Trauma-Informed Treatment for Disenfranchised Urban Children and Youth: An Open Trial

Community outreach and focus groups were conducted in an impoverished multi-cultural urban neighborhood to develop a local, culturally-sensitive and community-responsive adaptation of Greenwald’s (Child trauma handbook: A guide for helping trauma-exposed children and adolescents. Haworth, New York, 2005) phase model of trauma-informed treatment. Fifty-nine children with a wide range of presenting problems were referred for treatment. Outcomes included 87% retention rate of participants treated to successful termination, as well as clinically significant reduction of post-traumatic stress symptoms. This project demonstrates that hard-to-reach disenfranchised urban children can benefit from trauma-informed treatment when it is appropriately adapted and presented.     

Population statistics and population registration in Norway. Part 1. The vital statistics of Norway: An historical review

From olden times in Norway, as also in Sweden and Denmark, the church official in each parish has kept the official registers of marriages, births and deaths, and has produced the records which form the basis of Norwegian vital statistics.     

Women's experiences of participation in a pregnancy and postnatal group incorporating yoga and facilitated group discussion: A qualitative evaluation

BackgroundThis paper reports on a small qualitative research study which explored women's experiences of participation in a pregnancy and postnatal group that incorporated yoga and facilitated discussion. The group is offered through a community based feminist non-government women's health Centre in Northern NSW Australia.QuestionThe purpose of the research was to explore women's experiences of attending this pregnancy and postnatal group.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative approach was used to explore women's experiences of attending the group. Fifteen women participated in individual, in-depth face-to-face interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was undertaken to analyse the qualitative data.FindingsSix themes were developed, one with 3 subthemes. One theme was labelled as: ‘the pregnancy and motherhood journey’ and included 3 sub-themes which were labelled: ‘preparation for birth’, ‘connecting with the baby’ and ‘sharing birth stories.’ The other five themes were: ‘feminine nurturing safe space’, ‘watching and learning the mothering’, ‘building mental health, well-being and connections’, the “group like a rock and a seed’ and ‘different from mainstream’.ConclusionThis research adds to the overall body of knowledge about the value of yoga in pre and postnatal care. It demonstrates the value of sharing birth stories and the strong capacity women have to support one another, bringing benefits of emotional and social well-being, information, resources and support derived from group based models of care.     

Financial Capability and Asset Building in Social Work Education: Is It “The Big Piece Missing?”

ABSTRACT

Although social workers recently have renewed the profession’s historical focus on the financial well-being of vulnerable families, they receive little professional education to prepare them for this work. This study examines the implementation and outcomes of infusing a financial capability and asset building (FCAB) curriculum in a variety of social work courses in 11 minority-serving baccalaureate colleges and universities. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 24 faculty and administrators finds that respondents believe students gained understanding and appreciation for FCAB. Faculty also reported greater confidence in teaching FCAB concepts and skills. Pre- and posttest surveys with 261 students indicate changed attitudes, confidence in helping clients with basic financial management, knowledge about financial capability, and improvement in some personal financial behaviors.     

Parental Divorce and College Students: The Impact of Family Unpredictability and Perceptions of Divorce

The impact of parental divorce, perceptions of divorce, and family unpredictability on the locus of control, interpersonal trust, and assertiveness of college students (n = 115) was studied. Roughly 27% of participants came from divorced homes; they did not differ significantly from participants from nondivorced homes on locus of control, trust, or assertiveness. However, negative perceptions of parental divorce were associated with a more external locus of control. Aspects of maternal unpredictability related to lower trust yet higher assertiveness. Participants with divorced parents reported more unpredictable finances and somewhat more unpredictable meals growing up. Implications for adjusting to divorce are discussed.     

The Development and Evaluation of the Perceptions of Competence and Responsiveness Scale

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of a new scale designed to capture perceptions of public agency competence and responsiveness. The initial version, consisting of 20 items, was administered to 134 graduate students. Following exploratory factor analysis, the final model consisted of 8 items and 2 factors: one representing competence and the other representing responsiveness. This model explained 50% of the variance. The measure demonstrated both convergent validity (r = ?.219) and internal consistency (α = .81). This measure has the potential for applications in research projects involving perceptions relevant to support for various human service configurations.     

'Text-work' in Research Ethics Review: The significance of documents in and beyond committee meetings

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes how a formal text (the Ethics Review Form) available at National Health Service Research Ethics Committees (NHSRECs) in the United Kingdom was used in meetings. Derived from the work of Dorothy Smith on incorporating texts into institutional ethnography (IE), it proposes the concept of “text work” as a way into understanding more about decision-making in ethics review and describes the extent to which this formal text shaped and influenced review work. The research study used observations of committee meetings, field-notes and interviews to produce an ethnographic mapping of Research Ethics Committees’ (RECs) work. This article draws on one aspect of the research which was the process of isolating a particular, ubiquitous text and analyzing how it worked and was worked on in the meetings. The analysis contributes to contemporary discussion offering an alternative to ongoing debates about idealized ways of conducting ethics review. Finally, some tentative suggestions are made about improving training, based on and starting from the work which reviewers undertake.