Foster Carer Strain and its Impact on Parenting and Placement Outcomes for Adolescents

Drawing on recently completed research funded by the Departmentof Health, this article examines the extent of strain on thefoster carers of adolescents, its influence on parenting practicesand the overall impact on placement outcomes. The research find­ingsshow that foster-carers’ parenting capacity was markedlyreduced in a number of specific areas when they had experienceda high number of stressful life events in the six months priorto the young person’s arrival or were under considerablestrain during the placement. Conduct problems, hyperactivityand violent behaviour by the young people increased carer strain,as did contact difficulties with the children’s families.Problems in contacting social workers were linked to elevatedstrain, whilst strain was lessened when carers received helpfrom friends or from local professionals. Signifi­cantlyhigher disruption rates were experienced by strained carersand these placements were also less beneficial to the youngpeople.     

Human Service organizations: an Australian perspective

Theoretical models or frameworks of change in human service organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, must adapt to the changing circumstances faced by such organizations in the later 1980s and 1990s. Too often change no longer means innovation initiated from within a service organization in order to improve service to its clients, but rather change engendered or enforced from outside the organization which may have uncertain or adverse implications for clients, target groups, or staff. Major changes may have to be implemented within tight time limits and in situations of high intra- and inter-organizational conflict. In such situations, sequential models of organizational change based upon a rational problem solving process, developed during the more favourable era of the 1970s, may be of limited use. A complementary framework for analysis and action planning can be built upon four dimensions of change identified here as rational-empirical, social-systems, power-politics and values-vision. These dimensions offer a comprehensive framework for understanding and intervening in various aspects of the change process, such as assessing the forces for and against change, preparing an organization for change, building up a change system, selecting change strategies, and evaluating a change process. Such a framework can be useful to those seeking to influence change in various alternative directions.     

Reference Groups,Mob Mentality,and Bystander Intervention: A Sociological Analysis of the Lara Logan Case1

Despite that it involves mobs, bystanders, and political theater—three classic concepts in social psychology—academics have neglected analyzing the Lara Logan sexual assault case through these lenses. I explore how the case has been discussed in the media and suggest that analysis of the mob and bystanders has been, oddly, lacking. I argue that the best reference group to use when discussing this case is not other journalists or even other women who have survived assaults, but is instead enemy women who have survived politically motivated wartime gang sexual assaults. Most observers have overlooked the relevant reference group due to focusing on the traits of the victim, rather than on the context of the event itself. I argue that the case conforms to important dimensions: (1) the sociological norm that gang violence involves premeditation, (2) an agreement of values among perpetrators, and (3) that the violence itself lacked cultural and social legitimacy. Logan was likely targeted because she was a “stranger”; she was saved, in part, for the same reason. The case illustrates known patterns of mob mentalities and bystander intervention, yet it is unlike most cases of both nonwartime gender violence and violence against journalists.     

Research-based service-learning: outcomes of a social policy course

Previous research has found service-learning in undergraduate social policy courses to increase students’ knowledge, skills, values, and competence. The present study utilized a sample of 60 graduate-level social work students who participated in a research-based service-learning (RBSL) project that involved collecting and analyzing data about the extent of payday loan use among bankruptcy filers and reporting results to community partners. Quantitative findings revealed significant increases in students’ personal social responsibility. Qualitative findings shed light on growth in personal social responsibility, civic awareness, policy advocacy, and personal values. Suggestions for future studies using RBSL pedagogy to teach social policy are discussed.     

Books Received

In addition to acting as teachers, social work educators can play many other roles in relation to their students—including sexual partner, friend, therapist, or employer. Combining the role of instructor with one of these other roles may lead to ethical violations and dilemmas. This article urges educators to consider their power differential and the potential for harm to their students before entering a dual relationship. It reviews the NASW Code of Ethics and relevant literature about dual relationships in practice and in academia; discusses examples of dual relationships in social work education; and formulates questions for educators to use in assessing ethical practice.     

Formative research methods to understand patient and provider responses to heart attack symptoms

Formative research is often required for program planning, and for reducing uncertainty about generalizability of program effects. This article describes and justifies methods of formative research conducted for the REACT study (Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment), a multi-center collaborative randomized community trial aimed at reducing patient delay in seeking care for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Formative research cast light on patient and community members’ decision-making process in seeking help for AMI, as well as barriers and facilitators of this process. Investigators at all five REACT Field Centers participated in the formative research. The process consisted of: (1) developing a common theoretical framework for the study intervention; (2) conducting a literature review and qualitative research to identify and address gaps in knowledge; and (3) developing a common protocol for the REACT study that accommodated the diversity of the target communities in terms of services, resources, history, and ethnicity. Analysis employed triangulation, defined as an explicit search for heterogeneous data sources to reduce uncertainty about forces at work and opportunities for intervention across settings and populations. Because the collection and interpretation of data went in stages, staff of several REACT Field Centers had independent input to the overall synthesis, then shared and revised the results. Advantages and limitations of this approach are discussed.     

Local Government and the Politics of Decency*

Objective. Local government officials exhibit a variety of responses to morality issues involving “decency” (i.e., pornography, prostitution, sexually explicit businesses). The purpose of this research is to account for these differences. Methods. This research analyzes a subset of data from a larger study of morality policy making at the local level, that is, all cases of decision making on decency issues (e.g., pornography, prostitution, regulation of sexually explicit businesses, etc.) that occurred in the period 1994–2000 in 10 of the 52 largest cities in the United States. Results. In mayoral settings, decision making on decency cases is likely to evoke pro‐decency action from officials when a high level of issue salience is combined with high levels of church adherence, low levels of women's political empowerment, low levels of fundamentalist religious attachment, and higher levels of per capita income. Officials in city manager settings act more favorably toward decency activists if (1) higher levels of salience combine with a lower prevalence of fundamentalist religious adherents and higher levels of per capita income or (2) there is an interaction of salience and low levels of female political empowerment and high unemployment. Conclusions. Although exploratory in nature, the results confirm conventional expectations concerning the importance of salience and the prevalence of church affiliation; the results are counterintuitive with respect to the prevalence of fundamentalist forces and the extent of female political empowerment.     

Fathers-The Secondary Partners: Professional Perceptions and Fathers' Reflections

SUMMARY. The following is an account of a research project exploring the recollections of seven fathers at the time of the birth of their children with Down's Syndrome. It discusses the disclosure of diagnosis and subsequent contacts the fathers made both professionally and socially during the period following both in the hospital and at home. This is combined with the personal recollections of one father, not part of the original study, whose child was born with special needs. The implications for both professional practice and fathers are highlighted. Whilst there is an acknowledgement that the project was small scale, the conclusions will raise challenging issues for further discussion both among professionals and individual members of families.     

Commercial and sexual exploitation of children and young people in the UK—a review

This paper reviews recent information and data relevant to the commercial sexual exploitation of children and young people in the UK. Three main aspects of exploitation are addressed: abuse through prostitution; abuse through pornography; and the trafficking of children and young people to and through the UK for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Most published research in this area relates to young people exploited through prostitution. The review explores the range of vulnerability factors, the processes used to engage young people in prostitution and the types of support strategies for those being exploited. Rather less information is currently available on the scale of child pornography, or the links between the use of pornography and other forms of sexual abuse. The internet as a modern technology for proliferating child pornography is discussed, alongside its role in providing opportunities for paedophiles to access and ‘groom’ children for sexual purposes. Finally, the review provides a summary of research on trafficking of children to and through the UK for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and demonstrates the limited knowledge about this topic. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.