CHILD PROTECTION: PARADOXES OF PUBLICITY,POLICY AND PRACTICE

Recent media coverage of child abuse in Victoria is critically analysed. Parallels are drawn between the substance and style of newspaper coverage of child abuse cases in the late nineteenth century ‘first wave’ of the child rescue movement and that in the late twentieth century ‘second wave’ of the child rescue movement. The twin themes of vengeance and voyeurism are clearly evident in both periods. The classic late nineteenth century concepts of Freud and Durkheim are drawn upon to illuminate the psychological and sociological sources of these themes. The current Victorian child protection system is used as a case study to explore the paradoxes for policy and practice which arise in part from the publicisation and associated politicisation of child abuse. These paradoxes include the redirection of resources from prevention and treatment to investigation services.     

Does Self-control Predict Wealth Creation Among Young Baby Boomers?

Why similar people have different patterns of wealth accumulation is puzzling. The behavioral life-cycle hypothesis indicates self-control is an important aspect of household saving behavior. This study investigated if household wealth creation from 1994 to 2008 could be predicted by self-control among a sample of young baby boomers using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) data. Variables that significantly predicted 2008 net worth included homeownership, 1994 net worth, income, bankruptcy filing, inheritance, education level, race, marital status, children, retirement planning activities, locus of control, and self-mastery. The addition of self-control predictors to a regression model improved the model’s ability to predict net worth by 1.3 % above and beyond the human capital, financial status, and demographic predictor variables. In total, the model explained 60 % of the variance in net worth. Findings indicated that individuals who invested in their human capital, were homeowners, and had higher self-control, accumulated more wealth.     

Fractured relationships and the potential for abuse of older men

Elderly men are an understudied population in the area of abuse and neglect. The typical elder abuse or neglect victim is described as a frail woman. The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study shows men to be victims as well and at higher risk than women for abandonment, the most extreme form of neglect. A qualitative study of older widowed men did not specifically explore issues of abuse and neglect, but found several of the men experiencing alienation from one or more of their adult children. This paper explores the dynamics of these "fractured relationships" and finds several patterns that may increase an older man's risk of being neglected when his needs for support increase. Many men are not functioning in a kinkeeper role and are not attempting to repair fractured relationships. Minimizing their own feelings may prevent men from understanding the extent of alienation felt by an adult child.     

Attachment Style With Mother,Father, Best Friend,and Romantic Partner During Adolescence

Self‐reported attachment styles with mother, father, best friend, and romantic partner were assessed longitudinally across adolescence. Three cohorts (ages 13, 16, and 19 years; N=373) from a community sample were followed across 2 years. There was only one change in attachment styles with age: the oldest adolescents were more dismissive than the younger. Adolescents were more secure with mother than with father, and most dismissive and fearful with father. Boys were more dismissing than girls, who were more fearful with a romantic partner (n=158). Across time, attachment insecurity with father was associated with insecurity with a best friend. Attachment insecurity with a romantic partner was associated primarily with insecurity with friend, but changes over time tended to be associated with insecurity with mother. Results support the view of a differentiated hierarchy of attachment figures in adolescence, with the quality of parental attachment contributing to close extra‐familial relationships.     

II. Patients of the department of psychological medicine,guy's hospital,london 1

Abstract

Harvey Dean (1998) rejects my (Wakefield, 1988a; 1988b) argument that minimal distributive justice is the essential mission of social work and that treatment of mental disorder is not part of the profession's essential mission but rather a derived task. He argues that social work has broader ethical aims that encompass both pursuit of justice and treatment of mental disorder. In this article, 1 review my earlier position and respond to Dean's objections. I argue that Dean's narrativist account of the profession's ethical aims is overly broad and that he confuses non‐disordered psychological problems with mental disorders. I conclude that neither my “minimal distributive justice” view of social work's mission nor my exclusion of treatment of mental disorder from the profession's essential mission are disconfirmed by Dean's arguments.     

The impact on the family therapist of a focus on death, dying, and bereavement

Recognizing the growing numbers of family therapists who are choosing a focus on death, dying, and bereavement, this article addresses the nature of the commitment required--as well as the gifts and challenges presented by work in this area. Particular attention is given to therapists' vulnerability to compassion fatigue and/or vicarious traumatization, both of which are described and discussed. A variety of strategies for individuals and institutions, aimed at supporting professionals and preventing problems, are considered. It is concluded that as family therapists focus on self-care as well as client care, they have the potential to increase not only their effectiveness but also to enhance their own well-being. Implications for training and for research on this topic also are considered.     

Epidemic Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection at a College for the Deaf

Abstract

An outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection affected up to 110 students and employees at a college for deaf students (Gallaudet). After the introduction of M. pneumoniae onto the campus in late August 1977, the disease spread slowly among the students; the last documented case occurred in mid-December. A thorough review of chart records, mail surveys, a dormitory survey, and a three-month surveillance of the student health service provided an intensive look at the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of a mild to moderately severe disease in the epidemic setting. A matched-pair analysis demonstrated a more serious clinical illness among patients with M. pneumoniae than other patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness. Appropriate antimicrobial therapy appeared to suppress a high antibody response to M. pnuemoniae. A follow-up serosurvey one year after this outbreak demonstrated diagnostic titers to M. pneumoniae in 11 of 30 patients with confirmed infection in the original epidemic.     

Gender in/and/of Health Inequalities

The relationship between gender and health inequalities is potentially complicated, raising questions for health and social research, practice and policy. In this paper, I use two population health case studies – obesity and smoking – to explore the interplay between gender and socioeconomic position. The cases show that, on its own, neither dimension of inequality affords a comprehensive picture of these significant risks to public health. Furthermore, historical change in the socioeconomic and gendered distribution of these health risks suggests that gender is best considered as a dynamic and layered form of differentiation, rather than as a simple or stable dichotomy. A more nuanced approach to the analysis of gender and health has the potential to generate both more fruitful research and more effective health and social policy.     

Sex differences in the vocabulary of college students

The present study replicated Jastrow's 1891 experiment concerning differences between male and female vocabulary. Participants were 20 male and 20 female Caucasian middle‐class college students. They recorded up to 100 nouns in a 15‐minute period. Results indicate that women have increased their use of unusual words compared to women in 1891. Males used more scientific words and more body part words than females. In contrast to the previous study, there are no significant differences between the sexes in use of animal, nature, and food words. Females used more clothing words than males in this study, as in the previous study, and produced more different words than males. Vocabulary changes appear to reflect changes in the social structure of the society.