Beyond Social Constructionism: Critical Realism and Social Work

Summary Theories within the social and psychological sciences continueto shape social work practice. However, recent debates withinthese sciences on the shortcomings of ‘social constructionism’,and the attempt to overcome them through a critical realistposition, have so far failed to capture social work's attention.This paper provides a critical overview of these theoreticaldebates, highlighting the shortcomings of social constructionismfor social work. The critical realist challenge to social constructionism,as articulated by the British philosopher Roy Bhaskar, is consideredand its relevance to social work formulated in terms of a returnto ‘depth’ in practice.     

Developing creative solutions to the problems of children and their families: communicative reason and the use of forum theatre

The paper represents a further development of work previously reported in this journal by Spratt & Houston (1999) and Spratt et al. (2000) . The authors have sought to develop ways of understanding current social work with children and families in line with the critical theory of Jurgen Habermas. This analysis has been complemented by an adoption of the methodology of the radical dramatist, Augusto Boal. In synthesizing Habermas's analysis of communicative discourses with the consciousness raising methodology of Boal, the authors have already demonstrated the effectiveness of this hybrid in problem‐solving exercises with social workers. The present paper reports on an application of this developing theory to practice, utilizing the centrepiece of Boal's method, forum theatre. A forum theatre project, concerned with the issue of bullying, is described and evaluated. It is argued that the project provides an exemplar of an innovative, democratizing and effective methodology that might profitably be utilized in social work with children and families. Finally, suggestions are made as to how these ideas could be developed in practice.     

The Challenge of Disability: Being Solution Focused with Families

There is sometimes a perception in the counselling field that work in the area of disability is qualitatively different from all other work. Counsellors can easily disqualify themselves from thinking they have anything to offer when disability is present. This paper highlights the effects and limitations of the sort of thinking which defines clients according to their membership of a particular clinical population, and challenges counsellors to consider what they have to offer in this area. The paper describes the utilisation of a solution focused framework with families who have a child or adolescent with a disability. Some examples of the use of the ‘miracle’ question are described, with a consideration of dilemmas raised where disabilities are long term and unchanging.     

Treatment trilogy of father-daughter incest

There exist three major and often contentious perspectives on the problem of father-daughter incest: Child advocacy, family systems, and reconstructive. All are described in terms of their theories of etiology, relationship with criminal justice systems, treatment approaches and research evidence. A synthesis of all approaches stresses the need for more research efforts demonstrating the efficacy of each approach.     

Visualizing Trends in the Structure of U.S. Agriculture, 1982 to 19921

Abstract Multiple indicators of the structure of agriculture were extracted from the U.S. Census of Agriculture for the years 1982, 1987, and 1992, and used to extend previous work by Wimberley (1987). Exploratory factor analysis results for each year yielded three dimensions of agri-structure: corporate-commercial, farming-firm, and small-farm. Factor-scores used to estimate scales had high reliabilities (omega coefficients > .9) and strong inter-temporal correlations for each scale across years were observed. The content of each scale was consistent across the three years, suggesting that structural shifts in the elements defining “agri-structure” were minimal. Because the 1980s were a turbulent period for U.S. agriculture, the patterns describing heterogeneity among counties in each year were investigated. Cluster analysis of each year's three factor scales produced five homogeneous groups of counties: three, dominated respectively by small-farms, farming-firms, and corporate-farms and two mixed groups, which we interpreted as reflecting transitional situations. Comparisons of these cluster groupings across the three years identified the emergence of counties typified by organizational patterns of firm-oriented and corporate-commercial farming. Moreover, the patterns of temporal movement by U.S. counties across this typology suggest a fundamental change from homogeneous family-centered small-farming concentrations dominant during most of this century. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

SOCIAL INFLUENCE, SELF-REFERENT IDENTITY LABELS, AND BEHAVIOR

Self-referent identity labels are frequently argued to be a central component of the self and to be important in the planning of conduct. Despite the attractiveness of this argument, relatively little research has yet appeared that supports it, and studies of the etiology and effects of self-referent labels often fail to control for the confounding effects of preferences, norms. or other conceptions that are known to affect conduct. In this paper, propositions are argued concerning the causes and independent effects of self-referent labels. Some of these propositions are then tested in two studies, one concerned with alcohol use among adolescents in four Western countries, the other focused on alcohol and tobacco use among American high-school and undergraduate students. Both studies found strong ties between reports of peer modeling and respondents self-referent labels and that the latter had significant and independent effects on reported behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.     

Knowledge of Acute Human Immnuodeficiency Virus Infection Among Gay and Bisexual Male College Students

Abstract

Objective: To examine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in at-risk college men who have sex with men (MSM), focusing on knowledge about acute HIV infection (AHI). Participants and Methods: A one-time anonymous survey was administered to college students attending a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer conference in February 2012. This article reports on a study subsample of MSM. Results: A total of 100 MSM completed the survey. Participants had an average age of 20.4 years. Sixty-six percent reported condom use the last time they had sex. Only 46% had ever heard of symptoms related to AHI. Forty-two percent would likely seek medical care when showing acute symptoms in a setting consistent with AHI. Conclusion: Despite having multiple risk factors for HIV infection, many MSM college students are unaware of AHI. HIV prevention programs should target this population and include information about signs, symptoms, and diagnosis of AHI.