Appendix B: A Guide to Staff Self-Awareness

SUMMARY

Norway has been a leading nation when it comes to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) rights. With the majority of LGB people enjoying a high quality of life, Norway has turned its attention to a minority of the LGB population experiencing a clustering of chronic and other life cycle-related problems. A number of needs assessments have been initiated in order to determine how to meet these challenges. The needs assessments underscore the importance of social networks for health and well-being. An important action is, therefore, to provide arenas for network building. Partnerships between public, private, and voluntary sectors would facilitate these arenas. Existing health, social, and labor market public services need to be sensitized to LGB issues and particular challenges.     

Reflections of an Emerging Male-to-Female Transgendered Consciousness

Abstract

Professionals involved in social work practice with or designing approaches for working with male-to-female (MTF) transgend-ered youth must listen to the individual voices of these youth for the valuable information they can share with us. This paper provides the reader with the gift of a first-person account of one person's experiences as a “plainclothes transgender” person -a term he has coined to define his experiences. The paper concludes with implications for practice with both “plainclothes” and “fixed/prepared” male-to-female trans-gendered youth.     

Glossary of Terms

No abstract available for this article.     

Glossary of Terms

No abstract available for this article.     

Lesbian,Gay Male,Bisexual and Transgendered Elders: Elder Abuse and Neglect Issues

ABSTRACT

Unfortunately, due In large measure to our society's still-pervasive social prejudice against and ignorance about sexual orientation and gender minorities, there have been few studies of this population of elders, and virtually no one has examined how this population's culture affects its experience with elder abuse. Based on the author's knowledge of this community and discussions with social workers and domestic violence specialists who serve it, these clients are likely to be more resistant than other clients to accepting services. Greater awareness of the existence and circumstances of lesbian, gay male, and transgendered elders should help protective services staff in building rapport with these clients and in getting them the services and assistance that they need.     

A General Behavior Model and New Definitions of Organizational Cultures

Current definitions of organization/corporate cultures overemphasize long-run equilibrium and underplay short-run dynamics; they stress commonalities and overlook diversities, underscore emic analyses and lose sights of etic analyses, and separate the intangible from the tangible; plus are “model unfriendly.” As an alternative approach addressing these problems, we propose a new General Behavioral Model (GBM) and then derive two new definitions of OC that view organizational cultures as [1] accumulated choices and [2] interactions among critical masses of people. Theoretical characteristics and managerial implications are discussed.     

Statute Definitions of Elder Abuse

ABSTRACT

Older women victims of violence by a partner or family member are more often categorized as victims of elder abuse, not victims of family violence. Their needs are assessed, if at all, by social and health service agencies, often with little knowledge or understanding of domestic violence, while domestic violence policy initiatives, advocacy, and services focus on younger women and children. A survey of domestic violence services in British Columbia and the Yukon found that women over 60 years of age were a very small fraction, generally less than two percent, of women served, and those 50 to 59 years of age were also substantially under-represented. Only four percent of respondents had special services for older women. Comments from respondents confirm that abused older women face enormous difficulties in trying to establish a safe and secure future. It was also evident that better interaction is needed between those providing support and advocacy for abused women, and those who provide health and social services for older persons. A majority of the shelters provided community education to a wide range of agencies. Most have only partial accessibility to women with mobility handicaps.     

Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual,and Transgendered People and Chemical Dependency: Exploring Successful Treatment

This exploratory and quantitative study presents a model of treatment success of the nation's oldest and largest chemical dependency treatment provider for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) population. The main purpose is to examine the potential ability of the predictor variables’ degree of affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the severity of chemical use, the strength of a higher power relationship, attitudes about sexual orientation, and length of time in treatment to predict length of time clean and sober.

The proposed model demonstrated the ability to explain 29% of the variance in time clean and sober. Results lend tentative support for culturally competent treatment and include specific intervention recommendations for professionals, including social workers, chemical dependency counselors, and therapists.     

Career Counseling With Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgendered Persons: The Next Decade

The author, on the basis of an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature as well as the relevant opportunities and threats, proposes future directions for career counseling with lesbian, gay male, bisexual male and female, and transgendered persons. Suggestions include efforts for theory development, empirical research, career assessment, counseling practice, and counselor education.     

Internal and External Stress Factors Associated with the Identity Development of Transgendered Youth

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to present an alternative to a traditionally-held view that transgendered youth suffer from some sort of disorder, and instead shed light on the internal and external stress factors that may lead the young person to seek help. Social service professionals need to be aware of such factors in order to make a full assessment of what a potential transgendered adolescent client's issues are, and in order to work at changing some of these external pressures societally so that more transgendered youth can attain peaceful identity integration.     

Unsettling Definitions of Qualitative Research

Qualitative Sociology - Most qualitative research relies on the researcher’s close engagement with the data that they collect and analyze. While acknowledging this pattern, this article...     

Mapping Civic Engagement in Later Life: A Scoping Review of Gerontological Definitions and Typology Proposal

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Research on older people’s civic engagement has increased significantly in the last two decades, as have policy and...     

The F Word: College Students' Definitions of a Feminist

Research indicates that most people espouse feminist ideologies, yet very few self-identify as feminists. This article examines the discrepancy between agreement with feminist principles and lack of identification with feminism by analyzing 270 female and male college students' definitions of feminists. We explored similarities and differences in definitions provided by self-identified feminists and nonfeminists. The results indicate that feminists and nonfeminists are equally likely to define a feminist as one who actively promotes gender equality in society and, less commonly, rejects traditional gender roles and burns bras. Feminists were more likely to define a feminist as one who supports gender equality, is female, and has positive personal characteristics. Nonfeminists were more likely to define a feminist as one who supports female superiority, dislikes men, discriminates based on gender, has negative personal characteristics, and is lesbian or butch. These results are discussed in the broader contexts of feminist identity and movement mobilization.     

Predictors of Divorce Adjustment: Stressors,Resources, and Definitions

We used data from 208 individuals who divorced during a 17‐year longitudinal study to examine factors that predict adjustment to marital disruption. Using stress and coping theory as a guide, we hypothesized that adjustment would be associated with variables reflecting stressors, resources, and people's definitions of the divorce. Contrary to expectations, we found little evidence that stressors (large declines in per capita income, losing friends, or moving) affected divorce adjustment, except among individuals who were not employed. Adjustment was positively associated with income, dating someone steadily, remarriage, having favorable attitudes toward marital dissolution prior to divorce, and being the partner who initiated the divorce. In addition, older individuals showed some evidence of poorer adjustment than did younger individuals.     

Cultural Definitions of Elder Maltreatment in Portugal

ABSTRACT

A small convenience sample of 34 participants (17 males, 17 females) from the Portuguese islands of the Azores and Madeira were asked to provide examples of how extreme, moderate, and mild maltreatment towards an elder would be defined in their culture and society. Neglect, especially psychological neglect, physical maltreatment, and psychological maltreatment were the most frequently reported types of maltreatment. References to neglect and physical maltreatment appeared most often as examples of extreme maltreatment. In general, men were somewhat more likely than women to provide examples of physical aggression in their examples of maltreatment. As examples of extreme maltreatment, females provided significantly more examples of abandonment than males. Although interpretations of the findings must be cautious because of the small sample size and limited statistical power, the study illustrates a procedure for assessing constructs of elder mistreatment in a way that attends to respondents' own constructions of the phenomenon.