Canadian Research in Brief: 21th Edition (June 2010)
The articles listed below can be accessed through the corresponding journal website or accessed at a local library or university.
Canadian Research in Brief: 21st Edition (June 2010)
Blackstock, C. (2009). . The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 6(3), 1-18.
The author posits that Western theoretical approaches influencing
child welfare practice and legislation have not adequately
addressed the over-representation of First Nations children in the
child welfare system. She outlines connecting principles between
First Nations cultures in Canada and describes the ways these
principles are different from those embedded within Western
ontology. Such First Nations principles include an expansive
understanding of space, dimensions of reality and time whereby 鈥渢he
past, present and future are mutually influencing鈥�; the belief that
human experiences are part of the natural world; and that ancestral
knowledge is accurate and valuable (p.3). The author also examines
the cross cultural validity, capacity to respond to structural
child welfare risk and testability of ecological theory,
anti-oppressive approaches, and structural theory - theories that
have been influential within child welfare practice. The author
argues that these theories are too narrow to appropriately address
First Nations cultures and realities particularly in terms of
reflecting First Nations ontology. She proposes that theoretical
development within Western physics more accurately reflects First
Nations principles and may serve to inform more effective child
welfare interventions within First Nations communities.
Brown, J., George, N., Sintzel, J., & Arnault, D.
(2009). . Children and Youth Services Review,
31(9), 1019-1024.
Sixty-one foster parents from Manitoba were recruited to examine
the benefits of cultural matching in foster care placement. The
authors used telephone interviews to gather 51 unique answers to
the question: 鈥淲hat are the benefits of fostering children who have
the same values, beliefs and traditions as you?鈥� (p.1019). Thirteen
foster families were recruited to assist in analyzing the results
using concept mapping. Themes extrapolated from participant
responses were that cultural matching in foster care placement made
it easier for parents to expand on their held values, aided in a
child鈥檚 sense of security and safety due to familiarity of culture,
made the adoption transition smoother, and was less stressful for
the family to adapt to fostering a child. Foster parents also
responded that cultural matching was beneficial for the adopted
child and family relationship because of commonalities in
communication and a sense of similarity.
Goldstein, A., Flett, G., Wekerle, C., & Wall, A.
(2009). . Canadian Journal of Behavioural
Science, 41(4), 241-251.
Deliberate self-harm (DSH), according to the authors, has recently
gained attention in academic literature and media focus. DSH is
defined by the authors as a wide range of behaviours intended to
鈥渃ause harm to the self, even if the act [does] not actually result
in harm鈥� (p.241). Using questionnaires from a sample of 320 first
year university students, the authors examined the relationship
between DSH and respondents鈥� histories of childhood abuse and
neglect, personality traits, and substance use. Just under 30% of
participants reported having engaged in self-harm behaviour, with
similar rates across genders (26.8% men and 30.9% women). The most
frequently reported self-harm behaviours included cutting (38.3%),
entering into risky behaviours (31.9%), carving (27.6%), scratching
(26.6%), and using substances to self-harm (22.3%). Although male
and female respondents had similar rates of DSH, women were more
likely to engage in cutting and men were more likely to engage in
activities that exposed them to violence as a means to self-harm.
The authors found that among participants 鈥渄epressive symptoms,
physical neglect, emotional abuse, openness, sensation seeking and
past year illicit drug use emerged as significant correlates of
DSH鈥� (p.246).
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