Wider Social Networks Research Articles

Charity Shops and the Imagined Futures of Objects: How Second-Hand Markets Influence Disposal Decisions when Emptying a Parent’s House

This article explores the processes whereby things are donated, or not donated, to charity shops. I draw on in-depth interviews conducted with adults who have sorted through the houses of older family members who have moved into residential accommodation, and in some cases subsequently died. The affective qualities of objects and the informants’ responsibilities to be ‘good’ family members by ensuring ‘safe passage’ for their parents’ possessions worked to ensure that many objects did not enter the second hand market, but were preserved within the family or wider social networks. Competing instincts to be ‘responsible consumers’ by not keeping things unnecessarily, worked to ‘move things along’ into charity shops, where informants believed the objects could come to be valued and singularised by other people. By providing an imagined future where goods can continue to be useful and have the opportunity to extend their biographical life, I argue that charity shops and other second-hand markets can help people to dispose of objects which they do not want to keep, but which they find difficult to throw away.

“It’s not easy but it's still possible to be an abstainer here”: Non-Drug Use Among Young Men in a Slum Area in Makassar, Indonesia

This qualitative study explores the social context and protective factors that enable young men in a slum area (lorong) in Makassar, Indonesia, to abstain from using drugs. Semi-structured interviews, conducted with fifteen male non-drug users in the lorong showed, despite living in a drug risk environment, non-drug users were involved in neither the drug scene nor street culture. There were two main reasons for this: their employment opportunities, albeit in low paid jobs and the informal economy, and their schooling. These non-users asserted that respectability and the status of rewa (a local construct of masculinity) should and could be achieved through traditional means, i.e. employment providing legitimate income and education leading to a career. Their work provides both direct benefit, i.e. legitimate income (economic capital), and indirect benefits such as meaningful activities and structured time. Employment and schooling also generated a respectable identity (symbolic and cultural capital), wider social networks (bridging social capital) and the opportunity for upward mobility. All of these enable them to have a stake within mainstream society and are incentives for them to abstain from drug taking. This study demonstrates the crucial role of direct and indirect benefits of employment and of economic, symbolic, cultural and social capital in understanding the social context of non-drug use among young men in the lorong. The findings suggest protagonists of drug policy reform and implementation in Indonesia should be more cognizant of social marginalization in the lorong, and of the need to improve young people’s access to employment and education, in order to decrease the likelihood of drug initiation and use.

Aphasia blog talk: How does stroke and aphasia affect a person’s social relationships?

Background: Stroke and aphasia can negatively affect a person’s ability to maintain healthy social relationships, both within the family and also with friends and the wider network. To date, this has been explored predominantly through qualitative interviews and questionnaires. Blogs written by people with aphasia constitute a novel source of data, comprised of people’s own voices on issues that are of concern to them.Aims: To explore the impact of stroke and aphasia on a person’s relationships with family, friends and the wider network through analysing blogs written by people with aphasia.Methods & Procedures: Blog search engines were used to identify blogs sustained by a sole author who had aphasia following a stroke, and which reflected on their social network. The data were analysed qualitatively using framework analysis.Outcomes & Results: The systematic search resulted in 10 relevant blogs. Participants were aged between 26 and 69 years old, lived in the community, were at least 1 year post stroke and included six women and four men. Aphasia was a consistent thread running through the blogs affecting conversations with all parts of a person’s network and impacting on participants’ sense of self. They found it more difficult to take part in family activities and described higher degrees of dependence and changed family dynamics. Contact with friends was reduced, partly due to communication and physical difficulties. While some participants became motivated to become members of groups post stroke, contact with the wider network sometimes diminished, in part because of loss of work and community activities. An additional factor impacting on social relationships was other people’s positive or negative reaction towards the person with aphasia. Finally, the blogs reflected on the importance of support they had received, both from close family and also from the wider community.Conclusions: This study found that social relationships played a crucial role in people’s lives following a stroke and aphasia. Nonetheless, family relationships, friendships and social exchanges within the wider social network were all substantially affected. Exploring this area through online narratives offered a rich and highly authentic source of data. The findings suggest that clinicians should incorporate social approaches in rehabilitation and consider ways to foster the maintenance of social networks. The use of social media by people with aphasia should be further explored, both as a therapeutic outlet and also as a way for people with aphasia to feel connected to a wider community.

Subjective Wellbeing of Chinese People: A Multifaceted View

This paper reports the most recent subjective wellbeing (SWB) assessments by the respondents of the China Survey of Social Change. Of the total 10,927 respondents, 44.2 % are “always happy” and others vary from “sometimes happy” to “not happy at all”. To explain variation in SWB, the authors offer a multifaceted view taking into account the roles that personal health, demographic attributes, socioeconomic statuses, and the networks and relationships of social integration play in SWB. It is found that SWB assessments are higher for women and older persons than for men and younger persons, respectively, and they increase with improved physical and mental health, more educational and financial resources, greater social participation, wider social networks, and greater trust in others and institutions. Economic development, ethnic cultures, and religious beliefs are important factors of SWB assessments.

The concerned significant others of people with gambling problems in a national representative sample in Sweden - a 1 year follow-up study.

BackgroundResearch into the impact of problem gambling on close social networks is scarce with the majority of studies only including help-seeking populations. To date only one study has examined concerned significant others (CSOs) from an epidemiological perspective and it did not consider gender. The aim of this study is to examine the health, social support, and financial situations of CSOs in a Swedish representative sample and to examine gender differences.MethodsA population study was conducted in Sweden in 2008/09 (n = 15,000, response rate 63%). Respondents were defined as CSOs if they reported that someone close to them currently or previously had problems with gambling. The group of CSOs was further examined in a 1-year follow up (weighted response rate 74% from the 8,165 respondents in the original sample). Comparisons were also made between those defined as CSOs only at baseline (47.7%, n = 554) and those defined as CSOs at both time points.ResultsIn total, 18.2% of the population were considered CSOs, with no difference between women and men. Male and female CSOs experienced, to a large extent, similar problems including poor mental health, risky alcohol consumption, economic hardship, and arguments with those closest to them. Female CSOs reported less social support than other women and male CSOs had more legal problems and were more afraid of losing their jobs than other men. One year on, several problems remained even if some improvements were found. Both male and female CSOs reported more negative life events in the 1 year follow-up.ConclusionsAlthough some relationships are unknown, including between the CSOs and the individuals with gambling problems and the causal relationships between being a CSO and the range of associated problems, the results of this study indicate that gambling problems not only affect the gambling individual and their immediate close family but also the wider social network. A large proportion of the population can be defined as a CSO, half of whom are men. While male and female CSOs share many common problems, there are gender differences which need to be considered in prevention and treatment.

Partnership and Performance of Community-Based Organizations: A Social Network Study of Taiwan

ABSTRACT Community-based organizations (CBOs) generally face challenges of meeting clients’ complex needs with limited resources. Partnership development can be a strategy for the CBOs to expand capacity and improve performance. However, relevant evidence is scant and tends to lack a theoretical base. This study examines the relation between networking and performance of a CBO from the perspective of social network analysis. The sample consists of 15 CBOs relying on volunteers to provide primary care services for older adults in a suburban area of Taiwan. Data analyzed include an expert evaluation record, a sociomatrix data set denoting the CBOs’ relationships, and a focus group of the social workers supporting the CBOs’ services. The breadth, brokerage, and embeddedness of networking are measured by centrality indicators and are hypothesized as being beneficial for service performance in terms of effectiveness and innovation. The study reveals that brokerage and embeddedness of networking are positively associated with effectiveness. A CBO may enhance its performance by bridging less connected organizations that need the relationship or by partnering with other organizations that bring in information from many others, but a wide social network is not necessarily helpful. Future studies can strengthen the findings by employing large samples and advanced statistical methods.

Fostering Hope in Climate Change Educators

Climate Change is a complex set of issues with large social and ecological risks. Addressing it requires an attentive and climate literate population capable of making informed decisions. Informal science educators are well-positioned to teach climate science and motivate engagement, but many have resisted the topic because of self-doubt about their climate science knowledge and concerns about audiences' responses. This study evaluated the impact of a skill building program on informal science educators' emotional states and their engagement in discourse about climate change with their professional colleagues, co-workers and friends. Results revealed that skill training combined with socially supportive settings resulted in increased hope in their ability to discuss climate change and emotional engagement when reflecting about climate change. These changes subsequently were associated with their tendency to engage in discussions with their co-workers and wider social network but not with their friends.

Researching white mothers of mixed-parentage children: the significance of investigating whiteness

This article takes as its starting point the increasing number of research studies that pay specific attention to family relationships when investigating mixedness. It draws on the critical study of whiteness to illustrate the significance of examining, in more detail than is usual, white mothers' racialized identity in studies of mixed-parentage families. It is argued that by doing so, understanding of the identity development and sense of belonging of children and young people in mixed-parentage families can be enhanced, as well as understanding of these issues in mixed-parentage families generally. The article explains how kinship relationships and wider social networks are two related areas of investigation that can help to shed light on what happens to whiteness in mixed-parentage families. Both encourage a specific focus on the identity and sense of belonging of mothers, without marginalizing the identities of other family members.

Food, Family, and Memory: Belgrade Mothers and Their Migrant Children

This article explores the link between food, memory, and cultural transmission in the context of migrant adult children and their mothers left behind. Since the fall of Yugoslavia in 1991 these women have experienced severe social, financial, and emotional disruption caused by the consequences of war, hyperinflation, post-communist turmoil, and the loss of children to migration. All this had a profoundly disorienting effect on these elderly women, leaving them to their own means to re-establish the sense of “wholeness” in their lives. Sending food to migrant children served to instill a memory of who these women are to their children and to remind migrants of their family. It also served mothers themselves to reiterate their role as “mothers” within a wider social network and society. Cultural transmission in the sphere of domesticity is one of few available ways for these elderly women to attain at least some sort of power in a male-dominated patriarchal Serbian society. Food, it will be argued here, does not only help migrants restore sense of “wholeness” (Sutton 2001:75), but it serves as a powerful tool in the process of social reproduction.

Pilot study of a social network intervention for heroin users in opiate substitution treatment: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundResearch indicates that 3% of people receiving opiate substitution treatment (OST) in the UK manage to achieve abstinence from all prescribed and illicit drugs within 3 years of commencing treatment, and there is concern that treatment services have become skilled at engaging people but not at helping them to enter a stage of recovery and drug abstinence. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse recommends the involvement of families and wider social networks in supporting drug users’ psychological treatment, and this pilot randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the impact of a social network-focused intervention for patients receiving OST.Methods and designIn this two-site, early phase, randomized controlled trial, a total of 120 patients receiving OST will be recruited and randomized to receive one of three treatments: 1) Brief Social Behavior and Network Therapy (B-SBNT), 2) Personal Goal Setting (PGS) or 3) treatment as usual. Randomization will take place following baseline assessment. Participants allocated to receive B-SBNT or PGS will continue to receive the same treatment that is routinely provided by drug treatment services, plus four additional sessions of either intervention. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 3 and 12 months. The primary outcome will be assessment of illicit heroin use, measured by both urinary analysis and self-report. Secondary outcomes involve assessment of dependence, psychological symptoms, social satisfaction, motivation to change, quality of life and therapeutic engagement. Family members (n = 120) of patients involved in the trial will also be assessed to measure the level of symptoms, coping and the impact of the addiction problem on the family member at baseline, 3 and 12 months.DiscussionThis study will provide experimental data regarding the feasibility and efficacy of implementing a social network intervention within routine drug treatment services in the UK National Health Service. The study will explore the impact of the intervention on both patients receiving drug treatment and their family members.Trial registrationTrial Registration Number: ISRCTN22608399ISRCTN22608399 registration: 27/04/2012Date of first randomisation: 14/08/2012

Familial environment in high- and middle–low-income municipalities: A survey in Italy to understand the distribution of potentially obesogenic factors

To explore the familial and social environment in high- and middle-low-income municipalities in Italy to evaluate the distribution of potentially obesogenic factors. A hybrid methodological approach was chosen. A survey of 1215 Italian children was performed to collect information regarding child, family and peer characteristics; additionally, income data were derived from national estimates based on zip codes. A cross-sectional study conducted via computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). A CATI facility was used to interview 1215 Italian children aged 6-10 years. Information regarding family composition; body mass index (BMI) of the child, father and mother; mother's perception of the child's weight; levels of physical activity of the child, father and mother; time spent watching television or playing video games; use of social networks; leisure-time habits; and dietary habits of peers was collected. Income per year per person was obtained from the Italian National Institute of Statistics estimates. Municipalities were divided into two groups: one representing the highest ranking income from the total Italian income distribution, and one representing middle-low incomes. Differences between middle-low-income and high-income groups for child and parent BMIs, social networks, and dietary and leisure-time habits were compared using Wilcoxon and McNemar tests, as appropriate. Multivariate analysis was conducted using logistic regression. In total, 604 high-income children and 611 middle-low-income children were identified. A significant difference in father's BMI was found between middle-low- and high-income groups: 10.5% of fathers in middle-low-income municipalities were obese, compared with 3.8% in high-income areas (P < 0.001). On the contrary, this analysis found no association between income group and the mother's BMI. In this sample, middle-low-income children participated in less physical activity than high-income children (22.7% vs 34.8% participated in sporting activities for more than 3 h per week, P < 0.001), and spent more time in sedentary activities, such as watching television. However, middle-low-income children were not isolated and were surrounded by a wider social network than high-income children (80.4% vs 69% had more than three friends, P < 0.001). Significant differences were found in the distribution of obesogenic behaviours between middle-low- and high-income municipalities, suggesting that social factors as well as the physical environment should be considered in the development of health policies and interventions to reduce childhood obesity.

Multiple Relationships

Working in a rural community locates the professional in a wider social network as community members often expect more from their professionals; not only as service providers, but also as engaged members of the community. This can result in the rural social worker being highly visible both personally and professionally and it can also lead to overlapping relationships. These higher expectations can place stress on the worker in terms of maintaining accepted professional roles and a sense of professional identity. This qualitative study explores the first-hand experiences of a cross-section of service providers in more than a dozen communities within northwestern Ontario and northern Manitoba, Canada. The responses of the participants provide some insight into how rural practitioners maintain their professional identity when working within the unique demands of the rural and remote context. Recurring themes from the interviews suggest that these professionals craft their own informal decision-making processes to address intersecting roles, community gossip, and personal isolation, even while, in some cases, practicing in their home community. The findings provide greater understanding of the pressures and realities of working in small remote towns and the challenges of responding to the expectations and realities of relationships including the expectation of working with friends and family members of friends or colleagues: issues that have not been adequately studied in the literature to date.

Social Relationships and Social Roles

This review draws attention to the broad and diverse theoretical underpinnings of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). A plea is made for greater attention to the theoretical influences on IPT in forming our understanding of the techniques and processes and to establish indicators of successful outcome as well as for whom the treatment is most suitable. The paper takes a lifespan perspective that considers the implications of social factors for the different age groups to which IPT has been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression. The main thrust of the paper considers the potential importance of social theory, particularly the research on life events and social support. It is argued that it is these social aspects and particularly a focus on the use of the patient's wider social network that distinguishes IPT from other evidence-based short-term therapies. Interpersonal psychotherapy draws on a broad and diverse range of theoretical influences. The study of the theory underpinning IPT can inform assessment, technique and process in the practice of IPT. Knowledge of aspects of the research on life events and social support is particularly relevant not only for the assessment phase but also for the middle and termination phases. Attention to the theory behind IPT can usefully inform future research on IPT particularly what may determine successful or unsuccessful outcome of this short-term treatment.

Concern About HIV and AIDS Among Older People in the Slums of Nairobi, Kenya

The article explores the way that social networks and personal experiences affect perceived HIV-related concerns among people aged 50 years or older living in a low resource neighborhood with high HIV prevalence in Nairobi, Kenya. Multiple logistic regression is used to model the association between the reporting of an HIV-related concern and individual-level characteristics, personal experiences, and social interaction. The main concerns regarding HIV reported by older people in the study included caring for orphaned children (65%), caring for people with AIDS (48%), and losing material and social support from adult children (36%). Interestingly, 38% of respondents voiced concerns about HIV infection among older people. Respondents who had been individually affected by HIV and AIDS, who were part of a wide social network, or who participated in community activities were frequently more likely to report a concern. The findings highlight the significance of the role of social interaction and social networks in the diffusion of information and knowledge. These findings have implications for HIV and AIDS policy and programs, highlighting the potential for social networks and community-level interventions to educate and increase awareness about HIV and AIDS among older people. Community leaders can make good peer educators and communication agents for HIV/AIDS campaigns. Additionally, the recognized high level of personal vulnerability to HIV infection among older people suggests the need for targeted sexual behavior change programs among this often neglected group.

Perceptions on health, well-being and quality of life of Balkan Roma adolescents in West Sweden

We examine the perceptions of Roma adolescents on health, well-being and quality of life (QoL) and how the Roma managed their own life situation within these areas. The data, which consists of interviews, was analysed through content analysis. The most common understanding of health and well-being was to feel good, secure and happy. A wide social network of family and friends was seen as an additional element. The respondents perceived their own health and well-being to be good. A feeling of freedom, the ability to make decisions independently and the possibilities for education and employment were the most important elements of QoL. Quality of life was perceived to have something to do with values and beliefs in the future. Social support from family and friends were the most frequently used coping strategies. The perceptions of the Roma adolescents on health, well-being and QoL turned out to be quite similar to the perceptions of the non-Roma adolescents.

The social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in a slum area in Makassar, Indonesia

Background There are few studies exploring the social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in Indonesia. This qualitative study examines the experience of young people in a slum area ( lorong) in Makassar, eastern Indonesia, who use drugs but are not drug dependent and who employ various forms of self regulation to control their use. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight controlled drug users. Results The study found that whilst controlled drug users lived in a drug risk environment, they were not deeply embedded in the street culture, risk-taking practises and drug scene within their locality. Their employment, albeit in the informal economy and in low-paid jobs, facilitated their perspective that the status of rewa (a local construct of masculinity) and gaul (being sociable and up-to-date) could and should be accomplished through conventional means such as jobs and halal (legitimate) income. Their employment generated both direct benefit (legitimate income) and indirect benefit, including meaningful activities, structured time, positive identity and wider social networks (bridging social capital). This enabled them to have a stake in mainstream society and provided an incentive to control drug use. All factors which are protective against escalation into problematic drug use. Conclusion The study showed the importance of sociological concepts of direct and indirect benefits of employment and of social capital in understanding the social context of controlled drug use amongst young people in the lorong. Additionally, drug policy should be more cognizant of the social vulnerability in the lorong and of the need to increase access to employment amongst young people in order to potentially decrease the likelihood of problematic drug use.

A qualitative exploration of the life experiences of adults diagnosed with mild learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities

Purpose – The present qualitative study aims to address the gap in what one knows about the life experiences of adults diagnosed with mild learning disabilities from minority ethnic communities and to generate a deeper understanding of their experiences.Design/methodology/approach – The paper individually interviewed four adults with mild learning disabilities receiving support from an independent living project using semi‐structured interviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data collected were qualitatively analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.Findings – The findings showed that participants felt socially isolated and did not have a wide social network. Participants also reported that they had suffered some form of abuse in the past. Participants also said that they found employment satisfying and finally that they did not receive support with their cultural needs.Originality/value – This paper highlights that greater emphasis should be placed on examining ...

Gambling in Britain: A Time of Change? Health Implications from the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010

Gambling-related harm is a term that is being increasingly used in British policy circles to describe the negative impacts of gambling across a range of areas. It includes focus on the health and psychological impact on the individual but also has more comprehensive reach moving beyond the directly-affected gambler to include their families, wider social networks and community (Responsible Gambling Strategy Board 2010). The social and health costs of problem gambling are potentially large at both individual and societal levels. For instance, adverse health consequences for problem gamblers and their partners include depression, anxiety, insomnia, gastric/intestinal disorders, migraine, and other stress-related disorders (Griffiths 2004). In the UK, monitoring levels of gambling-related harm have focused on measuring the prevalence of problem gambling and estimating how many problem gamblers there are. However, from a public health perspective, this is inadequate. Not only does it fail to recognise the multiplier effect of impact associated with problem gambling, it also does not recognise a further important group of people; those at-risk of developing gambling problems. Int J Ment Health Addiction (2012) 10:273–277 DOI 10.1007/s11469-011-9319-4

The Cost of Caring? Emotional Labour, Wellbeing and the Clergy

Although members of the clergy experience working conditions that have been associated with “emotional labour”, little is known about the impact of this aspect of the job role on wellbeing. This study examined relationships between emotional labour and psychological distress and intrinsic job satisfaction in 188 UK-based clergy. Also investigated were the potential moderating effects of social support and training in counselling skills. Findings revealed significant associations between emotional labour and both psychological distress and job satisfaction. Evidence was found that counselling training and a wider social network may protect clergy from the negative impact of emotional labour, but social network size may also be a risk factor for wellbeing. Further research should examine the impact of emotional labour on clergy, and the factors that might help them manage this more effectively.

My Favourite Book! Young Aboriginal Children's Book Choices

THIS STUDY INTO THE READING patterns and choices of three- to six-year old Aboriginal children revealed that children chose books that promoted social interactions between family members and wider social networks. Books selected most often promoted child agency and problem solving with a cause-effect narrative structure, rather than books of lists and descriptive captions. The children's fathers were actively involved in contributing to their family's literacy development and often read aloud to multi-age groups of children in the home. The study revealed that most families had few children's books in the home and that access to children's books was limited, while also demonstrating the appeal of good-quality children's literature in generating numerous re-readings of favourite books.