Suchergebnisse

Are Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) connecting families? And what does this mean in terms of family routines, relationships, norms, work, intimacy and privacy? This edited collection takes a life course and generational perspective covering theory, including posthumanism and strong structuration theory, and methodology, including digital and cross-disciplinary methods. It presents a series of case studies on topics such as intergenerational connections, work-life balance, transnational families, digital storytelling and mobile parenting. It will give students, researchers and practitioners a variety of tools to make sense of how ICTs are used, appropriated and domesticated in family life. These tools allow for an informed and critical understanding of ICTs and family dynamics

Style of family communication is considered important in the transgenerational transmission of trauma. This study had three aims: first, to identify the contents of family communication about past national trauma; second, to examine how parents' current war trauma is associated with transgenerational communication; and third, to analyze the associations between transgenerational communication and children's mental health, measured as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and psychological distress. The study sample consisted of 170 Palestinian families in Gaza Strip, in which both mothers (n = 170) and fathers (n = 170) participated, each with their 11–13-year-old child. Mothers and fathers responded separately to three questions: 1) what did their own parents tell them about the War of 1948, Nakba?; 2) what did they tell their own children about the Nakba?; and 3) What did they tell their own children about the 1967 Arab–Israeli War and military occupation? Current war trauma, as reported separately by mothers, fathers and their children, refers to the Gaza War 2008/09. Children reported their symptoms of PTSD, depression, and psychological distress. Results revealed seven communication content categories and one category indicating maintaining silence about the traumas. Fathers' high exposure to current war trauma was associated with a higher level of communicating facts, reasons, and meanings regarding the1948 and 1967 wars, and mothers' high exposure to current war trauma was associated with a lower level of maintaining silence. Family communication about facts, reasons, and meanings was significantly associated with children not showing PTSD and marginally with not showing psychological distress, while maintaining silence was not associated with children's mental health.

A communication program for families with a hearing-impaired child (FWHIC) was developed and used with four families. A matched comparison group participated in loosely structured discussions. The program activities integrated positive communicative dimensions with issues related to this population. Findings indicate that the FWHIC program did have beneficial effects for parents and/or children. Some major findings include improved awareness skills, the ability to label feelings and skills, increased perceptions of family cohesiveness, and decreased perceptions of family conflict. The compared families participating in loosely structured discussions actually perceived some deterioration in their perceptions of family environment and a decrease in their awareness and social interaction skills. A follow-up analysis, 3 to 4 weeks following the program, indicated several long-term effects, although the majority of children and families perceived no changes.

The families of 325 adolescents enrolled in local public high schools throughout the United States were surveyed to assess the relationship between the communication modes used by families and family cohesion. Cohesion is defined here as the degree of emotional bonding among family members. In a path analysis, family cohesion was predicted by the mother's use of sign language. In turn, the child's degree of hearing loss and the child's mode of communication predicted the mother's use of sign language. Based on the use of the FACES (family adaptability and cohesion evaluation) inventory and a parent communication questionnaire, the authors conclude that mothers who sign tend to be more family oriented.

This study examined the attitudes and stress of hearing families with a profoundly deaf preschool child. The 28 families were equally divided into those using oral and simultaneous communication and were additionally subdivided by communicative ability (high vs. low). Mothers completed questionnaires and interviews on stress concerns, parent attitudes, and their child's developmental level. Results of the questionnaires showed few differences between simultaneous and oral families. However, comparison of the four subgroups indicated that those with high competence simultaneous communication skills had more positive attitudes and less stress than highly competent oral communication families. Simultaneous children received a higher estimated social age than oral children. These results are discussed in light of behavioral data showing the simultaneous communication dyads showing more reciprocal and positive social interaction than were the oral communicators. Both groups of parents professed a desire for more counseling and paraprofessional opportunities.