Intergenerational Support and Depression Among Elders in Rural China: Do Daughters‐In‐Law Matter?

This study examined the influence of intergenerational assistance with household chores and personal care from sons, daughters, and daughters‐in‐law on the depressive symptoms of older adults in rural China. The sample derived from rural Anhui Province, a region with a strong hierarchy of support preferences that leads with sons and their families. We used data from a random sample of 1,281 adults aged 60 and over, who were interviewed in 2001 and 2003. Analyses indicated that depressive symptoms were usually reduced by assistance from daughters‐in‐law and increased sometimes when such support was from sons. These relationships held most strongly when mothers coresided with their daughters‐in‐law. This research suggests that the benefits of intergenerational support are conditional on culturally prescribed expectations.     

A Construction of Lancaster Probabilities with Margins in the Multidimensional Meixner Class

The well-known Meixner class (Meixner, 1934) of probabilities on R has been extended recently to R ^d (Pommeret, 1996). This generalized Meixner class corresponds to the simple quadratic natural exponential families characterized by Casalis (1996). Following Lancaster (1975), the present paper offers a characterization of the joint probability of a randomvector ( X, Y ) such that the two variables X and Y on R ^d belong to the multidimensional Meixner class and fulfil a bi-orthogonality condition involving orthogonal polynomials. The joint probabilities, called Lancaster probabilities, are characterized by two sequences of orthogonal polynomials with respect to the margins and a sequence of expectations of products. Some multivariate probabilities are studied, namely the Poisson-Gaussian and the gamma-Gaussian.     

Ethical challenges in conducting research with hard to reach families

This paper reflects on some of the ethical challenges encountered by the authors whilst undertaking sensitive qualitative research with parents and children who are traditionally hard to reach. The research aimed to provide more holistic and in‐depth accounts of parenting on a low income in diverse social circumstances than already exist. The nature of the sample and the subject matter that was covered inevitably raised many familiar ethical dilemmas and some that are less often encountered in practice, particularly in relation to child protection. In this article we discuss our approach to ethics, some of the ethical challenges we encountered undertaking work with families and discuss the complexity of decision‐making around risk of harm to children. We conclude that a clear framework to avoid harm should be developed at the outset and a transparent approach to child protection issues should be used. Additional time and resources need to be incorporated at the planning stage of similar projects in order to develop appropriate methods, ensure effective decision‐making and support researchers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marriage and Socioeconomic Change in Contemporary Indonesia

This study investigates the relationship between economic trends and entry into marriage in a rapidly developing setting. We examine Indonesian marriage in the 1990s, a decade of substantial economic growth followed by a sudden financial collapse in 1998. We use discrete‐time hazard models to analyze information on 4,078 women and 4,496 men from the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Although previous research has shown that marriages may be postponed after economic downturn, we find no evidence of such delays at the national level following the 1998 financial crisis. In contrast, we use regional wage rate data to show that entry into marriage is inversely related to economic growth throughout the decade for all women and for men from lower socioeconomic strata.     

Relationship of Dyadic Closeness With Work‐Related Stress: A Daily Diary Study

We examined the association between work‐related stress of both spouses and daily fluctuations in their affective states and dyadic closeness. Daily diary data from 169 Israeli dual‐earner couples were analyzed using multilevel modeling. The findings indicate that work stress has no direct effect on dyadic closeness but rather is mediated by the spouses’ negative mood. Evidence was found for spillover of stress from work to mood at home, as well as negative crossover among couples with higher marital quality, resulting in greater distance on stressful days. Such increased distance may reflect either a deleterious effect of work stress on marital relationships or a protective mechanism used by couples in times of stress.     

Children’s Time Use: Labor Divisions and Schooling in Indonesia

Data from the Worker and Iron Status Evaluation are used to examine gendered patterns in children’s time in market and nonmarket work, schooling, and leisure in Indonesia (N= 2,929). Boys spend more time in market work; girls spend more time in nonmarket work. Work responsibilities increase with age as well as gender differentials in children’s time use. By age 18, girls spend nearly 1 more hour per day working and enjoy significantly less leisure time, but the gender gap in schooling is not significant, suggesting that parents and children are committed to both work and schooling. Additionally, Tobit regression results suggest that parents’ education, household income, and rural residency are important predictors of children’s labor and schooling time.     

Speed Mentoring in Teaching and Learning: Young people with experience of the care system mentor social work students

The value of listening and talking to young people with experience of the care system has been recognised as a vital and positive contribution to social work students' learning. A model of co-production was used to develop a series of speed mentoring events whereby social work students placed in local authority children and family settings were mentored by young people with experience of the care system. This tentative review of this small-scale project shares the authors' critical reflections on the value and reliability of this model, for evaluating the outcomes of co-productive mentoring relationships between young people and social work students. The reversal of the power dynamic between student and service user contributed to the unsettling of assumptions about each other and empathy for each other's role. The student authors reflect on learning about the child's experience that has influenced their practice. The mentor authors welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of ‘young people friendly’ social workers. Suggestions are made as to how this model could be developed to contribute to a more systematic approach to the role of service users in mentoring, advising and contributing to the supervision process of students and social workers.     

Preparing social workers as reporters of suspected child maltreatment

Social workers are an important source of reports to child protective services in the United States (US). However, it is unclear what role social work education plays in preparing social workers for this responsibility. The current study explores how undergraduate and graduate social work programs in the US prepare students as reporters. This study found that while almost all programs that participated in this study provide students with some content related to their role as reporters of child maltreatment, there are varying ways such content is provided, and many avenues for improvement. International implications are highlighted.     

‘I’m not really sure but I hope it’s better’: early thoughts of parents and carers in a regional trial site for the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the most significant initiatives in Australian social policy history. Its complexity has been compounded by a fast-paced introduction and ongoing refinement throughout the initial trial phase. Parents and carers of very young disabled children face particular challenges accessing and navigating NDIS systems. This article presents findings from a mixed-method pilot study examining the perspectives of parents and carers of disabled children in one NDIS trial site – the Hunter Region of New South Wales. The research highlights a number of policy assumptions potentially impacting on NDIS take up for young disabled children and their families in regional contexts. Based on research findings a number of policy suggestions and improvements for disabled children and their families entering the NDIS and other individualised funding schemes are outlined.     

Intergenerational Exchanges of Middle‐Aged Adults With Their Parents and Parents‐In‐Law in Korea

The authors investigated patterns of support exchanges between Korean adult children and their parents and parents‐in‐law, gender differences in these patterns, and implications of children's marital quality for exchange patterns. Data were from a nationally representative sample of married adults (N = 920, age 30–59 years) with at least 1 living parent and 1 living parent‐in‐law. Latent class analysis was applied to 12 indicators of exchanges (financial, instrumental, emotional support given to and received from parents and parents‐in‐law). Five classes of exchanges were identified, 3 showing balanced patterns of exchanges with parents and parents‐in‐law across three types of support and 2 classes with unbalanced patterns (e.g., giving instrumental and financial but not emotional support). The findings revealed variability in intergenerational exchange patterns, with a mix of patrilineal traditional and balanced patterns. Significant associations of exchange patterns with adult children's marital quality suggest the importance of balanced exchanges with parents for marriage.