Child Well‐Being Scales (CWBS) in the assessment of families and children in home‐care intervention: an empirical study

This paper reports research carried out in Italy designed to investigate the usability of Child Well‐Being Scale (CWBS) for the outcome evaluation of home‐care interventions for vulnerable families and children in need. Using a pre‐ and post‐test design, the study traces the changes in 18 vulnerable families and 23 children in need included in a programme of home‐care intervention over a period of 11 months. All the families and children were assessed twice: at intake and at the end of the intervention (after 6 months). Furthermore, 10 families and 11 children had a longer intervention and were assessed three times. Moreover, two focus groups involving 13 home‐care workers and 11 face‐to‐face interviews were used to collect practitioners' points of views on CWBS. The results generally support the idea that families' and children's situation improved over time, as shown by an improvement in almost all of the considered dimensions after 6 months and after 11 months. Specifically, the families improved more on household adequacy in the long term while children on the child performance dimension improved in the short term. Practitioners reported that CWBS was an aid to multi‐professional decision‐making, as the systematic evaluation of the subscales was a practical base upon which to activate shared decision‐making during the casework.     

Predictors of Children's Rights Attitudes and Psychological Well‐being Among Rural and Urban Mainland Chinese Adolescents

This study examined rural and urban Chinese adolescents’ (13–19 years, N = 395) attitudes toward children's self‐determination and nurturance rights, and how these attitudes relate to various dimensions of socialization in their family and school environments, including perceptions of parental and teacher autonomy support and responsiveness and family and school democratic climate. Relations between these variables and psychological well‐being also were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that maternal responsiveness and teacher autonomy support predicted higher levels of endorsement of nurturance rights. Maternal autonomy support and tolerance of dissent at home predicted greater endorsement of self‐determination rights. Democratic climate in the home predicted higher life‐satisfaction and fewer depressive symptoms, even when parent and teacher autonomy support and responsiveness were controlled. Our findings suggest that environments that are structured more democratically and that are more responsive to children's autonomy needs are associated with higher levels of endorsement of children's rights and contribute to adolescents’ psychological health and well‐being in a non‐Western culture.     

Maternal socialization of children’s positive affect regulation: Associations with children’s savoring,dampening, and depressive symptoms

Maternal socialization of positive affect (PA) is linked to children's regulation of positive and negative emotions and the development of psychopathology. However, few studies have examined multiple types of emotion socialization as related to children's PA regulation and depressive symptoms. The current study examined how mothers’ socialization of children's PA regulation was related to children's PA regulation, and if children's PA regulation mediated the association between maternal socialization and children's depressive symptoms. Ninety‐six mother–child dyads (children aged 7–12) completed questionnaires and a five‐minute discussion about a positive event the child previously experienced; 76 dyads completed surveys again five months later. Partial correlations, controlling for child age and gender, indicated associations between maternal PA socialization and child PA regulation. Moderated mediation models suggested that maternal modeling of savoring predicted Time 2 child depressive symptoms via children's own savoring, which was moderated by Time 1 depressive symptoms. The moderated path indicated that only for children who reported higher depressive symptoms at Time 1, higher levels of savoring predicted lower depressive symptoms at Time 2. These results underscore the importance of examining multiple types of PA socialization and child PA regulation to predict children's depressive symptoms longitudinally.     

Participation and health – a research review of child participation in planning and decision‐making

Effective child participation in child protection proceedings has proved difficult to achieve in Norway. Although participation is in principle accepted as a human right and something of benefit to children, when children's health is at stake there is a tendency to view participation in decision‐making processes by children as potentially disruptive to their well‐being. The purpose of this study is to review the research evidence for effects, positive or negative, of participation on health outcomes for children in care. A scoping review of major health and social work research databases was undertaken. Searches in five databases yielded 1830 studies of which 21 were finally included in this review. Studies were included if a relationship between health and participation was evident from the data presented, even if this was not the main objective in the study at hand. We conclude that when participation is successful, it may have beneficial side effects. Chief among these are that participation may improve children's safety, increase the success of care arrangements and increase feelings of well‐being for children involved. Evidence for long‐term effects of successful or failed participation attempts on subsequent health outcomes is however largely absent.     

Why spouses depress each other: A cross‐national study to test the shared resource hypothesis in depressive symptom concordance within older adult couples

The shared resource hypothesis suggests that married couples share the same environmental resources, which shape their health concordance. This study tests its cross‐national applicability. Cross‐sectional 2012–2013 Health and Retirement Study data from China, England, Mexico, and the United States were analyzed. Heterosexual couples (age ≥60) who were married or partnered were studied (N = 20,565 pairs). Dyadic data were analyzed by multilevel models to examine the effect of self and spousal social and physical health statuses on depressive symptoms. Regression models were used to test the relationship between couples' shared resources and depressive symptom concordance. Results indicated both husbands and wives' depressive symptoms were associated with their own and spouses' social and health statuses. Most couple‐level resources were insignificant predictors for Chinese and Mexican couples' concordance, but having more social and financial resources was associated with higher concordance among British and American couples. Self‐reported health was the most consistent predictor in all countries. The shared resource hypothesis was more applicable to depressive symptom concordance within couples in the United States and England, but not in China and Mexico. Couple‐centered intervention is suggested for clinical practice, and the spousal effect should be considered in policymaking.     

Effects of individualised follow‐up on activation programme participants' self‐sufficiency: A cluster‐randomised study

Recent developments within activation policies emphasise tailor‐made and individualised services; however, little is known of what the effects of these initiatives are. The aim of this study was, therefore, to analyse, in a cluster‐randomised design, the long‐term effects of an individualised follow‐up model on welfare recipients' self‐sufficiency. The follow‐up model systematises the work done by social workers within the Qualification Programme, which is a welfare‐to‐work programme in Norway. In the study, 18 labour and welfare offices were randomised to experimental and control groups. The data consist of baseline questionnaires for Qualification Programme participants (n = 617) and follow‐ups based on administrative data at 12, 24 and 30 months after baseline. The results show significant effects of individualised follow‐up on self‐sufficiency at the 30‐month follow‐up and strong positive trends at the 18‐ and 24‐month follow‐ups. Thus, comprehensive and individualised follow‐up of participants within activation programmes seems to generate positive long‐term effects on self‐sufficiency.     

Latino Adolescents' Community Violence Exposure: After‐school Activities and Familismo as Risk and Protective Factors

Low‐income, urban adolescents are exposed to extremely high rates of witnessing and being victimized by community violence. Such violence exposure presents serious implications for youth's development and psychological well‐being. In a sample of 223 ninth‐grade Latino adolescents, we examine: (1) what types of after‐school activity participation increase or reduce adolescents' risk for violence exposure and (2) the role of the cultural value of familismo in moderating the impact of violence exposure on adolescents' psychological well‐being. Our results indicate that spending unstructured leisure time with peers and participating in non‐school sports and non‐school clubs were associated with higher levels of community violence exposure, whereas adhering to the cultural value of familismo was associated with lower levels of violence exposure. Additionally, familismo moderated the positive association between violence exposure and depressive symptoms, but not posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Implications of these results are discussed.     

SHORT‐ AND LONG‐TERM HOMELESSNESS AND ADOLESCENTS' SELF‐ESTEEM,DEPRESSION, LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SOCIAL SUPPORTS

The study investigated the effect of length of homelessness, (less than three months as against six months or longer), on four variables: self‐esteem, depression, locus of control and social supports. Respondents, (50 homeless adolescents, 25 male and 25 female, aged between 16–21), completed four questionnaires. Multivariate Analysis of Variance indicated that a combination of the four variables was dependent on the length of homelessness. The short‐term homeless group reported significantly higher levels of self‐esteem and significantly lower levels of depression compared with the long‐term homeless. Furthermore, the long‐term homeless group scored towards a more external locus of control, as compared with the short‐term homeless. While no significant difference was found between the two groups in the number of social supports, the short‐term homeless group reported significantly greater levels of satisfaction with their supports. We discuss the implications of these findings.     

Marketisation policies in different contexts: Consequences for home‐care workers in Germany,Japan and Sweden

Market‐oriented restructurings of long‐term care policies contribute significantly to the aggravation of care workers’ situations. This article focuses on the effects of broader long‐term care policy developments on market‐oriented reforms. Germany, Japan and Sweden are three countries that have introduced market‐oriented reforms into home‐based care provision embedded in distinct long‐term care policy developments. Conceptually, this article draws on comparative research on care to define the institutional dimensions of long‐term care policies. Empirically, the research is based on policy analyses, as well as on national statistics and a comparative research project on home‐care workers in the aforementioned countries. The findings reveal the mediating impact of the extension and decline of long‐term public care support and the corresponding development of the care infrastructure on both the restructuring of care work and the assessments of the care workers themselves.     

The Associations Between Socioeconomic Status,Caregivers' Depressive Symptoms,Children's Health‐Promoting Behavior,and Children's Physical Health: A Mediation Model

The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effects of children's health‐promoting behaviors on the association between socioeconomic status, caregivers' depressive symptoms, and children's physical health outcomes. We used the first wave of “Seoul Education and Health Welfare Panel.” Data were collected from 820 fourth‐grade elementary and first‐year middle school students and their caregivers using self‐administered surveys. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the mediating effects of health‐promoting behaviors. Bias‐corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were used to test the mediating effect. The results showed that both low socioeconomic status and caregivers' depressive symptoms were negatively associated with a child's health‐promoting behaviors. Children's health‐promoting behaviors were positively associated with physical health. However, children's physical health was not significantly associated with socioeconomic status but was marginally associated with caregivers' depressive symptoms. We found that children's health‐promoting behaviors significantly mediated associations between both socioeconomic status and children's physical health and between caregivers' depressive symptoms and children's physical health. Based on the findings, we suggest the development and implementation of school‐based, health‐enhancement programs as a means to improve the general health of all children and to reduce health inequalities.     

Work Activation Regimes and Well‐being of Unemployed People: Rhetoric,Risk and Reality of Quasi‐Marketization in the UK Work Programme

Well‐being and employment activation have become central and intertwined policy priorities across advanced economies, with the mandation of unemployed claimants towards employability interventions (e.g. curriculum vitae preparation and interview skills). Compelled job search and job transitions are in part justified by the well‐being gains that resulting employment is said to deliver. However, this dominant focus within the activation field on outcome well‐being – the well‐being improvement triggered by a transition to paid work – neglects how participation in activation schemes can itself affect well‐being levels for unemployed people – what we term ‘process well‐being’ effects. Combining theoretical literature with empirical work on the UK's large‐scale quasi‐marketized Work Programme activation scheme, we develop the limited existing academic discussion of process well‐being effects, considering whether and how activation participation mediates the negative well‐being effects of unemployment, irrespective of any employment outcomes. We further relate variation in such process well‐being effects to the literature on activation typologies, in which ‘thinner’ work‐first activation interventions are linked to weaker process well‐being effects for participants compared to ‘thicker’ human capital development interventions. Confirming these expectations, our empirical work shows that Work Programme participants have, to date, experienced a largely ‘thin’ activation regime in which participants are both expected to, and empirically demonstrate, similar if not lower levels of process well‐being than those who are openly unemployed. These concerning findings speak to all nations seeking to promote the well‐being of unemployed people and particularly those perusing ‘black box’ activation schemes based around quasi‐marketization, devolution and New Public Management.     

Attachment, Perceived Support, and the Transition to Parenthood: Social Policy and Health Implications

For some people involved in certain relationships, the transition to parenthood is associated with precipitous declines in marital satisfaction and increases in depressive symptoms. After briefly reviewing the transition to parenthood literature, we explain why attachment theory is particularly well suited to account for how and why certain people involved in certain relationships are so vulnerable to these negative outcomes. Testing diathesis-stress models, we present evidence from our own research indicating that more anxiously attached women who enter parenthood perceiving lower levels of spousal support or greater spousal anger are especially susceptible to experiencing significant pre-to-postpartum decreases in marital satisfaction and increases in depressive symptoms across the first 6 months of the transition. We also present evidence isolating some of the psychological processes that may be partially responsible for generating and sustaining these negative outcomes. We conclude by discussing how specific prevention programs, experimental interventions, or individually based therapies could be developed to buffer vulnerable people from negative postpartum outcomes .     

Adapting the Friends of the Children programme for child welfare system‐involved families

Research has shown the importance of long‐term, caring adults for children in foster care. This paper reviews the Friends of the Children (FOTC) long‐term mentoring programme and how it was adapted to serve children and families with child welfare system involvement. This study's two research questions are (1) How do Friends (FOTC's paid professional mentors) currently work with, and in turn, have an impact on, child welfare‐involved families? and (2) How can Friends better support child welfare system‐involved caregivers and families to promote family stability, permanence, and child well‐being? Data were collected from 21 caregivers (foster and biological), 24 FOTC Friends, five child welfare workers, and five teachers. Qualitative analyses of focus group, interview, and open‐ended survey data revealed a wide variety of ways Friends currently support children and families. In addition, several recommendations were made for strengthening programming. These findings provide valuable insights into providing long‐term mentoring to child welfare system‐involved children and families.     

Self‐regulation in early childhood: The role of siblings,center care and socioeconomic status

Differences in children's self‐regulation are assumed to be explained by genetic factors, socialization experiences, and sociodemographic risk. As for socialization, little research has addressed the influence of having siblings or attending early center based child care on emerging self‐regulation. As regarding sociodemographic risk, few studies have been conducted in countries characterized by high equality and little poverty. In a longitudinal study following 1157 children, we investigated presence of siblings, center care exposure in the first 3 years of life (attendance, hours, and child group size), and family socioeconomic status (SES) as predictors of hot and cool effortful control (EC), at the child's age 48 months. The results showed that having a sibling was consistently related to better hot EC, whereas higher SES predicted better cool EC. A small effect implied that hours in center care at 36 months negatively predicted hot EC, whereas center care group size at 36 months modestly predicted better cool EC. Otherwise, center care variables were unrelated to self‐regulation.     

Worried,concerned and untroubled: antecedents and consequences of youth worry

Using a pattern‐based approach, worry was explored in relation to military youths' developmental and contextual characteristics, and pivotal outcomes (depressive symptoms, self‐efficacy, well‐being, coping styles, academic performance and deployment adjustment). Data were collected from parents and adolescents, age 11 to 18, living in the USA (n = 273 families). Variations in individual characteristics (age and gender), military family factors (rank, recent deployment, parents' resilient coping abilities) and family relational characteristics (parents' marital status, warm parenting, marital quality) were related to heterogeneous worry typologies. Depressive symptoms, self‐efficacy and well‐being, varied across the worry typologies. Implications are drawn from these findings for identifying potential interventions that can be accessed to modify these worry patterns and limit their harmful effects.     

Introducing social insurance for long‐term care in Taiwan: Key issues

Nadash P, Shih Y.‐C. Introducing social insurance for long‐term care in Taiwan: Key issues Taiwan will shortly complete its comprehensive social safety net, which includes national health insurance, retirement security, and unemployment insurance, by introducing long‐term care (LTC) insurance – putting it ahead of the many countries that rely on a patchwork of policies to address the need for LTC. The program, to be implemented in 3 to 5 years, will cover all citizens on a primarily social insurance basis. The range of LTC policy options considered is discussed, particularly how to structure the program, how to finance and regulate it, and how to develop its inadequate LTC infrastructure and workforce. Particularly thorny issues include the choice of social insurance, the feasibility of cash benefits, and how to address Taiwan's heavy reliance on foreign workers. Taiwan's increasingly democratic character, along with high levels of public support for the program, creates significant pressure on politicians to deliver on their promises to implement LTC reform. Key Practitioner Message: ?Emphasizes the importance of policy learning from other environments; ?Highlights the need for a strong regulatory and provider infrastructure for delivering long‐term care services; ?Emphasizes the need for training, support, and appropriate regulation of the long‐term care workforce.     

Contingent Self‐worth in Chinese Adolescents and Young Adults: Relations with Global Self‐Esteem and Depressive Symptoms

Contingent self‐worth (CSW) is the extent to which an individual's sense of self‐worth is dependent on performance in a particular domain. CSW has been linked to poorer psychological health (e.g., lower global self‐esteem, greater depression and anxiety). However, the majority of work on CSW has been conducted with US college students. Far less is known about the influence of CSW for younger individuals or for non‐Western populations. This study examined relations between CSW domains and two indicators of well‐being (depressive symptoms and global self‐esteem) with Chinese adolescents (ages 13–16) and young adults (ages 19‐22). Results indicated that CSW in the domains of academic performance and others’ approval were positively related to depressive symptoms, whereas CSW in the domain of family support was negatively related to depressive symptoms. Others’ approval CSW was negatively related to self‐esteem for both adolescents and young adults, whereas CSW in the domains of academic performance and family support were related to self‐esteem for adolescents but not young adults. This study indicates that CSW is a meaningful and predictive construct for Chinese youth, and that cultural, environmental, and developmental factors may impact the relations between CSW and psychological health.     

You can go your own way! The long‐term effectiveness of a self‐employment programme for welfare recipients in Germany

In this study, we examined the long‐term effects of supporting welfare recipients by means of a subsidy to start their own business. We used administrative data and propensity score matching to estimate the impact of the subsidy on the probability of receiving welfare benefits and on unemployment status up to 72 months after programme start. We supplemented our estimation results with the results of a qualitative survey which provided insights into the diversity of entrepreneurial activities and the recipients' motivation for starting a business. Our results are encouraging. We found a stable positive effect on the outcomes of interest. We further found that foreign nationals and the long‐term unemployed benefit the most. We conclude that the subsidy allows some people to successfully start a business who would not have otherwise done so and who would have been less successful by choosing the alternative of continued job search.     

Long‐term foster care or adoption? The evidence examined

Based on an examination of the research literature, this paper contrasts six variables connected with the outcome of adoption and long‐term fostering. It provides some answers to the question often being asked by policy makers and family placement workers, as well as judges, about the relative merits and limitations of these two forms of substitute parenting for children who cannot return to live with their birth families. Because of the type of child currently adopted or fostered, breakdown rates by themselves are increasingly an unreliable outcome measure. The main defining difference found between these two forms of substitute parenting appears to be the higher levels of emotional security, sense of belonging and general well‐being expressed by those growing up as adopted compared with those fostered long term. However, for reasons outlined in the paper, long‐term fostering still has a definite place for a range of children who require long‐term plans.     

The turn to optional familialism through the market: Long‐term care,cash‐for‐care,and caregiving policies in Europe

Cash‐for‐care (CfC) schemes are monetary transfers to people in need of care who can use them to organize their own care arrangements. Mostly introduced in the 1990s, these schemes combine different policy objectives, as they can aim at (implicitly or explicitly) supporting informal caregivers as well as increasing user choice in long‐term care or even foster the formalization of care relations and the creation of care markets. This article explores from a comparative perspective, how CfC schemes, within broader long‐term care policies, envision, frame, and aim to condition informal care, if different models of relationships between CfC and informal care exist and how these have persisted or changed over time and into which directions. Building on the scholarly debate on familialization vs. defamilialization policies, the paper proposes an analytical framework to investigate the trajectories of seven European countries over a period of 20 years. The results show that, far from being simply instruments of supported familialism, CfC schemes have contributed to a turn towards “optional familialism through the market,” according to which families are encouraged to provide family care and are (directly or indirectly) given alternatives through the provision of market care.