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Understanding Parenting as Situated in the Larger Sociocultural Context in Clinical Social Work

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Abstract

As a corrective to an unbalanced focus on children’s problem and diagnoses, this study addresses the importance of recognizing the place of parenting within the context of clinical social work. Sixteen parents of children with or without behavioural problems were selected according to parents’ appraisal of the child-rearing situation, children’s problems and ages, parents’ marital status. The main finding was the seriousness of the situation for parents who have other problems in addition to a child’s behavioural problems. Knowledge of variations in family structures and normal family processes are important to prevent clinical cases from always being seen as deviant.

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Notes

  1. The results published in Infant and Child Development: DOI:10.1002/icd.681.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by Grants from The Foundation for Health and Rehabilitation, Mental Health of Norway, The Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway (RBUP) and Josef and Haldis Andresen’s Legacy. I thank the families who participated for their time and commitment to this research. Kari Moxnes, University of Trondheim, provided thoughtful and provocative feedback and support. I am also grateful for constructive comments from Liv-Mette Gulbrandsen and Anbjørg Ohnstad, Oslo University College.

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Correspondence to May-Britt Solem.

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Solem, MB. Understanding Parenting as Situated in the Larger Sociocultural Context in Clinical Social Work. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 30, 61–78 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-012-0278-9

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