Responsible Parenthood Research Articles

Performing the Nation: Contesting Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the United States

Public opinion polls, Supreme Court decisions, and changes in federal and state law suggest that the United States is witnessing a support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights today that few would have predicted five years ago. This article offers a critical assessment of that growth as it is manifest in the context of marriage equality. It shows that efforts to advance same-sex marriage rights, while offering an important challenge to oppositional arguments, actually rely on norms quite similar to those of marriage equality opponents. Both advocates and opponents envision and enact the kind of citizenship appropriate to national health and identity in surprisingly similar ways. Both reinforce a set of norms, laws, and practices that make the right to marriage almost synonymous with family and responsible parenting. Such a consolidation of repronormativity may have troubling consequences for efforts to advance LGBT rights at home and abroad.

Parenting ideals and (un-)troubled parent positions

This paper examines how some Swedish parents constructed meanings of parenthood. The parents had completed a state-sponsored parenting programme and were interviewed about their experiences of the programme, their everyday lives, their need for support, ideas about the societal context, and their understandings of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parents. The study was grounded in a discourse-analytical tradition and concepts from discursive psychology guided the analysis. When the interviewees described good parents as responsible and engaged, they related to dominant discourses where middle-class values of involvement and ideals of intensive motherhood intersect. The descriptions of bad parenting were also classed and gendered, representing bad parents as irresponsible and uncaring, as not setting limits, and as not spending enough time with their children. The parents represented themselves in various ways as responsible parents, i.e. an untroubled subject position, but also handled troubled parent positions related to notions of gender and social class.

Children’s rights and human trafficking and responsible parenthood in west african country nigeria.

Every child has right to life and if so, it is a responsible parent that could make this workable and realistic to uphold the children’s rights and existence to life. Time is now ripped for the society to look into the Children`s Rights and Human Trafficking and Responsible Parents in Western African country Nigeria. Children have the natural rights to exist, grow maturely and to develop in whichever hemisphere or environment they find themselves. A good child born to a good and responsible parent ought not and should not encounter or experience in anyway the so called children’s problem through one´s good mother and father’s care in any family. We are to peruse here the issue concerning the West African Nigerian child’s rights a responsible parent. On why a child’s rights should not be violated or trampled upon; the expected parental duties, neglect of a child’s education and upbringing, child’s trafficking, malnutrition and maltreatment sagas, the harms with street children and various problems which different children encounter are what this article is all about. We shall base our knowledge here basically on descriptive, analytical and evaluative methods. The issues of solution, suggestions and remedies and the way forward are looked into for the better society of the present era.

Paradoxical correlates of a facilitative parenting programme in prison—counter-productive intervention or first signs of responsible parenthood?

PurposeParenting programmes are rarely part of prisoners' rehabilitation, and evaluations of such programmes are lacking.

Power Balances and Bridges between Church Discourses, Academic Theological Views and Daily Experiences and Reflections on Family Life

The theological ethical discourse on families and especially on marriage as elaborated by the magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church requires explanation by theologians and appropriation by ordinary people. This is the view taken by the official magisterium. The formulation of some of the questions posed in preparation for the 2014 extraordinary synod on the family makes this clear. We read, for example, “In those cases where the Church’s teaching is known, is it accepted fully or are there difficulties in putting it into practice? If so, what are they?”1 Since the sixties of the last century in particular, this process of appropriation has no longer functioned well. Other related issues, such as the value of marriage, equality, the relation between love and sex, or responsible parenthood, are considered important by most Catholics. Nevertheless, one cannot ignore a rather wide gap between magisterial teachings on “marriage and the family” and people’s ideas and experiences. The Second Vatican Council and the theological ideas in line with this council focused, however, on the role of lay people. The role of the “people of God”, most of whom are lay, was specifically stressed in the document on the Church, Lumen gentium (nos. 9-17). Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, called on the Church to “read the signs of the time” and to dialogue with the world (see especially no. 44). In the period shortly after the Vatican council, a new dynamism gave rise to various new theologies that focused on this dialogue with the world and emphasized the relevance of human experience for theology. We need to take the experience and concrete context in which people are living seriously. This has become a continual refrain in various forms of contemporary theology today, especially in practical theologies, feminist theologies, and contextual theologies. The experiences and the practices of people themselves are a locus theologicus, a place from which to theologize. This theologizing can be done by “ordinary people”, or by academic theologians, or by church leaders. In line with what is often called reflexive modernity, modernity being aware of its limits and complexities, we also see that contemporary theologies considering experience as a core element for theologizing are often confronted with paradoxical questions. I will begin by explaining three complex metaquestions that arise when considering people’s experience in terms of marriage and family and theological traditions. I will subsequently describe three possible ways of coping with these complexities. The third approach – that of dialogue – forms the basis for the final part of this essay, in which I will seek to sketch briefly some aspects of dialogue between the various theological positions.

Sexo y Modernidad en la España de la Segunda República. Los discursos de la ciencia

The aim of this article is to explore the scientific content of the “sexual reform” movement which took place in Spain during the 1920s and 1930s, culminating during the Second Republic. It covers three essential aspects of this subject: 1) the introduction of the new science of sexology; 2) the interest in sex education for children; and 3) the passing of new marriage legislation (the Divorce Law of 1932). Areas of scientific discourse are identified, associated with a “modernization” of mores and based on secular and progressive assumptions. The conflict between biological or endocrinological approaches and psychoanalytical methods is discussed, with encouragement of a healthy, aware experience of sexuality becoming established as the central argument. Issues such as responsible parenting, birth control, prevention of mental disorders (linked to traumatic sexual experiences), etc. are analysed in the light of medical, psychological and legal sources, in relation to the reform of sexual mores and overcoming the bourgeois moral double standard

PROFIL TOKOH DALAM NOVEL KUHAPUS NAMAMU DENGAN NAMA-NYA KARYA TAUFIQURRAHMAN AL-AZIZY

This article was written to describe character of profile in novel Kuhapus Namamu dengan Nama-Nya by Taufiqurrahman Al-Azizy. The data of the research was novel component profile of character novel Kuhapus Namamu dengan Nama-Nya by Taufiqurrahman Al-Azizy. The source of the data research novel Kuhapus Namamu dengan Nama-Nya by Taufiqurrahman Al-Azizy. The method used in this research was descriptive method. Research finding profile of characters in novel Kuhapus Namamu dengan Nama-Nya by Taufiqurrahman Al-Azizy that consist of seven characters. First, as a main character Naufal has a view or life, responsibility, justness, strength to face suffering, and beauty. And six supporting actris are Naura is lovely, responsibility, and unpatien to face suffering. Sa’di is responsibility, and describes the beauty of woman. Abah and Umi are responsible parents, and Mr. Seno has responsible to other people and god.

Transsexual parenthood and new role assumptions

This study explores the parental role of transsexuals and compares this to common assumptions about transsexuality and parentage. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 male-to-female transsexuals and 14 men, half parents and half non-parents, in order to explore four thematic areas: self-representation of the parental role, the description of the transsexual as a parent, the common representations of transsexuals as a parent, and male and female parental stereotypes. We conducted thematic and lexical analyses of the interviews using Taltac2 software. The results indicate that social representations of transsexuality and parenthood have a strong influence on processes of self-representation. Transsexual parents accurately understood conventional male and female parental prototypes and saw themselves as competent, responsible parents. They constructed their role based on affection toward the child rather than on the complementary role of their wives. In contrast, men's descriptions of transsexual parental roles were simpler and the descriptions of their parental role coincided with their personal experiences. These results suggest that the transsexual journey toward parenthood involves a high degree of re-adjustment, because their parental role does not coincide with a conventional one.

Reproductive Health Law in the Philippines

The Philippines has recently passed a law on Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health after several decades of controversy and public debate. This article summarizes the elements of the Reproductive Health Law, as well as the arguments for and against its enactment.

Mothers’ accounts of healthcare encounters: Negotiating culpability and fulfilling the active mother role

This article explores mothers’ accounts of initial interactions and encounters with healthcare professionals and the outcomes where questions about their children’s problems are concerned. A case-based storyline was reconstructed as part of the analysis, focusing on when and how mothers claimed to be responsible parents. The outcomes of these encounters were presented by the mothers in this study as a drawn-out process, with disagreement between mothers and healthcare providers, resulting in different performances of moral agency. Some mothers portrayed themselves as dependent on healthcare expertise and made moral claims by attributing and deflecting blame, negotiating back and forth about their own and the healthcare professionals’ culpability, restoring moral agency. Other mothers did not generally defend or justify their actions or place blame, but appealed instead to fulfilment of the active mother role where they controlled the interaction and claimed full responsibility for their child’s care, hence presenting their moral agency as indisputable.

In the Philippines, the long wait for free sexual health care continues

The beginning of April was supposed to mark a watershed in Philippines family planning. Some 14 years after this predominately Catholic country first introduced a bill enshrining the right to free condoms and sex education, the Responsible Parenthood Law was finally passed on Dec. 17, 2012. The

“The Weight on Our Shoulders Is Too Much, and We Are Falling”

Inuit youth suicide is at an epidemic level in the circumpolar north. Rapid culture change has left Inuit in a state of coloniality that destabilized their kin-based social organization, and in spite of advances in self-governance social problems such as suicide continue. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork I carried out in Nunavut, Canada (2004-2005), including 27 interviews with Inuit between the ages of 17 and 61, I examine male youth in particular in the context of recent colonial change, gender ideologies and behavior, youth autonomy, and the family. Anger is common among Inuit male youth, often directed toward girlfriends and parents, and suicide is embedded in some of these relationships. Many Inuit male youth are struggling with a new cultural model of love and sexuality. Inuit speak about a need for more responsible parenting. Evidence is beginning to show, however, that local, community-based suicide prevention may be working.

The impact of child-rearing by maids on mother–child attachment

IntroductionThe objective of this study was to assess the perceived negative impact on mother–child attachment of raising children with the help of foreign maids, as practised in Arab Gulf countries. Materials and methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. A convenience sample was recruited from June 2010 to December 2010 from three tertiary hospitals and shopping centres. Five hundred questionnaires were distributed. Of these, 336 with complete data sets were analysed. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the King Fahad Medical City. The analysed data were tabulated in the form of descriptive statistics. Results. Eighty per cent of households had a maid, but only 50% of mothers had careers. The proportion of babies who were not bottle-fed was 31.6%, with 15.7% exclusively breast-fed. Of the 52.8% of babies who were both breast- and bottle-fed, most were usually bottle-fed. The proportions of participants who reported high and low levels of mother–child attachment were 61.9% and 15.6% respectively. Although 22.6% declined to comment on this, questioning revealed a low level of mother–child attachment in this group, and therefore low mother–child attachment totalled 38.2% (15.6% + 22.6%). In 45.2% of cases, mothers stated that bonding was not affected by the maid, whereas 30% stated that bonding was affected. Although 24.2% declined to express their view, further questioning confirmed their discomfort in answering this question; this suggested that they did perceive a lack of bonding, and therefore that this affected a total of 54.2% (24.2% + 30%) of households. Discussion Although only half of the mothers had careers, a larger proportion of households had maids, indicating an overdependence of mothers on domestic aides. The very low proportion of babies who were exclusively breast-fed would suggest that mother–child bonding was affected in a large proportion of households that bottle-fed. However, about two-thirds of the mothers claimed high levels of mother–child bonding, whereas only one-sixth felt that bonding was adversely affected. The remainder were reluctant to discuss this point, suggesting that the problem of low levels of mother–child bonding exists. The study found that almost half of mother–child bonding relationships could be impaired by the presence of maids. Conclusion. This study indicates that mother–child attachment is adversely affected by the presence of maids, which could prove detrimental to the psychosocial development of affected children and the population of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the long term. Family-friendly work policies for mothers and education on responsible parenting are recommended.

The Role of “Occupy for Reproductive Health’ as a Political Tool for Women's Rights and Empowerment

On September 17, 2011, thousands of protesters marched and camped out in Zuccotti Park, New York to protest social and economic inequality in a movement known as Occupy Wall Street (OWS). In the Philippines, the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill (House Bill 4244), which seeks to promote responsible parenting, maternal and child care protection, funding and equal access for health facilities, and responsible sexuality education among the youth, is still pending in Congress, ten years since the first RH Bill was filed. On November 21, 2011, pro-RH individuals from various women's non-government organizations marched to the South Wing Gate of the House of Representatives to stage “Occupy for RH' (ORH). This paper seeks to explain how women's groups appropriated this particular mode of protest and how ORH has not only challenged prevailing patriarchal institutions in the country, but has also reaffirmed that collective and active participation is still a powerful tool in asserting one's political rights.

Parental attitudes towards extracurricular physical and sports activity in school-age children

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the attitudes and degree of interest and implication of parents whose school-age children participate in extracurricular physical and sports activities. Particular attention has been paid to the responsibility parents bestow on the different people and institutions that are linked to promoting sports in school-age children. We have also analysed the relationship between parents’ attitudes towards their children’s sporting habits and their own degree of involvement with sports. Furthermore, we have analysed the implications of these results in order to encourage parental involvement in promoting physical and sports activities.

Paternidade responsável: problematizando a responsabilização paterna

Focus of recent public policy in Brasil, this article calls into question the notion of parental responsibility. In particular, it is analyzed the actions developed in the state of Rio Grande do Sul aiming the promotion of parenthood as a form of preventing crime. The main objective is to understand how legitimizing discourses around the father figure are constructed in such context. The analysis deconstructs the meaning attributed to the notion of father. Within this context, there are four key points to understand these actions: 1. the emergence of the father as a figure of interest; 2. the construction of a causal relationship between father absence and crime; 3. the meaning associated with responsibility in the call for responsible parents; and 4. the image constructed in such actions.

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES – MEDICAL CARE, MINORS AND THE RELIGIOUS RITE/RIGHT

Responsible and caring parents seek the best possible medical care for their children. In the case of parents who are Jehovah’s Witnesses their religious beliefs prohibit medical intervention which uses blood. This prohibition specifically includes the refusal of blood transfusions even where such a refusal may result in the death of the person concerned. Jehovah’s Witnesses as a result are often viewed with animosity or contempt, considered foolhardy and recklessly disregarding life, martyring themselves and their children. This article seeks to examine the religious origins of the blood prohibition and attempts to set the rationale for refusal in its religious context. It also explores the approach of the courts in the UK, the US and Canada to Jehovah’s Witnesses children (supported by their parents) including those who have expressed a wish to refuse such treatment or else have been too young to do so. It concludes with presenting such refusal as a religious right which it is argued engages article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Headlice eradication as everyday engagement with science: An analysis of online parenting discussions.

This paper focuses on the way in which people deploy scientific knowledge alongside other resources in everyday interactions. In the UK headlice are common amongst schoolchildren, and treatment is viewed as a parental responsibility. Choice between treatment options lies with individual parents, with official guidance giving no clear steer. In the face of this combination of responsibility and uncertainty, users of an online parenting forum justify their actions using a variety of resources, including claims to scientific knowledge of both headlice and the action of various treatments, but also drawing on the authority of having direct experience, trust in brand-named products and generalised suspicion of "chemical" treatments. These discussions occasion expression of knowledge as part of portraying oneself as a responsible parent, and thus while they do not necessarily represent public knowledge about science more generally, they do offer a useful site to explore what people do with science.

Why does parents' involvement enhance children's achievement? The role of parent-oriented motivation.

This research examined the idea that children's parent-oriented motivation underlies the benefits of parents' involvement on children's engagement and ultimately achievement in school. Beginning in the fall of 7th grade, 825 American and Chinese children (mean age 12.73 years) reported on their parents' involvement in their learning as well as multiple dimensions of their motivation in school every 6 months until the end of 8th grade. Information on children's self-regulated learning strategies and grades was also obtained. Over time, the more involved parents were in children's learning, the more motivated children were to do well in school for parent-oriented reasons, which contributed to children's enhanced self-regulated learning and thereby grades. Although children's parent-oriented motivation was associ- ated with their controlled and autonomous motivation in school, it uniquely explained the positive effect of parents' involvement on children's grades. There is much evidence to support the idea that parents' in- volvement in children's learning (e.g., discussing children's schoolwork with them and attending parent-teacher conferences) facilitates children's learning and ultimately their achievement (for recent reviews, see Grolnick, Friendly, & Bellas, 2009; Pomerantz & Moorman, 2010). Compared with the support children receive from teachers and peers, the role parents play in children's learning is often considered not only unique but also essential (e.g., Furrer & Skinner, 2003; Grolnick & Ryan, 1992). Given the importance of parents' involvement in children's learning, a major question is that of what underlies its beneficial effect on children's achieve- ment. In response to this question, multiple mechanisms have been proposed (for a review, see Pomerantz, Kim, & Cheung, 2012). Key is that parents' involvement enhances children's achievement through its influence on their motivation (Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991; Grolnick & Slowiaczeck, 1994). In this vein, children's autonomous motivation and feelings of agency have been found to underlie the effect of parents' involvement on their achievement (e.g., Grolnick et al., 1991; Grolnick & Slowiaczeck, 1994; Hong & Ho, 2005). The current work was guided by the perspective that parents' involvement contributes to children's achievement via their moti- vation. However, it represents a departure from prior work in its focus on the role of motivation that may be experienced by children largely as controlled. Specifically, children's parent- oriented motivation was examined as a mechanism through which parents' involvement facilitates children's achievement during the early adolescent years. The goal was to evaluate the model illus- trated in Figure 1. It was postulated that when parents are involved in children's learning, children become motivated in school for parent-oriented reasons (e.g., to show parents they are responsible and gain parents' approval); such motivation heightens children's engagement, thereby enhancing their achievement. The model was tested in the United States and China to identify its validity in cultures in which the nature of parents' involvement in children's learning differs (e.g., Chao, 1994, 1996; Cheung & Pomerantz, 2011).

Proteção da autonomia reprodutiva dos transexuais

A Constituição Brasileira assegura o direito ao planejamento familiar com fundamento nos princípios da dignidade da pessoa humana e da paternidade responsável. Esse direito é reconhecido não só ao casal, como ao homem e à mulher, que podem constituir sozinhos uma comunidade familiar, denominada família monoparental, constitucionalmente amparada. O Conselho Federal de Medicina adotou normas éticas para a utilização das técnicas de reprodução assistida destinadas a todas as pessoas capazes, abrindo assim tal possibilidade para qualquer pessoa independentemente de sua orientação ou situação sexual. Indispensável, neste momento, analisar o caso dos transexuais, que podem ter sua capacidade de reproduzir comprometida pelo processo transexualizador, para que seus direitos reprodutivos sejam resguardados.