Complex trauma treatment in the Republic of Georgia: Stemming the contagion of psychopolitical trauma across the continuum of care

Clinical social workers in the United States increasingly have become involved as consultants in countries besieged by psychopolitical trauma. These workers face complex challenges as they provide therapy to torture survivors or consultation to indigenous mental health professionals. Workers must refine their understanding of trauma to encompass the often less familiar practice of providing treatment in the context of torture. Mental health professionals practicing in war‐torn environments must deal with their own intense reactions such as secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, countertransference, and projective identification as they address the ripples of torture's devastation across the continuum of care. The author will present a case study from the Republic of Georgia in order to elucidate some subtleties of clinical practice in the context of psychopolitical trauma.     

Working models: A tool for synthesizing psychology,culture, and power in everyday experiences and internal representations

As social beings, we experience ourselves through interactions with others in daily routines that participate in the cultural practices and power relations of broader social structures. Social workers, and social scientists in general, however, have had difficulty conceptualizing and synthesizing this way of being in the world. This paper attempts to respond to that gap by discussing how clinical social workers can use the concept of working models as a tool for listening and understanding in psychotherapy. Utilizing a case example, the paper will discuss three working models, the enactment of power relations, cultural practices, and psychological processes, which provide an integrative framework to inform clinical work.     

Fine‐Grained Analysis of Motionese: Eye Gaze,Object Exchanges,and Action Units in Infant‐Versus Adult‐Directed Action

Mothers modify their actions when demonstrating objects to infants versus adults. Such modifications have been called infant‐directed action (IDA) or motionese (Brand, Baldwin, & Ashburn, 2002). We investigated the IDA features of interactiveness and simplification by quantifying eye gaze, object exchanges, and action units enacted between exchanges in 42 mothers' demonstrations of novel objects to infants (6–8 months or 11–13 months) or adults. We found more eye gaze, more object exchanges, and fewer action types per turn in demonstrations to infants relative to adults. Unlike prior research using global measurements, we detected differences in behavior directed at infants of different ages: Shorter, more frequent gazes and more exchanges characterized demonstrations to older versus younger infants. These findings indicate the fruitfulness of fine‐grained analysis of IDA, and further clarify how adults may support infants' processing of human motion.     

Volunteerism During Young Adulthood: An Italian Investigation into Motivational Patterns

This paper explores the motivational frame of Italian young adults involved in volunteerism and its relation to several variables included in Omoto and Snyder’s Volunteer Process Model framework. Some 461 Italian young adults (aged 24–31) involved in voluntary activities with children and adolescents were considered. Referring to Omoto and Snyder’s functionalist and motivational framework, a Ward’s method cluster analysis was performed to identify specific patterns of motivations originating from the aggregation of 4 factors of motivation (social, career, ego-protective, and values) measured with the Voluntary Function Inventory (VFI). The results show that young volunteers are inspired by a distinctive and composite pattern of motivations, including both self and other-oriented motivations. Multiple motivations underlying the activities are associated to satisfaction and good integration in the organization confirming that people spurred by more than one motivation are less vulnerable to costs related to the activity and are more likely to maintain a longer involvement.

The role of sadism and peer pressure in the sexual aggression of male college students

Two types of motivational models help explain sexual aggression in college men. Socialization models emphasize imperatives of the male sex role, whereas a sadistic model focuses on increased sexual stimulation from female distress. These models were evaluated by comparing the relationship between a measure of sexual sadism and the frequency of sexually aggressive episodes with the relationship between peer pressure for sexual intimacy and sexual aggression. College men's ratings of sexual attractiveness for a series of female faces registering both pleasant and distressed affects were used to measure sexual sadism. Results showed that 60% of the college men with a sexual sadism pattern reported repeated episodes of sexual aggression since the 10th grade, whereas only 29% of those not showing this pattern did so. Peer pressure was inversely related to repeated aggression; sexual aggressives reported less peer pressure than students who did not have a history of repeated aggression. These results are not only important because they identify a possible source of sexual aggression toward females but also because they encourage an interest in discovering how sexual and aggressive motives become fused in a significant proportion of normal males.     

Competing Values in Serving Older and Vulnerable Adults: Adult Protective Services,Mandated Reporting,and Domestic Violence Programs

State mandatory reporting statutes may directly or indirectly list domestic violence programs as among those that are mandated reporters of cases of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of older individuals and those with disabilities. Domestic violence programs, however, may not consider themselves to be mandated reporters, because the responsibility of reporting abuse may be contrary to their programmatic philosophy. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the potential conflict between domestic violence programs and Adult Protective Services about the issue of mandated reporting has created tension between these organizations as each entity continues interpreting the issues and policies of mandated reporting through its own lens. The authors draw out some of the reasons for the conflict as well as make recommendations for improving relationships between the two organizations, which will ultimately benefit vulnerable adults who are experiencing abuse.     

Hardiness,Successful Aging,and HIV: Implications for Social Work

ABSTRACT

With dramatic developments in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, life expectancy is increasing, resulting in more middle-aged and older adults living with this disease. Little is known about the problems, and especially the strengths, of those living and aging with HIV. Hardiness is used in the gerontological literature to describe and explain how people age successfully, despite traumatic life events and chronic diseases. Similarly, the concept of hardiness may be used to guide clinicians, researchers, and clients on how to age successfully with HIV. This article provides a review of hardiness in aging and HIV, and emphasizes its importance in facilitating successful aging with this disease. Conceptual and methodological concerns in studying hardiness and successful aging are addressed. Potential interventions and clinical implications for social work are posited for augmenting qualities of hardiness in people aging with HIV.     

Love,Safety, and Companionship: The Human-Animal Bond and Latino Families

A survey found that 69.2% of a sample of 208 Latino university students in south Texas owned companion animals. Dogs were the most commonly owned companion animals, and 92% of dog and cat guardians regarded their companion animals as family members. Over 80% of the dog and cat guardians specified companionship and unconditional love as benefits offered by their animals. Eighty-six percent of dog guardians, compared to 44% of cat guardians, received a sense of safety from their animals. Assessment of the role of a companion animal in a family should guide a practitioner's decision about whether and how to include the animal in therapeutic interventions.