Protesting Against Mothers’ Surveillance: Salvadorian Mothers and Their Daughters Negotiating Adolescence in a Foreign Context

This article examines how Salvadorian immigrant mothers and their daughters negotiate adolescence in a settlement context that differs from their home country. The author interviewed 42 women, all living in a midsized city in Ontario, Canada: 32 in-depth individual interviews were carried out with Salvadorian-born mothers and, separately, with one of their daughters (either adolescent or adult); and five interviews included mothers and their adolescent or adult daughters together (N = 10). A grounded theory approach was employed to explore the mother–daughter negotiation process from each person’s point of view. The analysis revealed various strategies that mothers developed to guide their daughters through the adolescent years, and the diverse ways daughters resisted their mother’s guidance while maintaining values such as respect and family loyalty. The findings highlight the resilience and resourcefulness of immigrant families in navigating the challenges of the transition to adulthood while also meeting the demands of acculturation into a foreign country.     

Dementia Patients’ Transition to Residential Aged Care: Carers’ and Social Workers’ Experiences

Many people with dementia eventually require residential aged care, frequently preceded by a hospital admission. Family carers often find the process challenging and disempowering, as they are expected to move their family member to residential aged care quickly. This article reports on findings from a small Australian qualitative study focusing on the provision of information, support and resources, and discusses the findings in relation to person-centred care and critical social work. Social workers completed an online survey and participated in focus groups, and carers were interviewed. The research found that carers valued the information, support, and resources provided by social workers and other hospital staff. They needed time to adjust to the dementia diagnosis and wanted a supportive person to talk to about the written information. The social workers wanted an improved approach to the preparation and communication of information, and a more consistent approach to family meetings.     

Placement Educators’ Experiences and Perspectives of Supervising International Social Work Students in Australia

International social work students in Australia have reported difficulties in finding quality placement opportunities and dealing with issues such as language and cultural barriers. While placement issues have been mostly investigated from a student perspective, this study explores the experiences and perspectives of placement educators towards supervising international social work students. It draws on an online survey of 83 placement educators working for an Australian university. The majority of placement educators reported that they supervised international students differently to domestic students. These differences were negatively framed as challenges involving students’ language competence, their understanding of cultural norms, and knowledge of Australian welfare systems. This framing implies that cultural and linguistic differences between international students and placement educators are viewed in terms of student deficiency rather than as a positive opportunity for mutual learning and professional development.     

Unequally Adrift: How Social Class and College Context Shape Students’ Mentorship Experiences

Faculty mentorship is a highly advantageous yet under-explored form of social capital which can grant access to co-curriculars (e.g., research assistantships), ensure strong letters of recommendation, and more. It is also typically informal and dependent on student initiative, requiring that students be skilled at engaging educational authority figures. Privileged students are most likely to have such skills as part of their dominant cultural capital, making faculty mentorship a site of social reproduction. To explore variations in this process, I compare two institution types: a small, teaching/undergraduate-focused regional university and a large, research-intensive flagship. In interviews with 68 working- and upper-middle-class students, I find that college context mediates the relationship of class background and faculty mentorship. Upper-middle-class students fostered advantageous faculty relationships at both universities, but working-class students diverged: at the flagship, they rarely approached professors in search of mentorship, while those at the regional university described close, beneficial connections with professors. I discuss working-class students’ dissimilar experiences in terms of each university’s structural and cultural characteristics (organizational habitus), particularly their institutional focus and size. I argue that through their particular organizational features, colleges can both reproduce and reduce inequalities, challenging the determinacy of precollege socialization in education.     

Younger Age at First Childbirth Predicts Mothers’ Lower Economic and Psychological Well-Being Later in Life

Age at first childbirth affects mothers’ economic and psychological well-being later in life. Using a gender and power framework, two studies examined the associations among age at first childbirth, employment status, perceived choice, and race/ethnicity as predictors of economic and psychological well-being in a sample of middle class, married mothers (Study 1) and a nationally representative sample of married mothers (Study 2). Results indicated younger age at first childbirth is associated with less choice; lower educational attainment; lower SES; greater household labor; greater perceived chore discrepancy; lower self-esteem; less life, work, and relationship satisfaction; but is unrelated to depression or work stress. There were differences by employment status and minimal differences by race/ethnicity. The findings suggest that negative economic and psychological outcomes later in life are related to having one’s first child at a younger age.     

“This is Who We are and This is What We Do”: Social Work Education and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Citing anecdotal evidence about the poor self-efficacy among graduating social work students manifesting in student claims that they lack the skills to practice effectively, the present paper suggests that the cause may lie, in part, in the manner in which social work education is undertaken. Instead of adjusting curriculum content, the author suggests that educators need to moderate the emphasis they place on social work as a professional project, as well as clarify the status and use of practice theory. The paper concludes with three additional recommendations for consideration by educators and suggests a research agenda for assessing student self-efficacy.     

Children’s Nonverbal Displays of Winning and Losing: Effects of Social and Cultural Contexts on Smiles

We examined the effects of social and cultural contexts on smiles displayed by children during gameplay. Eight-year-old Dutch and Chinese children either played a game alone or teamed up to play in pairs. Activation and intensity of facial muscles corresponding to Action Unit (AU) 6 and AU 12 were coded according to Facial Action Coding System. Co-occurrence of activation of AU 6 and AU 12, suggesting the presence of a Duchenne smile, was more frequent among children who teamed up than among children who played alone. Analyses of the intensity of smiles revealed an interaction between social and cultural contexts. Whereas smiles, both Duchenne and non-Duchenne, displayed by Chinese children who teamed up were more intense than those displayed by Chinese children who played alone, the effect of sociality on smile intensity was not observed for Dutch children. These findings suggest that the production of smiles by children in a competitive context is susceptible to both social and cultural factors.     

Social Impact Investing in Germany: Current Impediments from Investors’ and Social Entrepreneurs’ Perspectives

The paper provides empirical evidence on impediments of the emerging social impact investment field in Germany. The study is based on 19 in-depth interviews with social impact investing funds, investment advisors, and social entrepreneurs as investees. It takes an explorative approach because of the nascent stage of research on the subject. By systematically relating the perspectives of the actors involved, the study gives a broad empirical picture on the major challenges for social impact investing in Germany. Results reveal nine critical problem areas we have arranged along three dimensions: financial returns, social returns, and relationships and infrastructure. They comprise investors’ and social entrepreneurs’ practices, institutional settings which are still heavily influenced by peculiarities of the German welfare systems, as well as undeveloped framework conditions in the social investment market. By interpreting the results through a lens of conflicting institutional logics, we further contribute to this research stream by showcasing social impact investing as a core area of friction between the logics of the market and civil society.     

A Qualitative Study of “fa’a’amu” Kinship Care Experiences in Tahiti

“Fa'a'amu” is a type of adoption commonly found in French Polynesia involving open, informal adoption arrangements, in which the child maintains ties to the family of origin. Although the function that child circulation plays in Oceanic societies has been widely documented by anthropologists, the implications of fa'a'amu at the individual level have yet to be examined. To address this gap, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted to 1) examine the lived experiences of adults who were fa'a'amu as children, and 2) identify experiences and characteristics associated with positive psychosocial and mental health outcomes in adulthood. The sample consisted of 22 Tahitian adults, who had been fa'a'amu during childhood. Applying a developmental and attachment lens, we explored how participants experienced relationships with birth and adoptive families, and how being fa'a'amu impacted their sense of well-being, attachment, identity, and belonging. Data was collected through The Adult Attachment Interview and the Fa'a'amu Experience Interview, which were coded using thematic analysis. Factors associated with positive outcomes in adulthood included early age at adoption, sensitive fa'a'amu parents, positive or benign relationships with birth parents, and respect between fa'a'amu and birth families. Factors associated with emotional distress included late age at adoption, abandonment and rejection, exploitative fa'a'amu parents, and conflict between birth and fa'a'amu families.     

The Association Between Social Competence in Adolescents and Mothers’ Parenting Style: A Cross Sectional Study on Iranian Girls

This study is to determine the association between parenting style of mothers and the social competence of their adolescent daughters in effective communication, problem solving skills and use of basic social skills dimensions. The data were gathered for the mean age of 11–15 years on 737 Iranian adolescent girls in a cross sectional study design. The parenting style of mothers was based on their demand and responsiveness. These scales classified mothers into four parenting styles as follows: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, or neglectful. The social competence was also categorized into effective relationship, problem solving skills, use of basic social skills dimensions. The mean scores of the adolescents’ social competence whose mothers had permissive and authoritative parenting style was higher than that for the two other groups for all the dimensions (p < 0.05). The results showed that with the expectation of controlling roles, the supportive role of mothers can be more effective in providing opportunities for social competence performance.     

“Palestine’s Robin Hood”: Abu-Jildeh and the Making of a Social Bandit

This study explores the history of Palestinian Arab outlaw Abu-Jildeh (∼1900–1934), as a case study for constructing a social bandit image. Between May 1933 and April 1934, following several robberies and murders, Abu-Jildeh was Palestine’s most wanted criminal. The British-led Palestine Police Force’s failure to arrest the bandit, despite significant efforts, further enhanced Abu-Jildeh’s public image, making him an Arab folk hero and symbol of resistance to the British Mandate government. The research used British archival sources, Palestinian Arab and Jewish press articles, memoirs, and oral history to propose a valid historical narrative and uncover the facts behind a typical social bandit myth. These enable retracing the actions of the three main actors in Abu-Jildeh’s saga: the outlaw himself, the police hunting him, and the local Arab press, who glorified him. Seen in the context of contemporary Arab political and national climate in Palestine, the interplay between bandit, police, and press shows how an ordinary, “opportunistic,” criminal transformed into a national hero, regardless of his actions.     

Evaluating a Measure of ‘Social Orientation’ of Chinese Students in Social Work: Developing its Reliability and Validity

This study examines the reliability and validity of a measure of ‘social orientation’ indigenously developed from Chinese students of social work in Hong Kong. By administering two tests with Chinese social work students (n = 293 and n = 304) at associate degree level, the measure achieves strong internal consistency with r>0.75 and test–retest consistency with r>0.63. The instrument also has strong validity by attempting factor analysis of items generated from qualitative data in in‐depth interviews. The development of this indigenous measure of ‘social orientation’ will contribute to an understanding of the authoritarian, relationship and ‘other’ orientation of Chinese social work students. The authors propose that this will be a crucial factor in influencing the response of Chinese students towards different teaching and learning approaches in social work education.     

‘By Helping Others,We Helped Ourselves:’ Volunteering and Social Integration of Ex-Soviet Immigrants in Israel

Recent immigrants seldom join the ranks of volunteers for various social causes. Immigrants from former socialist countries have been shown to be particularly averse to organized forms of volunteering for reasons rooted in their past, including forced forms of collectivism imposed by the state. In this qualitative study, we explored the perceptions and practices of volunteering among ex-Soviet immigrants (mostly educated middle-aged women) who ran a project for the benefit of elderly. Our findings show that most volunteers chose causes targeting fellow immigrants, their resettlement and well-being, and were motivated by the wish to build co-ethnic support network and overcome marginalization in the Israeli society. Other volunteers were driven by the need for self-actualization in the context of underemployment and occupational downgrading. Personal empowerment and higher identification with the receiving society were the most salient outcomes of volunteering for our informants. We conclude that for some immigrants, volunteering can serve as a strategy of social integration.     

“I Wouldn’t Say We Were Treated Equally”: Experiences of Young Adult Stepchildren in the Ghanaian Context

Stepparent–stepchild relationships can be difficult to develop and research suggests that the quality of these relationships affects stepfamily functioning and child well-being. This qualitative study explored experiences and perceived determinants of stepchild abuse among 16 youths who are stepchildren on the University of Ghana campus. Positive experiences included receipt of material and emotional support and difficult experiences included favoritism, subjection to severe disciplinary measures, and neglect. Impacts of these experiences were reported. Perceived determinants of stepchild abuse included lack of biological relation, personality of stepparent, financial constrain, stepparent’s past experiences, and inheritance. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

“I Pray We Won’t Let This Moment Pass Us By”: Christian Concert Films and Numinous Experiences

This article analyzes the Christian concert film Live in Miami: Welcome to the Aftermath to investigate how mass media evoke numinous experiences. Using a framework that locates technological determinism within theories of religious encounters, the analysis explores how Christian concert films create numinous experiences through shot composition, editing, and content selection. The article argues that mass media technologies and aesthetics can create expectations of religious encounters and challenges the use of mass media to manufacture religious experiences.     

Social work students’ experiences in a Christianity and sexual minority intergroup dialogue

A tension between the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and (heterosexual) conservative Christian communities has been documented within social work. This qualitative study explores students’ experiences in a Christianity and LGB sexuality intergroup dialogue at an American graduate social work program. This dialogue was the first known case of intergroup dialogue being used to address these topics in a social work program. Students’ motivations for participating in the dialogue, challenges faced throughout the dialogue, and what they learned are discussed. Pedagogical implications for schools of social work and intergroup dialogue are outlined.     

“We’re Who We’ve Been Waiting For”: Intergenerational Community Organizing for a Healthy Community

This study, guided by principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), presents the processes, challenges, and effects of intergenerational community organizing practice of a local grassroots organization to promote community health in multiracial and historically marginalized communities. Three major lessons emerged: (1) the central role of experiential communal learning and critical analysis in collective knowledge creation, (2) development of collective efficacy through a genuine sense of connection and mutual affirmation, and 3) the importance of a co-learner stance in fostering intergenerational leadership. The interconnection between process and product is emphasized as the central tenet in both community organizing and CBPR processes.     

The Scarring Effect of the 2008 Economic Crisis: Growth and Growth Decline in Austria’s Nonprofit Social Services Sector

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Since the 2008 economic crisis, social service providers worldwide have reported funding cuts, while the need for some...     

“It’s a Lifestyle”: Social Class,Flexibility, and Young Adults’ Stories About Defining Adulthood

Abstract

In discussions of how social class matters during the transition to adulthood, the simultaneous importance of both class origins and future class trajectories is underexplored. In this paper, I use interviews with 60 emerging adults in the United States to investigate their stories about progress towards adulthood during the emerging adult years. I find that regardless of class backgrounds and trajectories, participants agree on three subjective criteria—identity exploration, learning responsibility, and gaining control—as most important to the project of becoming an adult. However, personal stories about living up to these subjective criteria diverge by future class plans. While those on class-advantaged (middle- and upper-middle-class) tracks draw heavily from traditional, concrete markers of adulthood to explain the accomplishment of subjective expectations, those on class-disadvantaged (working-class and poor) tracks stress the importance of “flexibility” as important in their stories about becoming an adult. While emerging adults use subjective criteria to explain reaching adulthood, this subjectivity also helps conceal the ongoing importance of access to material resources and opportunities for transitioning to adulthood along a normative path. Subjectivity also allows for individualization in emerging adults’ stories, which helps obscure broader patterns of inequality.