21st Edition (June 2010)

Blackstock, C. (2009). Why Addressing the Over-Representation of First Nations Children in Care Requires New Theoretical Approaches Based on First Nations Ontology. The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 6(3), 1-18.

The author posits that Western theoretical approaches influencing child welfare practice and legislation have not adequately addressed the over-representation of First Nations children in the child welfare system. She outlines connecting principles between First Nations cultures in Canada and describes the ways these principles are different from those embedded within Western ontology. Such First Nations principles include an expansive understanding of space, dimensions of reality and time whereby “the past, present and future are mutually influencing”; the belief that human experiences are part of the natural world; and that ancestral knowledge is accurate and valuable (p.3). The author also examines the cross cultural validity, capacity to respond to structural child welfare risk and testability of ecological theory, anti-oppressive approaches, and structural theory - theories that have been influential within child welfare practice. The author argues that these theories are too narrow to appropriately address First Nations cultures and realities particularly in terms of reflecting First Nations ontology. She proposes that theoretical development within Western physics more accurately reflects First Nations principles and may serve to inform more effective child welfare interventions within First Nations communities.


Brown, J., George, N., Sintzel, J., & Arnault, D. (2009). Benefits of Cultural Matching in Foster Care. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(9), 1019-1024.

Sixty-one foster parents from Manitoba were recruited to examine the benefits of cultural matching in foster care placement. The authors used telephone interviews to gather 51 unique answers to the question: “What are the benefits of fostering children who have the same values, beliefs and traditions as you?” (p.1019). Thirteen foster families were recruited to assist in analyzing the results using concept mapping. Themes extrapolated from participant responses were that cultural matching in foster care placement made it easier for parents to expand on their held values, aided in a child’s sense of security and safety due to familiarity of culture, made the adoption transition smoother, and was less stressful for the family to adapt to fostering a child. Foster parents also responded that cultural matching was beneficial for the adopted child and family relationship because of commonalities in communication and a sense of similarity.


Goldstein, A., Flett, G., Wekerle, C., & Wall, A. (2009). Personality, child maltreatment, and substance use: Examining correlates of deliberate self-harm among university students. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 41(4), 241-251.

Deliberate self-harm (DSH), according to the authors, has recently gained attention in academic literature and media focus. DSH is defined by the authors as a wide range of behaviours intended to “cause harm to the self, even if the act [does] not actually result in harm” (p.241). Using questionnaires from a sample of 320 first year university students, the authors examined the relationship between DSH and respondents’ histories of childhood abuse and neglect, personality traits, and substance use. Just under 30% of participants reported having engaged in self-harm behaviour, with similar rates across genders (26.8% men and 30.9% women). The most frequently reported self-harm behaviours included cutting (38.3%), entering into risky behaviours (31.9%), carving (27.6%), scratching (26.6%), and using substances to self-harm (22.3%). Although male and female respondents had similar rates of DSH, women were more likely to engage in cutting and men were more likely to engage in activities that exposed them to violence as a means to self-harm. The authors found that among participants “depressive symptoms, physical neglect, emotional abuse, openness, sensation seeking and past year illicit drug use emerged as significant correlates of DSH” (p.246).