Transformation of the family resource support system in Russia

This study examined the transformation of the family’s resource supply system, taking into account the educational strategies of its members. It is substantiated that the development of the family as a social institution becomes possible only through the creation of an open system of its resource supply in compliance with the principles of joint activities and gender equality, which ensures the integration of individual functions of the family and higher education. On the issue of women’s access to available resources, including educational ones, the work revealed a social contradiction, when, on the one hand, women retain an active position in the provision of resources to the family, there is equal access with men to information and intellectual resources, on the other hand, there is a limited access of women to power, material and financial resources. In the field of complex analysis and assessment of the family's resource supply, the authors have proposed new indicators of information-technological and educational growth of a social institution: technologies of housekeeping; use of information technologies in the family resource supply system. The conclusion is made about the growing role of modern technologies of public participation, contributing to the improvement of the status of women and strengthening their role in the resource provision of the family by increasing the educational level and status.

Mothers’ Experiences with Child Protection Services: Using Qualitative Feminist Poststructuralism

Background: The postpartum period is often portrayed as a blissful, calm and loving time when mothers, partners and family members bond with their newborn babies. However, this time may be experienced quite differently when mothers are monitored by Child Protection Services. Having a baby under these circumstances can be very difficult and traumatizing. While all new parents require support and information to help them through the transition to parenthood and address physical and psycho-social changes, mothers who are involved with Child Protection Services require more specialized support as they encounter higher incidences of postpartum stressors and higher rates of poverty, mental illness and substance abuse. The impact of support for mothers involved with Child Protection Services is not well-understood from the perspective of mothers. Aim: The aim of the study was to understand how new mothers in Nova Scotia prioritized their postpartum needs and where they went to obtain information and support. Methods: Feminist poststructuralism was the methodology used to understand how the experiences of five mothers who accessed a family resource center and had been involved with Child Protection Services in Nova Scotia Canada had been personally, socially and institutionally constructed. Results: Themes include: (1) We are Mothers, (2) Being Red Flagged, (3) Lack of Trust, (4) Us Against Them and (5) Searching for Supportive Relationships. Conclusion: Personal stories from all participants demonstrated how they experienced stigma and stereotypes from healthcare workers and were often not recognized as mothers. They also struggled to find information, supports and services to help them keep or regain their babies.

Family Resource Management and COVID-19 in Nigeria: Challenges and Innovative Solutions

The outbreak of the coronavirus has had severe implications on the availability and management of family resources. The aim of this study was to establish the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the management of family resources in Nigeria and also provide new approaches and alternatives that can be used to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The descriptive survey design was used for the research. The population consisted of all households in Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of 150 households from the study. Data were obtained using questionnaire that was developed using Google docs as the research instrument. The instrument was validated by three experts with a reliability coefficient of 0.61. The data were statistically analyzed using mean and standard deviation and findings presented on tables. One sample t-test was used to analyze the data. The participants from the study agreed that the Covid-19 outbreak has had an impact on family resource management causing reductions in the availability of family resources, quality of family life and size of family income. The result also showed that the impact of Covid-19 on family resource management is significantly (p<0.05) high. Therefore, to cope with the current changing times and the challenges posed by Covid-19, families should focus on acquiring skills such as digital and entrepreneurial skills, arranging their order of activities in order to meet family needs and reducing wastage of resources through proper management and recycling.

Rethinking the Fertility Transition in Rural Aragón (Spain) Using Height Data

Based on an analysis of the life trajectories of 2510 conscripts and their families from a Spanish rural area in the period 1835–1977, this paper studies the development of the fertility transition in relation to height using bivariate analyses. The use of heights is an innovative perspective of delving into the fertility transition and social transformation entailed. The results confirm that the men with a low level of biological well-being (related to low socio-economic groups) were those who started to control their fertility, perhaps due to the effect that increased average family size had on their budget. The children of individuals who controlled their fertility were taller than the children of other families. Therefore, the children of parents who controlled their fertility experienced the largest intergenerational increase in height (approximately 50% higher). This increase could be due to the consequence of a greater investment in children (Becker’s hypothesis) or a greater availability of resources for the whole family (resource dilution hypothesis).

‘Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room’: Online music therapy with children and adolescents with visual impairment

The COVID-19 pandemic created a major transformation in the delivery of music therapy services worldwide as they moved online. Telehealth research is in its infancy and online work with children and adolescents with visual impairment has yet to be investigated. This survey-based study explored the experiences and perceptions of parents of children and adolescents with visual impairment ( n = 11) who engaged in online music therapy. Video playlists were accessed regularly and almost all parents reported positive (2/11) or very positive (8/11) responses and perceived them as beneficial in engaging with their child. Ninety-five percent (10/11) of parents perceived the teleheath programme to be a positive experience for their child, 73% (8/11) observed positive behaviours directly after the sessions, and 82% (9/11) indicated that the programme was a valuable family resource that supported bonding and interaction. Inductive reflexive thematic analysis generated four themes from the qualitative data: (a) positive impacts, (b) interactive family resource, (c) connection to school, and (d) challenges. A discussion of the findings is followed by implications for practice.

Parent's experiences with Strongstrart BC in four communities in British Columbia

The literature has shown that early childhood programs are widely accepted as an intervention that is effective at improving outcomes for families. The current study explores parents’ experiences within a school-based family resource program initiative, StrongStart BC. This qualitative study draws on ecological systems and sociocultural theoretical perspective to examine parents’ perceptions of familial outcomes and program characteristics, in order to identify which characteristics are fundamental for successful outcomes. Thematic analysis was used to analyse focus group data gathered from four program sites as part of a larger study evaluating the effectiveness of StrongStart BC across British Columbia. Results indicate that successful familial outcomes from participation in family resource programs are influenced by a complex interplay of factors related to accessibility and pedagogical characteristics, with accessibility standing out as a fundamentally important consideration. Drawing on the broadly defined concept of accessibility, implications for school-based family resource programs are discussed and recommendations for practice, policy and future research are presented.

Parent's experiences with Strongstrart BC in four communities in British Columbia

The literature has shown that early childhood programs are widely accepted as an intervention that is effective at improving outcomes for families. The current study explores parents’ experiences within a school-based family resource program initiative, StrongStart BC. This qualitative study draws on ecological systems and sociocultural theoretical perspective to examine parents’ perceptions of familial outcomes and program characteristics, in order to identify which characteristics are fundamental for successful outcomes. Thematic analysis was used to analyse focus group data gathered from four program sites as part of a larger study evaluating the effectiveness of StrongStart BC across British Columbia. Results indicate that successful familial outcomes from participation in family resource programs are influenced by a complex interplay of factors related to accessibility and pedagogical characteristics, with accessibility standing out as a fundamentally important consideration. Drawing on the broadly defined concept of accessibility, implications for school-based family resource programs are discussed and recommendations for practice, policy and future research are presented.

Interview Techniques for Children with Disabilities

The goal of the present study was to examine interview techniques that can be used with young children with disabilities. Four children aged three to five were recruited at a family resource center affiliated with a university in Toronto and were interviewed twice at their childcare centers. Multiple methods were used in the interviews to examine techniques that worked well with the children. The types and purposes of interview questions were analyzed, and the themes emerged from the interactions between the interviewers and the children were discussed. Overall, this study provides insights to the research methodologies that can be used to investigate the perspectives of young children with disabilities and underscores the importance of listening to this population through multiple ways.

Interview Techniques for Children with Disabilities

The goal of the present study was to examine interview techniques that can be used with young children with disabilities. Four children aged three to five were recruited at a family resource center affiliated with a university in Toronto and were interviewed twice at their childcare centers. Multiple methods were used in the interviews to examine techniques that worked well with the children. The types and purposes of interview questions were analyzed, and the themes emerged from the interactions between the interviewers and the children were discussed. Overall, this study provides insights to the research methodologies that can be used to investigate the perspectives of young children with disabilities and underscores the importance of listening to this population through multiple ways.

Children's fingernail cortisol among BaYaka foragers of the Congo Basin: associations with fathers' roles

Children and mothers’ cortisol production in response to family psychosocial conditions, including parenting demands, family resource availability and parental conflict, has been extensively studied in the United States and Europe. Less is known about how such family dynamics relate to family members' cortisol in societies with a strong cultural emphasis on cooperative caregiving. We studied a cumulative indicator of cortisol production, measured from fingernails, among BaYaka forager children (77 samples, n = 48 individuals) and their parents (78 samples, n = 49) in the Congo Basin. Men ranked one another according to locally valued roles for fathers, including providing resources for the family, sharing resources in the community and engaging in less marital conflict. Children had higher cortisol if their parents were ranked as having greater parental conflict, and their fathers were seen as less effective providers and less generous sharers of resources in the community. Children with lower triceps skinfold thickness (an indicator of energetic condition) also had higher cortisol. Parental cortisol was not significantly correlated to men's fathering rankings, including parental conflict. Our results indicate that even in a society in which caregiving is highly cooperative, children's cortisol production was nonetheless correlated to parental conflict as well as variation in locally defined fathering quality. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal–child health’.