A Study On Social Work Interventions To Enhance The Resilience Of Families With Minor Children Serving Prison Sentences

According to the 2018 China Statistical Yearbook statistics on the number of people in custody,combined with relevant survey data from the Ministry of Justice in 2005,it is projected that the combined number of minor children and family caregivers of people serving prison sentences exceeds one million.Minor children also directly affect the emotional changes of incarcerated inmates,causing anxiety,depression and even suicide.Families of minor children of incarcerated persons face many challenges and dilemmas as a result of the sudden changes that occur after a loved one serves a prison sentence.A good family environment is necessary for minor children to treat the psychological trauma caused by the events of their parents’ prison sentences and to move towards a healthy growth path.Therefore,the strength of family resilience determines whether its members can successfully resolve the pain and risks they experience and maintain a stable life.In this study,we collected survey data from the study participants and conducted an empirical study with the help of the "Psychological Support Program for Minor Children of Prisoners" service in S city.Questionnaires were distributed and face-to-face interviews were conducted to understand the family situation and needs of minor children of inmates.After in-depth analysis of the survey data,this study listed three major risk factors for family resilience:personal growth risk factors for minor children,internal family system risk factors,and external social system risk factors.And each risk factor has interaction with each other,showing the result that the internal family system risk is the core factor,which is influenced by the external social system risk and derived from the personal growth risk of minor children.Based on the empirical research,the researcher uses the Walsh family resilience system theory as a guide to design the social work intervention structure.Based on the three core frameworks of the theory: family belief system,family communication process,and family organization,the study classified families at risk of resilience into three categories: families with negative beliefs,families with communication barriers,and families with weak organization,and selected three types of families at risk for social work practice intervention.Then,by summarizing and reflecting on the case practice experience,the three-dimensional path of social work intervention to enhance the resilience of families with minor children serving prison sentences was refined: in the dimension of family belief system,social workers mainly injected hope for development and created family atmosphere to promote positive family transformation;in the dimension of family communication process,social workers mainly cooperated to solve problems and formed positive interaction to promote families to solve In the dimension of family organization,social workers mainly link resources and establish family support networks to enhance the resilience of families in the face of shocks.Finally,this study also discusses theories related to family resilience of minor children serving prison sentences,commonalities and differences of families,and social work intervention services.