An agenda for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience

Young people who are currently or were previously in state care have consistently been found to have much higher rates of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties than the general youth population. While a number of high-quality reviews highlight what research has been undertaken in relation to the mental health of young people with care experience and the gaps in our knowledge and understanding, there is, until now, no consensus, so far as we aware, as to where our collective research efforts should be directed with this important group. Through a series of UK wide workshops, we undertook a consultative process to identify an agreed research agenda between those with lived experience of being in care (n = 15), practitioners, policy makers and researchers (n = 59), for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience, including those who are neurodiverse/have a neurodevelopmental difficulty. This consensus statement identified 21 foci within four broad categories: how we conceptualize mental health; under-studied populations; under-studied topics; and underused methodologies. We hope that those who commission, fund and undertake research will engage in this discussion about the future agenda for research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience.     

Beyond survival: Strengthening community-based support for parents receiving a family service intervention

This paper presents parents' experiences of community support and their recommendations for how their communities, and the services within them, might support their families. Generated through a human-centred design methodology and using a desire-centred framework, the findings suggest that parents receiving a family service require support invoking feelings of intimacy, trust, reciprocity, inclusivity, connection and belonging. Parents' recommendations for community support include addressing material and attitudinal constraints impacting on engagement with services; creating non-judgmental services tailored to their needs but accessed as a last resort; and creating peer-based opportunities to support each other. Parents reflect that moving beyond basic survival of risk and vulnerability to a position where thriving is possible requires purposeful integration of parent's existing and desired community into service interventions. Facilitating deliberate change at the intersection of community and service support is pertinent to current and future social work policy and practice. Wider opportunities for understanding and enabling the needs and aspirations of parents, which are often overlooked because of a focus on addressing risk and vulnerability, are considered.     

Labor‐Environmental Coalition Formation: Framing and the Right to Know1

This article examines the formation of a cross‐movement coalition between elements of the labor and environmental movements in New Jersey. We explain the successful formation and initial political campaign of the New Jersey Work Environment Council with an expansion of the theoretical perspective of frame analysis. We propose a model of a coalition collective action frame that offers several important insights into the active role coalition actors play in the construction of a common frame uniting union and environmental activists. Using qualitative data gathered from interviews, observations, and document analyses of two major campaigns, we argue that the coalition frame allowed new political opportunities to be created, leading to the establishment of the most sweeping right‐to‐know laws in the United States. We conclude the discussion of coalition framing by examining political constraints on the framing possibilities of coalitions, specifically by exploring how the discursive shift from the right to know to the right to act failed to expand the influence of the cross‐movement coalition as originally expected by its members.     

Caregiving mothers of children with impairments: coping and support in Russia

Parents providing long‐term care for their children with impairments face myriad physical and emotional challenges. Researchers have examined coping strategies among parent caregivers in various contexts internationally. However, little research has focused on caregiving mothers of children with impairments in developing countries, and even less on mothers in Russia. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the ways in which caregiving mothers cope and their perceptions of services and supports they need and utilize in a small Russian city. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with caregiving mothers (n = 20) concerning postnatal and current treatment, information and services, finances, social support, and future plans. Analysis revealed that planning for the future and navigating limited resources, overcoming structural barriers and cultural obstacles, and maintaining social support were the three most important facets of mothers’ abilities to cope with the demands of caregiving.     

Will‐making prevalence and patterns in Australia: keeping it in the family

This article provides evidence of the prevalence of wills and the principles underpinning the intended distribution of estates in Australia. Intentions around wealth transfers and the social norms that underpin them occur in the context of predicted extensive intergenerational transfers from the ageing baby boomer generation, policies of self provision and user pays for care in old age, broader views on what constitutes ‘family’, the increased importance of the not‐for‐profit sector in the delivery of services, and the related need for philanthropy. A national telephone survey conducted in 2012 with 2,405 respondents aged 18 and over shows that wills are predominantly used to distribute assets to partners and/or equally to immediate descendants. There is little evidence that will makers are recognising a wider group of relationships, obligations and entitlements outside the traditional nuclear family, or that wills are being replaced by other mechanisms of wealth transfer. Only a minority consider bequests to charities as important. These findings reflect current social norms about entitlements to ‘family’ money, a narrow view of what and who constitutes ‘family‘, limited obligation for testators to recompense individuals or organisations for care and support provided, and limited commitment to charitable organisations and civil society.     

“The Luggage that isn’t Theirs is Too Heavy…”: Understandings of Orphan Disadvantage in Lesotho

In Southern Africa, high adult HIV prevalence has fueled concern about the welfare of children losing parents to the epidemic. A growing body of evidence indicates that parental, particularly maternal, death is negatively associated with child outcomes. However, a better understanding of the mechanisms is needed. In addition, the way orphan disadvantage and the mechanisms giving rise to it are understood on the ground is essential for the successful translation of research into policies and programs. This study employs data from 89 in-depth interviews with caregivers and key informants in Lesotho, a setting where approximately one-quarter of adults is infected with HIV, to elaborate understandings of orphan disadvantage. Our analysis focuses on two questions: (i) Do local actors perceive orphans to be disadvantaged compared to non-orphans, and if so, in what ways; and (ii) How do they explain orphans’ differential disadvantage? Analyses suggest that orphans were widely perceived to be disadvantaged; respondents described this disadvantage in material as well as affective domains. Thematic analyses reveal five broad categories of explanation: poverty, love and kin connection, caregiver character, perceptions of orphans, and community norms related to orphan care. These results underscore the need for research and policy to address (i) multiple types of disadvantage, including deficits in kindness and attention; and (ii) the social embeddedness of disadvantage, recognizing that poverty, kinship, and community interact with individual attributes to shape caregiving relationships and child experiences. The findings suggest limited success for programs and policies that do not address the emotional needs of children, or that focus on child or caregiver support to the exclusion of community outreach.     

Inclusionary policy and marginalised groups in Aoteaora/New Zealand process,impacts and politics

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the consolidated findings of a four-year research project that evaluated policy inclusion between the New Zealand government and communities of difference – specifically, ethnic/migrant/refugee groups, women/gender and Māori. Policy inclusion builds on foundational principles of deliberative democracy that dialogue and relationship not only improve policy but also foster democratic transitions towards pluralism and diversity. Although associated with the social democratic agenda of the Fifth Labour government, collaborative policymaking with marginalised groups continued in the subsequent National government. Drawing on interviews with policy communities, this paper analyses (a) the processes of inclusionary policymaking, (b) policy impacts and (c) implications for politics of difference. The findings suggest that, overall, the greatest efforts in inclusive policy have been at the level of design, primarily by maximising the presence of members and promoting visibility for communities of difference. These processes have had less impact on sustained, deep political transformations or opportunities for advancing diversity. The findings suggest that inclusionary policymaking had benefits for recognition politics, but against the backdrop of recent neo-conservatism, the prospects for pluralistic politics have been compromised, paving instead a politics of regulation.     

Intimate partner violence,trauma, and mental health need among female community college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: The impact of interpersonal violence on college students has received considerable attention, yet no studies have been conducted among community college students, who comprise 40% of all American college students, and have unique risk factors and needs. Community College students are more likely to be women, people of color, working, parenting, and first generation college students. Participants: Data were collected from a simple random sample from four community colleges (n=435). Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was used to assess the extent of intimate partner violence, trauma exposure, sexual violence, and associated mental health consequences among female students. Results: Over 27% of participants reported IPV in the past year, while 25% reported sexual assault and 34% reported other uncomfortable sexual experiences in their lifetime. Nearly 20%of participants were currently reporting PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Community Colleges should work with service providers to build their capacity to respond to students' needs.     

Improving body image and sexual health behaviors among college women

ABSTRACT

Objective: To conduct a pilot test to determine if the Body Project, an eating disorder prevention program, was able to reduce risky sexual behaviors. Participants: Twenty college-age women ages 18–21 (in March, 2015) who endorsed both body image dissatisfaction and previous or current sexual activity. Methods: Participants were randomized to the Body Project or psychoeducational control group, and completed baseline, post-test, and 6-month follow-up measures assessing body image concerns, eating behaviors, and sexual behaviors and attitudes. Results: An intervention manipulation check demonstrated that body image variables were in expected directions, though were not significant by group. There was a significant interaction across group and time for “unanticipated sexual encounters,” which decreased in the Body Project group. Conclusions: This pilot study supports the feasibility of using an eating disorder prevention program to reduce other risky behaviors, specifically risky sexual behaviors.     

“Living Well in Later Life”: An Overview of the National Service Framework for Older People in England

The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People is a set of standards produced by the Department of Health in England in 2001 to overhaul the health and social service delivery systems over a 10-year period aimed at optimizing the care received by older adults. The NSF arose from broader social and health care reforms that likewise sought the establishment of performance assessment, augmented consumer sovereignty, and greater coherence across health and social services. The United States shares with England similar problems with care for its older adults, strategies for improvement, and obstacles to successful implementation of change.