Utilizing Social Support to Conserve the Fighting Strength: Important Considerations for Military Social Workers

This article is a continuation of a conference panel dialogue that focused on providing individualized, culturally responsible treatment of secondary traumatic stress (STS) for military social workers. Key aspects of the roles and responsibilities, professional and ethical challenges of military social workers and social work officers serve as focal points for understanding the importance of social support. This article discusses ways social support might help to moderate the impact of STS. The “buddy system” describes a culturally unique protective factor, which is a well‐known and effective type of social support utilized throughout the military. This article provides valuable information on how the “buddy system” can serve as a blueprint for managing STS experienced by military social workers. The article concludes with research, policy, and practice implications.     

Group Therapy With Homeless Women

Women's groups are a treatment of choice for homeless women who have been abused, used substances, have mental health concerns, and have suffered traumatic events that have ruptured their attachments. Women in dialogue can learn to see themselves reflected, find each other's strengths, and make advances in empathy, which can alter relational abilities. Their experiences of sharing similar traumatic events in a safe and containing environment can increase a sense of belonging. Psychoeducation and advocacy can further foster knowledge and self-empowerment. Leadership issues are important as the leader must create safety and serve as a model, but may also be used as a object of displacement for disavowed negative feelings among group members.     

Determinants of Income Generation and Financial Performance Through Self-Help Groups

ABSTRACT

This study examines the efficacy of a microcredit-linked self-help group (SHG) program in identifying the problems faced by group members such as income generation and financial performance. To examine this, 120 members in each of three selected blocks in Birbhum District in West Bengal, India, were invited to participate. A multiple regression equation focused on identifying the contributing factors toward explaining SHG income. Results indicated that income generation for all the blocks together was significantly influenced by factors like loan amount, amount of saving, years of existence of SHG, education level of the group leader, and availability of the training facility. However, SHG-wise efficiency scores varied across the blocks that might be related to different sociocultural dimensions. Implications of the analytical findings for future research are discussed at the end of the article.     

The Development of Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Widowed and Abandoned Women Through Microcredit Self-Help Groups: The Case of Rural South India

ABSTRACT

Widowed or abandoned women are among the poorest and marginalized people in Indian society. In an effort to empower these women to achieve a sustainable livelihood and overcome discrimination related to marital status and caste, a local nongovernmental organization, Kalangarai, organized widows and abandoned women into microcredit self-help groups (SHGs) along the Southeast coast of India. This mixed-methods study examines the effects of microcredit SHG training and facilitation on the perceived self-efficacy of widowed or abandoned women in the groups (N = 64). Data were collected on SHG training, facilitation, self-efficacy, well-being, and caste discrimination. Regression results indicate that participation in SHG trainings and having more intensive staff facilitation significantly impacted the women's perception of self-efficacy. These findings suggest that the microcredit SHG structure can be utilized to spark a transformative process for women to collectively gain power and political voice. Further implications for advocacy, scholarship, and program design are discussed.     

Possibilities for Intervention in Domestic Violence: Frame Analysis of Health Care Professionals’ Attitudes

ABSTRACT. Violence is a serious problem, and social and health care providers are in a key position for implementing successful interventions. This qualitative study of 6 focus groups with professionals (n = 30) examines the health care professionals’ ways of framing a domestic violence intervention. Of special interest here is how professionals see their own roles in the process of recognizing and helping victims of domestic violence. By using Erving Goffman's frame analysis, this study identifies several frames that either: a) emphasize the obstacles to intervention and justify nonintervention, or on the contrary, b) question these obstacles and find justifications for intervention. The possibilities for intervention are further explored by analyzing the ways in which the dynamics between the different frames allow redefinition of domestic violence interventions. Despite the challenges involved in a domestic violence intervention, there seems to be potential for change in personal attitudes and reform of professional practices. The research findings underline the role of social and health care professionals as members of a larger chain of service providers working collaboratively against domestic violence. Implications for practice and directions in policy and future research are suggested.     

Measuring Family Caregiver Perceptions of Support in Caring for Children and Youth With Mental Health Concerns

ABSTRACT

This correlational study assessed how families of children with mental illness perceived the levels of support they received from informal and formal resource providers and the associations between perceived support and child outcomes. Adult caregivers (N = 904) of youth receiving public mental health care services were administered the Family Caregiver Perceptions of Support Scale developed by the authors to assess family caregiver perceptions of support prior to and at termination of services. Factor analysis identified three types of caregiver anticipated supports: informal support resources, support for treatment plan influence, and health care resources. The domains were significantly and positively associated with one another but did not uniformly correlate with youth mental health outcomes. The study provides preliminary evidence that treatment gains in youth mental health outcomes are observed when caregivers perceive support in treatment processes. Suggestions for future research are made, stressing the importance of caregivers and providers working together and describing needs related to future scale improvements.     

Care Leavers in Israel: What Contributes to Better Adjustment to Life After Care?

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the adjustment of youth leaving residential treatment in Israel in three core areas: military service, accommodation, and financial status. A sample of 277 adolescents (aged 17–18 years old) in educational and welfare residential placements were interviewed a few months before leaving care, and 236 of them were interviewed 1 year after. It was hypothesized that optimism, higher perceived sense of readiness to leave care, and higher social support of family, friends, and staff are associated with better outcomes in adjustment to military service, accommodations, and economic status. Findings show that 70% of care leavers were drafted to the (compulsory) military service, a sign of good adjustment in Israel. Yet, they have significant difficulties in the areas of accommodations and financial status. Optimism and perceived readiness for independent living while still in care were positively correlated with adjustment to the military service. Mother's support was positively correlated with care leavers’ economic status and stability in accommodations. These findings highlight the importance of designing programs that include specific attention to needs and challenges while youth are in care and immediately after they leave. Follow-up and longitudinal studies are suggested.     

Recuerdos de Nuestro Pasado

Following is an interview with Erin Segal, group worker and coauthor of Recuerdos de Nuestro Pasado (Memories of our Past), a multivocal memoir about growing up in El Salvador and growing old in Washington DC, which emerged from a storytelling group at Mary’s Center’s Bernice Fonteneau Senior Wellness Center. The group members and coauthors are Angela Celaya, Sergio Guzmán, Jose Lovos, and Gloria Revelo. Using alternating English-language stanzas, the book expresses the life stories of four senior citizens and includes the images of their photographs and objects as well as illustrations by the book designer Julie Cho. Segal and Cho are cofounders of Thick Press. All profit from this book will go to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.     

Citizenship Consciousness,Nonbounded Solidarity,and Social Justice

This article analyzes the concepts of bounded and nonbounded solidarity. It first reviews some fundamental propositions from the sociological literature and then looks at Amnesty International's conception of solidarity. A third part discusses solidarity as it applies to social work with groups. The conclusion raises five questions social workers need to address to make social justice a standard part of social group work theory and practice.