Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an inherited, progressive and life-limiting neuromuscular disease that affects boys. During their lives, they experience a series of medical and surgical interventions. Research reported in this paper took place in England with 37 young men living with DMD and their families and explored their experiences of…

The current study aimed to review and evaluate a three-session psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic group programme for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The group programme was facilitated through an ASD diagnostic and intervention service within a Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trust over a 12-month period,…

Family environment plays a very important role in early child development and the availability of stimulating material in the early years of a child's life is crucial for optimising development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory is one of the most widely used measures to assess the quality and quantity…

Anecdotal evidence suggests that grandparents provide a substantial amount of childcare support to parents of infants in Ireland yet there has been little attention to the provision of grandparent childcare at policy level. Using nationally representative data on childcare provision in the Republic of Ireland, this study examined the prevalence of…

The potential human and financial costs of foster placement disruption for the children, families, professionals and agencies involved are widely accepted. This service evaluation identified and described perspectives of foster parents and social workers regarding placement disruptions in order to identify the main issues of concern and to derive…

This paper presents the first results of a large-scale research project on the child protection services in Tenerife, Spain. In Study 1, the professional beliefs and practices of 152 child protection workers, as measured by a Professional Beliefs and Practices Questionnaire, were correlated with their scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory.…

This article describes a strengths-based approach to supervised visitation within the child welfare system of the United States. Supervised visitation gives parents accused of abuse or neglect the opportunity to spend time with children temporarily removed from their care. Although supervised visitation has the potential to be a tool for promoting…

It is self-evident that we live in the age of inquiry where the negative impact of risk has been examined through numerous formal processes. In the wake of such scrutiny, there have been repeated recommendations for better training of the professionals charged with safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable individuals. Yet there has been very little…

Some parenting behaviours and child characteristics can result in future behavioural problems. Relatively little is known about parenting behaviours in Pakistani-origin women, and how the timing of migration to the United Kingdom might affect such behaviours. We analysed differences in parenting behaviours and six-month infant temperament by…

This study aimed to assess possible association between swaddling and sleep behaviour in two-month-old infants. It comprised 198 apparently healthy infants from the community setting selected by chance (86 boys, 112 girls), aged two months, who were singletons born in St Petersburg in 2007. The mothers were asked to complete the questionnaires…

Drawing on a three-year Irish research study, this paper focuses on the decision-making process in child contact, specifically the assessment and management of risk of continuing abuse to young people previously exposed to domestic abuse. A mixed methodological approach involved the completion of survey questionnaires by 219 mothers and the…

This study (2006-2007) sought to explore and examine whether the provision of full daycare improves the quality of life for children and their parents. There are now 60.8% of women employed in the workforce, according to the Central Statistics Office (2008). This means many changes for children, parents and families. Twenty-seven childcare…

Young people living in the state care system are often reported to experience poorer levels of mental health and wellbeing. Government policy encourages a holistic approach to the assessment of all aspects of health and wellbeing of these young people. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a mental health screener for young people…

An innovative crisis intervention programme was created at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Canada in order to provide emergency assessments for youth presenting with mental health crises. The current investigation presents an overview of the programme and examines the emergency staff's perception and satisfaction with it.…

The purpose of this study is to describe the parental burden in families with a food-allergic child under the age of four. This study was carried out using a descriptive correlational research design. The subjects of this study were 104 families with a young food-allergic child who observed a restricted diet. The majority of the children were…