The Impact of Family Functioning on Caregiver Burden among Caregivers of Veterans with Congestive Heart Failure

A cross-sectional study of 76 family caregivers of older veterans with congestive heart failure utilized the McMaster model of family functioning to examine the impact of family functioning variables (problem solving, communication, roles, affective responsiveness, and affective involvement) on caregiver burden dimensions (relationship burden, objective burden, stress burden, and uplifts). Regression analyses indicated that the five dimensions of family functioning were significantly related (p < 0.01) to relationship burden (R ² = .27) and uplifts (R ² = .29). More specifically, increased relationship burden was associated with problems in family roles, and increased uplifts was related to higher levels of affective responsiveness.     

Teaching Note—Description and Preliminary Evaluation of a Modified College Experience for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

ABSTRACT

This article describes the implementation and preliminary evaluation of a modified college experience for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) at a small liberal arts college. To increase social work students’ interest in working with this population and access of people with IDD to higher education, Bridges to Skidmore was founded in 2010 as a low-cost method for providing cooperative learning opportunities for students and individuals with IDD. Preliminary evaluation reveals that participation can change students’ attitudes toward those with IDD, which may increase their intention to work with this population in the future. The program has created an enriching experience for the college students, lecturing professors, and adults with IDD, and can be easily replicated on other campuses.     

The Postadoption Needs of Adoptive Parents of Children With Disabilities

Adoptions of children with disabilities are considered special needs, due to the higher level of support needed pre- and postadoption by families and children for adoptions to succeed. Despite this fact, very few studies examine the specific postadoption experiences of families with children with disabilities. Using secondary analysis of a national survey of adoptive parents, as well as interviews and a focus group with adoptive parents in one state, this study examines families’ with adopted children with disabilities challenges and unmet needs after adoption, as well as the postadoption needs and experiences of adoptive families with children with developmental and intellectual disabilities and adoptive families of children with emotional, behavioral, and mental health disabilities. Findings indicate that families with children with disabilities do report higher rates of challenges and barriers to service access, and that this is particularly true in families with adopted children with emotional, behavioral, and mental health disabilities. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Using experiential knowledge to understand urban rat ecology: A survey of Canadian pest control professionals

Rats (Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus) are among the most prolific and widespread urban pest species in the world. However, there is relatively little contemporary data regarding the ecology of rats in urban centers, preventing the development of effective strategies for urban rat management. Practical constraints associated with field studies suggest the need for more efficient methods of data collection, one of which could involve pest control professionals, who have considerable experiential knowledge of urban rats. The objective of this study was to gather data regarding urban rat ecology through a survey of Canadian pest control professionals and to determine whether such a survey could be useful for the collection of ecological data regarding pest species. Survey results suggested that rat infestations fluctuate seasonally and that there are a variety of environmental factors that may attract rats, particularly exposed garbage, abandoned buildings, and compost. Respondents suggested that rat infestations are most frequent and/or severe in residential areas, commercial areas dealing with food, as well as in neighborhoods of low socioeconomic status. The majority of respondents believed that rats pose at least a moderate health risk to the general public and to themselves, and they also believed that although poison baiting is the cheapest and easiest method of rat control, environmental modification is the most effective way to control rat infestations in the long term. Despite issues with low response rates, these results suggest that pest control professionals may be a valuable source of data regarding urban pest species.     

The photo‐survey research method: capturing life in the city

Recent promotion of city centre living within UK policy has led to a commensurate interest in city centre conditions and the opinions and experiences of the people who live there. An apposite, straightforward method to capture city centre residents' experiences and views is described in this article. We successfully combined a novel, under‐utilized visual technique (self‐directed photography) with qualitative methods (log‐sheets and interviews) in the form of a ‘photo‐survey’. A background to visual methodologies is presented in this article, alongside a critique of using the photo‐survey with 84 city centre residents to investigate environmental conditions and perceptions within three of the UK's major cities. The method provided a rich, detailed set of data, but also brought a number of noticeable benefits to the data collection process. The photo‐survey not only effectively captured and documented life in the city but also acted as an ‘agent for change’, evoking thoughts and feelings which ultimately encouraged participants to reflect on their existing perceptions and urban experiences. The study also raises some important considerations for future work undertaken with this method and with using photographs as a set of data, and proposes techniques for minimising potential problems.     

A Challenge for Social Studies Educators: Teaching about Islam,Jihād,and Shari’ah Law

In this article, the author investigates the controversial curricular and instructional aspects of teaching about Islam in social studies courses. Specifically, the author discusses pedagogically sound approaches to teaching about jihād and Shari’ah law, two of the most important and controversial concepts in Islam that often generate intense debates among scholars, policy-makers, social studies teachers, and the general public. It is crucial that social studies teachers present all of the competing and complex definitions regarding jihād and Shari’ah law; this task is exacerbated by passionate disagreements among Islamic scholars, lawyers, and historians over the true nature of these concepts. Many K–12 textbooks omit or distort the multiple interpretations of jihād and Shari’ah law because of political pressures, space limitations, and efforts to avoid controversies inherent in discussing religion. Thus, many students are confused by competing views and ideological perspectives by experts regarding Islam; this situation is untenable, given the importance of Islam in contemporary American politics and international affairs.     

Misadventures with Aboriginalism

For 30 years the dominant approach to Aboriginal affairs in Australia has been to support cultural recovery and accommodate cultural difference in the expectation that this will enhance Aborigines’ and Torres Strait Islanders’ equality as citizens.This approach has been driven by a dialectic of progressivist desire to ameliorate the effects of earlier colonialist policy and Aboriginalist discourse that assumes isolable cultures, unitary identities and uni-directional causes of marginalisation. That discursive formation, once counter to dominant colonialist discourse, has now itself become normative, internally repressive, counter-productive and resistant to change. This is the national misadventure with Aboriginalism. This paper argues that this unexpected development is a product of the national governing attempt to gain control through public policy that is inadequate to Aborigines’ contemporary lived reality of interculturality, post-ethnicity and political agency. It uses an indicative case study and an analysis of the national misadventure to propose a deliberative intercultural approach to public policy in respect of Aborigines.     

Examining Depression,Anxiety, and Foster Care Placement as Predictors of Substance Use and Sexual Activity in Adolescents

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the impact of anxiety and depression on sexual activity and substance use behaviors in a sample of 56 community- (traditional living arrangements) and foster care-dwelling adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. It was hypothesized that higher levels of anxiety and depression would be related to higher rates of risky sexual activity and substance use. Regression analyses were used to examine impact of the internalizing predictors on the risky behaviors. Results of the sample were presented with group membership emerging as a robust predictor of both sexual activity and substance use. Results suggest that adolescents within out-of-home care are at increased risk for engaging in these behaviors when compared with community-dwelling peers, and they may benefit from specific interventions aimed at decreasing participation. Future research may focus on assessing the effectiveness of interventions for these youth.     

A National Survey on Depression,Internalized Homophobia,College Religiosity,and Climate of Acceptance on College Campuses for Sexual Minority Adults

ABSTRACT

Sexual minority persons have an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes in adulthood. This seems to largely be due to experiences of stigma in social settings. This study sought to understand the relationship between attending a religiously conservative college, internalized homophobia (a measure of sexual stigma), and depressive symptoms for sexual minority adults. Sexual minority adult participants (n = 384) from across the U.S. were recruited and completed a Web-based, anonymous survey. A mediation model predicting depression through college religious conservatism, college acceptance of sexual minority identities, and internalized homophobia was tested using path analysis. Results revealed an indirect effect of increased religious conservatism of a college predicted higher depression through lower college acceptance and higher internalized homophobia. Implications for the mental health of sexual minority adults and future research are examined.