Impacts of media on sexual behaviour and relationships among youth in foster care

Youth in foster care (YFC) are at high risk of negative reproductive and other health outcomes and may be especially vulnerable to negative impacts of media due to early adversity and a lack of stable caregiver relationships. The aim of this project was to explore how access and exposure to media impacts YFC in order to inform future research in this realm and promote resilience in this understudied population. We conducted semistructured interviews with YFC ages 15–21 (n = 22) and focus groups with foster caregivers (n = 86). We used thematic analysis to analyse data for themes related to media. Youth and caregivers described four main themes: (a) impacts of media on youth norms and attitudes, (b) impacts of media on youth behaviour, (c) impacts of youth exposure to pornography, and (d) caregiver monitoring and mediation of media. Data from this study indicate that media has unique, important effects on YFC norms and behaviours, including sexual behaviours. Foster caregivers encounter multiple barriers to monitoring and mediating media use for YFC. Further research is needed to explore differential effects of media on YFC versus non‐YFC in order to develop effective interventions and mitigate potential negative effects of media.     

Gambling in Australian Indigenous communities: the state of play

Gambling has both positive aspects and negative effects for Australian Indigenous gamblers and families. While traditional card games organised by the communities themselves have been found to have important social value, there is increasing evidence that commercial gambling such as gaming machines (‘pokies‘), casinos and TAB betting has a range of far‐reaching negative social and economic consequences for Indigenous population groups. However an understanding of participation by Indigenous people in contemporary gambling is still undeveloped and is dominated by western concepts. The cultural distinctiveness and complexity of Indigenous Australia create profound conceptual and methodological difficulties with the potential to distort the research process and outcomes, as well as policy solutions. The current lack of understanding also impacts on the cultural relevance and effectiveness of service provision for Indigenous gamblers, their families and communities.     

Dialogic Pedagogy for Youth Participatory Action Research: Facilitation of an Intergroup Empowerment Program

This article describes the pedagogical and facilitation approach of a yearlong youth empowerment program that engaged a group of adolescents who were racially and socioeconomically diverse in participatory action research. Nine adolescents from inner-city neighborhoods and suburban communities across the metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, region completed a Photovoice project. As part of the project, the youth documented racial segregation to inform community-based advocacy efforts. Pedagogical principles from intergroup dialogues were used to help facilitate participants’ understanding of differences across race and socioeconomic status. The article outlines the four-stage curricular design used to organize group activities. Those stages are (1) group formation, (2) exploration of differences and commonalities, (3) discussion of controversial issues, and (4) action planning. This article illustrates how facilitation of a diverse group in participatory action research may require a dialogic approach that addresses cross-cultural differences and builds positive intergroup collaboration skills.     

Changes in negative attributions during couple therapy for abusive behavior: relations to changes in satisfaction and behavior

This study examined effects of cognitive-behavioral couple therapy (n = 25 couples) and a variety of systems-oriented couple therapy models (n = 30 couples) in reducing negative attributions and degrees to which decreases in negative attributions were associated with improvements in other aspects of relationship functioning. Couples seeking treatment at a university clinic and experiencing psychological and/or mild-to-moderate physical abuse completed 10 weekly sessions. Attributions, relationship satisfaction, psychological abuse, communication, and negotiation were assessed before and after treatment. Women and men in both treatments exhibited decreased negative attributions, which moderated increases in satisfaction and decreases in negative communication, as well as increases in positive communication for men. The findings reinforce the importance of modifying negative attributions when intervening to reduce abuse.     

Historical institutional child abuse: Activist mobilisation and public inquiries

The abuse of children in institutional settings is an issue of ongoing social, public, and political concern internationally. While societal responses to historical abuse have been the subject of considerable scholarship in recent years, conceptualisation of the role of activism remains limited. This article aims to advance sociological and interdisciplinary perspectives on nonrecent institutional child abuse through a conceptualisation of activist mobilisation. The article begins by providing context for the emergence of institutional child abuse as a social issue. A brief overview of key themes and debates in the interdisciplinary literature is then offered, and a critical gap in current scholarship is identified in relation to activism. Drawing on illustrative examples of activist mobilisation, both in the form of survivor narratives and strategies aimed at influencing policy, the article sets out how a sociology of activism in the field of historical institutional child abuse might proceed. Through attention to the social dynamics of activism, and conceptualisation of collective action in this domain as a social movement, the article provides new insights for the field and an alternative to sociological theorisation of responses to historical institutional child abuse as simply constituting a public scandal or moral panic.     

Canada is #IdleNoMore: exploring dynamics of Indigenous political and civic protest in the Twitterverse

Social media have been playing a growingly important role in grassroots protest over the last five years. While many scholars have explored dynamics of political cyberprotest (e.g., the ongoing transnational Occupy movement, the 2012 Quebec student strike, the student-led protest movement in Chile between 2011 and 2013), few have studied sub-dynamics relating to ethno-cultural minorities’ uses of social media to gain visibility, mobilize support, and engage in political and civil action. We fill part of this gap in the academic literature by investigating uses of Twitter for political engagement in the context of the Canada-based Idle No More movement (INM). This ongoing protest initiative, which emerged in December 2012, seeks to mobilize Indigenous Peoples in Canada and internationally as well as their non-Indigenous allies. It does so by bringing attention to their culture, struggles, and identities as well as advocating for changes in policy areas relating to the environment, governance, and socio-economic matters. Our study explores to what extent references to aspects of Indigenous identities and culture shaped INM-related tweeting and, by extension, activism during the summer of 2013. We conducted a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 1650 #IdleNoMore tweets shared by supporters of this movement between 3 July 2013 and 2 August 2013. Our study demonstrates that unlike other social media-intensive movements where economic and political concerns were the primary drivers of political and civil engagement, aspects of Indigenous culture influenced information flows and mobilization among #IdleNoMore tweeters.     

Re-Conceptualizing Gaps by Socioeconomic Status in Parental Time with Children

Differences in the total time that parents spend with their children by socioeconomic status (SES) are well documented. However, the qualitative aspects of such gaps are potentially important, yet relatively understudied. The current study analyzes time-use data for a nationally representative sample of married households with at least two children, one of whom is under 13 (N = 21,016), from the American Time Use Survey to provide a more nuanced analysis of previously documented differences in the time parents spend with children by SES. Specifically, two understudied aspects of family time are considered, both of which are distinct from other types of parent–child time and are potentially particularly developmentally beneficial: shared time when both parents are present with a child and individual child time when no siblings are present. We find that shared time when both parents are simultaneously present with a child often comprises a substantial portion of the total gap in parental time spent with children between college-educated parents and parents who did not complete high school. Similarly, college-educated parents spend more time with children in the absence of the child’s siblings than do less-educated parents. Gaps in this time classification are often found within enriching time, which is likely especially developmentally beneficial, potentially amplifying the effects of these gaps on child development. Generally, these results suggest that gaps in parental time with children by SES are more nuanced than previous research has recognized.     

Examining risk,strengths, and functioning of foster families: Implications for strengths-based practice

ABSTRACT

Foster families provide safe and stable homes for children and youth who are removed from their homes due to maltreatment. Despite the stressors associated with bringing children in and out of a family’s home, many maintain healthy family functioning and continue fostering for many years serving an essential function in the child welfare system. This study sought to understand the factors that explained higher levels of family functioning within foster families. Collaborating with one statewide public child welfare agency, 681 licensed foster parents participated in an online survey that examined the association between family functioning with family strengths and risk factors. Findings from this study can inform strengths-based practice including training, assessment, and interventions for new and existing foster families to strengthen families and improve the well-being of children and youth in their care.     

Storytelling in Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter: belonging and the transnationality of home in older age

ABSTRACT

Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter is a fictional account of a Chinese American woman and her mother, a first-generation migrant, who is negotiating dementia in later life. Analysis of diasporic novels can provide insight into migrant belonging, especially the emotional geographies of home and emotional subjectivities of ageing that are not commonly or easily elucidated even by qualitative interviewing methods. This article examines Tan’s construction of ageing as an intergenerational, cultural and emotional process, and highlights the role of storytelling as an everyday home-making practice through which the transnationality of home in older age becomes evident.     

Intergenerational Community-Based Research and Creative Practice: Promoting Environmental Sustainability in Jinja,Uganda

This article critically reflects on the methodological approach developed for a recent project based in Jinja, Uganda, that sought to generate new forms of environmental knowledge and action utilizing diverse forms of creative intergenerational practice embedded within a broader framework of community-based participatory research. This approach provided new opportunities for intergenerational dialogue in Jinja, generated increased civic environmental engagement, and resulted in a participant-led campaign to share knowledge regarding sustainable biomass consumption. We term this approach intergenerational community-based research and creative practice. We discuss the advantages of this model while also reflecting throughout on the challenges of the approach.