Overprotection in the lives of people with intellectual disability in Malta: knowing what is control and what is enabling support

A study of overprotection in the lives of persons with intellectual disability in Malta was carried out on the principles of inclusive research. Focus groups were held with people with intellectual disability, parents of people with intellectual disability, and those working with persons with intellectual disability. Overprotection is a disabling barrier. Its effects were identified in employment, leisure time, intimate relationships, and the use of public transport, money, and mobile phones. People with intellectual disability who experience overprotection live very structured lives. They cannot develop their skills, abilities, and potential. Furthermore, they cannot live their life on their own terms, but on terms determined by others. This creates a sustained dependence on others, especially the family. It is important that a balance is achieved between protection and enabling support. Persons with intellectual disability should be given the support they need to express their wishes and act on them.     

WELFARE AND CITIZENSHIP: The Effects of Government Assistance on Young Adults' Civic Participation

Recent scholarship and public discourse highlight an apparent waning of civic engagement in the United States. Although the welfare state is generally thought to support democracy by reducing economic inequality, it may paradoxically contribute to political disempowerment of some groups. We examine the effects of state interventions on civic participation among young adults, hypothesizing that involvement with stigmatizing social programs, such as welfare, reduces political engagement, while receipt of nonstigmatizing government assistance does not dampen civic involvement. Using official voting records and survey data from the Youth Development Study (YDS), a longitudinal community sample of young adults, a series of regression models suggests that welfare recipients are less likely to vote than nonrecipients, whereas recipients of non-means-tested government assistance participate similarly to young adults who do not receive government help. These effects hold even when background factors, self-efficacy, and prior voting behavior are controlled. Welfare receipt is not associated, however, with suppressed participation in nonstate arenas such as volunteer work. Intensive interviews with YDS welfare recipients are used to illustrate and develop the analysis.     

Reviews

Social Indicators Research -     

The Gap Concept as a Quality of Life Measure: Validation Study of the Child Quality of Life Systemic Inventory

The objective was to determine the interest and psychometric properties of a new QOL self-assessment questionnaire suitable for children 8–12 years old measuring alpha, beta and gamma changes: the “Inventaire Systémique de Qualité de vie pour Enfants” (ISQV-E^©). This was a cross-sectional validation study. 288 children have completed the ISQV-E. Other tools were used: The “Autoquestionnaire de Qualité de Vie Enfants Imagé” (AUQUEI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). The internal consistency of the four scores of the ISQV-E (state, goal, rank and gap) is satisfactory. All scores have their own specificity. The data show the convergent validity, sensitivity and applicability of the ISQV-E. On the other hand, no satisfactory factorial structure was found although a multidimensional theoretical perspective was applied. The feasibility of the ISQV-E seems clearly demonstrated and the value of this new tool seems evident in contexts of physical, psychological or social problems. The validation study was promising but certain points such as test–retest reliability remain to be studied.     

Changes in the retirement process among older men in the United States: 1972–1980

Recent changes in older men's retirement patterns are investigated for the United States. The results show that labor force incumbents, particularly those in secondary occupations, experienced increases in the volume of both retirement and reentry to the labor force. In addition, although working life expectancy remained relatively stable across occupations, men in secondary occupations spent increasingly greater portions of their work lives in postretirement jobs. Finally, large increases in nonworking life expectancy occurred because of substantial increases in life expectancy. In several occupations, however, declines in working life expectancy were major contributors to increases in nonworking life expectancy.     

Female‐Headed Families and Poverty in Rural America*

Abstract Employing data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 March supplements of the Current Population Surveys, this study examines changing household and family structure in metro and nonmetro areas and corresponding changes in poverty, emphasizing female‐headed families with children under age 18. We also pay particular attention to the structure and economic conditions of subfamilies with children during this period. Household and family structure in suburban metro and nonmetro areas were quite similar by 2000. In contrast, families and households in nonmetro and metro central city areas were similar in their high prevalence of poverty. Finally, the risk of female‐headed families and subfamilies with children living in poverty is highest for nonmetro residents, and their individual characteristics suppress rather than account for this disadvantage. This pattern persisted across the decades studied, despite economic growth during the 1990s.