Outcomes of the ON FIRE peer support programme for children and adolescents in families with mental health problems

Children in families with mental health problems may encounter multiple risks to their well‐being. General aims of peer support programmes for these children include fostering resilience and effective coping strategies, and enhancing self‐esteem and social skills. This study aimed to evaluate outcomes from a pilot multi‐site implementation of the ON FIRE peer support programme. The purpose of ON FIRE is to cultivate hope, resilience and well‐being in children and adolescents aged 8–17 years living in families affected by sibling or parental mental health problems. We employed a pre‐post test (baseline and 4 months) evaluation using a suite of outcome measures. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Children's Hope Scale, Kids Connections Scale and Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children (PANAS‐C) were completed for 64 child/adolescent participants. At baseline, participants had significantly greater difficulties compared with Australian norms. At 4 months, there were significant differences in children's hope and in connections outside the family. There were no significant differences in the SDQ or the PANAS‐C.     

‘If you want to have a future and a life,do an apprenticeship’: the expectations and realities of tradesmen’s transition to adulthood

ABSTRACT

Apprenticeship programs are promoted to facilitate youth’s transition from school-to-work, especially for those who might not otherwise attend postsecondary education. These programs may help youth achieve other markers of adulthood earlier. In this paper, we draw on qualitative interviews with Canadian young men in the skilled trades to explore whether they believe their educational choices have given them an advantage in their transition to adulthood. We also draw from the 2011 GSS, a nationally representative survey, and Cox modeling to examine three early adult transitions – home-leaving, first union, and first marriage – to determine if apprenticeship programs facilitate earlier transitions compared to other educational streams. Our respondents expressed that they transitioned to adulthood more quickly than their peers, due to early employment and avoiding student debt, however, many also had trouble finding stable employment and often took on debt related to their training. Using nationally representative data, we find tradesmen tend to leave home earlier than their peers, they form first unions at younger ages but marry slightly later than their more highly educated counterparts. Our results contribute to our understanding of how apprenticeship programs in Canada facilitate transitions to adulthood among a recent cohort of young men.     

Is the Relationship Between Pornography Consumption Frequency and Lower Sexual Satisfaction Curvilinear? Results From England and Germany

Several studies using different methods have found that pornography consumption is associated with lower sexual satisfaction. The language used by media-effects scholars in discussions of this association implies an expectation that lowered satisfaction is primarily due to frequent—but not infrequent—consumption. Actual analyses, however, have assumed linearity. Linear analyses presuppose that for each increase in the frequency of pornography consumption there is a correspondingly equivalent decrease in sexual satisfaction. The present brief report explored the possibility that the association is curvilinear. Survey data from two studies of heterosexual adults, one conducted in England and the other in Germany, were employed. Results were parallel in each country and were not moderated by gender. Quadratic analysis indicated a curvilinear relationship, in the form of a predominantly negative, concave downward curve. Simple slope analyses suggested that when the frequency of consumption reaches once a month, sexual satisfaction begins to decrease, and that the magnitude of the decrease becomes larger with each increase in the frequency of consumption. The observational nature of the data employed precludes any causal inferences. However, if an effects perspective was adopted, these results would suggest that low rates of pornography consumption have no impact on sexual satisfaction and that adverse effects initiate only after consumption reaches a certain frequency.     

Exploring the robustness of set theoretic findings from a large n fsQCA: an illustration from the sociology of education

Ragin’s Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is often used with small to medium samples where the researcher has good case knowledge. Employing it to analyse large survey datasets, without in-depth case knowledge, raises new challenges. We present ways of addressing these challenges. We first report a single QCA result from a configurational analysis of the British National Child Development Study dataset (highest educational qualification as a set theoretic function of social class, sex and ability). We then address the robustness of our analysis by employing Du?a and Thiem’s R QCA package to explore the consequences of (i) changing fuzzy set theoretic calibrations of ability, (ii) simulating errors in measuring ability and (iii) changing thresholds for assessing the quasi-sufficiency of causal configurations for educational achievement. We also consider how the analysis behaves under simulated re-sampling, using bootstrapping. The paper offers suggested methods to others wishing to use QCA with large n data.     

The Emergence of Career Development Facilitators

This article describes the collaborative efforts of the National Career Development Association, National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, and Career Development Training Institute at Oakland University, which resulted in the emergence and recognition of the important role of career development facilitators (CDFs). The development of the CDF competencies, curriculum, and certification is summarized, and examples of counselor‐facilitator collaboration are provided.     

UNDER THE BRIDGES OF POLK COUNTY:

The obituary was short, to the point. It noted that he was thirty-seven years old, had died of pneumonia at Broadlawns Medical Center, and was survived by a wife, a daughter, his mother, five brothers and two sisters. Nine of the twenty-two lines that appeared on June 1, 1993, in the Des Moines Register reported on demographics about these relatives. Between the middle and last name was inserted, in quotation marks, the word "Wolfman." The information, squeezed in with other similar summaries about other people who had died recently, noted that he was a "self-employed carpenter," that he was from, and his family continued to be in and around, Fort Worth, Texas, and that the services would be at Hamilton's Funeral Home, with burial at Rest-haven Cemetery in West Des Moines.
It is not possible that twenty-two short lines could do justice to thirty-seven years of any person's life. Yet that is what he was allotted. The summer after he died was the summer of the Great Iowa Flood. Wolfman, as everyone called him, never lived to experience the natural event that brought notoriety to the city and devastation to the lives of so many people who shared his community but never knew he existed. I doubt that many people in Des Moines who brushed against his life even knew that his real name was Billy Dean Roberts.     

Horizontal Hostility; Relations Between Similar Minority Groups

Two studies were conducted to examine the relations between similar minority groups. We predicted that minority group members would show horizontal hostility, a form of prejudice, against members of a similar, but more mainstream, minority group. The results of both studies confirmed this hypothesis. In Study 1, members of 3 Jewish congregations (reform, conservative, orthodox) showed prejudice against a member of a similar but slightly more secular congregation. In Study 2, members of a college varsity soccer team showed prejudice against junior varsity players. We conclude by suggesting that horizontal hostility is the result of social changes since Allport (1954) wrote The Nature of Prejudice. Members of minority groups value their minority social identity, even when the group is stigmatized. The positive value of minority social identity causes group members to look down on members of similar, more mainstream groups.     

Employer-sponsored temporary labour migration schemes in Australia,Canada and Sweden: enhancing efficiency,compromising fairness?

For governments concerned with enhancing labour market efficiency, employer-sponsored temporary labour migration schemes have become increasingly popular. However, the equity implications of these arrangements, which constrain the mobility of migrant workers, have largely been ignored. This paper assesses the factors affecting the vulnerability of employer-sponsored migrant workers and addresses the question of whether these schemes comply with ethical principles relating to fair treatment. It draws upon migration ethics, political economy and socio-legal perspectives to evaluate visa schemes in Australia, Canada and Sweden. The paper argues that there is an ethically justifiable case for selectively restricting certain rights of migrant workers within clearly defined parameters. However, policies facilitating worker mobility, restricting sponsorship to higher-skilled occupations, promoting enforcement and worker representation, and providing accessible opportunities for permanent residency and citizenship help to ensure that employer-sponsored temporary labour migration schemes comply with ethical principles relating to the fair treatment of workers.     

‘It's awkward stuff’: conversations about sexuality with young children

The purpose of this study was to explore how parents navigate sex‐related concepts with their young children. This study used feminist phenomenological research methods for data gathering and analysis. Social development theory and a positive sexuality framework were also used in the study design. The participants included 13 parents (mothers and fathers) of at least one child aged 3–11 years old. The researchers performed semi‐structured, individual interviews and data analysis included developing themes that illustrated the essence of parent understandings about the phenomenon. Two themes emerged from the data analysis: it's awkward stuff and my parents never talked with me. The findings illustrated the relationship between the parents' perceptions and social development theory and a positive sexuality framework. Feminist analysis revealed gender differences in how mothers and fathers approached sex‐related discussions with their children. Implications for practice, policy and research were included.