Guilty or not? A path model of women's sexual force fantasies

This study estimated a path model of women's forceful sexual fantasies. Constructs examined were childhood sexual abuse, feminist beliefs, sexual guilt, erotophilia, and sexual experience. The study clarifies how these factors mediate one another in relationship to forceful sexual fantasies, and is first to examine the effects of feminist beliefs on forceful sexual fantasy. Adult women (N = 261) participated by completing an online survey. A path from sex guilt to forceful sexual fantasy, mediated by erotophilia, was found, wherein low levels of sex guilt and high levels of erotophilia were found to predict forceful sexual fantasy. A direct path between childhood sexual abuse and forceful sexual fantasy was also found. The resulting model is discussed in relation to previously-proposed theories on the role of force in women's sexual fantasies.     

Enhancing practitioner-led education in social work: developing a secondment project

ABSTRACT

This paper illustrates the development of a secondment project designed to enhance practitioner-led social work education in a Higher Education Institution. The project was developed as part of a Teaching Partnership initiative to establish joint working and standardized approaches to social work education between Higher Education Institutes and Local Authorities across a UK region. Highlighted is how the project utilized a six-stage strategy designed to gather information to produce an evidence-base to support the implementation of a pilot practitioner secondment arrangement. The paper discusses strategies used to gather information from a range of stakeholders to inform the project, the project outcome and some considerations for future secondment arrangements. Contributing to a limited source of literature, challenges and limitations of developing formal secondment arrangements and delivering practitioner-led education in Higher Education Institutes are highlighted. This paper will assist Higher Education Institutes and Local Authorities in the design and implementation of formal secondment arrangements where these are identified as in need of development.     

Walk-in Together: A pilot study of a walk-in online family therapy intervention

Many Australians are requiring mental health care, including families, leading to long wait times in order to access support. Walk-in therapy reduces barriers to mental health support services by providing support at the time that families seek help. This paper presents a proof-of-concept study investigating the acceptability and short-term effectiveness of an online walk-in family therapy service, Walk-in Together (WIT). Part 1 of the paper describes the experiences of 44 family members from 22 families who presented to a public family therapy clinic for a virtual walk-in family therapy session. The session was conducted by a team of three experienced family therapists. Family members' experiences were sought pre-session, post-session, and at 6 weeks follow-up via survey and interview. Part 2 of the paper explores therapist perceptions (n = 7) of the WIT approach, through thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data. Post-session feedback showed 85% of family members found WIT to be helpful and 50% were optimistic about their future as a family after their WIT session. Six weeks post-session it was revealed that WIT supported planning for families in equipping them to move forward with 88% of family members reporting that they knew what to do after the session. All therapists uniformly experienced the model as offering a timely and beneficial service, suitable for diverse presentations and constellations of families. These preliminary results suggest the significant utility of this WIT intervention as a well-received and helpful service for families, who valued the easy access and rapid therapeutic response afforded by the online, walk-in delivery model. This proof-of-concept paper suggests the potential for further development and growth of WIT, as well as other mental health support services using a walk-in, telehealth model to meet the rising demand for therapeutic support for families in distress.     

Can personal narratives heal trauma? A consideration of testimonies given at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

This study investigates the therapeutic effects of narratives and linguistic expression in people who have suffered trauma. The kind of trauma considered is that which took place as a result of politically related violence in the South African liberation struggle, and the narratives and language discussed are selected from testimonies given during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Certain linguistic criteria identified by Pennebaker as predictors of successful therapeutic outcomes in the narratives of individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are applied to excerpts from the TRC testimonies. Linguistic analysis validates Pennebaker’s findings to some extent, but the investigation concludes that while linguistic expression may demonstrate cognitive processing and facilitate coherence, it is not enough to enable healing. Many factors, not only articulation, interact to determine the extent to which individuals can be healed. Some trauma is so intense that it cannot be verbalised at all.     

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) experiences with Earth-spirited faith

Earth-spirited faiths (e.g., Pagan and Wiccan spiritualities) have been described as more affirmative toward gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) members than mainstream Judeo-Christian faiths, but no research has explored Earth-spirited faiths' GLBT-affirming behaviors. This study investigated those behaviors as well as the faith experiences of GLBT Earth-spirited individuals. At time of coming out, participants who were affiliated with mainstream Judeo-Christian faiths reported greater faith conflict than those affiliated with Earth-spirited faiths; however, there were no differences in resolution of the conflict between the two groups, internalized homonegativity, or self-acceptance. In addition, Earth-spirited faiths engaged in many GLBT-affirming behaviors.     

On the Olympic Games: An Afterword

The article discusses some of the issues that sociologists research with respect to the Olympic Games.     

Volunteers in charity retailing: Recruitment and training

Volunteer activity has received considerable research attention in recent years. There is, however, little academic research to date into volunteer issues in charity retailing. This article examines volunteers in charity shops and reports, in particular, on how volunteers are recruited and trained in the charity retailing. This article examines volunteers in charity shops and reports, in particular, on how volunteers are recruited and trained in the charity sector. The authors conclude that in an increasingly competitive market, charity retailers need to reexamine their recruitment and training policies in order to attract and retain a diverse core of volunteers.     

Statistical modeling of selected aspects of the childbearing process with application to world fertility survey countries∗

The childbearing process should be monitored in developing countries experiencing high population growth rates and high levels of maternal and infant mortality. A mathematical model for estimation of certain aspects of the childbearing process, which requires only data on age‐specific fertility rates, is developed. Synthetic maternal childbearing indices, namely, mean ages at first and last birth, length of reproductive life span, inter‐birth spacing, and proportion of childless women, in addition to the well‐known mean age at childbearing, for the WFS countries are obtained using the proposed model. The indices are free from age truncation effects, and, under certain assumptions, provide information about a cohort's completed fertility before the women stop reproducing. The effects of women's residence and education on fertility are also examined.