Parenting in Post-Divorce Estonian Families: A Qualitative Study

Estonia is a society characterised by persistence of traditional gender role attitudes. Accordingly, taking care of children is considered to be mainly mother\'s task and children's living arrangements following divorce are usually solved in the most traditional way children stay with their mother. Based on qualitative interviews with divorced mothers the study focused on the attitudes of mothers towards fathers\' involvement in parenting following divorce. It was possible to differentiate between three post-divorce parenting patterns: (1) cooperative parenting with nonresident father involved with his children, (2) distant parenting characterized by loose contacts between children and nonresident father, and (3) sole parenting without any paternal involvement or financial support. The interviewees basically agreed that shared parental responsibilities would be the ideal form of post-divorce parenting but in practice their expectations concerning father\'s involvement were rather modest. The interviewees mostly approved prevailing in Estonia normative gendered parental role obligations with mother as the primary parent who had to take main responsibility for children both in the marriage as well as in the post-divorce period.Divorce; Parenting Patterns; Traditional Gender Roles; Qualitative Study; Estonia

Solo parenting in New Zealand: Who are the children?

The purpose of this paper is to begin to explore some of the recent trends and attributes of sole parenting in New Zealand, but from a from a child-centered rather than a parentfocused perspective. Reports that the proportions of children living in sole parent families have significantly increased have been the source of much concern, and even ‘moral panic’, over recent quinquennia. Sole parent households made up nine per cent of all households in 1976, and were up to 19 per cent by 1991. Advocates of family values allege that the traditional family unit is breaking down, and that this will have negative consequences for society and for our children. Previous research into the issue of sole parent families has been largely based on census information, producing snapshot-like pictures of the situation at one point in time. This paper begins to offer a more thorough look into some of the trends and processes at work by adopting the benefits of a longitudinal, retrospective survey that traces cohorts of children through their childhood. By following different cohorts through their family experiences during childhood, we can begin to build up a picture about if and how experiences of sole parenting have changed over time, and can begin to speculate about the situation for today’s children

The highs and lows of sole parenting experienced by wāhine Māori : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Philosophy (Health) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Wāhine Māori and their experiences of sole parenting is an important field of study although it is under-examined in the field of research. The topic is common in literature that is related to political, economic and educational issues of children being raised by a sole parent. An examination of the experiences of wāhine Māori sole parents is the focus of this study and is an area with very little academic research. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach relevant in exploratory research that focuses on experiences and perceptions of people, in this research wāhine Māori. A kanohi ki kanohi interview process enabled the voices of the wāhine Māori to be heard, prompting their detailed lived experiences. Kaupapa Māori, Māori-centred research and a Mana wāhine approach guided and influenced this research. The findings from this research showed that wāhine Māori identified the importance of education, therefore completing academic studies and seeking employment. Essentially they became role models for their tamariki. A major contribution was the significant supportive role played by the grandfathers who had fundamentally parented them then went on to manaaki their mokopuna. Other ‘good men’ had made an impact with the tamariki for example mentoring them through sporting ventures. A recognition for the wāhine Māori as sole parents was they were successful in parenting their tamariki for their future growth and development and therefore strived for the same outcomes as others in society. Finally, these insights provide the basis for recommendations to improve social services for wāhine Māori and principles to guide their future development

The Modern Application of the Best Interests of the Child Theory in Custodial Law

In its traditional sense, family law (aka domestic relations law) involves the legal relationships between husband and wife, parent and child, as a social, political, and economic unit. Recently, the boundaries of family law have to grown to encompass relationships among persons who live together but are not married, so-called non-traditional families. The legal aspects of families, whether they are traditional or non-traditional, include principles of constitutional law, property law, contract law, tort law, civil procedure, statutory regulations, equitable remedies, and marital property and support rights. Most family law statues are drafted as general guidelines. Consequently, state court judges normally have broad discretion in resolving many family law disputes. Moreover, a particular judge’s interpretation of family law issues will be guided by the law of the state whose family law governs the case, and the underlying law is rarely uniform from state to state. A judge may be bound by a state’s traditional family law statutes and judicial precedents, a more modern approach, or a combination of the two

New Zealand regions, 1986-2001: Household and families, and their dwellings

Household structures and patterns of home ownership can have important implications for the wellbeing of populations. This paper explores regional differences in Household Structure and Home ownership for the period 1986 to 2001. Over this period there have been some major changes in the distribution of different household structures with a move away from the Two-parent household to other household types, such as Couple Only and Single-person households. Over the same period rates of home ownership have dropped. This paper shows that the patterns and trends for household structures and dwelling tenure vary significantly between regions. This reflects both overall national trends and inequalities between regions

An exploration of nurses' understanding of parenting in hospital : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Nursing) at Massey University

Irregular pagination - pgs 14 & 24 missingParental involvement in their child's care in hospital is common place. Research indicates that parents want to actively participate in the care ot their child. Nurses' responses to parental presence in hospital have been examined in previous research, especially with regard to attitudes, perspectives and role division. There was however a gap In the literature with regard to nurses' understanding of parenting in hospital. Within New Zealand there was no research examining nurses' understanding of parenting. The research described in this 75 point thesis explored the nurses' understanding of parenting in hospital. Using focus groups as the research method, eight nurses were invited to share their understanding of parenting in a New Zealand hospital. The data was analysed using thematic analysis informed by Stevens (1996). Although the size of the study was limited, this research has been able to raise some important issues about nurses' understanding of parenting in hospital, including the conflict perceived between parents and nurses, and the participants 'ideal' parent-nurse relationship

Just Doing What They Gotta Do: Single Black Custodial Fathers Coping With the Stresses and Reaping the Rewards of Parenting

For single African American custodial fathers, parenting stress is exacerbated by the cultural expectation that Black fathers are normally absent and by the clustering of stresses that Black men are more likely to encounter. This sample of African American fathers have used a repertoire of problem-focused and cognitive coping strategies, including some that are frequently considered culturally specific. Twenty Black single custodial fathers are interviewed and their narratives are analyzed for concepts and thematic categories related to stress and coping. Their narratives indicate that certain strategies are avoided because (a) these strategies are not available to them and (b) they desire to present themselves as independent and competent, thus resisting stereotypes and building a sense of efficacy

Strange Carers

The present comment focuses on the distinction between attachment as bond formation and expectations of availability and responsiveness (security) within attachment relationships. We enumerate key components of bonding and functions of carer secure base support. Our analysis has implications for design and suggests that robots are unlikely to serve effectively as sole carers. Even with robots as part-time carers, attachment-like bonds would likely focus on human carers. Similarly, although infants and children would certainly build expectations regarding the availability and responsiveness of robot carers, the quality of human care would probably be the determining influence on later development and competence. Notwithstanding their limitations of robots as attachment figures they have considerable potential to extend parental care and enrich infant exploration. The Sharkey’s paper and further consideration of robots as carers for infants, children, older adults, an

Mothers who are Refugees: An analysis of trauma, social support, and parenting efficacy.

The following exploratory correlational study examined the relationships among trauma severity, social support, and parenting self-efficacy in a sample of mothers who are refugees living in Vermont. Results showed a significant negative correlation between trauma and parenting efficacy, and suggested that trauma is differentially associated with parenting efficacy depending on social support. Analysis implicated collectivist social norms, family dynamics, coping mechanisms, and survivor mentality in the explanation of these patterns

Shared parenting : adding children\u27s voices and their measures of adjustment to the evaluation

Shared parenting has been advocated to be a better arrangement for children than sole residence and access arrangements after parental separation. Although there is some research on this issue, studies have been restricted in their reliance on the reports of others. In this paper, we report on a study in Australia, in which children in each of these arrangements were compared with children in intact families on a range of adjustment measures and with each other in relation to their responses to their parents\u27 separation, using both self- and parent-reporting. We found that there was little difference between children in the three family configurations, suggesting that shared parenting is not necessarily associated with better outcomes for the child. On other aspects of adjustment, the children in shared parenting and sole residence/access families did not differ. We also found that parents in all groups underestimated the emotional problems reported by children. In separated families, they also overestimated the children\u27s desire for parents to re-unite. Finally, we found that parents in shared parenting families are more satisfied with their situation than are their children, and fathers are particularly so. The findings suggest that the promotion of shared parenting as the best post-separation family structure is contestable. <br /