Fathers' involvement and the impact on family mental health: evidence from Millennium Cohort Study analyses

This paper reports evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) on the relationship between fathers' involvement and the mental well-being of mothers, fathers and children. Drawing on previous research, we use a tripartite definition of father involvement: engagement, accessibility and responsibility. After searching 14 databases and websites, we screened for applicability, coded, quality assessed and synthesised the evidence. The majority of studies focused on ‘accessibility’ in terms of family structure or on ‘responsibility’ in terms of father employment. Overall, the studies suggest that aspects of fathers' involvement can positively influence both maternal and child mental well-being; fathers' mental health was only analysed in relation to one aspect of involvement: parental or father employment was found to influence fathers' mental well-being positively. Further MCS-based research is recommended to examine the impact of fathers' involvement on their own mental well-being, as well as the broader impact of a more active or ‘modern’ fatherhood model encompassing engagement and an understanding of responsibility beyond the breadwinning role.     

Living Stigma: The Impact of Labeling, Stereotyping, Separation, Status Loss, and Discrimination in the Lives of Individuals with Disabilities and Their Families

In this study, we examine the direct and vicarious impact of the social processes of felt and enacted stigma and their impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. Specifically, findings of interactive interviews with eight adults with disabilities and seven mothers of children with disabilities were analyzed for themes related to components of stigma described by Link and Phelan (2001) : labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination within the context of power differential. Findings suggest that while these social processes can have important negative psychosocial consequences for individuals living with disabilities, the severity of the consequences varies among the components. Findings also indicate that these individuals find varied and creative ways to resist and actively counter the negative effects of stigma in their lives. Findings support the complexity of the experience of stigma and the importance of the socio/cultural context to the lived experience of disability.     

Environmental Factors, Locus of Control, and Adolescent Suicide Risk

This exploratory study seeks to better understand possible relationships between environmental factors, locus of control, and suicide risk among adolescents. The data derive from in-school surveys of eight-grade students conducted in 1998 and 1999 in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming. Results revealed higher levels of suicide risk were associated with a more external locus of control orientation. Relationships between suicide risk and several environmental factors and preferences also were found. Potential links between locus of control, environment, and suicide risk are discussed, as are implications for intervention efforts and future research. William P. Evans and Shawn C. Marsh are affiliated with the University of Nevada, Reno. Pasty Owens is affiliated with the University of California, Davis.     

Who participates? Socioeconomic Factors Associated with Women's Participation in Voluntary Groups

Participation in voluntary groups is potentially an important way to create health promoting social capital. This paper investigates women's participation in voluntary groups, utilising data from a postal survey of 968 female respondents and in‐depth interviews with 30 women. Logistic regression was conducted to examine factors associated with frequency of women's group involvement. Not working full time, living in a married relationship, and having a university education were all significantly associated with regular involvement. The qualitative data further illustrated some of the ways in which these three factors were linked with women's involvement in groups. We conclude that women who were able to regularly participate were those who already enjoyed levels of social and economic privilege. Policies to promote social capital via participation might focus on identifying what types of group involvement benefit women's health, and increasing the accessibility of such groups to include diverse groups of women.     

Colonial workers,imperial migrants and surveillance: policing in Le Havre, 1914–40

This article explores how the police and municipal authorities of Le Havre responded to the colonial others who passed through, or resided in, the Seine-Inférieure port between the outbreak of the First World War and the defeat of France in 1940. Interrogating how the police and urban authorities monitored migrants to the port, it reveals how Le Havre’s imperial and transnational space was distinctive in terms of the peoples who established themselves in the port, the ways in which they forged links with other peripheral locations throughout the French empire, and how the local authorities attempted to control migrants and incomers from the French overseas empire. It highlights particularities of Le Havre’s urban space – notably its lack of a university and prestigious lycées, its pre-1914 history of militant strike action, its role as France’s main transatlantic port, and the presence of a small colonial population with a narrow social-economic profile – and shows how these particularities resulted in the enactment and sometimes neglect of national policies and agendas according to specific local priorities.     

Duvet woman versus action man: the gendered aetiology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome according to English newspapers

Media portrayals of conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) demand exploration as the media is a potent source of information and meaning, and as such has the potential to inform public and professional understandings. To date, there is little systematic exploration of print media representations of CFS/ME. In this study, we address that gap by exploring the voices of CFS/ME sufferers in the English print media (1998–2015) from a constructionist feminist perspective. We found that portrayals of CFS/ME differ meaningfully, depending on gender. The psychological and emotional tended to be foregrounded where women were concerned and the scepticism surrounding CFS/ME as a “non disease” was much more evident. On some occasions this was dealt with directly, whilst on others it was “leaked in” or hinted at. This serves to delegitimise the illness in women. In contrast, the physical was usually foregrounded in the case of men suffering from the condition and their experiences were accredited greater legitimacy. We problematise these representations and discuss the potential impact upon public and professional sympathy, treatment options and long-standing, gendered constructions of illness.     

Work,welfare, and wellbeing: The impacts of welfare conditionality on people with mental health impairments in the UK

The personal, economic, and social costs of mental ill health are increasingly acknowledged by many governments and international organisations. Simultaneously, in high-income nations, the reach of welfare conditionality has extended to encompass many people with mental health impairments as part of on-going welfare reforms. This is particularly the case in the UK where, especially since the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance in 2008, the rights and responsibilities of disabled people have been subject to contestation and redefinition. Following a review of the emergent international evidence on mental health and welfare conditionality, this paper explores two specific issues. First, the impacts of the application of welfare conditionality on benefit claimants with mental health impairments. Second, the effectiveness of welfare conditionality in supporting people with experience of mental ill health into paid work. In considering these questions, this paper presents original analysis of data generated in qualitative longitudinal interviews with 207 UK social security benefit recipients with experience of a range of mental health issues. The evidence suggests that welfare conditionality is largely ineffective in moving people with mental health impairments into, or closer to, paid work. Indeed, in many cases, it triggers negative health outcomes that make future employment less likely. It is concluded that the application of conditionality for people with mental health issues is inappropriate and should cease.