Green Care Farms Promote Activity Among Elderly People With Dementia

In the Netherlands, an increasing number of green care farms are providing day care to community-dwelling elderly people with dementia. Currently, it is unknown whether activities, activity participation, and facility use of elderly people with dementia at green care farms differ from those at regular day care facilities. The authors performed group and individual observations at 11 green care farms and 12 regular day care facilities. Activities of elderly people at green care farms were more frequent, occurred outdoors more often, were of a higher physical intensity, and more often were aimed at individuals than activities at regular day care facilities. Therefore, the green care farms’ environment may be more beneficial for elderly people with dementia than the regular day care facility environment.     

In Their Own Words: Adopted Persons’ Experiences of Adoption Disclosure and Discussion in Their Families

This study explored adoption disclosure in a sample of 18 adult adoptees who were adopted as infants. A qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with adoptees was used to learn about participants’ experiences of adoption disclosure. The majority always knew they were adopted, were able to talk openly with parents about adoption, and had positive feelings related to learning about their adoption. Those who were dissatisfied with their disclosures reported that their parents were uncomfortable with discussing adoption and withheld information. Based on the findings, suggestions are provided for parents and adoption professionals on ways to improve the management of the disclosure process.     

Attachment,Conflict Resolution,and Sexual Satisfaction in Adoptive Couples

Abstract

Attachment theory affirms that one’s partner is vital to fostering support and security. It is important for adoptive couples to be mindful of this support because it is at the forefront of healthy family functioning. With a sample of adoptive couples (n?=?166), this study examines the influence of attachment style on conflict resolution and sexual satisfaction. Significant findings indicate that an avoidant attachment style is directly associated with lower conflict resolution and sexual satisfaction. Better conflict resolution significantly predicts greater sexual satisfaction. These findings demonstrate the importance of establishing a more secure romantic attachment in clinical work with adoptive couples.     

Support in the Workplace: Buffering the Deleterious Effects of Work–Family Conflict on Child Welfare Workers’ Well-Being and Job Burnout

ABSTRACT

We examined the impact of work–family conflict (WFC) on worker well-being and job burnout, as well as the role of social support in the workplace as a potential buffer against the influence of WFC. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses in a cross-sectional sample of 361 public child welfare workers indicate that WFC was related to reduced well-being and increased job burnout, whereas supervisory support moderated the relationship between WFC and well-being. Findings from this study hold implications to workforce management practices aimed at improving worker well-being in human service and child welfare organizations. Human resource management policies designed to manage worker schedules should aim to facilitate workers’ ability to meet work and family demands through programs such as flexible work schedules and telecommuting. Recommendations for future research on WFC and worker well-being are discussed.     

Menopause and sexual desire: the role of testosterone

The present short review underlines the role of testosterone (T) in the motivational and satisfaction components of women's sexuality and critically discusses the strategies to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), a condition of low desire associated with personal and/or interpersonal difficulties, which is more common in surgical menopausal women. There are multiple ways androgens target the brain regions (hypothalamic, limbic and cortical) involved in sexual function and behaviour. Even though circulating available androgens have been implicated in several domains of sexual response, they seem to be related weakly to symptoms, such as low sexual desire, poor sexual arousal, orgasm and diminished well-being in postmenopausal women. The possibilities of treating low sexual desire/HSDD are multifaceted and should include the combination of pharmacological treatments able to maximize biological signals driving the sexual response, and individualized psychosocial therapies in order to overcome personal and relational difficulties. Transdermal T has been shown to be effective at a dose of 300 μg/day both in surgically and naturally menopausal women replaced with estrogen or not, without any relevant side-effects. However, the decision to treat postmenopausal women with HSDD with T is mainly based on clinical judgement, after informed consent regarding the unknown long-term risks.     

Education and internalized racism in socio-political context: Zimbabwe and Swaziland

We focus on the scarcely researched concept of internalized racism (INR), conceptualized as the internalization by blacks of white stereotypes about blacks, to investigate the extent to which it is impacted by education. Samples were drawn from two countries in Southern Africa, Swaziland (N = 308) and Zimbabwe (N = 319). We examined the contrasting socio-political contexts of a history of apartheid in Zimbabwe, and the absence of de jure segregation in Swaziland, the levels of INR, and the relationship of education to INR in both societies. Analysis showed that there was no difference in the levels of INR. Education, our variable of main interest, was negatively related to INR in both societies, and age, and a “sense of helplessness” were positively related to INR also in both societies, although the latter was marginally significant in Swaziland. We discussed the unexpected similarity of INR levels in these societies, and the potential of education to mediate negative psychological effects in both socio-political contexts.