Revisiting the Marginal Man: Bridging Immigration Scholarship and Mixed-Race Studies

Immigrant and multiracial populations have both attracted attention for their significant impact on the demographic makeup of the United States. The anticipation of their continued growth raises important questions about how their increasing representation may alter the racial hierarchy. Although immigration scholarship frequently interprets intermarriage and multiracial identity as markers of assimilation, a large disconnect exists between the fields of immigration and mixed-race studies. This article bridges the gap between the two areas of scholarship by tracing their sociological origins to a shared theoretical progenitor: the marginal man. Through narrow interpretations of the resolution to experiences of marginality, the assimilation paradigm has largely failed to take into consideration the implications of multiracial identity, examining it only as transitive state assessed primarily through parental identification or within existing frameworks of immigrant identity. Based on interviews with 26 multiracial adults who have at least one immigrant parent, this study examines the meaning, content, and salience of multiracial identity for analyses of assimilation. Although much scholarship is concerned with the eroding and expanding boundaries of whiteness, this research analyzes how both part-white and nonwhite multiracial children of immigrant experiences contribute to understanding the role of multiraciality in blurring, crossing, or disrupting the boundaries that divide racial groups. The findings indicate that multiracial identity assertion was a mechanism for study participants to claim connection and belonging to multiple ethnoracial groups, rather than be rendered marginalized, distant, or partial with respect to their immigrant heritage(s).

Examining child mealtime behavior as parents are coached to implement the Mealtime PREP intervention in the home: Findings from a pilot study

Introduction The purpose of this study was to examine parental use of evidence-based mealtime strategies, child mealtime behavior, and parental identification of mealtime problems over time as parents were coached to implement the Promoting Routines of Exploration and Play during Mealtime intervention as part of a pilot study. Method This repeated measures study included data collection during three phases: (a) pre-intervention; (b) intervention; (c) post-intervention. Primary outcome measures included a parental strategy use checklist (parental strategy use) and the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment (problematic child behavior and parental identification of mealtime problems). Linear mixed models were fitted to assess change over time. Results We observed significant improvements in parental strategy use ( p < .001), child mealtime behavior ( p < .001), and parental perception of mealtime problems ( p = .002) over time. Conclusions The results of these analyses signal that empowering parents to integrate evidence-based strategies into child mealtimes is a promising approach to managing child mealtime behavior. More research is needed to determine the true relationship between parental strategy use and child behavior over time.

Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children as Overweight and Children’s Weight Concerns and Weight Gain

The global prevalence of childhood obesity is alarmingly high. Parents’ identification of their children as overweight is thought to be an important prerequisite to tackling childhood obesity, but recent findings suggest that such parental identification is counterintuitively associated with increased weight gain during childhood. One possibility is that parental identification of their child as being overweight results in that child viewing his or her body size negatively and attempting to lose weight, which eventually results in weight gain. We used data from two longitudinal cohort studies to examine the relation between children’s weight gain and their parents’ identification of them as being overweight. Across both studies, children whose parents perceive them to be overweight are more likely to view their body size negatively and are more likely than their peers to be actively trying to lose weight. These child-reported outcomes explained part of the counterintuitive association between parents’ perceptions of their children as being overweight and the children’s subsequent weight. We propose that the stigma attached to being recognized and labeled as “overweight” may partly explain these findings.

PERSPETIVAS PARENTAIS SOBRE O CONTRIBUTO DO BRINCAR NO DESENVOLVIMENTO DA CRIANÇA - PARENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF PLAY IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

As a common activity for children, play is one of a voluntary and spontaneous character. It plays an essential role in the complete satisfaction of children’s needs. Through play, children mobilize and acquire cognitive, emotional, physical and social skills in relevant learning contexts, which provide the required stimulus for human development.It´s a descriptive and exploratory study of qualitative nature. The data collection was undertaken between the months of may and june 2012 was conducted through the application of a semistructured interview to parents (n=14) of children in ages between 4 months and 3 years old, who a kindergarten in the city of Portalegre.This thesis’ aim was to know parental perspectives on play’s contribution in children’s development aged from birth to 3 years old and it delineated the analysis of parental perspectives on play’s contribution in children’s development aged from birth to 3 years old, the description of parental meanings related to play and also parental identification in children’s skills development aged, from birth to 3 years old, acquisition related to play.All parents interviewed believe play is important and recognized its relevance as a significant element of childhood. These mothers also identified contributions and skills that are essential in children’s global development at different levels – cognitive, emotional, social and physical. Play is considered a natural ability to be stimulated and developed in order to empower children. Play is fundamental part of childhood, to a right accorded to it and to which parents seek to devote quality time classifying it as one moment that reinforces and close family ties.Keywords: child, play, parents, child developmentResumo:Brincar é uma atividade própria das crianças de caráter voluntário, espontâneo e que desempenha um papel indispensável na satisfação completa das suas necessidades. Através do brincar as crianças mobilizam e adquirem competências cognitivas, emocionais, físicas e sociais em contextos de aprendizagem significativos que lhes proporcionam os estímulos essenciais ao desenvolvimento humano. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo e exploratório de natureza qualitativa. A colheita de dados realizada entre os meses de maio e junho de 2012 foi feita através da aplicação de entrevista semiestruturada a pais e mães (n=14) de crianças entre os 4 meses e os 3 anos que frequentavam um jardim infantil da cidade de Portalegre. Pretenderam conhecer as perspetivas parentais acerca do contributo do brincar no desenvolvimento das crianças do nascimento aos 3 anos e delinearam os seguintes objetivos: analisar as perspetivas parentais sobre o contributo do brincar no desenvolvimento na criança do nascimento aos 3 anos, descrever os significados parentais associados ao brincar e identificar a aquisição de competências da criança do nascimento aos 3 anos relacionadas com o brincar pelos pais. Todos os pais consideraram que brincar é importante, reconheceram a sua relevância enquanto elemento significativo da infância e identificaram contributos e competências essenciais no desenvolvimento global das crianças a nível cognitivo, emocional, social e físico. Brincar é entendido como uma capacidade natural a ser estimulada e desenvolvida com o intuito de capacitar as crianças. Brincar é fundamental, faz parte da infância, constituindo um direito que lhe é reconhecido e ao qual os pais procuram dedicar tempo de qualidade classificando-o como momento único que reforça e estreita os laços familiares.Palavras-chave: criança, brincar, pais, desenvolvimento infantil