Themes in Group Work with Lesbian and Gay Adolescents

ABSTRACT

Lesbian and gay youth often face severe isolation, growing up in an environment that is frequently ignorant of their unique needs and hostile toward them. Youth groups can serve a vital role in overcoming this isolation in addition to providing a safe space for working out the various problems surrounding the stigma of growing up gay. This article presents several themes in group work with lesbian and gay adolescents based on the author's experience as a group worker at a lesbian and gay youth project. Isolation, coming out, learning/re-learning, and initiation into a community are offered as four main themes which provide a foundation for understanding how to help lesbian and gay adolescents in groups.     

暴力重新犯罪行为特点及成因实证分析

随着社会变革日益深化，犯罪数量不断上升，其中暴力犯罪有加剧的趋势。尤其在2009年，我国暴力犯罪总量经过了几年下降后，突然有所上升，广大公众的社会安全感受到严重威胁。特别是一些重新犯罪人员在暴力犯罪中起到“领头羊”的作用。针对这一社会现象，本文对当前暴力重新犯罪行为特点及形成原因进行了实证研究。     

Determinants of runaway episodes among adolescents using crisis shelter services

This study investigated youth and family factors associated with runaway episodes. Youth and family characteristics are described for adolescents utilising emergency shelter services in Texas and New York, and the study explored multivariate models to determine the individual and family effects on runaway recidivism. A convenience sample of 349 youth using runaway shelter services was recruited; 154 runaway youth from New York and 195 from Texas shelters participated. Adolescents completed several self-report measures; negative binomial regression analyses were conducted. Findings demonstrated that characteristics of adolescents and family factors are significant predictors of adolescents' runaway episodes when statistically controlling for region of the country. Social workers in emergency youth shelters and child welfare settings are in a unique position to develop effective strategies to meet the needs of this high-risk group of young people.     

Europeanisation and the Youth Guarantee: The case of France

In 2013, the European Council approved the Youth Guarantee (YG) to counteract youth unemployment. Because of its specific features, the YG is useful for understanding whether the EU has triggered policy change in national youth unemployment policies. Contrary to most of the literature on similar topics, we focused in this study on the effect of this specific European measure rather than on broader EU strategies or policies. The study contributes to the literature by qualifying the degree of fit/misfit and suggesting a counterfactual analysis, using the case of France. We first situate the article within the broader Europeanisation debate and present our research design. The second section introduces the policy structure of the YG and investigates youth unemployment policy in France, prior to and after the European initiative. The third section discusses whether the French youth unemployment policy would have been developed in the same way without the YG. A final section concludes.     

Trends in Violent Crime and Public Concern

Socially, the most damaging of all the effects of violent crime was said to be its indirect ‘terrorising’ effect, generating public fear and disrupting the functioning of the community. The blame for aggravation of this effect is often placed on over-reporting and sensationalization by the mass media. The study aimed to determine if there is an objective basis for a growing public concern about increases in crimes of violence in New South Wales, or if this concern is a product of certain forms of publicity given to violence, and to identify targets for social intervention. A formal analysis of a decade's trends in violent crimes against the person and property crimes showed the following: among adults more males commit murder and major assault, and more females major assault; among juveniles, more males commit assault, serious robbery, and malicious damage, and more females assault and malicious damage; more offences of major assault, robbery, and arson are reported to the police, but there is no increase in reported rapes and known homicides; there is no increase in the vandalization of school property; the only judicial reflection of public concern about violent crime is a slight increase in the length of sentence given for robbery. In a critical discussion of the findings, increases in violent crime reported to the police were singled out as justifying public concern. The most serious concern, however, is warranted by the increasing juvenile violence which is consistent with trends observed in most Western countries. The difficulty was pointed out of translating this concern into social action, in the absence of any coherent theoretical or empirical framework within which to identify priority targets. There is a need for a multifactorial approach to provide a rational basis for dealing with the problem of violent crime.     

Understanding child neglect in Aboriginal families and communities in the context of trauma

Child neglect is a significant concern for Aboriginal families and communities both in Australia and internationally. Service responses to child neglect are largely informed by child neglect theories, which explain the nature and causes of child neglect. However, child neglect is a problem that is worsening for Aboriginal children, suggesting that these theories are not appropriate. This paper argues that to meet the needs of Aboriginal families and communities where there is child neglect, policy and practice needs to acknowledge and address the impact of trauma in shaping the lived experiences of Aboriginal people. International literature discusses the impact and consequence of historical trauma within Indigenous families and communities, and separately, child maltreatment theorists have discussed the ecological nature of child neglect. However, the literature and evidence‐base linking the two, child neglect and historical trauma in Indigenous contexts, are very scant. This paper aims to fill this gap and emphasize the importance of addressing child neglect within Aboriginal families and communities in the context of historical trauma. Although this paper focuses on the post‐colonial experiences of Aboriginal people in Australia, the arguments can extend to many Indigenous cultures universally where child welfare interventions have resulted in significant and ongoing trauma.     

Perceptions of Gangs and Crews by Justice-Involved Youth and Implications for Best Practice Work

ABSTRACT

Gangs and crews are at center stage when discussing youth violence. According to client-centered best practices in the social service arena, distinguishing between gangs and crews is not important for developing a trusting relationship; yet these terms are a master status for those agencies aimed at enforcement and suppression. Social service providers must navigate these different landscapes, particularly in light of their increasing involvement in multistakeholder violence-reduction partnerships. However, the voices of youth themselves have been left out of the mix. Perceptions of youth identified as gang affiliated or at risk for gang membership are used to empirically investigate how these best practices tensions should be navigated by service providers. Semistructured interviews with 41 youth involved in an employment program show that crews are perceived as less violent and less dangerous than gangs, and youth actively resisted the gang label, even though there were no differences in criminal records between self-identified gang and crew members. Implications for the important role of service providers in providing client-centered services and bringing forward youth voices into collaborative partnerships are discussed, as are future research needs relating to linking youth voices to best practice work.     

家庭社会资本与青少年犯罪行为关系探究

青少年犯罪是当今社会的顽疾,它已成为世界各国普遍关注的社会问题。家庭是青少年适应社会的基本媒介,家庭社会资本的影响是决定—个儿童是否成为犯罪者的重要因素。本文主要综述了家庭社会资本与青少年犯罪行为之间的关系,具体分析了决定家庭社会资本的因素以及家庭社会资本的缺乏对青少年犯罪行为产生的可能性影响。研究探索青少年犯罪与家庭社会资本的关系,也是为了制定积极有效的措施,更好地预防和减少青少年犯罪。     

From Community Organization to Direct Services: The Street Trans Action Revolutionaries to Sylvia Rivera Law Project

ABSTRACT

The literature on transgender social services is limited. Taking a case study approach, this article examines the needs of chronically underserved lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations, particularly homeless transgender street youth, and efforts of community-based organizations to address them. To consider their needs, this article considers the legacy of transgender activist Sylvia Rivera along with four organizations that grew out of her work: the Street Trans Action Revolutionaries, Sylvia's Place, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and New Alternatives for LGBT Youth. These organizations show the promise for using multiple methods, from direct action to direct services, while connecting the lessons of social movements with social services. Future recommendations for improving research and services are highlighted.     

Leisure for youth in residential care: an important context for intervention

Compared with non-institutionalized youth, adolescents under the protection of a social welfare agency have somewhat differing patterns of free-time activity. However, little is known about the contexts in which meaningful free time activity occurs. Data on this topic were collected from a sample of adolescents (n = 20) under the care of the Child Welfare Organization (Oslo, Norway) and a comparison group of non-institutionalized adolescents (n = 27) from neighboring schools. The Experience Sampling Method was used to collect data on 1220 situations sampled during after-school hours, with particular attention given to the nature of the activity, social group, and location. The dependent variable was the respondent's desire to do that activity more or less often. Compared to the reference group, adolescents in the youth protection group were significantly more likely to say they wanted more self-involving activities and found this type of engagement within the privacy of their institution rather than in public arenas. These results are discussed in relation to the potential for intervention to enhance the leisure opportunities of institutionalized youth.     

Children and Violence: Nurturing Social-Emotional Development to Promote Mental Health

The absence of violence against children is a fundamental children's right and a major milestone of civilized society. Similarly, reports on incidences of violence by children and youth, including severe cases with devastating consequences, speak to the need that the trauma of exposure to violence in childhood needs to be addressed. While violence and its risk factors are generally understood, what is less clear are the essential protective factors, how we can identify those as early as possible, and how we can use them to prevent and address the trauma of violence exposure in children and youth. In this report, I review pathways of child and youth violence through the lens of social-emotional development as a central protective factor. Negative emotions of frustration and anger can underlie violence and aggression. Kind emotions, such as caring and our ability to connect with others emotionally, can serve as social-emotional protective factors. A brief review of the central social-emotional processes and their development is provided, including the human capacity to feel with others and express empathy, be emotionally aware and care about the effects of one's own actions on others, and be able to regulate the self and their emotions. Given the negative widespread and long-term impact of exposure to violence, I describe research-informed attempts to prevent violence exposure across development. Taking a humanistic, strength-based perspective, the focus is on social-emotional protective factors to address violence and nurture mental health in every child. I conclude with recommendations for practice and policy.     

Positive youth development in Māori and New Zealand European adolescents through an adventure education programme

Within Aotearoa New Zealand there is growing interest in positive youth development (PYD). A PYD approach provides balance to narratives surrounding outcomes for youth and broadens our views of what we consider beneficial developmental outcomes. In the current study we used sail training as a method to promote PYD in Māori and New Zealand European adolescents. Specifically, 54 Māori and 37 New Zealand European adolescents completed the 7-day youth-development voyage on-board the gaffed rigged schooner, R. Tucker Thompson. We demonstrate that, for both Māori and New Zealand European adolescents, psychological resilience, self-esteem, and positive outlook on life increased from the first day to the last day of the voyage. In addition, we demonstrate that the increases in psychological resilience were driven by the social/collective identity adolescents formed with their group over the course of the voyage.     

Network news coverage of school shootings

School shootings have become a subject of intense national debate. The present study is a content analysis and interpretation of television evening newscast coverage of these crimes. The focus is on ABC, CBS, and NBC nightly newscasts. Findings from this research support two propositions: that the most violent school shootings receive the most media coverage, and that the reporting of school shooting cases on network newscasts reflect the “herd mentality” nature of the media.     

Home Street Home: The Interpersonal Dimensions of Adolescent Homelessness

This paper draws on the available literature, as well as unpublished data, to reconstruct the often chaotic early childhood experiences of homeless adolescents and to describe the problematic ways of relating that may result from these troubled life histories. We also examine the processes by which homeless youth become separated from their families, and we make connections between socio-emotional problems on the street and early neglect and abuse at home. The risk-amplification model is offered as a theoretically compelling explanation of the adolescent homeless experience, high rates of victimization on the streets, and mental health problems that arise out of these circumstances. Finally, we present a promising approach for intervening with homeless youth, one that explicitly targets this cycle of ineffective interpersonal relationships.     

The renewal of civic education in France and in America: Comparative perspectives

This article undertakes a comparative study of the renewal of civic education both in France and in America. It posits that the rising concern about the subject speaks to a broader interest for civic matters and citizenship. Civic education is in fact implicitly presented as the key solution to political apathy and disengagement of the youth and to the growing number of incivilities and violent actions at school.     

回顾与展望--三次中青年红学研讨会的思考

全国中青年红学研讨会已经开过三次,首届会议的主题是强调回归文本,第二届会议的主题是文献、文本、文化在红学中的融通和创新,第三次会议是探讨<红楼梦>与世界文学的关系问题.本文对三次会议进行了总结,谈到红学研究中不但要回归文本,更重要的是超越文本,并且把<红楼梦>放在世界文学的大坐标中进行审视.在具体操作中,要以文献研究为基础,以文本研究为轴心,以文化研究为旨归,从而去适应和推动21世纪红学研究的转型.     

Traumatic exposure to violence: A comprehensive review of the child and adolescent literature

Abstract

This paper reviews contemporary literature on the diverse effects trauma and violence have on children and adolescents. The author emphasizes an area of paramount importance: perpetual re‐exposure to trauma through re‐enactments and risk‐taking behaviors.     

Characteristics of the Way of Life of Adolescents

The way of life, intentions, and values of the adolescents of Russia have been written about extensively both in the mass publications and in specialized youth journals. For the most part, these writings have to do with a group that is not very large—the young people of the capital city, who have considerably more opportunities for entertainment and education than their peers elsewhere in Russia and are better informed about world trends in music, fashions, and cinema. An article was published last year that described the plans and aspirations of the upper-grade students of schools in Moscow. The present article continues the topic, analyzing generational attitudes and values. The article makes use of the findings of an all-Russian survey which was conducted by the All-Russian Center for Public-Opinion Research in June 1998 among adolescents between the ages of sixteen and nineteen; 419 people were surveyed.     

A Time to Hate: Situational Antecedents of Intergroup Bias

Shortly after the World Trade Center was destroyed, reports began to appear of hate crimes against Americans of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent. This article provides a summary of social psychological research that explains why certain events might promote intergroup bias. The literature on the correlation between hate crimes and potential precipitating factors is also reviewed. Finally, a few brief suggestions are made, based on previous research, as to how these crimes might be prevented.