Violence in the American Family

The paper reviews current knowledge on violence between family members in the United States, including how and why family violence became a topic of interest after years of being masked by a public and professional perceptual blackout. It presents data from a nationally representative sample of 2,143 American families that measured the extent of child abuse, wife abuse, husband abuse, and violence between siblings. The paper then reports differences in child abuse rates according to factors such as the age and sex of the child, family income, occupation, stress, unemployment, social isolation, and previous exposure or experience with violence. It is suggested that the roots of family violence lie in the organization of the family and in the implicit cultural norms tolerating or approving violence as a means for social control.     

CHILD PROTECTION: PARADOXES OF PUBLICITY,POLICY AND PRACTICE

Recent media coverage of child abuse in Victoria is critically analysed. Parallels are drawn between the substance and style of newspaper coverage of child abuse cases in the late nineteenth century ‘first wave’ of the child rescue movement and that in the late twentieth century ‘second wave’ of the child rescue movement. The twin themes of vengeance and voyeurism are clearly evident in both periods. The classic late nineteenth century concepts of Freud and Durkheim are drawn upon to illuminate the psychological and sociological sources of these themes. The current Victorian child protection system is used as a case study to explore the paradoxes for policy and practice which arise in part from the publicisation and associated politicisation of child abuse. These paradoxes include the redirection of resources from prevention and treatment to investigation services.     

Primary prevention of adolescent pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy is associated with many health, emotional and socioeconomic problems including higher rates of anemia, labor complications, mortality, legal and social struggles and hhigher divorce rates. Professional social workers need strategies to help teenagers avoid early, unwanted pregnancy. This paper offers promising experential and research backing for a primary prevention group work strategy for all adolescents. Social and health programs overlook educational, cognitive anc interpersonal factors biasing youths' ability to comprehend and regulate contraception. Primary prevention to assist adolescents in thinking analytically about their sexual behavior must stress problem solving and decision-making as well as facts about human reproduction and birth control. To implement decisions, youths also need interpersonal communication skills. Small groups are ideal for delivering cognitive-behavioral primary prevention. This approach is based on the premise that youths become pregnant not because of a lack of relevant information, but because they lack cognitive and behavioral skills necessary to use information. Group work involving role-playing helps develop communication skills. Results from 2 field studies describe short-term and longitudinal benefits of the prevention strategy. Professionals can reach significant numbers of youth in this way. By treating sexual issues and the risk of pregnancy as normal in adolescence, social workers can introduce information and pertinent skills to all teenagers. No one is singled out as deviant and the group format enables young people to discuss taboo topics, discovering what the norms are and gradually learning how to deal with peers, family members, techers and others. Adolescents in primary prevention groups gained knowledge, cognitive skills and communication acumen. Improved attitudes toward family planning, increased regular contraception and less unsafe sex resulted from this cognitive-behavioral approach. Primary prevention should begin early to be most effective. Other personal and social issures such as a alcohol and drug abuse, delinquency, marital and family conflicts, parenting difficulties and money management may be dealt with effectively using a cognitive-behavioral approach.     

Predictors of Cambodian parents’ perceptions of corporal punishment

This cross‐sectional study was conducted to examine the predictors of parents’ positive perceptions of using corporal punishment on their children. We investigated whether there is a gender difference in the use of corporal punishment according to parents’ gender and socioeconomic variables and what factors predict Cambodian parents’ positive perceptions of the use of corporal punishment toward sons and daughters. Cambodian parents hold different views on raising boys versus girls. Younger parents with more children, limited education, low socioeconomic status, unemployed, living in rural areas, and parents who hold positive perceptions of spousal abuse of women were more likely to approve of the use of corporal punishment. Our results present implications for social work practice and policy, particularly in child welfare in Cambodia. Most importantly, in order to prevent the use of corporal punishment on children in the home, the government of Cambodia as well as domestic and international organizations need to make more active efforts to promote parenting education.     

A Quantitative Evaluation of the Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Prevention Services (MAPS) Program to Protect Children and Strengthen Families

This article presents the results from an evaluation of a state-funded, prevention-based, pilot program called the Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Prevention Services that was designed to reduce the potential for child abuse and neglect. The program served 64 families of various races and ethnicities over two years. A quantitative pretest–posttest design was used to analyze existing program data related to client outcomes including parenting skills, parenting satisfaction, and the use of non-family resources to assist in improving skills and satisfaction. Means comparisons were used to assess the relationship between three standardized instruments (the Parenting Scale, the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory and the Kansas Parental Satisfaction Scale). Findings indicated a statistically significant improvement regarding resource engagement by families, parenting behaviors and perceptions, and involvement with Child Protective Services. The results from this study offer insight into how to improve parenting behaviors and increase child protective factors for youth who are at risk of maltreatment. In addition, these findings contribute to strengthen the legitimacy of Weiner's Attribution Theory while providing the social work profession with additional data in areas of research targeting the intersection of financially viable prevention programs, family stability, parental education, resources engagement, and the reduction of child abuse and neglect. If additional research supports the efficacy of prevention programs such as MAPS, funding similar programs could lead to improved parenting and decreases in child maltreatment.     

Current Issues in Child Protection: An Overview of the Debates in Contemporary Journals

Correspondence to Celia Doyle, School of Behavioural Studies, Nene College, Northampton NN2 7AL Summary This article provides an overview of the current debate andconcerns in child protection work as reflected in current, mainlyBritish, academic and professional journals. Some of the concernswhich have been expressed during the past twenty years are stillpart of contemporary discourse. These include the divide betweenphysical punishment and abuse, child fatalities, assessment,procedures, intervention and prevention. Some more recent themeshave also emerged, in particular ritual abuse, the links betweendomestic violence and child maltreatment, children as witnessesand the plight of children with disabilities and young corers.Perhaps the most prominent feature is the overwhelming pre-eminenceof articles about child sexual abuse. Physical neglect remainson the sidelines while emotional abuse, as the main or soleform, merits barely a mention.     

Rising to the Challenge of Treating OEF/OIF Veterans with Co‐occurring PTSD and Substance Abuse

This article reviews data on the relatively high incidence of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans reporting mental health and substance abuse problems, and some perceived barriers that may account for low rates of their engaging in treatment. Treatment outcomes for veterans with co‐occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) are generally poorer than for those with PTSD or substance abuse alone. Several evidence‐based individual therapy approaches offered by VA Medical Centers are described along with how they conceptualize the relationship of substance abuse to PTSD. Problems with sequential treatment for persons with PTSD and substance abuse in specialized programs are discussed, including notably the practice of requiring veterans to be completely drug and alcohol free for a month or longer prior to entering PTSD treatment. Several integrated treatment programs are described along with a brief summary of evidence supporting their effectiveness. Some recent policy changes from the Department of Veterans Affairs that bode well for the future of PTSD/SUD treatment are described. Differences between younger and older veterans were cited along with their implications for treatment. Recommendations regarding how to better engage and retain OEF/OIF veterans with PTSD/SUD in treatment are presented together with examples of their implementation. The author concludes that to rise to the challenge of treating this difficult population it is necessary to adapt treatment to meet their needs rather than requiring them to adapt to therapies that may not be a good fit.     

The responsibility of public welfare in family planning

The primary objective of the paper is the implementation of family planning programs in and by the public sector. Providing health service is the category that family planning falls into within public welfare. Only 700,000 patients are now receiving family planning services from all public and private agencies combined. This is only 13% of the target population. All too many policy statments have been made with little done to implement them. The estimation is that in 1966 and 1967 HEW spent about three million dollars on family planning. Public programs have progressed farther through Office of Economic Opportunity than through HEW. Religious sources are the strongest opposition to welfare involvement in family planning. Social work as a profession has a role in family planning to the extent that it considers its role helping people and enhancing family functioning.     

An elder abuse shelter program: build it and they will come, a long term care based program to address elder abuse in the community

This article describes how The Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale (the Hebrew Home), a non-profit geriatric care center, has established one of the nation's first long term care based elder abuse prevention and intervention programs for elderly living in the community. This program, known as the Weinberg Center for Prevention, Intervention and Research in Elder Abuse (the "Weinberg Center"), received start-up funding in the form of a matching grant challenge from the Weinberg Foundation of Baltimore, which has a history of funding innovative geriatric programs throughout the United States. Utilizing the Hebrew Home's extensive integrated service model, a multidisciplinary team works with a network of private and governmental agencies. This model was designed based upon the needs of this population as described in the nascent research, evaluation of the few programs in existence, and the emerging state of elder abuse as a matter of public policy. The goals are to increase public awareness, intervene to make the home safe, and provide a secure and fulfilling short or long term shelter. Research in prevalence and efficacious use of the shelter is being conducted.     

Television and Prejudice Reduction: When Does Television as a Vicarious Experience Make a Difference?

Televised role portrayals and interracial interactions, as sources of vicarious experience, contribute to the development of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination among children. The first section of this article reviews the amount and nature of racial/ethnic content on television, including limited portrayals of racial/ethnic groups and of interracial/ethnic interaction. The second section focuses on theoretical models that help explain television's role in the development, maintenance, and modification of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. The third section addresses research on the effects of television in altering stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination, with particular attention given to media intervention programs specifically designed to address these issues (Sesame Street and Different and the Same). This article concludes with a discussion of suggestions for future research.     

Disseminating Effective Community Prevention Practices: Opportunities for Social Work Education

In the United States about 17% of adolescents meet diagnostic criteria for mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. Six million young people receive treatment services annually for mental, emotional, or behavioral problems. These problems affect 1 in 5 families and cost $247 million annually (O'Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009). Some strategies for preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in young people have been developed, tested, and found to be effective in preventing the onset, persistence, and severity of psychological disorders, drug abuse, and delinquency. Unfortunately, tested and effective prevention policies, programs, and practices are not widely used (O'Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009). This paper highlights recent advances in prevention science and describes some opportunities and challenges in advancing the use of science-based prevention in communities. The chapter concludes by exploring the potential role of social work education in developing a workforce ready to increase community access to effective prevention strategies.     

Mother‐to‐Child Transmission of HIV in China and the USA: A Comparative Analysis

This paper analyzes and compares the existing policies and programs for the prevention of mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV existing in China and in the USA. The implementation of these is still imperfect and there needs to be improvements in the education (the spreading of information) and in the general health care system of China. Particular attention will be drawn to the existing barriers to the effective implementation of prevention of mother‐to‐child‐transmission. The recommendations aim to solve similar barriers in both countries and some specifically dealing with problems in China. Since HIV infection in children is caused almost entirely by prenatal transmission, it is important that the governments, in partnership with civic society organizations, make all the necessary efforts to save the lives of their newborn citizens.     

The Prevention of Homelessness Revisited

Conceptual and methodological problems plague efforts to prevent homelessness. Attempts to identify individuals at risk are inefficient, targeting many people who will not become homeless for each person who will. Such interventions may do useful things for needy people, but evidence that they prevent homelessness is scant. Subsidized housing, with or without supportive services, has ended homelessness for families and played a key role in ending it for people with serious mental illnesses. Other risk factors may be less important once housing is secured. But programs that allocate scarce housing may simply reallocate homelessness, determining who goes to the head of the line for housing, not shortening the line itself. We recommend reorienting homelessness prevention from work with identified at-risk persons to efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing and sustainable sources of livelihood nationwide or in targeted communities.     

Chinese American Family Caregivers’ Perception of Program Use and Caregiver Stress

Caregiver programs provide specialized services and resources to reduce caregiver stress and improve family quality of life and health. Although there are resources and community services available, Chinese American family caregivers’ perceptions on caregiver programs and how specific services help to viably reduce their stress has yet to be examined. An in-depth interview was conducted with four Chinese American family caregivers in exploring their caregiving experiences and program service use; two of the caregivers were spouses and two were adult children. Content analysis revealed that their value of familial piety, and their need to ameliorate caregiver stress fueled their interest in new interventions to improve their quality of life and health. Spousal caregivers and adult children caregivers disclosed different needs due to caregiving, and adult children caregivers were less resistant to new interventions. The results of this study fill the knowledge gap on Chinese American family caregivers’ perception of caregiving in a cultural context as well as their needs. Suggestions for future research are to better understand the effectiveness of the specific services within caregiver programs that are effective in reducing caregiver stress among Chinese American family caregivers.     

Techniques for overcoming community resistance to family planning programs

Methods of overcoming resistance to publicly subsidized family planning programs are discussed. The main sources of opposition include groups that oppose family planning for moral reasons, and those who object to the spending of government funds to provide services and information. Such opposition can be weakened by indicating that family planning clinics fulf: 11 important medical needs. Presenting social justification for family planning can help to lower oppostion. In order to secure participation in the programs by low income groups it is essential to have community leaders involved in policy decisions and to use indigenous community paraprofessionals in the clinics. A coalition of representatives of the poor community and the health and welfare system, aided by the community organization, can lead to an effective family planning program.     

Contextualizing case reviews: A methodology for developing systemic safeguarding practices

This paper introduces a systemic methodology for reviewing professional responses to abuse between young people. The approach, “contextual case reviewing,” draws upon constructivist structuralism to assess the extent to which safeguarding practices engage with the social and public contexts of abuse. The paper conceptually compares the methodologies of contextual case review and other serious case review methods before drawing upon findings from 2 studies, which used the contextual case review methodology to explore the extrafamilial nature of peer‐on‐peer abuse and the ability of child protection practices to engage with this dynamic. Thematic findings from these studies regarding the practical interpretation of “significant harm” and “capacity to safeguard,” as well as their use within child protection assessments, are used to challenge conclusions of other case reviews, which imply that child protection procedures are sufficient for safeguarding young people. Contextual case reviews suggest that safeguarding practices, and the legislation that underpins them, are culturally, procedurally, and organisationally wedded to the context of the home, whereas insufficiently engaged with extrafamilial contexts of significant harm. The application of these issues require interrogation if social work systems are to provide sufficient mechanisms for safeguarding young people and families at risk of significant harm.     

Trajectory and Predictors of Early Adolescent Alcohol Use

The aim of this study was to identify the developmental trajectory and predictors of Korean early adolescents’ alcohol use. The sample comprised 2844 adolescents who participated in the five‐wave longitudinal Korea Youth Panel Study, in which students were assessed annually from grade 4 (aged 11 years) in 2004 to grade 8 (aged 15 years) in 2008. Latent growth curve (LGC) modeling was conducted and a quadratic (J‐shaped) LGC model was supported. Personality‐ and environment‐system predictors, based on problem‐behavior theory, were specified to account for variation in intra‐individual changes in alcohol use. Self‐control, depressive affect, parental abuse, number of drinking friends, and gender significantly predicted the initial level of alcohol use. Self‐control, depressive affect, parental abuse, peer attachment, gender, and family structure predicted the quadratic slope that was associated with the rate of acceleration of alcohol use. These findings suggest that more effort needs to be directed toward the implementation of alcohol prevention programs early in elementary schools and practitioners who are involved in effective alcohol‐prevention and intervention programs that are aimed at delaying the initiation of alcohol use and reducing drinking during adolescence should consider various psychosocial factors.     

Preventing Substance Abuse Among American Indian and Alaska Native Youth

Research on the prevention of substance abuse among American Indian and Alaska Native youth offers challenges and demands careful methods. This paper describes such challenges in terms of philosophical, political, and cultural issues surmundiig substance abuse prevention research with American Indian and Alaska Native people. The authors suggest how social work researchers can address these issues through strategies of community 'collaboration, goal sening, and cultural sensitivity. The paper discusses the limits, implications, and future applications of the described strategies for research on the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse among American Indian and Alaska Native youth.     

Social Policies for the Elderly in the Republic of Korea and Japan: A Comparative Perspective*

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Japan are highly industrialized and modern nations which are both influenced by the Confucian tradition of respect for the elderly and family responsibility for the care of aging parents. In both countries the proportion of the elderly population is increasing. Japan, since the end of World War II, has utilized its government bureaucracy to help develop the social welfare system and to formulate social policies and programs for the elderly. Japan's tradition of samurai Confucianism is congruent with the commitment of the Japanese government to such social development as a matter of national policy. The Republic of Korea has not assigned a comprehensive planning role to its government bureaucracy. Lacking the mix of industrial/post-industrial infrastructure of Japan and not yet faced with the immediacy of a very large elderly population, the Republic of Korea's government has developed its social policies for the elderly in a more incremental manner, usually emphasizing small scale and piecemeal initiatives. With respect to social support, it has emphasized voluntary family efforts as congruent with the Korean (and Chinese) variant of Confucianism. This paper will compare and contrast these different approaches.