Informal Sources Of Support Research Articles

Perceptions of Informal and Formal Coping Strategies for Intimate Partner Violence Among Gay and Bisexual Men.

The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in same-sex male relationships has been reported to be at least as prevalent as is observed in female-male relationships. Though research has focused on understanding the prevalence and antecedents of IPV in male-male relationships, there is a paucity of data describing perceptions of coping strategies adopted by gay and bisexual men who may experience IPV. Ten focus group discussions were conducted with 64 gay and bisexual men in Atlanta, Georgia, between September 2013 and November 2013. Focus groups examined perceptions of how gay and bisexual men would respond to IPV and the IPV-coping services they would utilize. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes that describe how gay and bisexual men perceive existing IPV services and how they would use these services, if gay and bisexual men were to experience IPV. The results indicate that men experiencing IPV in male-male relationships do not have adequate access to IPV services that are tailored to their unique needs. As a result, there is a strong reliance on informal sources of support. Services are urgently needed to meet the unique needs of men experiencing IPV in same-sex relationships.

Disclosing traumatic experiences: Correlates, context, and consequences.

The type and severity of traumatic events differentially predict negative posttraumatic outcomes, with betrayal traumas (in which the victim is perpetrated by someone s/he trusts) touted as the most harmful. Although disclosure is considered an important component of the "healing process," nondisclosure and delayed disclosure persist. This study explored factors predicting and the context surrounding disclosure as well as the link between disclosure timing and a trauma survivor's experience with depression. Participants (N = 124) were attendees of a Mental Health Awareness event who had experienced a traumatic event. Participant report of traumatic experiences revealed that 28.2%, 36.3%, and 35.5% of participants had experienced a low betrayal (LB), medium betrayal (MB), and high betrayal (HB) trauma, respectively. Almost half (43.5%) disclosed immediately after the trauma, 32.3% disclosed within a month, and 24.2% disclosed after 1 month or more. Betrayal trauma level significantly predicted disclosure timing with individuals who had experienced HB traumas significantly more likely to delay disclosure (HB:LB, odds ratio [OR] = 21.79; MB:LB, OR = 4.57). Trauma survivors predominantly first disclosed to informal support sources (e.g., friends, family), typically citing that they thought it would allow them to feel better or they perceived the other person to be concerned about their well-being as their reason for disclosing. Experiencing a HB trauma predicted subsequent depression severity, but disclosure status was not predictive of subsequent depression. Results will be discussed with respect to implications for assessment and interventions for trauma survivors.

Social networks of older adults living with HIV in Finland

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to explore the social networks of older adults living with HIV. Interviews were conducted with nine individuals aged 50 or older living with HIV in Helsinki, Finland. Analysis of transcripts was analysed by inductive qualitative content analysis. Results indicated that these participants’ networks tended to be large, including those both aware and unaware of the participants’ health status. Analysis identified three main themes: large multifaceted social networks, importance of a support group, and downsizing of social networks. Support received appeared to be of great importance in coping with their health condition, especially since the time of diagnosis. Friends and family were the primary source of informal support. The majority of participants relied mostly on friends, some of whom were HIV-positive. Formal support came primarily from the HIV organisation's support group. In this study group, non-disclosure did not impact participants’ well-being. In years to come, social networks of older adults living with HIV may shrink due to personal reasons other than HIV-disclosure. What is of primary importance is that healthcare professionals become knowledgeable about psychosocial issues of older adults living with HIV, identifying latent problems and developing adequate interventions in the early stages of the disease; this would help prevent social isolation and foster successful ageing with HIV.

The Experience of Ethnic and Racial Group Membership Among Immigrant-Origin Adolescents

Immigrant-origin adolescents in the United States face a number of stressors across different social contexts (e.g., home, school), and yet, distress related to these stressors often goes unnoticed and access to resources is limited. This study examined how racial minority immigrant-origin adolescents in an urban setting construct and negotiate experiences of their ethnic and racial group membership, acculturative stress, and approaches to coping with acculturative stress. Guided by an integrative contextual framework of minority youth development, semistructured group interviews were conducted with 64 adolescents (35 girls and 29 boys) at an urban public high school located in the Northeastern part of the United States. Participants were either immigrants or children of immigrants from Afro-Caribbean (e.g., Haitian), Asian, Latino/a, and South Asian backgrounds. Analyses of the group interview data revealed four major domains related to experiences of ethnicity and race: (a) pride in and connection with heritage culture and language, (b) difficulties in cultural adjustment, (c) stereotypes and discrimination, and (d) coping and relational contexts, along with several themes within each of these domains. The implications of the findings are discussed with a consideration to adolescents’ desire to develop a bicultural identity, challenges to forming such an identity, and the importance of informal sources of support in coping with acculturative stress. Recommendations for future research and for clinical and community-based interventions with immigrant-origin adolescents are provided.

Elderly families of South of Brazil in the Health Strategy.

to characterize families and health status of the elderly in the Family Health Strategy and to verify the association of family composition with sociodemographic characteristics and health of the elderly. population-based study with 215 families and 266 elderly, linked to the Family Health Strategy from a city of Rio Grande do Sul state. there was predominance of nuclear family composition, considered as the main source of informal support, families of female elderly (62.6%) and cardiovascular complication. The nuclear structure was significantly associated with female gender (PR = 0.77; p = 0.025) and smoking (PR = 1.35; p = 0.009). the results reinforce the need to maintain a network of formal and informal support to the elderly and their families to preserve the independence or to postpone the decline in functional capacity.

The Family Startup Program: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a universal group-based parenting support program.

BackgroundInadequate parenting is an important public health problem with possible severe and long-term consequences related to child development. We have solid theoretical and political arguments in favor of efforts enhancing the quality of the early family environment in the population at large. However, little is known about effect of universal approaches to parenting support during the transition to parenthood. This protocol describes an experimental evaluation of group based parenting support, the Family Startup Program (FSP), currently implemented large scale in Denmark.Methods/designParticipants will be approximately 2500 pregnant women and partners. Inclusion criteria are parental age above 18 and the mother expecting first child. Families are recruited when attending routine pregnancy scans provided as a part of the publicly available prenatal care program at Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby. Families are randomized within four geographically defined strata to one of two conditions a) participation in FSP or b) Treatment As Usual (TAU). FSP aims to prepare new families for their roles as parents and enhance parental access to informal sources of support, i.e. social network and community resources. The program consists of twelve group sessions, with nine families in each group, continuing from pregnancy until the child is 15 months old. TAU is the publicly available pre- and postnatal care available to families in both conditions. Analyses will employ survey data, administrative data from health visitors, and administrative register based data from Statistics Denmark. All data sources will be linked via the unique Danish Civil Registration Register (CPR) identifier. Data will be obtained at four time points, during pregnancy, when the child is nine months, 18 months and seven years. The primary study outcome is measured by the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (PSOC) J Clin Child Psychol 18:167-75, 1989. Other outcomes include parenting and couple relationship quality, utility of primary sector service and child physical health, socio-emotional and cognitive development.DiscussionThe protocol describes an ambitious experimental evaluation of a universal group-based parenting support program; an evaluation that has not yet been made either in Denmark or internationally.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02294968. Registered November 14 2014.

Informal Support and Burden among Parents of Adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities.

Parents often play a lifelong role in supporting their sons and daughters with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). There is a need to better understand parent resources, particularly when the individual with IDD has behaviour problems, as the latter has consistently been linked to parental burden. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between the behaviour support needs of 212 adults with IDD and parental burden, and whether perceived helpfulness of informal supports moderated this relationship. The helpfulness of individual sources of informal support was also explored. Informal support was negatively related to burden, although it did not act as a moderator. Individual sources varied in terms of how they were related to burden, but none acted as moderators. Although informal social support appears to be important to parents and may help alleviate burden, it does not appear to act as a moderator as anticipated.

略論儒家養老觀及其當代價值

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.儒家的養老觀念具有深刻的思想根源。它有形上根據，也有現實原因。從表現形式上看，儒家的養老觀蘊含在儒家的“孝道”思想之中，由於孝道在儒家那裏既有著形上的天道根源，亦發揮著宗教性的功能，這使得蘊含在這一孝道思想中的養老觀念也兼具了這兩種思想特徵，即儒家養老觀既是形上的天道的要求，同時又具有宗教性關懷的內蘊。基於血親的自然情感因素和人對老年生活狀態的憂慮則構成了儒家養老觀念現實的、直接的緣由。這種由孝道維繫的養老觀念決定了儒家對“老人”界定的特殊性和養老方式的特殊性。在家庭中，“老”是相對於盡孝的義務而言的，而社會層面的“老”則需要加以特殊規定，以便於社會層面的養老實踐。而在養老方式上，這種由孝道維繫的養老觀也決定了家庭或子女是主要的、基本的養老場所和主體，但國家或政府在宣導、維護這種養老觀念上，以及為家庭養老創造必要的物質條件和保障方面，則負有絕對的義務和責任。China’s citizens are growing old at an alarming rate. The increase in the country’s elderly population has created profound social and economic complications that can be solved only by appropriate policies and moral decisions on caring for aging people. Who will take care of the elderly? Should elderly people depend on their families or on the government? The author of this paper shows that filial or familial piety—the Confucian ideal of moral responsibility for one’s elderly relations—is intrinsic to the traditional Chinese value system, and should continue to shape Chinese society today. The author contends that filial piety is the key ethical principle of Confucianism based on its metaphysical foundation of the Dao. Instead of talking about the rights of elderly people, we should emphasize the moral duty of their adult children.However, the traditional emphasis on filial piety has been challenged by social changes in the last few decades, especially since China’s economic reform. There are fewer and fewer households with “three generations under one roof,” due to China’s urbanization and one-child policy. More and more people are choosing to invest in institutional care (such as nursing-home care and residential care) as an alternative to traditional familial care. Despite these changes, the author maintains that filial piety, as the core value of the Confucian ethical system, should play an important role in modern Chinese society. Supporting one’s elderly relations (both emotionally and financially) offers not only a practical solution to the problem of elderly care in China, but also an ethical way for family members to fulfill their moral duties and maintain family solidarity. Although Western approaches to community care that combine formal and informal sources of support may in some cases help to meet the welfare needs of vulnerable elderly people in China, a complete rejection of traditional filial piety is far from appropriate. The author concludes that commitment to the traditional ethical value of filial piety enables people to live together in peace and harmony.DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 2849 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Children’s Mental Health Providers’ Perceptions of Mental Health Literacy Among Parents and Caregivers

Mental health disorders are prevalent among children, yet many do not receive treatment. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in recognizing mental health disorders in children and accessing treatment. But a substantial number of parents lack essential knowledge of children’s mental health disorders, including risk factors, symptom recognition, and treatment options. Little focus has been given to parents in the children’s mental health literacy literature. The purpose of this article is to begin filling that gap by using a survey to describe the perceptions of child and family mental health providers’ perceptions regarding the amount, accuracy, and origin of mental health literacy in the parents of the children they treat. The impact of those perceptions on the work of providers is also explored. Eighty-seven mental health providers completed a survey to assess their perceptions of parent mental health literacy in the area of children’s mental health. Providers perceived parent mental health literacy as low, inaccurate, and inconsistent. In addition, providers indicated that parents rely on informal sources of support, such as friends and family for information about children’s mental health. Implications for social work researchers, practitioners, and the children and families they serve are discussed.

Between modern and traditional values: Informal mental health help-seeking attitudes according to Israeli Arab women, primary care patients and their providers.

Israeli Arab women under-utilize mental health services. The present study evaluated the use of alternative services for dealing with depression and anxiety among Israeli Arab women and primary care providers. Four focus groups with primary care patients and two focus groups with primary care providers were conducted. Constant comparisons were employed in order to identify major themes related to informal help-seeking behaviors. Three informal help-seeking behaviors were identified: (a) social support, divided into extended family and neighbors versus nuclear family and close friends; (b) religiosity, divided into inner, direct practices and beliefs versus externally mediated ones; and (c) self-help techniques, such as engagement in activities and distancing oneself from the situation. Both social support and religiosity were viewed with ambivalence by primary care patients and providers. The findings suggest that the Arab population in Israel might be lacking informal sources of support at times of mental health needs.

'Knowledge is power': perceived needs and preferred services of male partners of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

The aim of this qualitative exploratory study was to assess the perceived needs and preferred services of male partners of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Twenty-seven male partners participated in semi-structured telephone interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. An inductive analysis was used to identify the patterns, themes and categories from the data. A diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent treatment significantly affect the male partners of women diagnosed with this illness, creating 'needs' that require coping responses. To help them support their wife and family, they relied on their internal resources and informal sources of support. Many participants suggested that the health care system provides information addressing their needs to facilitate their role of caring for their wife. The findings did not support the clinical assumption that men would be interested in a men's group focused on them and their needs. The diagnosis of breast cancer significantly affected the male partners, creating the need for support services including information on a variety of topics. An information binder tailored specifically to their needs was the preferred method of facilitating their husbandly role and coping. Findings did not support the clinical assumption that men would be interested in a men's group focused on them and their needs.

Characteristics and Life Experiences Associated with Receiving a Rape Disclosure within a National Telephone Household Probability Sample of Women.

Disclosure of rape to informal support sources is relatively common, but not well understood. This study expands our limited knowledge of disclosure recipients' experience by examining associations between their socio-demographic and life experiences with receipt of a rape disclosure and encouragement of the victim to formally report her assault. Over 35% of the 3,001 community-residing women in this national sample reported receiving a rape disclosure. Women who had a personal history of sexual assault, met lifetime diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder or depression, met past-year diagnostic criteria for substance abuse, engaged in monthly binge drinking and non-experimental substance use, and sought help for emotional concerns were significantly more likely to be recipients. Approximately two-thirds (69%) of disclosure recipients encouraged the victim to formally report the rape, and encouragement was also significantly associated with these characteristics. Implications of these findings for improving the disclosure process are provided.

Impact of Male-Partner-Focused Interventions on Breastfeeding Initiation, Exclusivity, and Continuation

Informal sources of support, particularly the male partner, have more influence on breastfeeding behaviors than formal support from health care providers. This systematic review examined the impact of male-partner-focused breastfeeding interventions on breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity, and continuation. Four unique interventions were identified that were tested through randomized controlled studies or quasi-experimental design. These 4 provided breastfeeding education to fathers, with breastfeeding outcomes reported by the mother. Three of the 4 studies compared initiation rates between intervention and control conditions, and 2 showed significantly higher rates of breastfeeding initiation in the intervention group. Although studies were inconsistent in their categorization and reporting of full, partial, or no breastfeeding, significantly higher rates of breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity, and/or continuation were seen for 2 interventions. Because all 4 interventions found at least 1 breastfeeding outcome to be superior in the treatment group, breastfeeding education should be offered to male partners. Future studies should test if intervention effectiveness can be increased if education is supplemented with other activities. Future studies also should use controlled designs and validated outcome measures.

Does availability of informal care within the household impact hospitalisation?

This study assesses the effect of having informal support available at home on inpatient care use in Switzerland. The main contributions are to consider the availability of care regardless of its source, measured by multiple-adult living arrangements, and to examine this effect by type of inpatient care and source of potential support. A two-part model with region and time fixed effects is estimated to determine the impact of informal care availability on the likelihood of hospitalisation and length of stay, conditional on hospitalisation. The analysis is conducted on a sample of individuals aged 18+ from four waves of the Swiss Household Panel survey (2004-2007). Overall, availability of informal care has no impact on the likelihood of hospitalisation but does significantly reduce length of stay by 1.9 days. Available support has no effect on the shortest stays (up to 10 days), but has a significant impact on acute care stays up to 30 days and longer stays. Additionally, the effect does not significantly vary whether the source of informal support is a spouse only, a spouse and other adults, or other adults only. These results indicate that social changes leading to an expansion in the proportion of one-person households may increase future inpatient care use.

College Women’s Experiences With Rape Disclosure

Disclosure of a rape to informal support sources (e.g., friends) is a relatively common experience, but it is not well understood. This study expands our limited knowledge of the characteristics and life experiences of disclosure recipients among a national sample of 2,000 female college students. Over 40% of respondents reported having received a rape disclosure, and more than two thirds of these recipients encouraged victims to formally report their rapes to the police or other authorities. Correlates of disclosure receipt and encouragement of reporting, including personal assault history, mental health history, and substance use, are presented and discussed.

Putting personalisation and integration into practice in primary care

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to discuss the policy developments of integration and personalisation within the context of Primary Care, specifically an innovative Memory Service provided within a General Practice. It examines how these policies work together in this context to deliver a high quality service that is responsive to individual needs in an area of care: memory disorder or dementia, which has often relied heavily on secondary care services.Design/methodology/approachThe article is a case study analysis of integration and personalisation in Primary Care, allowing for examination and elaboration of both concepts as applied in this setting; and their contribution to a better quality care Memory Service. The analysis is produced by independent researchers (MC and NM), background and facts by service personnel (IG, NG and DJ).FindingsThe innovative Memory Service operates as a person‐centred facility, integrating into the surgery, expertise that would traditionally be locked into secondary care health services. It makes maximum use of locally available knowledge of the patient, their family and formal and informal sources of support and therapy through links which cross agency boundaries. These links are identified and utilised in tailored support for individuals by the practice‐based Dementia Advisor. Outcomes include improved dynamics of identification, diagnosis and after care, high satisfaction amongst patients and families and reduced utilisation and expenditure of other healthcare facilities.Practical implicationsPersonalisation and integration can be united in the development of innovative and improved Memory Services centred in Primary Care.Social implicationsMaintaining a focus on the needs of people within their social contexts (being person‐centred) is a powerful means of driving better integrated care in Primary Care for people living with dementia and related disorders.Originality/valueThis is the first examination of personalisation and integration as coupled concepts to lead the improvement of care, specifically a Memory Service, in Primary Care.

Preparing fathers for the transition to parenthood: Recommendations for the content of antenatal education

Fathers now provide more care for their babies and children than they have in the past, and a large body of evidence supports the important role that father involvement plays in determining child and family outcomes. Fathers have also become the primary source of informal support for most mothers and it is now customary for fathers to attend antenatal education in this supporting role. However, many fathers remain unprepared for their personal transition to parenthood and this has important implications for all of the family. Antenatal education is likely to be more effective for fathers when it addresses fathers' needs but the literature is unclear about what fathers need to know. This paper presents evidence-based recommendations for core subject matter to be addressed when preparing men for the important challenges of new fatherhood.

DO PARENTS THINK IT TAKES A VILLAGE? PARENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS NONPARENTAL ADULTS’ INVOLVEMENT IN THE UPBRINGING AND NURTURE OF CHILDREN

The current study explored parents’ attitudes towards nonparental adults’ involvement in childrearing practices. Parents’ attitudes were operationalized in their willingness to share parenting responsibility and interest to participate in parenting activities. Data were collected through a quantitative survey with 1,090 parents from 17 Dutch neighborhoods. Results suggest that parents are ambivalent about involving others in childrearing practices. Furthermore, parents seem to prefer activities that do not focus explicitly on childrearing, but that do assist them in handling parenting tasks or give them the opportunity to exchange experiences. Fathers, parents with more sources of informal support, and parents who gave support themselves were more willing to share responsibility, whereas non‐Western parents, parents with positive judgments on cohesion and trust in their neighborhood, parents with more sources of formal support, and parents who gave support themselves were more interested in participating in activities.

1870 Assessing the Information and Support Needs of Parents of Young Children in Canada

AimTo determine the parenting information and support needs of parents of young children in an urban center in Canada.MethodsA self-administered survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of 1064...

Information and Support Needs among Parents of Young Children in a Region of Canada: A Cross‐Sectional Survey

To determine the information and support needs among parents of young children in a region of Canada. A cross-sectional survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of 1,064 parents of children aged 6years and under. Of the 359 respondents, the majority were Caucasian, female, married, and well educated. An investigator designed questionnaire measured preferred sources of parenting information and support, sources and modes of program delivery, and perceived barriers to accessing information and programs. Breastfeeding, car seat safety, caring for a new baby, supporting their child's development, and sleep issues were considered "somewhat" or "very" important by 95.8% of respondents. Informal sources of support were rated as more important and more valuable than formal supports. The internet, drop-in programs for parents and children, books, organized play groups, classes and information sessions were identified as the most preferred modes to access parenting information. Respondents reported a lack of knowledge and awareness of programs, lack of time, lack of child care, and inconvenient scheduling as the top barriers to accessing information and programs. Parents want information to support their parenting. These results have implications for planning and implementation of future parenting information and support programs and services.