Psychosocial Profile of Children Having Participated in an Intervention Program for Their Sexual Behavior Problems: The Predictor Role of Maltreatment

This study sought to verify if a history of maltreatment may predict the psychosocial profile of children who participated in an intervention program aiming at reducing sexual behavior problems. Data were collected at both the beginning and the end of the intervention program using a clinical protocol and standardized tests selected on the basis of the intervention targets. In general, the results indicate that children who had experienced maltreatment display a psychosocial profile that is similar to that of children who had not experienced maltreatment. However, children who had experienced psychological abuse or neglect may display greater externalized or sexualized behaviors, whereas children who have a parent who had been a victim of sexual abuse may display fewer sexualized behaviors.     

From ‘for’ to ‘of’: a typology of Maltese disability organisations

The main aim of this article is to adapt the Typology of Disability Organisations that Oliver devised, and subsequently developed further in 1990, to a different context, in this case the Maltese disability sector. The paper first traces the history of the disabled people’s movement and presents Oliver’s Typology, which makes a clear distinction between organisations for and of disabled persons. The article then highlights the main characteristics of the Maltese disability sector and develops the Typology of the organisations operating within that sector. It shows how it is non-disabled people that are mostly in control of disability organisations, and suggests ways in which there can be a stronger movement towards the development and strengthening of disabled people’s organisations. The article shows how Oliver’s Typology can be used flexibly and adapted to various contexts. It also shows how drawing up a Typology of Disability Organisations can shed light on the environment within which these organisations operate, identifying areas of strength and possible areas for growth.     

"Talking in a new way": older individuals' experiences of group work in an acute psychiatric ward

Group work is frequently used in mental health, however qualitative studies on service-users' views are rare. Semistructured interviews explored 12 participants' experiences of a café-style social group and a mutual-aid group offered on an older persons psychiatric ward in Christchurch, New Zealand. The values of the strengths-based approach underpinning the groups were reflected back in the experience of an affirming environment, an exchange of strengths, and the capacity to change. The appeal of the café-style may be culturally specific to European women however, reinforcing the importance of an awareness of culture and diversity.     

OPTIMAL MARGINALITY: Innovation and Orthodoxy in Fromm's Revision of Psychoanalysis

The sociological study of intellectual innovation has long been polarized between romantic notions of the creative marginal intellectual and competing accounts stressing the benefits of national, organizational and network centrality in the production of knowledge. I offer the concept of “optimal marginality’ as an attempt to move beyond this longstanding but increasingly stale debate. The relationship between a certain type of marginality and intellectual creativity is discussed in the context of a case study on innovation within psychoanalysis. German psychoanalyst Erich Fromm's contributions to the modern revision of Freudian theory is highlighted to illustrate the conditions under which marginality is likely to lead to innovations within theoretical systems and intellectual organizations. What types of marginality lead to innovation? Under what conditions does marginality lead to insight, and when does it lead to marginal ideas? Four ideal types are outlined and a research agenda is called for that operationalizes and tests these theoretical ideas in the context of comparative sociological analysis of intellectual creativity.     

Being an inclusive researcher: seeking questions,raising answers

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on three incidents that occurred in my inclusive research work. As a conceptual framework, I use Bourdieu’s call for a reflexive sociology. My reflection is informed by the principles of the disabled people’s movement, especially giving primacy to the experiences and voice of disabled people. It is also informed by the strong link between the disabled people’s movement and disability studies, which requires academics (including non-disabled ones like myself) to be attentive to their activist role. Making sure that this role is carried out effectively, I argue, entails considering the various factors that make our work possible, and being attentive to the impact of our work. It also entails asking questions, of ourselves and others, and being especially attentive to questions that would go unasked unless we stop to reflect about our work, and the possible answers that these reflections can lead to.     

Equity and Redistribution Between Generations: A Challenge for the Future of Pensions and all Social Protection Schemes

Throughout Europe today, the problems of employment and the prospects of pronounced demographic ageing combine to raise a number of questions on the future of pensions and on the underlying principles of redistribution between generations. Everywhere a new debate has arisen on intergenerational equity. It has often served as the justification for pension scheme reforms introduced or pending in most countries. Some clarification is needed on what is actually meant by intergenerational equity, all the more so with the ongoing complexity of the scientific and political arguments on the subject. In this paper I attempt to show, on the basis of information derived from my research, why a financial view of intergenerational redistribution seems inadequate and how, in discussing the future of such redistribution, there are new forms of life cycle organization and redistribution of worktime and compensated inactivity across this life cycle that need to be considered. This paper aims to show that in considering the future of pension schemes and the prospects of a contract between generations one must take into account the manner in which the distribution of work operates between all ages and across the whole life cycle, in relation to the structure of social security. Welfare states today constitute an inextricable tangle of risks and coverage systems. In such circumstances it would seem rash to countenance the kind of public pension reforms that have been envisaged by a number of member countries of the European Union, not leastFrance, without taking into account the close relationship that now exists between pensions, unemployment insurance and disability. Reform in one sector cannot meet the challenge of the ageing population in our developed societies.     

The Quality of the Urban Environment Around Public Housing Buildings in Montréal: An Objective Approach Based on GIS and Multivariate Statistical Analysis

The question of the “insertion” in space of public housing into the surrounding urban environment is not new. It has often been examined from the perspective of the social environment, but more rarely from that of the physical environment and the accessibility of public and private services and facilities. To qualify the immediate urban environment around Montréal’s public housing buildings in its complexity, we are proposing a methodological approach based on the use of several spatial databases in GIS: (1) the Montréal public housing database, (2) individual census data for the Montréal CMA, (3) a satellite image, (4) a land use map, and (5) location data on a series of public and private services and facilities. Use of these spatial data enables us to identify various combinations of advantages and disadvantages within the urban living environment in which Montréal’s public housing buildings have been located, according to three dimensions: the social environment, the physical environment, and the accessibility of services and facilities. Our final results show that only a small proportion of public housing tenants (7%) live in residual spaces, that is, in quite unattractive areas of the city which combine a number of urban disadvantages: a degraded physical environment, a high level of social deprivation, and few or no services and facilities.

Identifying With a Stereotype: The Divergent Effects of Exposure to Homosexual Television Characters

Scholars examining homosexual television characters have typically come to one of two conclusions: either exposure to homosexual characters can lead to increased acceptance, or homosexual characters serve to reaffirm negative stereotypes. We seek to bridge these two bodies of research by introducing the concept of stereotyped identification—the idea that cognitively and emotionally identifying with fictional characters can increase acceptance of minorities, while reinforcing implicit stereotypes about how they look, act, and talk. Results from our national survey (N = 972) offer support for this hypothesis.