How Do Social Workers Respond to Potential Child Neglect?

Although neglect is a common form of child maltreatment, it can be difficult to detect within a clinical interview between a social work clinician and client for the purpose of assessment and intervention, leading to a failure to act and secure a child's safety. This Canadian study utilized the objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) to assess social work clinicians' ability to recognize and respond to a case of suspected child neglect. Twenty-three participants (social work students, recent graduates of a Masters in Social Work programme, and experienced social workers) conducted a 15-minute interview with a standardized client followed by a structured reflective dialogue focusing on case conceptualization and emotional awareness. Qualitative analysis of the reflective dialogues revealed participants' difficulty in detecting child neglect as opposed to focusing on a client's negative self-beliefs or mental health issues. Implications for social work education and practice are suggested.     

Behavioral and Relational Contexts of Adolescent Desire,Wanting, and Pleasure: Undergraduate Women's Retrospective Accounts

Studies of adolescent female sexuality often focus on coitus to the exclusion of noncoital behaviors, the relational context of sexual interactions, and adolescent women's subjective perceptions of their experiences. In this study, 38 undergraduate women's retrospective accounts of their adolescent heterosexual experiences were examined. Generalized estimating equation models were used to test the relation of diverse heterosexual behaviors and relationship types to participants' subjective perceptions of desire, wanting, and pleasure. Of the sexual behaviors, coitus was the strongest predictor of participants' subjective perceptions. Compared to coitus, erotic touching, manual stimulation, and fellatio were significantly less predictive; there were no differences between coitus and cunnilingus or coitus and kissing. Of the relationships (serious, dating, “friends with benefits” [FWBs], and “hookups”), FWBs was the strongest predictor of participants' desire, wanting, and pleasure; in comparison, hookups were significantly less predictive. These findings offer insight into the sexual behaviors and preferences of young women, as well as distinctions between types of non-romantic sexual relationships.     

Adolescent Victims of Natural Disasters: A Phenomenological Study on Lived Experiences and Behaviors Displayed after a Crisis

This qualitative study explored lived experiences and behavioral changes among 15 adolescent victims of natural disasters utilizing the behaviorism perspective. Volunteer adolescent victims participated in a semi-standardized open-end interview, and data were coded using pattern recognition, theme, and content analysis. Results identified that participants' most prevalent themes for behavioral changes were isolation, social withdrawal, increased arguments with family and friends, avoid relationships, and over-protectiveness. Prevalent themes for lived experiences were moving to a new home, changing schools, and mother or father lost job. The majority of the participants reported hurricanes as their natural disaster experience. In conclusion, adolescent victims reported multiple behavioral changes that were a result of a natural disaster such as hurricanes. Likewise, these victims reported facing many lived experiences after a natural disaster occurrence.     

Adolescent Career Development in Urban‐Residing Aboriginal Families in Canada

The purpose of this study was to understand how urban‐residing Aboriginal adolescent–parent dyads (n = 11) jointly constructed and acted on goals and strategies with their social supports (n = 17) to facilitate the adolescents' career development. A modified protocol following the qualitative action‐project method was used. A discrete joint project was identified for each family. These joint projects can be clustered into 3 joint career development projects: (a) navigating toward a safe future, (b) negotiating school continuance, and (c) intergenerational continuity through tradition of care. A 4th project emerging from the data was family survival. Family survival projects supplanted participants' efforts to engage in career development projects.     

Reflective Narrations of Female Inmates: Dealing with Resistance During Adolescent Mental Health Treatment

Employing a qualitative approach, this study examines the adolescent mental health experiences of incarcerated women. Analysis of themes was presented from 20 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups. Emerging themes illuminated how past relationships and power inequities affect the therapeutic relationship and subsequently the resistance seen in the therapeutic setting. Those practitioners who incorporated techniques that encouraged personal power, relationship development, and expression of feelings were seen more positively and minimized resistance. Biases within the mental health community were seen in the participants' experiences, but most were covert rather than overt. Practice implications are recommended.     

Participation in Everyday Life Before and After a Housing Adaptation

Housing adaptation aims to enable clients to live independently in their own homes. Studies focusing on participation in everyday life following a housing adaptation are lacking and needed. This study aimed to explore housing adaptation clients' experiences of participation in everyday life before and after a housing adaptation, through the lens of a housing adaptation, using a qualitative follow-up design, with 11 participants. It was found that when the housing adaptation met the participants' needs, performance of activities improved and the housing adaptation opened doors to engagement and participation in everyday life. Thus, focus on performance and engagement in everyday life at the onset of the housing adaptation process, combined with regular follow-ups, may enhance participation.     

Beyond Exposure: A Person‐Oriented Approach to Adolescent Media Diets

Research on adolescents' use of sexual media has been dominated by a variable‐oriented perspective, focusing on incremental effects of media exposure on sexual behavior. The present investigation examines the ways in which adolescents select and organize their television viewing. This study used cluster analysis to identify, validate, and describe distinct profiles of adolescent television use. Eight discrete clusters emerged, each with a unique profile of primetime viewing. To validate the cluster solution, participants' television viewing profiles were compared with their music preferences. The study then examined the sexual content consumed by adolescents in different viewing clusters. Content analysis of the most popular programs revealed that participants in all clusters were watching programs that were high in sexual content alongside programs that were low in sexual content. None of the clusters demonstrated an exclusive preference for sexual content.     

Older Professional Women's Views on Work: A Qualitative Analysis

This qualitative study reports on the career experiences of older professional women using consensual qualitative research. Thirteen women over age 50 were interviewed regarding the influences of gender and age on work. In general, all participants reported career adaptability, and many participants also reported specific subthemes of career adaptability (i.e., concern, control, curiosity, and confidence) as resources. These subthemes denote participants' future orientation, self‐discipline as evidenced by their conscientiousness in career decisions, active information seeking, and certitude that they have the ability to solve career‐related problems. Relationships with colleagues were also considered critical, and participants acknowledged the benefits and drawbacks of being a woman and being older. These women were able to achieve flexibility and autonomy in their work and spoke about the importance of work–family balance and boundaries. Practitioners are encouraged to consider how career adaptability is manifested within the interplay between gender and age, because this can influence career counseling with older women.     

Coming Out as Lesbian or Gay

Abstract

The homosexual adolescent's decision to come out as gay or lesbian for the first time is a task which requires a certain level of inner and outer resources. Despite the fact that coming out is viewed by the literature as one of many necessary developmental steps in sexual identity formation and self-acceptance, coming out can be viewed as a unique stage in this developmental continuum. Coming out is an acknowledgment of one's orientation to another person. Thus, coming out is more than an intrapsychic process; it influences interpersonal relationships as well. A whole host of factors, including identity confusion, low self-esteem, depression, alienation, withdrawal, substance abuse, and indulgence in self-destructive behavior, may result if the adolescent has little or no support in this critical developmental stage process. Involvement in the gay community or other types of homosexual peer groups offers a unique sense of support that is especially needed during the coming out period.     

A Cultural-Historical Approach to Closing the Achievement Gap

This article explores Vygtosky's (1978) notion of the imaginary situation through analysis of interaction and activity in a Fifth Dimension after-school setting, one of a network of programs designed with an aim to realize developmental concepts proposed by Vygotsky and others in the cultural-historical tradition (see, e.g., Cole &; the Distributed Literacy Consortium, 2006). The discussion centers on intergenerational interaction between a child and undergraduate as they engage in activities that represent two varieties of the imaginary situation proposed by Vygotsky: Playing a game and orienting to the “mythical figurehead,” a fantasy figure common to all Fifth Dimension sites. Analysis focuses on the interplay of spoken interaction with literacy-based artifacts that mediate the participants' activity and serve as points of departure for imagination-related talk. As the interaction unfolds, child and undergraduate are seen to engage creatively with both game and site rules as they create a collaborative and increasingly complex representation of the mythical figurehead. The participants' engagement with rules, a crucial element in Vygotsky's notion of the imaginary situation, provides the child with multiple opportunities, together with those prompted by the site artifacts, to affect and negotiate the Fifth Dimension experience.     

Immigration and resiliency: unpacking the experiences of high school students from Cape Verde and Ethiopia

This article explores the complex factors, both individual and social, that contribute to the resiliency and academic achievement of six adolescent African immigrant students from Cape Verde and Ethiopia who were enrolled in a small high school in the United States. The school was designed specifically for recent adolescent immigrant students. Using an in-depth qualitative case study research design, this study provides insight into the educational and social issues confronted by these students and the factors that contributed to their resiliency. The competencies and social capital that students acquired in school and at home were major contributing factors to their resilience and academic achievement. Findings show that these students had a supportive social network of family and friends who had encouraged them to succeed in school and provided mentoring, and material and social resources that helped them to succeed. In addition, teachers encouraged and engaged the students by having high expectations and connecting them to the curriculum in meaningful ways.     

Exploring Social Aesthetics: Aesthetic Appreciation as a Method for Qualitative Sociology and Social Research

Social aesthetics can be regarded as an important addition to sociology and the social sciences. This article introduces the notion of aesthetic-experiential knowledge into qualitative sociology and social research. It also directs attention to the qualities of social life in their own right, paving the way for approaching the question of a good society in the aesthetic sense. In this article I make a brief exposition of social aesthetics as it has been developed in contemporary Japan. I begin with a discussion of contemporary aesthetics and its implications for social study by focusing on Yuriko Saito's everyday aesthetics. Then I offer reflections on aesthetic appreciation as an act of ajiwau (to taste, experience and appreciate). I show that the incorporation of the methodical act of ajiwau enriches our aesthetic appreciation as a qualitative method for knowing the world in general. Next I move on to the possibility of aesthetically appreciating the social world and offer a definition of social aesthetics as social inquiry through aesthetic appreciation. Based on the act of ajiwau the social, I present an aesthetic-experiential study of a micro-society as a field of human interactions. Finally, I examine the possibilities for promising dialogues between social aesthetics, on the one hand, and qualitative sociology and social research, on the other.     

Contextualizing Father Involvement and Paternal Influence

SUMMARY

We clarify the basic features of a sociological perspective as it relates to the study of fathers' involvement with, and influence on, their children. Our analysis emphasizes the dynamic interplay between social structures and processes at the macro, meso, and micro levels while focusing on social psychological issues. We examine (a) the social, organizational, and cultural contexts for fathering, (b) fathers' social capital contributions, (c) the construction and maintenance of father identities, and (d) fathering as a co-constructed accomplishment. These foci draw attention to how father involvement is affected by race, gender, economic considerations and a father's relationships with his child's mother and others in the community. We also examine how reflected appraisals of others may affect how a man perceives himself as a father. Relying heavily on qualitative approaches such as in-depth interviews, discourse analysis, interpretive practice, narrative practice, and dramaturgy, we suggest a number of ways a sociological lens can inform our understanding of father involvement.     

Hidden Resources and Barriers in Career Learning Assessment With Adolescents Vulnerable to Discrimination

The authors maintain that the social learning theory of career development and counseling has not been applied to diverse populations. To address this gap in the literature, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis of interviews with 21 middle school students in a low‐income, culturally diverse, inner‐city public school. Four themes emerged, reflecting the influence of discrimination on participants' career learning: contextual barriers and resources for learning, and psychological barriers and resources for learning. The authors provide a conceptual framework for assessing resources and barriers and a rationale for why these aspects often remain hidden or unexamined in career assessment with clients who are vulnerable to discrimination.     

On the Front Lines: The Voices and Experiences of Racialized Child Welfare Workers in Toronto,Canada

Drawing on focus group data highlighting the perceptions and experiences of racialized child protection workers in the Greater Toronto Area, this article explores the ways in which race operates in the Ontario child welfare system. Most study participants experienced the agencies in which they worked as White-normed environments characterized by systemic racial discrimination in promotion and advancement as well as ongoing instances of racial microaggression—common, everyday practices that denigrate people of color. Several participants spoke of having to contend with White-normed and middle-class-oriented policies, tools, and practices that often prevented them from meeting the unique needs of racialized service users. The article concludes with participants' recommendations for creating a more equitable child welfare system.     

Oral Cancer Risk Behaviors Among Indiana College Students: A Formative Research Study

Objectives: In fall 2004, the authors used a survey to assess the knowledge, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors of college students relative to oral cancer prevention to inform development of targeted prevention programming. Participants: A convenience sample of 1,003 undergraduate students at one public university in Indiana participated. Methods: Discriminant function analysis was employed to analyze participants' motivations; perceived risks; individuals who influence participants' alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use; and factors that facilitate and discourage use. The study sample was divided into users and nonusers to differentiate between groups and predictor (discriminating) variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which participants' knowledge, attitudes, peer perceptions, sex, age, and ethnicity contributed to participants' combined alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use behaviors. Results: With 2 exceptions, discriminant function analysis (p < .01) correctly categorized user status (ie, nonusers vs combined users of alcohol and cigarettes; nonusers vs combined users of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) by the predictor variables. Multiple regression analysis to determine whether independent variables predicted combined drug use generated significant (p < .01) results across all combined use behaviors. Conclusions: Multiple oral cancer prevention program options along with additional formative research efforts were suggested by study results.     

Resolution of Disagreements Between Romantic Partners,Among Adolescents,and Young Adults: Qualitative Analysis of Interaction Discourses

The study was designed to explore qualitatively developmental differences in disagreement negotiation and resolution skills between adolescent and young adult romantic partners. Twenty adolescent and 20 young adult couples participated in the study. The Knox inventory was used to measure the level of disagreement between partners on ten domains (e.g., friends or money). Partners were asked to discuss and resolve their greatest disagreement. Joint discussions were recorded and transcribed. A qualitative analysis of interactions revealed major differences between the two age groups, in discussion management and in strategies for resolution. Adolescents' interactions were concrete, concise, and brief. Their resolution of disagreements was based on superficial agreements or coercion of one partner. Young adults' interactions were more rich and developed, disagreements were understood as metaphors for the relationship, and resolution was accomplished by the two partners as a result of discussion. These differences are discussed in light of the theories on the development of romantic relationships.     

Culture Change in Aged-Care Facilities: A Café's Contribution to Transforming the Physical and Social Environment

Objective: To discuss the potential of a café on the premises of an aged-care facility as a vehicle for culture change. Method: Secondary analysis of primary qualitative data that explored the value of a café in an aged-care facility, compared with culture-change principles established from a literature review. Results: Secondary analysis established congruence between culture-change principles and the themes established in the primary qualitative data. A café, in one aged-care facility, has facilitated the following dimensions of culture change for residents: individualized care, facilitation of meaningful relationships, opportunities for participation in life roles, and creation of a sense of belonging. Conclusion: Culture change can be achieved through environmental innovations, such as a café, where food and dining maximize social opportunities and create a homelike environment that facilitates continuation of residents' identity.     

The Social Imaginaries of Women's Peace Activism in Northern Uganda

The metanarrative of global feminism is often constructed as a progressive and emancipatory movement emanating from the West and fostering radical politics elsewhere in the world. Such a view is not only ethnocentric but, critically, it fails to engage with the complex ways in which feminist politics travel and are evinced in specific localities. In this article, I seek to understand how marginalized women in the “Global South” – particularly in Africa – interpret, experience and negotiate feminist ideas to wield political power within the context of their social and moral worlds. I focus on women's organized resistance to violence and armed conflict, known as “women's peace activism.” Using a case study of a women's peace movement in Uganda mediated by an international feminist organization called Isis Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange, I conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a wide range of activists in the organization and in its network in postconflict areas in Northern Uganda. I argue that the feminist peace discourse is most meaningful when its universal values of equity and securing the dignity of women are appropriated and re-signified through the cultural institutions and the collective memory of activists in their local settings.