The emotional and professional wellbeing of Australian midwives: A comparison between those providing continuity of midwifery care and those not providing continuity

Background

Continuity of midwifery care contributes to significant positive outcomes for women and babies. There is a perception that providing continuity of care may negatively impact on the wellbeing and professional lives of midwives.

GENDER ISSUES IN PSYCHOSOCIAL MORBIDITY IN GENERAL PRACTICE

The objective of this study was to compare differences in reasons for encounters, diagnosis and treatment between men and women patients presenting with psychosocial problems as recognised by their general practitioners. The research design was a survey based on structured questionnaires completed by the general practitioners on patients consulting with mental health problems in Bunbury in the rural South West region of Western Australia. The data collection took place for a period of 5 weeks. Twenty two general practitioners, from 5 surgeries, collected information on 428 patients, pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics, reasons for encounter, diagnoses, social problems, chronicity, counselling, medication and use of referral services. The gender differences in the illness profile was quite pronounced. Men patients were older, were more likely to be diagnosed with psychosis or character disorders, to have employment or unknown problems. On the other hand, female patients were younger and more likely not to be given a definite diagnosis, to report more social isolation, dependent/difficult relatives and problems resulting from assault. Men were more likely to be on medication and to be referred to psychiatrists, while women received more counselling from their GPs or were referred to counselling services. On the basis of the findings, it is pointed out that men and women differ in terms of the recognition that they are suffering from a problem, that outside help is needed and making the decision to consult. They also differ in terms of the social factors influencing gender differences in recognition of the illness by the GP and the decision to treat and/or refer.     

The Use of Body Movements and Gestures as Cues to Emotions in Younger and Older Adults

Eighty-two younger and older adults participated in a two-part study of the decoding of emotion through body movements and gestures. In the first part, younger and older adults identified emotions depicted in brief videotaped displays of young adult actors portraying emotional situations. In each display, the actors were silent and their faces were electronically blurred in order to isolate the body cues to emotion. Although both groups made accurate emotion identifications well above chance levels, older adults made more overall errors, and this was especially true for negative emotions. Moreover, their errors were more likely to reflect the misidentification of emotional displays as neutral in content. In the second part, younger and older adults rated the videotaped displays using scales reflecting several movement dimensions (e.g., form, tempo, force, and movement). The ratings of both age groups were in high agreement and provided reliable information about particular body cues to emotion. The errors made by older adults were linked to reactions to exaggerated or ambiguous body cues.     

TREATMENT PRIORITIES IN A FAMILY-ORIENTED ALCOHOLISM PROGRAM*

In this paper it is recommended that family therapists not repeat a common error experienced in individual therapy: namely, seduction by the unfolding dynamics which lead to an exclusion of the very specific contributions to the family's malfunctioning by the process of alcoholism itself. There are clearly dynamic factors in alcoholism as a disease process which compromise the family's ability to face and alter its destructive effects. A family program, as part of a comprehensive alcoholism treatment program, is briefly described. The importance of providing cognitive input about the disease of alcoholism is emphasized. Combined individual and group intervention address the destructive family dynamics set in motion by alcoholism.     

Call Yourself a Sociologist—And You've Never Even Been Arrested?!*

Cet article tente de retourner aux racines de la sociologie en tant que discipline et propose l'argument selon lequel ces racines sont emprein-tes de radicalisme. Après avoir comparé les chemins plutôt différents empruntés par la sociologie en Angleterre et au Canada, l'auteure poursuit en examinant le statut de la sociologie au Canada dans les années 1990. L'avènement du féminisme, en particulier les sociologues féministes, a été crucial et, d'une certaine façon, analogue à l'arrivée du marxisme auparavant. La conjuncture économique difficile et la montée de la droite représentent toutefois, dans les années 1990, une menace pour la sociologie. L'auteure en arrive à la conclusion que le postmodernisme constitue un recul, plutôt qu'un progrès, et que nous devons regarder ailleurs si nous voulons conserver et développer le potentiel de la sociologie «radicale». This article is an attempt to return to the roots of sociology as a discipline and make the argument that these roots are “radical.” After comparing the rather different trajectories of sociology in England and Canada, the author proceeds to examine the state of sociology in Canada in the 1990s. The intervention of feminism, and in particular feminist sociologists, has been crucial, and is in some ways analogous to the intervention of Marxism at an earlier period. Dire economic straits and the rise of the Right present sociology with new dangers in the 1990s, however. The author concludes that postmodernism constitutes a retreat, rather than an advance, and that we must look elsewhere if we are to retain and develop the potential of a “radical” sociology.     

Working women in the European community—The future prospect

EEC regulations direct that as well as equal pay for equal work, women should have equal access to employment. However, obvious distinctions between male and female employment still abound in European countries—though they vary from one country to another—and the difficulties in implementing the legislation are further compounded by the effects of the recession. Business and government will have to plan for the growing demand of women to work and the authors examine the major problems which have to be addressed.     

A typology of runaway youths: An empirically based definition

One approach that is useful for improving services to a heterogeneous population is to develop typologies of the subgroups within the population. Over the last few years there have been a number of typologies put forward to better define those youths who run from home. However, these typologies historically have been based on practice experience and literature reviews. In this paper, the literature is reviewed to develop composite groups of runaways and homeless youths. Then this proposed typology is tested with a sample of 262 youths from runaway shelters and youths living on the street. Discriminate analysis is used to develop an empirically based typology. Implications for clinicians and service providers are discussed.