The present study investigates cultural differences in the effects of infertility on emotional distress. The study compares emotional distress among infertile people in three samples: Turkish migrants (n = 58), Turkish people living in Western Turkey (n = 46), and Dutch people (n = 199). Participants answered structured questionnaires on self-image, blame-guilt, sexual problems, depression, anxiety, and anger-hostility. Separate analyses were conducted for men and women. In general, the levels of emotional distress were higher for infertile Turkish migrant women and infertile Turkish women than they were for infertile Dutch women. Turkish migrant women reported more self-image problems and fewer feelings of blame-guilt than did Turkish women. Among men, Turkish migrant men showed the highest overall levels of emotional distress, and Dutch men showed the lowest. Our results indicate that the experience of infertility among Turkish migrants is more similar to those of Turkish people than it is to that of Dutch people, especially among women. The importance of having children in the different cultures may offer a possible explanation for these findings.

The purpose of the current qualitative study was to investigate whether adolescents in American planned lesbian families experienced negative reactions from their social environment associated with their mothers' sexual orientation, and if so, to explore the nature of these experiences. In addition, the focus was on the coping strategies as described by the adolescents themselves. Results revealed that half of the 78 participating 17-years-olds had experienced homophobic stigmatization. Such experiences usually took place within the school context and peers were most frequently mentioned as the source. The adolescents used adaptive strategies (such as optimism) more frequently than maladaptive strategies (such as avoidance) to cope with these negative experiences. Our results suggest that intervention programs focused on family diversity should be developed for school children of all ages since the stigmatization experienced by the studied adolescents typically happened in that context.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) profoundly affects multiple life domains for the people involved. We report on the experiences of Dutch mothers of various ethnic backgrounds regarding their parenting during and after IPV, their perceptions of the influence of IPV on their parenting, as well as their need for and experiences with support services. We conducted qualitative interviews with 100 mothers in the Netherlands who had experienced IPV. Most reported negative experiences with parenting (both during and after the IPV), a strong effect of the IPV on their parenting, as well as circumstances that aggravated this effect. The mothers had used multiple sources of formal and informal support. Although most evaluated the support that they had received positively, some also mentioned mixed or negative experiences. Many were still in need of support. Relationships with ethnic background and the severity of IPV are discussed.

The present randomized controlled trial examined the four months follow-up effectiveness of Parent Management Training Oregon (PMTO) for parents with foster children (aged 4-12) with severe externalizing behavior problems in long-term foster care arrangements. The aim of PMTO, a relative long and intensive (6-9 months, with weekly sessions) parent management training is to reduce children's problem behavior through improvement of parenting practices. We specifically investigated whether PMTO is effective to reduce foster parenting stress. It was expected that PMTO would reduce parenting stress in foster parents, improve the quality of parenting practices, and reduce children's problem behavior. Multi-informant (foster mothers, foster fathers, and teachers) data were used from 86 families. Multilevel analyses based on the intention to treat principle (retention rate 73%) showed that PMTO, compared to care as usual, had no significant direct, nor indirect or sleeper effects at follow-up on parenting stress, parenting behavior and child behavior problems. Earlier reported immediate effects of PMTO on reduced parenting stress at posttest disappeared at follow-up. Additional analyses on the role of non-specific intervention factors in PMTO effects showed that higher therapist fidelity scores resulted in stronger effects of PMTO on parenting responsiveness, parental explaining and autonomy granting. Unexpectedly, higher fidelity scores also predicted less decrease of parenting stress at follow-up.

The consequences of involuntary childlessness are influenced by culture in several ways. In this study we explored the experiences and responses of infertile Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with involuntarily childless Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands (11 couples and 9 women). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The respondents' experiences were clustered around six superordinate themes: effects on self; effects on the relationship with the partner; effects on the relationship with others; disclosure; coping; and the future. Most transcripts revealed that involuntary childlessness has a profound negative influence on multiple aspects of the lives of the respondents. Strong pronatalist ideology, misconceptions about infertility and treatment, and migration-related aspects such as language difficulties, appear to play a role in the negative experiences of Turkish immigrants. Respondents reported several ways of coping (to some extent) with these negative experiences.