Financial hardship during unemployment in Norway: the impact of public and private income support

It is common to assume that long-term unemployment no longer causes financial hardship because of generous welfare benefits. It is further assumed that unemployment benefits have eroded the traditional role of the family in protecting its members against hazards. This panel study of long-term unemployed people in 1991-1992 demonstrates the inadequacy of unemployment benefits and the importance of family support in reducing the risk of financial hardship. Vulnerable household types, such as single people and families with limited economic resources, at the outset seem unable to bear the personal risk of unemployment that is built into the benefit scheme. Persons disadvantaged at the outset risk a downward spiral because of long-term unemployment. Especially during times of high unemployment, the compensation level is not optimal from a welfare point of view. Greater coverage and more generous unemployment benefits may help unemployed people to cope better financially and thus avoid applying for discretionary and highly stigmatized social assistance allowance.     

Beyond 'Vulnerability': An Ecological Model Approach to Conceptualizing Risk of Sexual Violence against People with Learning Difficulties

This paper presents an ecological model approach to conceptualizingrisk of sexual violence against people with learning difficulties,which takes account of the complex social processes involvedin the creation of risk. The concept ‘vulnerability’,often assumed to be a risk-creating characteristic of peoplewith learning difficulties, is too simplistic to take accountof all the processes involved in the formation of risk of sexualviolence. Risk is influenced by personal attributes, self-defenceskills, environments and socio-cultural factors. These riskfactors are closely interlinked and constantly interact withone another. The ecological model provides a tool for examiningthe impact that interactions between individuals and socialenvironments have on an individual’s learning and thedevelopment opportunities that have the potential to increaseself-defence skills.     

Information,risk perceptions,and smoking choices of youth

Conventional wisdom maintains that youths take risks because they underestimate probabilities of harm. Presumably if they knew the true probabilities, they would behave differently. We used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to assess whether differences between subjective and objective probabilities that an adverse outcome to self will occur are systematically related to a harmful behavior, initiating smoking. We find that youths are generally pessimistic about probabilities of their own deaths and being violent crime victims. After smoking initiation, youths increase subjective probabilities of death by more than the objective increase in mortality risk, implying recognition of potential harms. Virtually all 12–14 year-olds know that smoking causes heart disease. The minority who believe that smoking causes AIDS are less likely to become smokers; i.e., risk misperceptions deter rather than cause smoking initiation. Messages designed to deter smoking initiation should stress other disadvantages of smoking than just probabilities of harm.     

Explaining the Identifiable Victim Effect

It is widely believed that people are willing to expend greater resources to save the lives of identified victims than to save equal numbers of unidentified or statistical victims. There are many possible causes of this disparity which have not been enumerated previously or tested empirically. We discuss four possible causes of the identifiable victim effect and present the results of two studies which indicate that the most important cause of the disparity in treatment of identifiable and statistical lives is that, for identifiable victims, a high proportion of those at risk can be saved.     

Risk attitudes in a social context

Many experiments have demonstrated that when evaluating payoffs, people take not only their own payoffs into account, but also the payoffs of others in their social environment. Most of this evidence is found in settings where payoffs are riskless. It is plausible that if people care about the payoffs of others, they do so not only in a riskless context, but also in a risky one. This suggests that an individual’s decision making under risk depends on the risks others in his or her environment face. This paper is the first to test whether individuals’ risk attitudes are affected by the risks others face. The results show that risk attitudes appear to be less affected by others’ risks than expected, even though the same subjects do show concerns for inequality in a riskless setting. Interestingly, we find that people prefer risks to be independent across individuals in society rather than correlated.     

Death Does Not Become Us

Abstract

The social issues of death, dying and bereavement represent important but neglected research areas, and such issues need attention both for practical reform and for deciphering what living with intellectual disability entails. The difficulties which life poses for people with intellectual disabilities may well persist in the times before and after death. As research issues they offer not only potential practical significance, but also a means of determining the social status and value of people with intellectual disabilities. This paper reviews the issues of death and dying from the viewpoint of sociological research and seeks to identify the ways death and dying have been treated within the research literature on living with intellectual disability. It is suggested that these issues have been discounted with some important consequences for the way intellectual disability is perceived. Important areas for research in this area are highlighted.     

Social Workers' Personal Death Attitudes,Experiences, and Advance Directive Communication Behavior

Abstract

This research surveyed 29 social workers to examine their personal death attitudes and experiences in relation to their advance directives communication practice behavior. The study measured death attitudes on 5 dimensions: fear, avoidance, neutral, approach, or escape acceptance of death. Participants' personal experiences with terminal illness and death were also assessed. Advance directive communication practices were operationalized as 7 phases: initiation of the topic, disclosure of information, identification of a surrogate decision-maker, discussion of treatment options, elicitation of patient values, interaction with family members, and collaboration with other health care professionals. Findings suggest that social workers' advance directive communication behavior differs by practitioners' death attitudes and experiences. Implications for social work education and professional development are discussed.     

John Coltrane and Me

Abstract

In this essay, I consider the role that cultural objects play in one's personal development by taking a closer look at the relationship between people and the creative products of their fellows. As a launching point to this study, I examine my own relationship with the music of two jazz icons, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, viewing the differences in my reactions to, and uses of, their musical offerings over times as a reflection of my own personal growth. My contention is that under the right conditions people can use cultural objects to reconnect with disavowed aspects of their experiences.     

Personal Construct Theory and Psychological Changes Related to Social Work Training

Summary This paper summarizes Personal Construct Theory and its mostdeveloped experimental investigating technique, the Role ConstructRepertory Grid. Issues in professional training in adjacentprofessions are examined for relevant parallels to social workin ‘personal change’. The specific notion of emotionas change in the mode of information processing is introducedthrough the neuropsychological model put forward by Pribramand Melges. Personal Construct Theory is presented as congruentwith that model for dealing with uncertainty, and as particularlysuitable for examining personal change in social work training.Studies comparing the Personal Construct Systems of social workstudents through training, with professionally qualified socialworkers are reviewed in some detail. It is concluded that theprocesses involved in social work education are corrigible and,because of the nature of their characteristics, may lead a personto develop desirable, sensitive, articulate and imaginativeways of construing people and personal problems, or to oversimple,rigid, impersonal and finally incompetent modes of construing,Suggestions are made as to how an understanding of PersonalConstruct Theory can help social workers involved in training,to deal with this problem.     

Personal Beliefs and the Experience of Problems: A Study in Adolescence

Summary This paper presents the results of a study of the views of across-section of young people in the 14–15 year old agegroup. It indicates how personal views and attitudes can beeffective in increasing or reducing the impact of the normalproblems of adolescence. The vital importance of a healthy relationshipwith parents is emphasised by the results.     

A Study of Youth Services Networks from a Political-Economy Perspective

ABSTRACT

Volunteers play a vital role in modern societies by boosting the labor force within both the public and private sectors. While the factors that may lead people to volunteer have been investigated in a number of studies, the means by which volunteering contributes to the well-being of such volunteers is poorly understood. It has been suggested through studies that focus on the absence of depression in volunteers that self-esteem and sense of control may be major determinants of the increased well-being reported by volunteers. This is consistent with the homeostatic model of subjective well-being, which proposes that self-esteem, optimism, and perceived control act as buffers that mediate the relationship between environmental experience and subjective well-being (SWB). Using personal well-being as a more positive measure of well-being than absence of depression, this study further explored the possible mediating role of self-esteem, optimism, and perceived control in the relationship between volunteer status and well-being. Participants (N = 1,219) completed a 97-item survey as part of the Australian Unity Wellbeing project. Variables measured included personal well-being, self-esteem, optimism, and a number of personality and psychological adjustment factors. Analyses revealed that perceived control and optimism, but not self-esteem, mediated the relationship between volunteer status and personal well-being.     

Transcending Differences: Using Concrete Subject-Matter in Heterogeneous Groups

ABSTRACT

The need to conduct social group work with heterogeneous members is a reality. Yet the social work literature does not offer much guidance in how to work with diverse groups of people. This paper illustrates a method of social group work that utilizes tangible and palpable subject matter as a therapeutic vehicle to create strong group cohesion with heterogeneous group members. It aims to explain how and why using non-personal subjects as the heart of the group helps people connect to themselves, to the world and to each other in a personal way. The examples given are from two groups that are very different in their compositions and very different from each other. One is a psycho-educational group at a Continuing Day Treatment Program for severely and persistently mentally ill elderly and the other is a group with adolescent and pre-adolescent females in a community center. Four benefits of using this method of social group work are outlined.     

Chastity value as a risk factor for prostituted adolescents in Indonesia: a qualitative exploration

ABSTRACT

Previous studies suggest that the practice of female child and adolescent prostitution can be attributed to various personal and social risk factors. However, cultural beliefs shared in specific societies may also determine prostitution involvement. We qualitatively explored the risk factors associated with prostitution in a rarely investigated Indonesian society. We interviewed eight female participants who were involved in adolescent prostitution. The findings suggest that prostitution involvement is not only attributed to the common personal and social risk factors, but also to cultural beliefs of chastity preservation. We argue that such beliefs may be rooted in gender inequality.     

Considerations in Care for Individuals with Intellectual Disability with Advanced Dementia

Abstract

A number of physical, psychosocial, or ethical issues related to the care of the individual with advanced dementia are reviewed and related to individuals with intellectual disabilities. The sources used include the published literature and illustrations drawn from personal observations. The author notes that through anticipation and early planning, advanced directives and service planning (which looks to adaptation of services and other care management interventions), can effectively impact care at the end. Areas that need to be addressed include technical information, including a review of and, as appropriate, adaptation of general advanced dementia resources, relief, rest, support, reassurance, receipt of on-going information, participation in planning, a sense of humor, and appreciation. Also noted, are the differences experienced because of the presence of paid staff as carers and residence outside of the family home. It is concluded that, although the goals of quality care is the same for all people with advanced dementia, the process by which to reach these goals often needs further consideration and adaptation for people with intellectual disabilities.     

Young People, Risk Taking and Risk Making: Some Thoughts for Social Work

Policy makers, professionals and the public have become increasinglyconcerned with identifying and managing young people who arenot only troubled or at risk, but troubling or risky. Socialwork, however, has been relatively silent on the subject. Insocial work practice, young people have become largely ‘someoneelse’s problem’; in the academy, relatively littlecritical attention has been given to their risk taking, or tothe way we ‘make’ or construct it. This paper takesan exploratory rather than systematically comprehensive journey,across a range of discursive terrains, to open up the debate.Examining current concerns with youth and risk, it exploressome of the social and psychological theory bases whereby youthis constructed as a risky business. Drawing on empirical researchfrom several disciplines, it examines patterns and dynamicsof young people’s risk taking, and explores concepts ofrisk culture and cultural learning, identity capital and Bourdieu’snotion of ‘habitus’, to frame these. The discussionhighlights the need for critically reflective social work tounderstand the complex interplay of identity and agency, structure,culture and context that underpins young people’s risktaking. It encourages us to scrutinize our judgements of whatis acceptable or unacceptable riskiness, what within and whatbeyond the pale.     

An Exploratory Analysis of Seven Child Welfare Workers who Confused SIDS with Child Maltreatment Fatalities: A Brief Research Report

Abstract

Previous research shows that child welfare workers (CWWs) have low levels of knowledge of risk factors for child maltreatment fatalities. Further, these gaps in knowledge leave CWWs with misconceptions about causes of deaths and the characteristics of the perpetrators. This brief research report focuses on CWWs’ gaps in knowledge with regard to CMFs and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and explores the socio-demographic characteristics of seven workers who confused fatal child maltreatment and SIDS. These workers were experienced professionals—who were in their middle-age, mid-career, and well-educated—and had been trained in how to recognize risk factors for CMFs. Implications for training and collaboration with other professionals are discussed, as well as the need for research to evaluate training efficacy.     

The Case for a New 'Case' Management in Services for People with Learning Disabilities

Micro-organization is currently fragmented in services for peoplewith learning disabilities. Care management, person-centredplanning (PCP) and direct payments have developed through separatepolicy strands, with tasks and agency responsibilities blurred.A wide diversity of care management arrangements currently operate,with the relationship between care management, PCP and directpayments imprecisely defined. PCP and direct payments have alsobeen variably implemented. This paper argues for a new ‘person-centredcase management’, with these different devices betterintegrated and decision-making and action more person-centred.Drawing on practice experience from the original British casemanagement experiments, the new ‘case’ managementwould be centred on the needs and wants of individuals, be conductedindependently from assessment, operate outside the public sectorand be able to access personal budgets. It would consequentlyhave the capacity to further de-institutionalize services andsupport and transfer more control to people with learning disabilities.     

Ethical Dilemmas and Areas of Social Work Intervention in Spain

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the types of ethical dilemmas that Spanish social workers face in their respective areas of intervention. The intervention areas that have been studied are health, children, immigrants, women, family, marginalized persons, ethnic minorities, young people, prisoners, elderly people, refugees and asylum seekers, schools and social and employment-related integration, mental health, disability and drug addictions. A quantitative methodology was chosen using a version of the questionnaire prepared by Eileen J. Ain in a sample of 700 Spanish social workers. The statistical analysis shows the correlation between the different areas of intervention in Social Work and the most significant ethical dilemmas that such professionals have to solve. The most pertinent ethical dilemmas are found in the healthcare sector (confidentiality, disclosure of personal information and patient autonomy). The article is an important contribution for Social Work at the national level that emphasizes the importance of the ethics of Social Work in social interventions. It is proposed to deepen the investigation of each of the areas of intervention for future research, as well as to carry out comparative studies between different countries.     

Free Personal Care in Scotland: A Narrative Review

The advent of free personal care for older people was a definingmoment in the development of UK political devolution. Afterall the controversy surrounding the 1999 Royal Commission onLong Term Care, Scotland’s decision to implement the mainrecommendations of the Sutherland Committee was a decisive breakfrom Whitehall’s approach and seemed to offer a key opportunityto learn from the implications of this policy for an Englishcontext. Against this background, this paper summarizes theorigins, nature and impact of free personal care, providinga narrative review of the policy to date.     

Understanding 'Going Missing': issues for social work and social services

Correspondence to Malcolm Payne, Professor of Applied Community Studies, The Manchester Metropolitan University, 799 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 8RR. Summary Recent research about young people and adults who ‘gomissing’ raises important issues for social work and thesocial services. Large numbers of young people go missing eachyear, becoming vulnerable to exploitation and at risk of committingcrime and suffering from other social difficulties. Adults leavebehind families with practical and emotional difficulties. Adefinition of ‘going missing’ should focus on absencefrom social expectations and responsibilities. Five groups ofmissing person are identified: runaways, pushaways, throwaways,fallaways and takeaways, reflecting different social situationsin which going missing occurs. It is argued that going missingis one of a range of choices which people in difficulties maymake, depending on their approach to problems in their livesand the availability of opportunities. Effective local co-ordinationto focus on reasons for going missing, on reunions and returnsto residential care or home, and to provide emotional and practicalhelp to people ‘left behind’, are required, providedthat care is taken to protect people who go missing becausethey are subject to abuse and violence.