Trauma and couples: mechanisms in dyadic functioning

Research traditionally has focused on the development of symptoms in those who experienced trauma directly but overlooked the impact of trauma on the families of victims. In recent years, researchers and clinicians have begun to examine how individual exposure to traumatic events affects the spouses/partners, children, and professional helpers of trauma survivors. The current study reports data from a larger mixed-methodology study that includes qualitative interview data from 17 individuals, coded to identify the mechanisms that may affect the couple's interpersonal functioning when there is a history of trauma exposure in one or both partners. The following primary themes were identified: role in the relationship, boundary issues, intimacy problems, triggers, and coping mechanisms. Areas for future research and clinical implications also are identified.     

The importance of context specificity in work stress research: A test of the Demand-Control-Support model in academics

Abstract

The Demand-Control (D-C) (Karasek, 1979) and the Demand-Control-Support (D-C-S) (Johnson & Hall, 1988; Johnson, Hall, & Theorell, 1989; Karasek & Theorell, 1990) models of work stress suggest that jobs with high demands and low control (and low support) are stressful. In line with the support in the literature for context-specificity in occupational stress research (Sparks & Cooper, 1999) and the limited and even contradictory support for interaction effects, the main aim of the present study was to examine how the D-C-S model applied in a well-defined occupational group. Using hierarchical regression analyses, and controlling for negative affect, the D-C-S model accounted for 26%, 6%, and 8% of the variance in job satisfaction, psychological distress and burnout, respectively, among 166 academics in a UK university. No two-way or three-way interactive effects were evident, but additive effects of job demands and control on psychological well-being and of job demands and support on both burnout and job satisfaction were shown, corroborating research showing that high job strain is linked to ill health and job dissatisfaction in this homogenous occupational sample. It is recommended that, in future, research includes more variables that are specific to a particular occupation.     

REPRESENTING GANGS IN THE NEWS: MEDIA CONSTRUCTIONS OF CRIMINAL GANGS

This research, based on a content analysis of 4,445 newspaper articles, examines the images that emerge from stories of criminal gangs and societys responses to them. Eight recurrent themes were identifed. It was discovered that articles devoted to the coverage of gang crimes were outnumbered by stories dealing with various community responses. Articles reporting the results of scientifc research on gangs constituted the smallest category. The results are discussed in light of their importance in the construction of social problems discourse and the maintenance of symbolic power and social control.     

SOCIAL STATUS,ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR,AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Education has long been recognized as an institution that plays a prominent role in the reproduction of social class. Children from socially advantaged backgrounds tend to achieve higher educational outcomes than children from more disadvantaged backgrounds. In this study, data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) were utilized to better understand the relationship between social advantage, high school educational achievements, adolescent behaviors, and educational attainment. It was found that individuals from socially advantaged backgrounds had greater high school educational achievements and were less likely to engage in problematic adolescent behaviors, and that these behaviors were, in fact, related to educational attainment. The socially advantaged did have greater levels of educational attainment. Most significantly, it was apparent that the socially advantaged were more likely to overcome low high school educational achievements and problematic adolescent behaviors to achieve higher levels of post-high school educational attainment. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Prevention of Elder Mistreatment in Nursing Homes: Competencies for Direct-Care Staff

Existing training on elder mistreatment in nursing homes focuses on detection and reporting of abuse, with little training specifically targeted toward prevention of mistreatment before it occurs. We used qualitative interviews with nursing home staff, policy makers, and related professionals to identify training needs. Based on participant accounts, we drafted a number of competencies essential for caregiver training to prevent mistreatment in nursing homes. Competencies include those dealing with definitions and policies, risks for mistreatment, communication and respect in relationships with residents, and development of a cooperative work environment. Competencies are discussed along with illustrative examples, and implications for practice and policy are addressed.     

“A Black Benefit”: Racial Prejudice Among White Welfare Recipients in a Low-Income Neighborhood

Welfare has been stigmatized as a benefit for poor African-Americans, in particular for blacks accused of sexual promiscuity and a weak work ethic. Stigma has been found to demoralize welfare recipients, alienate middle-class voters who resent tax expenditures for public assistance, and fuel conservative support for legislation limiting welfare. This article describes another aspect of the stigmatization of welfare as a “black benefit”—the belief by some poor whites that they have experienced racial discrimination when trying to access cash assistance and other benefits. Drawing on data gathered as part of a larger, 18-month qualitative study, this article examines how impoverished whites in Philadelphia view welfare receipt and race. Ugly racial epithets and stereotypes were typically used when describing frustration over lack of access to welfare and other social services.     

An early example of brief strengths‐based practice: Bertha Reynolds at the National Maritime Union, 1943–1947

Bertha Reynolds, one of the foremothers of social casework, is known for her commitment to social justice and the struggles of poor and working people. Her ideas about brief strengths‐based practice, which she taught when she supervised social workers at the National Maritime Union between 1943 and 1947, are less well known. She presented these ideas with case examples in her book Social Work and Social Living, a work that includes a critique of society, social policies, and the social work profession. The author contends that Reynolds was ahead of her time in her conceptualization of brief treatment.     

A kleinian analysis of homophobia

Abstract

This article uses Melanie Klein's developmental frame of reference to better understand the psychodynamics of especially virulent forms of homophobia. Homophobia is seen as a potential indication of lack of resolution of the paranoid‐schizoid position. The defense mechanism of projective identification is extensively used, resulting in impoverishment of the personality. Heterosexual feelings are designated good and are retained while homosexual feelings are split off and rejected as bad. Clinical case illustrations are provided.     

Volunteerism Among Social Work Students During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Abstract

This study examined volunteer activities and predictors of volunteerism among graduate and undergraduate social work students (N = 416) from four universities in the Gulf Coast area following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The convenience sample drawn from all social work students at these universities included 89% females, and 52% of the students were in a master's level program. Sixty-one percent of the respondents were African American and 31% were non-Hispanic white. The majority of students volunteered (97%) despite experiencing a range of hurricane-related stressors. Multivariate analyses yielded a regression model that best predicted heightened volunteerism, which included age, school site, previous volunteer experience, hurricane-related stressors, altruism, and increased commitment to social work values (R ² = .35). The strongest predictors of volunteerism were stressor, increased commitment to social work values, and altruism (betas = .30, .26, and .21 respectively). The findings are consistent with previous research on volunteering in times of disaster and with current thinking about posttraumatic growth .