Insider research,validity issues,and the OHS professional: one person’s journey

Validity in the context of qualitative research may take on many different definitions depending on the philosophical perspective. When a researcher conducts research within their place of employment, this will also influence the approach and interpretation. Insider research has been under scrutiny for the very fact that the insider is an actor within the setting. This paper explores my journey, conducting insider research and working as an occupational health and safety practitioner, by presenting an example of the methods used, including reflectivity and reflexivity, to address validity issues which may arise prior, during and post data collection.     

Can a Munro-Inspired Approach Transform the Lives of Looked after Children in England?

This discussion paper will examine the lessons from the Munro Review relevant for looked after children. Although the Munro Review focuses on child protection, we will argue that some of its key principles have relevance for understanding looked after childhoods. The Munro Review provides an analysis of the current state of the child protection system, challenging bureaucratised practice and arguing for a reclaiming of professional social work identity, knowledge and understanding. There are three key principles of the Munro Review that this paper will focus upon. The first two are the recognition that risk cannot be eradicated and the bureaucratisation of practice is an inadequate response to the demand for public accountability. The third principle is that ethical integrity lies at the heart of services for children in public care. The key message of this paper is that a Munro approach can transform looked after childhoods. However, the current ‘child protection’ model of social work in England may prevent this shift in social work practice.     

Long-term dynamics of household size and their environmental implications

Little is known about the environmental implications of long-term historical trends in household size. This paper presents the first historical assessment of global shifts in average household size based on a variety of datasets covering the period 1600–2000. Findings reveal that developed nations reached a threshold in 1893 when average household size began to drop rapidly from approximately 5.0 to 2.5. A similar threshold was reached in developing nations in 1987. With the notable exceptions of Ireland, and England and Wales in the early 1800s, and India and the Seychelles in the late 1900s, the number of households grew faster than population size in every country and every time period. These findings suggest accommodating housing may continue to pose one of the greatest environmental challenges of the twenty-first century because the impacts of increased housing present a threat to sustainability even when population growth slows. Future research addressing environmental impacts of declining household size could use an adapted IPAT model, I = PHoG: where environmental impact (I) = population × personal goods (P) + households × household goods (HoG).     

Research on Marital Satisfaction and Stability in the 2010s: Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Although getting married is no longer a requirement for social acceptance, most people do marry in their lifetimes, and couples across the socioeconomic spectrum wish their marriages to be satisfying and long lasting. This review evaluates the past decade of research on the determinants of satisfaction and stability in marriage, concluding that the scholarship of the past 10 years has undermined three assumptions that were formerly accepted as conventional wisdom. First, research exploiting methods such as latent class growth analyses reveal that, for most couples, marital satisfaction does not decline over time but in fact remains relatively stable for long periods. Second, contrary to predictions of behavioral models of marriage, negative communication between spouses can be difficult to change, does not necessarily lead to more satisfying relationships when it is changed, and does not always predict distress in the first place. Third, dyadic processes that are reliably adaptive for middle-class and more affluent couples may operate differently in lower income couples, suggesting that influential models of marriage may not generalize to couples living in diverse environments. Thus, the accumulated research of the past 10 years indicates that the tasks of understanding and promoting marital satisfaction and stability are more complex than we appreciated at the start of the decade, raising important questions that beg to be answered in the years ahead.     

Understanding looked‐after childhoods

The absence of a sociological discourse about children in the past meant that child and family social work has largely relied on psychological interpretations of children and their behaviour. However, since the 1990s, the sociology of childhood has been developed in the UK. The aim of this paper is to explore the relevance of the sociology of childhood in understanding looked‐after childhoods and in informing contemporary social work practice with looked‐after children and young people. The central argument of this paper is that, in order to fulfil professional responsibilities and to implement current and forthcoming UK social policies for looked‐after children, social work needs to employ broad understandings of children, young people and looked‐after childhoods. The paper goes on to discuss the ways in which a social work approach drawing on the sociology of childhood can offer such a conceptualization.     

Stress From Daily Hassles in Couples: Its Effects on Intradyadic Stress,Relationship Satisfaction,and Physical and Psychological Well‐Being

According to the systemic‐transactional stress model (STM; G. Bodenmann, European Review of Applied Psychology, 1997; 47: 137), extradyadic stress from daily hassles can have a negative impact on the individual psychological and physical health and the couple's relationship. This study is the first one to test the STM propositions in a model that includes both partners’ individual and relational outcomes simultaneously. The model also includes actor and partner effects as well as the interdependence between partners’ processes. Cross‐sectional, self‐report data were collected from 110 community couples in Switzerland. Consistent with STM predictions, results from the path model analysis indicate that for actor effects extradyadic stress from daily hassles relates directly to lower psychological (increase in anxiety symptoms) and physical well‐being and only indirectly to lower relationship satisfaction through increased intradyadic stress from relationship problems and also through more depressive symptomatology in men. The female extradyadic stress and intradyadic stress had partner effects on the male intradyadic stress and the male relationship satisfaction, respectively. Limitations as well as research and clinical implications for marriage and family therapists are discussed.