Welcome to the first issue of JFSW for 2021, and, my first issue as the incoming Editor-in-Chief. First, I want to thank and express the Journal’s and Taylor & Francis’ deep appreciation for the outgoing EiC Judy Siegel for her excellent service to the journal for six years during which her leadership has advanced the profile and impact of JFSW. For example, total submissions have increased steadily across those years (26%), and increased from international scholars, and through her promotion of special issues addressing important and emerging areas of family scholarship, she has advanced the profile, impact, readership, and online downloads (36%) of the journal. Abby Carson, who is a Portfolio Manager at Taylor & Francis Group, and who oversees the publication of JFSW they have “just been thrilled to work with Judy for the past six years.” I am humbled to take the reins from Judy, while also excited and looking forward to the continued possibilities for JFSW going forward.
Reflecting the increased international submissions and profile of JFSW under Judy Siegel’s leadership, in this issue, we have four articles that report on scholarship addressing a range of family dynamics, needs, and struggles of families from around the world, and, from a diverse constellation of ethnicities and nationalities.
The first article “It’s just easier”: Reflections on the intersection of kinship, race, and ethnicity in Asian American adoptive families, the author, Kathleen Bergquist, reports on an exploratory interview study of 26 adoptive families who adopted children, where at least one parent is Asian American, and the child was also of Asian heritage. Adoptive parents focused on issues of belonging and of having a shared identity as Asian Americans. Dr. Bergquist further discusses whose interests are being served when race and ethnicity are considered in adoption, and that such considerations have shifted throughout adoption history.
In the second article, Development of a Malaysian Family Functioning Scale, the authors Melati Sumari, Norfaezah Khalid, Hutkemri Zulnaidi, Nor Ibrahim, Dini Baharudin, and Ida Tharbe report on their research in the development of the Malaysian Family Functioning Scale (MFFS) intended for us in both research and practice. The development of instrument items were informed by focus groups, and after pilot testing, psychometrics evaluation revealed the MFFS is a reliable and valid measure of marriage and family functioning across different ethnic groups in Malaysia.
The third article in this issue, “I do not want to cause additional pain … ” – Child protection workers’ perspectives on child participation in child protection practice, the authors, Karmen Toros and Asgir Falch-Eriksen, report on their research examining the perspectives of child protection services workers in Estonia. Specifically, how workers reported they felt it was important to seek the child’s opinion, and that child’s input be considered in decisions that are being made in the child’s best interests. However, seeking the child’s opinion had to be considered in light of the child’s age, development, case issues such as custody disputes, and other potentially detrimental aspects to seeking and informing decisions with the child’s input.
The fourth and final article in this the first issue of 2021 is entitled The challenges experienced by parents when parenting a child with hearing loss within a South African context authored by Ronel Davids, Nicolette Roman, and Catherine Schenck, report on a qualitative interview study of a diverse sample of hearing parents (mothers and fathers) raising a hearing impaired child in Cape Town South Africa. Their analyses revealed four themes. First, hearing parents found communication with their child to be difficult and frustrating. Second, parents felt their limited knowledge about hearing loss made parenting more difficult. Third, a lack of support has made parenting a hearing impaired child a lonely journey. And finally, these parents need more parenting support which could be advanced by establishing partnerships between parents and health and family practitioners within South Africa.
We are excited to publish this set of research articles which span the world and demonstrate the diverse and informative family research being conducted around the globe. We look forward to continued increasing submissions from family scholars and practitioners from the wide-ranging countries represented in this issue.