Socially excluding housing support to homeless substance misusers: two Swedish case studies of special category housing

This article discusses special category housing for homeless addicts, based on case studies of two different housing programmes and using both qualitative and quantitative data. The staff and residents were interviewed about their experiences of the programmes. Longitudinal data were collected on various indicators of substance misuse and the frequency of contact with the social services at different levels. Our findings show that special category housing has positive direct effects on the housing stability of the residents and their feelings regarding their quality of life, but not on their substance misuse. However, the increased housing stability seems to be more a direct effect of their staying on the programme, rather than a long-term effect. Furthermore, although their quality of life improves, the residents still experience a lack of belonging and feel that their lives lack meaningful content. The choice of special category housing as an intervention model thus seems to perpetuate rather than prevent social exclusion and can possibly be described as an expression of 'institutionalised resignation'.     

A Study of the Development of Alcohol Use Disorder in Muslim Immigrant Workers in Korea

Abstract

This study examines the process by which Muslim immigrant workers, prohibited by their religion from drinking, develop alcohol use disorder when working in Korea. Participants were seven male immigrant workers who have lived in Korea for 6–10?years and all experienced a change in immigrant status, shifting from registered to unregistered. Utilizing grounded theory devised by Strauss and Corbin, 87 concepts, 24 subcategories, and 10 categories were derived as a result. By converting these categories into a paradigm model, participants moved through stages of “self-monitoring,” “confusion,” “self-despair,” and “daily collapse” as they developed alcohol use disorder, and began to take on an existence as drifters, not settling into life in Korea. Their “learning experiences of drinking to survive turning into experiences of causing social death” is considered a core category. The study’s results suggest that a rehabilitation program for immigrant workers needs to be developed wherein the program not only enables them to reflect on their current existence but also allows them to develop specific coping skills. Future research should be broadened to consider social support mechanisms and viewpoints of other people, including female immigrant workers, and local community members in close contact with Muslim immigrant workers.     

高职大学生社会支持现状的调查研究

采用肖水源的社会支持量表,以618名高职大学生为研究对象,调查分析了高职大学生社会支持现状,结果表明：是独生子的高职大学生客观支持得分显著高于非独生子的高职大学生;生源地是城市的高职大学生主观支持得分显著高于生源地是农村的高职大学生,非独生子的高职大学生主观支持得分显著高于独生子,是班干部的高职大学生主观支持得分显著高于非班干部的高职大学生;是班干部的高职大学生支持利用度得分显著高于非班干部的高职大学生;生源地是城市的高职大学生支持总分显著高于生源地是农村的高职大学生;是班干部的高职大学生支持总分显著高于非班干部的高职大学生。结论：高职大学生的社会支持呈现一定的特点,受其生源地、是否为独生子女、是否为班干部等因素的影响。对高职大学生开展心理健康教育时,要充分考虑其社会支持程度的差异性,鼓励其积极主动获取社会支持。     

北京市第三方支付产业竞争格局及对策分析

第三方支付产业对社会经济结构调整和社会经济发展具有重要意义。以互联网支付为代表的北京市第三方支付行业存在的最大问题就是第三方支付企业数量虽多,但是市场份额非常低,没有行业中的领军企业,这与北京市所具有的信息、资源、人才等优势地位非常不相称,主要原因在于缺乏具体的扶持政策。     

协商民主视角下的民主恳谈：以温岭实践为例

民主恳谈作为基层民主的一种重要实践形式,在10多年的发展中发挥了重要作用,得到了社会各界的认同。但是,恳谈中存在的不平等因素日益影响恳谈持续性发展。通过三种不同的民主恳谈矫正模式,通过项目支撑实现议题聚焦,专家参与协调程序公正,监督评估实现动态化恳谈。从民主恳谈的程序入手,以起点、程序、结果公正为矫正思路,借鉴协商民主的理念进一步推进民主恳谈制度的完善。在扩大参与与代议之间形成以协商民主为纽带的协调模式,是未来基层民主走出困境的有效途径。     

A Comparitive Study of Custodial Mothers and Fathers in the Stabilization Phase of the Divorce Process

Sense of competence, time perspective, and state-anxiety of Israeli custodial mothers and fathers several years past divorce were compared. Both groups had an integrative general and parental sense of competence as well as normal state-anxiety levels in the "stabilization" phase of the divorce process. Mothers rated the past negatively and had higher anger levels than fathers. This was mainly atributed to their adverse postdivorce situation characterized by negative societal attitudes towards maternal employment, work overload, sparse material resources, and diminished opportunities for initiating or maintaining social contacts in this traditional society. While employment contributed to parental sense of competence in mothers, fathers perceived their parental and general competence as being related to marriage. Treatment and research implications were discussed.     

A Psychosocial View of Mental Illness: An Introduction to Part II

Increasingly, grandmothers are parenting grandchildren in homes where parental presence is sporadic or nonexistent. A disproportionate percentage of African American grandparents fall in this category. The author reviews the literature on the African American grandmother in the context of the African American family and describes a practice model for service provision to those women who seek support as they “parent again.”     

Understanding Parental Grief as a Response to Mental Illness: Implications for Practice

ABSTRACT

Parents who are raising children with mental illness struggle with feelings of grief and loss. Kubler-Ross' (1969 Kubler-Ross , E. ( 1969 ). On death and dying . New York : Scribner . [Google Scholar]) stages of grieving (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) are examined as experienced by parents raising children with chronic mental illness. Practice implications for social workers who are working with children and their parents are discussed. Acknowledging and understanding parental grief, while providing emotional support, leads to a more effective working partnership. This collaboration of parents and social worker can result in more effective treatment for the child with mental illness. Examples from one of the co-author's personal experiences are included.     

Peer Support Groups for Child Welfare–Involved Families

Studies on risk factors and circumstances related to child maltreatment have continuously emphasized the important role of social support. As a result, peer support groups have been gaining attention and recognition in recent years in the field of child maltreatment prevention. However, little is known about the benefits that child welfare–involved parents receive in peer support groups, as well as the distinctive service elements that make these groups successful. By examining child welfare–involved parents’ experiences participating in peer support groups, this study provided a better understanding of the perceived beneficial aspects of peer support groups, specific types of supports offered to and by peers, and unique characteristics of these groups.     

Problems in Remarriage

This study explored the problems in remarriages which remained intact and those which ended in divorce to determine differences in the seriousness of problems with step/children and whether the redivorced reported greater disagreement on key issues. The effects of gender and family structure on marital consensus were explored also. Using a matched sample of 26 remarried and redivorced individuals, the findings indicated that those redivorced did not report problems with step/children to be more serious. They did report a significantly greater frequency of disagreement with spouses on matters involving money, parenting of step/children, spousal and outsider relations, household expectations, and miscellaneous issues. It also was found that gender and remarried family type did not significantly affect consensus except for "outsider" relations; remarriages with children born only to the current marriage reported greater disagreement than either simple or complex stepfamilies.