Positive parenting support during family reunification

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results of a qualitative study that explores parenting skills when a child returns home after a period of foster care in the child protection system. There were a total of 135 participants, including 63 child protection professionals, 42 parents and 30 children and adolescents. The data were analysed using content analysis submitted to peer review. Triangulating the voices of children with the input of parents and professionals rendered it possible to identify needs for the consolidation of family reunification in five dimensions: adjustment of parenting skills, adaptation to the needs of the child, social support, more accurate perception of one’s role, and parental self-efficacy. These findings suggest particular characteristics in the development of both generally applicable skills and skills specific to positive parenting that can improve the chances of a successful reunification process.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Positive parenting
• family reunification
• child protection
• parenting skills
• social support
• parental self-efficacy

Acknowledgments

This study was developed by the research group GRISIJ (Research Group for Social and Educational Interventions in Child and Youth) and financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (EDU2011-00144-C02; EDU2014-52921-C2), the Department of Universities, the Research and Information Society of the Government of Catalonia (2017SGR905), the University of Barcelona, and the University of Lleida.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

M. A. Balsells Bailón, Ph.D., Full professor at Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, Social Work and Psychology University of Lleida, Spain. She is director of the Chair Education and Adolescence and she's member of the Research Group for Social and Educational Interventions in Child and Youth. Her research activity is focused on adolescence, childhood and the family in situations of social risk and vulnerability. Her research to contribute to the creation of scientific frames of reference and transform them into resources for the educational activities: (1) Family Reunification in Child Protection System; (2) Positive parenting; (3) Participation of children, adolescents and youth. She is member of the Experts Group on Positive Parenting of the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equity and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. She has led the research partnership with the UNICEF Spanish Committee of Children's Rights and Education since 2010 and coordinated the Observatory on Children and Adolescents of the city of Lleida since 2008.

A. Mateos Inchaurrondo, Ph.D. in Education with the Faculty of Education of the University of Barcelona (UB). Currently she is teaching and researching in the department of Research Methods and Diagnosis. She has been a member of the research group GRISIJ since 2006. Her research is related to the protection of children, family and dating violence. Publications include socio-educational programs for families (family reunification program; positive parenting program; programs to prevent dating violence; maternal education program), book chapters and scientific articles.

A. Urrea Monclús, Ph.D., Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Systematic and Social Pedagogy of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain. She is member of the GRISIJ group and the Chair Education and Adolescence of the University of Lleida. She participates in researches partnership with the UNICEF Spanish Committee since 2011. Also she collaborates with the research group Childhood and Adolescence in Social Risk (IARS). Her research is related to children's rights, especially with regard to child participation and from the perspective of child rights-based approach as a mechanism of self-protection. Her publications include contributions about the promotion of resilience through the child rights-based approach and about child participation.

E. Vaquero Tió, Ph.D., Lecturer professor at Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, Social Work and Psychology University of Lleida, Spain. He is member of the Research Group for Social and Educational Interventions in Child and Youth and also member of the Chair Education and Adolescence. His research activity is focused on child and adolescence at social risk and vulnerability situations, resilience and educational technology. Nowadays he participates and contributes on projects about Family Reunification on the Child Protection System among others.

ORCID

M.A. Balsells Bailón http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3283-8222

A. Mateos Inchaurrondo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1159-9966

A. Urrea Monclús http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8661-9191

E. Vaquero Tió http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6479-7712

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain [grant number EDU2011-00144-C02,EDU2014-52921-C2] and by the  Department of Universities, the Research and Information Society of the Government of Catalonia [grant number 2017SGR905].