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Child care and the family: NICHD study in the United States:
an opportunity to study development in context.
This article reports on the preliminary outcomes from a major longitudinal study of the influences of non parental child care, experienced during the first year of life, on the developmental progress of the children involved. The study is sponsored by the US National Institutes of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care. A major focus of the study is on ascertaining under what conditions children thrive in child care and under what conditions their development is compromised. Another central issue is the determination of the processes by which child care and the family environments affect children's development.
de Vaus, D. Suicide among young
Australians.
The concern to prevent suicide among young Australians is welcome and appropriate. However, in placing the suicide of young people in context, it can be seen that the problem is not just a problem for young people, and is not uniquely Australian. The author reports that suicide among other groups should not be overshadowed by the attention given to youth suicide, and unless youth suicide is kept in perspective, there is the danger that the dimensions and nature of the problem may be misunderstood with a resulting focus on inappropriate strategies to deal with the issue. The author suggests that to provide this sense of perspective the following types of questions should be asked: How common is youth suicide? Is it a growing problem? Is it more prevalent among young people than among other age groups? Are some groups of young people more in danger of committing suicide than others? Is suicide among young people a peculiarly Australian problem?
Disney, H; Bateman, G; Seddon, E. Healthy
families and relationships: challenges for families, practitioners and
researchers.
It is the authors contention that satisfying relationships are central to healthy families and, despite the school of thought that income, jobs and housing are the key factors in family policy, this is a focus which should not be lost. Their paper discusses challenges facing family practitioners and researchers in identifying factors involved in satisfying family relationships, and identifies priorities for research. The authors believe that the following areas are key research priorities: changing expectations in couple relationships; relationship issues for young adults; effects of family separation and re-formation on children's well being; the impact of society's management of violence and abuse; adolescents and families; and extended families.
Harrison, M; Sandor, D. News from the
Family Court.
This article is part of an occasional series on family law issues which covers a variety of different subjects and points of view. Articles in recent issues of Family Matters have canvassed topics such as indigenous people and the legal system, reforms to the English divorce legislation, the international movement of children and the sterilisation of young people. The present article provides updates on these topics. Details are provided about the extremely laborious passage through Parliament of the English divorce law reforms. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives in the Family Court are outlined, with a focus on the role of the Court's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awareness Committee. In addressing child abduction matters, brief background to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is followed by consideration of a recent case where children brought to Australia said they wanted to stay. Finally, sterilisation of children with an intellectual disability is discussed, with reference to Marion's case and JLS v JLW.
Hunter, E. Denial, rationalisation and
trivialisation of state intrusion into Aboriginal family
life.
The author examines historical processes of state intrusion into Aboriginal family life and the consequences for contemporary indigenous family functioning. He states that the best known example of systematic intrusion is the state mandated abduction of Aboriginal children from their families and he discusses this in terms of denial, rationalisation and trivialisation. He also explores the mechanisms by which these events and the ensuing problems are minimised within the wider Australian population.
Kilmartin, C. Are Australian workplaces
family friendly?
In 1995, parents with children under the age of twelve represented just over a quarter of the workforce, 29 per cent of the male workforce and 26 per cent of the female work force. How easy is it for these parents to gain the additional flexibility which may be required to carry out the dual tasks of care and paid work? The author states that the latest data suggest that the answer is still 'not easy' and that the working arrangements available to them differ little from those generally available to all workers.
The author discusses findings from a longitudinal study of the effects of day care on the development of infants and young children sponsored by the US National Institutes of Child Health and Development (NICHD). Due to the increasing numbers of American women entering the paid workforce and the consequential increasing numbers of infants and young children experiencing non maternal child care, it was decided by the NICHD to establish a longitudinal study of the effects of non maternal care. The author looks at the lessons for Australia from the data from the NICHD early child care research project and notes four points: the importance of quality of child care; the extent to which access to quality child care is related to family income; that exposure to regular non maternal child care is not damaging in and of itself to the development of infant mother attachment; and that Australia needs to conduct a study such as that sponsored by the NICHD in the United States to ensure quality service provision.
McGurk, H. Health and the family: a brief
overview.
In this brief overview, the author discusses some of the themes which emerged from the papers presented at the Sixth International symposium sponsored by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund held in 1996. These included, but were not limited to, the significance of families as the primary provider of health care, health education and illness prevention, the importance of multilevel approaches to the investigation of family health, and the relationships between individuals, communities and governments. The papers selected for publication in this issue of Family Matters reflect the range of issues addressed during the symposium and highlight some of the issue arising when health is considered in the context of families.
Moore, T G. Promoting the healthy
functioning of young children with developmental disabilities, and their
families: the evolution of theory and research.
In this article the author outlines the scope of early intervention services to young children with developmental disabilities, and their families. Discussion centres on how these support services have evolved and how they achieve change. These changes have involved a significant broadening of the aims of early intervention and a heightened awareness of the critical importance of the way in which services are delivered. Early intervention services are no longer exclusively focused on the child's disability but are much more concerned with the child in the context of the family and community. Research findings regarding the effectiveness of services and outcomes for families are presented, and critical factors involved in successful family intervention are identified.
Raphael, B; Sprague, T. Mental health and
prevention for families.
There are many opportunities for improving mental health in family settings. Programs supporting couples to build better relationships, specific parenting interventions through the period of childbirth and child rearing, and early childhood interventions have all been shown to have significant benefits. In this article the authors outline the negative impact that family disruption, loss and illness, the impact of poverty, disadvantage and violence, may have on the mental health of family members. A positive, preventive approach based on current understandings can support the family in meeting their needs and enhancing their well being.
Reed, M; Wraith, C; Bennett, D. Families,
young people and health care: a timely alliance.
This article discusses the importance of the promotion of family health, the strengthening of links between young people, their families and the community, and the development of integrative services and policies. In promoting an alliance between families, young people and health care the authors identify four key challenges: first, identifying a philosophy of family and adolescent health care; second, developing an integrated and comprehensive approach; third, engaging creativity and hope in care; and fourth, defining the nature of family and adolescent health research.
Sawyer, M; Spurrier, N. Families, parents
and chronic childhood illness.
For a minority of families, childhood illness is not a transitory
event but rather a major disruption to family routine as a result of the
need to attend medical appointments, periods of hospital admission or the
ongoing requirements of special treatments. For families in which there
is a child with a chronic illness, it is hard to escape the intimate
connection between family life and the child's illness. In this article
the authors provide an overview of past research and discuss the close
relationship between parental adjustment, family functioning, and the
psychological, social and biological outcomes for children with chronic
illness.
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