Grandparent Caregivers' Perception of the Stress of Surrogate Parenting

Abstract

This paper examined the relationship between sociodemo-graphic factors, Stressors, and resources, and the perception of stress by grandparents caring for their grandchildren. A sample of 129 grandparents had face-to-face interviews. A hierarchical block regression analysis produced a model that accounted for 49 percent of the variance. For the first block (sociodemographic factors) younger age and being white were significant, but in the context of the second block, these variables disappeared and being employed, having conflict with the grandchildren's parent, and grandchild problems were significant. The final block, in which resources were added, found that being employed, having conflict with the children's parent, grandchild problems, and lack of family resources were associated with high perception of stress. These findings suggest strategies for social work intervention.     

Research in spirituality, religion and aging

Research on the concept of "spirituality" demonstrates its overlap with "religion," so for many purposes they need to be considered together as "spirituality/religion." Investigations of age differences point to the likelihood that spirituality tends to increase during later adulthood. It has important positive relationships with various measures of life satisfaction, psychosocial well-being, and both physical and mental health. It benefits therapy for recovery from illness and is a source of meaning and purpose in life. Spiritual interventions help to relieve psychological distress and death anxiety, as well as the stresses of caregiving. Because of its therapeutic value, prayer is an important resource for coping with problems experienced during the life course. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale and many other instruments have been developed to measure spirituality and related concepts. As in all other domains of research on people, they all have limits and must be applied with caution for both technical and ethical reasons. Nevertheless, applications of the research findings, which overwhelmingly demonstrate the importance of spirituality to human well-being, already are improving the effectiveness of clinical work and social services in all of the health and human service professions. As scientific knowledge of spirituality expands, so does awareness of the need for further research, including the refinement of methodological procedures, expansion to new topics, and extension to international cultures and diverse religions. The outlook for research on spirituality and the consequent practical applications to benefit humanity is very promising.     

Leaving children unattended at home: decision-making on the use of self-care in Hong Kong

This paper examines decisions among low-income mothers in Hong Kong on the use of self-care, or the arrangement of leaving children unattended at home. An analysis of individual interviews with 23 mothers, based on a family ecology perspective, highlighted the contexts in which mothers make decisions based on economic, social and technical grounds. Findings showed that self-care was used with family orientated demands, in spite of the worries and fears associated with the self-care arrangement. Self-care was generally favoured when it was felt to be an efficient way of carrying out family and domestic tasks. An argument was also made that self-care encouraged appropriate independence in children. Nevertheless, mothers recognised the risks involved in self-care and planned to minimise the potential dangers of young children being left unattended. The views of the children themselves, as well as their fathers, often influenced the care arrangements made by mothers. Social policies in relation to unattended children are also examined. This analysis reveals ideological assumptions about the nature of good parenting that places great pressure on mothers to fulfil their responsibilities even though they often lack adequate economic, social and technical support. Rather than deploy deterrent legal measures, it is suggested that social measures, including the provision of `family life education', occasional child care services and enhancement of community support, be developed to help parents carry out their child-rearing roles effectively.     

Caregivers' Coping and Self-Forgiveness After the Death of a Care-Receiver

ABSTRACT

This study explores the relationship of self-forgiveness with adaptive coping and nonadaptive coping. This study addresses self-forgiveness as part of the grieving process of Alzheimer's disease caregivers. One hundred and thirty-three caregivers who had recently lost a loved one were surveyed. The bivariate analysis revealed a significant relationship between self-forgiveness and adaptive coping and non-adaptive coping. Furthermore, stepwise regression models computed for the study variables revealed that adaptive coping and non-adaptive coping were statistically significant in explaining the variation in self-forgiveness. Based on these findings, future directions in research are explored.     

The Influence of Service Factors on Spousal Caregivers' Perceptions of Community Services

The literature clearly denotes that spouses differ from other family members in their reactions to caregiving, their patterns of service use and their assessment of specific services. Yet, despite their prevalence as caregivers, little is known about their unique perceptions of community services and the factors that impact their experiences with the service system. The purpose of this study was to explore the relative influence of (a) spouses' personal factors (e.g., gender, family support) and (b) service factors (e.g., one-on-one professional support), on spousal caregivers' perceptions of community services. The study employed a survey design with a sample of 73 spousal caregivers caring for their partners with dementia at home.

This study found that spousal caregivers have more negative perceptions of the service system when their in-home workers are not informed about their spouses' likes, dislikes and routines. This service factor was the most significant predictor of caregivers' service perceptions. The study further found that most spousal caregivers receive fewer than five consultations from a non-medical professional over a one year period. While spouses longed for more professional support, this service factor was not uniquely associated with service related stress. The policy and practice implications of these findings are discussed.     

Modelling curiosity in decision-making

This paper develops a model of choice with an agent that is capable of experiencing curiosity using Loewenstein’s (Psychol Bull 116(1):75–98, 1994) information gap interpretation of curiosity. We then proceed to determine the restrictions on choice behaviour implied by the model in two choice environments: no discovery—where the Decision-Maker does not have the opportunity to learn—and discovery—where she is afforded such an opportunity. These restrictions can be applied by an observer to determine if a Decision-Maker’s choices align with the model.     

发挥专家学者作用完善北京的决策咨询机制

北京作为首都 ,科研的人力资源十分丰富 ,分布着“五路大军”、“六大板块”。这些机构和人员通过各种形式 ,在政府的决策中起着积极的服务作用 ,推动了北京各项事业的发展。但与资源优势相比 ,开发和利用专家学者的作用上仍存在问题 ,作者认为应该采取完善政府决策咨询制度 ;建立畅通的沟通渠道 ;创建高效的组织协调机制 ;搭建政府决策支持平台等措施。     

Anger Perception, Caregivers' Use of Physical Discipline, and Aggression in Children at Risk

We analyzed the relations between teacher reports of aggressive behaviors, caregiver reports of their use of physical discipline, anger perception accuracy, and anger perception bias in middle childhood and teacher reports of aggressive behaviors two years later in a sample of children from economically disadvantaged families (n =152). Fisher r‐to‐z analyses showed a gender difference in the relation between anger perception accuracy and aggressive behavior in third grade. For girls, anger perception accuracy was significantly negatively related to aggression, and for boys, there was no relation between anger perception accuracy and aggression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that third grade aggressive behavior, caregivers’ reports of their use of physical discipline, and anger perception bias were significantly positively related to teacher reports of aggressive behavior two years later after controlling for gender and anger perception accuracy.     

Social worker decision-making in court

The current study aimed to explore the factors that influence how social workers make decisions and develop their decision-making skills in care proceedings, and to identify effective support and intervention to develop social worker decision-making skills. The study employed a mixed thematic approach across two phases of study: an initial inductive thematic analysis of responses to an online qualitative questionnaire and then a mixed thematic analysis of follow-up focus groups and interviews with social workers working in various social work roles within England and Northern Ireland. The findings identified a number of themes that help to understand the decision-making skills of social workers; thorough assessment skills, relationship-based anti-oppressive practice, being mindful of the lived experience of the child and using critical reflection to make complex decisions. Wider structural factors that support or hinder decision-making, particularly in respect of organizational support and management supervision were also identified. Social workers can be supported to develop decision-making skills through additional training, reflective learning and management support to develop their practice wisdom within this field.     

Supporting individuals in group decision-making

Pooling of different resources is typical among the member countries of the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance participating in joint large-scale construction projects. The problem faced by the members of the Council is to decide, how much of various resources each country should contribute to a construction project. In this paper we present a general approach to supporting individuals involved in such negotiations. We formulate the problem as a multiple criteria/multiple decision-maker model and use our approach to finding a compromise solution for the resource pooling problem within the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance. The approach is implemented on a computer, tested and illustrated using a prototypical example.     

Context-contingent decision-making in child protection practice

Research on child protection practice has been concerned mainly with the problem of the maltreating parent. System philosophies and processes and the influences on these, while addressed by some authors, have not received the attention they deserve. Understanding the ways in which child protection practices are constructed offers insights into the equitable or otherwise application of these processes to different groups of parents within our communities. In the study reported here we examine how child protection workers make decisions about removing children and subsequently initiating court proceedings. By focusing our analysis on a particularly vulnerable group of parents, those with intellectual disability, we highlight the ways in which child protection workers carry out their legislative mandate to keep children safe.     

Guided by ethics: religion and spirituality in gerontological social work practice

This random national survey anonymously explored 299 gerontological social workers' attitudes about spirituality and the use of spiritual interventions in practice. Respondents support the inclusion of religion and spirituality in education and practice as a diversity component, as part of holistic assessment, and as a fundamental aspect of human life. Nearly 70% of respondents report little or no preparation on spiritual issues during their schooling and only 24.5% report satisfaction with their educational preparation on this topic. While respondents' personal spirituality correlates positively and weakly with the use of spiritual interventions, it is ethical attitudes toward spiritual interventions that predict the use of spiritual interventions by gerontological social workers.     

Central ethical dilemmas in research involving children

We are obligated to protect individual child subjects of research, yet it is also necessary to investigate the safety and efficacy of medical treatments that benefit children as a class. The federal regulations on research with children have provided ethical guidance since 1983, but divergent interpretations persist. Since varying interpretations can lead to confusion and abuses, efforts are underway to clarify the criteria. Clarity is needed to protect individual child subjects from harm while enabling ethical research to proceed. The "pediatric rule" and the "pediatric exclusivity" incentive are important policy initiatives for promoting sound research on the medical treatment of children.     

Addressing procedural challenges of ethical review system: Towards a better ethical quality of clinical trials review in Malaysia

The review of clinical trials with human participants in Malaysia is governed by a decentralized control system. The clinical trial protocols are reviewed by 13 registered research ethics committees (RECs) in Malaysia. A governmental body, the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau, is responsible for the inspection and oversight of these registered RECs to ensure that they comply with the regulatory requirements. However, this study highlights that each REC in Malaysia has a different standard operating procedure and ethical review process. Other procedural challenges identified include inadequate membership, poor mechanism for research monitoring after ethical approval, and insufficient resources. Establishments of a national standard of REC and a central ethics committee are suggested to ensure procedural compliance in the oversight of clinical trials in Malaysia. While there is a growing concern that procedural compliance may not have a direct impact on the protection of human subjects, our key point is that an ethical review system compliant with the national standards could serve as a strong framework to support and enhance the ethical quality of decision-making and judgement. We believe that being aware of how influential procedural compliance can be would help committees improve the ethical quality of their research review.     

Quality of Relationships Between Care Recipients and Their Primary Caregivers and Its Effect on Caregivers' Burden and Satisfaction in Israel

Research on the impact of quality of relationships between primary caregivers and their care recipients on burden and satisfaction with caregiving is still rare. The sample included 335 dyads of primary caregivers and care recipients who were cognitively intact. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at the respondents' homes using structured questionnaires. No significant correlation between caregiving burden and caregiving satisfaction was found. Quality of relationship was the most significant variable in explaining both caregiving burden and caregiving satisfaction, yet different sets of additional variables were found to explain each of the outcomes. Interventions should address quality of relationships in order to reduce burden and increase caregiving satisfaction.     

"Religion is the finding thing": an evolving spirituality in late life

This paper discusses some important dimensions of faith and of the social contexts surrounding faith that are illustrative of continuity and growth in spirituality in the lives of older adults. Examples of an evolving spirituality emerge in the analysis of a recent qualitative research study that probed the nature of religious experience among thirty-one community-dwelling elders and fifteen elders residing in long-term care facilities. Face-to-face interviews with these forty-six older adults and with seven people who directed or assisted with formal and informal programs of faith comprise the empirical base for this paper. The seven people, I refer to them mnemonically as faithreps, worked in various ways in the long-term care settings to provide programs involving faith to older adults. The faithreps came from a range of educational and religious backgrounds and are not accurately or handily categorized. An evolving spirituality is shaped by the older person's links to the structural and the socio-relational contexts that have been created through interaction in the past as well as through interaction in the present. Moreover, the interaction of older adults and faithreps encourages spiritual growth because as social actors engaged with one another over a sustained period of time in an institutional setting, questions and dialogue about life and its meaning are regularly evoked. The social interactions that foster spiritual evolution may be an admixture of the secular and the sacred. Such socio-relational contexts were once part of the naturalistic settings of daily life among the old, but now must emerge through the efforts and planning of others. The salience of faith among present cohorts of older adults sensitizes us to the necessity of devoting more consideration to optimal ways of strengthening and building contexts that are conducive to the evolution of spirituality.     

Professional and personal hierarchies of ethical principles

We explore social workers’ perception of the importance and rank ordering of ethical principles. Do they have a generally agreed upon hierarchy of ethical principles? Do they apply similar hierarchies of ethical principles when facing different cases? Are their professional and personal hierarchies of ethical principles similar? The findings based on a structured questionnaire indicated that while social workers attach high importance to most ethical principles closely associated with social work, they do not hold a universal hierarchy of ethical principles. Social workers change their ethical hierarchies in different professional situations but there is no difference between their professional and personal ethical hierarchies. Implications for practice and education are discussed.