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The loss of a child greatly affects the dynamics of interpersonal relationships in bereaved families. This study explored the relationships in bereaved Korean families from the perspectives of mothers after the death of a child due to cancer. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 bereaved mothers of a deceased child with childhood cancer. Thematic analysis identified 12 subthemes related to bereaved mothers' struggles in grief within three significant themes based on family relationships: (a) relationship with husband; (b) relationship with surviving child or children; and (c) relationships with extended family members. Findings highlight bereaved mothers' need to build supportive family relationships while acknowledging bereaved family members' different grieving styles and their own challenges in grieving the loss of a child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the nature of neglect in child welfare clients, to describe these experiences, to examine its typologies, and to understand how different types of neglect co-occurred with each other and with other types of maltreatment. Methods: Case record abstraction was conducted on the child welfare case records of an urban, ethnically-diverse sample of youths (n = 303) identified as maltreated by a very large public child welfare agency. We utilized the Maltreatment Case Record Abstraction Instrument (MCRAI) which was based on the work of Barnett et al. (1993) as modified by English and LONGSCAN (1997). Thirteen items of parental behavior deemed neglectful were coded and organized into 5 subtypes of neglect ("care neglect," "environmental neglect," "medical neglect," "educational neglect," "supervisory neglect"). Results: Neglect was present in 71.0% of the sample as compared to the 41.0% classified as neglected by CPS records. Neglect was accompanied by other types of maltreatment in 95% of the cases. Children who were neglected had more reports of maltreatment and experienced a greater number of different types of maltreatment than those who were maltreated, but not neglected. The most common type of neglect was supervisory neglect (72.5%) followed by environmental neglect (61.6%). With the exception of medical neglect, all types of neglect were significantly correlated with each other. Conclusions: The abstraction resulted in rich data showing that under a one-word label of neglect, the nature of neglect that the youngsters actually experienced was quite diverse and heterogeneous in its phenomenology. Furthermore, neglect is pervasive for children in the child welfare system and official classifications underestimate its occurrence. Neglect does not happen in isolation; children who are reported as neglected are likely to experience other forms of maltreatment. Practice implications: Official classifications should not be used in determining interventions for children and families. Interventions for neglected youngsters should be individualized to address the complexity of children's experiences. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study explored the bereavement experience of mothers after losing a child to cancer in Korea, using photovoice. The mothers took photos reflecting five subject areas they selected: (a) if I had one more day with my child, (b) memories with my child, (c) dreaming of my child's healthy future, (d) what gave me strength, and (e) fulfilling my child's wishes for the future. The findings show that mothers who lost a child to cancer need bereavement care to promote well-being. This study can help pediatric oncology providers develop bereavement interventions that address parental grief and improve quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A father of a child with cancer experiences psychological stress related to his child's cancer diagnosis and treatment, which may affect his relationship with his spouse. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to how having a child with cancer affects the marital relationship from the perspective of the father. We examined the impact of the child's cancer on the father's relationship with his spouse in Korea. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 fathers (mean age = 41.35 years; SD = 4.49) of children who were diagnosed with cancer before the age of 19 and were within 5 years of the diagnosis. The mean age of the child with cancer was 9.1 years (SD = 3.68), and the mean age at diagnosis was 6.4 years (SD = 4.08). The analysis of the interviews revealed the following four themes (and eight subthemes): conflicts between spouses (lack of father's participation in caregiving, financial and work-related stress), mental suffering (heartbroken, torn between caregiving and work), change in communication (child-focused communication, avoiding communication), and change in the marital relationship (neglected relationship, new trust built in the relationship). A father's increased conflict in the marital relationship after his child's diagnosis of cancer was intensified by his limited involvement in child care and parenting responsibilities. An understanding of the change in the father's relationship with his spouse can inform the development of a psychosocial intervention that may strengthen a father's emotional intelligence and resilience, which could improve the marital relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Photovoice, a participatory action research methodology, we investigated Korean mothers' lives postdiagnosis of their child with cancer. Photovoice was used to understand the mothers' perceptions of how they have adapted to their children's illnesses. Five mothers of children with cancer participated in five sessions of the Photovoice project, during which they took and shared photographs and narratives about their experiences and joined weekly group discussions on their selected themes. The following themes and subthemes emerged: “What I would like to do (taking a break, socializing with friends, spending time with other family members, developing my career),” “My child and food (whatever my child wants to eat, love of family),” “My days for my child (doing what my child wants to do, being a playmate, changing for my child),” and “Power sources for me (family, courage of children, mom is strong, hope).” Having a child with cancer greatly affects the mother's social and work lives as well as emotional well-being. Services and programs such as respite care, parenting education, and psychological support are recommended based on the study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Guided by structural family systems theory, this study explored the relationship between parentification and adolescent daughters' sexual risk engagement and substance use. We also explored how adolescent reports of parental monitoring moderated the relationship between parentification and adolescent risk. Data were from a cross-sectional, cross-generational study of 176 mother-daughter dyads from low-income, inner-city, ethnic minority families. In this sample, which included a subset of mothers with HIV, parental physical symptoms were associated with slightly higher levels of parentification. Parentification was associated with adolescent daughters' intention to have sex (but not substance use) in a direction opposite to prediction. Higher parentification was associated with lower intention to have sex. Parental monitoring did not moderate relationships between parentification and adolescent risk. These findings highlight that despite the negative influence hypothesized in structural family systems theory, parentification was not associated with risk engagement of high-risk adolescent daughters in ethnic minority families with low income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]