Reshaping Parental Ethnotheories of Dutch-Moroccan Immigrant Parents in the Netherlands: Networking in Multiple Worlds.

Ethnotheories of immigrant parents residing in the Netherlands are reshaped in response to the multiple and diverse educational practices they come in contact with after migration. Network analyses of "parenting relationships" of first generation Dutch-Moroccan parents living in the Netherlands show that they borrow from diverse resources including professionals and nonprofessionals in their construction of new ethnotheories. Through media as well as through interacting with family in their country of origin, with same-generation peers in the Netherlands, and with Dutch professionals and neighbors, these mothers develop "modern" notions of parenting such as stimulating child independence, while also using building blocks from traditional practices such as respect for the elderly. Individual variability is evident in parents' processes of adaptation, with some parents seeming stuck between these alternative and seemingly contradictory practices and ideas while others learn to use them to position themselves optimally in their multi-ethnic environment. The paper argues that recognizing these parents as creative producers of their own solutions, and becoming conscious of their self-made support networks and the resources they provide, can offer professionals and policy makers a new paradigm for the design of social services and support for immigrant parents.

Parents' Perspectives on Radicalization: A Qualitative Study.

Radicalization of young people might be influenced by the way parents react towards the development of political or religious ideals. However, these reactions have hardly been explored. This study aimed to discover how parents reacted to the development of extreme ideals, and why they responded in the way that they did. To gain knowledge about the influence of parents on adolescents who developed extreme ideals, 82 in-depth interviews were held with adolescents and young adults who held extreme ideals. Interviews were also held with the parents or siblings of each adolescent and young adult. In line with parenting style theory, it was found that parents react in four possible ways: (1) by rejecting, (2) applauding, (3) ignoring, or (4) discussing the (extreme) ideals of their children. Few parents discuss ideals and values with their child, and this paper tries to show why (e.g., powerlessness, disassociation, occupation with other problems, believing it to be a phase that will pass, or that their reaction would not help). Most parents struggle to cope with radicalization and do not know how to react. Support and control are potentially important tools for parents to use to combat the development of extreme ideology.

The care-system for homeless youth in The Netherlands: perceptions of youngsters through a peer research approach.

The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions of homeless youth of the care they receive. Since we wanted to involve homeless youth as participants in this project, we adopted the approach of peer-research. This form of collaborative research has a major role for homeless youth in making an inventory of the problems. A parallel is drawn between the parent-adolescent relationship and the relationship between social worker and homeless adolescent.

Effects and side-effects of integrating care: the case of mental health care in the Netherlands.

PURPOSE: Description and analysis of the effects and side-effects of integrated mental health care in the Netherlands. CONTEXT OF CASE: Due to a number of large-scale mergers, Dutch mental health care has become an illustration of integration and coherence of care services. This process of integration, however, has not only brought a better organisation of care but apparently has also resulted in a number of serious side-effects. This has raised the question whether integration is still the best way of reorganising mental health care. DATA SOURCES: Literature, data books, patients and professionals, the advice of the Dutch Commission for Mental Health Care, and policy papers. CASE DESCRIPTION: Despite its organisational and patient-centred integration, the problems in the Dutch mental health care system have not diminished: long waiting lists, insufficient fine tuning of care, public order problems with chronic psychiatric patients, etc. These problems are related to a sharp rise in the number of mental health care registrations in contrast with a decrease of registered patients in first-level services. This indicates that care for people with mental health problems has become solely a task for the mental health care services (monopolisation). At the same time, integrated institutions have developed in the direction of specialised medical care (homogenisation). Monopolisation and homogenisation together have put the integrated institutions into an impossible divided position. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION: Integration of care within the institutions in the Netherlands has resulted in withdrawal of other care providers. These side-effects lead to a new discussion on the real nature and benefits of an integrated mental health care system. Integration requires also a broadly shared vision on good care for the various target groups. This would require a radicalisation of the distinction between care providers as well as a recognition of the different goals of mental health care.