Journal of Adolescence, 30(5), September 2007, pp.885-890.
Publisher:
Academic Press
The study investigated age and gender effects on coping with common stressors among 494 Austrian children and adolescents (age 8–14 years). Participants were subdivided into subgroups of late children comprising third and fourth graders, early adolescents consisting of fifth and sixth graders, and middle adolescents including seventh graders. Middle adolescents showed a maladaptive coping pattern...
The study investigated age and gender effects on coping with common stressors among 494 Austrian children and adolescents (age 8–14 years). Participants were subdivided into subgroups of late children comprising third and fourth graders, early adolescents consisting of fifth and sixth graders, and middle adolescents including seventh graders. Middle adolescents showed a maladaptive coping pattern with decreased problem and emotion-focused coping strategies and increased passive avoidance and aggression. Females scored higher on social support and also on the maladaptive coping strategy rumination. Female middle adolescents reported higher resignation than their male contemporaries and female children. Results suggest the application of primary preventive stress management programs in late childhood and early adolescence.
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...
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.
Subject terms:
mental health, poverty, quality of life, children, families;
Content type:
research
Location(s):
Bulgaria, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia, Turkey, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States
Child Abuse and Neglect, 35(5), May 2011, pp.319-328.
Publisher:
Elsevier
This study investigated gender differences in filicidal characteristics in 75 mothers and 45 fathers in Austria and Finland. Variables measured included offense characteristics, the offenders’ socioeconomic and criminal history, and related stressful events. Findings revealed that mothers had previously committed violent offenses less often than fathers, and they were less often employed. Mothers’ victims were on average younger than those of fathers. Fathers were more often intoxicated during the offense and often used shooting as the method, whereas mothers used drowning, negligence, and poisoning. Fathers’ motives were more impulsive in nature. After the killing, mothers tried to get rid of the body more often than fathers. Fathers who commit filicide represent two subgroups, one like the common homicide offender, the other overloaded, working and suicidal father. Mothers may include several types of offenders, one of which is the neonaticide offender. The authors concluded that distressed parents need health care personnel, social work and other officials to be alert to parental despair, especially when several stressful experiences combine.
This study investigated gender differences in filicidal characteristics in 75 mothers and 45 fathers in Austria and Finland. Variables measured included offense characteristics, the offenders’ socioeconomic and criminal history, and related stressful events. Findings revealed that mothers had previously committed violent offenses less often than fathers, and they were less often employed. Mothers’ victims were on average younger than those of fathers. Fathers were more often intoxicated during the offense and often used shooting as the method, whereas mothers used drowning, negligence, and poisoning. Fathers’ motives were more impulsive in nature. After the killing, mothers tried to get rid of the body more often than fathers. Fathers who commit filicide represent two subgroups, one like the common homicide offender, the other overloaded, working and suicidal father. Mothers may include several types of offenders, one of which is the neonaticide offender. The authors concluded that distressed parents need health care personnel, social work and other officials to be alert to parental despair, especially when several stressful experiences combine.
Although the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by the UK government in 1991, few people, especially children, know what it means and how it affects them. Six questions relating to policy on children's rights are addressed to the following countries: Sweden, France, Denmark, Austria, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Some key provisions of the UN convention are also outlined.
Although the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by the UK government in 1991, few people, especially children, know what it means and how it affects them. Six questions relating to policy on children's rights are addressed to the following countries: Sweden, France, Denmark, Austria, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Some key provisions of the UN convention are also outlined.
Subject terms:
policy, politics, rights, United Nations, children;
Location(s):
Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, United Kingdom
Social Work and Society: International Online Journal, 17(1), 2019, Online only
Publisher:
University of Bielefeld
This article presents the outcomes of a two year-long research project, which analysed social interactions in their relation to social space in three social work facilities, using an ethnographic qualitative approach. The following article presents results from a case study on a women’s shelter for women and children who have become victims of domestic violence, run by the association “wendepunkt
(Edited publisher abstract)
This article presents the outcomes of a two year-long research project, which analysed social interactions in their relation to social space in three social work facilities, using an ethnographic qualitative approach. The following article presents results from a case study on a women’s shelter for women and children who have become victims of domestic violence, run by the association “wendepunkt” in Lower Austria. The findings show how social work facilities can serve as “places of refuge” or “safe spaces” for their users, what strategies and patterns of behaviour people develop in order to appropriate space, as well as how social relations between users and staff evolve. The way borders, thresholds and permeabilities between the institutional inside and the outside world are processed, tells us a lot about how the social orders inside the facilities are interrelated with societal processes of exclusion. In the case of women’s shelters this interrelation can be reflected in its origins as feminist movements, societal constructions of insecurity in the public space (in contrast to the reality of insecure private spaces their addressees experience) and patriarchal structures in society, state and family. The research approach used proved to be a promising possibility to better grasp social work in its institutional frame and its socio-spatial relations. Especially organisations and facilities, in which professional settings highly intertwine with the users’ everyday life, could benefit from this approach.
(Edited publisher abstract)
The authors elaborate on an aspect of photo interviews with children that has so far not been considered sufficiently: Photographs may encourage children to talk about sensitive aspects of family life. The potential and limitations of this aspect are discussed along the lines of visibility and invisibility. Visualisations support children in verbalising their thoughts, but also stimulate...
(Publisher abstract)
The authors elaborate on an aspect of photo interviews with children that has so far not been considered sufficiently: Photographs may encourage children to talk about sensitive aspects of family life. The potential and limitations of this aspect are discussed along the lines of visibility and invisibility. Visualisations support children in verbalising their thoughts, but also stimulate narrations on issues that are not displayed. Data are drawn from interviews with fifty 10-year-old children who took photographs in their families, and their parents (n = 71). The authors conclude that visual methods and their combination with a multiple perspectives approach may generate substantial benefits in childhood and family research.
(Publisher abstract)
Journal of European Social Policy, 21(3), July 2011, pp.210-224.
Publisher:
Sage
As a result of demographic changes and increased life expectancy in industrialised countries, grandparenthood and has become a longer phase in the life of many older people. Grandparents also help their children by looking after their grandchildren and are an important service provider in childcare, particularly for mothers active in the labour market. This research examined the occurrence
As a result of demographic changes and increased life expectancy in industrialised countries, grandparenthood and has become a longer phase in the life of many older people. Grandparents also help their children by looking after their grandchildren and are an important service provider in childcare, particularly for mothers active in the labour market. This research examined the occurrence and intensity of grandchild care in Europe and factors influencing a decision to engage in this form of intergenerational support. It used data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), covering Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The analyses showed that, overall, help with grandchild care is provided in over 50% of all grandparent/child pairs. However, there were substantial differences between countries: in northern and central European countries (such as Sweden, Denmark, France and the Netherlands) more grandparents help than in southern countries (such as Italy and Spain), while in southern countries grandparents help much more intensively than in northern and central European countries. The researchers found that country specific differences were associated with public investment in childcare infrastructure, and that strong welfare state arrangements motivate grandparents to engage in childcare, with family and state complementing one another where grandparents take over sporadic, less time intensive care while public institutions provide regular, time-consuming childcare services.
Subject terms:
intergenerational relationships, welfare state, child care, children, families, grandparents;
Journal of Social Policy, 36(4), October 2007, pp.625-647.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Place of publication:
Cambridge
Three European countries with very different tax-benefit systems have recently substantially increased the level of support for children: Austria, Spain and the UK. Austria mainly makes use of universal benefits; Spain, tax concessions; and the UK means-tested benefits and tax credits. This article addresses the question of whether the chosen strategies are in fact the most effective for each
Three European countries with very different tax-benefit systems have recently substantially increased the level of support for children: Austria, Spain and the UK. Austria mainly makes use of universal benefits; Spain, tax concessions; and the UK means-tested benefits and tax credits. This article addresses the question of whether the chosen strategies are in fact the most effective for each country. It considers what would have happened if these countries had transformed the architecture of their systems in either of the other two directions. It makes use of EUROMOD, the European tax-benefit microsimulation model that is designed for making cross-country comparisons, to explore the distributional and, in particular, child poverty effects of budget-neutral alternatives. The results show that three factors – the level of spending, its structure, and the way it impacts in a particular national context – affect the outcomes to varying degrees.
Subject terms:
social policy, tax credits, taxation, benefits, children, comparative studies, government policy;
Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 21(5), October 2010, pp.637-648.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
The killing of one’s child is an engendered crime, and offending mothers and fathers have been found to differ in both situational characteristics and in mental health issues. This study aimed to investigate gender differences in filicide offenders' psychiatric diagnoses, history, and other mental health-related variables. The study covered all 124 filicide offenders in Austria and Finland in 1995-2005. All registered-based data was gathered for these cases. There were 79 female and 45 male offenders. The findings showed that both genders had an equally challenged childhood. The filicidal fathers were older than the mothers, with mean ages 37.5 and 31.6 years, respectively. Filicidal fathers committed suicide at the crime scene more often than the mothers (38% vs. 15%). Of the examined parents, fathers were diagnosed more often with substance abuse/dependence (39% vs. 2%) and mothers with a psychotic disorder (35% vs. 13%). During the year preceding the crime, 25 (32%) of the mothers and 13 (29%) of the fathers had sought help for mental health-related problems. The article concludes that service providers need specific strategies to support parents in distress, especially when depressive symptoms are present.
The killing of one’s child is an engendered crime, and offending mothers and fathers have been found to differ in both situational characteristics and in mental health issues. This study aimed to investigate gender differences in filicide offenders' psychiatric diagnoses, history, and other mental health-related variables. The study covered all 124 filicide offenders in Austria and Finland in 1995-2005. All registered-based data was gathered for these cases. There were 79 female and 45 male offenders. The findings showed that both genders had an equally challenged childhood. The filicidal fathers were older than the mothers, with mean ages 37.5 and 31.6 years, respectively. Filicidal fathers committed suicide at the crime scene more often than the mothers (38% vs. 15%). Of the examined parents, fathers were diagnosed more often with substance abuse/dependence (39% vs. 2%) and mothers with a psychotic disorder (35% vs. 13%). During the year preceding the crime, 25 (32%) of the mothers and 13 (29%) of the fathers had sought help for mental health-related problems. The article concludes that service providers need specific strategies to support parents in distress, especially when depressive symptoms are present.