What does youth-led participatory budgeting reveal about youth priorities? Ideas,votes, and decisions

Youth involvement in community decision-making is considered a core principle of both youth advocacy and progressive governance. Yet, in many communities formal roles for youth remain limited. This paper presents data from a youth-led participatory budgeting process in Boston, Massachusetts (US). The City of Boston has institutionalized a formal process through which numerous youth can contribute ideas and vote on capital projects to receive city funding. A smaller group of youth are engaged in even greater depth. They are trained and work to facilitate submission of ideas, turn ideas into proposals, and encourage youth voting. We use data to identify concerns expressed by youth, their ideas for solutions, and the movement from ideas to funded projects. Implications for further development of participatory budgeting as a mechanism for youth civic engagement are discussed.     

Sensitive topics in social research involving children

While there is broad consensus that involving children in research is critically important for understanding their lives, there is considerable caution around their participation in social research on ‘sensitive’ issues. Such caution is further amplified by a lack of agreement about what constitutes a ‘sensitive topic’. This article draws on data from interviews with a range of Australian stakeholders, including children, parents, researchers, ethics committee members, government and non-government organisation representatives, and other decision-makers, specifically related to the question of ‘what is a sensitive topic?’. While participants identified a range of sensitive topics, findings point to sensitivities being closely linked with the contexts of children’s lives and experiences. This requires researchers to approach research in ways that reflect more nuanced understandings of these sensitivities, help address potential concerns and facilitate the development of research relationships that promote ethical conduct of research with children.     

Access to Interprofessional Continuing Education in Integrated Care Through Digital Instructional Technology

ABSTRACT

In preparing the workforce for integrated care, continuing professional education serves a critical role. Within a rapidly changing health care landscape, matriculated students now benefit from pedagogical innovations supporting integrated care, particularly interprofessional education, and working professionals must not be excluded from this transformation. University-based digital instructional programs can support the learning needs of working professionals, providing an alternative and complement to brick-and-mortar classrooms and ad hoc onsite trainings. This paper describes the structure, content, digital approach, and outcomes of a continuing education program in integrated behavioral health and primary care, housed in a school of social work at a major university. The challenges of interprofessional digital education are described and future directions are suggested.     

Assessing Variations in Developmental Outcomes Among Teenage Offspring of Teen Mothers: Maternal Life Course Correlates

This study investigated potential heterogeneity in development among offspring (age 17) of teen mothers and maternal life course as correlates of variation. Using latent class analysis, subgroups of developmental outcomes were identified. Maternal standing in two life course realms (i.e., socioeconomic and domestic) was considered as a potential explanation for heterogeneity in offspring's development. Offspring reported on measures assessing their psychological, academic, and behavioral development. Teen mothers reported on measures of life course realms. Three subgroups of developmental outcomes were identified: on track (52%), at risk (37%), and troubled (11%). Findings suggest that economic hardship and number of pregnancies among teen mothers distinguish developmental patterns among teenage offspring, whereas teen mothers' educational attainment and marital status do not.     

Governing agricultural migrant workers as an “emergency”: converging approaches in Northern and Southern Italian rural towns

Rosarno and Sermide are two small towns in Southern and Northern Italy, which are both part of a manual‐labour circuit of agricultural work. The article presents an analysis of governance structures in these towns and, by bringing together the literature on migrants' agricultural labour and local policy‐making, explores how public actors address migrant seasonal agricultural workers' needs to investigate outcomes of inclusion and exclusion. The article builds on qualitative research, conducted between 2012 and 2015, to propose a North‐South intra‐country comparison of local policy‐making. The findings show the emergency nature of local administrations' approaches and the critical role of civil society. They highlight the extent to which responses diverge or converge in means and scale, while stressing their convergence in scope to limit migrants' visibility.     

Three Psychotherapies for Suicidal Adolescents: Overview of Conceptual Frameworks and Intervention Techniques

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth, and as many as one in five youth report having had at least one serious thought of suicide in the past year. Despite the enormous emotional pain and suffering associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, up to 40 % of suicidal youth never receive treatment. Given that social workers are employed in multiple settings where suicidal children and adolescents are encountered (e.g. schools, homeless shelters, emergency departments, outpatient mental health agencies, private practice), they play a critical role in the identification and treatment of suicidal youth. In the past decade, evidence has emerged that attachment-based family therapy, integrated cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy can reduce suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempt in youth. The purpose of this article is to review the theoretical assumptions, conceptual frameworks and key intervention techniques for these three interventions so that clinicians can integrate these approaches into their practice with suicidal youth and families. Implications for practice are integrated throughout the review.     

Former ses travailleurs seniors pour ne pas les perdre? Illustration par le cas allemand

Une vague de départs à la retraite s'annonce en Allemagne, qui privera les entreprises d'une main‐d'?uvre parfois difficile à remplacer. Dans ce contexte, les auteurs s'intéressent à l'apport de la formation en entreprise, recherchant une corrélation entre formation, salaire et probabilité de départ. Ils montrent que cette probabilité diminue lorsque l'établissement propose des programmes de formation spécifiques pour les seniors mais seulement au sein des effectifs féminins – et surtout parmi les bas salaires –, sans doute sous l'effet de la progression salariale. Les formations ciblées pourraient donc encourager les femmes faiblement rémunérées à rester actives plus longtemps, améliorant ainsi leurs perspectives de carrière.     

Comparison of two approaches to prevention of mental health problems in college students: Enhancing coping and executive function skills

Objective: College students face a significant number of stressors, increasing risk for internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. The current study examines two promising avenues of intervention aimed to reduce stress and prevent psychopathology in this population: a coping skills group and a cognitive training program. Participants: 62 undergraduate students from two universities were recruited from 2013 to 2015. Methods: Students were randomized to a 6-week coping skills group or cognitive training program and completed measures of stress, coping, executive function, and symptoms of anxiety, depression and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at pre- and post-intervention. Results: Participants in both conditions reported significant decreases in social stress, executive function difficulties, and anxiety symptoms post-intervention. Students in the cognitive program improved significantly more on measures of behavior regulation and ADHD symptoms compared to the coping group at post-intervention. Conclusions: Brief stress management interventions targeting coping and executive function may benefit college students at risk for psychopathology.     

Development and Evaluation of an Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program for Anxiety: Phase I Iterative Design

This exploratory, nonclinical study evaluated the user experience of an online acceptance and commitment therapy program for anxiety. Forty young Australian adults aged between 18 to 25 years old completed the online program over 2 weeks. System usability and perceived helpfulness were evaluated at posttest. Self-rated levels of anxiety, depression, stress, and psychological flexibility were measured at pretest, posttest, and 2-week follow up. System usability was rated above average and significant improvements were found on all mental health measures from pretest to follow-up, except for stress. These results warrant further scrutiny in a clinical randomized controlled trial on the intervention.