Papers by Anette C H R I S T I N E Iversen
Children and Youth Services Review, Jul 1, 2019
A dominant storyline of divorced families in prolonged conflict is children portrayed as victims ... more A dominant storyline of divorced families in prolonged conflict is children portrayed as victims without agency. How does this fit with how children position themselves in prolonged post-divorce conflicts? In this qualitative study we pose the following research question; how do children position themselves to challenges in post-divorce family conflict, and how is family conflict positioning children? This paper draws on in-depth interviews with nine children (10-16) years old. Positioning theory is used as an analytic tool to explore child subject positions. Three dominant subject positions emerged in the analysis: keeping balance, keeping distance and keeping on with life. While our analyses show that prolonged conflict is oppressive to the family system, it is argued that each dominant position represents resistance against threats to the child's wellbeing, dignity and being a child in a family. Implications for child and family services with respect to separated families in prolonged conflict are discussed.
Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, Sep 20, 2016
Objective: Detecting and responding to child-maltreatment is a serious challenge and public healt... more Objective: Detecting and responding to child-maltreatment is a serious challenge and public health concern. In Norway, public dental health personnel (PDHP) have a mandatory obligation to report to child welfare services (CWS) if they suspect child-maltreatment. This study aimed to assess PDHP's frequency of reporting and failing to report to CWS and whether the frequencies varied according to personal, organizational and external characteristics. Material and methods: An electronic questionnaire was sent to 1542 public dental hygienists and dentists in Norway, 1200 of who responded (77.8%). Results: The majority 60.0%, reported having sent reports of concern to CWS throughout their career, 32.6% had suspected child-maltreatment but failed to report it in their career and 42.5% had sent reports during the three-year period from 2012 to 2014. The reporting frequency to CWS was influenced by PDHP's personal, organizational and external characteristics, while failure to report was influenced by personal characteristics. Conclusions: Compared to international studies, PDHP in Norway sends reports of concern and fails to report to CWS at relatively high rates. PDHP's likelihood of reporting was influenced by age, working experience, number of patients treated, size of the municipality and geographical region, while failure to report to CWS was influenced by working experience.
European Journal of Social Work, Sep 1, 2013
Children and Youth Services Review, Nov 1, 2020
Background and aims: The literature base on substance use among adolescents who receive intervent... more Background and aims: The literature base on substance use among adolescents who receive interventions from child welfare services (CWS) in Nordic countries is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Norwegian adolescents in contact with CWS are at higher risk for substance-related problems (SRP) compared with the general adolescent population, and to what extent those in foster care (FC) differ from those receiving in-home services (IHS). Methods: The data set comprise 9785 individuals aged 16-19 years who participated in the cross-sectional, population-based youth@hordaland-survey, of whom 141 (1.4%) received IHS from the CWS, while 155 (1.6%) lived in FC. The primary outcomes were indicators of self-reported SRP. Regression analyses were used to explore the association between IHS/FC and SRP with a reference group from the general population. Potential confounding variables included age, sex, ethnicity, and internalizing-and externalizing mental health problems. Findings: Compared with the general population, adolescents receiving IHS had a robust and consistent increased odds of SRP across multiple indicators compared to the general population, even after adjustment for confounding variables (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] ranging from 1.81 to 3.04, all p < 0.05; adjusted mean difference = 1.49, p < 0.01). Adolescents living in FC had a higher total degree of SRP (AOR = 1.51, p < 0.05), as well as higher illicit drug use (AOR = 1.75, p < 0.05), compared with the general adolescent population. The IHS-group had higher total degree of SRP (OR = 2.08, p < 0.01) compared with the FC-group. Conclusions: Adolescents receiving IHS and adolescents in FC had a significantly heightened risk for SRP, compared with the general population. The risk for SRP was higher among adolescents receiving IHS compared with those living in FC. These findings indicate that prevention efforts of SRP in CWS-populations during adolescence are needed.
Health & Social Care in The Community, Dec 19, 2018
This study is a national cross-sectional survey, conducted in November 2014, of 366 dental hygien... more This study is a national cross-sectional survey, conducted in November 2014, of 366 dental hygienists and dentists who had suspected maltreatment but did not report it to Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS). The aims of the present paper are to identify the reasons why public dental healthcare professionals are reluctant to report suspected child maltreatment to CWS and to determine whether there are differences in the identified barriers according to socio-demographic variables. The questionnaire was based on earlier studies and was adapted to fit the Norwegian context. The most frequently chosen reason for not reporting was "unsure of own assessment" (90.4%). Thirteen items pertaining to not reporting were factorised into three factors of barriers. These factors were "insufficient knowledge of child maltreatment and reporting", "fear of the consequences for oneself and the dental clinic", and "fear of the consequences for the patient and their family". A t test revealed that public dental healthcare personnel who had not received training on maltreatment and reporting to CWS during their professional education scored significantly higher on the barrier "insufficient knowledge of child maltreatment and reporting" than did dental personnel who had received such training. Furthermore, dental personnel with more years of experience (11+) scored higher on this barrier than did dental personnel with less experience. No other significant differences in barriers were observed. Public dental healthcare personnel have a mandatory obligation to report to CWS if they suspect child maltreatment. Despite this obligation, the present study reveals that several barriers to reporting exist. This study underscores the importance of strengthening knowledge among dental hygienists and dentists about when and how to report, both during education and in clinical practice. K E Y W O R D S barriers, child welfare services, fear of consequences, insufficient knowledge, mandatory reporting, public dental healthcare personnel How to cite this article: Bjørknes R, Iversen AC, Nordrehaug Åstrøm A, Vaksdal Brattabø I. Why are they reluctant to report? A study of the barriers to reporting to child welfare services among public dental healthcare personnel. Health
Child & Family Social Work, Sep 1, 2013
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to address facilitators for successful interprofessional collab... more ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to address facilitators for successful interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between social workers (SWs) and teachers. Individual interviews were carried out with seven SWs employed in municipal child welfare services and six teachers from primary and secondary schools. The informants had at least two years&#39; experience within multidisciplinary teams. The transcripts were analysed using an inductive thematic approach and the NVIVO9 computer software package for qualitative data analysis. Thematic analysis revealed three themes: ‘personal commitments’, ‘creating a positive atmosphere for IPC’ and ‘pulling together towards future goals’. Results are discussed in relation to the Norwegian context concerning IPC in multidisciplinary teams for children at risk.
Norges barnevern, Jun 17, 2015
As part of a larger research project, we interviewed ten parents with refugee backgrounds about t... more As part of a larger research project, we interviewed ten parents with refugee backgrounds about their experiences of contact with child welfare services in Norway. Despite parents describing both positive and negative experiences, and trust as well as distrust, we found that fear of the child welfare services was a central theme. Thematic analyses showed that fear of the child welfare services was not primarily related to the interviewees' own negative experiences, but to a variety of perceptions or representations of the child welfare services that informants described as common or prevalent among people from ethnic minorities in general. We found that the representations of the child welfare services could be categorized into the following themes: 1) child welfare services primarily take children away from parents, 2) child welfare services do not go into dialogue with parents, and 3) child welfare services discriminate against ethnic minority families. The analysis is discussed critically in light of Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser's understandings of recognition and social justice. We suggest that the parents' fear of the child welfare services can be understood as fear of experiencing humiliation and disrespect through contact with child welfare services; fear of losing their children, becoming invisible and being discriminated against. A key implication of the study is the need for further research that examines the fear of child welfare among people from ethnic minorities, as well as measures that address distrust of services in parts of the population.
I denne rapporten presenteres evaluering av "SPIS MER"; et tiltaksprogram for elever på... more I denne rapporten presenteres evaluering av "SPIS MER"; et tiltaksprogram for elever på sjette klassetrinn. Designet for evalueringen var et pre-/posttestdesign med kontroll- og tiltakskoler. Tiltaket ble gjennomført ved 15 skoler i to fylker i Norge løpet av en to måneders periode i skoleåret 2004/2005, 14 skoler i de samme fylkene var kontrollskoler. Effektevalueringen ble gjennomført ved hjelp av spørreskjemaundersøkelse før gjennomføring av tiltaket (baseline), umiddelbart etter gjennomføring av tiltaket (posttest 1)og ett år etter baseline (posttest 2). Resultater fra effektevalueringen er basert på svar fra 533 elever som deltok ved alle tre tidspunkt. I tillegg ble det gjennomført en prosessevaluering blant lærere og elever ved tiltakskolene. Resultatene er basert på svar fra alle som svarte på spørreskjema etter at tiltaket var gjennomført. Det var ingen signifikante forskjeller i inntak, preferanser eller tilgjengelighet mellom elever ved kontroll- og tiltakskoler ved baseline. For utvalget samlet, var inntaket av frukt ca ni ganger per uke, mens inntaket av grønnsaker var ca syv ganger per uke. Elevene hadde sterkere preferanser for frukt enn for grønnsaker, men opplevde grønnsaker som mer tilgjengelig i hjemmet enn frukt. Det var en signifikant økning i inntaket av frukt og grønnsaker fra baseline til posttest 1 blant elever ved tiltakskolene. Økningen tilsvarte 1,6 ganger per uke for frukt (ca 18 %) og 0,8 ganger per uke for grønnsaker (ca 12 %). Inntaket av frukt var også signifikant høyere ved tiltaks- enn kontrollskoler ved posttest 1. Det var også en svak, men signifikant økning i preferanser for frukt og grønnsaker ved tiltakskolene fra baseline til posttest 1, mens det ikke var noen signifikant endring over tid på kontrollskolene. Det var imidlertid ingen signifikante forskjeller i preferanser mellom tiltaks- og kontrollskoler ved posttest 1 eller 2. Opplevd tilgjengelighet av frukt og grønnsaker var signifikant høyere både ved kontroll- og tiltakskoler ved posttest 1 enn ved baseline. Ved posttest 1 var opplevd tilgjengelighet av frukt signifikant høyere ved tiltaks- enn kontrollskolene. Ved oppfølgingsundersøkelsen høsten 2005 (posttest 2) viste resultatene at inntaket av frukt var signifikant høyere ved tiltakskoler som hadde ukentlig fruktstund, enn skoler som ikke hadde fruktstund. Også inntaket av grønnsaker var noe høyere, men denne forskjellen var ikke signifikant (p = 0,06). Resultatene tyder på at tiltaket hadde en signifikant positiv effekt på inntaket av frukt og grønnsaker, umiddelbart etter intervensjonen, men at denne endringen ikke holdt seg over tid, med unntak av på blant skoler som har videreført ordningen med fruktstund. Prosessevalueringen ble gjennomført blant lærere og elever ved tiltakskolene ved posttest 1. Lærere ved 12 av de 15 tiltakskolene besvarte spørsmål om evaluering og gjennomføring av leksjonene. Resultatene viser at elever og lærere ved tiltakskolene gav en positiv vurdering av "SPIS MER". De fleste skolene som svarte, hadde gjennomført leksjonene helt eller delvis. En del lærere hadde gjort mindre tilpassinger av innholdet, som å bytte ut noen av oppskriftene. Ordningen med fruktstund ble positivt vurdert av både elever og lærere, og flere skoler ønsket å videreføre dette tiltaket. Resultatene tyder på at intervensjonen ble implementert tilfredsstillende ved de fleste skolene. Ved posttest 2 var det fem skoler som oppgav at de hadde videreført ordningen med ukentlig fruktstund, ved disse skolene var elevens inntak av frukt signifikant høyere enn ved skoler som ikke hadde fruktstund
European Journal of Social Work, Sep 18, 2015
Meeting the educational needs of young people in the child welfare system (CWS) requires effectiv... more Meeting the educational needs of young people in the child welfare system (CWS) requires effective collaboration between the CWS and the education system. In Norway and in other countries, there is an increased focus on interprofessional collaboration to support child welfare clients in and around schools. Multidisciplinary teams are employed to facilitate collaboration and coordinate supportive measures. The purpose of this article is to describe how teachers and social workers use such teams as part of a collaborative effort to support children living in difficult conditions. In an inductive thematic analysis of 13 interviews with 7 social workers and 6 teachers, the following five key themes were revealed: (i) solution-focused work; (ii) listening to the child; (iii) parental support; (iv) social/environmental opportunities for successful interactions and (v) ensuring school attendance through adapted education and support. In conclusion, we discuss the ways in which these themes reflect how teams support child welfare clients.
Child & Family Social Work
Youth within the child welfare system (CWS) have often experienced adverse life events, and many ... more Youth within the child welfare system (CWS) have often experienced adverse life events, and many need support from health services. This study aimed to compare mental health problems and health service use among adolescents receiving in‐home services (IHS), living in foster care (FC) and general population youth (GP). Data stem from the youth@hordaland survey, a population‐based study of adolescents (N = 10,257, age 16–19) conducted in 2012 in Hordaland County, Norway. The adolescents provided self‐reported data on CWS contact, health service use, adverse life events and multiple instruments assessing mental health problems. The IHS and FC groups had significantly higher symptom scores across most mental health measures than peers from the GP. Youth receiving IHS had significantly higher scores on measures of general internalizing and externalizing problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression compared with peers in FC. Those receiving IHS reported the hig...
Journal of Divorce & Remarriage
This qualitative study aims to explore how fathers in prolonged post-divorce conflict construct t... more This qualitative study aims to explore how fathers in prolonged post-divorce conflict construct their parenting agency and position their child in relation to their view of conflict-related threats. Eight divorced fathers were interviewed, with experience of, on average, seven years of high conflict after separation. A reflective thematic design supplemented with positioning theory was used to analyze the fathers’ responses. Drawing on positioning theory, the fathers’ agency emerged in the analyses from three dominant storylines or world manifestations of post-divorce dangers. Fathers either acted as (1) heroic saviors in a polluted realm storyline where they positioned their children as victims that need to be saved from the dangers of impurity, (2) jungle guides in the wild nature storyline where they positioned their children as trainees of survival skills to deal with intrusive events and ever present post-divorce dangers, or (3) beacons in a foggy moor storyline where they re-positioned their own behavior to follow a self-clarifying routine so that their children would experience life in a less ambivalent, foggy and insecure manner. We argue that researchers and therapists would benefit from knowledge that captures the moral underpinnings of fathers’ agency.
Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning
Kreft i ung, voksen alder (18-35 år) er sjelden. Behandlingen er oftest aggressiv og langvarig me... more Kreft i ung, voksen alder (18-35 år) er sjelden. Behandlingen er oftest aggressiv og langvarig med påfølgende fysiske og psykososiale senskader. Vi har imidlertid lite kunnskap om utfordringene unge voksne kreftpasienter (UVK) som også er foreldre, har gjennom sykdomsforløpet. Studien belyser derfor forskningsspørsmålet: «Hvordan beskriver unge voksne kreftoverlevere foreldrerollen gjennom sykdomsforløpet?» Denne studien var kvalitativ med et deskriptivt forskningsdesign. Vi dybdeintervjuet seks UVK fire ganger over seks måneder for å følge deres erfaringer med foreldrerollen over tid. Data ble analysert ved hjelp av Systematisk Tekst Kondensering. Analysen identifiserte «Å leve i krysspresset mellom foreldrerollen og kreftsykdommen» som et overordnet funn, som er utdypet gjennom hovedtemaene: 1) «Jeg skal ikke dø fra barna mine!», 2) «Å vaere for syk til å ta meg av barna» og 3) «Barna mine er ofte skuffet over meg». Funnene viser at informantene erfarte spesifikke og ukjente utfordringer ved foreldrerollen knyttet til de ulike fasene i forløpet, og at utfordringene vedvarte over lang tid. Studien synliggjør at UVK opplever store og ulike utfordringer med å ivareta sin foreldrerolle gjennom og etter sykdomsforløpet. Foreldrekreft har store konsekvenser for hele familien, men disse opplever liten støtte og hjelp både fra helsepersonell og samfunnet.
Paper II Copyright Agreement: All material included in the PDF file below is the exclusive proper... more Paper II Copyright Agreement: All material included in the PDF file below is the exclusive property of SAGE Publications, or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The download of the file(s) is intended for the User's personal and noncommercial use. Any other use of the download of the Work is strictly prohibited. User may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce, create derivative works (including coursepacks) from, distribute, perform, display, or in any way exploit any of the content of the file(s) in whole or in part. Permission may be sought for further use from Sage Publications Ltd, Rights & Permissions Department, l Oliver's Yard, 55 City Road, London EClY 1SP Fax: +44 (020) 7324-8600. By downloading the file(s), the User acknowledges and agrees to these terms.Social economic inequalities in health have been documented in most European countries including Norway. While the components ...
Source at https://bufdir.no/BibliotekDette er den fjerde delrapporten fra prosjektet «Barnevernet... more Source at https://bufdir.no/BibliotekDette er den fjerde delrapporten fra prosjektet «Barnevernets undersøkelsesarbeid – fra bekymring til beslutning». Rapporten baserer seg på analyse av 1123 barnevernssaker samt intervju med ledere og saksbehandlere. Forskningen som formidles i denne rapporten følger undersøkelsesprosessen fra barnevernstjenesten har besluttet at meldingen skal undersøkes til undersøkelsen er gjennomført og det er fattet en beslutning om at barnet skal motta tiltak eller at saken skal henlegges. Formålet med analysene er å øke kunnskapen om de hvordan barnevernstjenesten gjennomfører undersøkelsene, hva som kjennetegner vurderingene de foretar hva som har betydning for beslutningene som tas
Tidsskriftet Norges Barnevern, 2021
Uploads
Papers by Anette C H R I S T I N E Iversen