Family Matters articles from December 2001

Family Matters archives from December 2001

Director's report.
December 22, 2001... This edition of Family Matters presents a diverse body of research on children and their family contexts. The Children and Parenting Program represents one of the three major streams of research activity at the Institute and is a very important...

Children and their family contexts.
December 22, 2001... This edition of Family Matters highlights a diverse body of research on children in their family contexts. It is stimulated by the recognition that a "one size fits all" conception of family is no longer tenable, and that understanding and...

Children's social competence.
December 22, 2001... The role of the temperament and behaviour, and their "fit" with parents' expectations The learning of social skills and socially acceptable behaviours is one of the most important tasks of childhood. The authors look at how child...

A framework for responding to vulnerable children and their families.
December 22, 2001... Continuing the Institute's earlier (1999) study on the outcomes of the UK Looking After Children approach in out of home care in Victoria, SARA WISE discusses the value of the UK Children in Need assessment framework for Victorian Family...

Family and work.
December 22, 2001... The family's perspective One aspect of the changing context in which many children live today relates to the fact that many parents will have a paid job in addition to their parenting commitments. What is the experience of children with...

School experiences of the children of lesbian and gay parents.
December 22, 2001... Research suggests that the children of gay and lesbian parents have similar psychological adjustment to children growing up in more traditional family structures. Nevertheless, these children may face some particular challenges. VIVIEN RAY AND...

Forgotten families -- the impacts of imprisonment.
December 22, 2001... It is widely acknowledged that children and parents are affected by family separation in many ways. When the circumstances of the separation are traumatic, impacts can be intensified and need to be addressed sensitively to minimise any...

The Sure Start Program in the United Kingdom.
December 22, 2001... JUNE STATHAM AND NAOMI EISENSTADT discuss a cornerstone of the UK government's drive to end child poverty. The Sure Start Program aims to improve the health and wellbeing of children in disadvantaged areas so that they are ready to thrive when...

Matching parenting to child temperament.(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2001... What role do child temperament and parenting style play in the development of later behavioural and emotional problems? Recent findings from the Social Development Project suggest that both factors are important influences on child adjustment,...

Parenting in the Torres Strait Islands.
December 22, 2001... TREVOR BATROUNEY AND GRACE SORIANO report on a study that explored the practices of Torres Strait Islander parents in rearing their children, and the beliefs, attitudes and values which underlie these practices The Buai Sei Boey Wagel...

Working with families to promote health adolescent development.(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2001... In recent years a sea change has occurred in thinking about interventions for families with adolescent children. A perception that adolescence was "too late" for family intervention has gradually shifted as evidence has accumulated suggesting...

Post-divorce parenting patterns.(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2001... A summary of findings from the Institute's Australian Divorce Transitions Project In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of shared responsibility for children after parental separation. This is evidenced by...

RESEARCHING THE FAMILY LAW REFORM ACT.
December 22, 2001... A case of selective attention? In these pages Lawrie Moloney reviews a major report on the operation of the first three years of the Family Law Reform Act 1995, the summary of which was published in the last edition of Family Matters. Then...

REPORT PROVIDES INSIGHTS INTO FAMILY LAW SYSTEM.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... We refer to the research report by Rhoades, Graycar and Harrison, The Family Law Act 1995: The First Three Years, a summary of which appeared in the last issue of Family Matters (Autumn 2001, no. 58, pp. 80-83). This is an important report...

A PLEA FOR GREATER RIGOUR IN SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH.
December 22, 2001... I am writing in response to your invitation to comment on the Rhoades, Graycar and Harrison study entitled The Family Law Reform Act 1995: The First Three Years, the summary of which was published in your last issue (Family Matters, no. 58, pp....

NOT A ONLY A WOMEN'S MATTER?(family finances and mothers' earnings)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... Of concern is a new Institute report on the impact of children on their mothers' lifetime earnings (Family Matters, no. 58, pp. 4-9). Surely an institute dedicated to families would understand that in the vast majority of cases the costs of...

NEW AIFS APPOINMENT.(Australian Institute of Family Studies)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... Associate Professor Ann Sanson has been appointed to the position of Deputy Director (Research) of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Ann has been the Principal Research Fellow in charge of the Children and Parenting Program at the...

AIFS AT SPRC CONFERENCE.
December 22, 2001... The Director and six researchers from the Australian Institute of Family Studies attended the Social Policy Research Centre's biennial conference at the University of New South Wales, in July 2001. Pictured at the conference are: Dr Matthew...

FOR BETTER OR WORSE?(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... The May release of number 25 in the Institute's Research Paper series, Division of matrimonial property in Australia, received extensive, national newspaper and radio coverage. The research paper examines the share of basic assets (house,...

Institute hosts seminars.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... Monthly seminars hosted by Australian Institute of Family Studies are designed to promote a forum for discussion and debate on contemporary issues in family research. Seminars are free and open to the public. Associate Professor Alison...

VISITING SCHOLAR.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... The Australian Institute of Family Studies was pleased to have Mary Mahoney as a Visiting Scholar during the first half of 2001. Mary is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Deakin University, and coordinator of the Family and...

FAMILY AND WORK.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... Along with the pros and cons of child care, the issue of how parents balance their work and family responsibilities is not out of the news for long. So when researcher Virgina Lewis reported the first findings of the Institute's study "Family...

NOT HAVING CHILDREN.
December 22, 2001... As reported in the last edition of Family Matters, the Institute's research into the reasons for people choosing not to have children was extensively reported: "Childless couples just don't like anklebiters" (The Australian, 15/5/01);...

FOREGONE EARNINGS.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2001... New Institute research on lifetime earnings foregone by women having children, reported by Institute researcher Matthew Gray in the Autumn edition of Family Matters, attracted a similar level of media interest: "What price a child? $162,000 in...

The challenge of caring for children.
December 22, 2001... The social context for children and their families has fast been changing. Families now come in many shapes and sizes; it is becoming the norm for both parents to work outside the home; and the nature of the support to families given by the...

Learning to love: the developing relationship between mother, father and baby during the first year.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Learning to love: the developing relationship between mother, father and baby during the first year, by Lorraine Rose, ACER, Camberwell, 2000. Price: $24.95. This practical book is intended for new or expectant parents. It explores the...

Creating unequal futures: rethinking poverty, inequality and disadvantage.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Creating unequal futures: rethinking poverty, inequality and disadvantage, edited by Ruth Fincher and Peter Saunders, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, 2001. Price: $35.00. This edited collection gives an overview of social disadvantage and...

Moving families: expatriation, stress and coping.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Moving families: expatriation, stress and coping, by Mary Haour-Knipe, Routledge, London, 2001. Price: $57.20. This study investigated how families cope with the stresses of moving to a new culture. The families studied were all from North...

An introduction to working with children: a guide for social workers.(Review)
December 22, 2001... An introduction to working with children: a guide for social workers, by Matthew Colton, Robert Saunders and Margaret Williams, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2001. Price: $40.44. This book is intended as a text for student social workers. It aims...

Back on track: finding a way through separation and repartnering.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Back on track: finding a way through separation and repartnering, Child Support Agency, Canberra, 2000. This publication is an education resource kit designed to assist relationship educators and counsellors in the provision of services for...

Working with children in groups: a handbok for counsellors, educators and community workers.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Working with children in groups: a handbook for counsellors, educators and community workers by Kathryn Geldard and David Geldard, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 2001. Price: $47.30. This book is based on the authors' experience of running...

The effect of children on parents.(Review)
December 22, 2001... The effect of children on parents, by Anne-Marie Ambert, Haworth Press, New York, (second edition),2001. This book examines the interactions by which parents and children change, develop and affect each other. Unlike most other research,...

It hurts you inside: children talk about smacking.(Review)
December 22, 2001... It hurts you inside: children talk about smacking, by Carolyne Willow and Tina Hyder, National Children's Bureau, London, 1998. Price: UK 13.00. In November 1997, the British government announced its plan to review the law which allows...

Parenting in different contexts.
December 22, 2001... The following references have been selected from the Australian Family & Society Abstracts database, produced by the Australian Institute of Family Studies to monitor the research, policy and practice literature on families and the economic and...

Pathways from infancy to adolescence: Australian Temperament Project 1983-2000.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Pathways from infancy to adolescence: Australian Temperament Project 1983-2000, by Margot Prior, Ann Sanson, Diana Smart and Frank Oberklaid, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2000, 83 pages, S 16.50 plus $5.00 postage and handling. ...

Parenting in Australian families: a comparative study of Anglo, Torres Strait Islander and Vietnamese communities.(Review)
December 22, 2001... Parenting in Australian families: a comparative study of Anglo, Torres Strait Islander and Vietnamese communities, by Violet Kolar and Grace Soriano, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2000. 67 pages, $11.00 plus 85.00 postage and...