Reviewing changes to the Child Disability Allowance: Giving parents a voice

Abstract

The Diabetes Clinic at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children has been concerned at the impact of changes made in 1998 to eligibility for the Child Disability Allowance on families caring for a child with diabetes. A survey of those families was conducted to obtain their views on the changes. Results showed the number of families receiving Child Disability Allowance since the changes has significantly declined. Parents indicated the allowance should be automatic for children with insulin dependent diabetes as the disability is chronic, incurable, requires extra care and attention, and is a financial and emotional burden for families. Many felt the application process was unjust, incomplete and inadequate. The results formed part of a submission to the Department of Family and Community Services evaluation, giving parents a voice in this process. This project illustrates the capacity of social workers to attempt to impact on social policy within the context of their clinical practice.     

Envisioning upland futures: Stakeholder responses to scenarios for Europe's mountain landscapes

In a period of agricultural decline in the uplands of Europe, agriculture is ceasing to provide the primary rationale for the organisation, utilisation and functioning of rural space. Policy reform, market trends and changes to the way citizens and consumers think about the countryside all suggest a need for thinking strategically about the future development of these areas. However, without a broad involvement of stakeholders, land use conflicts, and social and cultural conflicts in general, may increase. Involving stakeholders in upland areas can be facilitated by using scenario technique and by discussing alternative futures in local stakeholder panels. In this paper we present four scenarios of land-use change for the year 2030, and their assessments by stakeholder panels in Scotland, France, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia and Greece. The aim of the paper is to explore the ways in which stakeholders in these locations advocate and assess these scenarios. We also explore how stakeholders in different countries weight the visual landscape impacts, the livelihood and biodiversity aspects of the scenarios in their assessment, and the reasons for their prioritising. The cross-country analysis shows that stakeholders across the study areas are united in their overall rejection of agricultural liberalisation, advocating a production-oriented, but multifunctional and environmentally-friendly agriculture that maintains landscapes and biodiversity.     

Let’s Rework Our Approach with “Angry Young People”

This commentary by Social Work with Groups Editorial Advisory Board member Dr. Katrina Skewes McFerran is reprinted here with permission under a Creative Commons Attribution. Dr. McFerran, a music therapist, offers a reflection in the aftermath of a mass murder and suicide by a young person in Munich, Germany in July 2016. She states that “many youth services rely on government funding that demands “evidence” in order to justify spending from limited budgets.” She goes on to ask, “How do you prove that by establishing a meaningful connection with an angry young man you have stopped a mass shooting?”     

More Than a Physical Burden: Women’s Mental and Emotional Work in Preventing Pregnancy

In the United States, responsibility for preventing pregnancy in heterosexual relationships disproportionately falls on women. While the biotechnological landscape of available methods may explain the assignment of the physical burden for contraception to women, this does not mean the concomitant time, attention, and stress that preventing pregnancy requires must also be primarily assumed by women. Building on work identifying health care providers as contributors to the construction of normative ideas about reproduction, this study analyzed 52 contraceptive counseling visits with women who reported they did not want future children for the construction of responsibility for the mental and emotional aspects of contraception. Offering a case of how gender inequality is (re)produced through clinical encounters, findings demonstrate that clinicians discursively constructed these responsibilities as women’s and point to structural aspects of the visit itself that reify this unequal burden as normal. Results are consistent with research identifying the broader feminization of family health work in heterosexual relationships. To the extent that the distribution of the mental and emotional responsibilities of preventing pregnancy is both a product of and contributor to gender inequality, this analysis yields insight into the production—and possible deconstruction—of (reproductive) health care as a gendered social structure.     

Incorporating natural helpers to address service disparities for young children with conduct problems

In response to the high levels of unmet need among historically underserved young children with conduct problems, this paper outlines some of the key issues involved in incorporating natural helpers into the delivery of parenting interventions for the treatment of conduct problems among historically underserved children. Strategies for the selection and training of natural helpers are discussed along with challenges that might be encountered in these processes. Directions for future research are also highlighted. With appropriate selection and training procedures in place, natural helpers may increase the accessibility of services for children and families and foster the reduction of service disparities.     

Before and after science: Admissions process to Australian university social work courses

Abstract

Application processes to Australian university social work courses provide an explicit example through which to explore the influence of two schools of thought — social work as an art and as a science — on social work processes. Using admissions literature and questionnaire data provided by Australian schools of social work, this qualitative study explored the extent to which these perspectives are reflected in admissions processes. It was found that in terms of both qualities sought and techniques utilised, schools are operating essentially from a social work as science perspective, although there exists a desire to access qualities from an art perspective. This is perceived as being the result of institutional requirements, resource constraints, academic conventions and lack of knowledge about how to effectively assess the latter qualities. It is argued that social work needs to assert its unique perspectives in claiming a right to determine application processes for social work courses.     

HIV conspiracy theory beliefs mediates the connection between HIV testing attitudes and HIV prevention self-efficacy

Abstract

Objective: High rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be found in states in both the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States. As infection rates increase, it is imperative to understand factors that improve HIV prevention. The current work explored whether HIV conspiracy beliefs influences the link between HIV testing attitudes and perceived prevention ability. Participants: Four samples were collected during Fall 2013 (N?=?373), Spring 2014 (N?=?231), Fall 2014 (N?=?345), and Spring 2015 (N?=?369) at a rural, Southeastern, Appalachian university. Methods: Participants in all samples completed an online survey. Results: Four studies showed that HIV conspiracy theory beliefs mediated the relationship between HIV testing attitudes and HIV prevention self-efficacy. Conclusions: HIV conspiracy theory beliefs at least partially explain the connection between testing attitudes and HIV prevention self-efficacy. Results have implications for the role of HIV testing attitudes, beliefs, and self-efficacy.     

The Mediation Window: Regulation of Argumentation and Affect in Custody Mediation

High-conflict custody mediation requires working with both the emotional and the factual aspects of the conflict, while balancing unequal power relations between parents. Applying conversation analysis methods to a case of “treatment as usual” high-conflict mediation, this study offers an analysis of the process of establishing a balance point—the mediation window—where both emotional and practical concerns can be discussed efficiently. Communication patterns in the selected case are compared to an extract of the remaining corpus from which it is drawn, consisting of 38 high-conflict mediation cases. Findings are discussed with respect to the practice and ideology of custody mediation, particularly concerning empowerment, self-determination, and mediator control.     

Strategies Used by Gay and Bisexual Young Men to Cope With Heterosexism

ABSTRACT

Although the pervasiveness of heterosexism in the lives of gay and bisexual youth is well established, little is known about the strategies these youth use to cope with stigma and discrimination based on their sexual minority status. In this qualitative study, the authors present findings and implications for clinical practice based on interviews with 43 gay and bisexual young men. Respondents’ coping strategies are discussed in relation to current theory and research on coping with stigma, as well as the emerging field of emotion regulation. The narratives from the current study suggest that the emotion regulation paradigm is well suited to understanding the functions of strategies for coping with heterosexism and similar types of stigma.