‘I Just Don't Agree’: A Voice-Oriented Analysis of An IFPS Case of Alleged Child Maltreatment

In contrast to the many outcome studies of Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS), little is known about the underlying personal and relational dynamics of family crisis interventions. This article focuses on the core evolving dynamics of the changing self-presentations of a parent involved in an intensive home-based family preservation case of alleged child maltreatment. Three key family intervention sessions were videotaped and transcribed including both verbal and nonverbal behavior. The Listening Guide Method – a theoretically flexible, qualitative, relationally oriented method of in-depth interpretative analysis – served as our guide for this case analysis. In the processes of change toward a jointly constructed meaningful narrative on responsibility and self-care, two key elements emerged as playing a pivotal role: (1) the momentum of a potential referral of children to out-of-home care that precedes the start of an IFPS intervention and (2) the rhizomatic or root-like intertwinement of the voices of both parent and therapist with respect to the rationale for any involvement of society in the family. We argue that discourses on imminent placement in the context of family preservation deserve a genuine and valuable position in the initial discourse of a family therapist when entering a family in the context of crisis intervention. Both in understanding and driving any processes of change, we may need to reconsider our own willingness to step into the blending interplay of discourse and counter-discourse with our clients on the subject of our often drastic intervention. Consequently, we may read this narrative analysis as an invitation to reflect on the conceptualization of ‘client readiness’ in psychotherapy and to shift our thinking on preconditions for therapy from a client's readiness toward a therapist's attentiveness to listen.     

Organizational Policy Advocacy for a Quality Improvement Innovation in a Maternal and Child Health Network: Lessons Learned in Early Implementation

This article analyzes and reports lessons learned in early implementation of a large quality improvement innovation for a maternal and child health network working in a large Midwestern metropolitan area. It uses a case study method to focus on how internal advocacy and policy practice helped network partners accept and adapt to the initial rollout of a mandated quality improvement system that required careful data tracking for a universal screening and referral process for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Three key findings emerged. Network participants endorsed new outreach to the executives of network partners to confirm their support of and compliance with the new quality improvement system. Participants also strategized ways to maintain program autonomy and disperse concerns about heavy-handed implementation of the quality improvement program. Finally, they identified ways to adapt the quality improvement program in response to concerns raised.     

Employment Conditions in the Senegalese Horticultural Export Industry: A Worker Perspective

The rapid transformation of the agri‐food sector in developing countries has created rural off‐farm employment opportunities, especially for women. There is growing concern about worker welfare and employment conditions in agri‐food and export sectors, but empirical evidence on this issue is scant. We analyse contractual preferences of female workers in the horticultural export sector in Senegal. We use a discrete choice experiment to assess women's preferences for a labour contract and employ a latent class model to capture preference heterogeneity. We find that women have a high willingness to accept a labour contract in the horticultural export industry, and that differences in preferences for contract attributes can be explained by women's empowerment status.     

The impact of child benefits on single mother poverty: Exploring the role of targeting in 15 European countries

Single mothers are vulnerable to living in poverty. The question of how to safeguard the economic status of single mothers in a context of increasing dual earnership is a crucial one. In the present study we addressed this issue by investigating the impact of child benefits on the poverty risk of single mothers in 15 European countries. We focused in particular on the design of child benefits and investigated whether targeting towards single mothers was associated with better poverty reduction. In doing so, we combined information on statutory child benefit entitlement with an empirical analysis of poverty reduction using survey data. We found that: (i) both spending effort and targeting are important to explain the effectiveness of child benefits in reducing single mother poverty; (ii) targeting is related to higher levels of poverty reduction independent of spending effort; yet (iii) it matters how targeting is done.     

Horizontal and Vertical Equity Objectives of Child Benefit Systems: An Empirical Assessment for European Countries

The present study investigates the determinants of life expectancy in the presence of economic misery using Pakistan’s time series data over the period of 1972–2012. The stationary properties of the variables are examined by applying unit root test accommodating structural breaks. The ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration is applied to examine the long run relationship between the variables. Our findings show that cointegration between the variables is confirmed. Moreover, health spending improves life expectancy. Food supply contributes to life expectancy. A rise in economic misery deteriorates life expectancy. Urbanization enhances life expectancy while illiteracy declines it. The causality analysis reveals that life expectancy is Granger cause of health spending, food supply, economic misery, urbanization and illiteracy. This paper opens up new insights for policy making authorities to consider the role of economic misery while formulating comprehensive economic policy to improve life expectancy in Pakistan.     

‘There are Alternatives,but Your Social Life is Curtailed’: Poverty and Sports Participation from an Insider Perspective

Sports is generally believed to improve well-being and to bring benefits ranging from health promotion to the enhancement of social capital. At the same time, research has indicated that living in poverty negatively affects the likelihood of practicing sports. Yet, from the literature, it is not clear how the lower participation rates of people in poverty should be understood. Based on 33 semi-structured interviews and four focus groups, we (1) explore the meaning of sports participation for people in poverty and (2) evaluate the opportunities for practicing sports. As their voices often remain unheard, we take the perspective of people in poverty as a starting point. The results indicate, amongst other things, that sports practice remains possible when living with few resources, but potential social benefits of sports often stay out of reach. The link between scarcity of resources and social exclusion, as documented in the literature on poverty, is strongly present in the field of sports as well. In order to enhance the actual opportunities for doing sports, activities need to be organised in a financially, socially and physically safe way.     

Hanging Out With the Right Crowd: Peer Influence on Risk‐Taking Behavior in Adolescence

Peer influence plays a key role in the increase of risk‐taking behavior during adolescence. However, its underlying processes are not fully understood. This study examined the effects of social norms, conveyed through peer advice, on risk‐taking behavior in 15‐ to 17‐year‐old adolescents (N = 76). Participants played a card‐guessing task alone and with online peer advice. Results showed that risk‐taking increased in the presence of peers. The results further showed that adolescents took into account the uncertainty associated with gambles, as well as the social norms conveyed by peers. Our findings suggest that peers are most influential in uncertain situations and demonstrate the value of a social norms approach in examining the processes underlying peer effects.