This study explores the relationships between family and social support and parent-child attachment. It uses an ecological approach to study ten at-risk families in two family support programs in two different cultural settings. The experiences and perspectives of the ten participants in the family support programs inform the study. The participants are mothers with children under five years of age. Five live in the United States and attend a family center. Five live in Ireland and use a home visiting program. The findings of this study are rooted in the unique cultural contexts of the two family support programs and the ten participants, their individual meanings, experiences, and understandings. A qualitative case study approach within the unique cultural contexts of the two family support programs is used. In-depth interviews, observations, surveys, videotaping, and document analysis are the primary research methods used. From these data, the findings are presented using descriptions and contextual details to compile portraits of the participants' experiences and perspectives. Member checks and peer debriefing established trustworthiness. The findings of this study suggest positive relationships between family and social support and parent-child attachment for the ten participants. The social support programs provided emotional support, material support, and information to the participants. Within the context of the family support programs, the participants reported that they experienced positive supportive relationships, a sense of empowerment and positive affirmation that promoted their self-esteem, self-worth and maternal confidence. They experienced non-judgmental support from the staff, opportunities to network and talk, respect for mothers, and models for parenting options and alternatives. Their relationships and interactions with staff and other mothers helped to relieve their depression, reduce their sense of social isolation, foster communication and provide social networks. They also positively affected maternal sensitivities and responsiveness and promoted feelings of self-confidence. The findings suggest that these family support programs aided in the development of parent-child bonds and parent-child attachment for the ten participants in their unique cultural contexts.

Transracial adoption has been a controversial form of adoption since it came into vogue in the United States in the 1950s. In 1972, The National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) established a decree stating transracial adoption was akin to cultural genocide because they were concerned that under the tutelage of White parents, Black children would not learn the skills needed to survive in a racist society. Whereas the NABSW was looking out for the well being of domestic children of color, there was no corresponding advocate for children of color adopted internationally. Recognizing that large numbers of children are adopted from Asia, racism is still an issue for people of color and not all White people are aware of the extent that racism exists in our society, I set out to learn if and how White adoptive parents of Asian born children talk about race related issues within the context of the family. This dissertation shares the insights and experiences of White parents from nine families who adopted children from Korea and the Philippines. The goal of the study was to learn if and how White parents talk to their Asian born children about racism, how comfortable and confident they feel having those conversations and who they turn to when they need help in supporting their children around race related issues. The results indicate that before children reached adolescence, they were much more open and willing to share upsetting events with their parents. Pre-adolescent youth turned to their parents for comfort, support and guidance. During the teen years, communication between parents and children decreased thus limiting the parent’s influence about imparting wisdom about how to navigate race related situations. The final chapter offers recommendations for practice, research and policy.

Comparatively little is known about the scientific, psychological, or social issues surrounding children adopted from China and their parents. The goal of this study was to seek out links that might exist between the background of adoptive parents who had adopted children from China and their motives in adopting these children, and to explore the influence of the parents' childhood backgrounds on the way they parent, the changes in relationships within and outside the family after the adoption, and the developing importance and meaning of the adoption to the parents. I used a qualitative research design to look at the real experiences of American parents who had adopted children from China. I used a topical life history method using in-depth interviews. I also used a second interview to follow up on the questions I still had after the first interview. In addition, I used questionnaires to get basic background information (please see attached Appendix (C). I interviewed twenty American parents in ten families who had adopted children from China. The condition for inclusion in this study were: (1) The families had a prior, established relationship with me and resided in the New England area of the U.S. (2) The adopted child had to be a female from China. (3) The child must have resided in the U.S. by the age of 12 months. (4) Each family must contain two legal parents. At the time of the interviews, these children ranged in age from infancy to middle childhood. In this study of ten families, results were both expected and unexpected in light of the literature on parenting and adoption. Analysis of the interviews with the parents yielded six major themes: (1) Parents' descriptions of their own childhood family structure and childhood experiences; (2) Parents' expectations, prior to and during the adoption experience, for the adoption to improve the family unit; (3) Changes in the parents' relationships after the adoption; (4) The adoptive parents' expectations of the adopted child; (5) The most challenging experiences of the adoptive parents; and (6) the meaning of the adoption for the parents.

This is a qualitative study which seeks to understand how five welfare mothers who attended community college perceive this experience has impacted upon their lives. This study examines via in depth phenomenological interviews and life histories how attending community college changed the women. The individual interviews took place over an eighteen month period. The participants met each other for the first time in a focus group which was held after all the interviews. Using symbolic interactionism as the framework for understanding the process of how the women incorporated the community college experience into their lives, the study found that (1) there was a significant life event that led the women to the community college; (2) initially, the women had great difficulty integrating the community college experience into their lives; (3) that they identified with their professors rather than the other students, and (4) that they became emotionally independent only after achieving a sense of being connected to community college and being accepted as individuals. For each one of them, it was the first time in her life that she was encouraged to have her own thoughts and opinions. In addition, the study found that for most of the participants, the community college experience is an on-going process which continues to affect them. Furthermore, the impact of the college experience affects them beyond their original goal of obtaining viable employment to enable them to "get off welfare". It affects them in the way that they approach their world, how they raise their children, relate to their families, husbands, co-workers, bosses, friends, and lovers. Furthermore, how each now perceives herself as an individual is affected. This study provides insight into the experience of these women and what approaches a community college might implement to facilitate the experience of the student who is also a welfare mother.

<p> Background: A significant number of children in the US are placed in the child welfare system every year. Among the multiple negative outcomes associated with being in the foster care system is a wide academic achievement gap between foster students and the general population, as well as other disadvantaged groups (e.g. low income). Low academic achievement is particularly pronounced in college. The government and higher education institutions are recognizing these educational gaps and developing specialized programs to address the unique needs of foster students; however, the effectiveness of these programs remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of one program, the Transition to Independence Program (TIP), in improving academic outcomes for foster students at Wayne State University (WSU) during the first 2 years of the program initiation (2012-2014). Methods: patterns of TIP service utilization (mentoring; financial aid; contact with campus coach and community partners) among 120 individuals who had been wards of the court, and its association with academic outcomes were examined on the following variables: GPA, academic probation status, first year retention, remedial classes, being on track for graduation, and graduation status. Further, TIP students&rsquo; performance on those same academic variables was compared to two groups: (1) 120 low income, non-foster care youth, and (2) 26 former foster care youth who did not receive TIP services. Results: 73% of TIP students used at least one service and students who used any program services were 5.7 times more likely to be retained than those who had not. Additionally, TIP students performed better than foster, non-TIP students on the academic variables, and the academic gap with low-income students was reduced. Discussion: TIP is effective in improving academic outcomes for students from the child welfare system. Implications and future directions are discussed.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of parents who have a child diagnosed with a developmental disability who received Early Intervention services in Thailand. A phenomenological approach was used in the design of the study. Open-ended interviews were conducted with eight participants who lived in Thailand and had a child with a developmental disability. Only participants whose children were 5 years old or younger at the time of the study were interviewed. Five themes emerged from the data, including the journey, helpful versus unhelpful attitudes and actions, systems and services in Early Intervention, challenges, and positive outcomes. Implications for professionals, policy-makers, and society are discussed, including areas for future research on Early Intervention in Thailand.</p><p>

Submitted by Maria Aparecida (cidazen@gmail.com) on 2017-05-04T14:14:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luana.pdf: 790072 bytes, checksum: 89f31882a621cd8baf6f22d8881eb70b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-04T14:14:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luana.pdf: 790072 bytes, checksum: 89f31882a621cd8baf6f22d8881eb70b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-08 / This work aims to analyze the efficiency of Training School of the universities in São Luis-MA, as an instrument of legal and social background of the future legal professionals, between the years 2014 and 2015, as well as their limits of possibilities , since the concluding college students need to have an understanding of the different interfaces of the Law on highly complex issues and acquire training to allow technical development of the activities of legal practice, and develop necessary skills and competencies for the thoughtful, critical and creative performance to lead lawsuits, especially those involving family law, with the goal of not judicialize conflicts that they can be resolved through mediation, encouraging the conciliation of family conflicts. / O presente trabalho objetiva analisar a eficiência dos Escritórios-Escola das universidades da cidade de São Luis-MA, como um instrumento de formação jurídica e social dos futuros profissionais do direito, entre os anos de 2014 e 2015, bem como, seus limites de possibilidades, vez que os discentes concludentes precisam ter a compreensão das diferentes interfaces do Direito em questões de alta complexidade e adquiram formação que permita o desenvolvimento técnico das atividades da praxe jurídica, bem como desenvolvam habilidades e competências necessárias à atuação reflexiva, crítica e criativa na condução de demandas, em especial os que envolvem o direito de família, com o objetivo de não judicializarem conflitos que podem ser resolvidos através da mediação, incentivando a pacificação dos conflitos familiares.

Effective recognition and proper treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Hispanic woman is a public health problem that needs further investigation. Guided by the stress and coping social support theory, the purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to examine the relationship between attitudes, emotional support, and the perception of success in managing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in 335 Hispanic women living in Atlanta, Georgia. Correlations, independent-sample t tests, simple linear regression, and multiple linear regressions showed ethnicity as a moderating variable between the perception of success in handling CVD and emotional support, while emotional support was shown to be a significant predictor of perceived success for all participants. The relationship between the 2 variables was positive for Hispanic women and negative for non-Hispanics women. Diet and exercise also emerged as a significant direct predictor of perceived success in handling CVD when the variable of emotional support was controlled. Key findings also showed that, while Hispanic women had higher scores for perceived success in handling CVD, non-Hispanic women had higher emotional support scores. This study supports positive social change by highlighting the unique needs of Hispanic women to healthcare providers, relative to effective recognition and positive treatment regimens, if cardiovascular disease is suspected. Positive social change will be demonstrated with the recognition of better health outcomes for Hispanic women.

<p> The conditions that allowed early MFTs the freedom to creatively explore different interventions and theories of change are no longer available in today&rsquo;s mental health care system. Although there are many benefits to the structure of managed behavioral healthcare organizations, a thorough review of the literature demonstrates that many therapists working in managed care agencies struggle with maintaining their theoretical creativity, claiming third-party payers&rsquo; service requirements and paperwork a barrier to their creativity. A phenomenological transcendental research method was utilized to understand the phenomenon of successfully combining creativity and accountability in the practice of marriage and family therapy from the perspective of six creative MFTs who have effectively incorporated creative therapeutic techniques into their work, while adhering to the structured requirements of managed care. </p><p> The findings and themes of the study were organized into two categories. The themes in the Textural / Content Category (description and purpose of therapeutic creativity at a managed care agency) are: (1) Creatively combining the needs of the clients, the different professional entities, insurance companies and you as a therapist, (2) Translating post-modern information into the medical model language that meets the third-party payers&rsquo; requirements, (3) Completing documentation with clients, (4) Incorporating technique from a range of therapy models, (5) Keeping clients engaged through a variety of resources and activities, and (6) Utilizing metaphors and themes to uncover patterns of relational dynamics and behaviors. The themes in the Structural / Supportive Conditions Category (factors that allow the balance of creativity and accountability to occur) are: (1) Systemic understanding of how the therapeutic and business systems of managed behavioral healthcare interact together, (2) Having a supportive network of colleagues, (2a) Supportive group of coworkers within the job setting, (2b) Supportive network of MFT colleagues outside of the work setting, (3) Desire to make a difference in peoples&rsquo; lives, (4) Continuous education on all aspects of the mental health field, (5) Employers&rsquo; support of creative therapy, (6) Self-reflection, (7) Self-care, and (8) Organization and time management.</p>

<p> Approximately 65,000 undocumented immigrants graduate from American high schools annually, among them valedictorians and salutatorians. Only about 6,500 of these prospective future leaders go on to college. There are 50 different state-level immigrant-tuition policies, most of which severely limit undocumented students&rsquo; college/university and financial aid options. This study is situated in the state of California, whose Master Plan for Higher Education aims to grant college access to all Californians and whose favorable immigrant-tuition policies work toward that end; it could serve as a model for U.S. states with restrictive or neutral immigrant-tuition policies. To date, there is limited discussion of undocumented student college choice in the higher education literature. To explore how undocumented students navigate college decision-making in the U.S., this study uses the conceptual constructs of Perna&rsquo;s (2006) contextual college choice model, Hossler and Gallagher&rsquo;s (1987) foundational choice model, and single-element models (chain enrollment and proximity). These frameworks and Dervin&rsquo;s Sense-making Theory (1999-2014) helped me retrospectively explore the college choice of seven undocumented men and women attending a Bay Area Cal State University campus in 2013. </p><p> The study&rsquo;s purpose warranted a qualitative research design and case study approach. I connected with interested students, shared my background, answered questions, and sent them my IRB-approved Study Information Sheet and demographic survey. We developed rapport over several months, engaging in a series of in-person interviews and other interactions. I kept field notes and journaled reflexively. I transcribed all 14 interview recordings via Dragon speech software, coded the transcripts and analyzed the data via MaxQDA data analysis software. </p><p> The findings revealed overarching themes related to: parental expectations and encouragement, habitus (e.g., gender &amp; cultural traditions, birth order &amp; responsibilities, home life), financial situation, K-14 context, higher education context, social context, and policy context. What distinguishes this study is the exploration of undocumented students&rsquo; college choice, inclusion of student voices, and implications for public policy and college enrollment professionals&rsquo; practice. It provides insight into how undocumented youth choose a college located in a state whose country values the common good and economic success yet is torn on its people&rsquo;s higher education rights.</p>