Search results for ‘Subject term:"vulnerable children"’ Sort:
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Children's drawings and social change: food insecurity and hunger among Israeli Bedouin children
- Authors:
- HUSS Ephrat, KAUFMAN Roni, SIBONY Avril
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 44(7), 2014, pp.1857-1878.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Food insecurity and hunger, which are on the rise in affluent Western countries, may negatively affect children's physical, social, emotional and cognitive functioning. Although there is growing evidence of the high rate of food insecurity and hunger among Bedouin families and their children in Israel, little is known about how the children themselves experience the problem and how it impacts their life. The present study sought to explore and clarify children's experience of food insecurity. The research population included forty-two Israeli Bedouin impoverished children, aged nine to eleven. The analysis of children's drawing was chosen as the research instrument because it enabled psychological as well as phenomenological insight into the children's experience of food insecurity. This study, however, goes beyond the use of art to assess children's emotional state, because enabling the children to draw food insecurity gave them a strong and communicative public voice of their own. After the study had been completed, the drawings also proved useful in efforts to promote awareness about the personal, community, cultural and social dimensions of the problem and the need for community action and policy change to mitigate and eliminate it. (Publisher abstract)
A randomized controlled study of a group intervention program to enhance mental health of children of illegal migrant workers
- Authors:
- MEIR Yael, SLONE Michelle, LEVIS Mira
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Youth Care Forum, 43(2), 2014, pp.165-180.
- Publisher:
- Springer
Background: The social–ecological environment of undocumented children of migrant workers includes varying levels of risk factors. Growing up in these conditions compromises children’s development on all levels. Many of these children are in need of psychotherapy, however, due to limited resources, only a few of them receive mental health aid. Objective: The present research undertook to construct and examine the effectiveness of a specialised group intervention programme to enhance children’s self-efficacy and mental health. Methods: Participants were 70 children aged 8–12 of illegal migrant workers in Israel. The repeated measures design included completion of a self-efficacy scale and emotional, behavioural and social difficulties child-report and teacher-report measures. Children were randomly allocated to either an intervention or control group. Results: The first hypotheses predicting a greater improvement in self-efficacy between the pre-test and post-test for children in the intervention as opposed to control group was confirmed. The second hypothesis predicting a greater reduction in the self- and teacher-reports of emotional, social and behavioural difficulties was confirmed. The third hypothesis predicting a moderating relation between self-efficacy, group type and time on the dependent variables was confirmed only for children’s self-report of their difficulties. Conclusions: Findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of this short term playful intervention program for this group of disadvantaged children, suggesting its application to other at-risk groups of children. (Edited publisher abstract)
Children-at-risk from poor nutrition: advancing the approach and practice of students of social work
- Author:
- SHOR Ron
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 29(6), September 2010, pp.646-659.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
One of the risk factors for child development is lack of proper nutrition but it has attracted relatively little attention within the social work profession. This study looked at the extent of inclusion of nutrition-related-components in work with children-at-risk, the frequency of this inclusion, and barriers hindering inclusion. A total of 126 undergraduate social work students in Israel were included in the survey. The majority were women and the mean age 25.8 years. Most (89.6%) indicated that the subject of nutrition had never been included in their academic studies. There was less emphasis on nutrition-related components than on psycho-social components, a low frequency of including this subject in assessment of and intervention with children-at-risk, and a low level of collaboration with nutrition specialists. Knowledge-based barriers and, to a lesser extent, institutional barriers appeared to hinder the incorporation of these topics, despite favourable attitudes towards the subject. The author suggests there is a need for a more balanced approach between the bio and the psycho-social aspects of academic and training programs, as well as reduction of the barriers to the acquisition of this knowledge and better interdisciplinary communication.
Social workers' decisions on removal: predictions from their initial perceptions of the child's features, parents' features, and child's quality of life
- Authors:
- DAVIDSON-ARAD Bilha, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Service Research, 31(4), 2005, pp.1-23.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study examined whether social workers' decisions on removal could be predicted by features of the children, the parents, and the children's quality of life as the workers perceive and assess them at the beginning of their decision making process. The study was carried out on 99 children at risk in Israel, between three and thirteen years old, most of whom had suffered neglect or psychological injury. The findings show that the examined features of the parents and children had only limited predictive power and the early quality of life assessments non-even though quality of life assessments made after the decision (on a different but analogous group of children) did distinguish between children that the workers decided to remove and those they decided to keep at home. The low predictive power of the studied variables suggest that the information available to social workers at the beginning of the process in inadequate for making decisions on removal and that time is needed to gather the information they need. The study findings also contribute to our understanding of the 'grey area' which most children who come to the attention of social service agencies are located. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Social support, mastery, self-esteem, and indiviual adjustment among at-risk youth
- Authors:
- ELHAWI-LIPSCHITZ Racheli, ITZHAKY Haya
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Youth Care Forum, 34(5), October 2005, pp.329-346.
- Publisher:
- Springer
The study explored the relationship between internal resources (self-esteem, sense of mastery), external resources (social support) and the adjustment of 112 adolescents living in a typical Israeli residential treatment center. All had been exposed to abuse and neglect in their familial homes. Although none of the resources was related significantly to all of the adjustment measures, various resources were related to individual adjustment measures in different ways. Peer support did not relate significantly to any of the adjustment measures. Self-esteem was related to the academic adjustment of adolescents, and a sense of mastery was related to social and personal adjustment. As for external resources, family support was related to both academic and personal adjustment. In the regression analysis the contribution of family support to academic adjustment was indirect and only in interaction with the distance between the residential treatment center and the family’s home.
Challenges in mentoring at-risk young adults: caseworkers’ perspective
- Author:
- SULIMANI-AIDAN Yafit
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 33(3), 2019, pp.297-309.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This exploratory study examines the barriers, challenges and needs of 30 caseworkers who mentor at-risk young adults during the transition to adulthood. Professional mentoring relationships are an important source of support for at-risk young people. However, literature concerning the mentoring relationship from the perspective of the mentors is scarce. The theoretical thematic analysis revealed two major themes. The first theme- included challenges related to the young adults’ personal histories and characteristics. The second major theme related to the mentors’ expertise within their own services. The most dominant needs during the mentoring process were broad and current knowledge and ongoing training and support. The findings are discussed in relation to the mentoring literature and emerging adulthood theory. Implications for practice highlight the importance of the design and assimilation of programs that enable the promotion of meaningful mentoring relationships via organisational modifications. (Edited publisher abstract)
Is someone there for you? Social support of youth in educational residential care from family, peers and staff
- Authors:
- PINCHOVER Shulamit, ATTAR-SCHWARTZ Shalhevet
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 48(8), 2018, pp.2195-2214.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This study maps the perceived social support of youth in Israeli educational residential care settings (RCSs) from their nuclear and extended family, peers and RCS staff and their overall level of perceived social network sufficiency. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 864 adolescents in grades 8–12, residing in sixteen educational RCSs for youth from underprivileged backgrounds. The findings indicate that adolescents from divorced families and those born in certain countries other than Israel are at risk for poorer social network sufficiency. All youth rated their mother as the greatest source of support. However, the order of support levels from other sources varied according to the youths’ characteristics. For example, paternal support was perceived as second in importance by youth from married-parent families and by boys, but not by youth from divorced families and by girls, who rated peers as second in importance. The perceived support of both grandparents and RCS staff was lower than that of other sources, although they are still significant figures in youths’ lives. The findings may help identify groups of adolescents in RCSs who are vulnerable to poorer social support, which in turn can help design programmes strengthening their ties with potential support sources in their lives. (Edited publisher abstract)
Aggressive behaviour in at-risk children: contribution of subjective well-being and family cohesion
- Authors:
- HAMAMA Liat, ARAZI Yael
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 17(3), August 2012, pp.284-295.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Day centres in Israel are part of wider national family intervention programmes designed to avoid children’s removal from dysfunctional families, improve parental functioning, and provide supportive treatment for children. The non-normative transition to a day centre represents a difficult period of change for these children, which often manifests in aggressive behaviours. The aim of this study was to examine the contributors to aggressive behaviour in 111 at-risk Israeli children aged 9–13 years who attended day centres over several years. The children completed self-report questionnaires measuring aggressive behaviour, family cohesion, and subjective well-being (SWB). The findings underscored the importance of SWB for the children’s aggressive behaviour. SWB's cognitive component (life satisfaction) correlated significantly with all 4 measures of aggressive behaviour (physical violence, verbal violence, anger and hostility). SWB's emotional component (negative affect) correlated significantly with all but verbal violence. Interestingly, SWB was found to mediate the hostility dimension of aggression (as well as family cohesion). Other significant findings revealed that family cohesion correlated positively with SWB and correlated negatively with aggression. Various explanations are discussed together with implications for day care staff's individual and family interventions.
Representations of fathers and mothers in court petitions for dependent minor status for children at risk
- Authors:
- DAVIDSON-ARAD Bilha, PELED Einat, LEICHTENTRITT Ronit
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 30(8), August 2008, pp.893-902.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The study compares child protection workers' portrayals of fathers and mothers in the court petitions that they write to obtain authorization to place a child at risk in alternative care or under state guardianship at home. Forty-six petitions in three cities in Israel were content analyzed. Consistent with previous studies at other stages of the child protection process, the analysis shows that the child protection workers focus on the mother and pay little attention to the father and, moreover, that it treats the mother as the parent responsible for the problem. It also shows that the petitions virtually ignore the impact that the very difficult life conditions of most of the women may have on their maternal functioning. The authors conclude that the differential portrayal of mothers and fathers in the petitions reflects the social construction of parenting in our society as well as the workers' beliefs that their portrayals will convince the court to grant their petitions.
Inclusion and its implementation: youth workers' perspectives on an experimental social-business initiative for 'at-risk' youth in Israeli community centres
- Authors:
- KRUMER-NEVO Michal, ARAK Adi, TEICHMAN Meir
- Journal article citation:
- Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 2(3), December 2007, pp.257-260.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This paper presents the perspectives of youth workers on an experimental social-business initiative programme designed to bring about the inclusion of 'at-risk' youth in community centres. The programme was implemented in three community centres that are part of a nationwide organization of community centres which provide social-educational-cultural activities for the general population within the community. The uniqueness of the programme lies in its effort to integrate 'at-risk' youth into universal and unstigmatized, structured leisure activities. The sample included all the youth counsellors implementing the programme. The paper describes the inclusion of the youth from their selection and recruitment to the programme, through their introduction into the community centres, and during the processes associated with the implementation of the programme. The findings indicate the challenges and difficulties that arise in implementing an inclusive programme, the importance of the counsellors in implementing the programme and the relationship between the youth and the centre's staff members. Finally, operational conclusions are presented and discussed.