Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Education, 1999. / This study examines parental attitudes towards mainstreaming/inclusion in South Africa, which was recently adopted as part of the new educational dispensation. The sample included parents of children in four different school types in Johannesburg, and the survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire with multiple-choice and open-ended sections. The respondents totaled 255 out of a possible 400 (64%). Statistical analyses used included factor analysis, analysis of variance and independent group t-tests. The results indicated an overall neutral or negative attitude towards mainstreaming by parents, with parents of children in special and remedial schools being more negative. Parents felt that gifted children or those with mild to moderate learning disabilities were the most suitable candidates for mainstreaming, whilst children with severe mental retardation, sensory impairments, or behavioural disorders were the least suited. Parents were concerned that teachers would not be able to cope with the demands of the mainstream classroom because of inadequate training or time. They were also concerned that classes would be too large, that children of differing abilities would not be able to cope with the academic and social demands placed on them, and that general educational standards would drop. Only 20% of parents felt that mainstreaming would be successful, and most parents were not clear about what measures could help to implement this educational approach in South Africa. The implications of these results were discussed, with a view to future research and interventions to allay parental fears about mainstreaming/inclusion

The purpose of this study was to explore the concerns of parents upon learning about their children’s gay or lesbian sexual orientation from the conceptual framework of attachment theory. Personal and contextual factors such as parents’ attachment anxiety and avoidance, parent and child gender, length of time since disclosure, and parents’ prior interpersonal contact with gay and lesbian person(s) were examined to see how they influence parents’ concerns. Members of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) support groups were electronically surveyed using the Experiences in Close Relationships - Short Form (ECR-S; Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt & Vogel, 2007) and the Concerns of Parents of Lesbians (COPLAG; Conley, 2011b). A total of 296 parents met the criteria to be considered participants. The results of this study indicated that parental concerns are correlated with attachment anxiety, but not attachment avoidance. There were significant differences in concern levels between parents who reported high levels of interpersonal contact with gay or lesbian people and those who reported low levels. Parents’ concerns were significantly higher for gay sons than for lesbian daughters. Amount of time since disclosure was not found to be a significant factor in parental concerns; however, attachment anxiety and amount of time since disclosure were negatively correlated. Additionally, parents who were aware of their child’s sexual orientation for more than five years reported lower levels of attachment anxiety than parents who were aware of their child’s gay or lesbian sexual orientation for less than five years. Although parent gender was a variable in this study, too few fathers participated, precluding analyses using parent gender. Overall, the results indicate that parents’ concerns about having gay and lesbian children are influenced by both intrapsychic and contextual factors.

Le très faible pourcentage d’enfants d’âge préscolaire atteints de troubles mentaux qui accèdent à des services de santé mentale spécialisés est un problème majeur de santé publique, compte tenu notamment de la prévalence élevée et des répercussions négatives importantes des troubles mentaux chez les jeunes enfants. C’est particulièrement le cas pour le trouble développemental du langage (TDL) qui est associé à des difficultés d’apprentissage et psychosociales significatives pouvant perdurer jusqu’à l’âge adulte. La présente thèse s’intéresse aux composantes de la surveillance développementale pour soutenir la détection précoce du TDL à la petite enfance en contexte pédopsychiatrique. Son objectif est de mieux cibler les facteurs de risque et les inquiétudes rapportées par les parents qui distinguent le TDL des autres troubles mentaux au sein d’un échantillon d’enfant d’âge préscolaire consultant en pédopsychiatrie. Le premier article vise à étudier les facteurs de risques propres au TDL, en les comparant aux autres troubles mentaux. L'acquisition des premières phrases après 24 mois, l’immigration maternelle et les antécédents familiaux de retard langagier ont été identifiés comme les prédicteurs les plus importants du TDL. De plus, les résultats montrent que les enfants atteints de TDL étaient exposés à un nombre significativement plus élevé de facteurs de risque que ceux atteints d'autres troubles mentaux. Le deuxième article explore la précision des inquiétudes parentales selon ses niveaux de sensibilité et spécificité ainsi que par sa valeur prédictive quant au diagnostic final des enfants. Les résultats ont démontré que les troubles du langage étaient mieux détectés par les parents que les autres troubles, tout en étant moins spécifiques, car ils pouvaient être associés à d'autres diagnostics que le TDL. Les inquiétudes parentales se sont avérées généralement fiables et pertinentes dans la détection de troubles mentaux dès l’âge préscolaire, à l’exception de la sphère motrice, au sein de laquelle les difficultés des enfants étaient sous-détectées. L’intégration des résultats des deux articles de la présente thèse montre qu’une meilleure connaissance et une utilisation plus efficiente des inquiétudes parentales ainsi que de facteurs de risque spécifiques lors des premiers stades du développement de l’enfant pourraient être déterminantes pour le pronostic du TDL, en se concentrant plus rapidement sur les interventions nécessaires et en s’assurant de la correspondance entre les besoins des familles et les services offerts. / The low percentage of preschool children with mental disorders accessing specialized mental health services is a major public health concern, given the high prevalence and significant negative impact of mental disorders in young children. This is particularly the case for developmental language disorder (DLD), which is associated with significant learning and psychosocial difficulties that can last into adulthood. This thesis focuses on the components of developmental surveillance to support the early detection of DLD in early childhood in a child psychiatric context. Its objective is to better target the risk factors and concerns reported by parents that distinguish DLD from other mental disorders in a sample of preschoolers consulting in child psychiatry. The first article aimed to study the risk factors specific to DLD, by comparing them to other mental disorders. Acquisition of first sentences after 24 months, maternal immigration and family history of language delay were identified as the most important predictors of DLD. In addition, the results demonstrate that children with DLD were exposed to a significantly higher number of risk factors than those with other mental disorders. In the second article the levels of sensitivity and specificity of parental concerns were reported, as well as its predictive value for the final diagnosis of children. The results showed that language disorders were better detected by parents than other disorders, while being less specific, as they could be associated with other diagnoses than DLD. Parental concerns have proven to be generally reliable and relevant in the detection of mental disorders from preschool age, except for the motor sphere, in which children's difficulties were under-detected. The integration of the results of our two articles demonstrates that a better knowledge and more efficient use of parental concerns as well as specific risk factors during the early stages of child development could be decisive for DLD prognosis, by focusing more quickly on the necessary interventions and ensuring the correspondence between the needs of families and the services offered.