Unemployment, Age, Gender and Regional Suicide in England and Wales 1974-90: A Harbinger of Increased Suicide for the 1990s?

Correspondence to Prof. Colin Pritchard, Department of Social Work Studies, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO9 SNH. Summary The Department of Health's Health of the Nation aims at a substantialreduction in suicide; this is a ‘vote of confidence’in the effectiveness of the community psychiatric and healthservices. However, it will be shown that a number of socioeconomicchanges have occurred which may lead to increased suicide; forexample British male suicide rose in the 1980s, significantlyassociated with unemployment. Though female suicide fell substantiallyover the period, across the regions suicide rates for both menand women were worse amongst the ‘work age’ bands,16–44 years, than the older groups. In respect to therelatively poorer rates amongst younger women, this may be linkedto unemployment and their unfulfilled job expectations. If thesuicide targets are not met, it is feared that the ‘failure’will laid at the door of the community and health services.     

Mothers' Socialization of Children's Emotion in India and the USA: A Cross‐ and Within‐culture Comparison

Parent responses to children's emotions vary within and across cultures. The present study compared mothers' reports of their emotional and behavioral responses in hypothetical situations depicting their children experiencing anger, sadness, or physical pain in two communities in India (traditional old city, N = 60; suburban middle class, N = 60), with a suburban middle‐class group in the USA (N = 60). Results showed that mothers in both groups in India reported more explanation‐oriented problem‐focused responses to their children's emotions than US mothers. US mothers reported the most solution‐oriented problem‐focused responses, followed by suburban Indian mothers, followed by old‐city mothers. US mothers reported behaviorally‐oriented punitive responses (i.e., time out, removal of privileges) towards child anger more than the other groups. Suburban Indian mothers reported briefly not talking to the child in response to child anger more than the other groups whereas old‐city Indian mothers reported scolding/spanking more than the other groups.     

Legalized Abortion and the Homicide of Young Children: An Empirical Investigation

Recent research has drawn a link, sometimes a causal link, between the legalization of abortion in the late 1960s and early 1970s and the precipitous decline in crime in the 1990s. Abortion is posited to have reduced the number of potential victims and potential perpetrators, and the potential effect is examined when these individuals would be reaching their high-crime years. We examined a more proximal potential association between legalized abortion and homicide, specifically, the homicide of young children. Assuming that abortions occurred when the family had insufficient resources for the birth, one could hypothesize that children would have been at higher risk of homicide if born into these circumstances. We examined 1960-1998 U.S. mortality data for children under 5 years of age using an interrupted time series design. The legalization of abortion was not associated with a sudden change in child homicide trends. It was, however, associated with a steady decrease in the homicides of toddlers (i.e., 1- to 4-year-olds) in subsequent years. Although in the predicted direction, the decrease in homicides of children under 1 year of age was not statistically significant. Competing explanations that could be examined in the data (e.g., changes in mortality classification) do not account for the findings.     

A Different Sort of Doctor: The Police Surgeon in England and Wales

Police surgeons occupy a neglected and potentially influential role in the criminal justice system, falling between medical and legal functions. This article considers the implications of this role which operates at the interface of two major areas of social policy concern. Drawing evidence from a unique survey of police surgeons in England and Wales, it considers specifically, the professional background of police surgeons, the administration and management of the police surgeon service, surgeons' attitudes to aspects of their professional practice and the impact of this role on civil liberties. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the possibilities for the reform of the police surgeon service.     

Socioeconomic forces as determinants of childhood mortality decline in Rhode Island, 1860-1970: a comparison with England and Wales

The author tests McKeown's hypothesis that socioeconomic improvement was the most important cause of mortality decline in England and Wales. First, McKeown's basic work is replicated using data on childhood mortality in Rhode Island between 1860 and 1970. "Then the effect of socioeconomic change on mortality change is examined in ways that differentiate it from other effects. Next, socioeconomic and public health effects on disease are differentiated by computing case-fatality and incidence rates." The results provide support for McKeown's argument.     

Environmental Attitudes in International Comparison: An Analysis of the ISSP Surveys 1993 and 2000*

Objective. The goal of this article is to compare the concern for the natural environment between the citizens of 26 countries that participated in the 2000 International Social Survey Program (ISSP) and to explain the differences. Prior studies (e.g., Dunlap, Gallup, and Gallup, 1993; Brechin, 1999 ) suggest that the increase of environmental concern is a global phenomenon. However, Inglehart (1995) , as well as Diekmann and Franzen (1999) , argue that the level of environmental concern and knowledge is highly correlated with GNP per capita. Method. The article analyzes new evidence obtained from the ISSP 2000 and compares it to the prior findings based on the ISSP 1993. Results. It is shown that citizens in wealthier nations express greater concern for the global condition of the environment than those in poorer countries. Conclusion. The new analysis of the ISSP 2000 confirms our original notion that support for global environmental protection is strongly correlated with wealth. However, the increase in real GDP between 1993 and 2000 did not lead to a further increase in environmental concern.     

NHS Purchaser–Provider Relationships in England and Wales: The View from Primary Care

Primary care organizations (PCOs) in the National Health Service in England and Wales are required to purchase most hospital-based health care for their populations. This 'quasi-market' in health care can be seen as 'relational', characterized by an emphasis on cooperative long-term relationships rather than on true competition. The English government has recently introduced new market mechanisms as a response to the perceived weakness of the relational market. This article draws on three qualitative case studies of PCOs to investigate whether PCO personnel interviewed in 2005/6 concurred with that perception of weakness. Overall, relationships between PCOs and hospital services providers were regarded as unbalanced in favour of the latter, despite a shared framework of central government policy. Commissioners were seen as generally weak, and providers were judged to be generally unresponsive to PCOs' wishes. Top–down pressure by governments on PCOs and providers of hospital services was more important than commissioning power in shaping hospital services. It remains to be seen whether the remarketization strategy succeeds in strengthening the commissioning function in primary care.     

Modernization and Devolution: Delivering Services for Older People in Rural Areas of England and Wales

The modernization of public services, with its emphasis on managerialism, choice, co‐production and outcome focused service delivery, has been implemented to a certain extent in both England and Wales. Indeed, the welfare states in both countries share a great deal, particularly in relation to policy objectives and the expectations of citizens. Devolution has chiefly meant that the instruments used to deliver policy have separated, although it remains unclear whether this amounts to formal divergence. What is also unclear is to what extent have the experiences of those living within the policy environment in both countries separated or diverged? This article addresses this question using qualitative data composed of interviews with policy actors in six rural areas of England and Wales. By focusing on the discourses of people involved in modernizing and providing services for older people in rural areas, we bring out the impact of modernization for older people. What we show is that modernization engages both service users and the wider population who may one day become service users. But the emphasis on these groups unfolds in different ways in England and Wales. In England, where there has been a commitment to a customer citizen, policy at the local level has emphasized re‐enablement, community development and individual responsibility. In Wales, where modernization has focused on collaboration and citizenship, local policies have focused on service users, and on engagement with the voluntary sector. In effect, the policy environment provides a different context for the experience of ageing in both countries.     

Private Residential Care for Older Persons: Local Impacts of Care in the Community Reforms in England and Wales

The 1990 National Health Service and Care in the Community Act, implemented in 1993, had as a prime objective the creation of social care markets. Prior to these reforms, private residential homes had enjoyed almost guaranteed state financial support for the care of residents, but since then, residential homes have had to compete amongst each other for a finite number of clientsfunded by limited local budgets. The withdrawal of guaranteed state support and the introduction of a marketplace have had negative impacts on many residential home businesses. Indeed, many homes are facing financial difficulties. This paper considers the actions and attitudes of proprietors under the new conditions, based on a three-stage survey in Devon. The private residential sector illustrates that local social care markets have the potential to produce negative outcomes that are far from ideal and, to some extent, the paper highlights a market failure. As a case study this research also demonstrates the value of undertaking locality-based detailed studies over time to investigatethe impacts of policy change.     

Responding to child maltreatment: Comparison between the USA and China

A recent study estimated that over one‐fourth of Chinese children have suffered maltreatment (Fang et al., 2015 ). However, the current child welfare policy in China is limited to orphans, abandoned children, and children with disabilities. Also, there is very little comparative research in China on Chinese and other countries’ child welfare systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze applicable US and Chinese child welfare policies, identify gaps in Chinese policy regarding child maltreatment, and make recommendations for a policy agenda for improving child welfare in China based on cultural values and existing policy structures. Results show that China has considerable capacity to make improvements in child protective services, foster care, and adoption policies. Based on the results of this study, several implications are provided to develop China's child maltreatment policy to increase children's outcomes of well‐being, safety, and permanency. Key Practitioner Message: ? To understand the background and system of current Chinese child maltreatment policy; ? To review US child maltreatment policy and its implementation to identify gaps in the Chinese child maltreatment system; ? To provide policy suggestions to develop Chinese child maltreatment policy and provide recommendations for social work education and practice in China.     

Consistencies and Inconsistencies: Mental Health, Compulsory Treatment and Community Capacity Building in England, Wales and Australia

In relation to mental health, it is clear that medicalized underpinnings,the provision of a clinically orientated evidence base for practiceand the need to contain ‘risk’ continue to be prioritized,particularly when compulsory intervention is considered. Thisis despite the increasing influence of a citizenship and socialjustice agenda which is being promoted by psychiatrists involvedin the development of ‘postpsychiatry’, as wellas by service users/survivors. These drivers are not mutuallyexclusive, but in the context of compulsory treatment, thereare clear tensions. In this article, the policy surroundingmental health and compulsory intervention in Australia and inEngland and Wales is explored. In the context of this discussion,three ways in which current government policy can be interpretedare examined and links made between these interpretations anddifferent ways of viewing the relationship between mental healthand community capacity building. With regard to social workpractice, it is argued that a response to mental ill healthwhich concentrates on an individualized ‘diagnose andtreat’ approach, which particularly comes to the foreat times of compulsory intervention, has limited capacity tofacilitate community engagement, foster social inclusion andgenerate reciprocal dynamics between positive mental healthand community capacity building.     

Exploring Potential 'Extra-Familial' Child Homicide Assailants in the UK and Estimating their Homicide Rate: Perception of Risk--The Need for Debate

High-profile child murders lead parents to fear for their children’ssafety, but perception of risk is often at variance with reality.We explore the numbers of potential ‘Extra-familial’child homicide assailants in the United Kingdom and estimatetheir actual murder rate to determine risk levels. A South ofEngland study, equivalent to a 4 per cent sample of the UK population,of a decade of consecutive child homicides identified the characteristicsof child homicide assailants, finding that the most frequentassailants—the ‘Intra-familial’—werevery different from ‘Extra-familial’ assailants.‘Extra-familial’ killers were all males, aged nineteento forty-two, with convictions for Violent-Multi-Criminal-Child-Sex-Abuse(VMCCSA) offences and Multi-Criminal-Child-Sex-Abuse (MCCSA),whose victims were aged seven-plus years. Projecting these characteristicsonto the male UK population enables us to estimate the numbersof potential UK ‘Extra-familial’ assailants, whichare set against known UK child (five to fourteen) homicides(WHO, 2005). To account for any ‘hidden’ child homicides,deaths in the ‘undetermined’ violent death category,designated ‘Other External Cause’ (OEC), are calculatedto provide a ‘maximum’ child homicide rate. Therewere potentially 912 VMCCSA and 886 MCCSA ‘Extra-familial’offenders in the United Kingdom, who could be responsible forthe WHO-reported UK three-year average of ‘Extra-family’fifteen child homicide and seventeen OEC deaths per annum; ahomicide rate of 12,061 per million (pm) for VMCCSA and 3,386pm for MCSA, which is 1.21 and 0.34 per cent; however, the VMCCSAhomicide rate was 403 times greater than the all children accidentand cancer death rates. Though the vast majority of these potentialassailants did not kill, comparatively, they are extremely dangerous.Practice and ethical issues are debated, which considers activeoutreach for the ‘treatable’ to possible ‘reviewable’custodial sentences for the VMCCSA.     

国际竞争与古代宪章：休谟论光荣革命与英格兰现代政体的形成

蒂利的资本化强制理论得到了学界的广泛认可,但是他在处理英格兰历史经验时遇到了常备军的难题,这要求我们更深入地理解英格兰改造古代宪章以应对国际竞争的基本逻辑。考察休谟对光荣革命的思考有助于推进蒂利的分析。面对国际竞争的挑战,国王借助专权强化国家,被视作引入绝对主义的准备,引发了议会的猜忌和革命的爆发。光荣革命通过限制专权、革新古代宪章,既为议会和民众的自由诉求提供了制度保障,又为建立财政—军事国家奠定了原则基础。如何在国际竞争背景下革新自身传统,维护国家安全,容纳民众的自由诉求,达成一个兼具自由理想和力量的秩序,既是深入理解光荣革命和英格兰政体的关键,也是我们思考自身历史处境的起点。     

Social Work Students' Perceptions of Child Abuse: An International Comparison and Postmodern Interpretation of its Findings

Correspondence to R. James Christopherson, School of Social Studies, University of Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. Summary The decision about whether behaviour with children is acceptablehas far-reaching consequences for those involved. Social workersmust decide what behaviour leads people into the child protectionsystem. This study aims to identify how far social work studentsachieve a consensus on the acceptability of behaviour, and whethersimilar items achieve agreement between groups in Sweden andEngland. Forty-four vignettes of behaviour with children whichmight be seen as unacceptable were administered to 52 first-yearsocial work students in Ume, Sweden, and 50 English students.They were asked to rank the behaviour on a 5-point scale, where‘1’ represented ‘Fine’ and ‘5’‘Totally unacceptable'. Key findings were that there is little consensus within societiesabout what is acceptable behaviour towards children, and significantdifferences between them. It is argued that this is the resultof the many different discourses operating in the field. Theauthor points out the difficulties this can cause, and arguesfor the acceptance of a postmodern approach, which though stressingthe importance of consensus in decision making, ultimately positsthat effective and ethical practice must be based on relationship.Such an approach would resolve paradoxes which have challengeda more modernist understanding of social work.     

New Destinations? Assessing the Post‐migration Social Mobility of Minority Ethnic Groups in England and Wales

This paper considers the roles of migration and group‐specific ethnic penalties in minority groups’ life chances. In relation to existing knowledge of extensive diversity between ethnic groups, and outlining a range of frameworks within which to understand that diversity, the paper first explores the relationship of class origins to parental educational and economic assets for three groups of migrant parentage and a comparison white non‐migrant group. Second, the paper investigates for the different ethnic groups how the probability of having a professional or managerial class outcome is influenced by class origins and by the educational achievements of the “second generation”. Analysis is based on the ONS Longitudinal Study, which enables the study members to be tracked from 1971, when they were children living with their parents, to their own social class outcomes in 1991 and 2001. Because processes of occupational achievement may take different lengths of time for different groups, occupational outcomes are modelled in both 1991 and 2001, and also outcomes in 2001 conditional on position in 1991. The paper shows that there is evidence of differential processes operating for different ethnic groups that go beyond their class background, but which cannot be attributed to discrimination operating equally against all minority groups.     

A Short-term Longitudinal Study of Children's Playground Games in Primary School: Implications for Adjustment to School and Social Adjustment in the USA and the UK

In this study we described development of boys’ and girls’ games on the school playground at recess as they progressed across the first year of primary school in London (UK) and Minneapolis (USA) in order to document age‐related trends in games during this period and to examine the predictive role of games in children's adjustment to school and more general social adjustment. Consistent with expectations, games accounted for a significant portion of children’s, but especially boys’, behavior during recess. American children played games more frequently, especially simple games, relative to English children. Consistent with expectation, the complexity of games increased, especially for boys, across the school year for children in both countries. We also examined the extent to which facility with games forecasted adjustment to school and social adjustment. Games predicted both, but only in the USA sample. Results are discussed in terms of games being an important developmental task for children of this age. Implications for future research and educational policy are discussed.     

Deaths of people with serious mental disorder: An exploration of deaths in custody and fatal police contacts

People with serious mental disorders (PSMDs) are overrepresented both in prison deaths and during fatal encounters with the police in the community (deaths after police contact, DAPC). To identify common factors present across cases of who died during contact with the criminal justice system in Queensland, publicly available coroners reports were analysed (N = 38). The findings of the study indicated psychosis and mood disorders were the most common diagnosis in incarcerated PSMD deaths, and suicide was the most common cause of death for incarcerated PSMDs. Within incarcerated settings, access to healthcare records, medication compliance, risk assessment and monitoring, and safe housing of at‐risk prisoners may be potential areas to explore with regard to prevention. Similarly, PSMD DAPCs were more likely to be experiencing mood or psychosis disorders than other forms of mental disorder, and suicide and police shootings were the most common causes of death. In PSMD DAPC, inadequate mental health access, treatment noncompliance and comorbid substance use were included as potential areas that could direct research efforts toward prevention.