Violence Across the Lifespan: Interconnections Among Forms of Abuse as Described by Marginalized Canadian Elders and their Care-givers

Elder abuse is recognized as a major problem, with profoundeffects on the health and quality of life of older persons.In our aging population, elder abuse represents an escalatingclinical issue for social workers and health care professionalswho provide care to older people. A major gap in our examinationof elder abuse is the potential contribution and applicationof knowledge developed within research derived from other formsof family violence. This paper explores the interconnectionsamong various forms of violence across the lifespan, and theexperiences voiced by marginalized elders and their care providers.We interviewed seventy-seven rarely consulted older adults andforty-three formal and informal care-givers of older adultsin focus groups in Ontario and Alberta, Canada. Study findingsrevealed four major themes that describe interconnections amongtypes of abuse: (i) intergenerational cycles of abuse; (ii)violence across the lifespan; (iii) exposure to multiple subtypesof elder abuse; and (iv) ongoing spouse abuse that shifted intoelder abuse. The results from this study indicate that victimsoften ‘suffer in silence’ and cultural factors,ageism and gender are ubiquitous to elder abuse. Recommendationsto reduce elder abuse include education, formal and informalsupports and services.     

The Work Experiences of Social Workers: Factors Impacting Compassion Satisfaction and Workplace Stress

Abstract

In 2015, over 6,000 licensed social workers in 13?US states responded to an online survey regarding perceptions and feelings about their work, as well as numerous personal and practice issues. Specifically, this study examined participants’ levels of compassion satisfaction and workplace stress, and then determined through multivariate analyses what demographic factors, behavioral and physical health problems, practice issues, fields of practice, and workplace environment issues impacted these two variables.

The findings indicate that participants demonstrated high levels of compassion satisfaction, with a wide range of workplace stress levels. Workplace environment issues had the greatest impact on both variables, with social workers’ mental health problems, physical health status, and certain demographic factors such as race also influencing them. Over 82% of respondents expressed agreement that they were glad that they chose social work as a profession. The results appear to demonstrate that despite being a potentially stressful occupation, licensed social workers tend to experience significant emotional satisfaction from their work. On the other hand, the results also highlight the need for further research to determine how to enhance support for social workers in the workplace in order to not only reduce workplace stress, but also to increase compassion satisfaction.     

Workplace Conditions and Employer Relationships as Predictors of Economic Well‐Being: Female Domestic Workers in India

This article explores the intersectional role played by the various categories of workplace dynamics of female domestic workers in India. It models crucial aspects of a range of workplace conditions and employee‐employer relationship and empowerment factors, as predictors of the economic well‐being of domestic workers. The analysis is based on a questionnaire survey of 487 domestic workers in two cities of the Indian state of Karnataka, conducted July–December 2014. The prediction models reveal intersectionality: female domestic workers are disadvantaged by inequalities caused by two unique aspects of their work, namely, the feminization of this work as naturalized labor that women do because of their innate caring characteristics, and the employer‐employee relationship where the focus of work is the intimate private space of the employer. Empowerment factors, therefore, become additionally significant for their protection from exploitation and abuse. This paper highlights the conflicting role played by empowerment and concludes by discussing implications for legislation and policy.     

Strengthening the Professional Selves of Social Workers Through the Lens of Self Psychology

New social workers have been shown to experience higher rates of burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and vocational turnover. It is critical to find ways to support the growth and development of competent and resilient social workers. Yet, due to current contextual issues in the workplace, social workers are often not in environments that are conducive to fostering the growth of strong professional selves. A self psychology lens is used to assess and form the basis for recommendations for agencies/organizations and individuals to strengthen the professional selves of individual social workers and, in turn, the profession itself.     

Emotional abuse and neglect: a time for reappraisal

This paper explores, from a UK perspective, issues surrounding policy and practice in cases of neglect, which inevitably involves emotional abuse. It does not address cases of emotional abuse in which neglect does not occur. The paper argues that there is a sufficient body of knowledge on the necessary conditions for healthy child development and factors associated with psychological/ emotional disorders in childhood for social workers to be more proactive in work with such cases. There is, however, a need for this evidence to be assembled and organized in ways which will be useful to social workers. Nonetheless, intervention in such cases is unlikely to become more effective unless some of the reasons for the'neglect of neglecf are better understood and addressed. In the second part of the paper, a range of factors influencing such work is considered, related to the professional, organizational and legal context within which social workers in the UK operate.
The paper draws on an ESRC funded project, which ended in 1995, of social workers' judgements in cases of child sexual abuse and neglect     

Pathways from workplace flexibility to turnover intention: Role of work–family conflict,family–work conflict,and job satisfaction

This study examined the prevalence of workplace flexibility and the mechanisms that allow workplace flexibility to influence turnover intentions through work–family and family–work conflicts and job satisfaction among low‐wage workers in South Korea. Participants included 250 low‐wage workers whose monthly salary was less than 2 million Korean won (approx. $1,900). The study results indicate that low‐wage workers have limited access to workplace flexibility and that workplace flexibility plays a significant protective role in reducing their turnover intention, indirectly by decreasing work–family conflicts and enhancing job satisfaction. This article also discusses the implications of these findings for labor policy and social work practice.     

Employer‐sponsored programmes for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS: Recent experience from sub‐Saharan Africa

This article examines a sample of employer programmes in sub‐Saharan Africa that supplement government efforts to prevent and treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Some of these programmes provide workers with in‐house education, voluntary HIV testing and antiretroviral treatment. Others rely on new forms of employment‐based group health insurance that include an HIV treatment package. In addition, some enterprises use the workplace as a platform for launching efforts into neighbouring communities to reach spouses, children, sex workers, secondary school students and others. Early evidence suggests that employer programmes maintain the health of large fractions of workers living with HIV who are served by them. They further enable enterprises to avoid productivity losses and turnover costs associated with HIV. At the same time, they take pressure off government agencies that face demands for treatment far exceeding their capacity. The article identifies features of successful employer programmes including “elite appeal”, which mobilizes community leaders and role models to deconstruct stigma, change perceptions and call for behavioural change; and “collateral linkage”, which extends the reach of HIV workplace programmes by linking them to related community concerns: e.g. alcohol abuse, malaria and domestic violence. Looking forward, the potential for expanding employer programmes as well as the restrictions associated with the limited scale of formal‐sector employment within sub‐Saharan African economies is assessed. Actions by which governments, employer associations, trade unions and international organizations can encourage further development of such programmes and extend their reach are suggested.     

Which Children are Registered at Case Conferences?

Correspondence to Terry Fisher, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD. Summary A postal questionnaire to social workers was used to describethe characteristics of situations where children were the subjectsof child protection case conferences, to identify factors distinguishingthose registered from those not registered and to describe theaccounts given by social workers of the reasons for registration.The paper reports and analyses this information and raises somebasic issues about the relative importance in registration decisionsof evidence of physical or sexual abuse, characteristics ofthe adults involved, and a child's feelings and emotional state.     

Ageism: A Review of Research and Policy Implications

The current literature on aging and ageism is summarized in support of a theoretical perspective that includes both the biological and the psychosocial components of these processes. Conceptual and methodological problems are identified in models that rely on a deficit approach to aging. We suggest that the biased responses of others foster older adults' stress-related emotional and hormonal responses—responses that may effectively reduce their social and cognitive competence. This negative feedback process ultimately acts in a stereotype-maintaining fashion. Implications are drawn for possible changes in social policy and institutional practices that may reduce or prevent the harmful effects of ageism. Examples are given of existing policies and practices that limit the lives of older adults (in the guise of protection), along with newly instituted policies and practices (including those at an international level) that place the welfare of older adults in the context of life course issues shared by all.     

Prejudicial Attitudes Toward Older Adults May Be Exaggerated When People Feel Vulnerable to Infectious Disease: Evidence and Implications

Prejudice against elderly people ("ageism") is an issue of increasing social concern, but the psychological roots of ageism are only partially understood. Recent theorizing suggests that ageism may result, in part, from fallible cue-based disease-avoidance mechanisms. The perception of subjectively atypical physical features (including features associated with aging) may implicitly activate aversive semantic concepts (implicit ageism), and this implicit ageism is likely to emerge among perceivers who are especially worried about the transmission of infectious diseases. We report an experiment (N = 88) that provides the first empirical test of this hypothesis. Results revealed that implicit ageism is predicted by the interactive effects of chronic perceptions of vulnerability to infectious disease and by the temporary salience of disease-causing pathogens. Moreover, these effects are moderated by perceivers' cultural background. Implications for public policy are discussed .     

A Comparative Study of Child Abuse Risk Assessment in the United States and Korea

The perceptions and judgments of social workers who interview the child and family are especially significant factors in child abuse assessment process. The current study describes and compares child protection workers’ assessment processes in Korea and the USA through the use of case vignettes and in‐depth interview. The responses from social workers in these two countries were compared and discussed in the areas of: risk assessment; perception of the main problems; tolerance of corporal punishment; and judgments about appropriateness of interventions. Most revealing was that Korean social workers determined abuse based on their child abuse definition and the US Army FAP social workers determined abuse based on their definition, which was affected by legal standards and cultural differences. Korean social workers are more likely to remove a child from the home, even in mild cases, but US FAP social workers would recommend child removal from the home as a last option. The social workers that participated in this survey play a vital role in the safety of children in child protective services. Both countries can benefit from sharing information to improve the child protection services delivered. Social workers' professional judgment leads to objective and consistent outcomes and are less likely to compromise child safety in the decision making process.     

Ageism Across the Lifespan: Towards a Self-Categorization Model of Ageing

This article uses this collection of articles on ageism as a springboard to discuss empirical lacunae in the literature as well as propose a self-categorization model of ageing phenomena. In particular, we argue that research would benefit from a more lifespan communication perspective. This includes the social origins of ageism that can be laid down early in development and perpetuated through collusive processes as individuals themselves age. Further, problems of interactively managing ageism, its intragenerational parameters, and the variable consequences of making death salient, are identified. Finally, we elaborate and illustrate a self-categorization model of ageing processes before critically examining panaceas proposed by others to ameliorate ageism.     

Impacts of HIV/AIDS on poor and socially marginalised former commercial plasma donors in rural central China: social work implications

Little is known about the impact of HIV/AIDS on people who acquired the virus through former commercial plasma donations in the mid-1990s in rural Central China. The objective of this study was to examine socioeconomic impacts associated with HIV/AIDS on poor farm workers and their families, with a particular focus on economic hardships and social exclusion. The findings from 30 interviews reveal the profound effects of deteriorating health on labour power loss. The well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS was immensely affected by the loss of income, debts due to health-related expenses and a lack of alternate sources of income. Social exclusion and HIV/AIDS-related stigma remain significant issues in a workplace, funerals, and weddings. This article highlights the economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on China’s rural population and provides recommendations for social workers to mitigate the impacts of social exclusion on vulnerable rural households in China.     

The Beckford Report: A Critical Appraisal

Correspondence to Nigel Parton, Department of Behavioural Sciences, The Polytechnic, Queensgate Huddersfield HDI 3DH. Summary This paper provides a critical analysis of the Beckford Reportand its implications for social work and the personal socialservices. Four interrelated themes are explored: the relationshipbetween social work practice, statutory responsibilities andthe law; the attitudes of social workers towards children andfamilies; the social work skills required; and the assumptionsthat are made about child abuse and the role of social workers.This is then related to recent research findings in the areaof policies and decision making in child care. It concludesby arguing that the report is in great danger of misdirectingour attentions from the major issues concerned with social workwith children at risk.     

When safety culture backfires: Unintended consequences of half-shared governance in a high tech workplace

This paper applies concepts from the sociology and anthropology of organizations to understand limits to the implementation of a more effective safety culture in the workplace. It highlights unintended consequences of combining bureaucratic control and shared governance and identifies sources of inertia within already existing safety cultures. The data come from focus group interviews with workers in a research and development facility of a multinational corporation in the Western U.S. It is found that safety protocols, rules, and rhetoric, combined with efforts to give workers more responsibility for safety in the workplace, create tendencies toward worker alienation, shame with regard to injuries, complacency, and fear of bureaucratic processes. Therefore it appears that some efforts to create safety culture in the workplace may unintentionally undermine the goal of manufacturing safety.     

Child protection social work and men's abuse of women: an Irish study

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of the response of social workers within a community care setting, in a large Dublin suburb, to cases involving men's abuse of women. This research aims to focus on what child protection workers do regarding this abuse, and what they say about what they do, thereby giving readers a sense of the action taking place in this social work team. The data, generated from both qualitative and quantitative methodological research, reflects this aim, as it taps into the working model of responses to men's abuse of women held by social workers, and identifies what influences that, thereby reflecting the realities and constraints of everyday work. At the time the research was carried out (2000), the results confirm that the prevalence of cases involving men's abuse of women on this team was in line with international findings. This research revealed an absence of a team policy, an agreed definition of intimate violence in this context and agency practice guidelines, and illuminated how these gaps act as a deterrent to effective intervention. This paper explores some of the ethical and practical dilemmas that may arise for child protection social workers intervening in cases where the abuse of women by men is present. Recommendations arising from this research identify a need for a clear policy and best practice guidelines for social work staff in relation to this abuse.     

Understanding work enjoyment among older workers: The significance of flexible work options and age discrimination in the workplace

Although the number of older workers in the U.S. is increasing, there is a gap in knowledge on whether or not they actually enjoy working. This study, based on a conceptual framework focusing on job resources and demands, explored likely workplace determinants of work enjoyment among older workers aged 50 or over. Using the 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a partial proportional odds model was used to detect determinants of work enjoyment. Results showed that higher levels of work enjoyment were significantly and negatively associated with the level of perceived retirement pressure and promotion preference for younger workers, and positively associated with moving to less demanding positions. Self-employment showed a noticeable enhancement of work enjoyment. This study highlights the significance of flexible work options and age discrimination in the workplace in understanding work enjoyment later in life.     

Self-justification in decision-making: Chinese child welfare workers' inconsistency of perceptions and experiences matters in reporting child abuse

Mandatory reporting is the central measure for child protection. However, the common alternative strategy of avoidance that is practised by child welfare workers is little discussed. This study examines the influences of child welfare workers' inconsistent perceptions and experiences on reporting. Using China Social Work Longitudinal Study 2019, a total of 2 180 child welfare workers in the child and youth service field were selected. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the perceptions and experiences associated with reporting. Child welfare workers with a moderate perception of sexual abuse (OR = 1.442*), more experiences of emotional abuse cases (OR = 1.258*) and fewer experiences of sexual abuse cases (OR = 0.703*) had greater odds of reporting than not reporting, and those with a low or moderate perception of emotional abuse (OR = 3.027*; OR = 1.691*, respectively), a moderate perception of physical abuse (OR = 1.537*) and more experiences of neglect cases (OR = 1.345*) were more likely to avoid than to not report. Social work licensure plays a moderating role. The results indicate the importance of alternative strategies, perceptions and experiences in the assessment-decision continuum of reporting. The inconsistent perceptions and experiences of child welfare workers contribute to self-justification in decision-making. Implications for practices and directions for future research are discussed.     

An Analysis of Supervisor Support of Policies on Workplace Flexibility

ABSTRACT

Workplace flexibility policies provide workers with an opportunity to attain a healthy work–life balance. This study utilized a secondary data set of 658 supervisors from a study that was commissioned by the work–life office of a major university in the Southern United States to get a better understanding of the implementation of flexibility policies at this university. The purpose of examining this secondary data set was to determine whether supervisors who have caregiving responsibilities are more likely to be supportive of workplace flexibility policies than those with no caregiving responsibilities. The findings indicate that supervisors who have caregiving responsibilities are no more likely to be supportive of workplace flexibility than those with no caregiving responsibilities. This finding is important to those who have a vested interest in understanding factors that may promote or undermine workplace policies that have direct impact on workers and their families. Future research and recommendations for practice are made.