Identity Concerns in Intercountry Adoption-Immigrants as Adoptive Parents

The psycho-social sense of identity, which is an important component of the sense of self, emerges during childhood and adolescence but is a lifelong process. In intercountry adopted children, additional layers are added to the initial difference of being adopted—in outward appearance and in cultural heritage—that do not match those of the adoptive parents. These may interfere with empathic bonding and with the integration of facets of identity into a meaningful narrative. The article addresses a particular subgroup of adoptive parents—those who have immigrated to Israel in their recent or remote past. Using the framework of self psychology, it suggests ways of helping immigrant adoptive parents to create an empathic affect-bridge with their children, who immigrate to a new family as well as to a new country, by tapping their own experiences as immigrants.     

Good Enough Adoptive Parenting—The Adopted Child and Selfobject Relations

The article focuses on the needs and problems of adoptive parents, in the framework of self-psychology. It examines several conditions that may impair optimal selfobject relations between adoptive parents and their child, so that self-development and individuation of the adoptee will be at risk: insufficient mourning of the wound of infertility; early narcissistic vulnerability; over-sensitivity to abandonment; proneness to use primitive character defenses; and marital pathology such as insufficient couple alliance. The importance of early individual and couple assessment is stressed, in order to sift, prepare and support the adoptive parents in the complex task of being parents as well as therapists. Successful adoption is interpreted as a mutual process of healing of early damages, thereby contributing to the experience of an integrated self by both parents and child.     

Not just maternalism: marriage and fatherhood in American welfare policy

The United States' 1996 welfare reforms are often interpreted as a historical break in transitioning from supporting motherhood to commodifiying women's labor. However, this cannot account for welfare reform's emphasis upon heterosexual marriage and fatherhood promotion. The paper traces continuities and shifts in over a century of familial regulation through American welfare policy, specifying the place of marriage promotion within welfare policy. Up until 1996, families were key sites of intervention through which the American welfare state was erected, especially through single women as mothers - not wives. However, as of the 1960s, concern with African American men's "failed" familial commitments turned policymakers toward concern over marriage promotion for women and men. While marriage "disincentives" for aid recipients were lifted in the 1960s, the 1996 reforms structured a new form of nuclear family governance actively promoting marriage rooted in, but distinct from, the previous. Given the historical absence of welfare policies available to poor men, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families' (TANF) marriage promotion policies have positioned poor women as nodes connecting the state to poor men, simultaneously structuring poor women as breadwinners, mothers, and wives. Recent welfare reform has also started to target poor men directly, especially in fatherhood and marriage promotion initiatives. The article highlights how, in addition to workfare policies, marriage promotion is a neoliberal policy shifting risk to the shoulders of the poor, aiming to produce "strong families" for the purposes of social security.     

Training for frontline workers

This article examines the training needs of people who work directly with children and families–frontline workers. It argues that such people are working with child abuse, whether they have recognized this to be the case or not. The article outlines work that needs to be covered in training of frontline workers, in order that they can respond effectively to abused children and undertake appropriate prevention work. A range of relevant publications which can support this training are discussed.     

Money Matters: Young Adults’ Perception of the Economic Consequences of their Parents’ Divorce

A qualitative study examined the perceptions of 22 Israeli young adults (ages 20–25) of childhood parental divorce. Respondents discussed their experiences, including economic consequences of the divorce. Results related to the practical aspect of economic decline, to economic issues as embodiment of parental conflicts, and to children’s emotional and practical roles connected to economic changes. Children’s understanding and coping with financial issues are related to three profiles of overall adjustment identified in this study—resilience, survival, and vulnerability. Resilient young adults interpreted as empowering their understanding and coping; the survivors recognized their efforts as meaningful but burdensome; and vulnerable participants felt that economic changes caused a heavy financial and emotional price. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Sex Differences in Body Movement and Visual Attention: An Integrated Analysis of Movement and Gaze in Mixed-Sex Dyads

The body movement and visual behavior of women and men engaged in mixed-sex dyadic interactions were analyzed in a three-factorial design including the personal factor sex of the interactants, the situational factor partner familiarity, and the situational factor visual attention of the interaction partner. Measures of nonverbal activity were derived from integrated time-series protocols of body movement and gaze for both interaction partners. Data analysis revealed significant sex differences in individual frequency and duration of movement and gaze, as well as dyadic differences for both behavior measures. Men, in general, were more active while women were more visually attentive. Also, the results point to specific interaction effects between sex and familiarity. The data indicate that there were specific adaptational strategies for both sexes with familiar and unfamiliar partners.     

Who Has the Power? The Role of NPOs in Local Authorities

Recent years have seen accelerated processes of decentralization and devolution of social services from central government toward local authorities and from them to non-profit organizations (NPOs). This article describes a case study of the process of transition of power from a local authority to a NPO and the outcomes of this transition on public policy making. The findings presented in the article are based on a qualitative analysis of documents over a period of 7 years (1999–2006) in a large local authority in Israel and its relations with a NPO which provide services for the elderly.     

Mandatory reporting of childhood sexual abuse in Israel: what happens after the report?

While the professional literature deals to some degree with the difficult dilemmas faced by professionals regarding the question of reporting or not reporting child abuse as mandated by law, there is a glaring insufficiency of studies looking at the impact of reporting on the victims and their families. This paper presents six cases of suspected sexual abuse to demonstrate some of the inconsistency in responses to reports within the Israeli system. The authors recommend amendments to the Israeli mandatory reporting law so that the law is not only a societal decree of the absolute prohibition against the sexual exploitation of minors and others incapable of giving informed consent, but also a basis for consistent and skillful professional intervention.     

Predictors of cyber-victimization of higher-education students with and without learning disabilities

Higher-education institutes today face an uphill battle in trying to restrain online misbehavior. This study examined the cyber-victimization experience of 1,052 higher education students with and without learning disabilities. All participants completed five online questionnaires regarding cyber-victimization, social support, self-perception, well-being, and body perception. Results revealed that compare to students without learning disabilities a higher proportion of students with learning disabilities reported cyber-victimization. Positive associations were found between students with learning disabilities and cyber-victimization, and negative correlations between students with learning disabilities, self-perception and well-being. Regression analysis indicated that for students with learning disabilities, predictors of cyber-victimization were low social support, low self-perception, and being female, whereas for students without learning disabilities, the predictors were low social support, low well-being, and low body perception.     

Social and Economic Exchange Between Social Workers and their Employers in the Context of their Sectorial Affiliation and Seniority

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Partial privatization creates organizational hybrids that can generate conflict between professional and institutional...