Support in the Workplace: Buffering the Deleterious Effects of Work–Family Conflict on Child Welfare Workers’ Well-Being and Job Burnout

ABSTRACT

We examined the impact of work–family conflict (WFC) on worker well-being and job burnout, as well as the role of social support in the workplace as a potential buffer against the influence of WFC. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses in a cross-sectional sample of 361 public child welfare workers indicate that WFC was related to reduced well-being and increased job burnout, whereas supervisory support moderated the relationship between WFC and well-being. Findings from this study hold implications to workforce management practices aimed at improving worker well-being in human service and child welfare organizations. Human resource management policies designed to manage worker schedules should aim to facilitate workers’ ability to meet work and family demands through programs such as flexible work schedules and telecommuting. Recommendations for future research on WFC and worker well-being are discussed.     

Education and internalized racism in socio-political context: Zimbabwe and Swaziland

We focus on the scarcely researched concept of internalized racism (INR), conceptualized as the internalization by blacks of white stereotypes about blacks, to investigate the extent to which it is impacted by education. Samples were drawn from two countries in Southern Africa, Swaziland (N = 308) and Zimbabwe (N = 319). We examined the contrasting socio-political contexts of a history of apartheid in Zimbabwe, and the absence of de jure segregation in Swaziland, the levels of INR, and the relationship of education to INR in both societies. Analysis showed that there was no difference in the levels of INR. Education, our variable of main interest, was negatively related to INR in both societies, and age, and a “sense of helplessness” were positively related to INR also in both societies, although the latter was marginally significant in Swaziland. We discussed the unexpected similarity of INR levels in these societies, and the potential of education to mediate negative psychological effects in both socio-political contexts.     

Randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused couple therapy compared to treatment as usual for depression: Outcomes and mechanisms of change

This randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for depression and relationship satisfaction versus usual care (i.e., couple therapy other than EFT), and explored mechanisms of change. Mixed model trajectory analyses of 16 couples indicated EFT was associated with greater improvement in relationship satisfaction among men and women. Men receiving EFT reported greater improvements in depressive symptoms compared to usual care. Unified structural equation modeling revealed changes in relationship satisfaction preceded changes in depressive symptoms in one cluster of partners, while changes in depression preceded changes in relationship satisfaction in a second cluster. Two other clusters reported simultaneous changes in satisfaction and depression. This study provides encouraging results on the effectiveness of EFT for depression, and insight into mechanisms of change.     

Looking Back: The Experiences of Four Midwest Families After Receiving Foreclosure Counseling Services

The Great Recession produced significant job loss, which precipitated housing instability and the need for foreclosure prevention services for some households. To help meet the needs of struggling homeowners, housing counseling agencies provided education and assistance to offer support. However, after services ended and housing outcomes were identified, families returned to their daily life. Little is known about the experiences and needs of households during and after receiving housing counseling services. This qualitative, in-depth, phenomenological assessment gives voice to the experience of housing instability for families 3 years after initially receiving services from an agency in one economically challenged, urban, Midwestern community. The findings from this study highlight the experience of four Midwestern families, through the use of Seidman’s (Interviewing as qualitative research, 4th edn. Teachers College Press, New York, 2012) three stage interview design, in which the researchers conducted three distinct interviews with each of four participants and two interviews with former housing counselors from the same agency. The findings reveal four key supportive factors that emerged for participants. They include: the importance of faith, family, positivity, and income supports.     

Food insecurity among college students

Many college students experience food insecurity. It is important that researchers understand this issue for students because food insecurity is a measure of material hardship more broadly, and it could have negative implications for students' success in college and their lifetime economic opportunities. This review synthesizes researchers' current understanding of food insecurity among college students from a sociological lens focused on economic insecurity and material hardship. It focuses in detail on the breadth and depth of research around food insecurity among college students, exploring how food insecurity is measured, researchers' varying methodologies for assessing it, and topic areas of interest, such as how food insecurity differs by institution type, demographic characteristics, and its associations with health and academic outcomes.     

High-Conflict Couple Interaction and the Role of Relative Power

All romantic couples experience some conflict. However, some couples seem to fight often enough, or severely enough, that the relationship suffers and the partners become emotionally distanced. For other couples, a breakup or divorce does not allow them to cut ties because of shared parenting responsibilities. In such cases, ongoing conflict likely deepened during the divorce process may continue indefinitely. This paper explores the designation of high-conflict couples, and groups these couples by those that are still together and by those that have dissolved a partnership and yet must still interact. In each case, the suggested contributors to high-conflict interaction are given. I argue that current sociological understanding of high-conflict partnerships is limited by false dichotomies between intact and unpartnered couples, as well as between violent and nonviolent conflict. I draw from the psychoanalytic and counseling literature as well, to suggest that interpersonal power, and perceived relative lack of power in relation to the other, is a common factor that bridges these discrete groups. Finally, I discuss negative consequences of such interaction and reiterate the need for further scholarship in this area.