Measuring Social Isolation in Older Adults: Development and Initial Validation of the Friendship Scale

Although there are many excellent published scales measuring social isolation, there is need for a short, user-friendly, stand alone scale measuring felt social isolation with good psychometric properties. This study reports the development and preliminary validation of a short, user-friendly scale, the Friendship Scale. The six items measure six of the seven important dimensions that contribute to social isolation and its opposite, social connection. The psychometric properties suggest that it has excellent internal structures as assessed by structural equation modelling (CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.02), that it possesses reliability (Cronbach α = 0.83) and discrimination when assessed against two other short social relationship scales. Tests of concurrent discriminant validity suggest it is sensitive to the known correlates of social isolation. Although further work is needed to validate it in other populations, the results of this study suggest researchers may find the Friendship Scale particularly useful in epidemiology, population surveys or in health-related quality of life evaluation studies where a parsimonious measure of felt social support or social isolation is needed.     

Male Child Sexual Abuse: A Phenomenology of Betrayal

Being deeply understood relies on the ability of the social work clinician to have authentic and genuine empathy for their client. This phenomenological study sought to understand the lived experience of men sexually abused as boys in their childhood, and what life is like for them as sexual abuse survivors in adulthood. Analyses of fourteen male survivors’ narratives into the abuse they experienced as children, and the meaning they make of that experience today, offer insights for therapists. Findings suggest that therapists have a responsibility to ask male clients about sexual victimization, even when this is not the presenting problem but they exhibit sexual abuse related problems; an obligation to educate one’s self on responding therapeutically to disclosure; a duty to receive training to counsel sexually victimized males; a responsibility to advocate for the development of men’s services; and taking an active role in shifting attitudes towards men’s vulnerabilities.

Work/Family Policies,The Changing Role of Fathers and The Presumption of Shared Responsibility for Parenting

Recent approaches to work/family policies which emphasise options for women have the potential to reinforce gender divisions of labour and to increase conflicts between paid work and family. It is argued here that more account needs to be taken of the interaction between male and female commitments to work and family, and of the possible increased involvement by men in family life. The movement away from the traditional role as the autocratic head of the household towards a more nurturant and available father role, while still small, appears to be gathering momentum. This is reflected in recent research findings, in newspaper articles and other media reports, and in proposals for changes in employment policies (e.g., the ACTU “family leave” test case). While research and everyday accounts provide some hope for future changes in gender divisions of labour, more caution needs to be taken in interpreting research findings and in making statements about the extent to which change has already occurred. A radical new direction in approaches to policy development is needed if the existing status quo of father as the major breadwinner and more distant family member, and mother as the housewife, nurturer and supplementary income earner, is to be altered. Suggestions are made for the development of policies that would both respond to the needs of fathers who are primary caregivers, and help promote a greater sharing of parenting responsibilities by fathers. The basis of these proposals is an argument for the adoption of a presumption of shared parenting to parallel the current presumption of gender equality in the paid workforce.     

Moving from ‘what we know works’ to ‘what we do in practice’: An evidence overview of implementation and diffusion of innovation in transition to adulthood for care experienced young people

Global research has shown that most young people who are care experienced are not prepared to transition to independent living at 18 years of age and require support into early adulthood. We used rigorous systematic methods to identify English-based peer reviewed and grey literature describing innovations relevant to care experienced young people as they transition into adulthood, with a focus upon lessons for their implementation and diffusion. We synthesised the evidence narratively and organise data linked to seven key areas important to the transition to adulthood: (1) Health and well-being; (2) relationships; (3) education and training; (4) employment; (5) participation in society; (6) accommodation; (7) other. Twenty-five papers met our inclusion criteria. This review has found that, whilst there are a broad spectrum of innovations taking place within the social care environment for care experienced young people to support their transition into adulthood, there exists limited insight into how best to support implementation and diffusion of evidence-based innovation. We drew upon the ‘Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research’, developed in the setting of clinical service delivery, to highlight challenges in implementing and diffusing evidence-based innovation for care experienced young people transitioning into adulthood.