Background Children with special needs can face increased safeguarding risks due to the interaction of individual support needs and structural barriers, highlighting the importance of effective child protection policies in special education schools. Objective This study explored mothers’ views and concerns about child protection policies in a public special education school in Türkiye. Participants and setting The study was conducted with 15 mothers of children aged 3–18 years attending the same public special education school in Türkiye. Methods A qualitative phenomenological design was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Results Mothers demonstrated limited awareness of formal child protection policies and tended to associate child protection primarily with their own monitoring of their children and the attention of teachers rather than with institutional safeguarding measures. Key concerns included staff shortages, inadequate communication, and irregular information sharing. Mothers emphasized the need for clear and practice-oriented policies, adequate staffing, regular training, and active home–school collaboration. Conclusions Clear, accessible, and practice-oriented child protection policies, supported by adequate resources and stakeholder participation, are essential to improve the safety and well-being of children with special needs in special education schools.
Child agency has become a central topic of growing interest in contemporary childhood studies, education, and social policy. Drawing on 734 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from 2000 to 2025, this study maps the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of child agency research. Using a bibliometric review design, we combined performance analysis in Biblioshiny with science-mapping techniques in VOSviewer. Performance indicators were used to identify influential documents and outlets, productive authors, leading countries, and patterns of scholarly collaboration. To uncover the field’s knowledge base and research front, we conducted co-citation analyses and keyword co-occurrence analyses to detect major conceptual linkages and thematic concentrations. Key findings reveal five thematic clusters ranging from the educational agency, the domestic and social conditions, the power, rights and participation of child agency, the protection dimensions to global and intersectional perspectives. It also uncovers shifts in research focus, with recent attention turning from abstract theorization toward more affective, experiential, and child-centred dimensions of agency. Despite certain limitations related to data coverage and methodological constraints, this review offers an overview of the academic landscape of child agency, highlighting how factors like education, family and social contexts, violence, and migration affect the development and expression of agency among children. It provides an evidence base to guide future research agendas, inform child-centered policy development, and support cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration
Understanding the impacts of neighbourhoods on adolescents through young adulthood is critical and meaningful. The unified ecosystem of neighbourhood certainly defines and shapes the processes of transition into adulthood that must have the recurring effect over the course of life. This study examines major themes and typologies, traces their evolution over time, and identifies key neighbourhood-related domains linked to the transition from adolescence to adulthood. A systematic bibliometric review using the Web of Science platform was carried out, incorporating 2,570 related articles. Our principal findings portray the highly diverse landscapes of neighbourhood research in the transition to adulthood, with dominant themes including health, mental health, and homeownership, and most research has been conducted in North America and Europe. Furthermore, our results show that housing and residential conditions are the dominant categories of the neighbourhood. Finally, the study highlights that neighbourhood effects are multidimensional—shaping social, spatial, psychological, cognitive, and health outcomes—and emphasises the need for comprehensive, context-sensitive geographical interventions rather than one-size-fits approaches.
This study examined whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) were associated with program entry and post-program outcomes among 129 youths in a diversion program in South Korea. Regression models were estimated separately for pre- and post-program outcomes across four domains, including acceptance of responsibility, victim awareness, positive self-concept, and commitment to change. Higher PCE scores were linked to more favorable pre-program scores across the four domains, whereas ACE scores were not associated with any pre-program outcome. In post-program models that controlled for corresponding pre-program scores, PCEs remained significant for victim awareness, but ACEs were not linked to any outcome. These findings suggest that youth referred to the same diversion program may differ at program entry and highlight PCEs as experiences that may help explain these differences, not only as protective factors against later risk.
This study aimed to examine adolescents’ climate change awareness and levels of eco-anxiety, as well as the factors associated with these variables. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed, including 684 adolescents. Data were collected using an Information Form, the Climate Change Awareness Scale for High School Students (CCAS), and the Eco-Anxiety Scale (EAS). Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26.0. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the strength and direction of relationships between continuous variables, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. The study sample consisted of 684 adolescents aged 14–19 years (mean = 15.6 ± 0.94), the majority of whom were female (55.3%) and living in nuclear families (81.4%). EAS and CCAS scores were higher among adolescents with chronic illnesses, those who had experienced natural disasters, those attending science high school, and those who had received climate change education. Higher parental education levels and maternal employment were also associated with increased EAS and CCAS scores. Multivariate analysis indicated that family income, mother’s education, and climate change education independently predicted eco-anxiety, while gender and father’s education predicted climate change awareness. The mean total EAS score was 17.84 ± 5.10, and the mean CCAS score was 61.58 ± 10.67. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a weak positive relationship between overall EAS and CCAS scores (r = 0.232, p = 0.004), with subdimension analyses indicating both weak positive and negative associations. Overall, adolescents demonstrated high climate change awareness and moderate eco-anxiety, suggesting that increased awareness was associated with elevated anxiety levels. These findings highlight the need for educational programs and policies that integrate cognitive and emotional support while promoting solution-focused coping strategies to enhance adolescents’ resilience to climate-related stressors.
Background Family systems exert critical influence on child adjustment, yet much research focuses on isolated variables rather than holistic family configurations. In culturally diverse societies such as Singapore, understanding family system typologies and their developmental implications for child remains a pressing need. Methods Using data from 2,574 children aged 3–6 in the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG-LEADS), this study employed latent profile analysis to identify family system profiles based on multiple family system indicators. Sociodemographic correlates of profile membership were examined using the R3STEP procedure, and child adjustment outcomes were compared across profiles via the BCH procedure. Moderation analyses further tested whether neighborhood cohesion and sense of neighborhood belonging moderated associations between family profiles and child adjustment. Results Three profiles were identified: Cohesive and Supported (34.31%), Conflict-Ridden but Emotionally Invested (53.06%), and Conflict-Ridden and Emotionally Detached (12.63%). Children from the Conflict-Ridden and Emotionally Detached profile scored highest on internalizing and externalizing problems, followed by those from the Conflict-Ridden but Emotionally Invested and Cohesive and Supported profiles. Higher household income reduced the likelihood of membership in both conflict-ridden profiles, while disadvantaged housing conditions and lower caregiver education were more pronounced correlates of the emotionally detached profile. Neighborhood cohesion and sense of neighborhood belonging buffered the associations between conflict-ridden family profiles and child adjustment problems. Conclusion Findings highlight the importance of family typologies in shaping child well-being and underscore the protective role of community factors. Tailored interventions that strengthen family relationships and foster community cohesion are crucial for promoting healthy child development in multicultural societies.
Structural inequities continue to play a role in the manifestation of educational inequities, with school social work practice often oriented in reaction to these conditions. School social work effectiveness is further complicated by overlapping professional, training, and role ambiguities, obscuring both the origins of structural challenges and the appropriate targets for reform. In pursuit of inequity-targeting school social work, we present emergent findings pulled from a broader qualitative study. In the main study, we examined school social worker efforts and capabilities to target inequities in practice and the relationship to structural challenges, training, and role variations. The current paper reflects data gathered from interviews with 17 school social workers practicing in the US, with emergent findings presented in three themes: (1) Gaps in National Leadership, (2) Gaps in Educational Preparation, and (3) Role Complexity to Ambiguity. Practitioners illuminated the connections and inequities across these levels, with the implications drawn to multi-level ambiguity and the direct impact on role clarity and practice efficacy. The complexity of roles, responsibilities, alongside severity and time-intensive tasks confounded the scope of practice. The discussion and implications explore the intersection of professional ambiguity, training ambiguity, role ambiguity, and contextual influences that affect inequity-focused practice
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with a range of adverse developmental outcomes; however, their associations with severe social withdrawal (hikikomori tendencies) and the potential role of executive function (EF) remain poorly understood. This study examined whether EF deficits statistically mediated the associations between ACEs and hikikomori tendencies in young adults. A total of 405 Singaporean young adults (18–35 years) completed validated measures of ACEs, EF, and hikikomori tendencies. Mediation analyses examined behavioral, emotional, and cognitive EF deficits as potential mediators of the associations between ACE subtypes and hikikomori tendencies. All ACE types were positively associated with hikikomori tendencies. Behavioral regulation deficits emerged as the most consistent mediator, partially accounting for the associations between abuse/neglect and hikikomori tendencies and fully accounting for the association between household dysfunction and hikikomori tendencies. Emotional and cognitive EF deficits were significant only in the single-mediator models. These findings suggest that behavioral regulation deficits may represent an important correlate of the associations between childhood adversity and hikikomori tendencies. Given the cross-sectional design, causal inferences cannot be drawn. Nevertheless, the findings highlight behavioral regulation as a potential target for future longitudinal research and intervention efforts aimed at reducing social withdrawal among young adults with histories of childhood adversity.
Professionals working with children at risk are exposed to high emotional and organizational demands that increase their vulnerability to burnout and occupational stress, which may affect service quality and professional well-being. This study examines burnout levels and coping strategies among professionals working in child protection and social intervention services across six Spanish autonomous communities. Using a cross-sectional quantitative design, burnout was assessed through the CESQT (Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Burnout Syndrome at Work), which measures four dimensions: Enthusiasm for Work, Psychic Burnout, Indolence, and Guilt. Psychosocial risk factors and coping strategies were also assessed through validated instruments. The findings indicate that most professionals reported high levels of Enthusiasm for Work and low levels of Guilt and Indolence; however, moderate levels of Psychic Burnout were prevalent, suggesting sustained emotional strain in this occupational context. Problem-focused and active coping strategies were the most frequently reported, whereas avoidance-based coping was associated with higher burnout risk. These results contribute to identifying psychosocial risk factors in child and youth social service professionals and highlight the importance of addressing occupational well-being through individual and organizational strategies that promote adaptive coping and professional support.
Help-seeking barriers often prevent adolescents and young adults from accessing timely and effective treatment for suicidal behaviors. This study examines the relationship between youth and young adults’ help-seeking behaviors and key protective factors, including social connectedness, peer-support preparedness, and resilient coping. Using a statewide initiative implemented through a community-academic partnership model, a survey examining psychosocial protective and help-seeking behaviors related to suicide prevention was administered to 1,714 individuals aged 12 to 25. The model showed that higher adversity predicted lower likelihood of help-seeking (β = -2.16, p < 0.001), whereas greater social connectedness promoted both help-seeking (β = 2.60, p < 0.001) and resilient coping (β = 0.19, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that youth and young adults’ sense of social connectedness and their preparedness to support peers at risk may operate as protective resources linked to stronger resilient coping and greater help-seeking, whereas higher cumulative adversity is associated with lower help-seeking. Results show that social connectedness and peer-support capacity are promising targets for suicide-prevention programming.
