Exploring the life course patterns and family justice experience of young mothers involved in recurrent care proceedings in England

探索英格兰参与周期性护理程序的年轻母亲的生命历程模式和家庭正义经历

基本信息

批准号：
ES/X011291/1
负责人：
Mariam Abouelenin
金额：
$ 15.21万
依托单位：
Lancaster University
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2023 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FX011291%2F1
关键词：
Exploring life course patterns family

项目摘要

A large proportion of mothers who appear in a first set of care proceedings will later return to family court in a new set of proceedings and lose multiple children from their care. Previous research findings confirm that young mothers, particularly those who have their first child as a teenager, are at a significantly high risk of recurrence. The challenges of early motherhood are compounded for this specific cohort by the fact that many teenage mothers experience other intersecting vulnerabilities, such as poverty, childhood histories of abuse, complex mental health issues, and a heightened likelihood of having spent time in care themselves. Currently, there are no studies using population-level administrative datasets with a specific focus on teenage mothers in the family justice system. We know very little regarding how young mothers are supported to navigate the family justice system. For example, there is no data on whether they have access to legal aid or if they have been appointed a litigation friend. In addition, where studies have looked at maternal trajectories through the family justice system, we have not been able to focus specifically on the youngest mothers involved in recurrent care proceedings. Furthermore, there is limited research on teenage mothers in relation to the risk factors associated with child adoption.This research project aims to direct academic attention towards this highly vulnerable population of young mothers. Using large-scale administrative data, it seeks to develop a descriptive profile of teenage mothers involved in the family justice system. This will include demographic characteristics such as geographic area (LSOA), number of children, whether they appear alone or with partners in the proceedings, intervals between proceedings, the total number of proceedings, and their experience of the family justice system, such as whether they have legal representation or a litigation friend. It also builds upon existing research which identifies early motherhood as being strongly associated with recurrence by examining the life course pathways of teenage mothers. Finally, given the ongoing efforts to safeguard mother-child relationships, this research will examine risk factors for loss of child custody and permanent severance of parental rights. This research is motivated and guided by the sociological framework of life course theory, which draws attention to the timing and context of critical transition points, including engaging in new social roles such as early entry into motherhood. This means that this project will have an opportunity to make crucial contributions to our understanding of the developmental trajectories of teenage mothers in recurrent care proceedings.The key beneficiaries of this research are expected to include practitioners, social workers, academic and non-academic stakeholders, and young mothers in care proceedings. The research findings will be disseminated both nationally and internationally via open-access publication in peer-reviewed journals, along with networking and engagement activities planned for the duration of the fellowship and beyond.

大部分参加第一轮照料诉讼的母亲随后将在新一轮诉讼中返回家庭法庭，并失去多个孩子。先前的研究结果证实，年轻母亲，特别是那些在青少年时期生下第一个孩子的母亲，复发的风险非常高。对于这个特定群体来说，早期做母亲的挑战更加复杂，因为许多少女母亲还经历着其他相互交叉的脆弱性，例如贫困、童年受虐待史、复杂的心理健康问题以及花时间照顾自己的可能性增加。目前，还没有使用人口层面的行政数据集专门针对家庭司法系统中的少女母亲的研究。我们对如何支持年轻母亲应对家庭司法系统知之甚少。例如，没有关于他们是否获得法律援助或是否被指定为诉讼之友的数据。此外，虽然研究通过家庭司法系统考察了母亲的轨迹，但我们无法特别关注参与经常性护理程序的最年轻的母亲。此外，针对青少年母亲与儿童收养相关的风险因素的研究有限。该研究项目旨在将学术注意力引向这一高度脆弱的年轻母亲群体。它利用大规模的行政数据，试图对参与家庭司法系统的少女母亲进行描述性概况。这将包括人口统计特征，例如地理区域 (LSOA)、儿童数量、无论他们是单独出现还是与伴侣一起出现在诉讼中、诉讼之间的间隔、诉讼总数以及他们对家庭司法系统的经验，例如是否他们有法律代表或诉讼朋友。它还建立在现有研究的基础上，通过检查青少年母亲的生命历程，确定早期母亲与复发密切相关。最后，考虑到维护母子关系的持续努力，本研究将探讨失去儿童监护权和永久切断父母权利的风险因素。这项研究是在生命历程理论的社会学框架的推动和指导下进行的，该框架引起人们对关键转变点的时间和背景的关注，包括参与新的社会角色，例如早期进入母亲身份。这意味着该项目将有机会为我们了解青少年母亲在周期性护理过程中的发展轨迹做出重要贡献。这项研究的主要受益者预计包括从业者、社会工作者、学术和非学术利益相关者、和处于护理程序中的年轻母亲。研究结果将通过同行评审期刊上的开放获取出版物以及计划在奖学金期间及之后的网络和参与活动在国内和国际上传播。