Charlene J Erasmus’s research while affiliated with University of the Western Cape and other places

Parenting enhancement contributes to the development of positive child behaviour and strengthening of family connectedness. This qualitative study explores the experiences of 10 experts (social workers, child and youth care workers, and researchers) in the field of parenting through semi-structured interviews to strengthen family connectedness in families with children with behavioural problems (FCBPs). Using Tesch’s qualitative analysis, three main themes emerged: (a) barriers to family connectedness, (b) parenting styles, and (c) parenting programmes in strengthening family connectedness. The findings of the study highlight the barriers experienced by experts and the lack of evidence-based parenting programmes in the strengthening of family connectedness in FCBPs in rural areas in South Africa. The study therefore recommends that practitioners in the field of parenting should receive specialised parenting training on how to strengthen family connectedness in FCBPs. Keywords: children with behavioural problems, family connectedness, parenting, parenting programmes

Children’s behaviour is influenced by their family’s surroundings, interactions with their parents, and the connectedness that they experience within their family. Positive behaviour in children develops when they feel loved, supported, and safe in the presence of their parents. A weakened parent-child bond may lead to child behavioural problems and impact the ability of parents to create a positive social learning environment. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of families with children presenting with behavioural problems (FCBPs) in strengthening family connectedness. A qualitative research approach was used where semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 parents of children aged two to 18 reported to be presenting with behavioural problems. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, giving rise to three themes: 1) understanding family connectedness; 2) parenting children with behavioural problems; and 3) family, community, and social work interventions. The findings of the study showed that FCBPs find it difficult to strengthen their relationships with their children. Their parenting capabilities are challenged when they have a strained relationship with their children presenting with behavioural problems (CBPs). The frustration of parents in the study was heightened by limited support received from family, community, and spouses, impacting their ability to strengthen the connectedness in the family. The study recommends that parents receive specialised social work intervention to learn new skills and strategies to strengthen their relationships and cope with the behaviour of their children. Furthermore, this study recommends that social workers receive training to deal with the risky behaviour of children and to support parents to strengthen their relationships with their CBPs.

This article explored family connectedness and the way that families are dealing with adolescents in conflict with the law. Ten adolescents, ten family members, and five social workers constituted the sample for the study. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. Three themes were identified through thematic analysis. The results of this study clearly show that the level of connectedness amongst families influences how they deal with adolescents in conflict with the law. Family structure and parental engagement were key factors affecting the relationship with the adolescent. A low level of connectedness was evident in all the families interviewed.

The global prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) remains high despite the various preventive and management interventions that have been designed and implemented to tackle the issue in various settings. The aim of the scoping review is to identify and classify prevention and management interventions of FASD reported globally across the life span and to map the concentration of these interventions across the globe. We searched some selected databases with predefined terms. Framework and narrative approaches were used to synthesize and report on the findings. Thirty-two prevention intervention studies and 41 management interventions studies were identified. All the interventions were reported to be effective or showed promising outcomes for the prevention and management of FASD, except four. Although Europe and Africa have a relatively higher prevalence of FASD, the lowest number of interventions to address FASD were identified in these regions. Most of the interventions for FASD were reported in North America with comparatively lower FASD prevalence. The uneven distribution of interventions designed for FASD vis-à-vis the burden of FASD in the different regions calls for a concerted effort for knowledge and intervention sharing to enhance the design of contextually sensitive preventive and management policy in the different regions.