Trying to Comfort the Parent: A Qualitative Study of Children Dealing With Parental Depression

In this article, we look at children’s experiences of parentification in families in which one of the parents is hospitalized for depression. Children (7–14 years old) and their parents were invited for a family interview. Using thematic analysis, we constructed a general framework of 14 children’s experiences, guided by the explorative research question: How do children experience parental depression and how do they experience their own caregiving in the family? The thematic analysis revealed eight themes. One of these themes (trying to comfort the parent) was selected for a microanalysis in one family interview. Our study illustrates the process of overt negotiating of caretaking between parent and child with an underlying moral dilemma and related emotions. The dynamic of children hiding their worry can be seen as an answer to the parent’s expressed wish to not burden her children. These dynamics are situated in ongoing debates in family therapy literature, and some suggestions for therapeutic practice are formulated.     

Confronting Immigration Myths with the Reality: A Necessary Perspective for Culturally Grounded Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to address the most common myths about immigration in the United States. Similar to the anti-immigrant sentiment of the 1800s, the immigration debate today is filled with misinformation and fear-inducing tactics. This misinformation colors the perspective of many, promoting a culture of xenophobia and fear of anyone who is foreign born. By reframing the often unchallenged narrative that immigration to the United States is a problem and in addressing some of the most common myths, social workers will be better equipped to engage in well-informed, balanced dialogue on this hotly debated topic.     

The election campaign as a liminal stage – negotiations over meanings

The paper deals with the role and significance of election campaigns through a consideration of the relevant literature in political science, communication and anthropology. The current interpretation of elections as ritual and drama is altered by focusing on V. Turner's concept of liminality. As liminal periods, it is claimed, election campaigns are an active arena for social construction of political worlds. They take an active part in moulding political cognition and thus produce long-term effects. Perceiving elections in this conceptual frame focuses the empirical concern on the different actors participating in moulding old or new social meanings, the way challenging alternatives are presented, negotiated, included or excluded, the way events as well as symbols became meaningful. It reveals the contested as well as the taken-for-granted, unquestioned and thus reinforced political symbolic world.     

The relationship between psychic reality and trauma with special reference to an adult patient who was sexually abused as a child

Theory is an important tool in our efforts to gain access to a deeper understanding of what truth and reality are for a particular client. However, because any theoretical perspective cannot fully account for the data, it also limits our capacity to both understand and treat the problems our clients present to us. The thesis of this paper is that current social work practice theories overemphasize the role of external factors and down-play the importance of psychic reality when explaining the causes of human malaise. Such a bias is tantamount to a countertransference enactment which elevates a common client fantasy to the status of a scientifically derived truth. Both parties in the treatment relationship tend to see the client as a helpless victim of powerful external forces while defensively disclaiming personal involvement in creating problems. This paper explores the implications of this bias for the diagnosis and treatment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The paper also presents clinical material illustrating the subtle interaction of fantasy and trauma in the treatment of an adult female who was sexually abused by her father.     

Young male offenders in community‐based rehabilitative programmes – self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour predicts recidivism

Ginner Hau H, Smedler A.‐C. Young male offenders in community‐based rehabilitative programmes – self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour predicts recidivism Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 413–420 © 2011 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Recidivism over 18 months was investigated in a representative group of young Swedish male offenders, 15–17 years old, referred to community‐based rehabilitative programmes (n= 189). Registry data on their earlier contacts with social services and previous convictions were also collected. Eighteen months after programme start, 60 per cent of the young offenders were registered as suspected of new crimes, 48 per cent were registered for crimes of violence. Previous contacts with the social services had been documented for 44 per cent, and 30 per cent were registered as previously convicted. However, the group was highly heterogeneous, and all registry data corresponded well with self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour collected at the start of the programme, which identified three subgroups (n= 60, 65 and 64, respectively) with significantly different problem profiles. Results are discussed in relation to developmental theories of antisocial development and the need to adhere to the risk principle when designing interventions for young offenders.     

Hospital Admissions among Returning Migrant Children and Adolescents1

The purpose of the present study was to explore the morbidity, especially psychiatric and psychosomatic morbidity, of Finnish remigrant children and adolescents who have lived part of their lives in Sweden. The study subjects consisted of 287 remigrants and 305 controls. Hospital admissions in these two groups were analyzed over an eleven year period after the study subjects' remigration to Finland. We found psychiatric morbidity, frequent hospitalizations and infectious diseases to be more common among the remigrants. These findings were consistent with the previous studies on Finnish remigrants from Sweden.     

On Home Turf: Interview Location and Its Social Meaning

This paper argues that interview location plays a role in constructing reality, serving simultaneously as both cultural product and producer. Thus, the choice of interview location (who chooses and what place is chosen) is not just a technical matter of convenience and comfort. It should be examined within the social context of the study being conducted and analyzed as an integral part of the interpretation of the findings. In the present case study, involving Palestinian female citizens of Israel, the decision of where to hold the interview allowed the participants to negotiate directly or symbolically with societal norms and to express their re/positioning in Israeli society and in their own community and to demand that the interviewers, particularly the Jewish ones, traverse both geographic and social boundaries. The interview not only structured the individual subjectivity of interviewer and participant but also broadened and deepened the concept of knowledge and its sources, and incorporated the subjects experiential truths as part of a gendered, ethnonational social reality.     

Assessment of frailty syndrome using Edmonton frailty scale in Polish elderly sample

The aim of the study was to assess the incidence and severity of the frailty syndrome assessed with the Edmonton Frailty Scale. This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 382 patients (236 men and 146 women, mean age 71.9?years). The Edmonton Frailty Scale was administered during the patient’s admission to the hospital. The Polish adaptation was performed using the standard methodology. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the whole Edmonton Frailty Scale was 0.709. The mean correlation between positions and the overall result was r?=?0.180. There were no statistically significant differences between women and men in the area of Edmonton Frailty Scale mean score (p?70?years than for those?<70?years (p?相似文献   

Infants’ Biological Sensitivity to the Effects of Maternal Social Support: Evidence Among Mexican American Families

The identification of infants who are most susceptible to both negative and positive social environments is critical for understanding early behavioral development. This study longitudinally assessed the interactive effects of infant vagal tone (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and maternal social support on behavioral problems and competence among 322 low‐income Mexican American mother–infant dyads (infants: 54.1% female) and explored sex differences. Infant RSA was calculated from resting HR data at 6 weeks of age. Mothers reported on general social support, partner support, and family support at 6 months, and infant behavioral problems and competence at 1 year. Two‐way interactions (RSA × support source) were evaluated to predict behavioral problems and competence, adjusting for covariates. Results indicated higher competence among infants with lower RSA whose mothers reported higher general support or higher partner support. Interactive effects on behavior problems of RSA with maternal partner or family support were only found for female infants: Girls with higher RSA showed more behavior problems when mothers reported low support, but fewer problem levels in the context of high support. Our results suggest that infant RSA is an important moderator of the effects of the early social environment on early development.