The continued lived experience of the unexpected death of a child

The purpose of this qualitative study was to further examine the lived experiences of families that faced the sudden loss of a child. Six mothers that had previously participated approximately 9 years ago in the study entitled "The Lived Experience of the Unexpected Death of a Child" were interviewed. All of the mothers were Caucasian and had achieved a high school or greater level of education. Taped interviews and field notes were transcribed for data display. Together, two raters completed data reduction and coding for theme identification and categorization. Six themes were revealed that described helpful coping behaviors used by the mothers: positive beliefs, faith beliefs, everlasting love, pleasant remembrances, social engagement, and staying connected. Two themes, avoidance and rumination, described the behaviors that did not help the mothers cope with their loss. Finally, answers to the questions regarding acceptance and healing time were also revealed.     

EVALUATING PDAS FOR DATA COLLECTION IN FAMILY RESEARCH WITH NON-PROFESSIONAL COUPLES

Repeated measures designs such as daily diary methods provide flexibility for examinations of fluid phenomena. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) as data collection tools with an end of the day (EOD) diary design and a non-professional sample. Participants reported the PDA was easy to use, convenient and enhanced the privacy of their responses. The PDAs minimized data entry errors and increased the data validity because responses were time stamped. Given the overall positive nature of participant reactions and the additional data PDAs make available to the researcher, the technology is recommended for further use in collecting data with non-professionals or in other couple or family research.     

Relationships Between the Great Recession and Widening Maternal and Child Health Disparities: Findings from Washington and Florida

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between the Great Recession in the United States and maternal and child health (MCH) disparities in     

Parental migration and disruptions in everyday life: reactions of left-behind children in Southeast Asia

ABSTRACT

Increasing feminisation of transnational labour migration has raised concerns over potential ‘care crises’ at home, and consequently a ‘care deficit’ for children left in origin countries. Our paper focuses on how left-behind children from Indonesia and the Philippines understand, engage and react to changes in their everyday lives in their parents’ absence. While many children had no say over their care arrangements, some were able to assert their agency in influencing their parents’ decisions and eventually migratory behaviours. Their thoughts and actions reinforce the importance of including children’s views in development and migration studies to improve both the children’s and families’ well-being, and make migration a sustainable strategy for all.     

The relationship between childhood sexual abuse, complex post-traumatic stress disorder and alexithymia in two outpatient samples: examination of women treated in community and institutional clinics

Relationships between trauma variables, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD), affect dysregulation, dissociation, somatization, and alexithymia were studied in 70 women with early-onset sexual abuse treated in community-based private (n = 25) or clinic outpatient settings (n = 45). Measures were the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the Psychological Trauma Assessment Program. Compared with the community sample, the clinic sample (1) met diagnostic criteria for both lifetime and current complex PTSD; (2) showed correlations between current affect dysregulation, dissociation, and somatization with alexithymia; and (3) higher levels of alexithymia. Results suggest the clinic sample continued to experience current forms of suffering, risk, and vulnerability associated with early-onset sexual trauma. The findings may have implications regarding types of treatment available in community versus clinic settings.     

Political Advocacy in the Context of “Show Me Your Papers”: How Do Human Service Administrators Respond to Policy Upheaval?

This study focuses on the political advocacy of human service administrators following implementation of a highly restrictive state immigration law. It tests hypotheses to assess whether factors associated with the political advocacy of human service administrators generally are also associated with advocacy at a time of policy crisis. Findings suggest that few human service administrators engaged in immigration-related advocacy, and that those who did advocate were those most likely to perceive organizational benefit for doing so. The findings raise questions about the conditions under which human service administrators will advocate for social benefit in an organizational or individual role.     

Disabled academics: a case study in Canadian universities

Though Canadian universities are legally required to accommodate disabled employees, disabled faculty still experience difficulties navigating neoliberal performance standards and medicalized conceptualizations of disability. Drawing on data from a qualitative study with Canadian university faculty, this paper explores the experiences of five disabled academics. Our analysis draws on post-structural understandings of neoliberalism, discourse, disciplinary power, and governmentality, as well as Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s concepts of the fit and misfit. Though the sample is small, this analysis suggests universities pose disabling contexts for academics. Disability is cast as individual responsibility, leaving disabled academics navigating accommodations without institutional support. The normative academic constructed through a discourse of efficiency and productivity is the measure against which disabled academics are evaluated, requiring self-governance to produce themselves as ‘good enough’ academics. Although higher education environments are increasingly diverse, disabled academics are still having to prove their right to exist in academia, hindering their abilities to participate fully.     

How is a sense of well-being and belonging constructed in the accounts of autistic adults?

This small-scale exploratory study sought to develop an understanding of the meaning of well-being and social belonging as represented within the narratives of adults on the autism spectrum. Employing an interpretivist approach facilitated the investigation of potential contributory factors to these lived experiences in order to inform further research regarding both this topic, and service provision for adults on the autism spectrum. The project involved a thematic analysis of issues of the magazine Asperger United (AU). Four broad main themes were identified: meeting personal needs, living with the consequences of an ‘othered’ identity, connection and recognition, and relationships and advocacy. Autistic adults reported many barriers to feeling that they belonged in a number of social spaces and the detrimental effect this had on their wellbeing. Fundamental to positive narratives of wellbeing, were feelings of connection and recognition from others and positive accepting relationships, with autistic-led spaces, particularly the Autscape conference, being frequently cited as of central significance in increasing feelings of wellbeing and belonging. This study has demonstrated a need for less focus on remediation and more on limiting the social isolation of autistic people.     

Mentoring as a Bridge to Positive Outcomes for Teen Mothers and Their Children

This paper compares historical and psychosocial realities of teenage parenting to prevailing contemporary myths. The authors explore the negative consequences of current remedies based on these myths. Community volunteer mentoring programs are suggested as a cost-effective intervention that can benefit communities and promote positive outcomes for at-risk pregnant teenagers. The authors suggest strategies for implementation of a community volunteer mentoring program based on an existing program in an urban community health center. Detailed information for social workers in community agencies is provided with regard to community education, recruitment, training, and ongoing support and supervision of mentors; funding requirements; and program evaluation.