Chapter 9. Framing the Future for Children and Youth in the Risk Society

Abstract

This chapter sets out to explore the six significant findings of this study by relating the interview content to the sociological risk literature. It examines thinking behind loss zones and gain zones and then moves on to look at individual versus collective risk and perceptions of risk. A child and youth care understanding is noted within the context of the Youth Encounter Project environments.     

Chapter 10. Patterns of Career Development in Child and Youth Care

Abstract

Patterns of career development in the field of child and youth care are reexamined in relation to roles that involve working directly with children in specific settings as well as in relation to roles that involve working indirectly in support of children through working with other adults, be these parents, other caregivers or professionals. Other career roles involve working in support of human service systems that impact on the care of children and young people and influence family welfare. Finally, some career roles involve working at the macro level to formulate policies that shape the culture of caring communities to support the health and well-being of children. Each career role presents important challenges and offers valuable opportunities for influencing the lives of children, young people and their families.     

Coping Alone: Examining the Prospects of Adolescent Victims of Child Abuse Placed in Foster Care

The ability of a young person to cope effectively with stressful life events appears to be associated with their previous experiences and relationships. Young people in foster care who have histories of child abuse, therefore, may find they cannot cope effectively with the situation they find themselves in. This paper attempts to highlight the problems they face. A group of 21 young people were interviewed and were asked to complete the Frydenberg and Lewis Adolescent Coping Scales. Their social workers provided information on their past history both in care and prior to coming in to care. It emerged that the young people who had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse were significantly (p < 0.02) more likely to be/have been involved in problem, or Crisis, foster placements. Additionally these young people displayed less adaptive coping strategies than the young people who had not been abused. The most significant differences indicated that the victims of abuse were more likely to try and cope with stressful situations by themselves, while the other foster adolescents were significantly (p < 0.004) more likely to find support from their friends. Case studies, with reference to the teenager's own accounts, help to illustrate how a history of abuse can complicate the already difficult fostering processes, and can also affect the long-term coping abilities of the victims. The consequences of these issues are discussed.     

Guidelines in Child and Youth Care Family Work

SUMMARY

There are many paths that can be taken with the families we encounter in our work. It is this richness in options that can make the child and youth care approach so powerful. However, amongst each potential path there are a number of common guideposts that serve as markers for our interactions with families. These guiding principles are described through the use of examples from a family in a program for teens who are parenting.     

Predictors of the Likelihood to Provide Intergenerational Activities in Child and Adult Day Care Centers

Abstract

This study examined the relative contribution of various factors to the likely provision of intergenerational activities in child and adult day care settings. Two hundred and twenty-six administrators rated their: (a) current frequency of contact with children and older adults; (b) current frequency of intergenerational activities in their settings; (c) attitudes toward intergenerational exchanges, using the Inter-generational Exchanges Attitudes Scale; and (d) self-reported likelihood to provide intergenerational activities in the future. As was predicted, attitudes toward intergenerational exchanges accounted for significantly more (p< .0001) of the overall variance in likelihood scores (12.8%) than did either current intergenerational program activity (3.7%) or current intergenerational contact (2.0%).     

The Development of a Parent Support Group as a Means of Initiating Family Involvement in a Residential Program

SUMMARY

Working with the families of children in residential care is critical to the success of the placement. For a variety of reasons, parents of adolescents in one residential setting were not receiving adequate services during placement. A parent support and education group was designed and implemented to provide opportunities for parents to access support, learn new parenting skills and, ultimately, optimize their relationships with their children. The responses of both parents and staff to this program were favorable. The group is now a regular component of the organization's range of services, and served as a springboard to enhance family involvement in other program areas.     

Contextualizing Not-Knowing: Terminology and the Role of Professional Identity

This chapter provides a context for the concept of not-knowing, including a discussion of how the concept was framed. The experience of not-knowing in professional youth work is framed in relationship to other concepts explored by the social work and therapeutic literature (including vicarious trauma, helplessness, secondary trauma, and burnout), as well as those offered by the limited youth work and nursing literature discussing similar concepts (disruption and hurt, suffering, commitment in spite of conflict, and the struggle to go along when you do not believe). The standing of youth work in the professions and its own struggles to professionalize are explored, with attention to how not-knowing affects and is affected by these efforts.     

Alcohol and Drug Use in Young Apprentices: Effect of Social Control in the Family

In this research, social control used by the families of young apprentices related to certain deviant behaviors such as alcohol and drug use was examined. Finally it was found that most of the young people who use drugs and alcohol were battered frequently. The relationship between deviant acts of young people and social control used by their families was analyzed through theories concerning the socioeconomic status of family and the relations between family members.     

Intensity and Breadth of Participation in Organized Activities During the Adolescent Years: Multiple Associations with Youth Outcomes

The goal of this study was to examine initial levels and rates of change in the intensity and breadth of participation in organized activities during the adolescent years, and how these participation practices were related to youth outcomes in later adolescence. The main objectives were (a) to examine growth curves of intensity and breadth of participation from Grades 7 through 11 and their interrelations, and (b) to test the associations between these dimensions of participation and academic orientation, risky behaviors, internalizing problems, and civic development in Grade 11. A homogenous sample of 299 youth (mean age = 13.37, SD = .41; 62% girls) were surveyed annually using questionnaires and phone interviews. The main results revealed that (a) even though both intensity and breadth of participation decreased over time, intensity of participation showed steeper declines by later grades, and (b) initial levels of participation were better predictors of later outcomes than rates of change over time. Regardless of the levels of change taking place over time, results revealed that youth with high initial levels of participation (both intensity and breadth) were more committed to school and developed more positive values towards society by Grade 11 than those who participated less. This might suggest that a high level of participation during early-to-mid-adolescence is particularly important when it comes to later outcomes.     

Development and Validation of the Adolescent Racial and Ethnic Socialization Scale (ARESS) in African American Families

Racial and ethnic socialization are an integral part of African American parenting strategies. Varied conceptualizations and operationalizations of racial and ethnic socialization exist within the literature with limited evidence of the validity of existing measures. The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive definition of racial and ethnic socialization and to validate a new measure termed the Adolescent Racial and Ethnic Socialization Scale (ARESS). Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), findings from 218 African American adolescents (grades 9–12) support the multidimensional nature of racial and ethnic socialization. Results also indicate that racial and ethnic socialization are distinct constructs reflecting the utility of this instrument for African American youth.

国有企业深化改革过程中的职工思想问题与对策

在国企改革过程中,职工思想问题主要有以下特点:思想认识多样化,价值取向多元化,利益追求公开化,矛盾冲突尖锐化。把握国企改革中职工的思想问题,制定措施,加强教育引导,对于推进企业改革,促进企业稳定发展,具有重要意义。     

访谈法在社会科学研究中的应用

访谈法是访谈者通过对访谈对象进行访谈而对社会现象进行调查的方法。访谈者应按照一定的原则和程序实施访谈 ,并在访谈中讲究技巧 ,以降低访谈法固有的局限     

影响人文体育思想融入高校体育教学因素的分析

由于传统体育教学思想观念、教师队伍素质等因素的影响,使得人文思想融入和渗透体育教学存在很大的困难,因此,必须将传统的体质技术教学与现代人文思想教育理念结合起来,以实现使学生树立“健康第一”的思想和养成“终生体育”习惯的教学终极目标。