Person × Context Effects on Anticipated Moral Emotions Following Aggression

We investigated person (sex, aggression level), context (witness type, victim reactions), and person × context effects on children's anticipated moral emotions following hypothetical acts of aggression against a peer. Children (N = 378, mean age = 11.3 years) were presented a series of hypothetical vignettes in which the presence of witnesses (no witnesses/most liked classmates/all of the class) and victim's reactions (neutral/ sad/ angry) were manipulated. The results indicated several person effects (e.g., girls anticipated more guilt and shame but less pride than boys; aggressiveness was related to less guilt and shame), as well as context effects (e.g., anticipated shame depended on who witnessed the situation and the emotional reactions of the victim). However, person × context effects predominated. The overall pattern of results indicated that girls and low‐aggressive children were more sensitive to contextual cues than boys and high‐aggressive children. The findings support the importance of a person × context approach to understanding the emotional reactions of different children in different situations.     

The Purposes of Undergraduate Education for Social Welfare

This paper discusses efforts to introduce fundraising courses into the curriculum of graduate social work schools. It suggests that such courses are inadequate to meet the growing need for social workers capable of coping with the economic facts of agency life. It proposes the concept of resource development as a viable alternative. Continued grounding in basic social work skills, values, and knowledge for personnel engaged in resource development is stressed. Questions are raised about the orientation toward money in social work education. The paper also explores the mutual benefits of cooperation between social work and the fundraising field.     

The accommodation and support needs of people with a mental illness: A process and framework for action

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a consumer-focused assessment of the accommodation and support needs of people with a mental illness living in a regional city. The study utilises a 'pathway to stability' approach to assess the phase-contingent accommodation and support needs of mental health consumers through interviews and focus groups with consumers, carers and service providers. The study identifies five broad phases of the life course impacted by mental illness—beginnings, long-term needs become clearer, instability as needs evolve, finding stability and ongoing. Five key issues—information, self-competence, comorbidity, coordination and flexibility were expanded upon in focus groups. Principles for planning future service delivery are identified. The implications of the findings and research methodology for social work practice and research are discussed.     

Formal volunteering as a protector of health in the context of social losses

This study aims to examine the effect of the death of a family member or friend on psychological well-being, specifically the moderating effects of first-time volunteering and social network. With the sample of 354 volunteers from the Experience Corps® (EC) programs, Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) estimated the differences in psychological well-being. Among volunteers who had experienced the death of a family member or friend, new volunteers showed significant improvement in positive affect compared to experienced volunteers. EC members gained additional social contacts through volunteering. Formal volunteering has a salutatory effect on older adults' health after the loss of family members.     

A Multistate Transition Model for Osteoarthritis Pain Change

Pain severity of knees is assessed using an ordinal scale in patients with musculoskeletal diseases and often changes over time. Assessment of the effect of a particular risk factor on the change in pain severity will shed light on our understanding of biological mechanisms and provide guidance for rational clinical intervention for recurrent pain. The multistate transition model allows transitions between several different states of pain severity and estimates the transitional intensity using an extension of the Cox proportional hazards model. Using data from a longitudinal study, we applied this model to assess the relation of two psychological factors to the change in knee pain severity over time among patients with osteoarthritis and demonstrated that the multistate transition model can be a valuable tool for rheumatic disease studies.     

131st Annual Meeting Joint Statistical Meetings of the American Statistical Association,The Blometrlc Society,Enar and Wnar,The Institute of Mathematical Statistics

(We are attempting to inaugurate a different type of questions and answers page in this issue of the American Statistician. Our purpose is to stimulate an interest in conceptual and measurement problems which arise in the course of statistical work and which require discussion apart from purely mathematical considerations. It is hoped that our readers will find this approach of interest and value. We are inviting questions of this type.)     

Whether Professional Training Matters: Attitudinal Antecedents to the Turnover Intentions of Social Workers in Guangzhou,China

This study aims to identify whether the professional training of social workers has an effect on the attitudinal antecedents of turnover intention. This study investigated 395 trained and 353 non-trained social workers from the Integrated Family Service Centers in Guangzhou, China. It was found that professional education did not significantly alter the attitudinal antecedents to turnover intention. In both groups, a higher feeling of burnout or a lower level of organizational commitment produced a higher intention of turnover. Furthermore, the significant influences of burnout and organizational commitment were found to be respectively mediated by job satisfaction with professional association or job satisfaction with organizational environment. This study not only provides insights into the stabilization of the emerging workforce of Chinese social workers, but also poses serious questions about social work education.