Genitorialità e adolescenza: alla ricerca di una identità

Abstract: Professional support of families that are under temporary protection, with the goal of reunification, is necessary for helping families re-establish their family dynamics. Without this support, the conditions that contributed to child abuse and neglect will likely persist. In this context, the attitude of professionals towards positive parenting and child participation is a decisive factor. The quantitative study presented here contributes knowledge regarding these 2 variables. The study was conducted with 106 professionals who work in the child protection system. The results show a high degree of consensus among professionals regarding the following practices: (a) incorporating positive parenting into family reunification processes; (b) training the biological parents in parenting skills; and (c) promoting the active participation of children in foster care and reunification. Regarding the latter point, the study found that older and more experienced professionals are more open and inclined to promote participation in family reunification processes. The practical implications of the results invite us to review attitudinal competencies training for professionals working in child protection services, focusing on encouraging a positive attitude towards the parental competencies of the biological family and the active participation of children in foster care and reunification. These professionals' attitudes are a key factor in mediating the process of family reunification.

Abstract: The group programmes of parental education are important in the intervention with families in situations of psychosocial risk in order to promote parental competences and the positive development of the children. These programmes must be sustainable in time, which requires the professionals to valuate positively the introduction of this type programme in the service. The aim of this study is to discover the changes in the professional development and the service reported by the facilitators of the groups after the implementation of the "Learning together, growing in family" programme. Taking part were 138 facilitators and 53 collaborating bodies of CaixaProinfancia who have attended to 1,270 families (609 parents and 661 children) in 12 Spanish cities. The programme contains 14 weekly sessions directed at parents and children separately and both groups together. Following a quantitative and qualitative methodology, the results indicate that after the application of the programme the animators considered most competent in the interaction with the families, in the organisation of the work, in the coordination of the programme with other services and in the relation with other professionals. These changes are modulated by age, qualification and years of experience in group dynamics. In the results of the focus groups we see that the facilitators have used many skills in attracting the participants, in the rigorous evaluation of the programme, the suitable development of the sessions and they have very positively valued the impact of the programme on the families and on their professional development.

Abstract: L’articolo affronta da un punto di vista clinico alcune questioni affettive della relazione tra genitori e figli adolescenti. Cogliendo le dinamiche familiari dalla prospettiva della mente del figlio e dei cambiamenti emotivi cui egli va incontro con l’ingresso nell’adolescenza, l’attenzione si sofferma in particolare sul ruolo delicato del genitore nell’espletare determinate funzioni affettive nei confronti del figlio cruciali per il superamento da parte di quest’ultimo degli ostacoli che l’adolescenza pone alla sua crescita. In quest’ottica alcuni riferimenti al contributo di autori e a teorie del campo psicodinamico sono considerati in rapporto ai temi sia della funzione genitoriale, sia dello sviluppo emotivo in adolescenza e delle dinamiche genitori-figli in questa fase del ciclo di vita familiare.