“Intertwined Lives”

Sibling relationships are complex and unique, often spanning a range of deep emotions. The experiences of children with disabilities and their siblings are arguably seldom documented, particularly in the Global South. The aim of this chapter was to uncover the narratives of young children with disabilities and their siblings in Sri Lanka. Ten dyads of children with disabilities and their siblings and one quartet of siblings were included in this study. Opportunities were offered to the participants to engage in conversation aided by kinetic family drawings. An interview guide was used to support this process. The participant data were analyzed through the lens of the “lived experience” of family dynamics in the tradition of interpretative phenomenological analysis. This chapter will discuss the two complex broad themes of a surrogate parenting role and normative sibling relationships, which at times converge and at times diverge.

Change and Stability in the Paternal Role Among Palestinian Fathers Living in Israel

In the current study, we expand the understanding of paternal involvement in the Arab world and studied paternal involvement among Palestinian fathers living in Israel. To address cultural and sociopolitical contexts, we investigated the paternal role in relation to modernization processes characterizing Palestinian society in Israel (education, tradition, and religiosity). To capture the variance in the paternal role, we assessed it as a multifaceted construct involving three dimensions: direct childcare, household chores, and taking care of bureaucracy and finances. Sixty-eight Palestinian couples participated in the study. Participating parents separately completed a questionnaire assessing parenting role division. In addition, participating fathers completed questionnaires assessing paternal religiosity, and traditionality. Results showed that among the different involvement types, Palestinian fathers are most involved in home-related financial and bureaucratic tasks (i.e., outside tasks). Compared to bureaucracy and finances, paternal involvement in direct childcare tasks was lower, and involvement in routine housework was the lowest. Among the modernity variables, fathers’ tertiary education, but not religiosity or traditionality, predicted increased paternal involvement in childcare tasks and routine housework. The study results suggest the continuous prominence of traditional gender role division among Palestinian fathers living in Israel and indicate a slight change among fathers with higher education. The relative prominence of indirect forms of paternal involvement found in our study highlight the importance of evaluating paternal involvement as a multifaceted construct involving both direct and indirect care tasks in collectivistic and traditional societies.

Mothers’ Well-Being in Families and Family Structure: Examining Constellations of Stressors Across Life Domains

Identifying conditions under which parents thrive is a key concern of family research. Prior research often focused on mothers’ well-being in single life domains, yet it is more likely to be shaped by stressors that stem directly from the parenting role and related stressors emerging from spillover processes into other domains. We therefore examine how stressors concerning mothers’ subjective, relational, and financial well-being accumulate and combine within subgroups of mothers and whether the likelihood to belong to these multidimensional subgroups varies by family structure. Using representative German data ( N = 11,242), latent class analysis revealed four distinct subgroups of maternal well-being with varying exposure to financial, psychological, and relational stressors. Regression models showed that particularly single mothers were at risk to belong to the most vulnerable group with exposure to multiple stressors. Findings are discussed in light of persisting disparities among post-separation families despite demographic trends toward growing family diversity.

COVID-19 and Parental Burnout: Parents Locked Down but Not More Exhausted

Lockdowns put in place in response to the COVID-19 health crisis have changed daily functioning for families and potentially the emotional experience of individuals in their parenting role. Our study aimed to highlight the importance of the environmental consequences associated with lockdowns on parental burnout. We compared data on parental burnout levels from two French samples: the first collected in 2018 ( N = 1332) and the second collected during the last month of lockdown ( N = 522). Our results show that parents included during the lockdown period reported significantly, but slightly, higher saturation (a dimension of the parental burnout construct) than parents included 2 years earlier. However, the number of children per age group, maintaining employment, and having to provide schooling at home are not variables that explain differences in the level of parental burnout between our two samples. Our results are discussed with regard to the risk factors identified and the French context.

Attitudes about Paid Parental Leave: Cross-national comparisons and the significance of gendered expectations, family strains, and extant leave offerings

Using data on paid parental leave preferences from 35,488 adults situated within 26 different OECD countries, and multilevel modeling, this study examines public opinions about the provision of paid parental leave, some government funding of leave offerings, and preferred lengths of leave offerings. We consider how attitudes may be similar or different across social contexts and then focus upon the extent to which gender, gendered parenting role attitudes, family strains, and country-level institutionalized leave offerings are associated with leave preferences. The findings indicate that the vast majority of respondents are in favor of rather widespread and generous paid parental leave offerings; indeed, there are generally high levels of support for paid leave availability, relatively long paid leave offerings, and government funding of leaves. Gendered expectations and family strains are consistently associated with individuals’ leave preferences—even after accounting for country-level social contexts. Country-level offerings are also associated with leave preferences-- yet we find that the overwhelming majority of respondents express a desire for paid parental leave length offerings that are substantially different than the extant leave offerings in their country. Overall, this research complements previous work by newly documenting widespread public support for the provision of paid leave and some government funding of it. Also, it establishes that gendered expectations, family strains, and country-level practices are consistently associated with paid parental leave preferences in wealthy countries. Yet, substantial dissatisfaction with extant paid leave policies within countries seems to be commonplace.

The Influence of Parenting Style on Male Juvenile Delinquency: A Case of Kamiti Youth Correction and Training Center (KYCTC), Kiambu County, Kenya

The rising cases of delinquency among male teenagers is a feedback of sorts that the family system that is the nurturing context of children has failed to effectively protect the teenagers against negative influences. The scenario, has brought the nurturing role of parents into sharp focus. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of the parenting styles on male juvenile delinquency at the Kamiti Youth Correction and Training Center (KYCTC), which is within Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was guided by Baumrind’s parenting styles theory which categorizes parenting styles on the basis of responsiveness and demandingness in the parenting role. The study used purposive sampling method and simple random technique to select a sample of 68 males aged between 15 and 18 years from a target population of 120 delinquents at the KYCTC. The study used the ex post facto design. In this design data was collected through interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and self-administered questionnaire. Quantitative data collected through questionnaires was analyzed through descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS version 25.0 and qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions was analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings of the study indicated that authoritarian parenting style (42%) and permissive parenting style (29.4%) posed the greatest danger to the development of juvenile delinquency. On the other hand, authoritative parenting style (8.8%) posed the least danger to the development of juvenile delinquency. Presentation of data was done through tables, graphs and thematic descriptions of respondent’s statements. The findings point to the critical role the parenting style plays in the development or prevention of juvenile delinquency. Strengthening of the parenting role, coordination with other key influencers including teachers, Government Departments such as the Children’s Department and the Correctional Services, Rehabilitation Centers run by religious organizations and government rehabilitation programs such as KYCTC, can make a difference if each plays their critical role.

Psychometric Properties of the Polish Version of the Parental Feelings Inventory

Previous reports from international literature have emphasized the specific nature of the feelings experienced by parents related to their role, differentiating them from other emotional states. Researchers highlighted the role of parental emotions in parent–child interaction and child development. The aim of the present study was to create the Polish version of the Parental Feelings Inventory (PFI), which is a rating scale designed to determine parental emotions within the parenting role, and to assess its psychometric properties. The participants included 191 parents (102 mothers and 89 fathers) aged 22 to 55 years (M = 37.18, SD = 6.85), both parents of healthy children and those of children with chronic diseases or disabilities. All participants completed the translated PFI questionnaire, Parental Attitude Scale (SPR), SUPIN S20 and SUPIN C20. The results support a three-factor solution (Angry, Happy, and Anxious/Sad) and a structure of 22 items for the PFI. The internal consistency for the complete scale was α = 0.78 for mothers and α = 0.76 for fathers. Cronbach’s α coefficients for individual factors for the Polish version were good: all above 0.80. The Polish PFI correlated with measures of parental attitudes and positive/negative affect; in addition, the Polish version confirms the basic psychometric criteria of the original and yields the same results. Therefore, the Polish version of the PFI is a valid and reliable tool for measuring parental feelings and can be successfully used as a measure of emotional experiences in the parenting role.

Preferences for Paid Paternity Leave Availability, Lengths of Leave Offerings, and Government Funding of Paternity Leaves in the U.S.

This study analyzes 2012 General Social Survey data (N = 1,089) about preferences for paid paternity leave availability, lengths of leave offerings, and government funding of leaves. It highlights gender and gendered parenting role attitudes as predictors of leave preferences. Descriptive results revealed sizable (i.e., 53%) support for leave availability and moderate (i.e., 33%) support for some government funding; still, only modest (i.e., 5 weeks) lengths of leave offerings were desired. Regression results indicated that women were typically more likely than men to support more generous leave offerings. Consistently, dual-earner expectations were positively associated with preferences for more generous leave offerings. Separate spheres attitudes appeared to be meaningful for women’s preferences, but not for men’s preferences. Importantly, the findings from this study suggest that there have been longstanding preferences for more generous and widespread paid paternity leave offerings in the U.S.—and more public policy action is long overdue.

Subjective experiences of participating in an attachment-based early intervention parenting program

This qualitative study evaluated an attachment-based group parenting program that utilises mentalisation-based approach. The Building Early Attachment and Resilience (BEAR) program was designed to promote parent-child attachment across the perinatal period and has pre- and post-natal arms. The post-natal component targets mothers and infants at risk for early disturbances of attachment to, and emotional interaction. This evaluation study aimed to explore mothers’ subjective experiences of the post-natal BEAR program in encouraging mothers’ reflection on their role as a parent. Thirteen mothers were interviewed. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis, with five themes emerging. Overall, mothers reported that the intervention promoted reflection about the parenting role, contributed to perceptions of improved mother-infant interactions and increased understanding of their infant’s internal experiences. The results suggest the BEAR program is acceptable and facilitates the development of secure parent-infant attachment.