Parents’ temperaments are assumed to be involved in their parenting behaviors, but empirical evidence is limited. Using self-determination theory (SDT) as a guiding framework, this study examined the associations between parents’ approach and avoidance temperaments and parenting behaviors over a 7 month period. Children’s manifestations of inattention and prosociality were explored as moderators. A sample of 101 parents (79% mothers) with a child in Grade 4 or Grade 6 participated in this study. Findings indicate that approach temperament positively predicted autonomy-supportive and structuring behaviors, while avoidance temperament positively predicted controlling behaviors. Distinct association patterns were also observed for involvement and structure depending on the children’s behavioral characteristics: approach-oriented parents were more likely to engage in structuring behaviors with low prosocial and highly inattentive children. Moreover, avoidance-oriented parents, although less likely overall to employ structuring behaviors, were also more prone to adopt those behaviors when engaging with low prosocial children. Results suggest that SDT-based parenting responses (autonomy support, structure, involvement) as well as controlling responses to children’s behaviors may be driven by parents’ approach and avoidance dispositions. Implications for theory, research, and the prevention of negative parenting behaviors are presented.
Child and adolescent to parent violence and abuse (CAPVA) is one of the more complex areas within the domestic abuse domain. There is no clear consensus about the definition of CAPVA, nor are there widely accepted policies and guidelines about how to approach it. By reanalyzing findings collected from 21 qualitative studies that included children, adolescents, and parents who have experienced CAPVA and professionals who supported them, the current metasynthesis aims to contribute to the growing body of research in the area and to move towards developing more coherent policies and professional guidelines. Current findings highlight how the cycle of CAPVA impacts and is impacted by inherent terminological contradictions, relational tensions between parents and their children, the perceived attribution of its causes, and the accessibility of support systems. The multiple interconnected factors that were found lead to a comprehensive psychosocial model of CAPVA with practical implications for related services.
High-quality early learning and child care programs are in a position to support immigrant family settlement, reduce socioeconomic inequities, and enhance children’s overall development. In Canada, these can be delivered either as provincially or territorially licensed programs or through settlement agencies. The goal of this research was to understand what factors influence the implementation of child care in settlement agencies across Canada. We conducted an environmental scan of settlement agencies and invited key informants to participate in interviews and surveys. Overall, the 38 participating organizations identified factors influencing the successful implementation of child care delivery at settlement agencies at both the system level (licensing and regulation, funding, workforce changes) and operational level (enhanced access to child care, cultural and linguistic diversity of educators). The findings also suggest a need to continue to emphasize broader purposes for early learning and child care programs, such as providing support to the whole family by allowing parents to access other services such as language training and information classes. Strategic connections between settlement agencies and provincially or territorially licensed programs will contribute to the professionalization of the field and to greater access to child care for immigrant families across the country.
Among child care policymakers, government officials, and providers alike, there is growing interest in mitigating the impacts of adversity and trauma in children’s early years. While emerging literature examines the prevalence and impacts of traumatic events on the lives of children and families, a focus on trauma-informed approaches within the early learning and child care sector remains nascent. This scoping review examines the current state of knowledge in peer-reviewed and grey literature on trauma-informed approaches in the early learning and child care sector in Canada. Critical analysis of the findings highlights a concerning gap in the empirical evidence on trauma-informed approaches, obscure and individualistic understandings of trauma, and considerable variance in how trauma-informed approaches are implemented. We call for explicit shifts toward understanding trauma as inclusive of interpersonal and structural forms of trauma and violence and a broader scope of “trauma- and violence-informed child care” (TVICC).
This article examines the evidence base for using conflict-sensitive approaches to improve development outcomes in human-serving sectors. The study employed a systematic review methodology to identify and analyze evidence from a corpus of 49 studies that met inclusion criteria from a universe of 571 papers. Results from this review indicate that the evidence base is underdeveloped for demonstrating outcomes from integrating conflict-sensitive practices within human-serving sectors. We find that the evidence gaps may be the result of inconsistencies among the definitions and methods of measurement for conflict-sensitive practice and subsequent evaluations of such practices. Evidence from our review suggests that the education sector has developed the largest number of concrete conflict-sensitive tools and practices that can be formally evaluated for impact on outcomes and brought to scale for the benefit of the sector and the broader development community.
We examined child agency in terms of prevailing theories of childhood (seeing children as “been”, “being”, or “becoming”) in the context of interviews about COVID-19 experiences. In our study we focused on conversations between the interlocutor (a child or a parent) and additional family members and used a discourse approach for analyzing and interpreting the interactions. In total, 9 families of diverse sociocultural backgrounds (13 parents and 16 children aged 6–15 years) were interviewed about their individual COVID-19 experience in Germany. Irrespective of age, children were able to describe events and experiences during COVID-19 times and were thus aware of the “been”. These ranged from enjoying playtime with parents to playgrounds being cordoned off and classmates being ill. Interview interactions underscored a dynamic of children’s agency that alternated between active involvement in their own and the parent’s interview and reactively referring questions to a parent or letting the parent take control of the interview situation. Neither parents’ views of children nor children’s own behavior could be consistently assigned to the category of “being” or “becoming”. Rather, our study highlighted children’s agency along a being–becoming continuum through an interactive transformational process in terms of interdependent agency between children and parents in a particular context. This process of negotiated agency should be explored further in future studies with children and parents.
Child marriage continues to be prevalent in South Asia, including Pakistan, despite national laws and international agreements prohibiting it. This article aims to discover the causes of child marriage and its implications for child brides. We identify gaps in the implementation of laws, good practices, and program designs, and we propose necessary initiatives. Utilizing a cross-sectional design, a mix of quantitative and qualitative information was obtained from focus group discussions and from a survey of 131 early married females. We found that the cause of child marriage in Pakistan is not simply poverty: it is also deeply rooted in social customs, cultural norms, and traditional and religious beliefs. The psychological, economic, social, and physical consequences of child marriage can be excruciating for these girls, whose education may be curtailed and who are likelier than their unmarried peers to experience emotional, sexual, and physical violence. This study identifies parental decision-making, societal pressures, and entrenched gender roles as key drivers of child marriage. A lack of awareness about the legal marriage age and limited access to education further exacerbate the problem. Our recommendations include standardizing the legal marriage age at 18 years, implementing mass birth registration campaigns, and ensuring access to education for girls. Community-based awareness programs should challenge cultural norms and promote the benefits of delayed marriage. Strengthening laws and empowering local authorities to enforce them are also essential. Moreover, comprehensive poverty reduction programs, vocational training for women, and education reforms are needed if the root causes of child marriage and its often devastating consequences are to be successfully addressed.
This qualitative research study aimed to evaluate how preschoolers aged 4 to 5 perceived “happiness” and the strategies parents use to make their children happier. The criteria sampling approach, a purposeful sampling technique, was utilized to create the study group, which included 20 preschoolers and their parents who had applied for assessment by the Child Development Polyclinic of a maternity and pediatrics hospital in Istanbul, Türkiye. Apart from demographic information, the data employed in the study comprised semi-structured interviews and children’s descriptions of their drawings; these were analyzed using content analysis. The study’s findings showed that the children used adjectives that express positive emotions, such as “laughing”, “joyful”, and “loving”, to describe their feelings, and were reported being happy when they engaged in play-based activities such as playing video games, watching television, engaging in sports, and visiting the beach or the park. The children’s picture drawings of happiness mostly featured aspects of play and nature. One of the research’s most significant results is that parents employed a variety of methods to make their children happy, like playing games, taking them on walks, taking them to the park, and cooking their desired foods. The article concludes with suggestions based on the findings obtained from the research.
This study examined the relationship between the individual values of mothers of children aged 60 to 72 months and the children's prosocial behavior. The research was implemented using the relational screening model, a quantitative research method. The study group, which was determined by a simple non-selective sampling method, included 300 children aged 60 to 72 months attending preschool in the Istanbul province of T & uuml;rkiye in the 2020-2021 academic year, and their mothers. The data collection tools used were the Individual Values Inventory, the Preschool Positive Social Behavior Scale, and a demographic information form. Scores for the mothers in the study group were highest for the values of sharing and respect, and lowest for trust and forgiveness; their children received above-average scores in their prosocial behavior. In addition, there was no statistically significant relationship between the individual values of the mothers and the prosocial behaviors of their children. These findings are discussed and suggestions are made for new research, along with practical ideas for teachers and families.
The Students for Children program has been running for more than 15 years in Hungary, offering university students an opportunity to engage in child protection work through a trauma-informed, interdisciplinary approach. The program serves a dual purpose: supporting children in specialized care while equipping students with practical experience in working with vulnerable populations. Through structured classroom training, supervised volunteer work, and collaborative partnerships with child protection institutions, the program fosters professional preparedness, ethical engagement, and social responsibility. This paper explores the program’s development, key guidelines, and bridging function of linking disciplines, institutions, and international networks to strengthen child welfare efforts. Insights from student testimonials and micro-research findings illustrate the program’s impact, highlighting its role in promoting trauma-informed care, emotional safety, and sustainable professional engagement.
Children’s problematic behaviour is a common issue in care that must be recognised and understood to be effectively addressed. This study explores how foster carers and care centre staff identify and manage internalising and externalising behaviour problems in children. A quantitative study was conducted in Lithuania using a questionnaire administered to 54 care centre staff and 67 foster carers. The results indicate that foster carers feel more capable of recognising problematic behaviour than care centre staff do, and that staff struggle more with decision-making in cases of internalising problematic behaviour. However, staff feel more capable of directly helping children than supporting foster carers. While foster carers can seek additional help for children, they are less likely to do so for themselves, despite knowing where to find it. The study highlights the need to strengthen staff’s ability to identify internalising behaviour, support foster carers, and determine necessary interventions. Additionally, foster carers should be encouraged to seek help for themselves when managing children’s behavioural challenges. It is anticipated that attention to these areas would enhance care quality and caregiver well-being.
FICE International is a network of professionals and organizations from over 30 countries that is committed to child and youth care. Its members work in social pedagogy, social work, psychology, and education to ensure high-quality support for children and young people. To assist vulnerable children during crises such as the war in Ukraine, FICE created the “Hand in Hand” task force in August 2022. Its mission is to improve safety and well-being for displaced children, especially those in alternative care. These children face trauma, loss, disrupted education, and mental health challenges, including acute stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. Hand in Hand provides vital social–emotional resources and ensures access to education and services, making a meaningful difference in the lives of crisis-affected children.
On October 7, 2023, the Hamas organization launched a surprise terrorist attack, to which Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas. The aim of this study was to examine the status and needs of adolescents in residential care facilities (RCFs) throughout Israel in light of the ongoing war. An additional aim was to show that our survey itself conveyed the message to the adolescents that the professionals and administrative staff of the RCFs are concerned about them. The study relied on a quantitative research approach, using a self-report online survey among adolescents in RCFs; 340 questionnaires were collected. The adolescents reported emotional needs that surfaced because of the war: 58% felt sad or depressed, 50% were worried or stressed, and 49% were angry or irritable. However, 62% reported feeling safe in their RCF. A multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that a feeling on the part of the adolescents that (a) the RCF staff care about their well-being and (b) they listen to and support them are predictors of the adolescents’ sense of security in the RCF. The findings suggest that developing policies aimed at strengthening the connection between RCF staff and the adolescents in their care, and enhancing strategies of partnership, are essential for increasing the adolescents’ sense of security.
Youth homelessness is a complex issue. The experience of living in alternative care, combined with a lack of support, is a key risk factor that increases the likelihood of youth becoming homeless. This study aimed to explore the lives of homeless youth through their personal experiences, focusing on their pathways to homelessness and the support they would have required to avoid it. Qualitative research was conducted with six young people aged 15 to 29 who were homeless and residing in a shelter in Zagreb. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The results showed that the participants all had a background in alternative care, often with multiple placements while in care. Key factors contributing to homelessness included aging out of the care system, broken family relationships, mental health issues, and unemployment. The findings showed that these young homeless individuals primarily relied on formal support systems. They emphasized the need for practical assistance, access to social welfare assistance, professional support and empowerment, and emotional support from trusted individuals. This research underscores the importance of providing targeted, systematic, support to help young homeless people overcome the challenges they face on their path to a stable and independent life.
In the context of academic training for social educators in Vienna, increasing emphasis is being placed on supporting the development of core competencies with a focus on forming a detailed appreciation of the client’s situation — “case understanding”. The method of Work Discussion described in this article is based on a psychodynamic theory founded in the psychoanalytic tradition. It enables seminar groups to reflect on, and think in a differentiated manner about, interactions and relationship dynamics between people in psychosocial fields of work. The article introduces key ideas on the professionalism of social pedagogical professionals and explains common theories of professionalization in this research field. Using the example of Work Discussion, I elaborate characteristics of psychodynamically oriented professionalization in academic education and training for social work professionals. The final part of the article is a discussion of how psychodynamically oriented professionalism could facilitate a transformation in professional practice.
In 2020, Slovenia implemented the Act on the Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Emotional and Behavioural Problems or Disorders in Education. Using a mixed-methods approach, we investigated how professionals in expert centres[1] and social work centres, youth judges, and paedopsychiatrists, as key stakeholders responsible and competent for the professional and lawful treatment of such youth, seek and implement the most appropriate forms of assistance for them, and how they assess the implementation of the Act and the cooperation amongst them. Data were collected through four tailored questionnaires, as well as focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The research is part of a larger Slovenian study entitled Phenomenological and aetiological analysis of emotional and behavioural problems and disorders and the development of didactic approaches for specific subtypes of problems and disorders, not yet published. Based on the opinions of these experts from various fields, we identified shortcomings in the system of support, including what should be eliminated or changed, and what new forms of support and cooperation among stakeholders would be reasonable and necessary to introduce. The results of the survey are also important for understanding the competences, responsibilities, and cooperation among social work centres, expert centres, paedopsychiatrists, and youth judges. [1] In Slovenia, after the implementation of the Act on the Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Emotional and Behavioural Problems or Disorders in Education in 2020, children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural problems or disorders have been transferred from traditional residential care institutions to residential groups and, in some cases, to boarding schools. Institutions have been transformed into “expert centres” with various programmes designed to cover the problems and needs of children and adolescents on a regional basis, along the whole continuum of support from prevention through to accommodating the most severe cases.
Recent studies focusing on children and youth in care have emphasized the increased challenges that emerged with the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is, however, not enough comprehensive research on how caregivers could have systematically improved the social participation of young people in care. Here we present initial results based on the qualitative part of a joint project, entitled “JuPa”, which focuses on the social participation of young people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Due to the relevance of young people’s voices in research and practice, the project includes participatory methods to involve youth in care systematically. In the qualitative part of JuPa, 40 interviews with youth in care were analyzed. Pandemic-related effects on youth in care, their coping strategies, and their concepts for the future are emphasized. The youth were optimistic about the future despite the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had had on their lives. The described challenges make clear the necessity of implementing youth-friendly children’s rights.
This contribution to the FICE35 Special Issue was constructed in the form of a draft statement, offering potential elements for organizations that may wish to counter the current movement opposing residential care for children and youth, which is now evident across Europe, North America and, increasingly, around the globe. The framework presented in this article was developed in response to a presentation by representatives of UNICEF at the FICE35 Congress in Split, Croatia, as well as the ongoing international campaign being waged against all forms of residential care for all ages of young people by UNICEF and a number of European and North American organizations, some of which are mentioned at the start of the article. The dimensions of quality for alternative care put forward in this document were also presented and discussed at a plenary panel on Quality in Alternative Care at the FICE35 Congress.
In Romania in 2024, 33.9% of children faced poverty and social exclusion, the third highest rate in the EU. Despite the European Child Guarantee’s initiatives[1], public resources remain insufficient to meet the needs of vulnerable children. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as our own CONCORDIA Humanitarian Organization, play a crucial role in addressing these gaps through multidisciplinary interventions. CONCORDIA’s Day Center model offers essential services to improve school retention and reduce family abandonment, including educational support, social assistance, and medical care. Recognizing the need for systemic impact, CONCORDIA launched CentreZi RO, a national network of Day Centers, to foster collaboration among service providers and advocate for policy improvements. However, the existing 860 centers are far from sufficient, with an estimated 3,000 more required nationwide. To sustainably expand its reach, CONCORDIA has introduced a social franchise model, enabling the structured replication of its intervention strategy while maintaining service quality. This model prioritizes child participation, family engagement, and community empowerment, aligning with the Lundy Model of Child Participation. Strengthening public–private partnerships and increasing investment in social services are essential for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Through integrated social and educational interventions, CONCORDIA demonstrates a scalable solution for reducing child poverty and fostering long-term systemic change. [1] The European Child Guarantee is an EU initiative to ensure that all children at risk of poverty or social exclusion have access to essential services like health care, education, housing, and nutrition. Romania adopted its National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Child Guarantee in 2023, aiming to reduce the number of vulnerable children by at least 500,000 by 2030.
