The Forgotten: Dementia and the Aging LGBT Community

Although research documenting the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered (LGBT) aging in general is gaining traction, and literature on dementia continues to proliferate, few articles attend to how dementia affects members of the aging LGBT community. This article reviews the current state of knowledge on the experience of dementia for LGBT older adults, and suggests areas for further research. In addition, it aims to promote social work’s engagement with related disciplines and global dementia care. The article’s ultimate goal is to encourage development of care practices tailored to the experiences, expectations and needs of older LGBT individuals affected by dementia.     

Attitudes Towards Disabled Staff and the Effect of the National Minimum Wage: a Delphi survey of employers and disability employment advisors

This Delphi study drew on the expertise of a national sample of 100 employers of disabled people, and a similar number of Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs). It presents their existing attitudes towards disabled employees before analysing the effect of the NMW on these views. Differences between employers and DEAs were found in relation to the perceived costs and obstacles to employers of taking or retaining disabled staff, the problems presented by specific disabilities and the motivation shown by disabled staff. There was general agreement that the NMW has benefited disabled people by making low paid jobs better paid. A minority of respondents thought it had created additional obstacles to employment for disabled people. Some disabled employees appear to have been adversely affected by the interaction of the NMW with the Supported Placement Scheme (SPS, now Workstep) and the benefits system. Understanding employers' perspectives may facilitate the promotion of work opportunities for disabled people.     

The recalled childhood gender questionnaire‐revised: A psychometric analysis in a sample of women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

We administered the 18‐item Recalled Childhood Gender Questionnaire‐Revised (RCGQ‐R), female version, to 147 adult women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) representing three different degrees of prenatal androgenization due to 21‐hydroxylase deficiency and to non‐CAH controls. A principal components analysis generated 3 components accounting for 46%, 9%, and 6% of the variance, respectively. Corresponding unit‐weighted scales (high scores = feminine) were labeled Gender Role (13 items; Cronbach α = .91), Physical Activity (3 items; a = .64), and Cross‐Gender Desire (2 items; α = .47). Discriminant validity was demonstrated in terms of highly significant comparisons across the 4 groups. We concluded that the first 2 RCGQ‐R scales show good psychometric qualities, but that the third scale needs to be evaluated further in a sample that includes women with gender identity disorder.     

Couple Meaning-Making and Dementia: Challenges to the Deficit Model

By combining a relationship- and strengths-based approach, the article suggests that, with the onset of progressive cognitive impairment, verbal, nonverbal, and embodied exchanges can function as meaning-making processes for life-partner co-carers. These exchanges can sustain a sense of relatedness, which has been shown to increase wellbeing. The article identifies gaps in knowledge and practice limitations that result from the deficit approach to dementia research and care that currently dominates the field. Suggestions for future research and the development of interventions are included. In addition, the article challenges theoretical assumptions about meaning-making, arguing for a reexamination of dementia-affected couplehood processes.     

Play in Middle Childhood: Everyday Play Behaviour and Associated Emotions

Children's reports about their play in middle childhood and the emotions they associate with play have received limited research attention. Using focus groups, this study asked 38 children in the UK about what, where and with whom they played. They were also asked how play made them feel. Children reported a wide range of play behaviours, with outdoor and traditional games being just as prominently mentioned as play with electronic devices. The emotional importance of play in middle childhood was apparent, with children associating play with strong positive emotions, and not being able to play with negative emotions and anxiety.     

Serving immigrant families and children in New York City's child welfare system

This article describes the efforts and special initiatives of New York City's Administration for Children's Services to improve services to immigrant and English language learner populations. Children's Services convened an immigration issues advisory subcommittee, created special tools for child welfare staff, collaborated with legal agencies to assist foster children with immigration status adjustments, improved agency data collection, and launched an agency-wide training initiative on immigration issues. The challenges encountered by Children's Services offer important insight for child welfare agencies in other jurisdictions designing strategies to strengthen their services for immigrant communities.     

Enacting Morality on Shifting Moral Ground: Young Plong Karen Women in Southeastern Myanmar

This article examines the ways in which young Plong Karen Buddhist women enact morality in southeastern Myanmar. Focusing on how one young Plong Karen woman navigates her own moral status, I draw out the highly performative and experimental aspects of ethical subject making which simultaneously coheres with and transgresses Plong Karen moral ideals. Drawing from recent work from the ‘ethical turn’ in anthropology (Keane, Webb. 2015. Ethical Life: Its Natural and Social Histories. Princeton: Princeton University Press), I emphasise the freedom of young women to enact a moral register of their own making as they navigate multiple and sometimes conflicting social worlds. I argue that while outsiders may perceive inconsistencies and incompatibilities within the various moral registers enacted by young women, they themselves experience little contradiction moving within and between them.     

Older Women in Poverty: The Impact of Midlife Factors

This study investigates the factors contributing to older women's economic well‐being from a life course perspective, assessing the effects of both midlife characteristics and later life events on women between the ages of 66–70, and 71–85. Using the 1968–1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the findings suggest that midlife characteristics such as workforce participation, income, and rural residence are strongly related to economic outcomes in old age. Late‐life events and characteristics, however, also contribute significantly to economic outcomes even when midlife factors are incorporated into analyses. In addition, both midlife and later life characteristics contribute to the persistence of poverty in old age, with many groups of ever poor women finding themselves in poverty for over 50% of their old age years.