<p> In this study, autism parent-led support groups and the contribution these groups had in creating parental advocacy were studied. The primary purpose of the study was to determine if autism parent-led support groups promoted advocacy skills of parents of children with autism. The secondary purpose of the study was to evaluate the level and extent of support provided by parent-led support groups. The qualitative data collection was done through individual interviews of parents of children with autism whose children were of any age. Through data analysis 6 major themes were identified: advocacy, emotional support, difficulty with funding, informational support, instrumental support, and appraisal support. Parents indicated that parent-led support groups assisted them in acquiring advocacy skills and provided good emotional support, informational support, and appraisal support. This research was important because parents of children with autism have greater problems with treatments than parents of children with other chronic developmental disorders, and many parents felt they needed to obtain advocacy skills in order to find the best interventions for their child. The social change implication of this study is that people can better understand the impact that parent-led support groups can have in facilitating advocacy among parents who participate in the groups. This study also brings to light the support these groups provide, and how this support impacts their lives.</p><p>

<p> Enrolling children in youth sport is an American tradition to keep children active while learning life lessons such as teamwork, commitment, and work ethic. However, youth sport is becoming extremely expensive and demanding, resulting in high parental involvement. Research shows over-involved parents cause stress, anxiety, and even burnout. The overall purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of NCAA Division II student athletes&rsquo; perceptions of their parents&rsquo; level of involvement and support through childhood. Through the lens of the Family Systems Theory, a qualitative single case study examined 11 Ferris State student athletes&rsquo; perception of their parents&rsquo; involvement and their opinion of what they would consider the optimal level of parental involvement. Athletes&rsquo; preferences of parental involvement should serve as recommendations for parents wanting to support youth participants who would like to complete at the collegiate level.</p><p>

<p> Over the past two decades reported rates of autism have steadily risen. The current incidence is 1 in 68 children. While autism can be reliably diagnosed at 18 months in most children with the condition, specialized autism treatment rarely begins before a child&rsquo;s third or fourth birthday. As screening and diagnosis procedures improve so does the need for effective early interventions for autism. Researchers and professionals have expressed a growing concern over the need for effective early interventions for infants and toddlers with autism. At the same time, there is a dearth of qualitative research exploring the needs and experiences of parents with a very young child with autism. Employing a phenomenological framework, the purpose of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of parents of a young child with autism receiving early special education services. Unstructured interviews and photo elicitation were used to generate rich, detailed descriptions of the phenomenon. Data analysis from photographic images and narrative dialogues illuminated six essential themes across participants: (a) parents as pioneers: forging the way for future families; (b) making the journey as a family; (c) navigating uncharted service systems; (d) overcoming challenges and obstacles; (e) resilience, ingenuity and hope; and (f) reflecting on the first three years and looking forward. Participants expressed that they felt this study gave them a &ldquo;voice&rdquo; in the research literature. This study is one of the first to investigate the lived experiences of parents as they seek and secure autism services for their child under five with autism.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative phenomenological interview study investigated the barriers faced by Latino Spanish speakers with limited English proficiency (LEP) when seeking to obtain a diagnosis and special education resources for their children. This minority population faces several barriers that may be linked to a later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among Latino children; however, limited research has focused on the identification of these barriers and factors that contribute to a later ASD diagnosis in Latino families. Five Latina Spanish-speaking mothers with LEP were included in this study. Two 1-hour interviews were conducted per participant. The results showed barriers associated with the health care system, culture beliefs, cultural differences in the view of disability, limited health literacy, LEP, lack of ASD knowledge, and lack of competent interpreters. </p><p>

Objective: The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a parenting program designed specifically for hyperactive preschoolers. Method: Participants were 31 preschool-aged children whose parents were randomly assigned to a treatment or waitlist group. Parents who were assigned to the treatment group took part in a 14-week parenting program that involved teaching parenting strategies to manage hyperactive and disruptive behavior as well as emotion socialization strategies to increase children's emotion regulation. Results: The present study's findings were mixed. There were significant changes on a number of measures of child functioning and parent behavior for families who took part in the parenting program, but these findings were tempered by several nonsignificant findings. Compared to control families, families who participated in the parenting program evidenced significant changes in mothers' reports of child inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms, observations of mothers' positive parenting and negative affect, and mothers' self-reported verbosity, punitive reactions, and minimizing/discouraging reactions. Moreover, parent training fathers reported decreases in child inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms. However, treatment families did not significantly differ on mothers' ratings of child lability/negativity and internalizing behavior; audiotaped child behavior; or mothers' self-reported overreactivity, laxness, expressive encouragement, and emotion- and problem-focused reactions. Conclusions: Results provide some support for the effectiveness of the parenting program for reducing ADHD symptoms in preschool-aged children.

This study examines the psychological, behavioral and educational development of left-behind children, due to parent migration into cities for temporary employment in middle and northern rural China. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to study 236 rural families and interview 272 left-behind children, in ten villages of four provinces: Shandong, Henan, Hebei and Shanxi. Previous research has suggested that long term separation, from parents or parent, has the following adverse effects: depression, loneliness, anxiety, anger, behavioral problems at school, low academic achievement motivation, lack of self-esteem, misbehavior, truancy, and stealing. Statistical analyses revealed mixed findings. The research study finds similar negative effects on the left-behind children, as well as differences between the left-behind children the non-left-behind children in many aspects of their lives, due to the parental absence. However, contrary to previous research studies, the current study also suggests some positive influences on the children's development as long as the children's temporary guardians such as one parent, grandparents or relatives, schools or community take initiatives to direct and guide the children toward appropriate goals. Based on the research findings, the author recommends, to policy makers and care givers, some possible means to help the left-behind children develop in positive and constructive ways.

This project explored the experiences of ten gay male couples who chose to become parents. Of the twenty fathers who were interviewed, ten fathers (five couples) created a family with children through surrogacy, and ten fathers (five couples) adopted their children. The manuscript begins with a discussion of the historical roles of the father, a review of research on contemporary conceptualizations of fatherhood, and a consideration of the motivation to parent in the context of Erik Erikson's concept of generativity. Discussion then moves to the topic of the surrogacy process as it relates to the choice of gay men to father a child. Following elucidation of the practical and legal aspects of surrogacy, terms are defined which pertain to impregnation, gestation, and birth. The manuscript includes discussion of the ways in which these fathers conceptualize parenthood, including their various roles and responsibilities, and how their conceptualizations influence childcare. Fathers also discuss what motivated them to become parents. Experiences with discrimination associated with being gay are explored, with special consideration of the ways in which such discrimination affects the children and parents in a gay family system. Finally, consideration is given to the relative advantages and disadvantages of surrogacy vs. adoption, with attention to the significance of biological connectedness to a child.

This study explored dyadic parenting styles and their association with externalizing behavior symptoms among 79 working-class White families with children in first grade. Exploratory cluster analysis was used to create a typology of parenting at the dyadic level, reflecting the parental warmth, overreactivity and laxness of both mothers and fathers in two-parent families. Three distinct groups emerged: Positive Parenting, Inconsistent Parenting and Negative Parenting couples. Results indicated that dyadic parenting styles were related to teacher-reported externalizing symptoms for boys, but not for girls. Findings also revealed that the relationship between parenting styles and externalizing behavior depended on parent and child gender and also on parents' relative involvement. Overall results support the hypothesis that having one effective parent can "buffer" the impact of a less effective parent, and that having two negative parents was associated with the highest degree of behavior problems in children.

This study examined whether commonly used social class indicators (occupational prestige, education, and income) had direct or indirect effects on mental health, and whether these relationships varied by gender, race, or family structure. To this end, 597 working-class participants were interviewed in the months before they had a child. Findings indicated that income, and not occupational prestige or education, had a direct effect on mental health, in that it was related to fewer depressive symptoms. Additionally, education and race interacted, such that for People of Color, more education was related to more depressive symptoms. Furthermore, occupational prestige and education, and not income, had indirect effects on mental health through job autonomy, such that higher prestige and education were related to more job autonomy, which in turn was related to fewer depressive symptoms. However, after examining the moderating influence of race and family structure, these indirect effects were only significant for Whites and married participants, with null or opposite effects for People of Color, cohabiters, and single participants. The findings highlight the importance that social divisions play in creating disparate experiences in society.

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.