The Journey of Hope: A Group Work Intervention for Children Who Have Experienced a Collective Trauma

This article presents the Journey of Hope, a school-based group work intervention for children and early adolescents who have experienced a collective trauma such as a natural disaster. This broad-based intervention takes an ecological approach to prevention and treatment and focuses on normalizing emotions and building coping skills after a disaster. Through the use of group work interventions such as use of rituals, group problem solving, and experiential and reflective learning, children and early adolescents work toward enhancing protective factors to help them in their recovery. Considering the short- and long-term emotional strains children may experience after a disaster, such group programs should be more widely accessible in schools.     

Disaster Relief Within a Collectivistic Context

Abstract

Until recently, most research on catastrophic events has focused on human outcomes with limited exploration of related adaptational processes. The little knowledge we have is based upon events occurring in the western world, despite the higher frequency of disasters in the nonwestern world. This study examines the cultural context of coping among survivors of the 2004 tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India. A non-probability, purposive sample of ten emergency responders, who represented a broad range of professions and were directly involved with relief efforts along the coast of South India, were interviewed individually one year after the tsunami. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview format with open-ended questions. Consistent with the collectivistic culture in India, content analysis was conducted using the Listening Guide methodology. Interpretive analysis revealed five common ways of coping: (1) returning to routine, (2) rebuilding family structures, (3) communal sharing of resources, (4) emotional expression of grief and loss to a supportive listener, and (5) finding benefits from the disaster experience. While these coping efforts may generally appear to be universal among people experiencing a natural disaster, findings reveal key aspects of the collectivistic cultural context of southern India. Discussion of the findings presents a compelling case for in-depth training of disaster responders in cross-cultural practice in order to effectively address the needs of survivors of mass level trauma.     

Occupational Stress and Psychological Well-Being in Emergency Services

Sources of occupational stress and their impact on job satisfaction and psychological well-being were examined in a questionnaire survey of 617 Malaysian firefighters. The role of coping strategies and work motivation as moderating factors were also tested. Sources of occupational stress had significant reverse correlations with job satisfaction and well-being. The hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the moderating effect of work motivation and coping strategies on job satisfaction and psychological well-being. The result suggested that coping strategies and work motivation are one of the potential moderating variables between sources of stress and job satisfaction.     

Romantic Relationships,Relationship Styles,Coping Strategies,and Psychological Distress among Chinese and Australian Young Adults

This study examined the association between relationship styles, coping strategies, and psychological distress among 144 Anglo‐Australian and 250 Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students. The results indicated that relationship styles (secure, clingy, and fickle) influenced psychological distress through their association with coping strategies (avoidance and self‐punishment). Society of residence was a moderating factor for the association between clingy relationship style and psychological distress. Females also reported higher levels of psychological distress than males. Among participants who had experienced a romantic relationship break up, participants endorsing clingy relationship style and those whose partners initiated the break up expressed more hurt in comparison, whereas those who endorsed avoidance strategy reported less hurt. The results of the present study also suggested that psychosocial variables (relationship styles, coping strategies) were generally more important than demographic factors (e.g., age) in predicting mental health outcomes. However, relationship styles and coping strategies may operate differently under different contexts.     

Natural disaster and risk-sharing behavior: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty - Using a unique field experiment in rural Bangladesh, this paper investigates how exposure to a natural disaster affects risk-sharing behavior. We conducted a...     

唐代灾害奏报与监察制度略论

中国的灾害奏报与监察在经历了秦汉魏晋的发展之后,在唐代已经基本成熟,灾情的申报,官员的检覆、监察都已形成了固定的程序,在救灾中得到了执行,并收到一定的效果。但唐代的报灾制度中一直存在着救灾与中央财政控制之间的矛盾,唐政府一直在为提高受灾地方政府应对灾害的主动性和效率而努力。唐代的报灾与灾情监察制度为宋元明清救灾制度的进一步完善奠定了基础。     

Trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system: a review of the literature with implications for social work

The purpose of this article was to review the empirical literature that investigated trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system. Nineteen journal articles published between 1988 and 2010 were identified and extracted via research databases and included mixed age samples of adjudicated older and younger adults (n = 11) or older adult only samples (n = 8). Findings revealed past and current trauma and stress, consequences and/or correlates, and internal and external coping resources among aging offenders. The implications and future directions for gerontological social work, research, and policy with older adults in the criminal justice system are advanced.     

Do Friendships and Sibling Relationships Provide Protection against Peer Victimization in a Similar Way?

Based on the notion that friendship may serve an important protective function against peer victimization, this study examined the moderating effect of reciprocal friends' prosociality on the link between a child's reactive aggression and victimization. The study also investigated whether a similar moderating effect could be found with respect to sibling's prosociality, given that sibling relationships have been found to provide social benefits comparable to friendships. These questions were addressed using a sample of 246 six‐year‐old twin pairs (246 boys and 246 girls). The results showed that a child's own reactive aggression uniquely contributed to the risk of victimization for both boys and girls. The link between reactive aggression and victimization was, however, moderated by reciprocal friends' prosocial behavior and siblings' prosocial behavior, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and prevention‐related implications for children at risk for peer victimization.     

Intergenerational Continuity of Hostile Parenting and its Consequences: The Moderating Influence of Children's Negative Emotional Reactivity

The present study examined both the intergenerational transmission of hostile parenting as well as the moderating effects of child negative emotional reactivity on continuity across generations. The study also considered the link between hostile parenting in the second generation and problem behaviors in the third. Observational ratings of mothers’ hostile parenting in the first generation (G1) when the target participant was an adolescent (G2) predicted observational ratings of G2 hostile parenting toward their young child several years later (G3). G2 hostile parenting was positively related to behavior problems in the G3 sample. Moreover, intergenerational continuity in hostile parenting was evident only when G3 children were rated as highly reactive and emotionally negative during an observational arm restraint task, suggesting that child negative reactivity may condition intergenerational stability in parent hostility. Although the moderating effect was not significant statistically, a similar trend was evident for the link between G2 parenting and G3 problem behavior.     

Maternal Sensitivity Moderates the Relation between Negative Discipline and Aggression in Early Childhood

Three models regarding the relation between maternal (in)sensitivity, negative discipline, and child aggression were examined in a sample of 117 mother–child pairs with high scores on child externalizing behavior: (1) Sensitivity and discipline are uniquely related to child aggression (the additive model); (2) the relation between discipline and aggression is moderated by maternal sensitivity (the moderating model); (3) the relation between sensitivity and aggression is mediated by maternal discipline (the mediating model). Parenting and child aggression were observed when the children were on average 26.71 months old (range of 13.58 to 41.91 months) and again one year later. Results supported the moderating model. More negative discipline was related to more child aggression one year later, but only when mothers were insensitive. This finding supports the idea that the affective context is important for the impact of negative discipline on child development.     

Understanding the Impact of Early-Life Trauma in Nursing Home Residents

Reactions to early life trauma can reemerge or be exacerbated in later life as coping resources and abilities are compromised by age-related changes and declines in health. For newly admitted nursing home residents, this can impact their receptiveness to assistance with care and elicit challenging reactions to environmental and situational triggers. Unfortunately, current assessment tools fail to account for reactions to early-life trauma. In this article, we review existing literature on early-life trauma and aging and introduce a hypothetical case to illustrate the importance of identifying nursing home residents with past trauma experiences.     

Relations between Theory of Mind and Indirect and Physical Aggression in Kindergarten: Evidence of the Moderating Role of Prosocial Behaviors

The present study examined the association between theory of mind and indirect versus physical aggression, as well as the potential moderating role of prosocial behavior in this context. Participants were 399 twins and singletons drawn from two longitudinal studies in Canada. At five years of age, children completed a theory of mind task and a receptive vocabulary task. A year later, teachers evaluated children's indirect and physical aggression and prosocial behavior. Indirect aggression was significantly and positively associated with theory of mind skills, but only in children with average or low levels of prosocial behavior. Physical aggression was negatively associated with prosocial behavior but not with theory of mind. Each analysis included gender, receptive vocabulary, and the respective other subtype of aggression as control variables. These results did not differ between girls and boys or between twins and singletons. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Trauma and Stress Among Older Adults in the Criminal Justice System: A Review of the Literature with Implications for Social Work

The purpose of this article was to review the empirical literature that investigated trauma and stress among older adults in the criminal justice system. Nineteen journal articles published between 1988 and 2010 were identified and extracted via research databases and included mixed age samples of adjudicated older and younger adults (n = 11) or older adult only samples (n = 8). Findings revealed past and current trauma and stress, consequences and/or correlates, and internal and external coping resources among aging offenders. The implications and future directions for gerontological social work, research, and policy with older adults in the criminal justice system are advanced.     

Understanding the impact of early-life trauma in nursing home residents

Reactions to early life trauma can reemerge or be exacerbated in later life as coping resources and abilities are compromised by age-related changes and declines in health. For newly admitted nursing home residents, this can impact their receptiveness to assistance with care and elicit challenging reactions to environmental and situational triggers. Unfortunately, current assessment tools fail to account for reactions to early-life trauma. In this article, we review existing literature on early-life trauma and aging and introduce a hypothetical case to illustrate the importance of identifying nursing home residents with past trauma experiences.     

灾区可持续生计资产现状分析——基于5·12地震三个重灾区的个案研究

5·12地震给受灾地区带来重大创伤,对当地人民生产、生活和地区的可持续发展构成了重大挑战。对自然灾害以及灾民灾后恢复情况的研究,具有重要的理论和政策意义。本研究正是基于汶川地震极重灾区进行的大规模走访调查,用统一的研究框架,分析目前灾区可持续生计现状。可持续生计框架的核心是5种生计资产,分别为自然资本、物质资本、金融资本、人力资本和社会资本。     

城市自然灾害应急联动系统构建研究

城市自然灾害给城市造成了巨大的损失。界定自然灾害应急联动的相关概念,研究自然灾害应急联动系统构建原则,分析应急联动系统的功能、构成、构建支撑条件和设计构建步骤等,可以有效提高人们面临自然灾害时的应对能力,给城市的发展带来巨大的经济效益和社会效益。     

Research as Social Action in the Aftermath of Hurricane Andrew

SUMMARY

A study conducted 14 months after Hurricane Andrew examined the long term impact of this natural disaster on the homeless in the hardest hit areas of South Florida. The effects of a natural disaster on the homeless has not been studied in the past. In addition, this study is presented to illustrate a model of social action research. The foundations for the principles of this model are rooted in the best scientific and social justice traditions. The principles are introduced and described using research methodologies that were utilized in this disaster study. How the findings contributed to changes in policy, procedure, and practice are highlighted.     

Disaster Research in Social Work

SUMMARY

Disaster research in social work has deep roots in the profession'S history of disaster relief, social work'S mission to create resources and make them accessible to people, and the profession'S service to vulnerable populations. Social workers have important and unique contributions to make to disaster research through their expertise in ecological approaches, prevention, stress and coping, and promoting change in micro and macro systems. Disaster research in social work borrows primarily from psychology and sociology, and is conducted in clinical, organizational, and community contexts. Further social work research on disaster promises improved theory, measurement, and practice in situations of collective Stress.     

Disaster Preparedness among Older Adults: Social Support,Community Participation,and Demographic Characteristics

This study examined factors associated with disaster preparedness among older adults, with special attention paid to demographic characteristics, social support, and community participation. From a larger study about disaster preparedness of persons with disabilities, a total of 719 adults aged 55 years and older were used for this study. The results of the logistic regressions indicate that individuals who have higher levels of social support and more connections to community organizations are more likely to be prepared for disaster-related emergency situations. In another model, using resource preparedness as the dependent variable, an interaction effect between social support and income was found. Overall, higher income and higher informal support are related to a higher level of resources for disaster preparedness. However, the relationship between income and disaster preparedness is much stronger for those sub-groups receiving more informal support. The findings of this study expand knowledge regarding issues of disaster preparedness among older adults and demonstrates the importance of social resources and networks. This study suggests an intervention model for decision-makers and community leaders in terms of providing information and advice to members of their communities about how to adequately prepare for natural disasters.     

Environmental Disasters and Disastrous Policies: An Overview from India

Though disasters have been important recurring events in South Asia, the policy framework for addressing the issues arising from disaster has been weak. Taking an alternative perspective on the definition of disaster itself, this article attempts to address the cause of the increasing numbers of disasters in India. I posit that the nation‐state still understands disasters as a natural phenomenon, rather than as an intersection between conditions of vulnerability and actual hazards. This is to be observed in the disaster policies adopted. Hence, this article emphasizes the inclusion of ‘vulnerability’ as paramount.