Older transgender women in Thailand: views of service providers

The social and cultural construction of aging and how it is experienced by transgender women in Thailand has been neglected within the academic literature. This qualitative study explored how Thai lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) service providers construct aging transgender women. Fourteen semi-structured in-depth interviews and one focus group were conducted in Thailand between 2016 and 2017 with LGBTI staff members whose roles ranged from volunteer to senior management. This research was a part of a larger doctoral research project. In considering both gender identity and older age, a clearer understanding is established on how notions of “older” for transgender women are constructed by service providers. Thematic analysis was undertaken, which established that there is a lack of heterogeneity and shared understanding of the concepts of “age” and “older transgender women.” This key finding was compounded by the invisibility of older transgender women in the Thai landscape, which limited the extent to which older transgender women have been included in targeted service provision. Older transgender women lack agency and voice and have failed to be involved in the shaping of services that meet their needs.     

Physical and social barriers to social relationships: voices of rural disabled women in the USA

Through exploring the lived experiences of disabled women, this study investigates how physical and social barriers affect their social relationships. In‐depth tape‐recorded interviews investigating a variety of social and interpersonal issues were conducted with 24 women with physical or visual impairments who lived in a rural region of the midwestern USA. Using content analysis, the researchers examined interview data for common themes and patterns relating to social relationships. The findings indicate that physical barriers, related to the physical environment and personal physicality, along with social barriers, involving preconceptions of others about impairment and restrictions in personal networks, hamper the initiation and maintenance of social relationships. Further, the experiences of this group of disabled women corresponded most closely with the premises of a social relational understanding of disability.     

Older people and poverty in rural Britain: Material hardships,cultural denials and social inclusions

This paper explores the relations between older people, poverty and place in rural Britain. It develops previous work on rural poverty that has pointed both to the significance of older people within the rural poor population and to their denials of poverty. The paper also connects with recent discussions on the complexity of relations between poverty and social exclusion in later life, as well as key themes emerging from studies of older people in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. Drawing on findings from a survey of 4000 households in rural Wales and interviews with older people in poverty in three rural places, the paper provides a detailed examination of the materialities and experiences of poverty among older people in rural places. In particular, it highlights how older poor groups construct their lives in complex terms with references made to both social inclusions and exclusions. The research also points to the significance of the socio-cultural contexts of place in shaping older people's understandings of poverty in rural areas.     

Digital remediation: social support and online learning communities can help offset rural digital inequality

ABSTRACT

While all students enter college with varying levels of digital skills, those from rural areas may face extra challenges because their own skills and those of their pre-college networks may be underdeveloped. Without some type of intervention, digital deficits can perpetuate further educational disadvantages. We developed an online learning community (OLC) in two sections of an introductory college course and integrated collaborative learning into students’ weekly activities. Regression analysis of survey data (N?=?373) shows three impacts: access to social support is associated with higher skill assessment and improvements in digital skills; rural status is associated with a clear and significant disadvantage in digital skill assessment; and that involvement in an OLC contributed substantially to improvements in digital skills. We conclude with limitations and considerations for future research.     

Migration, social support and perinatal health: an origin-destination analysis of Puerto Rican women

Using pooled origin-destination data from the Puerto Rican Maternal and Infant Health Study, we investigate linkages between migration, social support, and perinatal health. We document differences in social support between three groups of Puerto Rican women: non-migrant women in Puerto Rico, first-generation migrants to the U.S. mainland, and mainland-born women. The role of social support in producing differences in perinatal health outcomes between the groups is assessed. The analysis shows striking differences in social support between island and mainland women, but little systematic variation among mainland women by generation of U.S. residence. The lower level of social support available to mainland women is not reflected in the health outcomes examined, which do not generally worsen with migration to the United States (with the exception of maternal smoking). Nonetheless, we show that social support has important implications for stress, which in turn increases the risk of poor health behavior and compromised infant health.     

Social support and social structure

The burgeoning study of social support in relation to social stress and health would benefit from increased attention to issues of social structure. Three aspects of social relationships, all often referred to as social support, must be more clearly distinguished—(1) their existence or quantity (i.e., social integration), (2) their formal structure (i.e., social networks), and (3) their functional or behavioral content (i.e., the most precise meaning of social support)—and the causal relationships between the structure of social relationships (social integration and networks) and their functional content (social support) must be more clearly understood. Research and theory are needed on the determinants of social integration, networks, and support as well as their consequences for stress and health. Among potential determinants, macrosocial structures and processes particularly merit attention.     

Network cohesion and social support

This article analyses the effects of personal network cohesion on different types of social support using two dimensions of cohesion: network closure (defined as a tightly knit set of actors around the ego) and cliquishness (defined as the extent to which an actor is connected with a number of cohesive sub-sets of alters). Data were obtained from a personal networks’ survey conducted in Catalonia (Spain), which was completed by 441 adults and gathered information about exchange of social support in networks made of 30 alters. A multilevel analysis disentangles the effects on support of these two structural dimensions at the network-level from compositional effects at the network and tie-level. The results show that network closure does not play a relevant role in support once confounders at the network and tie levels are controlled for. However, cliquishness has a significant association with labor-related support and housing support, net of statistical controls. Implications of these results in network research are discussed.     

Family and friends as respite providers

Consumer-directed service options in home- and community- based care are increasingly available to adults with chronic conditions and cognitive impairments and to their family caregivers. Few studies, however, examine the experience of family caregivers who, when given a choice of providers of respite assistance (i.e., relief from the stress of providing constant care), prefer to hire family or friends rather than service providers. This study describes the in-home respite experience of family caregivers served by California's Caregiver Resource Centers "direct-pay" program who hire family or friends (n = 39) or service providers (n = 77) to provide in-home respite assistance. Findings revealed similarities between the two groups with few exceptions: caregivers who hired family or friends reported poorer physical health, were slightly more satisfied with the respite assistance, and received more hours of respite at a lower unit cost. These findings lend support to consumer-directed respite service options where family caregivers are given flexible alternatives that may act to remove barriers to respite service availability and use.     

Social care and support for elderly men and women in an urban and a rural area of Nepal

This study has aimed to describe the care and support for urban and rural elderly people of Bhaktapur district, Nepal. Efforts were made to identify the feeling of some features of general well-beings associated to mental health, person responsible for care and support, capability to perform daily routine activities, sources of finance and ownership to the property. More than half of the respondents were found having single or multiple features of loneliness, anxiety, depression and insomnia. The rate of point prevalence loneliness was found higher in the above 80 years of age, urban respondents. Almost 9 in 10 respondents were capable themselves to dress, walk and maintain personal hygiene and majority of them were assisted by spouse, son/daughter-in-laws. Family support was common sources of income and ownership to the property was absolutely high.     

Social care and support for elderly men and women in an urban and a rural area of Nepal

This study has aimed to describe the care and support for urban and rural elderly people of Bhaktapur district, Nepal. Efforts were made to identify the feeling of some features of general well-beings associated to mental health, person responsible for care and support, capability to perform daily routine activities, sources of finance and ownership to the property. More than half of the respondents were found having single or multiple features of loneliness, anxiety, depression and insomnia. The rate of point prevalence loneliness was found higher in the above 80 years of age, urban respondents. Almost 9 in 10 respondents were capable themselves to dress, walk and maintain personal hygiene and majority of them were assisted by spouse, son/daughter-in-laws. Family support was common sources of income and ownership to the property was absolutely high.     

The social capital and mental health of long-term social assistance recipients in Norway

Previous findings have generally demonstrated the positive mental health benefits of social capital. However, the mental health benefits of social capital for social assistance recipients have not been fully demonstrated. This study analyses the mental health benefits of individual-level bonding and individual-level bridging social capital for 551 Norwegian longer-term social assistance recipients. The findings demonstrate that bonding social capital, i.e. contacts with friends and access to social resources, are positively associated with mental health. Of the variables in the study that relate to bridging social capital, social trust and trust towards the social worker particularly show significant associations for mental health. Consequently, it is important that the mental health benefits of various forms of bonding and bridging social capital are acknowledged within social work practices and that social work practitioners actively aim to increase social trust in longer-term social assistance recipients.     

An exploration of social support as a factor in the return-to-work process

Despite evidence that inter-personal relationships are important in human resource management, little is understood about the nature of workplace social support in a disability context, or what features of support are important to the success of return-to-work programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore workplace disability support from worker and supervisory perspectives and to identify salient features for work re-entry. A total of 8 supervisors and 18 previously injured workers from a range of work units in a Canadian municipality were interviewed, and their views concerning supportive and unsupportive behaviours in work-re-entry situations were recorded and analyzed. A full range of social support dimensions were reported to be relevant, and were seen as arising from a variety of sources (e.g. supervisor, co-workers, disability manager, work unit, and outside of work). Respondents identified trust, communication and knowledge of disability as key precursors to a successful return-to-work process. Future research should explore the specific contributions of support to work rehabilitation outcomes as well as interventions to enhance available supports.     

Social support as a mediator of revictimization of low-income African American women

Mediating effects of social support on the link between childhood maltreatment and adult intimate partner violence (IPV) were explored in a sample of 362 low-income, African American women. We examined relations between childhood maltreatment experiences (total maltreatment, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect) and adult maltreatment (physical IPV and nonphysical IPV). Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed small, but significant, effects. Further, social support mediated revictimization. Social support fully mediated relations in which the form of childhood maltreatment was different than the form of adult IPV (e.g., the relation between childhood sexual abuse and adult nonphysical IPV), but only partially mediated the relations in which the form of childhood maltreatment was similar to adult IPV (e.g., the relation between childhood emotional abuse and adult nonphysical IPV). Implications for clinical interventions for women with intimate partner violence experiences are discussed.     

National registry of health care providers in clinical social work

News of the societies

National registry of health care providers in clinical social work     

Using digital storytelling as a source of empowerment for rural women in Benin

ABSTRACT

Digital storytelling offers a combination of traditional storytelling and new technologies that is attracting attention from feminist researchers aiming to co-create research in empowering ways for participants, allowing them to collaborate, build shared awareness of issues, and share their priority issues with decision-makers and power-holders. This article focuses on digital storytelling in research into the role of Mothers’ Associations in influencing families, communities, and political decision-makers to promote girls’ education in Benin.     

Characteristics of effective providers of marital and family therapy in rural mental health settings

Characteristics of effective providers of marital and family therapy (MFT) in rural mental health settings were investigated. The survey sample included 74 members of the National Association for Rural Mental Health who, through a modified Delphi process, created a composite picture of effective MFT providers. The findings yielded six major rank-ordered characteristics of effective MFT providers in rural mental health settings, with effective skills in MFT ranked first. Rural community understanding, appreciation and participation ranked second. Specific competencies contributing to each major characteristic were also identified and are discussed. Recommendations for use of this information are provided.     

Social networks and support in social work

Following the recommendations of the Barclay Report for a move on the part of social work towards supporting helping networks in the community, it is necessary to look more closely at the components of ‘social support’ and to be clearer about which social networks social workers are being asked to support. It is suggested that sociology, although criticised for its remoteness from the daily experience of the social worker, could offer through social network analysis some useful measures of the support networks of social work clients.