Predictors of self‐reported sexually transmitted diseases among homeless and runaway adolescents

Path analysis was used to investigate factors associated with self‐reported sexually transmitted diseases among 569 homeless and runaway adolescents in four Midwestern states. Youth were interviewed by outreach workers directly on the streets, in shelters, and in drop‐in centers. Results indicated that family abuse was positively related to substance use, affiliation with friends who sold sex, and time on own. Early family abuse indirectly increased the likelihood of self‐reported sexually transmitted diseases through time on own, substance use, friends selling sex, and risky sexual behaviors. Finally, substance use and affiliation with friends who sold sex was positively associated with risky sexual behaviors, which in turn was related to self‐reported sexually transmitted diseases. No significant gender interactions were found for this model.     

Self‐employment among people with disabilities: evidence for Europe

This paper examines the use of self‐employment among people with disabilities in Europe. Using data from the European Community Household Panel for the period 1995–2001 for 13 European countries we found that people with disabilities were more likely to be self‐employed than people without disabilities. Self‐employment provides flexibility and a better adjustment between disability status and working life. Moreover, the levels of satisfaction with job, type of job and working conditions of self‐employed disabled people are higher than those reported by disabled people who are wage and salary earners. Policy‐makers must encourage self‐employment to increase the levels of well‐being and employment of people with disabilities in Europe.     

Hoofbeats and heartbeats: equine-assisted therapy and learning with young people with psychosocial issues – theory and practice

The practice of equine-assisted therapy and learning (EAT/L) to deliver psychosocial interventions to young people is a rapidly growing field. However, recent reviews have cited a need for further documentation of a theoretical foundation and evidence of outcomes of these programmes. This paper is a theoretical discussion of psychotherapeutic theories and models that the authors understood as being relevant and giving substance to the application of EAT/L at a Therapeutic Horsemanship centre in the UK. It also describes and defines the practice of EAT/L at the centre. Philosophical and psychological theories/models of Non-Violent Communication, Object Relations, Play and Dramatherapy, Mindfulness practice, and Attachment Theory, all set within a person-centred and relationship-based approach employed at the centre were examined and illustrated in the form of client case material. The authors report the central role relationship plays between client-horse-therapist and horse-handler in the building of trust and resolution of the impact of trauma. The paper highlights a need to carry out well-designed empirical studies with different client groups in the field of EAT/L in order to gain more insight into this growing field.     

On pride,shame, passing and avoidance: an inquiry into Roma young people’s relationship with their ethnicity

Roma ethnicity is one of the most stigmatised identities of today’s Europe. An emerging discourse on ‘Roma pride’ aims to reshape this widespread perception, especially among the educated youth. Drawing on 57 interviews with young people with/in higher education in Romania, this article looks into their experiences of self-identification as Roma. On the one hand, this article identified a tendency for young people to move in a conceptual space, dominated by an understanding of ethnicity as bounded and static. On the other hand, it identified an emerging tendency for flexible, hybrid identifications that deliberately avoid reifying ethnicity (e.g. being a Roma of a different kind and living beyond ethnic labels). The article calls for more informed approaches addressing ethnic identification, which avoid assumptions of stable identification and embrace more complex understandings of the social dynamics involved.     

Online ghettoes,perils or supernannies? Australian young people with chronic illness and disability challenge some moral panics about young people online

Current literature focusing on young people’s digital technology use often reflects concerns that they may live virtual lives and withdraw from locally geographically situated spaces. It assumes the existence of a split between offline and online ‘worlds’ corresponding to ‘real ‘and ‘non-real’ respectively. This article reports research findings on how young people locate new social media technologies in their daily lives with particular focus on the relationship between their online and offline experiences. The voices of the young people guided the research, which found that their social media use contradicts conventional narratives of moral panic about the alleged unreality and fearful dangers of online spaces for young people.     

The use and non‐use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology by visually impaired young people: a walk on the tightrope of peer inclusion

In affluent societies how people use technology is symbolic of various values and identities. This article investigates the symbolic values and use of assistive technologies from the world of information and communication technology (ICT) in the daily lives of 11 visually impaired young Norwegians. The article draws on a qualitative interview study and employs an interactionist approach. While the use of ICT is found to symbolise competence, belonging and independence, the use of ICT assistive technologies is found to symbolise restriction, difference and dependency. Thus, ICT and ICT assistive technologies have inherently contradictory sets of associations. To fit in as ordinary young people the visually impaired participants reject ICT assistive technologies whenever possible. The partially sighted participants who are somehow capable of participating in online interactions with their peers without ICT assistive technologies reject them. The blind participants, however, do not have the option of participating online without ICT assistive technologies and, consequently, they accept ICT assistive technologies.     

Condom use self‐efficacy among U.S.‐ and foreign‐born Latinos in Texas

The objective of this study was to assess the influence of condom use self‐efficacy on the reported condom use of Latinos. We conducted a rapid needs assessment study among U.S. and foreign‐born Latinos living in Houston, TX, to identify behavioral and psychosocial factors that influence their risk for HIV. Bilingual Latino interviewers conducted confidential face‐to‐face interviews with individuals living in apartment complexes or residential areas primarily populated by Latinos. A total of 152 participants completed the survey. Regression results indicate that education and gender influenced condom use self‐efficacy, which in turn influenced condom use in the last sexual encounter and with the primary sexual partner. However, gender and relationship risk were stronger predictors of condom use. Study results indicate that there are differences in condom use self‐efficacy and sexual risk behaviors between Latino men and women that need further exploration.     

The use of email‐facilitated interviewing with higher functioning autistic people participating in a grounded theory study

This paper explores the inclusive potential of computer‐mediated communication (CMC) for a ‘hard to reach’ group of research participants, specifically people at the higher functioning end of the autistic spectrum. Drawing on the literature pertaining to the fields of autism, CMC and research methods, as well as the first author’s experience of using email as a means of conducting interviews, the paper will discuss the epistemological, methodological and practical issues raised by the use of this method of collecting data from higher functioning autistic people, as well as its suitability in the context of a study guided by grounded theory.     

An examination of the locus of desired control among young‐old and old‐old nursing home patients (1)

This research examined the locus of desired control among a sample of 218 nursing home residents. Two issues were addressed: (a) What is the predictive impact on locus of desired control of education, gender, race, functional ability, subjective health and length of stay among the residents in each of the two age groups? and (b) Was there a difference in the locus of desired control among the young‐old (74 years or less) and old‐old residents (75 years or more)? A discriminant analysis revealed that among the 95 young‐old residents, greater desire for control, internality, was associated with poorer functional abilities, poorer subjective health and longer lengths of stay. Among the 123 old‐old residents, greater desire for control was assciated only with poorer functional abilities and poorer subjective health. Further, a significantly greater proportion of old‐old residents had greater locus of desired control, 59 percent, in comparison to only 43 percent of the young‐old residents who expressed greater locus of desired control.     

Correlates of African American female adolescent offenders 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “Ecstasy”) use and sexually transmitted infection morbidity

Abstract

The current study was designed to determine the extent to which self-reported ecstasy use in a population of juvenile adolescent detainees in a southern state is associated with high-risk health behaviors pertaining to sexually transmitted infection (STI) symptomology and past history of STI occurrence. Participants were 764 African American females extracted from an overall sample of 2,260 juvenile offenders housed at selected Youth Development Campuses in the state of Georgia. Significance tests were conducted using univariate logistic regressions to examine the independent associations of participant’s self-reported ecstasy use and dichotomized HIV risk behavior correlates and history of having a prior STI before the most recent incarceration Participants who reported ecstasy use prior to incarceration were 1.7 (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 0.78–3.64) and 1.8 times (OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.24–2.81) more likely respectively to indicate having had genital warts or chlamydia, and were more than 1.5 times (OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 0.83–5.44) and two times more likely to report having had gonorrhea or herpes, accordingly. Prevention programs for adolescent offender populations should develop interventions that target adolescents’ substance use behavior as a function of STI risk taking as well as being culturally competent to deal specifically with these problem behaviors.     

What is the value of qualitative longitudinal research with children and young people for international development?

This paper draws on data from Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty, to explore how international development research might be strengthened by including qualitative longitudinal research (QLR). We review three problems in development studies: (a) the relatively low status of qualitative research within the hierarchy of development knowledge, (b) the predominance of cross-sectional research, and, (c) marginality of research with children and young people. We offer examples from Young Lives research on early marriage in Ethiopia, household poverty dynamics in India and Ethiopia, and aspirations and migration in Peru, to highlight the potential of QLR to address these drawbacks. We suggest that QLR illuminates the dynamic complexities of the processes and practices of everyday life, how they are experienced by children and young people, the responses they make, and the shifting trajectories of their lives.     

Changing things for the better: the use of children and young people’s reference groups in social research

The use of reference groups made up of members of the population being researched has been encouraged within the qualitative research literature. This paper describes the use of reference groups made up of children and young people and promotes them as a space within which co-reflexive activities can help researchers reconsider their research approaches and assumptions, their methodologies and methods and the new knowledge created. The paper uses three case studies to highlight the benefits the authors have encountered as well as those identified by children and young people themselves.     

Using respondent-driven sampling with ‘hard to reach’ marginalised young people: problems with slow recruitment and small network size

This paper documents an experience of using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to recruit socially marginalised young people in Sydney, Australia. Respondents were young people aged 16–24?years who were current illicit drug users and who reported at least one feature of social marginalisation (e.g. recent homelessness or juvenile detention). Four seeds initiated the sampling and 61 respondents were recruited until the sampling was closed due to slow progress at week nine. The paper examines: (1) the overall success of RDS and compares this with similar RDS studies; and (2) the sufficiency of network ties among respondents. The analyses suggest that RDS was generally successful in that, despite its small size, the sample achieved adequately long recruitment chains and variables converged to equilibrium. Nevertheless, recruitment was much slower than comparable studies. This could be due to the study population having reduced willingness to participate, a high proportion of respondents who did not fit the selection criteria, and small and disparate networks. Using RDS with marginalised youth may require generous resourcing to allow large incentives to increase willingness, and a lengthy recruitment period. Moreover, the small networks suggest that researchers should start the sampling with a large number of seeds.     

“I’m not homeless,I’m houseless”: identifying as homeless and associations with service utilization among Los Angeles homeless young people

Little is known about homeless young people’s identification of being homeless and how that identity may or may not be associated with service utilization. This study of 444 homeless young people attending Los Angeles area drop-in centers explores the associations of demographic characteristics, homelessness characteristics, negative lifetime experiences, mental health symptoms, technology use, and past month service utilization with identifying as homeless. Fifty-two percent of the sample identified as being homeless. Being Black, a current traveler, and history of injection drug use were all significantly associated with a decreased likelihood in identifying as homeless. However, having fair/poor health, accessing shelter services, and reporting one’s own substance use as a reason for homelessness were all significantly associated with identifying as homeless. There are important service implications for reaching young people who are in need of services but may not identify with the target population label of homeless.     

There are two sides to every story: young people’s perspectives of relationship issues on social media and adult responses

This paper reports on a recent research project undertaken in the UK that investigated how young people negotiate their identities and relationships online, including how they experience interventions by adults. Drawing on qualitative interviews with young people in two schools and a voluntary youth organisation in England, we argue that young people engage rather successfully in practices of self-governance. Our findings based on this sample of young people’s agentic practice and care for their peers challenge some dominant perceptions of young people’s online practices as risky and/or harmful to themselves and/or others. Furthermore we found a lack of evidence concerning the effectiveness of, and need for, interventions orientated around surveillance and zero tolerance.     

Retracted Article: Growth attenuation and young people with profound disabilities – why we need to talk about Charley

In 2004 an intervention known as the Ashley Treatment (AT) was sought on behalf of Ashley X, a girl with severe developmental disabilities. A discursive interpretive framework is used to investigate use of the AT in the case of Charley Hooper in New Zealand in 2009. This investigation found that use of the AT is intimately bound up in ideas about worthiness of life related to the ability to act as an autonomous agent within social structures. Questions this case raises about ethical decision-making and future physical and social requirements for profoundly disabled young people in the future are posed.     

‘Cruel and unusual punishment’: an inter-jurisdictional study of the criminalisation of young people with complex support needs

Although several criminologists and social scientists have drawn attention to the high rates of mental and cognitive disability amongst populations of young people embroiled in youth justice systems, less attention has been paid to the ways in which young people with disability are disproportionately exposed to processes of criminalisation and how the same processes serve to further disable them. In this paper, we aim to make a contribution towards filling this gap by drawing upon qualitative findings from the Comparative Youth Penality Project – an empirical inter-jurisdictional study of youth justice and penality in England and Wales and in four Australian states. We build on, integrate and extend theoretical perspectives from critical disability studies and from critical criminology to examine the presence of, and responses to, socio-economically disadvantaged young people with multiple disabilities (complex support needs) in youth justice systems in our selected jurisdictions. Four key findings emerge from our research pertaining to: (i) the criminalisation of disability and disadvantage; (ii) the management of children and young people with disabilities by youth justice agencies; (iii) the significance of early and holistic responses for children and young people with complex support needs; and (iv) the inadequate nature of community based support.     

Educational interventions for people with social and health difficulties in Italy: the case of a ‘welcoming community’ for young and adults

This article presents a case study that we consider significant for the social work of ‘welcoming communities’ in Italy. In the first part, we describe the history, methodologies and educational instruments aimed at young adults with social and work integration difficulties. In the second part, we present research questions, methods and results of a field research study carried out over 8 years, during which researchers were continuously present. All the 375 persons living in the welcoming community Villa S. Ignazio, in Northern Italy, have been observed. In the conclusions, we point out the main elements for a critical reflection that may lead to a methodological enhancement of the activities, also considering the global economic and political crisis, which is particularly dangerous for the rights of the vulnerable people.     

On being ‘in the field’: practice,progress and problems in research with young people in rural areas

Alongside growing research interest in the lifestyles of young people has come recognition of the need for ethical codes of conduct to protect children and young people from exploitation. While many academic papers provide valuable guidelines for researchers, little consideration has been given to how methodological issues are actually played out in practice. In particular, the practicalities of fulfilling methodological obligations whilst at the same time managing often challenging research situations is elided. In this paper I foreground how methodological considerations impact upon research with both individuals and groups of young people in the countryside.     

The influence of accountability for the crisis and type of crisis communication on people’s behavior,feelings and relationship with the government

In this paper we investigated to what extent the willingness of people to take advice from the local government, people’s feelings of collective efficacy and empowerment, and their relationship with the local government, is dependent on whether the local government was accountable for the crisis or not. In addition, we were interested in the influence of empathic versus neutral crisis information on people’s behavior, feelings and their relationship with the local government. The results indicate that people’s intention to follow the advice of the local government is generally high, even when the local government is held accountable for the crisis. However, accountability negatively influenced people’s relationship with the local government, as well as collective efficacy. Our research shows that this negative outcome for people’s relationship with the local government cannot be countered by empathic crisis information. However, conveying empathic concern in the crisis information did enhance level of collective efficacy.