Authentic gender development in non-binary children

At present, the conceptualization of gender as a spectrum as well as non-binary identities have become increasingly visible and embraced. We are using non-binary as an umbrella term that refers to individuals who self-identify as a gender outside the gender binary, and/or who do not identify as always and completely being just a man or a woman. Our goal is to begin to create a framework for understanding gender development in non-binary children ages 0 to 8, since previous models have operated on cissupremacist assumptions, not applicable to non-binary people. As there is virtually no empirical data on the subject, we conducted a thorough literature review of current gender development theories and used our positionality as non-binary researchers to postulate two minimum criteria for non-binary gender identification: that a child learns about the existence of non-binary identities, and that they do not identify with the definitions they have been taught of what a boy or girl is. Children can learn about non-binary identities through media and knowledgeable community members and can develop “gender traits” authentically and come to identify as non-binary through biological predispositions, parental support, modeling, and being in peer groups that are supportive of identity exploration. Yet, children are not simply a product of their nature and nurture, as evidence has shown that humans are active agents in their gender development from a young age

Análisis de los estereotipos de género y sus implicaciones en la elección profesional de un grupo de educadoras de nivel inicial

El objetivo de la presente investigación fue conocer las posibles implicaciones de los estereotipos de género (EG) en la elección profesional de un grupo de educadoras de nivel inicial. Se entrevistó a 26 educadoras, siguiendo los lineamientos del análisis temático. Se construyeron ocho subtemas de manera inductiva y al ser contrastados con la teoría se agruparon en cuatro temas: 1) Influencia hetero-patriarcal en la vida de las educadoras, 2) Trabajo con la primera infancia, 3) Vocación de educadora y 4) Los problemas de la educadora. Los resultados muestran que los EG influyen en la elección profesional de las participantes, pues gran parte de las entrevistadas se identificó personalmente con características del estereotipo tradicional de feminidad, pese a no relacionarlo explícitamente con el sistema hetero-patriarcal

Organización de la calidad del cuidado en una familia con un padre soltero y gay

The aim of this research was to analyze, from a gender perspective, the quality of care that a single and gay father offers his son through his experiences, perceptions, and difficulties. One father, single by choice and gay, participated with his one-year-old and nine-month-old son. A semi-structured interview was conducted, and the criteria proposed for the thematic analysis was followed for the interpretation of the data. Results indicate that the participant is immersed in the social model of hegemonic masculinity, as well as benefiting from the privileges that the patriarchy grants to men; however, this model also leads him to live with an unavoidable fear for society’s stereotypes and prejudices regarding his type of family. Quality of care is not exclusive to only one gender, since it depends on time, availability, accessibility, patience, and adult’s self-awareness, as well as the correct interpretation of child’s signals; it is learned from caregiver’s experiences and perceptions, so it does not belong exclusively to biological motherhood.El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar, desde una perspectiva de género, la calidad del cuidado que un padre soltero y gay ofrece a su hijo al recuperar sus experiencias, percepciones y dificultades. Participó un padre, soltero por elección y gay, con un hijo de un año y nueve meses de edad. Se realizó una entrevista semiestructurada y para la interpretación de los datos se siguieron los criterios propuestos para el análisis temático. Los resultados de este trabajo indican que el participante se encuentra inmerso en el modelo social de masculinidad hegemónica, así como beneficiado por los privilegios que el patriarcado otorga a los varones; sin embargo, dicho modelo también lo lleva a vivir con temor inevitable por los estereotipos y prejuicios de la sociedad como consecuencia de la conformación de su familia. La calidad del cuidado no es exclusiva de un sólo género, pues esta depende de tiempo, disponibilidad, accesibilidad, paciencia, la correcta lectura de las señales del niño, así como la autoconsciencia del adulto, por lo que esta es aprendida a partir de las experiencias y percepciones del cuidador y no responde a la maternidad biológica exclusivamente

Preditores do envolvimento paterno numa amostra de famílias portuguesas. O papel das crenças parentais

O presente estudo visou analisar preditores do envolvimento paterno em atividades do dia-a-dia relacionadas com a criança, considerando a perspetiva do pai (crenças sobre o papel do pai) e testando o possível papel regulador da mãe (via crenças maternas). Foram controladas variáveis sociodemográficas dos cuidadores (e.g., habilitações) e da criança (e.g., sexo). Participaram no estudo 241 famílias nucleares (pai, mãe e criança-alvo). Análises de regressão múltipla hierárquica indicam que apenas os modelos relativos aos cuidados são significativos, e que os preditores são distintos consoante os domínios analisados. Obteve-se, ainda, um efeito de interação entre as crenças maternas e o sexo da criança, indicando o potencial papel regulatório da mãe no modo como os pais estão envolvidos nos cuidados diretos às raparigas. Estes resultados colocam questões importantes para o trabalho com as famílias no sentido de promover um maior envolvimento positivo do pai.Abstract The present study aimed to analyze predictors of father’s involvement in day-to-day activities related to the child, from his perspective (beliefs about the role of the father), but also testing the regulatory role of the mother (maternal beliefs). Parents (e.g., education) and child’s (e.g., sex) sociodemographic variables were controlled. Participants were 241 Portuguese bi-parental families (father, mother and target-child). Multiple hierarquical regression analyses showed that only for care the models reached significance, and that the predictors of father’s involvement vary according to the domains analyzed. An interaction effect was found between mother’s beliefs and child sex, suggesting that mothers have a role in the way fathers are involved in direct care with girls. These results foster important questions for interventions with families in order to promote father’s positive involvement.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Are the children alright? A systematic review of psychological adjustment of children conceived by assisted reproductive technologies

The present systematic review aims to assess the psychological adjustment of children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and to screen for clinical problems when compared with normative data from the standardized indexes of mental health. Following PRISMA guidelines, the search was conducted from inception through September 2021 using APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, Academic Search Complete, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and RCAAP. Search terms related to ART and children’s psychological adjustment were combined to Boolean operators to identify relevant published studies in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Peer-reviewed studies focused on the psychological adjustment of ART children aged between the 3 and 11 years were included. From a total of 337 results, 45 papers were eligible to be included in this review. Data extraction was performed independently by two authors and revised and confrmed by other two authors. All children scored below the clinical range for psychiatric symptoms when compared with normative data for the Strengths and Difculties Questionnaire (SDQ) or the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA), regardless of type of ART and diferent family confgurations. Further, some evidence suggests that surrogacy children with gay fathers present the lowest levels of psychological problems when compared to normative data. These fndings enable practitioners to develop an informed view of ART children mental health outcomes to help parents fnd more adaptive strategies to navigate their chosen pathways in healthier waysFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predictors of attitudes toward lesbian and gay parenting in an ecuadorian sample.

In the past few years, Ecuador has experienced legal changes toward the recognition of sexual minority rights. However, lesbian and gay (LG) individuals and couples still face legal obstacles to become parents and social barriers that place their families in disadvantage compared to their heterosexual counterparts. To date, it is not known whether the legal changes reflect society’s move toward a more progressive and accepting climate. This study analyzed the attitudes toward LG parenting in an Ecuadorian online-recruited sample. Three hundred thirty-eight (338) participants answered an online questionnaire about the negative effects and the benefits of having LG parents. The strongest belief among participants was that children of LG parents would be victimized because of their parents’ sexual orientation. Analyses indicated differences in attitudes based on age, sexual orientation, marital status, education level, as well as religiosity. Finally, regression models suggested that beliefs about the origins of sexual orientation and contact with LG people predicted attitude scores. Implications of these findings are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

“This is not what God intended”: Attitudes toward adoption by same-sex couples in Ecuador

Introduction: In Ecuador, adoption is limited to heterosexual couples and information on attitudes toward same-sex couples who intend to become parents following this pathway is scarce. This study aimed to identify the beliefs of a sample of 319 cisgender people in Ecuador regarding the adoption of children by same-sex couples and explore the reasons why they consider it is appropriate or not for lesbian and gay (LG) couples to adopt children. Methods: Between May and October 2019, participants responded quantitative and qualitative questions after reading a vignette about a couple interested in adopting a child. Participants were randomly presented with one out of three versions of the vignette based on the couples’ sexual orientation (L,G, heterosexual). Descriptive, correlational statistics and analysis of variance were used to conduct quantitative analyses. Qualitative responses were analyzed using thematic and content analysis. Results: Results indicate favorability toward adoption by all couples in general. However, people showed the highest concerns about adoption by LG couples. Qualitative answers indicate the existence of nine types of arguments used by participants to explain their position in favor or against adoption by same-sex couples. Conclusion: Some are problematic since they are rooted in prejudiced ideas about heterosexual people’s superiority regarding their capacities to create emotionally nurturing environments. Policy Implications: Providing information regarding LG parenting might be a way of achieving legislative changes that might, in turn, promote social change by providing a legal platform for same-sex couples to achieve parenthood. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Can Children Have Ordinary Expectable Caregiving Environments in Unconventional Contexts? Quality of Care Organization in Three Mexican Same-Sex Planned Families

The aim of this research was to explore the elements that configure the quality of care among three Mexican same-sex planned families: two female-parented families (through donor insemination) and a male-parented one (through adoption). The first family consisted of two mothers and a 3-year-old daughter; the second one had two mothers and a 1.5-year-old set of boy twins and the third family consisted of two fathers and a 2-year-old girl. It was assumed that Ainsworth’s notions of quality of care organization are useful in order to understand caregiver–child attachment relationships, regardless of the parents’ sexual orientation. A collective case study was selected due to the fact that these families shared their “unconventionality” (i.e., parents were not heterosexual) and the fact that they were planned, but each one constituted a particular case with a unique configuration. Four trained independent observers used the q-sort methodology (Maternal Behavior Q-Sort and Attachment Q-Sort) to describe parents’ and children’s behavior, respectively. The findings showed that parents were highly sensitive and all children used them as a secure base. To provide an in-depth examination of which elements configure the quality of care, a semi-structured interview with each parent was carried out. Through a thematic analysis, an over-arching theme named Affections and Emotions was identified, together with six subthemes: (1) Creating an affective environment; (2) Being available; (3) Acknowledging and expressing emotions; (4) Perceiving, interpreting and responding adequately to the child’s real self; (5) Taking the child’s perspective into account; and (6) Agreeing on roles and dividing the tasks. In order to showcase the particular configuration of gay parenting, the male-headed family narrative is reported in detail, because gay parents have been perceived as violating traditional gender roles as well as the hegemonic model of masculinity. The findings were consistent with the notion of quality of care as proposed by Ainsworth and her collaborators. The implications of the methodological device and research regarding same-sex planned families are discussed so as to understand the organization of the caregiving environment

Age-Related Macular Degeneration: New Paradigms for Treatment and Management of AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a well-characterized and extensively studied disease. It is currently considered the leading cause of visual disability among patients over 60 years. The hallmark of early AMD is the formation of drusen, pigmentary changes at the macula, and mild to moderate vision loss. There are two forms of AMD: the “dry” and the “wet” form that is less frequent but is responsible for 90% of acute blindness due to AMD. Risk factors have been associated with AMD progression, and they are taking relevance to understand how AMD develops: (1) advanced age and the exposition to environmental factors inducing high levels of oxidative stress damaging the macula and (2) this damage, which causes inflammation inducing a vicious cycle, altogether causing central vision loss. There is neither a cure nor treatment to prevent AMD. However, there are some treatments available for the wet form of AMD. This article will review some molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with the onset of AMD focusing on feasible treatments for each related factor in the development of this pathology such as vascular endothelial growth factor, oxidative stress, failure of the clearance of proteins and organelles, and glial cell dysfunction in AMD

Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) in Different Hispanic Countries: An Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Parental burnout is a unique and context-specific syndrome resulting from a chronic imbalance of risks over resources in the parenting domain. The current research aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) across Spanish-speaking countries with two consecutive studies. In Study 1, we analyzed the data through a bifactor model within an Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) on the pooled sample of participants (N = 1,979) obtaining good fit indices. We then attained measurement invariance across both gender and countries in a set of nested models with gradually increasing parameter constraints. Latent means comparisons across countries showed that among the participants' countries, Chile had the highest parental burnout score, likewise, comparisons across gender evidenced that mothers displayed higher scores than fathers, as shown in previous studies. Reliability coefficients were high. In Study 2 (N = 1,171), we tested the relations between parental burnout and three specific consequences, i.e., escape and suicidal ideations, parental neglect, and parental violence toward one's children. The medium to large associations found provided support for the PBA's predictive validity. Overall, we concluded that the Spanish version of the PBA has good psychometric properties. The results support its relevance for the assessment of parental burnout among Spanish-speaking parents, offering new opportunities for cross-cultural research in the parenting domain