Index

This article discusses some of the reasons why social workers need to add to their understanding of the law and legal procedures, and to develop legal skills. It also explores several specific areas of the law to be studied: function, sources, concepts, procedures, and skills. A teaching approach to this material in an introductory course on law for social workers is then presented. The article concludes with suggestions for additional curriculum offerings.     

A Test of the Family Stress Model Using a Remarriage Sample

ABSTRACT

The family stress model delineates the connections between economic hardship, economic pressure, marital interactions, marital quality, and, finally, marital instability. This study evaluated the family stress model in a sample of 661 remarried couples using structural equation modeling. The model was evaluated both within and between spouses. Consistent with the family stress model, marital instability and quality were influenced by economic hardship and pressure through decreased spousal warmth and increased spousal hostility. Implications for remarriage education and counseling are discussed.     

Psychometrics of a Child Report Measure of Maternal Support following Disclosure of Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT

The study examined a new child report measure of maternal support following child sexual abuse. One hundred and forty-six mother–child dyads presenting for a forensic evaluation completed assessments including standardized measures of adjustment. Child participants also responded to 32 items considered for inclusion in a new measure, the Maternal Support Questionnaire–Child Report (MSQ-CR). Exploratory factor analysis of the Maternal Support Questionnaire–Child Report resulted in a three factor, 20-item solution: Emotional Support (9 items), Skeptical Preoccupation (5 items), and Protection/Retaliation (6 items). Each factor demonstrated adequate internal consistency. Construct and concurrent validity of the new measure were supported in comparison to other trauma-specific measures. The Maternal Support Questionnaire–Child Report demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Future research is needed to determine whether the Maternal Support Questionnaire–Child Report provides a more sensitive approximation of maternal support following disclosure of sexual abuse, relative to measures of global parent–child relations and to contextualize discrepancies between mother and child ratings of maternal support.     

A review of Australian classification practices for commercial video games featuring simulated gambling

This paper reviews Australian classification practices for commercial video games that contain simulated gambling. In the last decade, over 100 video games featuring gambling simulations have been classified as suitable for commercial sale to youth in Australia, with 69 of these video games rated ‘PG’ for Parental Guidance Recommended (i.e. suitable for ages 8+years) and the remaining 33 rated ‘G’ for General (i.e. suitable for all ages). A review of the literature suggests that consumer advice and warnings related to video game material are often inconsistent and/or not adequately provided. A public health approach suggests that the presence of gambling content in video games may present risks to younger players unfamiliar with how gambling operates. It is argued that there is a need for further academic debate on social responsibility issues of early childhood and adolescent exposure to, and involvement in, simulated gambling activities available in interactive gaming technologies.     

Friendsourcing Peer Support for Alzheimer’s Caregivers Using Facebook Social Media

ABSTRACT

This research piloted an e-health intervention that used social media to friendsource peer support for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) caregivers. Friendsourcing is a variant of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing recruits online participants who share a characteristic that makes their volunteerism meaningful when they join to achieve an outcome. Friendsourcing recruits online participants who share membership in a social network that makes their volunteerism meaningful when they join to achieve an outcome. This article introduces our friendsourcing intervention research and examines the effects on the psychological well-being of AD caregivers. After a 6-week intervention, caregivers were found to have significantly decreased burden (Z?=??2.01, p?<?.05) and perceived stress (Z?=??2.95, p?<?.01). Emotional and informational support scores were significantly increased (Z?=??2.32, p?<?.05). Qualitative data analysis of the intervention identified positive effects in new caregiving knowledge acquisition and application and reduced stress in the acceptance of the caregiving role. Joining social networks in support groups through friendsourcing was feasible for AD caregivers who were familiar with social media, and can provide another means of guiding the development of their personal support networks.     

Kommunikation in E-Learning-Veranstaltungen. Erfahrungen der Studierenden und ihre Präferenzen für Online- oder Face-to-Face-Kommunikation

Altogether, 2,196 students from 29 Austrian universities took part in an empirical investigation on learning and communication in e-learning courses. The students completed a questionnaire on their experiences in an actual e-learning course, on their perceived learning achievements, and their enjoyment of the course. Furthermore, they expressed their preferences for online or face-to-face communication. All in all, students were satisfied with their course. They did not prefer one communication setting over another. They preferred online-communication for the distribution of information but advocated face-to-face communication when joint learning and cooperation are important or when socio-emotional relations are to be developed. The results of the study advocate blended-learning designs and give recommendations for which communication purposes online and for which face-to-face settings are more adequate.     

Total work and gender: facts and possible explanations

Time-diary data from 27 countries show a negative relationship between GDP per-capita and gender differences in total work—for pay and at home. In rich non-Catholic countries, men and women average about the same amount of total work. Survey results show scholars and the general public believe that women work more. Widespread average equality does not arise from gender differences in the price of time, intra-family bargaining or spousal complementarity. Several theories, including ones based on social norms, might explain these findings and are consistent with evidence from the World Values Surveys and microeconomic data from Australia and Germany.     

Ongoing contestations: the use of racial signifiers in post-apartheid South Africa

Despite hopes for the development of a non-racial citizenry in South Africa, race remains a salient factor in identity claims. Much of the recent literature has focused on issues of black and white identities or on discussions of the reification or erasure of racial identities. This paper addresses questions of coloured identity in South Africa to explore the ways in which these identities are formed through iterative processes and continually in flux. Through a series of vignettes I argue that identity claims are frequently incomplete, uncertain and reworked in different and changing contexts. I highlight the shortcomings of ideas of erasure and reification when analysing identity claims and argue for a more nuanced approach that provides for consideration of post-apartheid racial identities as complex, dynamic and contested.