La validation des acquis de l’expérience est-elle un moyen de reconnaissance du travail ?

Based on a survey conducted in 15 firms, associations or occupations where work-based experiences were being validated under the terms of a law that entered the French Labor Code in 2002, questions are raised about this process and its capacity for obtaining more recognition for the work done by wage-earners. After identifying four distinct employer rationales for implementing validation, the channels favoring the obtainment of such recognition are examined when this procedure is actually applied inside firms. Putting one's job into words is a powerful means for making it visible; and the opportunity to face colleagues is an occasion for reinforcing an occupational identity. Nonetheless, validation has little effect on pay, and what is being validated is often ambiguous. Employers’ and wage-earners’ contrasting views reveal how difficult it is to obtain recognition of the work performed. This process has opened the way to changing this in the framework of procedures negotiated, in particular, with labor unions.     

Mental health practitioners’ strategies in equine-assisted psychotherapy: implications for social work

Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), in this study, which included a mental health practitioner, an equine specialist, at least one horse, and a client in therapy sessions, is emerging in social work practice, education, and research. The purpose of this paper was to explore experienced EAP mental health practitioners’ cognitive activities and strategies to inform the social work profession.

Utilizing a constructive narrative approach, eight experienced EAP mental health practitioners participated. Two semi-structured, face-to face, individual interviews were used to gain their perspectives. Qualitative software assisted thematic analysis. The findings included a main theme identified as participants’ concrete strategies used in EAP with two subthemes. The second main theme identified abstract strategies with six subthemes.

EAP provides a holistic framework as social workers incorporate horses and natural environments in practice, which is consistent with systems theory. The findings inform experienced mental health practitioners to be effective therapists and educators, as well as to instill confidence in novices. Recommendations for the application of the findings in social work practice, education, and research are explained.     

Is the SOGS an Accurate Measure of Pathological Gambling Among Children, Adolescents and Adults?

The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) is widely used to assess the prevalence of pathological gambling. For a variety of reasons, this instrument may not provide an accurate rate of the prevalence of pathological gambling. In this paper, one source of error in data provided by the SOGS is investigated. It is argued that individuals may not fully understand the meaning of some items, and that clarification of the meaning of misunderstood items may in some cases lead to a changed score on the scale. The present study evaluates respondents' understanding of the SOGS items. The results from three studies are reported, each using a different sample: grade school children, adolescents and adults. It was hypothesised that (1) participants would not understand some items of the SOGS, (2) problem gamblers and probable pathological gamblers would be more inclined to interpret items incorrectly than would non-problem gamblers and, (3) consistent with the first two hypotheses, clarification of items would decrease the number of participants identified as problem gamblers or probable pathological gamblers. The data obtained supported hypotheses 1 and 3. Furthermore, hypothesis 2 was supported for grade school children, but not for adolescents or adults. These results are consistent with recent literature on endorsement and acquiescence phenomena, and have implications for prevalence studies of probable pathological gambling.     

A rural road: exploring opportunities,networks, services,and supports that affect rural families

The Great Plains Rural Collaborative project explored rural poverty through the experiences of people living at or below 185% of poverty. Researchers collected information through qualitative and quantitative research methods. They designed focus group questions to identify obstacles rural families face when trying to access economic opportunities, social networks, and services and supports. The article highlights the salient findings.     

Posttraumatic Stress and Depression in the Nonoffending Caregivers of Sexually Abused Children: Associations With Parenting Practices

Caregiver mental health is a known correlate of parenting practices, and recent research indicated that parental depression following childhood sexual abuse disclosure is associated with concurrent parenting difficulties. The present study extended this line of research by investigating posttraumatic stress symptoms and depression in a sample of caregivers (N = 96) of children who experienced sexual abuse recruited from a child advocacy center as well as parenting practices reported by both caregivers and their children (mean age = 10.79 years, SD = 3.29; 79% female). Twenty-four percent of caregivers met criteria for presumptive clinical depression, clinically significant posttraumatic stress, or both. Results indicated elevated caregiver-reported inconsistent parenting in the context of clinically significant distress across symptom groups; children reported particularly elevated inconsistent parenting for caregivers with posttraumatic stress only. Caregiver depression was associated with low self-reported positive parenting and caregiver involvement in addition to self-reported inconsistencies. Directions for future research are offered to further elucidate the relationships between caregiver mental health and parenting practices following childhood sexual abuse.     

Money in remarriage: keeping things simple – and separate

This paper investigates money matters in remarried couples. The number of such couples is on the increase, and their financial affairs are likely to be more complex and conflictual than for first-married couples, but there has been little research attention paid to this group in Britain. The present study explores patterns of control and management of money by means of data from semi-structured interviews with 20 couples in which one partner or both had been married before. The men and women were interviewed separately, but in the majority of cases, simultaneously, in separate rooms. This yielded data from 38 interviews since two men declined to take part in the study. Ages of respondents ranged from 28 to 83, with the majority in the 30–55 range. At the time of the study, only half still had dependent children, and not all of the latter were co-resident. A key finding of the study is a degree of separateness in financial arrangements that is in sharp contrast to earlier findings. As many as half of the couples were using an Independent Management system, compared with less than 2 per cent of couples in general. For those with children from previous relationships, this separateness was especially marked in the way they wished their assets to be treated after their death. However, in line with earlier studies, the balance of economic power in second and subsequent marriages still appeared to favour the men, who generally had larger incomes and owned more assets in their own names.