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Journal Article The Incredible Years (IY) Parent and Child Series are evidence-based interventions that increase knowledge and mastery of parenting, mood regulation, and interpersonal problem solving strategies for caregivers while developing similar social and emotional skills in their children. Rogers, Bobich, and Heppell (2016) use a case study approach to examine the effectiveness of adaptations of the IY program for delivery in a transitional housing shelter. They describe strategies for modifying IY to meet the needs of a vulnerable population within the context of the shelter and the broader welfare…
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Journal Article The commentaries by Williams (2016) and Gartenberg and Lang (2016) on the case of Cathy and her mother Ms. Z (Rogers, Bobich, & Heppell, 2016) explore the similarities between children who have been homeless and those in the foster system, and highlight the importance of trauma-focused treatment to address their mental health needs. A further consideration of the challenges to obtaining such treatment due to system barriers, stigma, and the intergenerational transmission of trauma is applied to the case of Cathy. This illustrates the importance of an array of mental health treatment…
Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt discovered early in their friendship that they shared a disturbing trait: As children, they navigated dangerous inner-city life without a father's guidance. They escaped deilinquency and crime to form the Pact, dedicated to putting themselves on the road to success. Now, the Three Doctors make a new promise: to set aside their resentment, find their fathers, and rebuild relationships with men they barely recognize. Told in voices alternating between father and son, The Bond explores the hard lessons of growing up without a father, and…
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Journal Article Gay men are becoming increasingly involved in reproduction despite significant barriers limiting their access to reproductive technologies or legal parentage in many jurisdictions. Based on in-depth interviews with gay men in the United States and Australia who have become parents through surrogacy, I explore how gay men understand their desire to have children and what frames their parenthood experiences. The notion of choice is widespread in understandings of gay parenthood and family formation. Most of the men in this study did not develop a "procreative consciousness" as a result of…
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Journal Article This article reports on a qualitative study about male involvement in parenthood decision making (i.e., decisions related to becoming a first-time parent) in which the focus was on White, heterosexual men. Little is known about the roles and involvement of these men in decision-making processes. They comprise an invisible norm in research as heteronormative assumptions about parenthood cause them to be overlooked. This oversight-exacerbated by the pervasive problem perspective in social science-forms the research rationale. Conducted within a gender-relational framework, the study included 23…
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Journal Article The high prevalence of mental health problems in foster children is well-documented (e.g., Armsden, Pecora, Payne, & Szatkiewicz, 2000; Tarren-Sweeney, 2008). From an ecological perspective, it can be expected that several factors in different systems (e.g., foster child, foster family, biological parents, and community) influence foster children's behavioral problems. Mainly, the influence of pre-care experiences, such as a history of maltreatment (Oswald, Heil, & Goldbeck, 2010), and in-care experiences, such as the number of out-of-home placements (Newton, Litrownik, &…
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Journal Article The aim of this study was to investigate whether stigmatization was associated with psychological adjustment in adolescents from planned lesbian families and, if so, to examine whether individual and interpersonal promotive factors influenced this association. Seventy-eight adolescents (39 girls, 39 boys; mean age = 17.05 years) completed an online questionnaire about psychological health problems and life satisfaction. In addition, information was obtained about androgynous personality traits (an individual factor) of the adolescents. The adolescents were also queried about family…
The adoptive father contributes to the development of his adopted child by supporting the adoptive mother as she cares for the child, by promoting attachments within the family, and by helping the child understand the circumstances of the adoption and his or her relationship with the biological parents. This chapter reviews cultural attitudes about the purpose of adoption and the father's role throughout history. The discussion contrasts ancient and cultural attitudes about adoption as a method for achieving status with contemporary perceptions of adoption as a response to the needs and wants…
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Journal Article The present study was conducted to investigate differences in nurturant fathering, father involvement, and young adult psychosocial functioning among small samples of three nontraditional family forms. A total of 168 young-adult university students from three family forms (27 adoptive, 22 adoptive stepfather, 119 nonadoptive stepfather) completed retrospective measures of nurturant fathering and father involvement and measures of current psychosocial functioning. Results indicated that adoptive fathers were rated as the most nurturant and involved and that nonadoptive stepfathers were…
This is the text of a speech given at the closing session of the 1995 conference of Adoptive Families of America. Dr. Kirk reviews his research on adoption and his experience as an adoptive father of four children, now grown, and discusses the trends he sees in current adoption practice. He expresses his belief in research that can be replicated, and his dislike of using anecdotal evidence. He also shares his views on open adoption, the adoption search movement, access to adoption records, and the value of adoption support groups.
