Bridging the gaps: Intergenerational findings from the substance use disorder and recovery field

The substance use disorder and recovery field has undergone rapid transformation over the last 40 years. It currently has a workforce that includes three generations—Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. The current study sought to identify generational differences among those involved in the substance-use disorder and recovery profession using an embedded design and grounded theory approach. Findings suggest that generational differences do exist across the three generations in regard to ideologies, value of formal and informal knowledge, training, and education. Results from the current study provide a further understanding of how we may bridge perceived contentious ideologies and knowledge gaps between generations to better develop current and future professionals within the field.     

A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Interventions in Treatment of Opioid Addiction

Opioid addiction has become a U.S. epidemic. It is important to determine whether psychosocial interventions help prevent relapse. A total of 14 studies were included in this systematic review. Most studies compared psychosocial interventions in conjunction with pharmacological maintenance. Only 2 studies found that psychosocial interventions led to statistically significant benefits for outcomes related to opioid abuse when compared to maintenance and less or no psychosocial intervention. Psychosocial interventions were not found to be additive to pharmacological treatments during induction or maintenance stages. Further research is needed to determine effectiveness of psychosocial interventions during dose reduction and long-term relapse prevention.     

Parent–Adolescent Discrepancies in Perceived Parental Sacrifice and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes in Poor Chinese Families

Parents and adolescents perceive family processes differently. This study examined how convergence and divergence of parent‐perceived and adolescent‐perceived parental sacrifice influenced adolescent developmental outcomes in a sample of 275 poor intact Chinese families in Hong Kong. The results of polynomial regression analyses indicated that the interaction of fathers’ and adolescents’ perceptions of paternal sacrifice negatively predicted adolescent resilience and cognitive competence. Similar findings were identified in maternal sacrifice. Cluster analysis further showed that adolescents exhibited greater resilience and cognitive competence in families with parent–adolescent convergent perceptions of high levels of parental sacrifice than did those in families with parent–adolescent divergent views. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Reliability and validity of the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) in real-world implementation

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT), a widely-used assessment of the health and social vulnerabilities and housing needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. Homeless Management Information System data were obtained for 1495 individuals who were administered the VI-SPDAT between 2014 and 2016. Subsamples were selected for reliability and validity assessments. Results suggest there are challenges to the reliability and validity of the VI-SPDAT in practical use. VI-SPDAT total scores did not significantly predict risk of return to homeless services, while type of housing was a significant predictor. Vulnerability assessment instruments have important implications for communities working to end homelessness by facilitating prioritization of scarce housing resources. Findings suggest that further testing and development of the VI-SPDAT is necessary.     

When food becomes a feminist issue: popular feminism and subaltern agency in the World March of Women

In ongoing contests over neoliberal globalization, feminists are increasingly forging alliances with non-feminist others around common struggles, both locally and transnationally. This is indicative of a broader shift in transnational feminist politics from intra-movement to inter-movement alliances, and maps onto a historic transition from the UN era (roughly 1985–1995) to the global justice era (roughly 1995–present). Engagement with new partners on non-traditional issues is shifting the scope and contours of the feminisms in question and raising anew the question of hierarchy in transnational feminist networks and in their coalition politics. This article traces the appropriation of food sovereignty by the World March of Women in the context of its alliance with the transnational peasant movement, Vía Campesina, the development of a feminist politics and discourse of food sovereignty, and enquires into the relationship between these processes and “grassroots” members of the March – the rural, peasant and Indigenous women who are understood to be the primary subjects of a feminist politics of food sovereignty.     

Factors influencing dietary fat intake among black emerging adults

Objective: To determine what factors influenced dietary fat intake (DFI) among black emerging adults. Participants: Sample included 251 black emerging adults, ages 18–25 years, living in the US. Methods: This was a nonexperimental cross-sectional study based on self-report data. Results: The sample had high DFI. Factors related to DFI were gender (r_pb = ?.22, p < .001), perceived barriers for healthy eating (r = .32, p < .001), and perceived self-efficacy (r = ?.33, p < .001). These variables were also significant predictors for DFI. Gender was significantly related to DFI (b = ?5.894, p = .000). Religious commitment moderated the effect of stress on DFI. Conclusions: Gender, perceived barriers for healthy eating, and perceived self-efficacy were significant predictors for DFI. Religious commitment influenced the relationship of perceived stress and DFI. These findings may lead to interventions designed to reduce DFI and cardiovascular risks among black emerging adults.     

Urban college student self-report of hookah use with health care providers

Objective: This study's purpose was to describe urban college students’ communication about hookah with health care providers. Participants: Participants included a random sample of undergraduate urban college students and health care providers. Methods: Students surveyed determined the epidemiology of hookah use in this population, how many health care providers asked about hookah, and how many students admitted hookah use to a physician. Results: Of 375 students surveyed, 78 (20.8%) had never tried it, 284 (75.7%) had smoked hookah at least once, and 64 students (22.6%) were classified as frequent hookah smokers. Only 15 (4.7%) reported a health care provider asking about hookah during visits, whereas 36 (12.7%) admitted their hookah use to a health care provider. Conclusion: Hookah use was found to be highly prevalent among students in one urban university. This study supports the hypothesis that few health care providers broach the topic with patients. Additional research on health consequences of hookah use, education, and improved screening is warranted.     

Ethnic Diversity and Health Outcomes

This study hypothesizes a relationship between ethnic diversity and health outcomes. We explore the effects of ethnic and linguistic heterogeneity (measured by indices of ethnic and linguistic fractionalization) on various health outcomes in a cross-section of 91 countries. We explore outcomes relating to four major categories of health: (1) immunization rates, (2) prevalence of diseases, (3) life expectancy and mortality rates, and (4) health related infrastructure and staff. Across all dimensions examined, evidence suggests that higher heterogeneity is bad for health outcomes. We explore several potential mechanisms which could explain the observed negative effects of ethnic and linguistic diversity on health.     

Challenges facing foster parent resource workers in Canada

Many different professional staff members in children's services systems interact with foster parents. In Canada, the title “resource worker” is used in many jurisdictions for those who work most directly and closely with licensed foster parents. There is, however, limited research on the experiences of resource workers. In the study, 68 resource workers from 14 agencies within a large metropolitan area in Canada were asked: “What challenges do you face as a foster parent resource worker?” The results were analyzed using concept mapping methodology and resulted in nine concepts: balance diverse stakeholder needs, motivate foster parents, manage dual roles, respond to foster parent misconduct, deal with disagreements, maintain credibility, meet demands of organization, stay up to date on changes, and lack of support. The results were compared and contrasted with the available literature.     

Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing

Social Indicators Research - The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, it reviews the empirical evidence showing the existence of linkage between wellbeing and possible co-benefits,...