Suchergebnisse

Thousands of people respond to the British Association for Adoption and Fostering's annual adoption recruitment campaign National Adoption Week (NAW), but little is known about what happens to enquirers after they receive the information pack. In this article, Emma Ward investigates the success of the campaign and whether the profile of enquirers adds insight into their likelihood of starting the adoption process and showing interest in older children. The findings of a survey completed by 493 enquirers to the 2003 campaign are presented. The study found that NAW is successful in generating applications and maintaining interest. The well-reported preference for younger children by prospective parents was confirmed, but enquirers also displayed a willingness to consider older children with complex needs. Enquirers motivated by infertility were more likely to start the adoption process while those with other motivations were more inclined to be (actively) interested in non-infant children. Respondents' expectations of the adoption process and the system for approving candidates were seen as significant barriers.

Make real progress with the brand-new, updated edition of this introductory guide. Written in easy-to-read language, this guide has a refreshed design, updated tasks and activities, and a focus on matching and signposting the specification. Suitable for all awarding bodies and written by experts, it will reflect the most recent legislation presented in a colourful design with helpful images to ensure the relevant knowledge is easily accessed. - Now includes addidional five optional units - Clear signposting to the qualification specification criteria - Updated legislation included and explained - New tasks and activities.

Intro -- Contents -- Introduction -- TIme 1: the preschool years -- TIme 2: middle childhood -- Time 3: follow-up in late adolescence -- The adopted young people: how were they getting on in adolescence -- The adoptive families: what contact was taking place with birth relatives? -- Adoptive families' experiences of direct contact -- Adoptive families' experiences of indirect contact -- The satisfaction of young people with their contact arrangements -- The adoptive families: adoption communication openness -- Young people's perspectives on adoption communication openness -- Being adopted: young people's construction of an adoptive identity -- Birth relatives: well-being and adjustment to the adoption, 16 years on -- The birth relatives: contact pathways and experiences -- Social networking websites: new challenges for adoptive parents, birth relatives and adopted young people -- Summary of findings and practice implications -- Publications from earlier stages of the study

AbstractThe role of residential care for children has developed very differently internationally, but in all cultural contexts, there are questions about the extent to which it can help young people recover from high risk backgrounds. In the UK, residential care has come to be seen as the placement of last resort, yet new government guidance on permanence has suggested that residential care can provide security and a sense of belonging. Narrative analysis of interviews with 20 care leavers identified their different pathways from birth families through residential care to early adulthood. Some experienced a transformation from a negative sense of self as victims or 'bad children' to survivors, while others continued to struggle. Key to successful turning points were four interacting factors, all associated with resilience; connection, agency, activity and coherence. These narratives revealed the importance of nurturing relationships and a sense of 'family', and also the role of support after leaving residential care, when transitions workers helped them to move on but stay connected. The study highlighted how residential care leavers from adverse backgrounds attribute very different meanings to their experiences, which affects identity construction, resilience and the need for support.

AbstractPredictive Processing accounts of autism claim that autistic individuals assign higher precision to their prediction errors than non‐autistic individuals, that is, autistic individuals update their predictions more readily when faced with unexpected sensory input. Since setting the level of precision is a fundamental part of perception and learning, we propose that such differences should be detectable in various domains at a very early age, before clinical symptoms have fully emerged. We therefore tested 3‐year‐old younger siblings of autistic children, with a high likelihood of later receiving an autism diagnosis themselves, and low‐likelihood children with an older sibling without autism. We used a novel implicit learning paradigm to examine the effect of sensory noise on the predictions participants built. In order to learn a sequence, our participants had to select which visual information to attend to and disregard low‐level prediction errors caused by the sensory noise, which the theory claims is more difficult for autistic individuals. Contrary to the proposed higher precision‐weighting of prediction errors in autism, the high‐likelihood children did not show signs of updating their predictions more readily when we added sensory noise compared to the low‐likelihood children, either in their reaction times or in the recurrence and determinism of their response locations. These results raise challenges for Predictive Processing theories of autism, specifically for the notion that prediction errors are inflexibly highly weighted by individuals with autism.

AbstractIn the literature on work–family balance, role and boundary issues are commonly discussed in relation to parents who work outside of the home. Work and family are considered as two different spheres of activity, with different role identities and cultural meanings. For foster carers, however, in very significant ways, their family is their work and their work is their family – so roles are not so clearly separated and boundaries are not so clearly defined. This paper reviews theoretical approaches to the work–family interface and draws on qualitative data from 40 interviews with long‐term foster carers. It provides an analysis of their accounts of their roles as professional carers and/or committed parents to explore how they manage different and potentially contradictory role identities. The study found that foster carers primarily identified as carers or as parents, but that some foster carers could move flexibly between these roles while others could not. For foster carers who could be flexible, the two roles enriched each other rather than causing stress and role conflict. Implications for supporting professional foster carers who can also meet the parenting needs of long‐term foster children are discussed.

AbstractThe experiences and needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) young people in care have been overlooked in England, in both policy and research. This paper reports on findings from the first study of LGBTQ young people in care in England and focuses on the nature of foster carers' experiences and perspectives on caring for LGBTQ young people. Qualitative interviews regarding the fostering role in caring for LGBTQ young people were conducted with a sample of foster carers (n = 26) and analysed thematically. Foster carers described the importance of offering LGBTQ young people not only the nurturing relationships that all children in care need but also availability, sensitivity and acceptance to help young people manage stigma and other challenges associated with minority sexual orientation and gender identity. The Secure Base caregiving model provided a framework for analysing the different dimensions of these relationships. Understanding caregiving roles and relationships for LGBTQ young people in care has important implications for recruiting, training, matching and supporting foster carers to care for LGBTQ young people effectively.

AbstractThe criminalization of young women in care remains an important practice and policy issue in England despite 2018 national guidance and the subsequent development of local authority protocols to reduce the criminalization of care‐experienced young people. This paper contributes to the emerging research on young women whose behaviour challenges professionals, through secondary analysis of case file data and narrative interviews with 24 care‐experienced young women from a national project on care and offending. Analysis focused on young women's pathways through the care, justice and education systems and identified five domains within young women's lives where available risk or resilience factors were significant in directing young women towards prosocial opportunities, to new types of victimization or to criminalization and offending. These domains consisted of placements and caregiver relationships; partner relationships; pregnancy and motherhood; participation in education; and the transition to adulthood through leaving care. The paper concludes with implications for practice for professionals working with young women, in particular emphasizing that how the care, justice and education systems respond to young women can contribute to negative pathways or transform them.

BACKGROUND: Electronic cigarette regulations included in the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), Article 20, implemented in Europe by May 2017, aimed to improve safety for e-cigarette consumers, and prevent uptake among non-smokers, particularly young people. Before implementation, there were significant concerns from consumers, industry, and some in the scientific community about the potential negative impact of the TPD on people using e-cigarettes to remain abstinent from smoking. To date, there is limited evidence on how the TPD has affected consumers. This study aimed to add insight into how consumers perceived and experienced the regulations. METHODS: Qualitative data, collected between March 2018 and March 2019, relating to participant views of the TPD were extracted from 160 interviews/extended surveys of e-cigarette consumers as part of a wider study into e-cigarette use trajectories (ECtra study). Data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Awareness of the TPD among consumers was not universal. Participants' smoking behaviour did not appear to be influenced by the legislation. Participants were reassured by manufacturing regulations and requirements for ingredients labels. Participants responded negatively to changes perceived to cause inconvenience and extra plastic waste. The product restrictions prompted some participants to purchase non-compliant products illegally, potentially putting their safety at risk. CONCLUSIONS: E-cigarette regulation should focus on ensuring product safety. Raising awareness of the TPD among consumers and smokers could be beneficial.