6 research outputs found
Family Therapy: Training and Practice. By Peter Stratton, Michael Preston-Shoot and Helga Hanks. Birmingham: Venture Press. 1990. 156 pp. £9.45.
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Problems and Solutions in Marital and Family Therapy. By John Carpenter and Andy Treacher. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1989. 271 pp. £9.95 (pb), £29.50 (hb).
No full textDeveloping a critical theory of child abuse : a discussion of the nature of child abuse as a manifestation of the social order
Get PDFThis thesis is an exploration into the nature and the prevalence of
child abuse. It incorporates in this investigation how children
understand abuse, and how the child may reject or oppose it. Its
origins lie in the experiences and observations I made as a local
authority social worker where children were silent, where child
abuse was seen as an event, a distinct moment within family life,
and with apparently little recognition of its relationship with the
social order. Arising from this observation, I consider how the
care of children may be a manifestation of the social order. This
thesis is therefore also a critique of the present theory and
practice of working within the field of childcare.
The premise taken here is that in order to understand abuse, there
must be an account of the individual's sense of being, as this
relates to wider issues of the political economy. Thus this
investigation uses the perspective of critical theory, since
critical theory can incorporate an analysis of both structure and
the experiential. It enables the researcher to shift perspective
and to focus on different levels and aspects of being.
Therefore, since child abuse is situated within the family, an
analysis based on the perspectives of critical theory is used to
examine family relationships. This includes an examination of the
relationships between parents, as well as of those between them and
the child. Three different facets of family life are explored:
that of gender construction from the viewpoint of feminist
psychoanalysis; the relationship between the social order and
interpersonal behaviour from the perspective of Marx and radical
feminism; and parental authority, drawing on the work of Laing.
Derived from this exploration, the key concepts of patriarchy,
alienation and mystification inform the direction of the empirical
investigation.
The empirical investigation, using firstly autobiographies of
childhood and then direct interviews with children, explores
further these concepts'. The autobiographies are used as a way of
sensitising oneself to the issues for the child, and as a means of
categorising experiences for the subsequent interviews with
children. From this reading, an alternative understanding of child
abuse is developed, one which differs from the narrow definition
used by organisations. Hence abuse can be seen as the experience
of hurt and pain, either emotional or physical, and which takes
place in a relationship based on the parental domination, control
and exploitation of the child. This understanding of abuse
situates the subjective experience within an interpersonal dynamic
of power and subordination.
Using this definition in analysing the interviews with children, it
was apparent that all children expedrience a form of abuse to some
degree. Abuse is not, therefore, the property of a small number of deviant families. Additionally it is argued that children are
silenced and rendered powerless within the family by three
mechanisms: firstly by the 'privacy control mechanism', secondly by
the 'ideology of paternalism', and thirdly by mystification. These
can be interpreted as also reinforcing the social order, since this
also depends for its maintenance on domination, powerlessness, and
mystification of the mechanisms of control.
The thesis concludes with a number of proposals for further
exploring these concepts in terms of developing sociological theory
and social work practice. The report on the death of Jasmine
Beckford is subjected to an alternative analysis, and derived from
this critique, ways of confronting violence, mystification and
privacy are discussed. Finally the thesis stresses the importance
of understanding child abuse as a personal as well as a social
phenomenon, and that it has ultimately, a political significance
A survey on worries of pregnant women - testing the German version of the Cambridge Worry Scale
Get PDFBackground: Pregnancy is a transition period in a woman's life characterized by increased worries and anxiety. The Cambridge Worry Scale (CWS) was developed to assess the content and extent of maternal worries in pregnancy. It has been increasingly used in studies over recent years. However, a German version has not yet been developed and validated. The aim of this study was (1) to assess the extent and content of worries in pregnancy on a sample of women in Germany using a translated and adapted version of the Cambridge Worry Scale, and (2) to evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and enrolled 344 pregnant women in the federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Women filled out structured questionnaires that contained the CWS, the Spielberger-State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI), as well as questions on their obstetric history. Antenatal records were also analyzed. Results: The CWS was well understood and easy to fill in. The major worries referred to the process of giving birth (CWS mean value 2.26) and the possibility that something might be wrong with the baby (1.99), followed by coping with the new baby (1.57), going to hospital (1.29) and the possibility of going into labour too early (1.28). The internal consistency of the scale (0.80) was satisfactory, and we found a four-factor structure, similar to previous studies. Tests of convergent validity showed that the German CWS represents a different construct compared with state and trait anxiety but has the desired overlap. Conclusions: The German CWS has satisfactory psychometric properties. It represents a valuable tool for use in scientific studies and is likely to be useful also to clinicians
Satisfaction with a fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) lifestyle: Is it related to rosters, children and support resources utilised by Australian employees and partners and does it impact on relationship quality and stress?
Get PDFThe phenomenal growth currently being experienced in the Australian resources industry has seen unprecedented interest in the practice of fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) work practices. This study explores a number of factors that have been previously identified as having possible negative impacts on those involved in FIFO. A sample of 314 FIFO partners and 245 workers were surveyed on roster satisfaction, roster length, relationship quality, children, perceived stress and perceived social support. Resources and supports were also examined to determine awareness, utilisation and usefulness to partners and workers. This study found that overall workers were satisfied with their rosters and relationships, including those on longer rosters. Partners however, were less satisfied with rosters and relationships, particularly those who had children between six and twelve years of age, although roster length was not a factor. Children’s ages did not influence partners’ perceived stress however partners without children reported higher perceived stress than those with children. Less than half of the partners were aware of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) however personal supports, such as family, friends, co-workers, and FIFO specific support websites, had a positive effect on partners’ perceived stress. When compared to other resources, both partners and workers rated personal support as the most useful.
Keywords: FIFO; rosters, relationships; children; stress; suppor
