ICT,young people and social work: distances and opportunities

ABSTRACT

The relationship between social work and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is an awkward one in Spanish tradition, particularly from social work perspective due to a certain lack of institutional and professional competence in terms of understanding the capabilities of ICTs. Young people use ICTs to connect to each other and express themselves, however. ICTs represent a means—increasingly the main one—for young people to build and communicate their own identities and understand reality. As with other social sciences, social work suffers from a difficult relationship with young people. Youth is often studied differently and sometimes perceived as a problem that ends when adulthood is reached. In this context, the relationship among ICTs, social work and young people is also a difficult one. But this problem may also be a solution. By adopting a critical ICT approach, social work can create innovative initiatives and frameworks to improve communication between social work practitioners and teachers as with young people and students. Imagination and empathy will clearly be key to achieving this, in addition to deeper involvement in the use of new software and applications that can offer enhanced communication and build bridges between social workers and young people.     

Setting the agenda: social inclusion,children and young people

This paper was prepared collectively by participants of the third seminar in a series with the title Challenging ‘Social Inclusion’: Perspectives for and from Children and Young People. Three 3‐day seminars took place at the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling in 2002–3 attended by academics, professionals from voluntary sector children's agencies, young people, representatives from central government and postgraduate students. Funding was provided by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Children's Society.     

Learning to gamble: early gambling experiences among young people in Denmark

This article presents results from the first phase of a longitudinal qualitative study of gambling among young people in Denmark. The longitudinal study is designed to capture the trajectories of young gamblers and to explore how social and cultural factors and processes impact on young people's gambling careers. The first stage of analysis places a special emphasis on young people's introduction to gambling and the social contexts of these early gambling experiences. Theoretically, this first study is guided by a symbolic interactionist approach. We conclude that early experiences with gambling are socially mediated and that significant social contexts such as the family and peer groups form important contexts of these early experiences. Our evidence suggest that becoming engaged in gambling is a social process involving a transfer of skills and knowledge in which novices learn how to play and to attribute specific meanings to gambling. Overall, our findings indicate that young people start gambling not because of purely individual characteristics or deviant motivations but through social processes within significant social networks. Implications for prevention and further research are briefly discussed.     

Technological capital and digital divide among young people: an intersectional approach

This article explores the digital divide among young people in Spain by examining four traditional socio-demographic variables (gender, age, education and employment situation). It proposes the concept of ‘technological capital’ as a means to put people’s socioeconomic conditions of existence into relation with the different forms of accessing and using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Methodologically, a quantitative approach is taken, based on the National Statistics Institute’s survey of ICT Equipment in households, which makes use of both bivariate and multivariate analysis. Finally, a typology of young users of the Internet is proposed (1 – Digitally Excluded; 2 – Basic Users; 3 – Users in Mobility; 4 – Cyber Consumers; 5 – Cyber Experts) which takes into account the importance of technological capital, the socio-economic position and cultural resources of subjects in their incorporation of ICTs into their daily life.     

Gambling among young Thai people in Melbourne,Australia: an exploratory study

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to explore the gambling behaviours of young Thai people resident in Melbourne, Australia; the meaning that gambling had for this group; whether the attitudes of these young Thai people towards gambling changed as a result of their location in a society with more relaxed attitudes towards gambling than in Thailand; whether any such changes of attitude were reflected in gambling participation; and whether such participation had demonstrably negative impacts. It was also hoped to gain some insight into whether pre-existing beliefs and attitudes provided a protective factor in relation to the respondent's gambling. Fifty young people aged 18 to 25, forming five natural friendship networks, were observed on over 180 occasions in relation to their gambling and leisure behaviours. A number of major themes were identified from the observational data including money, fortune and luck, consumerism, entertainment, spirituality and superstition, gambling and family values. It was found that despite high levels of gambling participation there was little, if any, evidence of problematic play or its consequences. Strong adherence to values espoused in families of origin and to complex beliefs about luck in the context of beliefs about spirituality and the location of gambling within the context of a range of leisure pursuits served as protective factors for these young people.     

Let's do it! Advocacy,young people and social work education

This paper evaluates a pilot project that aimed to promote the participation of young people in the education and training of social care professionals. An accredited training programme for young people was developed and delivered. The young people involved then participated as educators in a Diploma in Social Work programme. The paper draws on the experiences of project staff, the young people and the social work students, and locates its analysis within the literature on citizenship, children's rights, advocacy and empowerment.     

Using research questionnaires with young people in schools: the influence of the social context

Whilst there is an extensive literature on the use of self-completion questionnaires as a research tool, very little attention has been paid to the influence of the social context in determining the ways in which questionnaires are used in practice. This paper describes our experiences of working with 27 English, mixed sex, state schools to carry out a questionnaire survey with 4754 students aged 13–14 years. The survey was part of a randomized controlled trial of peer led sex education. Using data from the questionnaires and from researcher fieldnotes, we highlight ways in which aspects of the social context affected the administration of the questionnaire, students' participation in the survey and the quality of the data collected.     

Personal resilience and identity capital among young people leaving care: enhancing identity formation and life chances through involvement in volunteering and social action

This study explored identity capital and personal resilience among care leavers and young people in care engaging in social activities through volunteering. Care leavers and young people in care are disadvantaged developmentally by lack of identity resources and an accelerated transition to independence. This study analysed material from semi-structured interviews to explore the Identity Capital Model and theories of individualisation, agentic identity development and resilience in explaining the identity resources of young people transitioning out of care. The analysis identified links between the exploration opportunities of volunteering with the development of agentic individualisation and enhanced identity capital. The findings indicate that developmental processes may be enhanced through supported and personalised volunteering opportunities to aid vulnerable young people transitioning out of care. Young people leaving care can make substantial gains particularly in social capital, personal resilience and identity capital. This study indicates that volunteering opportunities for this group of vulnerable young people may assist in compensating for the lack of resources often experienced by care leavers when transitioning to adulthood.     

Attempting suicide and help-seeking behaviours: using stories from young people to inform social work practice

In recent decades Australia has recorded one of the highest youth suicide rates worldwide. Attempted suicide is considered to be up to 50 times more common than completed suicides. This small, qualitative study, undertaken in North Queensland, aimed to offer a window into young people's lives concerning their suicide attempt(s) and their help-seeking behaviours. In-depth interviews were undertaken with nine young people. Findings reveal help was sought from a range of individuals prior to the attempt, including family, friends and professional workers. Regarding their attempts, there was evidence in some stories of a series of events leading up to the attempt, but also evidence in others of more impulsive acts. The intent of the attempt for this sample appeared to be unique to individual attempts. Getting information about depression, and workers listening to young people's unique story was important and workers, who could fill a ‘mate’ role, was viewed by some participants as helpful.     

Relations between social withdrawal subtypes and socio-emotional adjustment among Chinese children and early adolescents

The aim of the present study was to compare the relations between subtypes of social withdrawal and socio-emotional adjustment in Chinese children and early adolescents. Participants included 571 children (M_age = 9.62 years) and 345 adolescents M_age = 12.12 years) in mainland China. Social withdrawal subtypes (i.e., shyness, unsociability, social avoidance) and indices of socio-emotional adjustment were assessed via self-reports, peer nominations, and teacher ratings. Shyness tended to be more strongly associated with emotional maladjustment in early adolescence, whereas unsociability was more strongly associated with socio-emotional difficulties in childhood. For social avoidance, associations with indices of negative adjustment (i.e., social anxiety, emotional symptoms, peer problems) were stronger in childhood, however, associations with indices of positive adjustment (i.e., life satisfaction, well-being) were stronger in early adolescence.     

Religion, social support, and health among the Japanese elderly

We address three issues in this paper: (1) Is religion related to self-rated health, (2) do these salubrious effects arise because religion encourages people to provide help to significant others, and (3) is the relationship between religion and helping others more evident among older men than elderly women? We analyze the relationships among religion, support giving, and health with data provided by a national probability sample of 2,153 older people in Japan who were interviewed face-to-face in 1996. Greater involvement in religion is associated with providing help to others more often, but these effects emerge for older men only. Regardless of gender, elders who provide assistance to others more often rate their health more favorably than older adults who are less involved in helping others. These results confirm that religion is related to health, and that helping others may explain at least part of the reason for this relationship.     

Association between social support and child abuse potential among Japanese mothers

Child abuse is a global public health problem and a serious social issue in Japan. Social support is beneficial for parents faced with childrearing challenges. The aim of this study was to clarify the association between social support and child abuse potential. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The target population was mothers of children at nine public nursery schools. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis were performed to examine the effects of socio-demographic, social support and psychological distress factors on child abuse potential. Among 309 mothers, 29 (9.4%) had a high child abuse potential score. Bivariate analysis indicated that mothers with a higher child abuse potential score were more likely to be divorced or unmarried (P < 0.001); living in single-female-parent households (P < 0.001); have low perceived economic status (P < 0.001); have a low level of child care support (P = 0.01); have a low Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) score (P < 0.001); and/or a high General Health Questionnaire-12 score (GHQ-12) (P < 0.001). Important predictors of child abuse potential among the mothers surveyed included living in single-female-parent households, having low perceived economic status, low MSPSS score, and high GHQ-12 score. Improving approaches that help mothers build social support relationships and ease them into child rearing in a psychologically healthy condition is recommended to prevent child abuse.     

Conceptualising social capital in relation to the well-being of children and young people: a critical review

This exploratory article forms the background for an empirical study for the Health Education Authority on children, young people, health, well-being and social capital. In terms of morbidity, children tend not to exhibit clear health problems, but obviously engage in activities that have important implications for their health and well-being (West & Sweeting, 1996), and these activities may be influenced by, as well as impact upon, children's social capital. Social capital is an elusive concept and has been defined in various ways, and refers to sociability, social networks and social support, trust, reciprocity, and community and civic engagement. The paper contrasts three interpretations of the concept, by Coleman (1988, 1990), Putnam (1993, 1995) and Bourdieu (1986). It concludes that the concept is currently poorly specified as it relates to children, and that the use of the term is inherently problematic, and needs to be carefully critiqued and empirically grounded before it can usefully be applied in social policy formulations. One possible way forward might be to conceptualise social capital not so much as a measurable ‘thing’, rather as a set of processes and practices that are integral to the acquisition of other forms of ‘capital’ such as human capital and cultural capital (ie qualifications, skills, group memberships, etc).     

Preventing hepatitis C virus transmission among young people in the justice system

Young people involved with the criminal justice system have been identified as a group at high risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study was designed to explore the feasibility of assessing an individualised structured HCV prevention intervention among young people recruited from post release agencies and youth drug and alcohol services in Victoria, Australia.