Suchergebnisse

This study examined parents' perceptions of the risk of child sexual abuse and self-reported protective strategies. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of 24 parents of preschool-age children, purposefully selected to be diverse in gender, race/ethnicity, age, and personal experience with sexual abuse victimization. The findings support earlier research showing little congruence between perceptions of risk for the general population and perceptions of personal risk. The qualitative methodology provided some reasons for the discrepancy: comparisons parents make between themselves and other parents, characteristics of sexual abuse that affect perceptions, and the tendency of parents to blur the boundaries of sexual abuse with other forms of victimization. Parents identified strategies they used to protect their children from abuse and their underlying thoughts regarding protection. The exploratory results indicate the importance of understanding parents' cognitive processes in estimating risk and acting protectively and suggest further avenues for research.

Purpose
This paper aims to describe how a sense of normalcy for young people in foster care can be critical to their well-being.


Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on policy and practice efforts in the USA to promote normalcy for youth in care. The authors review policy that promotes normalcy and report on one organization's efforts to support these goals.


Findings
COVID-19 has offered profound challenges to the goal of normalcy. Rise Above has adapted to meet the challenges.


Originality/value
The authors argue that COVID may also offer opportunities to build toward a more robust paradigm of normalcy within child welfare policy and practice.