Materialist/postmaterialist values and their association with psychological health and health locus of control: A population-based study

This study investigates the association between Ronald Inglehart's materialist/postmaterialist index, a psychological aspect of the material pathway to inequalities in health, and health locus of control and psychological health. The data used is from the 2008 public health survey in Skåne, a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with 28,198 respondents (response rate 54%), conducted in southern Sweden during the fall of 2008. Psychological health (GHQ12), health locus of control (external vs. internal) and the four-item Inglehart's index were assessed. A Multiple Logistic Regression Model was used to control for age, sex, country of origin, socioeconomic status and interpersonal trust. External locus of control was observed among 32.7% of the respondents. Poor psychological health was found in 18.2% of the women and 13.8% of the men. Materialist values were positively associated with low socioeconomic status, while a reverse association between postmaterialist values and low socioeconomic status was observed. External health locus of control was strongly and positively associated with materialist values among both men and women. Psychological health was not associated with materialist/postmaterialist values. The materialist/postmaterialist index, a psychological aspect of the material pathway to inequalities in health, is associated with health locus of control but not with mental health.     

Psychosocial work conditions, unemployment, and generalized trust in other people: A population-based study of psychosocial health determinants

The association between psychosocial work conditions, unemployment, and generalized trust was investigated. The health survey in Skåne is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study with a 59% participation rate. A total of 5,180 persons that belonged to the work force and the unemployed were included. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations between psychosocial factors at work and unemployment, and trust. Psychosocial work conditions were defined by the Karasek–Theorell demand–control/decision latitudes into relaxed, active, passive, and jobstrain. Effects of length of unemployment on trust were analysed. A 38.4% of all men and 42.1% of all women in the workforce have low trust. Men and women in the passive, jobstrain and unemployed categories had significantly higher odds ratios of low trust compared to the relaxed reference group. After multivariate adjustments these patterns remained, except among “passive” men. Psychosocial work conditions and unemployment are associated with trust.     

Changes in marital status and links to self-rated health: A study of temporal relationships

This study examines whether self-rated health (SRH) changes predict marital status changes or vice versa, and tests whether changes in trust mediate the relationship between marital transition and SRH change. A logistic regression model and a mediation analysis method are used separately to analyze the longitudinal data on 2,042 respondents from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) in Taiwan. The survey achieves response rates above 70%. The findings show that none of health status at either time point predict the three types of marital transitions including never married to married, married to divorced/separated, and married to widowed. Bonding trust plays a more important role than generalized trust in mediating the adverse effect of remaining widowed status on health change within a context of Confucian culture. Those who maintain a widowed state have a lower likelihood of sustaining high levels of bonding trust, which in turn leads to poor SRH. Hence, the findings provide more support for a social causation hypothesis rather than a health selection hypothesis.     

Marital status,social capital,economic stress,and mental health: A population-based study

The associations between marital status and poor mental health are investigated, and whether social capital, trust, and economic stress attenuate the associations between marital status and poor mental health. The public health survey in Skåne (southern Sweden) 2008 is a cross-sectional study including 28,198 persons aged 18–80. Logistic regression models investigate associations between marital status and mental health, adjusting for age, country of birth, education, emotional support, instrumental support, trust in others, and economic stress. A 13.8% prevalence of the men and 18.2% of the women had poor mental health. Significantly higher odds ratios of poor mental health for the unmarried, divorced and widows/widowers compared to married/cohabitating remained throughout the analyses. Trust and economic stress only moderately attenuated these associations.     

Discouraged vs. added workers: Variation by gender,age, and marital status

This paper analyzes the relationship between aggregate unemployment and the labor force participation of males and females of differing ages and marital circumstances. According to the discouraged-worker effect, a higher unemployment rate causes some workers to leave the labor force leading to a reduction in both the labor-force participation rate and the unemployment rate. To shed light on this statistical incongruity, a unique data set consisting of monthly observations from the Current Population Survey is used to extract the labor force participation rates of males and females of three different age categories and three different marital classifications. Impulse functions from vector error-correction models indicate that discouraged workers are more likely though not exclusively to consist of married males and females between 50 and 65 years of age. No statistically significant evidence of a net added-worker effect is found among married females or males in any age group.     

Explaining political trust among African Americans: Examining demographic, media, and social capital and social networks effects

African Americans routinely have lower levels of political trust compared with whites. Explanations of their political trust remain rather unexamined. Using data taken from the 1996 National Black Election Study, this analysis examines three models to test how demographic characteristics, the media, and social capital and social networks influence political trust among African Americans. The results show modest support for the models. However, social location as measured by demographic characteristics is most important for explaining the political trust of African Americans.     

建构家庭—婚姻暴力干预的理论体系与工作模式

近年来,随着立法司法的深入推动,家庭—婚姻暴力干预取得了引人瞩目的成果。但是,政府及非政府组织对家庭—婚姻暴力当事人的干预与服务仍然是弱项,存在诸多的挑战与困惑。总结本地经验,梳理和整合有针对性的、专业化干预服务模式应该列入中国大陆家庭暴力干预工作的重要议程。     

Risks and Resources: Social Capital among Social Assistance Recipients in Norway

Based on a nationally representative panel study covering the period 1985–2003, a Norwegian cohort is investigated with regard to the risks of receiving social assistance benefits. Traditionally, welfare dependency, poverty and receipt of social assistance have been explained by beneficiaries’ human capital deficits, the structural or institutional design of the welfare system, or the level of welfare benefits. This article investigates the potentially mediating effects of social capital on the risks of receiving social assistance in youth and young adulthood. In addition, the role of the institutional welfare design on the accumulation of social capital itself is examined. The resulting analyses suggest that even if individuals’ social capital is related to the risks of receiving social assistance, it is rather the respondents’ human capital and welfare recipiency in itself that are the driving force behind paths leading individuals into further social assistance recipiency. The article concludes with an analysis suggesting that the institutional design of the Norwegian social assistance benefits reduces social capital for the beneficiaries.     

Policy and practices relating to the active engagement of older people in the community: a comparison of Sweden and Australia

This article compares policy and practices for engaging older people in community life in Sweden and Australia. Barriers and support for active engagement through paid work, social activism, volunteering and aged services are compared. Both countries face issues of ageing populations, services for rural areas and people with small needs. Issues for Sweden were the absence of age discrimination legislation, availability of funds and lack of recognition of the growing levels of volunteering. Issues for Australia concerned the new managerialist approach to services, with associated complexities of access and limited social activism.     

集体性社会资本对社区参与的影响——基于多层次数据的分析

“社会资本的后果”是社会资本研究的一个重要议题。现有研究倾向于认为,中国城市社区中的集体性社会资本对社区参与具有积极的影响。本文认为,由于社会资本与社区参与都具有多个维度,两者的关系不能一概而论。基于2006-2007年在上海收集的调查数据,本研究使用多层次logistic回归模型考察了集体性社会资本对三种类型的社区参与（抗议型、体制化与公共型参与）的影响。统计结果证实了社会资本与社区参与之间复杂的联系。此外,对多层次模型的方差成份分析发现,社区社会资本可以解释60%或更多的社区间的差异。这说明,社区参与的影响因素不仅取决于居民的个人特征,还取决于居民所在的社区特征。     

Self-reported health, self-esteem and social support among young unemployed people: a population-based study

A population-based study was performed in southern Sweden in the autumn of 1998. The aim was to study connections between self-reported health, self-esteem and social support among unemployed (≥ three months) young people. The sample consisted of 264 unemployed individuals aged 20–25 years, and 528 individuals of the same age, randomly selected from the population register and not registered as unemployed. The response rate was 72%. Defined by means of factor analysis, mental health consisted of the symptoms tearfulness, dysphoria, sleeping disturbance, restlessness, general fatigue and irritability. The unemployed had more mental health problems than young people who were working or studying. Restlessness and dysphoria were significantly over-represented in the unemployed among both sexes. However, good social support seemed to predict mental health. Support from parents was most important, particularly in males. Those with low self-esteem and poor parental support were especially vulnerable.     

Political trust,young people and institutions in Europe. A multilevel analysis

The constant decline of political trust has been shown in political sociology. Young people in particular seem to display lower levels of political trust, which is a challenge for the sustainability of democracy. Still, these levels of political trust among youth differ greatly from one country to another. This article therefore seeks to answer the following question: How can we account for cross‐national diversity with regard to young people’s political trust? To answer this question, I performed multilevel analyses based on data from the European Social Survey. I show in the article that cross‐national diversity stems from the institutional arrangements that structure entry into adulthood, i.e., what I call ‘youth welfare citizenship regimes’: The more inclusive is the youth economic citizenship and the more individualised is their social citizenship, the higher is young people’s political trust – which could buffer the decline in political trust.     

Transnational ethnic networks and the creation of immigrant social capital: A multilevel analysis

This study examines the network determinants of post-migration social capital among a group of foreign wives living in Korea. Based on a newly collected dataset, which consists of representative samples of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese women, it analyzes how and to what extent the survey respondents’ preexisting transnational ties to prior co-ethnic migrants in Korea influence their differential access to social capital. Two measures of social capital are used: the size of friendship network with native Koreans and the prestige score of occupational categories of the network contacts. Multilevel analysis reveals that while controlling for a host of individual- and contextual-level factors, ethnicity-based networks are significant in allowing foreign wives to build social capital in the host society. However, not all network relations have a uniform causal impact. Rather, they have a contingent role in the formation of post-migration social capital.     

Rurality and Social Inclusion: A Case of Preschool Education

This paper begins by reviewing several of the ways in which social inclusion has been conceptualized in the literature. The paper then explores these approaches in the context of the provision of preschool education in rural Scotland. Preschool education is viewed by government as a powerful weapon in the fight against social exclusion, but higher per capita costs in rural areas as well as the availability and cost of transport are major problems, raising questions in turn about inclusive models of provision. Moreover, many parents are sceptical about their ability to access preschool education for their children while also continuing their own engagement in the labour market (a central pillar of social inclusion policy). Issues of choice, quality and governance arise and these are discussed in depth. The paper concludes with some reflections on the concept of social inclusion in the light of this case study.     

预防与抑制：社会资本在婚姻——暴力中的影响机制初探

本文使用一项大规模抽样调查数据,分析了女性的社会资本对婚姻暴力的影响及其机制。研究使用网络规模、网络结构和网络资源衡量社会资本的不同方面,结果发现,网络规模和网络结构对婚姻暴力的发生具有预防作用,网络资源没有预防作用;网络结构对婚姻暴力的严重程度没有明显影响,网络规模和网络资源对婚姻暴力升级有抑制作用,但存在明显的城乡差异。本文对这些结果作了一些理论性探讨。     

Health and living conditions of Samis compared with other citizens based on representative surveys in three Swedish regions

This is the first general health survey of Samis compared with other Swedes to be based on randomised samples. In three regions, Samis were compared with respondents to the Public Health Investigation (n = 613 Samis and 6,309 respondents). Samis were also compared as to gender and membership in reindeer‐herding Sami villages (SVs). The survey shows that Samis of today have better education, work situation and health, and a healthier lifestyle than other Swedish citizens living in the same regions. There are, however, great differences among the Samis themselves. Members of SVs have weaker finances, and they report having less societal trust and worse health than non‐members do. Male members have lower education, are less involved in social activities and report worse overall health, but do not have a higher incidence of psychiatric problems, than other Samis. Samis, in general, have similar or better health and social situation than non‐Samis, but male SV‐members face greater problems and higher risks than other Samis. Key Practitioner Message: ? Health and welfare authorities in cooperation with the Sami parliament and the Sami villages should develop special strategies to assist the herding communities in culturally sensitive ways.     

Education and Social Policy in Central Asia: The Next Stage of the Transition

This paper discusses the challenges facing the education system of Central Asia and evaluates how these have been addressed in the market economy. We first review the evidence on the economic return to education and determine how the rewards to different levels of education changed during the transition. We then examine the trends in school enrolment and evaluate whether changes in supply or demand explain the enrolment trends we observe. Finally, we evaluate the efficiency of the delivery of education and whether market forces have improved the management of schools. We conclude with a summary of the economic and policy lessons derived thus far from the educational transition. The paper uses aggregate administrative data supplemented with survey data, primarily from the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, on enrolment, completion, and expenditures.     

Unheard voices,unmapped terrain: Care work in long‐term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden

Daly T, Szebehely M. Unheard voices, unmapped terrain: care work in long‐term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden This article aims to contribute to comparative welfare state research by analysing the everyday work life of long‐term care facility workers in Canada and Sweden. The study's empirical base was a survey of fixed and open‐ended questions. The article presents results from a subset of respondents (care aides and assistant nurses) working in facilities in three Canadian provinces (n= 557) and across Sweden (n= 292). The workers' experiences were linked to the broader economic and organisational contexts of residential care in the two jurisdictions. We found a high degree of country‐specific differentiation of work organisation: Canada follows a model of highly differentiated task‐oriented work, whereas Sweden represents an integrated relational care work model. Reflecting differences in the vertical division of labour, the Canadian care aides had more demanding working conditions than their Swedish colleagues. The consequences of these models for care workers, for older people and for their families are discussed.     

Threats,chances and opportunities: social capital in Europe in times of social and economic hardship

The 2008 financial and economic crisis, characterized by an economic breakdown unparalleled since the Great Depression, provides a unique opportunity to study the relationships between economic developments and social capital by asking: How does social capital change in times of social and economic hardship? In order to explore the trends of social capital development, data from the European Social Survey 2002–2016 are used. The results suggest that economic decline – particularly increasing unemployment – is associated with a decline in social capital, especially in southern European countries. Furthermore, increasing long-term interest rates as an indicator of government future debt sustainability appear to be detrimental for social capital development. The impact of economic decline, however, appears to be contingent upon the functioning of state institutions: especially in countries characterized by well-functioning governments social capital is significantly less affected by economic decline than other countries.     

Educational attainment and self-rated health in contemporary China: A survey-based study in 2010

Drawing on a nationwide representative data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2010, this research examines the relationship between educational attainment and self-rated health in mainland China. It is shown that educational attainment can significantly promote an individual's self-rated health. Besides, the positive effect of educational attainment on self-rated health is stronger for males and rural residents. Finally, using mediation test, we find that educational attainment can promote an individual's self-rated health by providing better work and economic condition, cultivating a higher level of the sense of self-control, encouraging individuals to pay more attention to potential health issues, raising the frequencies of exercise, and increasing the frequencies of moderate drinking. Nevertheless, neither the access to medical insurance nor the frequencies of smoking significantly mediates between education and the perception of health status.