Pathological Gamblers: Inpatients’ versus Outpatients’ Characteristics

Several researchers and clinicians have questioned the advantages and disadvantages of inpatient and outpatient treatment for people suffering from pathological gambling. This study compares the characteristics of pathological gamblers seeking inpatient and outpatient treatment. A total of 233 pathological gamblers (inpatients = 134, outpatients = 99) participated in the study. Results show that inpatients have more severe gambling problems than those receiving outpatient services. Similar results were obtained on most other related variables such as anxiety, depression, alcohol consumption, and comorbidity. These results are discussed in terms of the costs and benefits of these two treatment modalities.     

The relationship of placement experience to school absenteeism and changing schools in young,school-aged children in foster care

Background

Chronic school absenteeism and frequent school changes, particularly among younger children, may be antecedents for the high rates of school failure and subsequent dropout among youth in foster care. However, the relationship of foster care experience to absenteeism and school change has not been well studied.

Objective

This study examined the association of placement experience with absenteeism and changing schools among 209 urban children in foster care enrolled in public elementary schools.

Methods

A cohort of children aged 5 to 8 years who entered non-relative or kinship foster care from 2006–2008 were followed longitudinally for 2 years from entry into foster care. Children residing in foster care were categorized at the end of the study as early stable, late stable, or unstable, if they achieved a permanent placement prior to 45 days, between 45 days and 9 months, or failed to do so within 9 months, respectively. Children who reunified home were classified as a fourth category. Poisson regression, controlling for baseline factors, was used to compare days absent and number of schools attended across categories of placement experience.

Results

Among the 209 children, 51% were male, 79% were African American, and 55% were initially placed with kin. One third of children reunified home; among children who did not reunify, one half was early stable, and a third was unstable. Adjusted rates of school absenteeism increased in stepwise fashion as children's placements became more unstable; children with unstable placements were 37% more likely to be absent than those with early placement stability (p = 0.029). Children who reunified during the study demonstrated the highest rates of absenteeism; however, there was no significant difference in absenteeism before or after reunification. Number of schools attended increased as stability worsened, with the standardized rate of schools attended reaching 3.6 schools (95% CI 3.1–4.1) over a two year period among children in unstable placements.

Conclusions

The relationship between placement experience and school absenteeism and school change illustrates the need to better coordinate the educational experience of high-risk children in foster care. The secondary finding of high absenteeism among children in the process of returning home illustrates that educational challenges for youth may be equally if not more concerning among the greater majority of youth in child welfare who remain home with birth parents.     

Social Work and the Nursing Home in the U.S.A.

“The plight of the ageing and the truly aged person (for plight it is) does not start in the nursing home, it only ends there. How does he get there? What is the path to the door? Generally, there is a gradual progression of losses, diminution of strengths, decreasing opportunities for meaningful and restorative personal and social experiences and increased isolation. As self-sufficiency decreases, there is less opportunity for continued living in the community. Society has not yet stepped in to replace and provide those supports and services which once came from the family and the neighbourhood. . . . When the long-term care institution is chosen as alternative to continued living alone or with his family, it is often not the best solution, but the only one.”¹     

Stop It Now! A Pilot Study Into the Limits and Benefits of a Free Helpline Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Stop It Now! aims to prevent child sexual abuse using a free anonymous helpline. It provides information, advice, and guidance to anyone concerned about child sexual abuse. It targets people who have sexually abused children or who are worried that they might do so. This article presents findings from a pilot study on the operation and outcomes of the helplines in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The findings underline the strength of the public health approach to prevention efforts. More specifically, benefits reported by helpline users are shown to correspond with the aims of the helplines. A number of factors were reported by users that helped them modify their own or others’ actions to minimize risk of abuse. However, a challenge that remains is ensuring that helplines are accessible to those most in need. Recommendations are included to further expand the effect of Stop It Now! in reducing CSA.     

The state of qualitative research in health and social science literature: a focused mapping review and synthesis

Abstract

Pluralism and creativity are inherent and important parts of the qualitative endeavour. The multiplicity of approaches and methods can, however, be confusing. We undertook a focused mapping review and synthesis to obtain a snap-shot profile of the state of qualitative research in health and social science literature. We retrieved 102 qualitative articles published between January and March 2015 from six leading health and social science journals. Articles were scrutinised for alignment between researchers’ reported orientation (methodological or philosophical positioning) and the techniques used (methods). In the sampled articles level of alignment was generally high, with considerable mastery of qualitative approaches evident. However, the complexity of the qualitative landscape highlighted in our review, led us to develop a diagrammatic representation: The Qualitative Research Level of Alignment Wheel?. This educational resource/teaching aid is designed to assist qualitative researchers (particularly those more novice) and research students to locate the orientation and techniques of their studies. As an important contribution to the international field of qualitative inquiry, it will assist in understanding and accounting for points at which techniques are melded and orientations blended. In turn this will lead to the individual and collective qualitative endeavour as being a coherent one.     

Cultures of Melancholia in Late Capitalism—A Reflection Response to Discussion by Jeanne Wolff Bernstein

Our reply to Jeanne Wolff Bernstein claims that she is an ideal reader for the type of analysis we offered: because she is familiar with the European literary tradition, because she so obviously harbors a sense of the interface of literature and psychoanalysis, and—not least—because she herself has so meticulously studied the nuanced details of our diagnosis. We concur, furthermore, with the melancholia diagnosis she attributes to us and understand why our analysis led her—almost by association—to remember the models of earlier theorists of melancholy and depression. However, we caution that these three are merely a few among many models and that they should not, in any case, be considered definitive (as if models could ever be ultimate arbiters in an enterprise such as the posthumous analysis of a historical figure). Finally, in our reply we petition for a more historical approach than the one found in Bernstein's response or in the writings of the three thinkers whose approach has influenced her thinking.     

“Jeunes à risque”: Généalogie d'un langage problématique

Se référant aux études sur la gouvernementalité, cet article propose une généalogie de la catégorie des “jeunes à risque” dans les recherches sur les adolescents et les jeunes adultes. La société du risque, les lieux de diffusion des savoirs scientifiques, les axes prioritaires du financement public et les structures institutionnelles encadrant la pratique des chercheurs forment une conjoncture singulière où a pu s'élaborer un véritable langage des “jeunes à risque.” Fruit d'une démarche de réflexivité critique, l'analyse souligne la responsabilité des chercheurs dans la légitimation de ce langage problématique et les défis que comporte le projet de le transformer. Based on governmentality studies, this article sketches out a genealogy of the “youth at‐risk” category in contemporary youth studies. A convergence of risk society, sites of dissemination for youth research, state priorities in research funding, and institutional structures that frame research practices serve to create a unique historical moment for the emergence of regulatory “youth at‐risk” language. As part of a critical reflexive approach to youth research, this article underscores youth scholars' responsibility to challenge this problematic language and pins down some of the difficulties this project faces in the academy.     

Zeit- und Ziele-Management für Nachwuchswissenschaftler/innen

Within a vocational program at the University of Göttingen, the authors developed and evaluated an online-coaching in order to enhance the self-management, the work-life-balance and the job opportunities of junior researchers. 50 participants first attended an assessment center, 60 participants proceeded with an online-coaching of two weeks duration. The 3-month-follow-up included detailed feedbacks to every participant. Quantitative and qualitative analysis showed that media competencies affected the self-perception of training outcomes. Though female participants reported less media competencies than males, men and women benefited equally and sustainably in the enhancement of time options, work-life-balance, and self-management.     

Church attendance and childbearing: evidence from a Dutch panel study, 1987-2005

While researchers have often found that Europeans who report faith-based beliefs or practices have larger families than those who do not, there is a lack of evidence on the reasons for these links. This study investigated whether having a first child affects parents' level of church attendance and whether the frequency of church attendance at different times in life predicts a person's (almost) completed fertility. Drawing on five waves of a large-scale Dutch panel survey, the study used data that cover a substantial part of the respondents' reproductive period (1987-2005). In contrast to findings from the USA, the results suggest a one-way influence: having a first child does not predict a change in church attendance, but church attendance is a strong predictor of future childbearing.     

Social service systems for vulnerable children and families in low‐ and middle‐income countries: Establishing definitions and key components

Systems strengthening in low‐ and middle‐income countries has long been a topic of concern in global health. By comparison, until very recently, little attention has been paid to the importance of strengthening social service systems to provide a holistic perspective of children's and families' multifaceted strengths and vulnerabilities. This study has reviewed existing literature on the definitions and components of social service systems and provides an analysis of data from key informants in the field of global social welfare. Based on this information, a set of key components is presented and compared, derived from the literature and expert interviews. Existing challenges for the field include establishing consensus on terminology and critical components, implementing and documenting critical components, and linking these components to client outcomes.