The male menopause and mood: testosterone decline and depression in the aging male -is there a link?

Reproduced with permission from BC Decker Inc     

Grandparenting and support from adult children: Does children’s international migration make a difference for Chinese older adults?

ABSTRACT

Guided by social exchange theory, this study investigates the association between grandparenting and support from adult children, and the role of children’s international migration in moderating such association. Data were derived from a 2012 survey of older adults in Beijing, China (478 adult children nested in 300 older parents). The results of independent cluster logistic and linear regressions showed that regardless of children’s migration status, grandparenting was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of receiving household help and personal care, but not with emotional or financial support from children. Children’s migration status moderated the associations between grandparenting and receiving support from children. Theoretical implications for research and practical implications for services and policies are discussed.     

Do male dropouts benefit from obtaining a GED, postsecondary education, and training?

The authors use longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate whether the wage trajectories of male high school dropouts are affected by the acquisition of the General Educational Development (GED) credential, by postsecondary education, and by training. The authors show that acquisition of the GED results in wage increases for dropouts who left school with weak skills, but not for dropouts who left high school with stronger skills. College and training provided by employers are associated with higher wages for male dropouts.     

Marriage: for love,for money…and for time?

Married couples enjoy meaningful economies in time, often choosing to specialize where one spouse focuses on market work and the other on household production and childcare. Using data from the American Time Use Survey 2003–2008, I estimate significant marriage effects upon time use. Most married women gain 33–34 min of leisure each weekday when compared to single women. While marriage does not lead to more leisure for husbands, it allows them to allocate time away from home and towards market work. Lower-income couples work more at home and for pay, and spend less time in leisure than their single counterparts. The temporal and financial gains from marriage for most people are inconsistent with its declining prevalence.     

Time for work,commuting, and parenting? Commuting parents' involvement with their children

For most Australian parents, there is continuing tension between work and family commitments. This tension is exacerbated by the need not only to have sufficient time available to children in the family but also for that time to be characterized by nurturance and guidance. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored how 21 part-time or full-time working parents, who also commute 10–15 hours a week to work, manage both the quantity and quality of their time with their young children (0–5 years). The study revealed the difficult conditions of commuting and the importance of social support to parents' well-being, as well as a significant pattern of parent–child interaction which we have described as ‘attentive parenting.’ Parents felt these activities contributed to the parent–child bond and their children's well-being in spite of an acknowledged lack of interactive time.     

‘Reach Out,Rise Up’: The efficacy of text messaging in an intervention package for anxiety and depression severity in young people

BackgroundDepression and anxiety are among the most commonly experienced mental health issues faced by young people in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Considerable barriers exist that prevent young people from engaging with face-to-face mental health services. Young people's preference for technology-based counselling mediums such as text messaging opens up new pathways for intervention.ObjectiveA pilot text message-based intervention package was trialled for use by young people to evaluate the potential efficacy of the text package as an intervention for depression and anxiety symptoms.MethodThe text package was piloted using a 10-week longitudinal cohort pilot with 21 young participants (12–24 years) who demonstrated mild to moderate anxiety and/or depression symptoms.ResultsParticipants' post-package scores were significantly lower than their pre-package scores for both anxiety (Z = − 2.83, p = .005, r = − 0.65) and depression (Z = − 2.49, p = .013, r = −.056). ‘Feeling encouraged and supported’ increased as a result of receiving support from a trained supporter (Z = − 2.06, p = .039, r = − 0.45), but not from friends/family (Z = − 1.72, p = .130, r = − 0.37). Anxiety and depression scores did not change as a result of support from either trained supporters or friends/family.ConclusionsFindings support the potential efficacy of the text package, justify wider trials of the text package, and support the use of text message-based interventions as potentially effective therapies for young people.     

Negligence in placement and supervision of children in foster care: Are social workers liable?

Social workers may be monetarily liable for negligent performance of placement and supervision of children in foster care. In states where the state retains sovereign immunity those professional activities may be considered ministerial rather than discretionary functions and so not entitled to the immunity from suit which the state enjoys. Careful attention to designated procedures may protect the worker from allegations of negligence.     

European Somali Children Dumped? On families,parents, and children in a transnational context

Transnational familyhood is a challenge to western societies, whose implementation of legislation generally works with the assumption that families are nuclear and situated within a nation state. In the present case study, Somali transnational family organisation is juxtaposed with the western nuclear family model to illustrate the basic differences between the models. The mobility of children in the Somali family system is discussed in relation to child protection in European societies. Cultural variation in family organisation needs to be further discussed in societies that claim to be multicultural. The nature of child protection interventions by social workers will depend on whether society declares universalist or cultural-relativist values as more important.     

Are elderly drivers a road hazard?: Problem definition and political impact

Elderly drivers are increasing in number and some statistics show they are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than all other age groups but those under 25. States have attempted to address the problem in various ways, but very few have required mandatory retesting at license renewal for those beyond a particular age. Why have so few states chosen to act? The key is how the issue is framed for the public and decision makers. Several phases of problem definition are explored to explain the political dynamics of the older driver issue: incidence, causality, severity, crisis labeling, problem population characteristics, and linkage of values to the issue and solutions. Based upon this analysis, it is not surprising that elder interest groups have been successful in containing policy initiatives designed to restrict elderly driving.     

Arts policy and practice for disabled children and young people: towards a ‘practice spectrum’ approach

This article argues for an approach to the evaluation of arts policy and practice for disabled children and young people that goes beyond the dialogic antagonism between Disability Arts and community arts, and towards a ‘practice spectrum’. Little is known about the extent to which a Disability Arts perspective has extended into arts policy and practice for disabled children and young people. The article aims to redress this knowledge gap. It is based upon two sets of data collected in relation to the East Midlands region of England during 2014. First, a critical evaluation was conducted of official and institutional attitudes to arts practice with disabled children and young people. Second, interviews exploring contemporary practice were conducted with 24 arts organisations. Their practice represents a diverse range of art forms and programmes undertaken in the region, and a range of attitudes and positions taken towards disabled children and young people. We argue that the best way to conceive of current practice is as a spectrum, as opposed to an antagonism between community arts and Disability Arts perspectives. There is, however, little evidence of the penetration of a Disability Arts perspective into policy and practice for children and young people.     

Gender,polychronicity, and the work–family interface: is a preference for multitasking beneficial?

This study examined how polychronicity, or the preference to do several things concurrently, was related to work and family overload, work–family conflict, and outcomes in the work, family, and life domains (i.e. turnover intent, family, and life satisfaction). Using conservation of resources theory as a framework, polychronicity was conceptualized as a resource that could be used to reduce work and family overload. The participants were 553 employed parents from Canada and the US. Results indicated that polychronicity was related to lower work overload. Lower work overload was related to lower work interference with family conflict, lower turnover intent, and higher family and life satisfaction. We also examined gender differences and found that, although women scored significantly higher than men on family overload and family satisfaction, and significantly lower than men on life satisfaction, there was no mean gender difference on polychronicity. In addition, the path coefficients in the model were not significantly different for men and women.     

Language,discourse, and class: What's next for sociolinguistics?

Drawing from the various theoretical constructs and analyses of class in sociology, economics, cultural studies, and sociolinguistics, I discuss a number of issues regarding class and possible future research avenues for sociolinguists. These include addressing and exploring how to move beyond the static categorical groupings of class membership, including those of researchers themselves in their work on class, appraising the relevance and utility of the concept of overdetermination (Althusser, 1977; Resnick & Wolff, 1987) in examining the enactments of class, discursive self‐positionings in different domains and scales, the need to re‐examine the construct of intersectionality, and problematizing the notion of identity politics as it relates to class.     

Adult protective services and animal welfare: should animal abuse and neglect be assessed during adult protective services screening?

Past research has examined links among animal abuse, child maltreatment, and intimate partner violence and demonstrated the importance of addressing the needs of both human and animal victims. We hypothesized that there might be a similar link between animal abuse and older adult welfare issues. As a first step in the earlier research was the development of a screening protocol that shed light on the link between domestic violence and animal abuse, we decided to follow a similar route to explore this new topic by asking state government representatives about their experiences, if any, with this topic. Here we report the results of a national survey of state Adult Protective Services agencies regarding their protocols for assessing animal welfare issues in the context of older adult maltreatment. We also describe a model assessment protocol we developed in collaboration with the Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services.     

Mitochondrial injury: a hot spot for parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease?

The recent identification of genes (parkin, DJ-1, and PINK1) involved in recessive autosomal parkinsonism, and the indications that these proteins may have protective effects on the mitochondria, has led to the reemergence of the notion that mitochondrial dysfunction might play a central role in the etiology of sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). This idea has previously been supported by biochemical analyses showing reduced mitochondrial activity in PD patients and in animal models of PD generated by the selective inhibition of mitochondria activity. However, the involvement of DJ-1 or PINK1 loss of function in classical idiopathic PD, characterized by pathological inclusions composed of aggregated alpha-synuclein protein, has still not been evaluated. More detailed studies of the possible interactions between parkin, DJ-1, PINK1, and alpha-synuclein and their effects on mitochondria are needed to more adequately define the biological pathways that may convergently or independently lead to parkinsonism.