Who Really Wins? Efficacy of a Croatian Youth Gambling Prevention Program

This paper reports on the development and pilot evaluation of a Croatian school-based youth gambling prevention program “Who really wins?”. The program is aimed at minimizing risk and enhancing protective factors related to youth gambling. A short-term evaluation of the program was conducted with a sample of 190 first and second year high-school students (67.6% boys, aged 14–17 years; average age 15.61). An experimental design with two groups (Training vs. No Training) and two measurement sessions (pre-test and post-test sessions) was used to evaluate change in problem gambling awareness, cognitive distortions, knowledge of the nature of random events as well as in social skills. Results showed significant changes in the post-test sessions, which can be attributed to changes in the Training group. We observed a decrease in risk factors, namely better knowledge about gambling and less gambling related cognitive distortions. Immediate effects on protective factors such as problem solving skills, refusal skills, and general self-efficacy were not observed. Findings also show program effects to be the same for both boys and girls, students from different types of schools, for those with different learning aptitudes, as well as for those at different risk levels with regard to their gambling, which speaks in favour of the program’s universality. The program had no iatrogenic effects on behaviour change and shows promise as an effective tool for youth gambling prevention. Future research and a long-term evaluation are needed to determine whether the observed changes are also linked to behavioural change.     

Working With Sexual Issues in Systemic Therapy

This study investigates ways in which systemic psychotherapists address sexual issues. Qualitative data were collected through semi‐structured group and individual interviews and analysed using discourse analysis. Particular attention was paid to participants' accounts of the ‘resources’ they draw on and of perceived ‘constraints’ when approaching the subject of sex. Main findings indicate that systemic training and practice would benefit from greater inclusion of sexual issues to overcome current deficiencies in the field.     

Migration,Precarization and the Democratic Deficit in Global Governance

This article attempts to provide a critical understanding of the dual signification of “precarity”. It explores what “precarity” as a concept may potentially offer to studies of the changing contemporary political economy of migration. It discusses shifting trends in global migration and point to tendencies for a possible convergence between “South” and “North”, “East” and “West”. Based on a review of current advances in research, it discusses, with reference to the classical work of Karl Polanyi, the potential for a contemporary “countermovement” which would challenge the precarity of migrants. Bringing forward the issue of the “space for civil society” the article addresses a still lingering democratic deficit in the global governance of migration.

Policy Implications

The article is relevant to policymakers, trade unions and civil society organizations. It contributes to the understanding of policy making processes in emerging multilevel global governance and focuses on issues of precarization, migration, and the implementation and accountability of human, migrant and labour rights.     

Moving citizens: citizenship practices among Polish migrants in Norway and the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Following post-EU-accession migration, Poles currently form the largest group of foreign nationals in Norway and the second largest group of foreign born residents in the United Kingdom. Given the considerable volume of new arrivals, there is a growing literature on Polish migration to both countries; however, there is little comparative research on Polish migration across different European settings. By exploring how Polish migrants reflect on the possibilities of settlement or return, this paper comparatively examines the effects that permanent and ‘normalised’ mobility has on Polish migrants’ self-perception as citizens in four different cities. In addition to classic citizenship studies, which highlight the influence of a nation-state based institutionalised citizenship regime, we find that transnational exchanges, local provisions and inter-personal relationships shape Polish migrants’ practices of citizenship. The resulting understanding of integration is processual and sees integration as constituted by negotiated transnational balancing acts that respond to (and sometimes contradict) cultural, economic and political demands and commitments. The research is based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a total of 80 respondents, conducted in two British and two Norwegian cities that experienced significant Polish immigration, Oslo, Bergen, Bristol and Sheffield.     

Linguistic,affective, parental,and educational contributions to the bicultural identity development of Balkan minority adolescents

This study investigated linguistic, affective, parental, and educational contributions to bicultural identity, in two samples of younger (13- to 14-year-old; N = 95) and older (16- to 17-year-old; N = 67) bilingual adolescents, who were immigrants or belonged to ethnic minority communities in the Balkans. While bicultural identity level was not differentiated as a function of age group, there was an age-related shift in its predictors. Bicultural identity level was significantly predicted by perceived educators' attitudes toward linguistic/cultural diversity in the younger adolescent group, but by personal affective states (motivation and attitudes) toward the mainstream language in the older adolescent group. Implications of the findings are discussed regarding educational and family practices that would facilitate biculturalism in minority adolescents.     

Disorganized attachment,mentalization and dissociation in context of childhood trauma: Implications for depressive symptoms

Extensive evidence indicates that adults with experience of childhood trauma and disorganised attachment are at a higher risk of suffering from depressive symptoms, while at the same time dissociation and mentalisation are very important risk and protective factors in this relation. Although mentalisation and dissociation are mentioned as potential mediators of this relationship, very few studies have analysed the mutual relations between these variables. Bearing in mind the importance of creating more specific and effective ways for dealing with depression, especially within vulnerable groups such as the traumatised, the aim of this research is to examine a serial mediation model in which disorganisation is modelled as effecting a decrease in mentalisation, in turn lead to dissociation, thereby resulting in depressive symptoms. Adult respondents (N = 153) with a history of interpersonal childhood trauma were selected from a larger geographical cluster sample from the general population of Serbia. The respondents filled in a battery of instruments, including The Childhood Traumatic Events Scale, Relationship Questionnaire – CV, Patient Health Questionnaire, Short Scale for the Assessment of Stress-Related Dissociation Symptomatology and the Mentalisation Scale. Our findings suggest that disorganisation has an effect on depression by leading to a decrease in the ability to mentalise, which further triggers dissociation, resulting in depressive symptoms as a final consequence (estimated indirect effect = 0.014, 95 percent CI = 0.005 to 0.026). Additionally, the specific indirect effect involving dissociation as the sole mediator was also significant (estimated indirect effect = 0.058, 95 percent CI = 0.030 to 0.091). Targeting dissociative symptoms in the treatment in patients struggling with depression aftermath of traumatic experience could gain a great benefit for recognition and selection of more adequate treatment strategies.