Family networks and solidarity: continuity and change

At the end of the 1960s it had become obvious that the family as an object of analysis could not be reduced to the nuclear family. During the following decades, the focus of analysis has shifted from the statistical concept of household, implicitly related to the nuclear family to ties between households and intergenerational relationships. At present, it appears that the individual would shape her entourage of parents and significant others by combining affinities, space, distance, and proximity. This opens a new way of looking at the family with new tools for observation and new definitions. This themed section includes six articles based on surveys on the family networks conducted by researchers from different European countries and Quebec, where some fundamental questions related to this new approach are discussed. It appears that family networks play an important role in supporting social change and that they reveal the crucial role played by women hidden in the household and nuclear family paradigm. Finally, the question of continuity of the generational chain is analyzed in the change-oriented baby-boom generation.     

A Report on Student Health Services

Abstract

Objective: Stress impacts college students, faculty, and staff alike. Although meditation has been found to decrease stress, it is an underutilized strategy. This study used the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to identify beliefs underlying university constituents’ decision to meditate. Participants: N = 96 students, faculty, and staff at a large midwestern university during spring 2012. Methods: A survey measured the RAA global constructs and elicited the beliefs underlying intention to meditate. Thematic and frequency analyses and multiple regression were performed. Results: Quantitative analyses showed that intention to meditate was significantly predicted (R² = .632) by attitude, perceived norm, and perceived behavioral control. Qualitative analyses revealed advantages (eg, reduced stress; feeling calmer), disadvantages (eg, takes time; will not work), and facilitating circumstances (eg, having more time; having quiet space) of meditating. Conclusions: Results of this theory-based research suggest how college health professionals can encourage meditation practice through individual, interpersonal, and environmental interventions.     

Social Group Work Models

Life-transition group counseling is described as a highly effective crisis intervention modality that is becoming an important part of social work practice. Students can learn this method in the first year Human Behavior and the Social Environment course through emphasis on developmental and accidental transition points in the life cycle. Students also are given practical guidelines for initiating intervention groups in different fieldwork settings, based on crisis intervention theory and on currently evolving practice models. Students are encouraged to write term papers about certain life transitions as a way of acquiring the necessary knowledge for this new social work method.     

The Influence of Child Sexual Abuse on the Self from Adult Narrative Perspectives

The impact of child sexual abuse on the adult self is not yet clearly understood. We explored adult perspectives through the use of narrative interviews (N = 30). Three key themes or views of self were identified in all narratives to varying degrees: the worthless self, the self as unknown, and the potential/developing self. Ambivalence and tension were present in all narratives. Individuals were challenged to integrate the sexual abuse experience in a constructive way and develop a more coherent perception of the self. The narrative method highlighted the dynamic nature of peoples’ experiences at the same time recognizing that the narratives themselves are in progress. Reactions to disclosure, social support, and interpersonal connections are crucial at every turn.     

Experiences of Mothers Who Are Child Sexual Abuse Survivors: A Qualitative Exploration

Child sexual abuse has been associated with a number of problems affecting women over their lifespan, including difficulties with parenting. However, there is a modest number of qualitative studies examining the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors who are mothers. There is a particular need for qualitative investigations that ask survivors who are mothers general questions about the impact of child sexual abuse on their lives rather than those that specifically ask about the impact of child sexual abuse on parenting. The former approach would allow survivors to describe effects that may impact parenting but that survivors do not consciously link to affecting their parenting. Such information may inform interventions to assist this population of survivors. This secondary data analysis examined themes revealed in interviews with 44 survivors of child sexual abuse who were mothers. Participants were seeking treatment for their child sexual abuse and completed an in-person interview in which they were asked open-ended questions about the sexual abuse they experienced as a child and how their abuse affects them now as adults. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using thematic analysis. The following six themes emerged from the narratives: (a) being a parent, (b) family of origin dysfunction, (c) the impact of abuse, (d) the abuse history and response to abuse, (e) coping, and (f) hopes and desires for the future. This study highlights several ways in which child sexual abuse impacts survivors who are mothers, areas for further study, and the need for interventions to assist this population in meeting the challenges they face as mothers.     

HIV/AIDS and Homelessness

This article describes the results of research on the demographic, housing, psychosocial characteristics, and service needs of a sample of homeless people with HIV disease_ Results show that respondents are similar in demographic and housing characteristics to the general homeless population. On average, respondents report high levels of stress and depression, moderate satisfaction with perceived social support availability, moderate beliefs in their ability to influence health related outcomes, moderate levels of self-efficacy, and low levels ofphysical and psychosocial disability. A range of services was identified as both helpful and useful in supporting a stable living arrangement. Implications for social policy, service provision, and research are discussed.     

“Sometimes You Just Have to Have a Lot of Bitter to Make It Sweet”: Substance Abuse and Partner Abuse in the Lives of HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men

Although links between partner abuse (PA) and substance abuse (SA) are well-documented in the literature, we know less about these relations among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted a qualitative study with this group (N = 28). Participants reported (1) social modeling of SA in childhood and in adult social networks, (2) initial use of substance to cope with child abuse and neglect, and (3) the reinforcement of problematic SA by experiences of PA, whereby SA led to PA, resulting in increased SA. Recommendations for clinicians working with HIV-positive MSM are discussed.     

Tradition and Divergence in Southwestern China: Kam Big Song Singing in the Village and on Stage

Kam big songs, comprising a major musical genre sung for centuries in Kam villages in southwestern China, have now been sung in staged performances for over sixty years. Concurrent performance of big song in both village and staged formats has produced different features and paths of development for each, as well as complex interdependence between the two formats. Kam big song singing thus presents a valuable insight into the way that tradition and divergence from tradition might be understood in the twenty-first century. In this article, I outline some of the most significant aspects of villagers' big song singing over the last sixty years. I demonstrate the difficulties in both locating the concept of ‘tradition’ within contemporary big song singing and analytically situating the divergence of big song singing into different performance formats. I thereby illustrate key concerns, potential elucidations, and the complexity of the analytical task in understanding the contemporary trajectory of ‘tradition’.     

Volunteerism Among Social Work Students During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Abstract

This study examined volunteer activities and predictors of volunteerism among graduate and undergraduate social work students (N = 416) from four universities in the Gulf Coast area following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The convenience sample drawn from all social work students at these universities included 89% females, and 52% of the students were in a master's level program. Sixty-one percent of the respondents were African American and 31% were non-Hispanic white. The majority of students volunteered (97%) despite experiencing a range of hurricane-related stressors. Multivariate analyses yielded a regression model that best predicted heightened volunteerism, which included age, school site, previous volunteer experience, hurricane-related stressors, altruism, and increased commitment to social work values (R ² = .35). The strongest predictors of volunteerism were stressor, increased commitment to social work values, and altruism (betas = .30, .26, and .21 respectively). The findings are consistent with previous research on volunteering in times of disaster and with current thinking about posttraumatic growth .     

Sexual health promotion and adult retail stores

To explore the extent to which adult retail stores may contribute to a community's sexual health promotion infrastructure, we collected data from 294 customer service employees of 80 adult retail stores in 61 U.S. cities. Findings indicated that these stores and their employees do possess at least a baseline level of characteristics that indicate they are serving, or have the potential to serve, as sexual health resources in their communities. As researchers and practitioners continue to explore new and effective mechanisms for responding to sexual health issues, they should consider outlets such as adult stores. Enhancing the capacity of these stores to contribute to sexual health may require strategic collaborations between sexual health researchers, sexual health practitioners, and the adult retail industry in order to develop initiatives that are responsive to the unique goals and cultures of each.