Existing research suggests that there are several unique challenges associated with caring for a child on the autism spectrum. Despite a growing evidence base regarding autism spectrum disorders and their increasing prevalence, children on the autism spectrum and their families continue to perceive stigmatisation from various sources throughout the community. These perceptions of stigma can profoundly impact the quality of life of these children and their carers alike. This exploratory study sought to investigate carers' perceptions of stigma in caring for a child with high functioning autism. Fifteen carers from Sydney and the South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their caring experiences and any perceived encounters with stigma. Four domains of stigmatising experiences were identified: (i) lack of knowledge, (ii) judgement, (iii) rejection and (iv) lack of support. These domains were each reported to exist in four main contexts: (i) school, (ii) public, (iii) family and (iv) friends. These domains and contexts established a framework which provided a detailed account of how and where carers felt stigmatised, including the suggestion of a stigmatising pathway through the four domains. The main contexts in which stigma was perceived also appeared to be related, with those carers who experienced stigma in one context being more likely to report similar experiences in other contexts. Any attempts to empower carers in the face of stigmatisation should therefore consider each of these domains, the pathway that connects them and the relationship between different social contexts. Through identifying this pathway, supportive services can be acutely aware of how carers may perceive potentially stigmatising experiences and therefore provide appropriate interventions or support for the relevant stage of the pathway.

The concept of "calling" has evolved from a religiously oriented description of occupation to an integrated, broad, and multidimensional construct that is associated with optimal vocational outcomes, personal fulfillment and meaning, and contribution to the "greater good." This article investigates the relevance of calling in the parental domain and explores the experience of calling in child rearing. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, 11 qualitative, semistructured interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers. Different parents were interviewed at three distinct developmental time points in their child(ren)'s lives: while their child was an infant (<2 years), while their children were of primary school age (aged 4-12), and when their children were in their late teens or early 20s and were more or less independent (>17 years). Parents of both genders and across the range of ages showed strong similarity in their definitions and experiences of calling-oriented child rearing. Parents' definitions and experiences were also consistent with the conception and experience of calling in previous research. Cultural concerns related to free will and religion are discussed. This research demonstrates

We sought to provide a new framework for understanding the training and ongoing support of foster parents. The experiences of authorized foster parents were viewed in the context of an experiment, whereby foster parents entered an out-of-home care placement with preconceived ideas and expectations of what the provision of care would be like. We have investigated the experience of foster care from the perspective of the foster parent who tests expectations of providing care as one might conduct any experiment. Focus group discussion yielded five global domains of foster care experience: birth family, motivation, agency influences, relationship impacts, and attachment. Foster carers commonly described these domains as central to the overall experience of providing foster care. Furthermore, specific experiences within each domain were seen to either encourage or discourage the further provision of foster care. Individual interviews regarding the practical experiences related to these domains uncovered struggles of foster parents who sought to understand their role identity as a ''foster parent'', and their self identity as a ''mother''. We discuss implications arising from the experience of these domains of care and their related struggles.

The present study investigated the relationship between purpose in life, hope, coping, and spiritual sensitivity among a sample of 166 first year psychology students. Family support and hopefulness predicted strong purpose in life. Inward sensitivity, together with agency thinking as part of hopefulness, notably increased the predictive variance of strong purpose in life. Positive correlations were also found between all variables, as well as low indications of suicidal ideation. These findings, particularly that for inward sensitivity, are able to contribute to programs that personally support first-year university students, especially in the early months of this experience.

There is currently a limited understanding of adolescent sibling relationships where Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is present. This research gap remains despite preliminary findings suggesting that neurotypically developing (NTD) siblings undertake extra caregiving responsibilities and experience differential treatment from family members. Using a Family Systems approach, this qualitative study investigated NTD adolescent sisters’ roles and responsibilities for their younger adolescent brother with ASD from the perspectives of 11 family members (including NTD sisters, brothers with ASD, mothers, and fathers). Findings indicate the sisters undertook various caregiving roles and responsibilities, particularly at school, which had both positive and negative influences on the family system. Additionally, sisters perceived they undertook unfair household responsibilities, received reduced parental attention, and desired both distance from and engagement with their families. These perceptions varied amongst other family members. Implications of these findings and strategies for best supporting adolescent NTD siblings are discussed.