Role of Touch in the Care of Children in Central Africa
This poster presents a study that documents the physical care of young children in two small-scale societies in Central Africa: the Aka and Bofi foragers. The Aka and Bofi live in similar ecological contexts, share similar childrearing practices and live with extended family members. The Aka and Bofi speak different languages and identify themselves as culturally distinct. Both are considered ethnic minorities, and both face high levels of discrimination in their countries (Congo and Central African Republic). Informed by extended ethnographic fieldwork among the Aka and Bofi, child development literature, and cultural contextual perspectives, the aim of this study is to examine the frequency and timing of verbal versus nonverbal physical interactions between young children and their caregivers. Quantitative and qualitative data from fieldwork among the Aka and Bofi are presented, and the authors discuss Aka and Bofi developmental niches and the role of touch in the caregiver-child relationship.
Asian American Family Caregiving for a Person with a Mental Illness
Asian Americans are projected to reach 20.2 million, comprising 8% of the U.S. population, by the year 2020. Based on an interpretive phenomenological study that explored what it is like for Asian Americans to care for a mentally ill family member, this poster will describe the processes by which families cope with mental illness and health care system in the United States. The specific aims are to 1) examine patterns of family caregiving practices for mentally ill family members among Asian American families, and 2) describe how Confucian-based practices are modified as families acculturate to the United States.
Social Services in the Middle East and United States
This poster session summarizes existing studies of social services in the Middle East and Arab social service provision in the United States. An extensive literature review was conducted, covering economic, social, and political factors involved in the provision and usage of services by the Arab populations of the Middle East and the United States. Research reveals cultural and religious factors to have a deep impact on social services in Arab societies. On the surface an examination of social service provision in the Arab community finds them to be lacking. However, when examined in the proper context, political and cultural factors reveal the norms, values, and systems of the Arab world to support existing conditions. Although there is room for much improvement in the provision of services, improvements must be made in unison with the principles and theory of Arab society.
Kinship Caregiving:
Family Strengths and Public Vulnerabilities
Kinship care families (children being cared for by non-parent relatives) are becoming an increasingly common family form with unique strengths, but also significant vulnerabilities. This is especially common among caregivers who are single grandmothers. Nevertheless, only a minority of kinship families receive the subsidies and services to which they are entitled. One reason for the low use of these programs is that they are designed primarily for families where children are being raised by parents, and many of the program requirements adapt poorly to kinship families. This poster reports results of the nationally representative Adolescent Health dataset to provide information on whether the amount of money in a child-only welfare program makes a difference on adolescent outcomes.
Lesbian Couples' and Heterosexual Couples' Decision-Making Regarding Child Race in the Adoption Process
Previous research has found that same-sex couples seek adopt children from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Some research suggests that lesbian couples are more willing to incorporate diversity within their family because they dealt with discrimination throughout their lives. This poster will report on data concerning lesbian and adoptive couples' preferences and ideas about race to address the following questions: 1) Are lesbian couples more willing to adopt a child of a different race? 2) Why are some couples willing and interested in adopting a child of a different race, while others are not? That is, what reasons do couples cite? Data are from 30 lesbian couples and 30 heterosexual couples, all of whom were actively pursuing an adoptive placement and were currently awaiting placement of their first child. Findings will be discussed in the context of the broader issues and controversies surrounding transracial adoption, and in the context of gay/lesbian adoption.
A Methodology for Diversity and Change in Family Science Applications
This poster suggests a methodology for understanding the processes by which families cope with poverty, racism, chronic illness, and other irresolvable stressor situations. The methodology involves considering both continuities and discontinuities which explain diversity and change. The poster reviews over a hundred books and professional papers employing catastrophe theory with a special emphasis on the methods used for testing these models. This review shows that catastrophe theory provides a methodology especially suited to the life sciences as opposed to the physical sciences, provides a critique of limitations of traditional methods, reviews the approach and methods used in applications of catastrophe theory, and proposes how these can be applied to a number of family processes. A model suggesting how this methodology applies to religious diversity and change is suggested.
Terra Trabalhadores Sem – Landless Workers' Movement (MST): Study of a Brazilian Social Movement
This study is motivated by the fact that the power of collective action is critical to issues of social justice concerning maintaining, and sometimes, reclaiming civil rights. The Terra Trabalhadores Sem – Landless Workers Movement (MST), formed in 1970, carries out land reform aimed at unjust land distribution where less than 3% of the population owns two-thirds of the land on which crops could be grown. This study resulted in the identification and discussion of life cycle stages and the MST’s ability to organize and educate. Data on the number of land titles secured to date, number of encampment settlements, and populations occupying land currently in dispute in the courts are reported. In addition, MST projected success rates and future plans for taking on Agri-Food giants are provided.
