Do peer effects mediate the association between family socio‐economic status and educational achievement?

Differences in levels of academic achievement according to socio‐economic status (SES), and parental education in particular, have been a persistent feature of Australian education systems. Young people with highly educated parents are more likely than their peers with low‐educated parents to attain high levels of achievement at school. Students with low levels of achievement are less likely than their high achieving peers to complete Year 12 and are more likely to experience negative post‐school outcomes. The SES of the neighbourhood, and in particular, the school attended, has also been found to have an effect on levels of both academic achievement and attainment. For this paper, we conduct analyses of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy test scores for four cohorts of secondary school students attending government schools in the Australian Capital Territory to examine the associations between parental education, school attended and levels of educational achievement. Our findings show that students with university‐educated parents achieve at much higher levels than their peers with low‐educated parents and that attending a school with a higher proportion of students from educationally disadvantaged families has a negative effect on educational achievement.     

Improving outcomes for children in out‐of‐home care: the role of therapeutic foster care

How best to support children and young people in foster care remains a challenge for child welfare. There has been little Australian research on the outcomes for children and young people placed in therapeutic foster care (TFC). This article aims to address this knowledge gap, presenting the evaluation of a state‐wide model of TFC known as the Circle Program operating in Victoria, Australia. Data sources for the study were case assessment analysis; surveys of foster carers, program workers and other stakeholders in the sector; and both focus groups and individual interviews with foster care workers. The evaluation found that the Circle Program lessened the number of unplanned exits of children from foster placements compared with generalist foster care. Another important finding was that the Circle Program positively influenced foster carers' decisions to stay in the carer role. Key components perceived as contributing to outcomes of the Circle Program included enhanced training of foster carers, intensive carer support, specialist therapeutic support to the child and carer, therapeutic service to family members and a network of services to provide support to the child.     

Family engagement within the context of assessment in child protection practice: The case of Estonia

Engagement in the context of child protection is of significant international interest, as the participation of family is a central notion in child and family social work. Drawing on in‐depth, semistructured interviews with a sample of 26 child protection workers in 1 region in Estonia, this article reports the findings of the participants' perspectives on family engagement in the context of child protection assessment. Child protection workers perceive the engagement related to 3 aspects: first, it is associated to the acts of the worker; second, it is associated to parental part of actions—depending on parents themselves; and third, engagement was seen as “doing together” with the family, referring to partnership. The aim of the engagement was mainly considered in the terms of empowerment—empowering family to cope on their own and to take charge of their lives. The negative image of child protection was recognised as one of the main barriers to the family engagement. Understanding the family and their situation was seen as the basis for a trusting relationship, being the most crucial factor to promoting family engagement.     

Engaging Experts: Expanding Participation and Enhancing Research in Chinese Eldercare Institutions

Due to the myriad factors straining China’s traditional family-based eldercare system, today unprecedented numbers of older adults are turning to institutions for caregiving needs. As researchers and policy makers organize conferences, analyze trends, and allocate resources, the subjective experiences of elders themselves are often forgotten or ignored. While providers recognize that institutionalized elders are at an increased risk for mental health issues, most cite personnel and resource shortages as insurmountable barriers to provision. Using examples from ethnographic research in Chinese eldercare institutions, this article examines the link between participation and mental health for contemporary Chinese elders and makes a case for expanding the role of elders in research in order to improve both the experience and understanding of institutional eldercare.     

Who does not cut down? Comparing characteristics and drinking motives of drinkers and abstainers during the exam periods

Objective: Drinking alcohol during the exams can affect academic performance and future career options, but is rarely investigated. Drinking motives, sociodemographics and personality characteristics are investigated in nonabstainers and weekly drinkers during the exams. Participants: 7,181 Belgian university students who anonymously responded to an email invitation to an online survey. Methods: Logistic regressions and mixed design analysis of variance on cross-sectional data. Results: One-third of the students continued drinking during the exams, with 40% drinking weekly. Nonabstainers were mainly men, elder, internally motivated when drinking, and housed with parents or independently. Weekly drinkers were similar, except mainly housed in student apartments or independently. Personality characteristics were nonsignificant. All drinking motives were less pronounced during the exams, with smaller differences for internal motives. Conclusions: Mainly linked to internal drinking motives, drinking during the exams in higher education is underestimated. The characteristics and motives of students doing so can be used in future interventions.     

‘Let's Talk About Children’: Investigating the Use of a Family‐focused Intervention in the Gambling Support Services Sector

The family‐focused mental health intervention, ‘Let's Talk About Children,’ has positively influenced the lives of families affected by parental mental illness. This paper outlines the use of this brief, strengths‐based intervention for parents with gambling and other co‐occurring issues from the gamblers’ support services sector. Over a six‐month period, a training manual and accompanying resources were adapted for the gamblers’ support services sector and a targeted training session developed. Nine problem gambling counsellors from three Victorian gambling support services trialled the Let's Talk About Children intervention over a four‐month period. Qualitative data were gathered through focus groups, interviews, and practice enquiry groups to determine the impact of the Let's Talk About Children model for gambling support services. The results are presented as ‘practice wisdoms and recommendations’ reporting on the impact of the trial and to provide some guidance to support others in the implementation of a specific family‐focused intervention. This paper reports on the first exploratory trial of Let's Talk About Children for the gambler's support services sector in Australia.     

Violating Boundaries

This essay begins by questioning the role that the word “boundary” plays when we say that a “sexual boundary violation” has occurred in an analytic treatment. Boundaries are bright lines drawn to separate lawful from unlawful, consensual from coerced, free from exploited, ownership from trespass, fantasy from reality. But the notion of boundaries fails in a profound and fateful way to capture the inescapable circulation of erotic transference and countertransference feelings in an analysis. Instead, this essay proposes that we look to the notion of sublimation for insights into the psychic dynamics of sexual behavior between analyst and analysand. It explores the ambivalence and mourning that surround the sublimation of desire. This discussion of sublimation sheds light on sexual violations in other types of professional relationships as well as recently adopted affirmative consent laws and policies on college campuses.     

Availability of Mental Health Services for Individuals Who Are Deaf or Deaf-Blind

A survey of state mental health agencies found that a majority have no specific policy or procedure regarding how to provide mental health services to persons who are deaf or who are deaf-blind. Agency representatives report that staff lack knowledge of how to provide mental health services to persons who are deaf-blind and the agencies lack qualified interpreters. They recommend training for social workers and counselors to address best practices in working with people who are deaf-blind concerning communication methods and strategies, physical interaction, cultural issues, everyday life, sensory deprivation, ethics, use of an interpreter, and other general issues.     

Predicting Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Parent Families Among Portuguese Students from Helping Professions

The authors' goal was to characterize predictors of attitudes toward lesbian and gay parent families (LGPF), held by students enrolled in psychology, social work, medicine, nursing, elementary, and preschool education programs in Portugal. The authors examined the predictive value of students' (n = 600) sociodemographic characteristics when assessing their attitudes toward LGPF. Participant's gender, interpersonal contact with lesbians and gay men, gender role attitudes had indirect effects on attitudes toward LGPF, through attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Understanding characteristics associated with attitudes toward LGPF may inform decisions in terms of the education and training of helping professionals.