Social Relations Research Articles

A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies on citizenship and mental health.

Citizenship, as conceptualized by Rowe and colleagues, emphasizes the significance of relationships and community membership, encapsulated by the '5 Rs' - rights, responsibilities, roles, resources, and relationships. A meta-synthesis of 20 qualitative studies on citizenship and mental health was conducted. We identified four central themes: Autonomy and Empowerment, Social Inclusion and Relationships, Social Exclusion, and Non-Relational Resources and Supports. Service users' experiences illuminate the challenges of achieving full citizenship, negotiating societal norms, and accessing non-relational resources. This synthesis contributes to our understanding of Citizenship and its relationship with mental health, highlighting its role in fostering social inclusion and empowerment as well as informing potential implications for mental health interventions and policies.

Family Factors Contributing to the Integration of Students Studying at Universities in New Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation into the New Sociocultural Space

Introduction. In the article, the authors consider important aspects of the integration of personality into a new socio-cultural space on the example of students of new territories. Forced migration, including educational migration, can have a significant negative impact on the physical, mental, and emotional state of a person, therefore, factors contributing to and hindering adaptation to a new place require in-depth scientific analysis. Among the numerous factors, family resources are of particular importance, the study of the connections of family resources with the processes of adaptation and integration into a new socio-cultural space was the purpose of the study. Methodology. The study sample consisted of students of the Kherson State Pedagogical University. Empirical data were collected using the methodology “Adaptation of personality to a new socio-cultural environment” (L. V. Yankovsky) and the family resources test II (A. V. Makhnach, Yu. V. Postylyakova). Results. The results obtained in the study showed that the prevailing level of adaptation of students is average, which on the one hand is an indicator of a fairly successful integration into the system of new social ties and relationships, and on the other hand, an indicator that integration into a new socio-cultural space has not yet been completed. An important role in ensuring the process of integration into a new socio-cultural space in conditions of forced migration belongs to the family: relying on all available family resources, successful integration of students is primarily facilitated by family factors such as financial freedom and management of family resources, and the insufficient level of health culture in the family makes it difficult. Conclusions. The data obtained in the study on family factors that promote / hinder the integration of students from new regions into the socio-cultural space of Russia can be used in the development and implementation by universities of effective programs for psychological and pedagogical support of students.

DIVÓRCIO NO BRASIL NO PERÍODO PRÉ E PÓS PANDEMIA DA COVID-19: UM ESTUDO ACERCA DA JUDICIALIZAÇÃO DO DIVÓRCIO NESSE PERÍODO

Divorce in Brazil reflects changes in family, social, and legal relations over time. This study explores the judicialization of divorce, highlighting its increase during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Pandemic challenges such as mobility restrictions drove the adoption of digital solutions to facilitate legal procedures, although logistical challenges arose. The study's qualitative approach seeks to understand the factors influencing divorce and its implications, aiming to contribute to more effective policies. Research findings indicate a significant decrease in the number of divorces in Brazil in 2020, totaling 331.2 thousand cases, followed by a significant increase in 2021, reaching a record of 386.8 thousand divorces. In 2022, there was a decrease to 68,703 cases until November, reflecting fluctuations influenced by social and economic conditions during the pandemic. The transition to the virtual environment during the pandemic facilitated divorce processes, with virtual hearings and digital document signatures, overcoming logistical challenges and delays in legal procedures. The analysis reveals significant variations in the number of divorces during and after the pandemic, reflecting social and economic changes. The transition to the virtual environment facilitated legal procedures, while changes in family structures demand supportive policies. Future studies can further explore the impact of technological adaptations on the divorce process, including the effectiveness of virtual hearings and the security of online communications.

Quality of life in long-term breast cancer survivors in Sub-Saharan Africa: the African Breast Cancer-Disparities in Outcomes study.

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), breast cancer survivors' (BCS) quality of life (QoL) remains understudied. We compared QoL in BCS to cancer-free (CF) women across SSA settings with different levels of development, healthcare systems, ethnic compositions, and HIV prevalence. In 2022-2023, all 5 + year BCS from the African Breast Cancer-Disparities in Outcomes study and age-matched CF women from the community setting answered the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in Namibia, Nigeria, and Uganda. For each WHOQOL-BREF domain and general item, we estimated BCS-CF adjusted mean differences (AMD) in scores in absolute percentage points (p.p.). Overall, 862 women (BCS 357 vs. CF 505) (mean age ± SD, 57.5 ± 12.5 vs. 55.1 ± 11.2; tertiary education, 30% vs. 20%) were included. BCS reported higher/better overall QoL (AMD (95% CI) 10.65 p.p. (7.56, 13.74), i.e., ~ 40% of a change in QoL category), general health (5.84 (2.71, 8.98)), psychological (3.46 (1.43, 5.49)), social relationships (3.94 (1.25, 6.63)), and environment scores (4.27 (1.88, 6.67)) than CF women. There was no BCS-CF difference for physical health in all settings (1.52 (- 0.82, 3.87)), psychological health in Namibian Black women (0.58 (- 2.90, 4.06)), and social relationships in Nigeria (- 0.33 (- 5.81, 5.14)). BCS reported both lower energy and sexual life satisfaction than CF women. In SSA, long-term BCS have slightly better QoL than CF women except for physical health. Areas for which BCS scored lower or similar than CF women may indicate BCS' QoL issues. BCS-only studies using cancer-specific QoL questionnaires are needed to better characterize BCS' QoL in SSA.

Research on Personalized Recommendation of Complementary Products Based on Demand Cross-Elasticity and Hypergraphs

To improve recommendation systems, it is essential to enhance both their practicality and accuracy, thereby supporting users in making informed shopping decisions. Incorporating two types of product relationships can effectively achieve these goals: first, the product relationships, like complements, and second, the social relationships among users. However, existing studies have paid little attention to user-side information or item-side information. This paper proposes a product recommendation model that utilizes cross-elasticity of demand and hypergraphs, referred to as Hg-CR. First, users and items build a hypergraph. The user–item interactions form the hyperedges. Also, users build a hypergraph between themselves based on their social relationships. Second, hypergraph attention networks (HANs) learn the relationships between nodes. They capture the key features of nodes and hyperedges with a high degree of adaptability. A community detection algorithm organizes users into groups for product recommendations by assessing their similarities. Within different communities, individuals seek complementary products based on the cross-elasticity theory of demand. Additionally, we provide recommendations for complementary products. Tests on real datasets show that the Hg-CR model is about 10% more accurate than the other baseline models.

The Economic Communal of Bulgarians

One of the interesting business institutes is the communal. It existed for thousands of years, and on the Balkan Peninsula it was preserved until the beginning of the 20th century. A communal is several families who live and cultivate common land. After the liberation of Bulgaria, new institutions appeared, the essence of which was different from the local cultures and social relationships and led to the dissolution of the communal. Bulgaria at the beginning of the 20th century was an agricultural country and the cultivation of the land was carried out by the rural communal, community/commune, and there was no established private property and economic individualism. For thousands of years, the communal has existed on the Bulgarian lands, which was created on an economic basis and preserves the traditions, language, and morals of the Bulgarian society. These communals are independent, and justice is at their core – the distribution of the produced products is done in the communal. Agriculture is dependent on natural conditions, so drought, floods, hail, locusts, etc. cause famine. The communals of the Bulgarians managed to overcome these disasters without a mass famine like there was in Europe in the 18th century. The purpose of the article is to examine the reasons for the long existence of the communal and its rapid disintegration after the creation of the nationstate. The existence of the communal shows that in the Balkans during the Middle Ages there was no such attachment of the peasant to the land as in feudal Europe, but there was a relative independence of the cultivators who were interested in the productivity of their own labor.

Youth Violence in Urban Ethiopia: Forms, Risk Factors and Preventive Mechanisms in Hawassa and Shashemene Cities

Youth violence negatively impacts physical, emotional, and social well-being, hindering development, decision-making, learning, and relationships. Holistic and interdisciplinary approaches are needed to mitigate this issue. This research aims to investigate forms, risk factors, and preventive mechanisms of youth violence in Hawassa and Shashemene cities. The research utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design with a mixed-method approach. The study included 400 survey respondents, 16 focus group discussants across two sessions, and 7 in-depth interviewees. As the findings reveal, youth involvement in violence spans from perpetration to victimization. Among the total respondents, 289 self-reported that they have perpetrated various forms of physical, verbal, sexual, economic, and media violence within the past 12 months. The primary reported risk factors for youth violence include attitudes that condone violence (64.25%), insufficient parental control (59%), elevated rates of unemployment (67.25%), and a fragile rule of law (81.25%), which respectively represent the leading factor from the individual, relational, community, and societal risk domains as per the social-ecological model. The findings indicate that institutional and community-based efforts to address and mitigate the issue remain in their early stages. The study areas lack nearly all essential elements of youth violence prevention and intervention programs. The study concludes that youth violence is a more visible issue that affects both society and the youth in the study areas. Without preventive efforts, the highlighted risk factors may further increase the likelihood of youth engagement in violence. Thus, the study recommends the establishment of integrated and inclusive programs and strategies to effectively address the problem such as community awareness campaigns, parental counselling services, school-based interventions, and strengthening the capacity of relevant institutions among others

EP Thompson’s moral economy and legacy

This article offers a critical commentary upon historian EP Thompson’s pioneering research, carried out between the 1960s and 1980s, into the notion of moral economy. It addresses the main features of Thompson’s moral economy, his methodology and his profound, but also contested and ambivalent legacy to subsequent scholars. Set within the specific historical context of eighteenth-century England, Thompson’s moral economy revealed in new and original ways the often strained and conflict-ridden relations and actions between the working population and its rulers around the marketing of food and the price of bread. Thompson paid particular attention to food riots. They clearly illustrated the conflict, between, on the one hand, the traditional regulatory customs of some of the ruled and their supporters and the ‘free-market’ innovations of increasing numbers of their rulers. Thompson offered a historical-materialist reading of moral economy, situated in social contexts, relations and actions as well as in values and norms. Having addressed key empirical and methodological issues, the article proceeds to a critical examination of Thompson’s legacy. This covers the deep and widespread influence of Thompson’s moral economy, academically and geographically, its weaknesses as well as strengths and the ways in which he responded to reviews. In the last section, ‘Moral economy at the crossroads’, the article outlines and comments upon some of the key characteristics of the recent and ongoing single-, multi- and cross-disciplinary proliferation of studies of moral economy. It concludes by briefly indicating the ways in which future research into moral economy may fruitfully develop.

The role of interdependent self-construal in mitigating the effect of conspiratorial beliefs on vaccine acceptance.

Infectious diseases pose significant challenges to public health, leading to illness and even death. Vaccinations are vital for protecting society, yet beliefs in conspiracy theories related to infectious diseases increase vaccine hesitancy. This paper delves into vaccination decisions in the context of COVID-19, which continues to strain the health care system. While past research focuses on countering conspiratorial beliefs with cognitive persuasion interventions, we propose a social intervention as an alternative. Our novel intervention seeks to mitigate the effects of conspiratorial beliefs by fostering individuals' interdependent self-construal - viewing oneself in the context of social relationships. Interdependent self-construal was operationalized in multiple ways (measured in Studies 1, 2 and 3; manipulated to test causality in Studies 4 and 5). Conspiratorial beliefs were also manipulated in Study 5. The results show that the association between conspiratorial beliefs and vaccine hesitancy is weakened among individuals whose interdependent self-construal is more accessible. Moreover, this effect was mediated by prosocial motivation. We discuss the implications of our findings for developing and communicating health policies and propose potential contexts where this intervention may be relevant, thereby providing valuable insights into enhancing societal well-being in the face of conspiratorial beliefs.

Labor market reintegration strategies of Albanian return migrants from Greece

For many migrants, returning to their country of origin is an important turning point in their migration trajectory. However, whether reverse migration proves successful depends largely on whether returnees are again able to participate in the social, economic, cultural, and political life of their country of origin. This paper draws on 37 biographical interviews conducted with Albanian returnees in three different geographical areas of Albania: Fier, Tirana, and Voskopoja. It aims to capture the diverse strategies the return migrants employed in navigating the labor market upon their return. We examine how the social and human capital the returnees accumulated while abroad shaped their patterns of reintegration into the labor market. We find that the returnees’ social capital in the form of social relationships and their human capital in the form of work experience influenced their entrepreneurial activities in their home country. Moreover, we observe that some of the returnees who were able to capitalize on their migration experiences in their host country introduced a new work culture and new products to their home country and offered better quality work than their local competitors. Our findings further indicate that while the returnees’ social networks improved their economic prospects, the levels of trust and social responsibility in these networks enabled them to develop and expand their business activities.

“Foreigners in their Homeland”

The voices of multiple agents involved in the process of Ottoman urban popular music making have been largely omitted, if not restricted by traditional music historiography of the Ottoman long nineteenth century, thus downplaying the local dynamics of this very transitional era. Drawing on Ottoman Turkish, Greek, and Greco-Turkish sources, this article analyzes samples of nineteenth-century songs in the popular şarkı form as “sonic assemblages” that are formed by complementary and antagonistic social relations that developed both on the intercommunal level and internally within the various communities. In this analysis the notions of “musical exile” and “musical estrangement” are used to explore the multiplicity and multiaccentuality of the spatialities of the song-writing process and their consequent implications and impact on subjecthood formation.

“We Need to Live the World that is Possible”: Prefigurative Justice, Creative Collaboration, and the Activism of Rita Wong

Although many writers and scholars struggle to cross the threshold between literary expressive culture and activism, poet Rita Wong has fostered and bridged both collaborative artistic and direct-action social justice work. Wong’s collaborations with Dorothy Christian, Larissa Lai, Cindy Mochizuki, and Fred Wah illuminate the promise of creative practice in confronting racial capitalism and climate destruction. This essay draws from the social movement theory of prefigurative politics, routed through abolition feminism and Indigenous place-based epistemology, to account for ethical consistencies between Wong’s poetics, collaborative artistic practice, and direct-action interventions. Prefigurative politics conveys “the embodiment, within the ongoing political practice of a movement, of those forms of social relations, decision-making, culture, and human experience that are the ultimate goal” (Boggs, 1977, p. 100). Wong’s work focuses on “Reckoning” at the pivot point of climate destruction: she writes, “our common survival depends on our collective ability to address the environmental devastation that has accelerated in this century, a devastation that will not end unless we learn to live by values that manifest and respect Indigenous relationships to the land and waters” (Wong, 2012, p. 535). Her scholarship and collaborative poetic engagements have attended to “Repairing” with words, performance, bodily engagement, and crafting a paradigm shift in alliance with human and nonhuman others, thinking with and through water. And Wong “Reworlds” through experimental and imaginative building of new relations, telling new stories. In keeping with prefigurative social movement practice, she and her collaborators act as if that new world has already arrived.

Work, affection, and moral economy among Albanian domestic workers in Greece

AbstractThe moral economy framework sheds light on how economic activities and workplace practices are influenced and structured by moral sentiments, norms, and social relations. The concept of the moral economy is particularly applicable to domestic laboring spheres, where employee‐employer exchanges and relations are not merely contractual, but are embedded in moral and cultural values. This article builds on moral economy theory to analyze informal relations and workplace practices among 19 Albanian domestic workers in Greece and their employers. The study reveals how social and economic relations are constructed and shaped through the emotional and intimate nature of domestic work, as well as through moral/ethical sentiments, norms, and behaviors. The everyday working practices and emotional attachments between the employers and the employees seemed to reproduce, construct, and rebuild home‐like settings, kin relations, and feelings. While such emotional affection impacted some women positively, other women considered it a burden because of their inability to claim their rights.

Quality of Life of Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Cross-sectional Study from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM), a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS, face various health issues. However, research is scarce on MSM in India, and available studies generally focus on the mental health of HIV-infected MSM rather than their overall health. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the quality of life (QOL) among MSM. Materials and Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was done in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, involving 100 MSM individuals. Participants were recruited from a non-governmental organization that works toward the welfare of MSM individuals. Socio-demographic data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, while QOL was measured using the Hindi version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Quantitative variables were summarized using mean and standard deviation, and qualitative variables were summarized using frequency and percentage. The differences between mean QOL scores were analyzed using t-test/analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation between domains. Results: Most participants were 21-40 years of age, with a mean age of 34.8 (±8.1) years. Most participants resided in urban areas and identified as Hindu (92%). The scores of WHOQOL-BREF ranged from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better QOL. The mean scores for general QOL and general health among participants were 42 ± 20.4 and 67.5 ± 24.7, respectively. Among the four domains of WHOQOL-BREF, social relationship domain had the highest mean QOL score (72.7 ± 11.5), while the psychological domain exhibited the lowest score (57.2 ± 11.7). The mean scores for the physical and environmental domains were 70.9 ± 8.7 and 59.6 ± 10.7, respectively. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of addressing various health aspects beyond HIV/AIDS in this population to improve their overall well-being and life satisfaction.

Returning to School After a Life-Altering Disruption: A Qualitative Study of Childhood Hematologic Malignancies Survivors and Parents.

After completing treatment, hematologic malignancy survivors face a critical phase of reintegrating into society. This study explored how survivors and their parents gradually returned to daily life, using grounded theory and in-depth interviews with 13 survivors and 16 parents. Data were analyzed revealed that hematologic malignancy survivors and their parents needed time to gradually return to daily life after a life-altering disruption after completing treatment. This process includes three categories: (1) adjusting to achievable learning goals, (2) incrementally expanding social relationships, and (3) strengthening daily life skills. As they return to daily life, both hematologic malignancy survivors and their parents need to adjust their mindset and pace to gradually adapt to the challenges they encounter. In the future, school nurses and oncology nurses can collaborate to design appropriate return-to-school plans to assist these children in their adaptation.

Menganalisis dan Mengidentifikasi Kesulitan Belajar Siswa ADHD di SMA Islam SHAFTA Surabaya

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children's learning patterns, characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These symptoms can cause significant learning difficulties, impacting academic performance and social relationships. Understanding the challenges that students with ADHD experience is crucial for Educators and policy makers to create effective strategies. This research analyzes the learning difficulties of students with ADHD at SHAFTA Islamic High School, aiming to identify the challenges in the classroom and provide insights for appropriate educational tactics and provide motivation for everyone that providing the right support to ADHD students who experience learning difficulties can help these students to get the potential they have. The method used is qualitative data obtained through interviews with educators. This study emphasizes the importance of implementing tailored educational strategies and creating an inclusive learning environment, so that the population can improve the experience and academic outcomes of students with ADHD.

AVALIAÇÃO NEUROPSICOLÓGICA NO BRASIL: CONTEXTOS E CONTRIBUIÇÕES

Neuropsychological assessment is of fundamental importance for the development of cognitive abilities, both in the diagnosis of possible delays and in the treatment of results arising from lesions in parts of the brain. As a relatively recent branch of psychology, Neuropsychology was established in Brazil according to its multidisciplinary nature and has gained increasing relevance, especially because mental illnesses and disorders have become more evident in the face of new means of technology and social relationships. The article proposed here aims to establish an analysis of Neuropsychological Assessment in Brazil, seeking to understand the evolution of the concepts of Neuropsychology and Neuropsychological Assessment, as well as how this evolution occurred in the national context. Studies and knowledge about the brain and the human body in general are increasingly gaining global importance, and in this sense, Brazil, given its complexity and ethnic-cultural diversity, could assume global leadership in neuropsychological assessment research and in the development of new means, knowledge and techniques.

Radical networks and terrorist action: the importance of social relationships and network positions

ABSTRACT In most models on terrorism, interaction with other radicals is a key factor. However, systematic empirical evidence that radical ties affect behaviour is scarce. Our access to detailed police information allows us to apply Social Network Analysis (SNA) on a Dutch Salafi-Jihadi network and analyse the social relationships and network positions of 80 actors, out of whom 20 turned to terrorist acts. The results suggest that ties to leaders and terrorist offenders, co-attendance of radicalising settings and greater structural embeddedness relate to the likelihood of individual actors to turn to acts of terrorism. However, we also find some individual attributes that may offer competing explanations. In this paper we discuss our findings and address how future research may provide further insights into an important issue for agencies involved in countering terrorism: which radical actors, if any, are more likely to turn to acts of terrorism?

Group-differentiated rights for Indigenous communities that straddle borders

ABSTRACT This paper examines the normative justification for special rights for Indigenous peoples whose traditional territories straddle contemporary international borders. Examining the Mohawks of Akwesasne (Quebec, Ontario, and New York state) and the Tohono O’odham (Arizona and Sonora, Mexico) as cases, I demonstrate how state claims to territorial jurisdiction and border regulation often interfere with the lives of Indigenous people whose social, cultural, economic, spiritual and political practices and relationships cluster across contemporary international boundaries. Through the concept of group occupancy interests, I argue that members of Indigenous nations whose territories straddle borders possess special rights to access and use lands presently claimed by states of which they are not recognized citizens. Moreover, I demonstrate how border-straddling Indigenous nations challenge the unlimited sovereignty of contemporary states with respect to border policy: the occupancy and self-determination interests of Indigenous peoples may ground the moral rights of their communities to co-manage international border crossings with states. Finally, I argue that collective interests in cross-border political identities and self-determination can ground the rights of Indigenous peoples to form unified cross-border jurisdictional units that demand recognition by states, alongside the rights of Indigenous peoples to regulate group membership.

The Influence of B2B Social Media Marketing and Relationship Marketing on Customer Relationship Management Effectiveness, WOM and Loyalty: A Mediator Analysis

This research aims to investigate the relationships between Business to Business (B2B) social media marketing, customer relationship management effectiveness (CRME), word-of-mouth (WOM), and loyalty, while also examining the mediating role of relationship marketing. A total of 256 respondents were recruited from a machinery manufacturing company’s customer base, encompassing regions as Taiwan and other Asia countries to assess their perspectives on B2B marketing. The following results were derived: (1) B2B social media marketing significantly impacts customer relationship, further enhancing the firm’s performance; (2) Customer relationship management effectiveness and customer loyalty notably influence word-of-mouth (WOM); (3) Social media marketing influences on CRME, WOM, and customer loyalty can be mediated through relationship marketing. This study’s findings provide crucial references for future academic validations. Moreover, professionals aiming to craft effective B2B customer relationship strategies can leverage these results for considerable potential.