Interviews with institutionalized elderly parents and their middle-aged children question the common stereotype that institutionalization reflects a breakdown in family solidarity. Data suggest that institutional care can serve to enhance family relations, particularly when family ties have been strained by needs of the older member. (Author)

Income maintenance policies are geared to reducing the risks of parental dependence on children. Although such help is extensive, families do not possess unending resources for attending to the complex health and social needs of aging relatives. Discusses present income maintenance strategy as well as alternatives to traditional care. (Author)

Interviews 40 lesbians about their relationships with their parents and their partner's parents. Respondents reported that since coming out, their parents' attitudes about their lesbianism shifted over time from profound disapproval to ambivalence. Partners emerged as a beneficial influence on most of the respondents' intergenerational…

Students who drop out of school face a difficult future. For students with disabilities, the risks are intensified. Their dropout rate is about 40 percent--more than twice that of their peers without disabilities. However, families can play an important role in making sure their student with or without disabilities graduates. This brief provides…

We conducted interviews with staff members, parents, and adolescents at a residential treatment center to examine the frequency, nature, and satisfaction with contact between parents and adolescents and parents and staff. We also assessed perceived barriers to family involvement and possible solutions for improving this involvement. Results…

Predicated on the idea that one of the best ways to support individuals' book sharing with a special child in their lives is to establish a family book sharing group with people in the community, this book offers specific suggestions for organizing such a group and provides plans for at least six gatherings. According to the book, this book…

Head Start stresses the partnership between the family and the early childhood program, a relationship that is becoming increasing important in a society where more women are entering the labor force and the number of children receiving non-familial child care continues to rise. This study sought to answer two questions: (1) Are there parents who…

A child abuse project is described which identified families with an abused child and used behavior modification and social learning principles to increase effective parental behavior and decrease abusive behavior. Of 41 cases 84 percent were improved or very improved. However, there was no control group. (SE)

The authors examine parental stress on the birth of a cerebral palsied (CP) child, medical aspects of CP, the beginnings of communication, and need for parental involvement in the child's early experiences. Then described are a family's efforts to provide a normal environment for a seven-year-old CP girl. (MC)

Individual participation in athletics was examined as an achievement-oriented activity in which perceived parental support or pressure influence adolescents' perceptions of themselves and their performance. Results with 97 male and 57 female tennis players provide evidence of an association between perceptions of parental involvement and activity…

Interviews with 62 families who had placed their children with mental retardation in residential placement reflected high involvement with their children, with 81% of families visiting monthly. There was marginal evidence for a lessening of involvement over time. Family involvement was most strongly related with facility characteristics,…

The authors describe a program designed for enhancing family growth based on systems theory. The program, which requires the participation of parents and their children, uses social learning approaches and humanistic psychology to establish a supportive environment and to help families talk about their values. (SE)

This book discusses aspects of natural parenthood based largely on the author's own experiences, with references to other supportive studies and expert opinions. Topics covered include emotional changes brought on by pregnancy; home type delivery; family sleeping quarters and baby-led nursing. Chapters are (1) On Becoming a Mother; (2) Conscious,…

A hospital-based transitional care medical program for infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit is described. Family involvement is emphasized, as is interdisciplinary teamwork. Concerns that the program would encourage unnecessary hospitalization and increase vulnerability to infection have been proven unjustified. (Author/DB)