Diane Hogan

Relations between the everyday activities of preschoolers and their teachers’ perceptions of their competence in the first years of school

Abstract This paper contributes to a growing literature that suggests that in order to understand the transition to school, one should employ an ecological approach. Such an approach involves simultaneous consideration of individual and contextual factors, studied over time. Much of the current literature on the transition focuses on the transition from the perspective of school, but we were interested in relations between what occurs prior to school and performance in school. We used Bronfenbrenner’s Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) ecological model to focus primarily on the relations between school-relevant activities of preschool-aged children and teachers’ subsequent perception of the children’s competence once they had entered school. At Time 1 we observed 20 3-year-olds’ engagement in everyday activities (Process) and their initiation of those activities (Person) over a 20-hour period covering the equivalent of an entire waking day. Children were drawn from two social classes (Context). The preschool observations were followed by 2 consecutive years of teacher reports of academic competence following entry into elementary school (Times 2 and 3). Middle-class preschoolers engaged in more school-relevant activities than did working-class children, and preschoolers who initiated and engaged in more conversations were subsequently perceived by their teachers as being more competent.

To Tell or Not to Tell? Factors Influencing Young People’s Informal Disclosures of Child Sexual Abuse

The aim was to understand the factors influencing informal disclosure of child sexual abuse experiences, taking account of dynamics operating prior to, during, and following disclosure. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 young people who experienced child sexual abuse and 14 parents. Grounded theory methodology informed the study. The key factors identified as influencing the disclosure process included being believed, being asked, shame/self-blame, concern for self and others, and peer influence. Many young people both wanted to tell and did not want to tell. Fear of not being believed; being asked questions about their well-being; feeling ashamed of what happened and blaming themselves for the abuse, for not telling, and for the consequences of disclosure; concern for how both disclosure and nondisclosure would impact on themselves and others; and being supported by and yet pressurized by peers to tell an adult, all illustrate the complex intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics reflecting the conflict inherent in the disclosure process. These findings build on previous studies that emphasize the dialogic and interpersonal dynamics in the disclosure process. Both intrapersonal and interpersonal influencing factors need to be taken account of in designing interventions aimed at helping children tell. The importance of asking young people about their psychological well-being and the role of peer relationships are highlighted as key to how we can help young people tell.

Containing the Secret of Child Sexual Abuse

This study reports a grounded theory study of the process of how children tell of their experiences of child sexual abuse from the perspectives of young people and their parents. Individual interviews were conducted with 22 young people aged 8 to 18, and 14 parents. A theoretical model was developed that conceptualises the process of disclosure as one of containing the secret of child sexual abuse. Three key dynamics were identified: the active withholding of the secret on the part of the child, the experience of a ‘pressure cooker effect’ reflecting a conflict between the wish to tell and the wish to keep the secret, and the confiding itself which often occurs in the context of an intimacy being shared. Children’s experiences of disclosure were multidetermined and suggest the need for multifaceted and multisystemic approaches to prevention and intervention. The need for the secret to be contained, individually and interpersonally in appropriate safeguarding and therapeutic contexts needs to be respected in helping children tell.

CHANGE AND CONTINUITY AFTER PARENTAL SEPARATION Children's experiences of family transitions in Ireland

This article presents findings from a qualitative, interview-based study of children aged 8-12, conducted in the Irish Republic, which focused on childrens experiences of change in family life following parental separation. A good deal of continuity was evident in core aspects of childrens lives, such as residence and caregiving, and there were high levels of contact with non-resident parents and extended families. Children adapted best when they felt confident of contact with non-resident parents and received reassurances from both parents of their commitment to their relationships with children.

The impact of opiate dependence on parenting processes: Contextual, physiological and psychological factors

This article explores the processes through which dependence on opiates affects parenting capacity and family processes. The findings are based on in-depth interviews with 100 parents (50 drug-using [opiate dependent] and 50 non-drug using) living in Dublin. Qualitative analyses of semi-structured interviews suggest that opiate dependence has a specific impact on parenting processes and particularly on the physical and emotional availability of parents and on the capacity of parents to provide an emotionally consistent environment. Parenting behaviours were linked, based on parents’ perspectives, to elements of the culture surrounding illicit drugs and their supply and acquisition, to drug treatment regimes and to the physiological and psychological effects of drugs. The implications for childrens development and well-being, and for support of affected families, are considered.

Children's Perspectives on Coping and Support following Parental Separation

Families represent the primary setting in which most childrens lives are shaped and determined. Increasingly, children experience ongoing change in family formation and structure, and such fluctuation may threaten or diminish their feelings of security with regard to established family roles, relationships and routines. A number of studies have explored available support for children in the context of family transition, focusing in particular upon those organisations providing services to children and families. However, in order to gain more precise insight into the mechanisms through which children can best be supported, it is necessary to consult children themselves and to elicit their perspectives and responses to the changes in their family contexts. A primary aim of the present study, therefore, is to gain an understanding of childrens strategies for coping with parental separation, and the sources of support that they find most helpful in order to adjust to these changes. The present study was carried out in the Republic of Ireland. Central to the framework of the study is the view that children are competent in expressing their perceptions and feelings regarding their relationships with their parents post-separation. Sixty children, in two age groups (8–11 years old, representing middle childhood, and 14–17 years old, representing adolescence) participated in the study. A qualitative approach was adopted with semi-structured interviews exploring childrens perspectives on the role played by different types of support, both informal (family, friends) and formal (counselling/peer support services, school). Key findings in the present study highlight the importance for children of being selective about whom they seek and accept support from, with the family being the preferred source of support for the majority of children. The study also highlights the need to provide a broad range of services in outside agencies in a non-stigmatising way and at various stages throughout the separation process.

Parenting Beliefs and Practices of Opiate-Addicted Parents: Concealment and Taboo

The lifestyle associated with opiate dependence, including drug taking, the buying and selling of drugs, and contact with other drug users, carries potential risks for the safety and well-being of children of drug-using parents. Based on a qualitative interview study conducted with 50 opiate-dependent parents in Dublin, Ireland, the parenting beliefs and practices in relation to children’s exposure to drugs and the associated lifestyle are described. Parents saw their lifestyle as potentially risky for their children and their families. The most common strategy adopted by parents was to conceal their drug-related activities and maintain a strict family taboo about these activities. Intervention programmes should be offered to support effective family communication about parental drug dependence.

“It’s What’s Normal for Me” Children’s Experiences of Growing Up in a Continuously Single-Parent Household

Relative to research that has explored outcomes for children associated with living in a single parent family, less attention has been paid to how children interpret and make sense of their family situation. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 38 children and adolescents, aged 7 to 17 years in Ireland, this study explores children’s experiences of growing up in a continuously single-parent family, without experiencing separation and transitions usually associated with single-parent families. Children drew on societal discourses and comparisons with their peer group to evaluate their own family situation. Continuity and a sense of normality represented a salient aspect of their experiences since living in a one-parent family was all they had ever known. Children’s agency emerged in how they negotiated family between two homes and how they weighed up the costs and benefits of potential new parental partnerships.

Concepts of Family among Children and Young People in Ireland

In recent years the demography of the family in Ireland has undergone structural transformation and single-parent and step-parent families are now a common feature of our social landscape. Given the increasing diversity in children’s family experiences, it is important to explore how they construct their own ideas about their family lives. In this paper, findings are presented from a cross-sectional study of 99 children and adolescents living in Ireland (age range 9 to 16 years). The study adopted a focus group methodology to examine children’s and young people’s ideas about what constitutes a family, exploring the salience of concepts such as family structure, relationships, marriage, children, co-residence and biological relatedness for children’s developing concept of family. The findings suggest that children are accepting of a variety of diverse family forms and view supportive family relationships as the basis for defining ‘family’. For a small number of children, however, the traditional nuclear family remains a salient image. Children’s perspectives on roles within the family indicated the pivotal role that they themselves play in family life. These findings may have implications for how researchers and policymakers conceptualise contemporary family life and relationships.

Twenty-five years of developmental and child psychology in Ireland: An analysis of PsycLit and ERIC data bases

The paper presents an overview of publications during the past twenty-five years in the area of child psychology and child and adult development by researchers based in Irish institutions or using an Irish sample. Papers were identified through searches of the PsycLit and ERIC electronic data bases. In the period since 1974 there were over 300 publications with the majority appearing in the last ten years. The paper identifies the changing trends over time in publications in the areas of social functioning, cognition, clinical issues, education, measurement and public policy. The leading area of research is childrens social functioning and there is evidence of a growing interest in applied social issues. Almost all empirical research involved samples of school age children with very limited attention to infancy, adulthood and aging. While most authors clearly intended their focus on children to reflect an interest in developmental processes, very few of the studies used traditional developmental designs ...