Morag Mcarthur
Biographic Data
| ID | 4217481 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Morag Mcarthur |
| GIVEN NAMES | Morag |
| FAMILY NAME | Mcarthur |
| SIGNATURE | MCARTHUR M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian Catholic University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0629-0892 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 44 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 279 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 44 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
How do Research Ethics Committee Members Respond to Hypothetical Studies with Children? Results from the Messi Study
Hypothetical scenarios were used to assess the influence of the sensitivity of the study topic, payments, and study methods on research ethics committee (HREC) members' approval of social research studies involving children. A total of 183 Australian HREC members completed an online survey. The higher the perceived sensitivity of the study topic, the less likely the study would be approved by an HREC member. HREC members were most likely to appro…
Children's participation in child protection—How do practitioners understand children's participation in practice
Children's participation is essential to achieve good outcomes for children involved in child protection systems. Despite this, research has consistently found children report low levels of participation, are poorly consulted and feel inadequately involved in decisions about their lives. To explore how practitioners understand children's participation, 18 in‐depth interviews were conducted with statutory child protection practitioners in Australi…
The Nature and Extent of Qualitative Research Conducted With Children About Their Experiences of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a significant issue experienced by many children that can have a detrimental impact on their health, development, and well-being. This article reports on the findings of a meta-synthesis that examined the nature and extent of qualitative studies conducted with children about their experience of domestic violence. Studies were identified by a search of electronic databases and included gray literature. Studies were included fo…
Human Research Ethics Committee Experiences and Views About Children’s Participation in Research
As part of a larger study, Australian Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) members and managers were surveyed about their decision-making and views about social research studies with child participants. Responses of 229 HREC members and 42 HREC managers are reported. While most HREC members had received ethical training, HREC training and guidelines specific to research involving children were rare. Most applications involving children had to g…
Parents’ supervised contact visits with their children in care
Children and young people’s decision-making in social research about sensitive issues
Limited attention has been given to what motivates and informs children and young people’s decision to participate (or not) in social research, especially about sensitive issues. This paper reports the findings from focus group interviews with children and young people aged 9–16 years, undertaken as part of a larger study that explored what constitutes a sensitive issue in social research and the factors considered when deciding to participate. P…
Children in Social Research
The MESSI (Managing Ethical Studies on Sensitive Issues) study used hypothetical scenarios, presented via a brief online survey, to explore whether payment amounts influenced Australian children and young people to participate in social research of different sensitivity. They were more likely to participate in the lower sensitivity study than in the higher at all payment levels (A$200 prize draw, no payment, $30, or $100). Offering payments to ch…
Children’s participation in research on sensitive topics
Although there is general agreement about children’s engagement in social research, some researchers continue to experience challenges when seeking approval and support for children’s participation from a range of adult stakeholders, particularly when the research involves a sensitive topic. These challenges may reflect different perspectives, conflicting interests, needs or expectations. This paper explores factors that influence the decision-ma…
Children's experiences and needs in relation to domestic and family violence
Domestic and family violence is a significant issue experienced by many children that can have severe detrimental impacts to their health, development, and well‐being. Despite the significance of this issue, it is only recently that children have been included in research that seeks to understand the impacts that domestic and family violence may have on their lives. This paper reports on the findings of a meta‐synthesis, which explored qualitativ…
Sensitive topics in social research involving children
While there is broad consensus that involving children in research is critically important for understanding their lives, there is considerable caution around their participation in social research on ‘sensitive’ issues. Such caution is further amplified by a lack of agreement about what constitutes a ‘sensitive topic’. This article draws on data from interviews with a range of Australian stakeholders, including children, parents, researchers, et…
Child protection practitioners
This article presents findings from a study with 467 child protection practitioners in Australia to determine their practice responses and views on children's participation. The practitioners, recruited from 5 state jurisdictions, completed an online survey responding to case studies designed to determine the extent to which they would seek and include children's perspectives in decision making, and their confidence in talking to children. We rep…
Representing Children of Prisoners in the Public Domain
Australian adult prisoner numbers continue to rise to what have been described as unprecedented and unsustainable levels. Research highlights that there are wide-ranging consequences of incarceration for families, and particularly for children. Despite the available research describing the negative impact of parental incarceration on children, it has been argued that these children remain virtually invisible to policy makers and social programs. …
Sticking with us through it all
Young People’s Experiences of Family Connectedness
Youth mental health is a global concern, with international evidence of increasing adolescent psychopathology. Researching ways to support young people’s mental health and well-being is an essential responsibility of social workers. Family connectedness is a key factor for youth well-being, but there is little detail about how young people experience it. This article contributes qualitative insights into young people’s experiences of family conne…
Performing’ Fathering while Homeless
This article links sociological perspectives of fatherhood and homelessness to qualitative research with fathers experiencing homelessness. Reporting on the findings from forty in-depth interviews and two focus groups, we explore participants’ conceptions of fathering and detail the material and symbolic barriers to fathering while experiencing homelessness. Fathers describe a ‘performance failure’ that results in ‘distancing’ themselves from the…
Give Them a Break
Younger mothers are categorised as an ‘at-risk’ group and targeted for early recognition and subsequent intervention to enhance children’s safety and well-being. However, younger mothers systematically endure stigma which can affect their willingness to engage with supportive services. This article reports on the findings from an Australian qualitative study of thirty-five interviews and two focus groups with younger mothers to explore their expe…
More a marathon than a hurdle
Informed consent is critical in research with children. Although much has been written about the need to see consent as an ongoing process, less has considered how to do it in practice. This article reflects on the authors' experiences of conducting a piece of research focusing on children's experiences of safety from abuse within institutional contexts. It draws on feedback provided by participants and the guidance of three Children's Reference …
Interventions to improve supervised contact visits between children in out of home care and their parents
Although the importance of contact between children in care and their parents, when safe, is accepted, there is limited research about supervised face‐to‐face contact. There is no literature that has systematically critiqued how supervised contact can be best delivered. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for interventions aimed at improving the quality of contact visits between parents and their children who are in out…
You Feel It in Your Body’
In 2012, the Australian Government announced the establishment of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The aim of the Royal Commission is to understand how and why sexual abuse occurred within Australian institutions and to provide guidance as to how future abuse might be prevented. The Royal Commission commissioned a mixed methods study to explore what children need to be safe and to feel safe, to explore how th…
Young people's views on safety and preventing abuse and harm in residential care
Slipping through the cracks
What do we know about the social networks of single parents who do not use supportive services
The role that social support and social networks play in mediating isolation and stress experienced by vulnerable families is well established. However, a major issue facing supportive human services is to find and engage families with limited social networks and link them to supports that could improve outcomes for their families. This paper reports on the results of in‐depth interviews with 20 sole parents with children aged under 5 who were no…
KContact, an enhanced intervention for contact between children in out-of-home care and their parents
Trial registered on 7 April 2015 with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000313538
Changing things for the better
The use of reference groups made up of members of the population being researched has been encouraged within the qualitative research literature. This paper describes the use of reference groups made up of children and young people and promotes them as a space within which co-reflexive activities can help researchers reconsider their research approaches and assumptions, their methodologies and methods and the new knowledge created. The paper uses…
Is it ‘fair'? Representation of children, young people and parents in an adversarial court system
Children's C ourts in A ustralia are important parts of the systems which protect children and deal with young people who offend. They make decisions about the best interests of these vulnerable children and young people and require that children are represented in court. The paper reports on views of 46 stakeholders about quality of and access to representation in the care jurisdiction of the C hildrens C ourt in A ustralian C apital T erritory.…
Sticking with us through it all
We’re all in it together
Although recent initiatives in Australia have attempted to respond to the needs of children and young people with care responsibilities, many continue to be unable to access responsive supports. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted to identify the current needs and barriers to services for young carers and their families in Canberra, Australia. This paper focuses on a range of family, service and systems level issues that impede young c…
Little Voices and Big Ideas
Over the past three decades social researchers have increasingly engaged children in projects that explore their experiences, views, and understandings. In this paper the authors share the observations of children involved in a project exploring family homelessness, particularly about what they think is important when conducting research with children and ways in which their views were implemented in the design and delivery of the project
Sensitive topics in social research involving children
While there is broad consensus that involving children in research is critically important for understanding their lives, there is considerable caution around their participation in social research on ‘sensitive’ issues. Such caution is further amplified by a lack of agreement about what constitutes a ‘sensitive topic’. This article draws on data from interviews with a range of Australian stakeholders, including children, parents, researchers, et…
Changing things for the better
The use of reference groups made up of members of the population being researched has been encouraged within the qualitative research literature. This paper describes the use of reference groups made up of children and young people and promotes them as a space within which co-reflexive activities can help researchers reconsider their research approaches and assumptions, their methodologies and methods and the new knowledge created. The paper uses…
Improving practice
Young people's views on safety and preventing abuse and harm in residential care
Child protection practitioners
This article presents findings from a study with 467 child protection practitioners in Australia to determine their practice responses and views on children's participation. The practitioners, recruited from 5 state jurisdictions, completed an online survey responding to case studies designed to determine the extent to which they would seek and include children's perspectives in decision making, and their confidence in talking to children. We rep…
Who's in Our Family
Meeting the increasing demand for foster care homes is well recognised internationally and in Australia as a continual challenge. Understanding the needs of foster carers and supporting them to undertake this important work is a key element of meeting this demand. Lorraine Thomson and Morag McArthur report on the re-analysis of data from a small study of former foster carers who ceased fostering between 2004 and 2007 in the Australian Capital Ter…
Children's participation in child protection—How do practitioners understand children's participation in practice
Children's participation is essential to achieve good outcomes for children involved in child protection systems. Despite this, research has consistently found children report low levels of participation, are poorly consulted and feel inadequately involved in decisions about their lives. To explore how practitioners understand children's participation, 18 in‐depth interviews were conducted with statutory child protection practitioners in Australi…
Opportunities Lost––Why Some Parents of Young Children Are Not Well-Connected to the Service Systems Designed to Assist Them
Evidence on how to engage isolated parents in formal services tends to rely on professional commentary, practitioner discourse, and parents who use services. It is critical to also hear the perspectives of isolated parents to inform practice and service design, yet there are clearly practical difficulties in researchers talking directly to families who do not use services–– not the least of which is how to find them. This paper reports on in-dept…
Children's experiences and needs in relation to domestic and family violence
Domestic and family violence is a significant issue experienced by many children that can have severe detrimental impacts to their health, development, and well‐being. Despite the significance of this issue, it is only recently that children have been included in research that seeks to understand the impacts that domestic and family violence may have on their lives. This paper reports on the findings of a meta‐synthesis, which explored qualitativ…
More a marathon than a hurdle
Informed consent is critical in research with children. Although much has been written about the need to see consent as an ongoing process, less has considered how to do it in practice. This article reflects on the authors' experiences of conducting a piece of research focusing on children's experiences of safety from abuse within institutional contexts. It draws on feedback provided by participants and the guidance of three Children's Reference …
Jumping through hoops – the cost of compliance on sole parents
Australian governments along with other western countries have made significant changes to the welfare system with a focus on encouraging sole parents on social security payments to move into paid work. This paper reports on in‐depth interviews with 48 sole parents about their experiences with the welfare‐to‐work process and with a range of other services. Although parents reported some positive encounters, they also described a range of negative…
Children’s participation in research on sensitive topics
Although there is general agreement about children’s engagement in social research, some researchers continue to experience challenges when seeking approval and support for children’s participation from a range of adult stakeholders, particularly when the research involves a sensitive topic. These challenges may reflect different perspectives, conflicting interests, needs or expectations. This paper explores factors that influence the decision-ma…
Someone to check in on me
Although knowledge of how social support can mediate stress is now well known, finding ways to enable isolated parents to access social resources that could make a positive difference for children during their critical early years remains difficult. This paper reported on the findings of a telephone survey aimed at understanding levels of social capital and social support experienced by isolated parents raising young children on their own in Canb…
What do we know about the social networks of single parents who do not use supportive services
The role that social support and social networks play in mediating isolation and stress experienced by vulnerable families is well established. However, a major issue facing supportive human services is to find and engage families with limited social networks and link them to supports that could improve outcomes for their families. This paper reports on the results of in‐depth interviews with 20 sole parents with children aged under 5 who were no…
Pushing the Drug Debate
In light of the Federal Government decision to withdraw support from the Australian Capital Territory's heroin trial and the Prime Minister's continued strong resistance this paper examines the history of methadone treatment in Australia. It argues that the shift in views surrounding methadone treatment in the mid 1980s was assisted in part by two factors. The first was the role of the media; the second was the leadership taken by the Federal Gov…
Children and young people’s decision-making in social research about sensitive issues
Limited attention has been given to what motivates and informs children and young people’s decision to participate (or not) in social research, especially about sensitive issues. This paper reports the findings from focus group interviews with children and young people aged 9–16 years, undertaken as part of a larger study that explored what constitutes a sensitive issue in social research and the factors considered when deciding to participate. P…
Children in Social Research
The MESSI (Managing Ethical Studies on Sensitive Issues) study used hypothetical scenarios, presented via a brief online survey, to explore whether payment amounts influenced Australian children and young people to participate in social research of different sensitivity. They were more likely to participate in the lower sensitivity study than in the higher at all payment levels (A$200 prize draw, no payment, $30, or $100). Offering payments to ch…
Vulnerable Families’ Use of Services
There is growing recognition in Australia and in other countries that some people face complex challenges and multiple disadvantages in their everyday lives, and that their needs for safety, health, clothing, food, shelter, and emotional wellbeing form interacting webs of need. However, it is often this very group who may be excluded from services and other opportunities. A qualitative study was carried out with 80 families living on income suppo…
Give Them a Break
Younger mothers are categorised as an ‘at-risk’ group and targeted for early recognition and subsequent intervention to enhance children’s safety and well-being. However, younger mothers systematically endure stigma which can affect their willingness to engage with supportive services. This article reports on the findings from an Australian qualitative study of thirty-five interviews and two focus groups with younger mothers to explore their expe…
Young People Talk about Transitioning from Youth Detention to the Community
Young people who transition from youth detention to the community may encounter difficulties related to their family relationships, mental and physical wellbeing, education, and employment. How to best to support young people once they leave youth detention has been left relatively unexplored—particularly in regard to the way that young people are approached and assisted to access support. This paper reports on an 18-month qualitative study carri…
Championing Choice—Lessons Learned from Children and Young People About Research and Their Involvement
Parents’ supervised contact visits with their children in care
Pushing the Drug Debate
In light of the Federal Government decision to withdraw support from the Australian Capital Territory's heroin trial and the Prime Minister's continued strong resistance this paper examines the history of methadone treatment in Australia. It argues that the shift in views surrounding methadone treatment in the mid 1980s was assisted in part by two factors. The first was the role of the media; the second was the leadership taken by the Federal Gov…
What I do I understand
Social work students need to develop both theoretical and practical foundations of knowledge. In a period where community practice is becoming more marginalised the Australian Catholic University subject Social Work Practice with Communities is a core component in the two year professional degree program. It combines an experience based learning approach with traditional teaching methods. Through community projects students learn real-life proble…
Dad, Where are we Going to Live Now?’ Exploring Fathers’ Experiences of Homelessness
In 2003, over 41 000 families with accompanying children throughout Australia were assisted by homeless services. Sole fathers with children in their care who are homeless are a minority group within this overall population of homeless families and, as such, little is known about their experiences of homelessness and fathering. The present paper reports on an exploratory study of sole fathers with children in their care who were homeless in the A…
We’re all in it together
Although recent initiatives in Australia have attempted to respond to the needs of children and young people with care responsibilities, many continue to be unable to access responsive supports. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted to identify the current needs and barriers to services for young carers and their families in Canberra, Australia. This paper focuses on a range of family, service and systems level issues that impede young c…
Little Voices and Big Ideas
Over the past three decades social researchers have increasingly engaged children in projects that explore their experiences, views, and understandings. In this paper the authors share the observations of children involved in a project exploring family homelessness, particularly about what they think is important when conducting research with children and ways in which their views were implemented in the design and delivery of the project
A practice framework to guide screening and assessment in the Australian Family Relationship Centres and Advice Line
In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the reactive way in which policy is translated into practice on the front lines of child and family welfare organizations, particularly in how risk is assessed and responded to by staff at all levels in these organizations. Major reforms to family law in Australia and programmes set up to complement the existing Commonwealth‐Funded Family Relationship Services Program provide an opportunity…
Who's in Our Family
Meeting the increasing demand for foster care homes is well recognised internationally and in Australia as a continual challenge. Understanding the needs of foster carers and supporting them to undertake this important work is a key element of meeting this demand. Lorraine Thomson and Morag McArthur report on the re-analysis of data from a small study of former foster carers who ceased fostering between 2004 and 2007 in the Australian Capital Ter…
Championing Choice—Lessons Learned from Children and Young People About Research and Their Involvement
Different but the same? Exploring the experiences of young people caring for a parent with an alcohol or other drug issue
Although children of parents with an alcohol or other drug (AOD) issue appear to assume a range of caring responsibilities within their families they have, until recently, been excluded from the growing body of young-carer research, policy and practice. This is problematic, as this group may experience greater levels of social exclusion whilst experiencing similar negative impacts of care as their caring peers. This paper discusses the findings o…
Someone to check in on me
Although knowledge of how social support can mediate stress is now well known, finding ways to enable isolated parents to access social resources that could make a positive difference for children during their critical early years remains difficult. This paper reported on the findings of a telephone survey aimed at understanding levels of social capital and social support experienced by isolated parents raising young children on their own in Canb…
Opportunities Lost––Why Some Parents of Young Children Are Not Well-Connected to the Service Systems Designed to Assist Them
Evidence on how to engage isolated parents in formal services tends to rely on professional commentary, practitioner discourse, and parents who use services. It is critical to also hear the perspectives of isolated parents to inform practice and service design, yet there are clearly practical difficulties in researchers talking directly to families who do not use services–– not the least of which is how to find them. This paper reports on in-dept…
Lessons learned from children who have experienced homelessness
Children who accompany their parents or guardians during a period of homelessness make up 37% (more than one in three) of all people accessing the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) services. This paper describes an Australian qualitative study that explored the experiences of children who accompanied their families during periods of homelessness. It focuses particularly on what children and young people say they want from the serv…
Treason in the Pulpit
In recent years, American religious and Civil War scholars have devoted increased attention to the topic of religion during the Civil War. This trend is reflected in part by recent studies that examine such subject matters as the religious life of soldiers, religion on the home front, Civil War chaplains, theological interpretations of the war, and the role of ministers during the war.1 Almost without exception, the traditional historical narrati…
Jumping through hoops – the cost of compliance on sole parents
Australian governments along with other western countries have made significant changes to the welfare system with a focus on encouraging sole parents on social security payments to move into paid work. This paper reports on in‐depth interviews with 48 sole parents about their experiences with the welfare‐to‐work process and with a range of other services. Although parents reported some positive encounters, they also described a range of negative…
Vulnerable Families’ Use of Services
There is growing recognition in Australia and in other countries that some people face complex challenges and multiple disadvantages in their everyday lives, and that their needs for safety, health, clothing, food, shelter, and emotional wellbeing form interacting webs of need. However, it is often this very group who may be excluded from services and other opportunities. A qualitative study was carried out with 80 families living on income suppo…
Needs or deeds? Child protection and youth justice in the Australian Capital Territory
This paper reports on research conducted as part of a national study on the views of judicial officers and other stakeholders in Australia's Children's Courts. It focuses on the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and in particular the way in which care and protection matters are dealt with separately from youth justice matters. Many research participants advocated alternatives which were less formal and more focused on the needs of children and …
Young People Talk about Transitioning from Youth Detention to the Community
Young people who transition from youth detention to the community may encounter difficulties related to their family relationships, mental and physical wellbeing, education, and employment. How to best to support young people once they leave youth detention has been left relatively unexplored—particularly in regard to the way that young people are approached and assisted to access support. This paper reports on an 18-month qualitative study carri…
Improving practice
If only I, they, we had done things differently
KContact, an enhanced intervention for contact between children in out-of-home care and their parents
Trial registered on 7 April 2015 with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000313538
Changing things for the better
The use of reference groups made up of members of the population being researched has been encouraged within the qualitative research literature. This paper describes the use of reference groups made up of children and young people and promotes them as a space within which co-reflexive activities can help researchers reconsider their research approaches and assumptions, their methodologies and methods and the new knowledge created. The paper uses…
Is it ‘fair'? Representation of children, young people and parents in an adversarial court system
Children's C ourts in A ustralia are important parts of the systems which protect children and deal with young people who offend. They make decisions about the best interests of these vulnerable children and young people and require that children are represented in court. The paper reports on views of 46 stakeholders about quality of and access to representation in the care jurisdiction of the C hildrens C ourt in A ustralian C apital T erritory.…
What do we know about the social networks of single parents who do not use supportive services
The role that social support and social networks play in mediating isolation and stress experienced by vulnerable families is well established. However, a major issue facing supportive human services is to find and engage families with limited social networks and link them to supports that could improve outcomes for their families. This paper reports on the results of in‐depth interviews with 20 sole parents with children aged under 5 who were no…
Interventions to improve supervised contact visits between children in out of home care and their parents
Although the importance of contact between children in care and their parents, when safe, is accepted, there is limited research about supervised face‐to‐face contact. There is no literature that has systematically critiqued how supervised contact can be best delivered. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence for interventions aimed at improving the quality of contact visits between parents and their children who are in out…
You Feel It in Your Body’
In 2012, the Australian Government announced the establishment of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The aim of the Royal Commission is to understand how and why sexual abuse occurred within Australian institutions and to provide guidance as to how future abuse might be prevented. The Royal Commission commissioned a mixed methods study to explore what children need to be safe and to feel safe, to explore how th…
Psychology (36 works) · Political science (32 works) · Sociology (28 works) · Medicine (21 works) · Public relations (21 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Children's Rights and Participation (16 works) · Social science (16 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (15 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (13 works)