Characteristics and Outcomes of College-Age Adults Enrolled in Private Residential Treatment: Implications for Practice

Substance use among college-age adults is of interest due to high levels of use and low levels of treatment access and engagement relative to other adults. Data collected from 1,972 clients in residential services were analyzed to investigate differences in use patterns, treatment outcomes, and other life area problems. Participants completed an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) at baseline, and an ASI and Treatment Services Review at 1-month and 6-month postdischarge interviews. Almost a quarter (24.1%) of participants were college age (18–25 years old). They were more likely to be White and male, and less likely to complete treatment although they had a longer average length of stay. College-age adults improved on all outcome measures, and posttreatment service use shows significant difference between college-age and older participants. Implications for practice are discussed.     

‘Back to our Roots?’ Re-visiting psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in the education of student social workers

While there is a well-established literature on psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in social work education, little has been published recently. This paper reviews the rationale for its use, evaluating its impact on students’ learning in the light of contemporary policy and practice contexts facing social work education. Analysis of feedback gained from a recent cohort, identifies three ways in which learning through baby and young child observation contributes: firstly, students encounter and learn about the complexity of child development from the direct experience of observing and secondly, observing facilitates the development of important skills for practice; students’ ‘use of self’. Thirdly, through observing, students describe how they develop the capacity to take-up and sustain a professional role. Well-structured teaching and learning through observation is therefore shown to provide a rigorous, theoretically-grounded contribution to the training of university-based social work students entering this complex and challenging professional field.     

Exploring narratives of education: disabled young people’s experiences of educational institutions in Ghana

Disabled young people in many low and middle-income countries experience significant levels of educational exclusion due to disabling social and physical environments and are more likely to be illiterate than their non-disabled peers. Most social sciences and development literature, however, tends to homogenise the educational trajectories of disabled young people and focuses predominantly on the perspectives of educationalists, development experts and carers in assessing educational needs and institutions. Consequently, the experiences of young people across multiple categories of social difference, and their agency in shaping their own educational trajectories, remain largely unknown. This article contributes to filling this gap by exploring the educational narratives of young people with different impairments in mainstream, special and integrated schools in Ghana. The article shows how exploring individual narratives provides new insights into the educational needs of and ‘appropriate’ education for disabled young people in the Global South.     

新世纪前后中国文学版图中的“宁夏板块”

“宁夏文学”在中国当代文学史上占有一席之地,始于社会主义新时期。20世纪80年代,张贤亮以其饱经沧桑和忧患之后的慷慨悲歌征服了大江南北。张贤亮的小说创作,不仅提升了宁夏文学总体的创作水平,也为宁夏文学在中国文坛赢得了美好声誉。进入20世纪90年代,宁夏文学在略事犹豫和徘徊之后,终于在新世纪前后,再次向中国文坛奉献了“宁夏青年作家群”。这一创作群体的崛起,不仅给新世纪前后的中国文学界吹来一股清新怡人的创作之风,而且,这一与广阔深厚的中国古老土地和“中国经验”血脉相连,并因此取得了不凡文学业绩的青年创作群体的成功,也充分证明,在市场经济条件下,居于偏远地区的文学创作事业,只要领导得法,调动有方,是可以走在全国前列的。     

青年流失对农村文化建设的消极影响

当前农村青壮年农民过度流失严重影响社会主义新农村建设,也成为农村文化建设的桎梏。必须改善农村的谋生环境和生活环境,对农村劳动力转移的适度性和合理性加以宏观的调控,这是繁荣农村文化的基础。     

‘Wasting precious time’: young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy negotiate the transition to adulthood

Supporting young disabled people at the transition to adulthood has long proved to be a challenging task. Young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have until recently died before they reached adulthood. Now they are living longer but with a corresponding lack of forethought about how they should be supported in adulthood. This study investigated in three regions of England what was happening for young men with DMD and how they were being supported. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 young men (aged 15+) with DMD and 58 other family members. The findings suggested that too many young men had finished education and training and were at home during the day without meaningful activity. In part, the complicated nature of shifting expectations across the life-course had made planning for an adult life with DMD very challenging. This could be exacerbated by problematic assumptions and stubborn barriers.     

An examination of the views of young people in the Romanian residential care system regarding their relationship with biological family members and the option of reintegration

This paper reports findings from research conducted in six Romanian residential care homes. The aim of the paper is to examine the views held by young people, currently living in residential care, about the importance of their biological families and the option and challenge of reintegration. The data reflect the ideas and perspectives of 44 young people captured through a narrative interview approach using social mapping activities. The results indicate that most children and young people know at least one birth parent and maintain contact on their own initiative; most do not place a high level of importance on such relationships which are generally characterised by lack of confidence, low security and a presumed limited capacity on the part of the biological family to meet their needs. Family reintegration is considered to be a viable option for a small number of young people; others do not see it as realistic because of the impact of long-term separation and the likelihood of experiencing poorer living conditions.     

Vulnerable young people and substance misuse: expanding on the risk and protection‐focused approach using social psychology

This paper critically reviews recent research exploring risk and protective factors for the development of problematic substance use in populations of young people. Specific populations of young people who are most vulnerable to developing problematic patterns of use are identified, and alterations to methods of data collection which would improve the ability of local authorities to monitor these populations and more efficiently target them for early preventative interventions are highlighted. It is argued that social‐psychological research techniques and approaches should be used to complement a risk and protection‐focused approach in order to improve the design and evaluation of interventions, and provide decision‐aids for practitioners when assessing the needs of vulnerable young people. Examples are provided to demonstrate the utility of social psychology in this regard, and the paper concludes with specific recommendations for future research and services. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

湖南省部分高校青年体育教师职业意愿调查

通过对 112名湖南部分高校 4 0岁以下的青年体育教师职业意愿的问卷调查研究 ,发现他们较其它专业教师 ,在职业满意度、职业稳定性等方面明显高于对照组。但高校体育教师的职业行为 ,也较多地受到职业条件、职业社会地位、职业专业选择宽度等因素的困扰。     

Positive Consequences of Parental Divorce Among Israeli Young Adults

Abstract

Within the framework of cognitive theories that define crisis as a challenge to self-development, this study explored the positive long-term outcomes of coping with parental divorce in young adults. Data were collected from self-reports of 158 Israeli young adults whose parents divorced when they were adolescents. Together with painful feelings, almost half the participants reported “more positive than negative outcomes” and less than a quarter thought that the divorce had “more negative than positive outcomes.” The various positive outcomes were found to form three constructs reflecting maturity and growth: empowerment, empathy, and relationship-savvy. Coping styles used by the participants proved strongly connected to long-term outcomes. Reciprocal support was the main coping style used by the young adults and their significant others, and was connected to positive long-term outcomes. Based on multiple regression analyses, the study proposes a sequential model that charts a developmental sequence that enhances long-term positive outcomes. These and other results are discussed within the framework of posttraumatic growth perspective.