭主義和個人、家庭主義和個人 -家庭負責的福利理念、報 —— 相互作用，共同造就社會主流論述對服刑人員子女的歧視、 家庭成員的羞恥感以及機構中對於恩回報期待；進而，服刑人子女通過與這三個系統中的人進行互動，也感知和內化對他們負面看法，形塑主觀經驗和身份認同。 / 基於這些發現，本文在最後就服刑人員子女社會服務改善提出建議，認為微觀層面，機構應該改變服務理念；而在宏觀層面，政府應該介入，且整個社會文化的導向也應該有所調整。本文最后指出未來研究的可能方向。 / Xia, Lili. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 269-296). / Abstracts and appendixes also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 20, December, 2016). / Xia, Lili. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

In Jordan, residential care institutions (RCIs) for children in conflict with the law are identified as various specialised state institutions which constitute a state formal response to youth crime, and specialise in taking care of children. This thesis examines the objectives of RCIs’ programmes for children in conflict with the law in Jordan, as they attempt to reduce offending by convicted children, and whether these objectives meet children’s needs, according to the view and experiences of children themselves (12-17 years). This study is based on qualitative methods, using data from individual and focus group interviews with institutional staff, and participant observation and individual interviews with children. Exploring the divergent claims made within childhood and youth crime theoretical perspectives, this thesis develops a nuanced understanding of institutions’ crime-reduction programmes by drawing upon key theoretical concepts from these frameworks: children as ‘socially becoming’ and ‘social beings’. RCIs provide four rehabilitative programmes to help reduce children’s problematic and offending behaviour; namely, a family guidance programme (FGP), a poverty reduction programme (PRP), an educational programme (EP) and a child behaviour modification programme (CBMP). To a large extent, these programmes tended to provide polices of crime prevention which focus on re-socialising children according to the normative and cultural system of behaviour in which children were generally perceived as incompetent social actors, and where their best interest was not always acknowledged. To a large extent, children’s own perspectives and experiences of institutional rehabilitative programmes revealed the institutional failure to treat their familial, economical, educational and behavioural problems. Overall, children thought such failure happened either because the institutional aims were not actually implemented, or because the methods of delivering the institutional programmes per se were ineffective. This finding reflects a contradictory picture between the RCIs’ objectives and their actual practices, reflecting the institutional departure from a set of theoretical ideas regarding the prevention of youth crime. Focus group discussion with key informant staff referred to a variety of obstacles that contribute to their inability to address children’s wider needs within the existing institutional aims. Parental refusal to participate in child abuse and supervisory neglect interventional sessions, short-term intervention for chronically abused children and institutional reliance on talking methods in promoting parental supervision over children’s behaviour were all issues hindering effective institutional intervention within the familial environment. The institutional failure to meet children’s educational and career training needs occurred because these programmes are scheduled at the same time. The seriousness of some children’s crimes and the inability of some families to accompany their children to school were other issues preventing children from attending school. The lack of staff motivation, along with staff’s interrelated roles, prevented child monitoring staff from fully carrying out the intended intervention of modifying children’s negative behaviours. Ultimately, the findings from this study indicate the inconsistency between RCIs’ principles of rehabilitating children in conflict with the law and their actual practices, including the lack of policies in place to meet the institutional objectives. This in turn meant that RCIs do not actually operate to rehabilitate children in order to reduce reoffending, but are largely punitive and operate to criminalise children and separate them from society.

The problem of the present study is to investigate the consequences of an institutional program planned to develop positive interpersonal relations on the educational achievement, mental, health, and attitudes and outlook of a group of dependent and neglected children. The experimental group was composed of children in a home for dependent and neglected children in a large southwestern city. These children were compared to a control group whose parents were in the same socio-economic class, and who attended Sunday School for lower income families in a large Southern Baptist church in the same locality.

Expectations in six areas of concern were explored by means of a questionnaire distributed to parents, staffs, and directors of three day care centers. These included physical setting, educational activities, social development, staff relationships with children, staff relationships with parents, and parent relationships with the center. Responses averaged over 50 per cent in each category of respondent. Analysis showed that although there were areas of almost total agreement, there were a number of statements that demonstrated a wide divergence in the expectations of the respondents. This study and the related literature indicate that there is cause for concern that children's needs for consistency in child-rearing practices are not always being met.

Although the importance of Attachment in the normal development of a child has repeatedly been shown (Bowlby, 1961; 1979) there is a limited amount of research into its relationships with the usage of defense mechanisms and emotions. This research, therefore, investigated the relationships between attachment type, defense mechanisms and emotions during middle childhood (8-12 years) in 64 children from 4 children’s homes and 1 hospital in the Gauteng area. The children completed the Deferential Emotions Scale IV (DES-IV), the Attachment Story Completion Test (ASCT) and the Attachment Security Scale (ASS). The legal guardians of the children completed the Comprehensive Assessment of Defense Scale (CADS). Significant correlations were found to exist between the usage defense mechanisms and emotions. The results obtained from the analyses therefore suggest a complex interplay of relationships between attachment, defense mechanisms and emotion during middle childhood for the children in these institutions. For example, the research found that certain defense mechanisms and emotions were found to be correlated in a complex and interrelated system of interactions. Similarly, although no significant associations were found between attachment, defense mechanisms and emotions were found, the frequency distributions provided detailed information suggesting that attachment does influence the defenses used and emotion during middle childhood. These finding suggest that further research needs to be conducted in this area to further this knowledge base and to inform the caregivers and staff at institutions such as those included in the study.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-03-14T12:02:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Larissa Garcia Ponce.pdf: 1862982 bytes, checksum: 7a2089cfdd5d8fb87cc8113ecf59037c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-14T12:02:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Larissa Garcia Ponce.pdf: 1862982 bytes, checksum: 7a2089cfdd5d8fb87cc8113ecf59037c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-16 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / This study aimed to investigate, through clinical case studies, the strategies and challenges found in the psychotherapeutic care of five children sheltered in an Institutional Shelter in a country town of São Paulo State. The reports of these sessions were analyzed based on psychoanalysis, with a greater emphasis on the contributions of D. Winnicott. Two aspects were examined with special attention: the established clinical management and the evolution of psychotherapy in each history. The instruments used to find and read these data were: life and sheltering history of the patients/participants, presented in the registration form of the institution, and clinical material from playful psychotherapy. In four of the five cases, the time of psychotherapy was short (five to ten sessions), due to an abrupt interruption of the psychotherapeutic processes. In the only case with a longer duration (thirty sessions), there was the possibility of a therapeutic withdrawal performed progressively. Regarding the treatment results, one patient did not show significant achievements; the others demonstrated benefits from the psychotherapeutic process and exhibited improvement in symptoms or thawing of emotional maturation. The role of each action of differentiated clinical management in the setting was listed and some of them served as coping strategies of some of the challenges that were interposed. In addition to these actions, the importance of the management promoted by the social environment to shelters was evidenced. In order for this to be guaranteed, both the sheltering institution and the Judiciary are expected to commit themselves to protect children from future trauma, especially those which could be avoided by a more judicious and realistic analysis of the family circumstances in each case. Finally, it was pointed out the need to implement psychotherapy services in Shelters throughout the country, as well as psychological care programs for those who return home after sheltering. This proposition is corroborated by the obvious importance of a listening, receiving and psychological support space for the recovery of personal maturation of deeply traumatized people, as postulated byWinnicott, in addition to actively collaborating in the construction of a healthy society and, therefore, more prepared to care for their children and adolescents / Este trabalho teve por objetivo investigar, por meio de estudos de caso clínico, as estratégias e desafios encontrados no atendimento psicoterápico de cinco crianças acolhidas em um Abrigo Institucional do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Os relatos das sessões foram analisados com base na psicanálise, com maior ênfase nas contribuições de D. W. Winnicott. Dois aspectos foram examinados com atenção especial: o manejo clínico estabelecido e a evolução da psicoterapia em cada história. Os instrumentos utilizados para conhecer e interpretar os dados foram: história de vida e de abrigamento dos pacientes/participantes, presentes na ficha cadastral da instituição, e o material clínico proveniente da psicoterapia lúdica. Em quatro dos cinco casos, o tempo de psicoterapia foi curto (cinco a dez sessões) por ter ocorrido a interrupção abrupta dos processos psicoterápicos. No único caso com maior duração (trinta sessões), houve a possibilidade do desligamento terapêutico ser realizado progressivamente. No que se refere aos resultados dos atendimentos, uma paciente não apresentou conquistas significativas; os outros demonstraram se beneficiar do processo psicoterápico e exibiram melhora dos sintomas ou descongelamento do amadurecimento emocional. Elencou-se o papel de cada ação de manejo clínico diferenciado no setting, e algumas delas, serviram como estratégias de enfrentamento de alguns dos desafios que se interpuseram. Evidenciou-se, além destas ações, a importância do manejo promovido pelo ambiente social aos abrigados e, para que isto seja garantido, espera-se tanto da instituição de acolhimento quanto do Poder Judiciário que se comprometam a proteger as crianças de futuros traumas, especialmente daqueles que poderiam ser evitados com análises mais criteriosas e realistas das circunstâncias familiares em cada caso. Por fim, assinalou-se a necessidade de implementar serviços de psicoterapia nos Abrigos em todo país, além de programas de atendimento psicológico àqueles que retornam ao lar após o abrigamento. Tal proposição se corrobora pela evidente importância do espaço de escuta, acolhida e sustentação psicológica para a retomada do amadurecimento pessoal de pessoas profundamente traumatizadas, como postulado por Winnicott, além de colaborar ativamente na construção de uma sociedade saudável e, portanto, mais preparada para cuidar de suas crianças e adolescentes

M.Ed. (Philosophy of Education) / The central aim of the study was to make an analysis of the values and value-orientations of girls committed to a child-care school in order to understand better their thought processes and behaviour. It was necessary to focus on values and value orientations as these are indicative of what is important to the girls and can be regarded as underlying motives for human behaviour. The motivation for this study lies in the fact that committal is a sensitive and often problematic situation. Children in ordinary schools are committed to child-care schools, and committed children in chid care schools are transferred to reform schools. The most important grounds for committal are need of care and unacceptable behaviour, hence the importance of examining values and value-orientations as underlying motives for behaviour. The primary expectation when committing a child to a child-care school is that the child will be guided towards a positive behaviour change. This study revealed that the value-orientation of an individual is subject to influence and that behaviour changes can be brought about through purposeful coaching of values. Bearing in mind the purposeful influencing of the value orientation of the committed pupil, it is essential that the educator should take special note of the various aspects of the committal, the living conditions, values and value-orientation of these learners. In this respect the most important aspects described in the study are: * an analysis and description of the grounds for committal and the legal stipulations applicable in cases of need of care. * The identifying of a hierarchy of fifteen main type values which can be regarded as possible determinants in assessing the behaviour of girls. * The identifying of characteristics which are typical of the lifestyle of committed girls, and which have an influence on their values, value-orientation and behaviour. With reference to the above aspects of the investigation the following are important findings: * Generally, the girls are committed on grounds of being in need of care for unacceptable behaviour. 'In need of care' refers to material inadequacies and a poor socio-economic existence. The 'unacceptable behaviour' which motivated most committals were serious disobedience, contact with undesirable friends, truancy, petty thieving, chronic absence from home and absconding from home. * With regard to the hierarchy of values it was discovered during the investigation that the values most affected were economic, relationship related, life- and personal values. Those least affected were moral, intellectual, physical and authoritative. The hierarchy of values is indicative of what is important to committed girls and affects their behaviour. * The characteristics of the lifestyle of most of the committed girls were: large families (more than five children) broken families (step parents) age at committal: 13/14 years home language: Afrikaans church attendance of parents: fairly good. Living conditions have an effect on value-orientation and contributes to behaviour on the grounds of which committal takes place.

The purpose of the research was to use life mapping during the intervention period in order to enhance the self-knowledge of the children in their mid-childhood years, in a children’s home. In order to reach this goal, the life mapping- and the gestalt play- therapeutic processes had been combined with, art and creativity included in the process. The study is quantitative and a standardised measuring instrument had been used for the pre-test and posttest, according to the single-system design. The hypothesis was tested by way of statistical analysis, by comparing data obtained from the pre-test and posttest. The child in a children’s home does not always know who he/she is. Because of possible trauma experienced before admission to the children’s home, self-knowledge could not be developed from within or from input obtained out of the social environment. Sometimes, a child in a children’s home, does not know why he/she was admitted. It is necessary for the child to know where he/she came from, where he/she is at present and where is he/she is going. The framework of life mapping integrates these concepts. By compiling a life map, a child obtains self-knowledge. When he/she had formed a perception of who and what he/she is and what he/she wants to achieve, the child can start working on self-fulfillment. With self-knowledge and a good perception of his/her life, the child develops a self concept, which usually contains an element of self-evaluation. The child can start leading an own life, make own choices, take responsibility for his/her own life and becomes independent, notwithstanding the circumstances of origin. The purpose is to bring back balance and a sense of self into the life of the child, which are also the purposes emphasised by both life mapping and gestalt play therapy. The literature study includes both the behaviour and emotions of the child in a children’s home. The influence on the life of the child had been investigated. Objective one was to build on the knowledge base on life mapping and gestalt play therapy processes. The processes were compared and integrated in this study. Life mapping as a concept, is known since the early 20th century, but was not applied in therapy, often. The developmental phase of a child in mid-childhood, in a children’s home had been studied. The developmental tasks in the mid-childhood are varied and is a progression of tasks from the previous phases. The synthesis, according to Erikson, during this phase, is capability. Industry versus inferiority could be seen as the “crisis” of this developmental phase. The child starts having the concept of the true self, versus the ideal self and he/she compares him/herself with others. Objective two was intervention by way of life mapping, together with the gestalt principles. This proved to have been very successful with observing the research results. Aspects of the whole life of every respondent had been included into the life maps. The fact that the life had been looked at in totality is in accordance with the gestalt concept of gestalt therapy. The respondents started owning their own personality traits and began to experiencing their uniqueness. It was thus enhancement of self-knowledge that took place. All the objectives of the study had been reached. The study resulted in an 80 percent significant change in the average self-knowledge of the respondents. / Dissertation (MSD Play Therapy(Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted