International Family Research Articles

Business families in times of crises: The backbone of family firm resilience and continuity

Against the backdrop of the current Covid-19 pandemic and the related world economic crisis, we reflect on the role of the business family as a pivotal resource in family firm crisis management. We discuss how business families respond to the pandemic outbreak and how some accomplish to turn challenges into opportunities and manage to emerge from the crisis even stronger than before. Related to that, we develop a research agenda on crisis management in family firms and the specific role of the business family in this regard. We also introduce the four articles in this special issue which were initially presented at the 3rd International Family Business Research Forum (IFBRF) at WU Vienna in September 2017. All four articles tackle core topics in family business research and practice, including succession, innovation and family governance, which are core elements for building a resilient business family.

The International Family Study of Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts: Design and Methods

The majority of research to understand the risk factors of nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) has been conducted in high-income populations. Although patients with NSOFCs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at the highest risk of not receiving care, global health infrastructure allows innovative partnerships to explore the etiologic mechanisms of cleft and targets for prevention unique to these populations. The International Family Study (IFS) is an ongoing case-control study with supplemental parental trio data designed to examine genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and sociodemographic risk factors for NSOFCs in 8 LMICs (through August 2020). Interview and biological samples are collected for each family. The interview includes demographics, family history of cleft, diet and water sources, maternal pregnancy history, and other lifestyle and environmental factors. Seven of 8 countries are currently summarized (2012-2017) for a total of 2955 case and 2774 control families with 11 946 unique biological samples from Vietnam, Philippines, Honduras, Madagascar, Morocco, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Nicaragua. The phenotype distribution was 1641 (55.5%) cases with cleft lip and palate, 782 (26.5%) with cleft lip (CL), and 432 (14.6%) with cleft palate (CP). The International Family Study is the largest case set of NSOFCs with an associated biobank in LMICs currently assembled. The biobank, family, and case-control study now include samples from 8 LMICs where local health care infrastructure cannot address the surgical burden of cleft or investigate causal mechanisms. The International Family Study can be a source of information and may collaborate with local public health institutions regarding education and interventions to potentially prevent NSOFCs.

Ethics in forensic science: Renewed commitments and a call for papers across the Forensic Science International family

Ethics in forensic science: Renewed commitments and a call for papers across the Forensic Science International family

Ethics in forensic science: Renewed commitments and a call for papers across the Forensic Science International Family

Ethics in forensic science: Renewed commitments and a call for papers across the Forensic Science International Family

Ethics in Forensic Science: Renewed Commitments and a Call for Papers across the Forensic Science International Family

Ethics in Forensic Science: Renewed Commitments and a Call for Papers across the Forensic Science International Family

Prorogation of jurisdiction and choice of law in EU family law: navigating through the labyrinth of rules

This article focuses on the scope of party autonomy in EU family regulations, especially in cases of marriage dissolution with an international element. Through the lens of a case study, the author analyses whether provisions allowing party autonomy in EU family regulations are consistent and wide enough to enable parties to find a solution that best fits their interests. The paper concludes that the advantages of party autonomy in private international family law outweigh the associated risks which should be mitigated by safeguarding measures.

Cross‐Border Issues Associated with the Use of Online Dispute Resolution for International Family Law Matters

Online dispute resolution procedures provide flexibility that may be needed by many families to solve a variety of matters that cross‐international borders. These matters include, but are not limited to, child custody and child support. When using these procedures, families with cross‐border issues should consider requirements in the countries in which the families find themselves particularly if they want to have any resulting agreement recognized and enforced. These requirements include jurisdictional rules, rules relevant to the recognition and enforcement of agreements as well as, in some instances, formalities associated with the use of electronic records.

A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American

A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American

Family Nursing Network: International Family Nursing Association Develops Position Statement on Planetary Health and Family Health.

Family Nursing Network: International Family Nursing Association Develops Position Statement on Planetary Health and Family Health.

Conflict of laws regulation of the international family relations in the Russian Federation (legislation and jurisprudence)

Russian conflict of laws rules that determine the choice of law applicable to marriage and family relations associated with foreign law and order came into force in 1995 and have been in effect for more than 25 years. Despite the fact that this problem has been studied in great detail in the Russian legal doctrine, the relevance of the analysis of conflict of laws rules set forth in the Family Code of the Russian Federation is by no means exhausted due to the large-scale reform of the rules of Private International Law in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the current legislative regulation of international family relations in other States. The article concludes that conflict of laws regulation of the international family relations in the Russian Federation adopted more than 25 years ago needs serious modernization. It is reasonable to carry out the corresponding updating in the following directions: maximum specification of the content of conflict of laws rules for the purpose of more differentiated regulation of the family relations; establishment of a complex and detailed system of the connecting factors aimed at correct determination of the law the most closely connected with the relation and decision-making; the expansion of possibility of choice of the applicable law to divorce and property relations; application of the law the most favorable for a child should become a dominating connecting factor.

Ethics in forensic science: Renewed commitments and a call for papers across the Forensic Science International family

Ethics in forensic science: Renewed commitments and a call for papers across the Forensic Science International family

On the History of the Marriage Contract in Domestic and Foreign Legislation

The genesis of the marriage contract in domestic and foreign legislation is studied. The main stages of the emergence and development of the marriage contract in various countries are outlined. A parallel is drawn between national and international family law in historical retrospect. The article analyzes the procedure and conditions for concluding a marriage contract in various countries. It is proved that the marriage contract is the optimal tool in protecting the property rights and interests of married persons. It is established that the marriage contract is not new for Russian law; it has a fairly long, centuries-old history. According to the evidence of preserved legal documents, until 1917, the marriage contract was a familiar and convenient legal instrument for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of spouses. In modern Russian law, the legislator tried to take into account not only the peculiarities of the historical formation of the institution of the marriage contract in Russia, but also the experience of foreign legislation, giving the spouses the right to establish the regime of marital property at their discretion.

Family Caregiver Support of Patient Self-Management During Chronic, Life-Limiting Illness: A Qualitative Metasynthesis.

Family caregivers play an integral role in supporting patient self-management, yet how they perform this role is unclear. We conducted a qualitative metasynthesis of family caregivers' processes to support patient self-management of chronic, life-limiting illness and factors affecting their support. Methods included a systematic literature search, quality appraisal of articles, data abstraction, and data synthesis to produce novel themes. Thirty articles met inclusion criteria, representing 935 international family caregivers aged 18 to 89 years caring for patients with various health conditions. Three themes characterized family caregivers' processes to support patient self-management: "Focusing on the Patient's Illness Needs," "Activating Resources to Support Oneself as the Family Caregiver," and "Supporting a Patient Living with a Chronic, Life-Limiting Illness." Factors affecting family caregivers' support included Personal Characteristics, Health Status, Resources, Environmental Characteristics, and the Health Care System. The family caregiver role in supporting patient self-management is multidimensional, encompassing three processes of care and influenced by multiple factors.

Nursing competencies for family-centred care in the hospital setting: A multinational Q-methodology study.

Aimto identify: (1) nursing competencies for FCC in a hospital setting; and (2) to explore perspectives on these competencies among Dutch and Australian professionals including lecturers, researchers, Registered Nurses and policy makers.DesignA multinational cross‐sectional study using Q‐methodology.MethodsFirst, an integrative review was carried out to identify known competencies regarding FCC and to develop the Q‐set (search up to July 2018). Second, purposive sampling was used to ensure stakeholder involvement. Third, participants sorted the Q‐set using a web‐based system between May and August 2019. Lastly, the data were analysed using a by‐person factor analysis. The commentaries on the five highest and lowest ranked competencies were thematically analysed.ResultsThe integrative review identified 43 articles from which 72 competencies were identified. In total 69 participants completed the Q‐sorting. We extracted two factors with an explained variance of 24%. The low explained variance hampered labelling. Based on a post‐hoc qualitative analysis, four themes emerged from the competencies that were considered most important, namely: (a) believed preconditions for FCC; (b) promote a partnership between nurses, patients and families; (c) be a basic element of nursing; and (d) represent a necessary positive attitude and strong beliefs of the added value of FCC. Three themes appeared from the competencies that were considered least important because they: (a) were not considered a specific nursing competency; (b) demand a multidisciplinary approach; or (c) require that patients and families take own responsibility.ConclusionsAmong healthcare professionals, there is substantial disagreement on which nursing competencies are deemed most important for FCC.ImpactOur set of competencies can be used to guide education and evaluate practicing nurses in hospitals. These findings are valuable to consider different views on FCC before implementation of new FCC interventions into nursing practice.

Development of an international Core Outcome Set (COS) for best care for the dying person: study protocol

BackgroundIn contrast to typical measures employed to assess outcomes in healthcare such as mortality or recovery rates, it is difficult to define which specific outcomes of care are the most important in caring for dying individuals. Despite a variety of tools employed to assess different dimensions of palliative care, there is no consensus on a set of core outcomes to be measured in the last days of life.In order to optimise decision making in clinical practice and comparability of interventional studies, we aim to identify and propose a set of core outcomes for the care of the dying person.MethodsFollowing the COMET initiative approach, the proposed study will proceed through four stages to develop a set of core outcomes: In stage 1, a systematic review of the literature will identify outcomes measured in existing peer reviewed literature, as well as outcomes derived through qualitative studies. Grey literature, will also be included. Stage 2 will allow for the identification and determination of patient and proxy defined outcomes of care at the end of life via quantitative and qualitative methods at an international level. In stage 3, from a list of salient outcomes identified through stages 1 and 2, international experts, family members, patients, and patient advocates will be asked to score the importance of the preselected outcomes through a Delphi process. Stage 4 consists of a face-to-face consensus meeting of international experts and patient/family representatives in order to define, endorse, and propose the final Core Outcomes Set.DiscussionCore Outcome Sets aim at promoting uniform assessment of care outcomes in clinical practice as well as research. If consistently employed, a robust set of core outcomes for the end of life, and specifically for the dying phase, defined by relevant stakeholders, can ultimately be translated into best care for the dying person. Patient care will be improved by allowing clinicians to choose effective and meaningful treatments, and research impact will be improved by employing internationally agreed clinically relevant endpoints and enabling accurate comparison between studies in systematic reviews and/or in meta-analyses.

The role of family firms’ generational heterogeneity in the entry mode choice in foreign markets

This paper investigates how important sources of heterogeneity shape the way in which family firms (FFs) enter foreign markets. By integrating insights from International Business and Family Business literature, we claim that the interplay between the generation ruling the firm and the presence of non-family board members direct the choice between a greenfield investment vs. the acquisition of a local unit. FFs prefer to enter foreign markets through greenfield investments, especially when run by the founders, due to their emotional attachment to the firm and to the lack of adequate organizational capabilities to undertake and manage cross-border acquisitions. The bias towards greenfield investments is corrected by the presence of non-family members in the board. However, we claim that non-family directors’ voice is on average more effective in second-generation FFs as they show an average lower SEW orientation, while FFs surviving in the long term are those ruled by the successors more authoritative in imposing attention on the preservation of family values. Therefore, third-and-beyond generation FFs present a higher SEW orientation as well as diversified organizational capabilities, which make them less incline to follow external advice. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 1,849 manufacturing initiatives undertaken abroad by 532 Italian FFs in the period 2000–2013.

Contraceptive Method Mix: Updates and Implications.

Improving contraceptive method choice is a goal of international family planning. Method mix-the percentage distribution of total contraceptive use across various methods-reflects both supply (availability of affordable methods) and demand (client preferences). We analyze changes in method mix, regional contrasts, and the relationship of the mix to contraceptive prevalence. We use 789 national surveys from the 1960s through 2019, from 113 developing countries with at least 1 million people and with data on use of 8 contraceptive methods. Two measures assess the "evenness" of the mix: method skew (more than 50% use is by 1 method), and the average deviation (AD) of the 8 methods' shares from their mean value. Population weighted and unweighted results are compared because they can differ substantially. Use of traditional methods has declined but still represents 11% of all use (population weighted) or 17% (unweighted country average). Vasectomy's share was historically low with the exception of a few countries but is now even lower. The previous trend toward greater overall evenness in the mix has slowed recently. Sub-Saharan Africa shows a hormonal method progression from oral contraceptives to injectables to implants in a substantial number of countries. In some countries with high HIV prevalence, the condom share has increased. The leading method's share differs by region: female sterilization in Asia (39%) and in Latin America (31%), the pill in the Middle East/North Africa (32%), and the injectable in sub-Saharan Africa (36%). Method skew persists in 30% of countries. "Evenness" of mix is not related to contraceptive prevalence. The marked diversity in predominant methods underscores the conclusion that no single method mix is ideal or appropriate everywhere. But that diversity across countries, coupled with the persisting high degree of extreme skewness in many of them, argues for continued concerted efforts for programs to increase method choice.

Community, work and family in diverse contexts and changing times

The 8th International Community, Work and Family conference took place in Malta at the Valletta campus of the University of Malta between the 23rd to the 25th May 2019. In a pre-COVID-19 world with...

Editorial to the Special Issue of the Journal for Family Psychotherapy: International Approaches to Innovative Supervisory Practice

This special issue of the Journal of Family Psychotherapy was initially conceived at the 2019 World Family Therapy Congress sponsored by the International Family Therapy Association (IFTA) in Aberd...

Prepared but unprepared: a qualitative study of provider perspectives on the preparation and adjustment of U.S. families who internationally adopt children with HIV

ABSTRACT An increasing number of U.S. families are adopting children with HIV born outside the country. This exploratory qualitative study seeks to understand providers’ perspectives on international adoptee and family preparation and adjustment to life in the U.S. Eleven psychosocial and five medical care providers participated in hour-long, semi-structured, recorded interviews focused on their experiences caring for internationally adopted children with HIV (IACH) and their adoptive parents. Transcribed interviews were analyzed to identify emergent themes. Providers described considerable variation among families who adopted children. Some had grown biological children and several adopted multiple children with special needs. Most were connected to communities of faith which served as an inspiration to adopt and offered support. Serious medical and HIV-related issues were minimal. Psychosocial concerns were more common and included attachment, adjustment, and behavioral issues. Participants noted that adoptive parents were well informed about HIV, but less prepared for cognitive delays and emotional challenges. Some providers experienced or expected to have challenges offering sexual and reproductive health education to adolescents due to their adoptive parents’ religious beliefs on sexuality. Additional support managing behavioral and emotional challenges, as well as sexual education, may be needed especially as IACH transition into adolescence and young adulthood.