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Service users’ involvement in social work education: focus on social change projects
- Authors:
- RAMON Shulamit, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 38(1), 2019, pp.89-102.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This article presents and analyzes four projects focusing on diverse forms of service users’ involvement in social work training and research in different countries (Israel, Italy, Slovenia and UK). It highlights the value of service user involvement (SUI) to specific social change objectives and to social work education. The conceptual framework focused on the Standpoint Theory, while methodologically participatory action research was applied, and evaluation measures were developed. Key findings, facilitators and limitations to the involvement, students’ views of it and similarities and differences among the four projects are outlined. The challenges embedded in introducing and sustaining social change objectives in a co-production framework within social work education are identified, alongside the added value of meeting them. The differentiated impact the projects had on students is highlighted as well as their significance for health and social care providers were relevant. It is encouraging that in each project SUI was positively valued. The projects indicate the wide range of SUI in the content and format of social work education, as well as its applicability cross-culturally to a range of key issues pertaining to both training and research in social work. (Publisher abstract)
Finding the way out: a non-dichotomous understanding of violence and depression resilience of adolescents who are exposed to family violence
- Authors:
- KASSIS Wassilis, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 37(2/3), 2013, pp.181-199.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This cross-sectional study used a random sample of 5,149 middle school students with a mean age of 14.5 years from four EU-countries (Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and Spain) to examine violence and depression resilience of adolescents exposed to family violence. The definition of resilience was expanded to include the absence of both physical aggression and depression symptoms in adolescents who have been exposed to violence in their families. Three levels of resilience were used: “resilient”, “near-resilient” and “non-resilient”. Data were collected via self-administered surveys consisting of a number of subscales that investigate depression symptoms and physical aggression. The study was analysed with a three-stage strategy using logistic regression procedures, in which regression analyses were conducted separately for girls and boys using seven steps for modeling the three resilience levels. More than 30% of our respondents reported experiencing family violence. Data showed that structural characteristics like country, gender, socio-economic status and migration status were minimally predictive of violence and depression resilience at any level. For both sexes resilience is strongly linked to personal and relational characteristics and the absence of experiences that involved exposure to and direct experiences with violence. Resilience supportive factors confirmed by this study are: higher emotional self-control, talking with parents or friends about violence, seeking help to avoid violence, and not endorsing aggression supportive beliefs. Also key to resilience are irrespective of country, gender, and SES are lower levels of experience with: victimization by boys, engagement in physical altercation with boys, parental abuse, witnessing of physical spousal abuse, exposure to an authoritarian (harsh) parenting style and verbal aggression from teachers. (Edited publisher abstract)
The role of online and online peer support for young people who self-harm: good practice guide
- Authors:
- YouthNet, et al
- Publisher:
- YouthNet
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 87p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report presents the findings of a 2-year project that brought together practitioners from Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, and the UK in order to consider how online peer support can meet the need for advice and support for young people who self-harm. Around 1 in 15 young people in these 4 countries self-harm, but only a minority of them seek support. In January 2011, 6 organisations from these countries came together to develop their online services to support young people who self-harm. The analysis included detailed evaluation of these services and feedback from young people. The findings showed that online services can really help to overcome the barriers young people face when looking for support on their self-harm by: providing early intervention; providing easy access to information; providing an online community where young people can help others in their situation; providing a connection with others who have the same issues; and providing a safe anonymous space where people feel comfortable expressing their feelings. The suggested framework of good practice focuses on 3 levels of online support: young people as recipients; young people as participants; and young people as actors.
Long-term care quality assurance policies in European countries
- Authors:
- DANDI Roberto, et al
- Publisher:
- European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 89p.
- Place of publication:
- Brussels
This report present the findings and conclusions of research undertaken in the context of research projects carried out by a consortium of ENEPRI member institutes. This report is a contribution to Work Package 5 of the ANCIEN project, which focuses on the future of long-term care for the elderly in Europe. This report analyses the quality assurance policies for long-term care (LTC) in the following countries: Austria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. First, it discusses quality assurance in LTC by analysing: the dimensions of quality, the policy frameworks for quality in LTC, the different levels of development of LTC quality policies at the international, national, organisational, and individual levels. Second, it describes the methodology for collecting and analysing data on quality policies in the selected countries. Finally, it discusses the results, identifying four clusters of countries based on quality policies and indicators for LTC. These clusters are compared to the clusters identified in Work Package 1 of the ANCIEN project. Policy recommendations are proposed.
Life satisfaction among children in different family structures: a comparative study of 36 western Societies
- Authors:
- BJARNASON Thoroddur, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Society, 26(1), January 2012, pp.51-62.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Children living in less fortunate economic circumstances can be expected to be less satisfied with life and the association between single parenthood and reduced life satisfaction may be partly due to economic hardship. This paper examines differences in life satisfaction among 184,496 children in different family structures in 36 western countries. Findings revealed that children living with both biological parents reported higher levels of life satisfaction than children living with a single parent or parent–step-parent. Children in joint physical custody reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than their counterparts in other types of non-intact families. Difficulties in communicating with parents were strongly associated with less life satisfaction but did not mediate the relation between family structure and life satisfaction. Children in the Nordic countries characterised by strong welfare systems reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction in all living arrangements except in single father households. While such life events as divorce or single motherhood may be heavily stigmatised in some countries and certain segments within countries, they may well be relatively meaningless in other social contexts. This may be a major source of the considerable variation in life satisfaction among children in living with single mothers or step-parents in different countries.
Ageing and health status in adults with intellectual disabilities: results of the European Pomona II study
- Authors:
- HAVEMAN Meindert, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 36(1), March 2011, pp.49-60.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
POMONA II was a European Commission funded public health project collecting information from 14 countries using a set of key health indicators specifically relevant for people with intellectual disabilities. This research focused on age-specific differences relating to environmental and lifestyle factors and the 17 medical conditions measured by the POMONA Checklist of Health Indicators. The article describes how information was collected using the POMONA Health Interview Survey and Evaluation Form from a sample of 1,253 participants in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It then presents the results of the analysis, with tables showing characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities in the study, frequency of social contacts with relatives or friends according to age, lifestyle risk factors in people with intellectual disabilities according to age, and general and age-specific prevalence rates of health problems. The authors discuss how healthy older adults with intellectual disabilities are with regard to lifestyle factors, and whether there are health disparities between older adults with and without intellectual disabilities. They note that some evidence of health disparities was found for older people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in terms of under diagnosed or inadequately managed preventable health conditions.
Evaluation as learning: the collaboration between social work and research in cross-agency evaluation in Germany and Slovenia
- Authors:
- KAVADIAS Dimokritos, et al
- Journal article citation:
- European Journal of Social Work, 14(1), March 2011, pp.89-107.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Two examples of practitioner evaluation research on complex and multiple cross agency programmes are described and compared in this article. These are a German example dealing with the evaluation and building of networks for early childhood protection and a Slovenian example on the establishment of a system to evaluate social protection programmes. The article focuses on evaluation research as a process of learning and development for practice, discussing how learning from evaluation in complex programme settings is related to the nature of the collaboration between social work agencies and researchers. It includes a summary of the main features of each project and of factors related to collaboration, and discusses the nature of cooperation and cooperative evaluation as an educational experience.
Report on the employment of disabled people in European countries: Slovenia
- Authors:
- FLAKER Vito, et al
- Publisher:
- Academic Network of European Disability Experts
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 23p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Utrecht
- Edition:
- Rev. ed.
This report, covering Slovenia, is one of a series reviewing national implementation of the European Employment Strategy from a disability equality perspective. It provides an update as at November 2009 to a first report published in 2008. Evidence is summarised, along with a comment on the current economic crisis. It is then briefly reviewed in a standardised format under the following headings: academic publications and research reports; employment statistics and trends; laws and policies, type and quality of jobs; specific examples of good practice; and conclusions and recommendations. The employment rate for disabled persons is growing more slowly than for non-disabled persons. A significant problem remains the Social Care of the Mentally and Physically Disabled persons Act (1983), according to which those whose disability occurred before the age of 18 (26 if still in education) get a disability status marking them out as “unemployable” except in sheltered workshops. The quota system introduced in 2006 has helped the employment of disabled people increase. Slovenia ratified the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities in April 2008. An Action Programme for Persons with Disabilities 2007-2013 has been put in place. The number of unemployed disabled people increased by 7% between 2007 and 2008. “Invalid” companies (formerly workshops) are important employers of disabled people, both the number of companies and their employees fell in 2008.
Comparison of risk factors for the onset and maintenance of depression
- Authors:
- BOTTOMLEY Christian, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 196(1), January 2010, pp.13-17.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Factors associated with depression are usually identified from cross-sectional studies. This article explores the relative roles of onset and recovery in determining these associations. Hazard ratios for onset and recovery were estimated for 39 risk factors from a cohort study of 10,045 general practice attendees whose depression status was assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Risk factors have a stronger relative effect on the rate of onset than recovery. The strongest risk factors for both onset and maintenance of depression tend to be time-dependent. With the exception of female gender the strength of a risk factor’s effect on onset is highly predictive of its impact on recovery. Preventive measures will achieve a greater reduction in the prevalence of depression than measures designed to eliminate risk factors post onset. The strength of time-dependent risk factors suggests that it is more productive to focus on proximal rather than distal factors.
Co-constructing a cross-cultural course: resisting and replicating colonizing practices
- Authors:
- BORSTNAR Jana, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Family Process, 44(1), March 2005, pp.121-131.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article examines the cross-cultural complexities of teaching and learning processes at different levels in a family therapy training program delivered in a different country. It presents two interlinked narratives of an advanced family therapy training program delivered in Slovenia by a U.K.-based family therapy training institute. The context in which the training was negotiated and planned is discussed, highlighting issues at the macrosystemic level. Dilemmas that arose in relation to differing beliefs about teaching and learning are elaborated. The authors examine power relationships, ways that they positioned themselves to each other, and how they tried and sometimes failed to take these into account. They question how the issue of spoken language and its meanings creates its own constraints and power structures, and how they respond to the impossibilities of translation. They argue that it is through the examination of uncomfortable processes that people develop self-reflexivity and work toward more equitable relationships.