Social Exclusion Research Articles

Association Between Three Levels of Social Exclusion and Quality of Life in the Oldest Old Australians: An Analysis of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Data.

This study examined associations between three levels of social exclusion and quality of life in the Australian oldest old. We performed cross-sectional analyses of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia data using 203 participants aged ≥85. Principal component analysis was used to construct social exclusion variables at an individual level (lack of supportive relationships), neighborhood level (disadvantaged neighborhood social climates), and community level (community disengagement). Quality of life was assessed using physical and mental component summary scores of SF-36. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed separately for men and women. Lack of supportive relationships was negatively associated with physical and mental quality of life in all participants. Among men, community disengagement was associated with low physical quality of life. Policies to reduce social exclusion in this age group should focus on improving supportive relationships to enhance quality of life, rather than neighborhood or community levels.

THE TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA BLACK HISTORY TRAIL: A COMMUNITY APPROACH to BLACK GEOGRAPHIES

ABSTRACT Tybee Island, Georgia, was a colonial borderland between Spanish and British America before evolving into a middle-class, seaside resort in the 1800s. It continued as a popular vacation spot in the twentieth century. However, research has highlighted the island’s troubling history of racial segregation, particularly surrounding events like the Orange Crush Beach Party. Previous studies also underscored the Historical Society ignoring the island’s Black history in its exhibits. Building on this, a collaborative project emerged in 2021 involving a Georgia Southern University faculty member and undergraduate student, Tybee MLK Human Rights Organization, and Tybee Island Historical Society. The goal was to create a Black History Trail highlighting a rich yet ignored Black history and culture on the island and addressing the exclusion of Tybee’s Black population from museums and markers. This project integrates community geography, focusing on resolving problems like social exclusion, and exploring spatialities of Black life, social oppressions, and resistance. Utilizing archival research, oral history interviews, and ArcGIS, the project developed a 13-stop virtual tour using ESRI Story Maps. We conclude our paper by highlighting the lessons learned during the trail’s development, the multitude of ways the trail embodies the theory of Black geographies in practice, and the broader challenges in honoring Tybee’s Black geographies. Keywords: community geography, Black geographies, Tybee Island, tourism, memory

Gender Dynamics and the Socioeconomic Implications of Infertility in Sierra Leone: A Study on Health, Social Stigmatization, and Economic Impact

Gender Dynamics and the Socioeconomic Implications of Infertility in Sierra Leone delves profoundly into the intricate effects of infertility on persons and broader society. Infertility in Sierra Leone surpasses medical confines, interweaving fundamentally with cultural, communal, and economic factors. Women disproportionately bear the consequences, suffering from social exclusion, economic hardship, and psychological distress. Societal expectation that ties femininity to motherhood increase these stresses. This societal expectation places immense anxiety on women who are unable to conceive, regularly resulting in discrimination, stigmatization, and isolation from family and social life. Financially, families expend considerable amounts on fertility treatments, which frequently lead to monetary instability, especially in lower-income families. Infertile women, already marginalized, face compounded challenges due to reduced inheritance rights, limited economic possibilities, and societal exclusion. Psychologically, the emotional toll is severe, with many experiencing depression, anxiety, and isolation. The research calls for comprehensive policies that address the multifaceted character of infertility. It advocates for gender-sensitive reproductive wellness initiatives and societal efforts to decrease the stigma associated with infertility. By promoting equitable access to healthcare, improving mental health services, and tackling cultural stigmatization, the study emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to mitigate the socioeconomic and health-related impacts of infertility in Sierra Leone. Ultimately, the findings highlight the urgency of policy reforms that integrate medical, social, and economic viewpoints to better support those affected by infertility.

Citizenship

As a result of increased mobility and restrictive immigration policies in Europe, a growing number of people live in conditional and deportable positions with only limited social rights and access to welfare services. In this keyword, we discuss how the conception of national citizenship that underpins immigration and welfare regimes affects the position of non-citizens, with a particular focus on legal status as an instrument of hierarchisation and social marginalisation in European societies. Immigration systems create hierarchies and divisions by establishing different legal statuses for non-citizens, with wider implications for their position in society. Legal status has become a significant factor in social exclusion and marginality in European societies, intersecting with race, class, gender, and ethnicity to (re)produce social disadvantages. At the same time, migrants’ struggles are situated along the same historical continuum as other previously excluded and marginalised groups, revealing inherent contradictions related to citizenship in modern nation-states and challenging the boundaries of citizenship from the inside.

Discipline

With Discipline, we focus on techniques and mechanisms that advance corporeal, attitudinal, and behavioural docility and thereby contribute to contemporary processes of social differentiation and exclusion. Exploring the intersection of migration policy and welfare governance, we discuss disciplinary measures deployed at the intersection of welfare and migration regimes with the aim of understanding how internal border and welfare controls discipline poor non-citizens by criminalising certain kinds of behaviour. Drawing on concepts including micro-violence and micro-aggression, this keyword looks at bureaucratic practices, their justifications and their consequences for non-citizens, before moving on to theorise how such practices have come to permeate the wider society. Disciplinary systems of welfare governance depend on the threat of punishment: individuals are prompted to discipline themselves because they could become the object of disciplinary power at any moment. Such disciplinary techniques are efficient, productive, and subtle, and can result in the increasingly ‘automatic’ internalisation by non-citizens of certain kinds of behaviour.

Suspicion and surveillance

In this article we focus on contemporary processes of social differentiation and exclusion at the intersection of migration policy and welfare governance. The keyword pair looks at bureaucratic practices, their justifications, and their consequences for non-citizen subjects’ paths and moves on to theorise about the permeation of these practices into society. We discuss the effects of the suspicion-surveillance nexus on the observed body and mind and how they operate in support of increasingly intrusive practices. Rather than debating the legality of such practices and the inequalities and power relations they imply, we focus on the possibilities of control as discourses become technologised.

The phenomenon of internalized social exclusion: a retrospective study of sexuality experiences in adolescence

ABSTRACT Adolescents face various experiences of social exclusion in relation to sexuality. In this article we draw attention to how these experiences are internalized. We propose to name the phenomenon internalized social exclusion and provide its definition. Applying reflexive thematic analysis approach, a structure of such internalization is presented and described, distinguishing three themes, each having two subthemes: feeling insecure (avoiding unpleasant situations and forming unhealthy relationships), feeling embarrassed (hiding who they are and expressing sexuality in a detrimental way), and feeling different (distancing from friends and family and creating a fantasy world). Our findings underscore the multi-layered nature of social exclusion, emphasizing the need to address its internalization, which manifests itself in socially excluding feelings. The proposed phenomenon of internalized social exclusion is not limited to the sexuality context but may be applied in various social exclusion contexts in future research.

Queer Voices in the Digital Barricades: Exploring Social Media Use in Information Resistance

This paper interrogates how queer people use the Facebook group Queer Exchange to build community and meet information needs. Research indicates that queer people face social exclusion in mainstream society, which leads to health injustices. Social media can then become a space to build inclusion, necessitating the study of queer virtual space. The study consists of 12 semi-structured interviews with queer adults living in rural communities in Western Massachusetts. The themes identified include community-sourced information, community building by identity, and reproducing offline oppressions. The paper uses de Certeau’s theory of tactics and Chatman’s small world theory to frame the research. The study concludes that Queer Exchange plays an essential role in the digital information worlds of rural queer people.

Political Participation for Social Inclusion of Internally Displaced Persons

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have suffered multiple disadvantages and experienced social exclusion due to involuntary movement to new communities where they struggle to find opportunities for social inclusion. This study examined the political dimensions of social inclusion which focus on engaging IDPs in decision-making on issues that concern them. The study used the democratic participatory theory as a framework for political participation through decision-making. The qualitative exploratory study used in-depth interviews to collect data from twelve IDPs, comprising five females and seven males, who were resident in Benue State, Nigeria. Findings show that government does not incorporate the decisions and choices of IDPs when designing humanitarian measures for protection and assistance; IDPs are not communicated with on issues of interest to them; and IPDs lack sustainable opportunities for interaction with host communities. The study concludes that not incorporating the decisions of IDPs in issues of interest to them creates a culture of humanitarian aid dependency. The study recommends democratising solutions by using grassroots bottom-up measures for sustainable social inclusion of IDPs where solutions emerge from IDPs who are the end beneficiaries of the interventions. A discussion of the study findings is followed by concluding recommendations.

Taking what you get or Getting what you Need: A Qualitative Study on Experiences with Mental Health and Welfare Services in Long-Term Recovery in First-Episode Psychosis.

How people in long-term recovery (clinical and personal) in first-episode psychosis (schizophrenia and bipolar spectrum disorders) experience the mental health and welfare services they interact with is not frequently studied but has significant implications. We therefore aimed to explore which aspects of these services people with FEP evaluate as important for their long-term recovery. Twenty participants in clinical and/or personal recovery from two Norwegian long-term follow-up studies after FEP (TOP 10-year and TIPS 20-year) were sampled for this interview-based qualitative study. The research-team included service user experience. A deductive analysis based on personal accounts of recovery generated five service aspects. Few specific types of interventions were reported to promote recovery although medications, psychotherapy and employment support were mentioned. Participants valued services based in collaboration and that focused on their resources rather than limitations. The importance of long-term follow-up with a consistent aim was highlighted, as was the inclusion of caregivers and peers. Welfare services contributed to recovery by supporting basic needs and safety, but some experienced social exclusion when not participating in the labor market. This study is unique in exploring the role of services, including welfare, in long-term FEP recovery from service user perspectives. Participants evaluated that services played a more indirect role in long-term recovery by supporting their personal resources, although what they needed from services had frequently not been offered. Their expertise by experience contributes valuable knowledge. Better service coordination and consistent implementation of this knowledge are crucial to support recovery in FEP.

Психолого-педагогическая помощь детям, находящимся в условиях деструктивной социальной среды

The article examines the problems of a destructive social environment, which includes not only explicit forms of violence, but also more subtle ones, such as neglect. These are no less destructive factors: emotional alienation, information saturation with negative content, lack of stable teaching and educational models. In this context, the justification of the need to protect children from a psychological and pedagogical point of view becomes especially relevant. The main problem is to find effective methods and approaches to ensuring psychological and pedagogical protection of children in a destructive social environment. Key issues that need to be addressed within the framework of this problem: 1. Which theoretical models most adequately describe the mechanisms of the destructive environment's impact on the child's psyche? 2. What diagnostic tools can effectively identify children in need of psychological and pedagogical protection? 3. What forms of psychological and pedagogical assistance are most effective for different age groups and types of problems? 4. How to organize a system of training specialists capable of providing qualified assistance to children in a destructive environment? The results of the study allowed us to formulate conclusions. A destructive social environment should be considered as a multifactorial phenomenon, including not only social, but also psychological, economic and cultural factors. A literature review has shown that most approaches to helping children in a destructive social environment focus on creating a supportive and structured environment, as well as on developing self-regulation skills in children. Our results indicate that a successful intervention should include an integrated approach combining emotional support with cognitive development and social skills, including the implementation of programs aimed at developing emotional intelligence and social skills, and programs to improve children's adaptive abilities have proved effective. The results of the study indicate the need for individualization of approaches depending on the specifics of the problems faced by the child. The data confirm that children with different levels of social disadvantage require different types of support.

Putting Proportional Punishment into Perspective

AbstractMuch has been written about how we should understand proportional punishment. A standardised sentence may, in the presence of pre-existing disadvantage, produce morally significant additional harms. Others argue that modifying a standard punishment to avoid such harm is to show leniency in light of social disadvantage. I disagree: Where the standardised sentence can be amended to minimise unnecessary additional harms at a reasonable cost, while preserving a proportionate amount of punishment, the state has a duty to make the amendment. I articulate a partial reconstruction of proportionality calculations to put proportionality into perspective. Rather than disproportionate leniency, such variation is demanded by principles of political equality and by proportionality itself, if we take seriously the principle of punishing like cases alike.

Comparing Health Anxiety and Social Exclusion in the Elderlies and Adults Referring to the Veterans Foundation in COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: Covid-19 pandemic is a global challenge negatively affecting various aspects of health of different age groups. One of the groups involved with the psychological challenges of Covid-19 were the veterans and their families. So, this study was conducted to compare the health anxiety and social exclusion in elderlies and youths referring to the Veteran Foundation in Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 114 clients of the Veterans Foundation in order to compare the health anxiety and social exclusion in the elderlies and adults referring to Veterans Foundation in the Covid-19 pandemic. The participants were collected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using demographic, health anxiety and social exclusion questionnaires. Results: In the comparison of social exclusion and its sub-dimensions, the variables of Out-group social support, participation and shame have a significant difference (P<0.05) and the average of outgroup support in the adults is more than in the elderlies, while the average of participation and social shame is higher in the elderlies than the adults. There is an inverse and significant correlation between the indicators of social relations, participation and the total social exclusion with health anxiety in youths (P<0.05). Conclusion: Given the risks of social exclusion on the physical and mental health of the elderlies and its correlation with health anxiety, it seems that, more attention should be paid to the effects of the disease on the mental and social health of the elderlies in Covid-19 prevention programs.

Predictors of Social Exclusion among Adolescents: The Weight of Physical Self-Concept Dimensions.

Background: Social exclusion victimization among adolescents causes significant damage and harm to development and social balance. Many of the aggressions that lead to this are based on social stigmas, particularly related to physical appearance in school settings involving physical and sports activities. This study investigates the relationship between victimization through social exclusion (both manifest and subtle forms) and physical self-concept, specifically examining ability, attractiveness, physical condition, and strength. Methods: A total of 876 adolescents (mean age = 14.91; standard deviation = 1.71 years), evenly divided between boys and girls, from secondary schools in Andalusia, Spain participated. They completed a self-report questionnaire assessing physical abilities, attractiveness, physical condition, and self-perceived strength, alongside an instrument measuring experiences of social exclusion and manifest exclusion. Results: Our findings indicate that physical ability, attractiveness, and condition are negative statistical predictors of both manifest and subtle exclusion victimization, while self-perceived strength is a statistical predictor of subtle exclusion. Manifest exclusion impacts both genders similarly, but girls are more vulnerable to subtle forms of exclusion. Regardless of gender, physical ability and attractiveness significantly predict both types of exclusion. Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of physical self-concept for wellbeing and maintaining self-concept balance. The inclusion of interventions addressing social exclusion in physical education is crucial, particularly those that work to mitigate social stigmas against adolescents who struggle in physical or sporting activities. A gender-sensitive approach should also be incorporated. The growing field of research on adolescent social exclusion, both manifest and subtle, underscores the need for further exploration of its links to physical condition, physical activity, self-perception, and societal stereotypes.

Mainstreaming Social Realism in Children’s Literature

Childhood is the base for human growth and development and it shall be prudent if the child has an opportunity to get exposed to the challenges and realities of life along with fantasy, ecstasy and imagination. Children can grasp and learn their environment right from an early age as they are really smart; but the supplement which reaches them in terms of literature in any form should also provide them with glimpses of real life. Hence, it would be really judicious if the fodder they get in terms of literature is infused with social realism so that they understand the realities of life, the kind of society they live in with all kinds of inequities, stigma, discrimination, cruelties, marginalisation, and social exclusion, and so on. Children shall develop the wisdom to distinguish just from unjust and in a way might also build up their responding, assertion and decision-making skills. The Paper primarily discusses how social realism needs to be mainstreamed in children’s literature, firmly believing that it shall help the children towards their own positive development along with the development of the communities and nations they live in.

Effects of childhood adversities on alexithymia features vary between sexes. Results of a prospective population study

ABSTRACT Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associate with various mental disorders, including personality features. Our understanding of how ACEs influence alexithymia features in the general population is limited. In a prospective population setting, we studied whether ACEs associate with alexithymia, and the role of sex and emotional symptoms in this association. Methods: In a Finnish population-based prospective study, 3,142 individuals aged between 30 and 64 years completed eleven ACE questions and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale in 2000 and 2011, and the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist in 2011. The effect of ACEs on alexithymia and its subdomains – difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT) in 2000 and 2011 – was analysed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The number of ACEs and their main component, childhood social disadvantage, associated positively with total alexithymia scores and its subdomains DIF and DDF, and negatively with EOT. After controlling for the effect of depression and anxiety, the strength of these associations was reduced, but the effect of social disadvantage on DIF and EOT remained significant in females. Childhood family conflicts associated positively with DIF in males and negatively with EOT in females. Additionally, maternal mental problems associated positively with DIF and DDF in females. Discussion: In the general population, ACEs, particularly social disadvantage, are associated with adult alexithymia features. Alexithymia features, detectable from youth, may predispose individuals to emotional disturbances caused by childhood adversities. The effect of family conflicts and maternal mental problems on alexithymia features varies between sexes.

How Do Persons With Disabilities and/or Complex Health Conditions Perceive Oral Health? A Qualitative Study.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experience and perception of the mouth, oral health, functioning and the social environment amongst adults with disabilities and complex health conditions. Purposive sampling using the maximum variation strategy was performed to select participants with a wide range of experiences in terms of demographics, disability and health conditions. Consent was sought, and semi-structured interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed verbatim. Within the interpretivist tradition, a phenomenological approach was used to describe the lived, contextualised experience of people in relation to their mouths, as described by participants. Thematic analysis was undertaken. Eighteen participants with disabilities and complex health conditions were interviewed. Twelve individuals had an intellectual disability. Three main themes were identified: perception of the mouth and oral health; symptomatic perceptions and responses to oral health problems; and inter-relationships between the mouth, oral health and the socio-medical environment. The mouth had a central place in the lives of the participants, but its importance was only recognised when oral health problems interfered with daily life, function, social relationships, family life or autonomy. Certain social determinants of health were identified: social exclusion, financial insecurity, lack of autonomy, nutrition and negotiation of services. Oral problems were perceived as an additional burden to those with disabilities or complex health conditions. This study provided insight into the daily lives of adults with disabilities and complex health conditions. It helps to fill the gaps in the existing literature regarding the perceptions of the mouth and oral health, connecting oral function, general health and social environment for this population. This study was registered into ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04815434).

Are male nurses oppressed? A forum theater application: A quasi-experimental study

BackgroundMale nurses in clinical and educational settings are discriminated against. It is thought that perceiving the current situation of minority male nurses, who have the potential for social exclusion and oppression, and positively developing the perceptions of nursing students who are at the beginning of their professionalization lives, will contribute to the professionalization of future members of the profession. ObjectivesThis study was conducted to find solutions to the current and potential difficulties experienced by male nurses, first-year nursing students, through a forum theater activity. MethodThe sample consisted of 24 first-year nursing students. Participants were given awareness training on male nurse discrimination using forum theater. Were given participants awareness training on male nurse discrimination using forum theater.Research data student information form, Gender Attitudes of Nursing Students Towards the Nursing Profession Scale and were used for qualitative data participant opinion form. ResultsIt was determined that the forum theater activity increased the awareness level of firstyear nursing students regarding gender attitudes towards the nursing profession. Students stated that participating in forum theater training was a real life experience in the learning process, that they were happy to participate in this training, and that participating in these events increased their self-confidence. ConclusionIn this study, it was concluded that forum theater was effective in improving the awareness level of discrimination in the male nurse discrimination training given to nursing students. Forum theater can be used in nursing education.

The effects of social exclusion on distributive fairness judgements and cooperative behaviour.

In this article, we investigate how being socially excluded (vs. included) affects people's distributive fairness judgements and their willingness to cooperate with others in subsequent interactions. For this purpose, we conducted three experiments in which we assessed individual differences in having experienced being socially excluded (Experiment 1, N = 164), and manipulated social exclusion (Experiment 2, N = 120; Experiment 3, N = 492). We studied how this impacted fairness judgements of three different outcome distributions (disadvantageous inequality, advantageous inequality, and equality) both within-participants (Experiments 1 and 2) and between-participants (Experiment 3). To assess behavioural consequences, we then also assessed participants' cooperation in a social dilemma game. Across the three experiments, we consistently found that social exclusion impacted fairness judgements. Compared to inclusion, excluded participants judged disadvantageous inequality as more unfair and advantageous inequality as less unfair. Moreover, compared to socially included participants, socially excluded participants were more willing to cooperate after experiencing advantageous rather than disadvantageous inequality, and feelings of acceptance served as a mediator in these associations.

Evaluating a targeted selective speech, language, and communication intervention at scale – Protocol for the Happy Talk cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background In areas of social disadvantage up to 40–50% of children enter preschool with speech and language skills significantly poorer than would be expected for their age. The Happy Talk trial tests if a community embedded, targeted selective speech and language programme that simultaneously engages with parents and early childhood educators, (1) improves language outcomes in children aged between 2 years 10 months and 6 years and (2) is cost effective for the health care system. Method The Happy Talk trial is a large scale cluster randomised trial of a 12-week manualised intervention delivered in pre/school settings serving socially disadvantaged communities, in Ireland. Seventy-two clusters will receive the intervention (12 participants per cluster). Parents and pre/school staff engage in group training and coaching in the form of 12 1-hour sessions for parents and four staff workshops, over the course of the pre/school year. Training/coaching includes core interaction skills (modelling, expanding, balancing questions and comments), early literacy and phonological awareness. Blinded assessments pre- and immediately post-intervention and at 6 months follow up, will measure the primary outcomes of children’s receptive and expressive language and functional impact, and secondary outcomes of quality of life. Parental responsiveness and educator-child interactions will also be evaluated. Discussion This robust study evaluates a public health approach to the delivery of speech language and communication intervention in the ‘real world’ in the community, which focuses on prevention and equity of access. Pilot work indicates that the programme is feasible, acceptable to parents and staff, cost effective, and suitable for implementation at scale. The trial includes a process evaluation, a well-developed economic evaluation and the outcomes are directly relevant to children, families and educators. This work has the potential to improve the long-term outcomes and life chances of people living in social disadvantage. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT06460090 Trial Management There is a formal governance structure to oversee the conduct and running of the trial, consisting of a trial management group and a steering committee. More details on the composition, roles and responsibilities of each committee can be found in the supplemental material.