Category: Free Essays

Introduction

Youth homelessness is a major concern of society due to how vulnerable this population is. There has been a large amount of research pertaining to the topic of youth homelessness and different factors affecting their rehabilitation. The literature shows similar findings of family influence being a factor in a homeless (Tyler et Al., 2013; Stein et al., 2002). Additionally literature shows that a drug use and unstable housing conditions are found among homeless youth’s families (Ringwalt et al., 1998; Bucker et al. 1997; Hagen & McCarthy, 1997).

Although there is many studies addressing that there are multiple family moves, none of them address the specific reasons of why they moved. This family dysfunction has found to harbor cases of emotional, psychical, and sexual abuse (Colette & Stephen, 2002; Bucker et al., 1997; Maclean et al., 1999; Ryan et al., 2000; Tyler et al., 2000). Youth may make attempts to leave the family home only to be returned home by authorities (Ferguson, 2009). This creates a cycle of running away and a distrust for authorities and services that can hinder the homeless youth’s rehabilitation into society.

Family dysfunction and unstable housing can introduce traumatic events onto a youth giving way to mental disorders which are further developed while on the street (Kidd, 2004; Tyler et al., 2013; Dubas et al., 1996; Davidson & Mansion, 1996). High victimization rates among homeless youth is a major factor creating traumatic events in their lives.

The needs for a successful transition into adulthood will be addressed as well as a comparison of housed and homeless youth as they transition into adulthood. Both the housed and their unhoused counterparts share the same needs but the availability to access those needs differs ((Dubas et al., 1996; Fingerman et al., 2012; Tyler et al., 2013), showing the need for social services to fulfill those needs.

Literature has also found that once a youth is on the streets they search for relationships usually with peers with similar backgrounds. (Ferguson, 2009). Furthermore literature states that being in a stable relationship helps with the rehabilitation out of homelessness (Toro et al., 2007 ; Chamberlain & Johnson, 2008). However an unstable relationship may hinder a youth’s transition out of homelessness (Chris et al. 2008). Some relationships may also be two sided (Colette et al. 2002). This literature will be examined further on in the paper.

The daily activities of homeless youth pose numerous threats and can coincide with the homeless youth population’s high rate of victimization (Hagen & McCarthy, 1997; Tyler et al., 2010). Victimization can happen directly or indirectly to the homeless youth and both types share similar consequences (Tyler et al., 2010; Hoyt et al., 1999; Hagen & McCarthy, 1997; Ferguson, 2009; Stewart et al., 2004; Kipke et al., 1997).

Lastly the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the factors surrounding youth homelessness so that measurements as well as policy recommendations may be made to further develop intervention methods. Furthermore this paper aims to produce the following things; a measure of family moves among homeless youth, recommendations for early intervention on perspectives of social services, as well as a measurement of relationship strength.

Literature Review

Parental influence

One of the most important factors in rehabilitation from youth homelessness is the stable relationships that the youth have. Family relationships for these youth are often clouded with neglect as well as abuse (Claudine, 2006; Toro et al., 2007; Tyler et al., 2013). Criminality, as well as drug use is common in the parents of homeless youth, and research has found found that most families of homeless youth were relying on social assistance (Ringwalt et al., 1998; Bucker et al. 1997). Stein et al. (2002), state that parental substance abuse can be linked to a youth’s own use of substances. Greene Ennett, and Ringwalt (1997) gathered and analyzed data from national representative survey and found that 75% of homeless youth used marijuana; 25% of them having used crack, cocaine, or inhalants; and 17% having engaged in injection drug use. Other family members such as siblings may influence a youth by exposing them to drug us as well. One youth who used marijuana stated that she didn’t have any friends and her older sisters were the ones who introduced her to drugs (Tyler et Al., 2013).

Housing Transitions

It is also common that homeless youth experienced multiple house and school transitions prior to becoming homeless (Buckner et al., 1997). Moving multiple times creates an instability in the youth’s lives because they need to find new friends and do not have a stable household. Research has also found that homeless youth often report that they have not lived with both of their biological parents (Hagen & McCarthy, 1997) However there is no measurements on the type of move as there may be different reasons for moving, with some circumstances causing more instability than others. This is an important gap to research because it can provide information on how certain types of house transitions affect the youth into becoming homeless. Also the distance moved should be accounted for because a move down the street may affect a youth differently than moving over larger distances

Past Abuse

Also Youth interviewed by Colette and Stephen(2002) generally shared a common dysfunctional family dynamic prior to becoming homeless which shows the similarities in the individuals. Previous literature backs this up as it was found that contributing to the familial dysfunction, domestic violence is a common experience in these homeless youth’s homes (Buckner et al. 1997). Emotional as well as physical abuse in the family home are consistently high in the homeless youth population (Maclean et al., 1999). Histories of family abuse and neglect can be seen in a study done by Ryan et al. (2000), which found that 33% of the participants did not experience either sexual or physical abuse in their family home which shows how high the rate of abuse is in this population. Findings of high emotional, sexual, and physical abuse has also been discovered by Tyler et al. (2000), who states that at least thirty percent of homeless youth have experienced sexual abuse in the home.

Abused and neglected youth may try to escape their household only to be returned home by the police and social services. Repeated running away and being returned home by authorizes creates a cycle of running away, as youth view the streets as freedom from the neglect and abuses at home (Ferguson, 2009). There is a flaw in the way these youth are dealt with by the authorities and it can be related to the homeless youth’s reluctance to access services later on. There is no research highlighting a homeless youths early experiences with social services and how those experiences may affect their decision to access services later on.

The problems associated with family dysfunction and abuse include poor school performance, conflict with peers and teachers, as well as conduct problems (Hagan et at., 1997; Bassuk et al., 1996). Previous literature backs up this claim that children and youth who experience neglect and abuse feel isolated, ostracized, seeing others as a threat, with a fear of rejection (Wagner et al., 2007; Bassuk et al., 1996). These early experiences can lead to a distrust of other people including social service workers, which hinders their ability for rehabilitation into contemporary society. The homeless youth’s family history leading to their perception on social services should be taken into account to further develop intervention strategies to encourage participation.

Trauma

Mental illness is an important factor when it comes to the rehabilitation of homeless youth and their transition into contemporary society. Kidd (2004), states that homeless youth and children are a high risk population who suffer from multiple problems including mental health. Family dysfunction is a major contributor to the poor mental health of homeless youth (Tyler et al., 2013). Many factors of family dysfunction can hinder a youth’s ability to develop mentally at the same rate as peers from non-dysfunctional families (Dubas et al., 1996). In addition to a hindered mental development, homeless youth have a higher risk of experiencing traumatic events in dysfunctional families (Dubas et al., 1996). It has been found that youth deal with their mental illnesses through peer guidance rather than through professionals (Davidson & Manion, 1996). Without strong bonds youth who experience traumatic events often use drugs to mask those events with substance dependence (Greene et al., 1996). Because the youth use their peers for advice more than professionals, strategies must be implemented in order show youth that professional help is the rational choice for advice.

Transition to adulthood

The departure from home is an expectation in North American society, and is also a major step into adulthood (Dubas et al., 1996). This stage of life is important because it shapes the way a youth live their life’s (Tyler et al., 2013), showing the need for stability in this stage of a youth’s life. Youth from stable family homes are still not prepared to make the transition into adulthood, often relying of family for both emotional as well as financial support to become self-sufficient (Fingerman et al., 2012). With youths in stable homes relying on their family bonds both emotionally and financially the dilemma with homeless youth transitioning into adulthood is apparent because of their lack of bonds and financial support. Seeing as homeless youth often come from poverty, their families may not have the means to support them financially as they gain skills to become self-sufficient. Also due to a families drug use, absence due to incarceration, and physical abuse, and emotional abuse, the emotional support that is needed to make the transition into adulthood may not be available. These findings back up the need to implement early intervention strategies to show youth that the services are there to help them.

Seeking Relationships

After leaving the home, youth seek out relationships usually with peers with similar past experiences (Ferguson, 2009). In a study done on homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 26, it was found that being in a stable relationship positively influences the transition out of homelessness (Toro et al., 2007). These findings are corroborated through multiple qualitative interviews done by Chamberlain and Johnson (2008), which found that while the homeless youths had unstable or non-existent relationships at home, they had a network of peers with similar backgrounds in the streets. When homeless youth socialize with each other they gain a sense of belonging that they desire which seems like the reasonable decision to them (Chris et al., 2008). Toro and Johnston (2008) also state that once people become homeless they develop peer relationships with others that share their life experiences, and create a sense of belonging. Newly homeless youth who are seeking a sense of belonging should be able to find it through social services, although it has been found that participants in these services are un-cohesive (Fingerman et al., 2012).

It is important to decide whether these relationships are actually positive or just perceived as positive by the youth. These street experienced peers influence the homeless youth into the subculture of homelessness, leading them to multiple risk factors which further entangles the homeless youth in the lifestyle and greatens the need for social services. An example of a relationship that could be either positive or negative would be what Colette and Stephen (2002) describe as street mentorship. These mentors can see the weakness in a newly homeless youth and will use them in exchange for street knowledge (Colette et al. 2002; Wilks et al., 2008). There needs to be a measurement created to more accurately measure relationship strengths taking into account that some relationships may be double edged.

Street Victimization

Once a youth is on the streets they face further stressors as well as well as a high rate of victimization (Tyler et al., 2010). Different activities these homeless youth may participate in include attempts to find work, asking for money from their family and peers, panhandling, prostitution, survival sex, dealing drugs, and theft (Hagen & McCarthy, 1997; Tyler et al., 2010). The types of victimization experienced include verbal, physical, as well as sexual (Ferguson, 2009). A study done by Stewart et al., (2004) estimated the number of direct violent experiences of victimization to be 83% among homeless youth. This victimization can further develop existing mental health issues as well as develop new ones (Tyler et al., 2010). The consequences of victimization relating to mental health include post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive cycles, self-harm, drug use, and suicidal thoughts (Tyler et al., 2010; Hoyt et al., 1999).

Indirect victimization is found to be almost as harmful as directly being victimized (Ferguson, 2009). Indirect victimization can include losing a loved one, experiencing threats, and the victimization of others (Ferguson, 2009; Kipke et al., 1997). Homeless youth often lose loved ones due to high rates of mortality among the population with suicide being the leading cause (Kidd & Davidson, 2006). The mortality rate among homeless youth in Canada is eleven times higher than their peers (Shaw & Dorling, 1998), showing that homeless youth are likely to experience the loss of one of their peers. Kipke et al. (1997) interviewed homeless youth and found that 16% have witnessed someone being sexually assaulted, 20% have seen someone get killed, and 72% have witnessed a violent attack.

Developed measures/ Policy Recommendations

Measures of Family Moves among Homeless Youth

After reviewing the literature gaps relating to measurement as well as areas important to study have become apparent. First of all there are no comparative studies done on different circumstances in which families of homeless youth move homes and its relationship to a youth becoming homeless. This area is important to study so that a better understanding on the effect of multiple moves and their circumstances as they relate to a youth becoming homeless. This may help inform social workers on at risk children and youth at becoming homeless. First of all in order to measure the type of move a scale from zero to three will be devised. Youth who report having a more negative experience with a move will answer closer to three and a youth who has a more positive experience will choose closer to zero. All the scores of a youth will be added together depending on how many moves they have experienced. The higher the score the more at risk the youth is to becoming homeless. Each individual move can be examined to see what circumstances of moves creates a more negative experience for the youth.

Also there is no data showing the relationship between distance that the youth’s family moves and the youth’s likelihood at becoming homeless. In order for this area to be researched a youth must be able to remember general addresses in order for the distanced moved to be measured. Multiple move distances can be added together in order to gain an insight on the total distance of moves the youth experiences. Also two groups need to be surveyed including a control group compromising of housed youth, and a study group who are currently homeless. I hypothesize that the study group will have significantly higher distances moved when compared to the control group. Youth whose families move over longer distances may have to break off relationships they have made as they enter a new area with no bonds to rely on. The youth who is in a new area may make they feel isolated due to the unfamiliarity. On the other hand I hypothesize that youth who are housed will have a lower distance of family moves. Shorter family moves allows the youth to stay in contact with friends and teachers and they give them emotional support.

Early experiences with Social services and Current Perception of Social Services

The early experiences that youth have with social services likely will have an impact on the way they perceive and use social services. In order to gain an insight on the way a youth perceives social services a qualitative interview should be used in order to gather thoughts and emotions felt by the homeless youth. A study should consist of homeless youth and should take into account the early experiences that a youth has with social services. These early experiences could include removal of siblings by a children’s aid worker, returning the homeless youth home due to police picking them up, interactions with teachers, as well as interactions with councilors. The early experiences can then be compared to the youth’s current perception on social services. This research will provide social workers with an insight on the reasons why social services are not used to their potential so that they can employ practices that can accompany these homeless youth’s needs.

Relationship Strength

Street relationships are hard to measure due to their negative and positive attributes. In order to find the strengths and weaknesses in street relationships a survey can be implemented accessing each relationship a homeless youth may have with another homeless youth. The following questions can be asked to represent different aspects of a relationship and can be evaluated to see whether street relationships are positive or negative. 0 will be looked at as negative and 5 will be looked at as positive. Overall these questions can determine the strengths and flaws of street relationships:

How much comfort do you feel knowing that this person is there for you
Could you rely on this person in an emergency
Are drugs used when hanging around each other
Are crimes committed when hanging around each other
Has this person given advice that has allowed you to survive on the street?
Has this person taken advantage of you(Selling drugs for them, or committed a crime for them)

Discussion/ Conclusion

Each individual homeless youth has a variety of factors that lead them to the streets and hinders their ability to leave. The previous literature done on homeless youth have done a good job finding the factors behind a youth becoming homeless but fail to go into detail on each individual factor. Using the scales developed above, further interviews can extract valuable information that can influence early intervention strategies.

Also there is a sufficient amount of research done on the reasons why homeless youth avoid using social services. Little research is done the early experiences with social services but it remains important to research because it is unknown how these experiences have an effect of a homeless youth’s decision to use social services.

There is also a large amount of literature showing that the type of relationship significantly affects whether or not a youth can escape homelessness. This survey can measure relationship strength and therefore evaluate whether or not that relationship is positive or negative.

Finally future research can use these developed measures and policy recommendations to further research in the field. It is important that youth are exposed to positive experiences with social services early, so social service workers should educate youth early on about their programs and services available. Overall this paper examines the details that have been overlooked by the previous literature.

Shaw, mortality among street youth in the UK

Davidson and mansion facing the challenge: mental health and illness in Canadian youth 1996

Drug abuse is nowadays a more and more urgency youth problem all over the world. As an international commercial city, Hong Kong is exposed to this social problem as well, which bring enormous social and economic cost to individuals, families, communities and the whole society there. It is really an issue which requires the public to pay much attention to.

In this paper, the author introduced the contemporary situation of teenager psychoactive drug abuse in Hong Kong (including these young people’s population and age, as well as the tendency, the most often use chemicals and arenas), the negative impacts of drug taking on youths in the context of the timing points in human development. Then, the author utilized a bio-psychosocial model, discussed about the original risk elements conducing youth problematic behavior of drug abuse from three aspects: individual, family, and peers. At last, in terms with these relevant reasons, the author brought forward some suggestions for social worker profession, which may serve as useful strategies in coping with youth drug abuse in Hong Kong.

Keywords: young, drug abuse, social work

Introduction
Literature review
Definition

Drug

Is it a concept too simple to define? In fact, ‘drug’ contains various components. After long-time being influenced by social-cultural context, it becomes more complicated to clarify. For example, is drug therapeutic, or not, or both?

The World Health Organization (WHO) described “drug” in 1981 as “any substance or chemical that alters the structure or functioning of a living being”. Rassool went further on this phase in his book Alcohol and Drug Abuse (2001) as:

A drug, in the broadest sense, is a chemical substance that has an effect on bodily systems and behavior. This includes a wide range of prescribed drugs and illegal and socially accepted substances.

Many methods have been used to categorize drugs. For instance, counting in legal and moral, drug is divided into “prescription medicine”, “illegal” or “illicit” drug, and “over-the-counter medication”. However, they are often intersectional in actual society.

Drug abuse

Drug abuse, also known as substance abuse, has its public health definitions and medical definitions, all of which express an implication of negative value judgment (Jenkins 1999). In universal meaning, it refers to the taking of drugs without following medical advice or prescription, or the indiscreet use of dangerous drugs for non-treatment purposes.

An estimation the UN made tells us there are over 50 million regular drug users all around the world. Though the total number shows a decreasing trend recent years, the age begin to use drug evidently constantly lower.

How people take drugs? Existing researches state that Narcotic, Marijuana, Hallucinogen, Cocaine and Amphetamine are all gebraeuchlich drugs, while Cocaine is always reputed as the “champagne of drugs” and enjoys the greatest appeal for drug users. To further extend oral, smoking, inhalation or sniffing, injecting are the most often routes of drug administration.

Drug abuse not only makes impairment on users’ physical and psychological health, but also brings a host of social and economic problems to the domestic families and the whole community. Furthermore, illicit substance misuse is usually companied with many other deviant behaviors, like alcohol, organized crimes, anti-social activities and so on. It is no surprise at all that drug abuse is a serious social problem now owning to its enormous social and economic cost.

Young people

Young people, also called young person, youth, shares a communal meaning with teen and teenager, but is different from another purely scientifically-oriented phrase—adolescent. In fact, the term “youth” is ambiguously the time between childhood and adulthood, thus its age boundary line is varied all over the world. In Hong Kong, as a rule, people between 14 to 21 years old are considered as “youth”.

Youth is a predominantly important phrase in human development. Naturally, it is the time that young people:

are encountered with dramatic changes in physics, psyche, emotion and social network;

commence self-identity forming;

urge and begin to seize power on experiencing, adventuring, risk-taking and authority challenging;

are particularly possible to be influenced by surroundings on behaviors and lifestyle;

are not so close to family and parents as before while attaching importance to peer group membership and peer approval.

As far as we can see from below, youths are resourceful, while vulnerable at the same time.

Current situation of Youth drug abuse in Hong Kong

As stated by the Central Registry of Drug Abuse’s report in 2008, while the total number of reported drug abusers continually declined, young people below twenty-one years old showed a dramatically-increasing trend: 1002 youths involved in drug abuse in 2002, and then decreased to 2186 in 2004. After that, the number ceaselessly rose to 2894 in 2007. It should be mentioned that the age of lifetime trying of drugs has been dropping apparently (The 2004 Survey of Drug Use among Students, November 2005; Narcotics Division, Security Bureau, HKSAR; Chan, Chu, Wong, & Yu, 2005; Chen, et al., 2005; N. W. T. Cheung & Cheung, 2005; Ho & Liu, 2005; Laidler & Pianpiano, 2005; Lam, Weng, Wong, & Tse, 2004; Sung, 2001; Youth in Hong Kong Statistical Profile, 2005: report submitted to the Commission On Youth). However, we shouldn’t overlook that the real number of youth drug use should be far more.

Memo ammonia ketone, which is also called K Tsui, is young people’s most frequently used drug, following is ecstasy and cannabis. Additionally, they often “enjoy” drugs in their own or friend’ houses, or public disco/karaoke.

All in all, youth drug abuse in Hong Kong is already an alarming matter which should be tackled as soon as possible. It has posed a great threat to the families, the government, and the whole society.

Impacts on youths

Drug use in teenager group is usually association with physical and psychological morbidity, social disabilities, and presented as a mixture of them. WHO’s discovery (2003-04) may offer us a clear angle of view about drug misuse’ influences on young people:

Physical

Peri-oral and peri-lesions caused by inhalation or snorting; physical injuries incurred during intoxication; agitation after poly-drug or prolonged use; needle tracks, thrombosis or abscesses owing to intravenous use; withdrawal syndromes; changing in brain structure.

Psychological

Mood changes (especially depression and anxiety); confusion; personality disorder; depression on withdrawal of simulants; irritability as part of withdrawal syndrome; deliberate self-harm or suicide attempt; psychosis due to drugs’ effects on neurotransmissions.

Social

Deteriorating educational performance; family conflict; crime such as petty associated with intoxication, theft to provide funds, ‘dealing’ as part of more serious association with drug culture.

However, many problematic youths preferably evade reporting their drug abusing problem due to two main reasons. Firstly, young people pursue freedom and independence, and resist pressure from legal, family or society on their difficulties with drugs (Milgram & Rubin 1992). Moreover, most early drug users do not look themselves as substance reliers so that they do not seek any professional treatments until the problem gets too serious to recover. Latent drug abuse may go further to be a lifelong problem for teenagers.

Origin of youth drug abuse

In the last half a century, there has been a surge of interest in, and a plethora of studies on substance abuse in youths. Foremost among these are studies on drug abuse. Several theories are in the way to explain the original reasons for youth drug abuse, such as moral theory, disease theory, genetic theory, psychological theories and socio-cultural theories. Integrating all of their conclusions related to the origin of youth drug abuse, it is not a single factor but a combined effect of several risk factors predisposing young people to use illicit drugs, which can be divided into five levels in accordance with bio-psychosocial perspectives: biological determinations, youth psychological development characteristics, interpersonal elements (include family functioning elements and peer influencing elements), community variables, and societal factors.

Weiner (1992) made a splendid contribution on clarifying causes of youth drug abuse. He referred to the achievements of Brook with his collaborators (Brook, Nomura, & Cohen, 1989; Brook, Whiteman, & Gordon, 1983), pointing out that personality, family, and peer determinants are the most closely related factors for teenager substance abuse. On the word of Weiner (1992), “one factor exerting a particularly strong influence can be sufficient enough for a young person to become drug-involved, even though the other two factors are minimal.” The triad of primary elements-teenagers’ personal variables, family functioning, and peer relationships-serves as the center of bio-psychosocial model related to young people’s involvement into substance abuse. Thus, we will focus point on these three and go over community and society as well.

Personal factors

When negative psychological characteristics, personality and personal experiences work together, young individuals will inevitably have ability of resiliency weaken. In other words, they will lack coping skills in case of environmental challenges, and lean to drugs either voluntarily or passively.

Psychological characteristics of developing phase

As what has been discussed above, youth is such a time people urge to grasp any chance to take adventure, challenge authority and enjoy the pleasure of independence. So, it is understandable that young people consider taking drug as an approach to show ‘recreation’, to alleviate boredom, to feel confident, and to be ‘hard’ (Home Office, 2007).

personality

It has been demonstrated that lower teenagers’ self-efficacy, self-esteem and sense of competence are, more stress-vulnerable they are (Cowen et al., 1990). When internal or external difficulties happen, the ones will have more risk to take drugs, get ‘buzz’ so as to escape from their problems, which winds them into a bigger possibility of indulging psychoactive substance.

personal experience

Young people who have miserable personal experiences now or in the past are especially vulnerable to problematic drug use. These groups include: truants, those excluded from school, the homeless, those ‘look after’ by local authorities or in foster care, young offenders, those involved in prostitution, children from families with substance-abusing parents or siblings and young people with conduct or depressive disorders (Lloyd 1998).

Family functioning

As the primary environment for individuals’ growth, family shares a powerful and intimate connection to youngsters’ involvement, exacerbation, and relapse of drug problems. Family calls attention here because it shares a codependent relationship with youth drug problem, which means while addiction affects abuser’s family, the family are making effect on individual’s substance taking at the same time.

According to Muisener (1994), four categories of factors related to family’s function in teenager drug misuse are:

Major family life: changes in family structure, family composition, geography, ethnicity, socioeconomic status

Family dynamics: leadership, boundaries, affectivity, communication, and task/goal performance

Family dysfunction especially substance-abusing parent(s)

Family relationship especially relationships between parents and youths

In considering these four, relationship factors are most consisted with the children’s drug using problems (Brook, Arencibia-Mireles, Richter & Whiteman, 2001). Parenting practices including low or excessive monitoring, ineffective discipline, and poor communication with children are all imperative variables in youths’ initiation and maintenance of drug abuse problems (Liddle, Rowe, Dakof & Lyke, 1998; McGillicuddy, Rychtarik, Duquette & Morsheimer, 2001).

Peer relationship

In the phase of youth, peer group is able to be as important as youngsters’ “second family”, and makes heavy impacts on their values, beliefs, and behaviors through interpersonal relationships with each other. As like family environment, peer relationships also serve as a perpetuating environment for teenagers’ involvement into substance abuse, mainly by two categories:

Peer crisis

It is also called as “peer shock” by Elkind (1984), and can be broken down into three types: the shock of exclusion, the shock of betrayal, and the shock of disillusionment.

Substance-abusing peers

This “peer cluster” can be a strong influence in youngsters’ initial and ongoing usage of chemicals (Oetting & Beauvais, 1986). Friends reinforce other’s drug habit through driving them into this group activity, encouraging them to carry on drug using, and fostering their denial of drug problem (Shilts, 1991).

In most cases, peer crisis and abusing peers are interacting with each other. For example, a young man who has been excluded from other friends enjoying psychoactive drugs together will have to pay the price of participation into the shared group activity, so as to maintain the membership in this peer group. Later on, he will suddenly find that he is eliminated by other groups. In order to have sense of belonging, he has no other choices but to stay there and develop into a drug abuser. Additionally, peer influence may become more powerful in situations where a young person lacks support, understanding or affection from parental figures.

Community and society

As part of youngsters’ surroundings, community—which is composed of schools, community organizations, police departments and criminal justice systems, other local government institutions and services—can also act as risk factors increasing their likelihood of using psychoactive substances. In a larger scope of the whole society, youth culture and music, social acceptability and the media, may also lead to teenagers’ initiation and continuation of drug misuse. More direct and special, illicit chemicals are accessibility for youths in Hong Kong society.

It is worth mentioning there are extra elements in continued substance use. Rather than by rational decisions, the reasons why people don’t cut out taking drugs may be more related to combined factors, such as individuals’ physiological dependence on psychoactive chemicals, chaotic use, psychological fear of withdrawal symptoms, social exclusions, mental health problems and other environmental elements. Such situation is very common for most drug misusers: they actually have tried to stop taking drugs, but are only able to rationally do this for short periods of time rather than everlasting withdrawal from illegal substances.

Strategies for social work on youth drug abuse

Basing on information from the Narcotics Division, Security Bureau, HKSAR, the Hong Kong government has taken a number of measures related to youth’s drug abuse into action. These include law requirement, policy reinforcement, and promotion activities. On the other side, the jointed work of social worker and doctors is another universal type in running drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes in Hong Kong, such as compulsory placement programme, counseling programme and substance abuse clinic. Nevertheless, as new drugs are endlessly brought in, or old drugs are experienced again by a new generation, all the efforts only have a short-term effect on substance abuse among young people, and continued progress in eliminating drug abuse has gradually slowed down as well (Johnston et al., 2008).

Social work is such a profession best prepared to deal with social problems and assist disadvantaged groups. In terms with the original reasons of youth drug abuse, social worker may also initially handle this problem from three aspects: individual, family, and peers.

Individual

Prevention and health education

This method is widely conducted by doctors, government, mass-media and community. It is mainly used in drug preventive process and emphasis publicizing knowledge of drugs, consequences of use and promoting antidrug use attitudes to public at large.

Social workers bring professional features in this process. For instance, social work may host discussion, experiential activities, and group problem-solving exercises in school, communities, and other public places.

Further causes probing

Since variety of negative factors are able to bring young people risk for contacting illicit drugs, social workers should try them best to find hidden and real causations, and prevent or healing problematic individual through coping with latent issues first. Individual counseling can be conducted this part.

Self-potency enhancing

According to Shamai (1994), some personality traits can typify youth in distress, such as impaired self-control, low self-esteem, self-confidence and self-satisfactory, sense of coherence, low level of aspirations and little hope for the future.

Empowerment is one of the major measures social work profession utilizes. Setting in substance addicted teenagers, what social workers can do includes to bring youths a positive attitude towards their drug dependence, to help them develop skills against peer influence and pressure, improve self-efficacy and self-control capacity. Cognitive-behavior therapy is considered useful in self-potency enhancing for youth involved in substance abuse, which processes of instruction, demonstration, practice, feedback and reinforcement.

Personal and social skills training

Individual resources are qualities that enable youth to contend with negative life events and stressful situations (Ben-Sira 1993; Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Social worker may work with organization such as youth centers, communities here.

To assist young people, either who have already taken psychoactive chemicals or who have the danger for touching drugs, to gain personal anti-drug skills, social work will teach them how to reduce their anxiety, how to apply generic skills to resist substance-use influences, to establish non-substance-use norms, and so forth. Useful methods include recreational activities, behavioral rehearsal, resistance-skills training, and practice via behavioral “homework”.

In terms with social skills training, communication, use of same age or older peer leaders, vocational training, social and assertive skills, participation in community service projects are all possible methods social workers can make use of.

Family

According to a recent view of environment’s role in addiction (Nader and Czoty 2005), owning a less stressful and more privileged environment may help individuals enlarge the protection from addiction or relapse during recovery process. In this way, teenager’s original family should be considered as a recovery environment and a focus of treatment.

While family recovery and family therapy are widely used in recent years, social workers’ roles there are mainly releasing risk elements associated to youth drug abuse, and assist families to offer continuum of care and support for problematic young people in drug recovery. Family recovery skills can be categorized into family addiction awareness, family development awareness and strengthening family dynamics, in which social workers can serve as assistances and organizers.

Peers

In or before the process of giving up drugs, most of these problematic teenagers are usually faced with exclusion from young persons who do not take illicit chemicals. However, to get out of drug abuse, they should complete dual challenges or missions: giving up former young companions, and making new friends with others who do not abuse chemicals.

Rather than force youths to get out of “old friends”, social workers should assist youths to make new friends for his support and social needs. Group work is an effective method here. One is group treatment, which includes chemical awareness group and abstinence support group. Teenagers in recovery get together, share their experiences, thoughts, feelings, and skills to avoid drugs. They can also claim to give up taking chemicals, which is demonstrated an impactful way. About another kind of group work, several addicted young people will be planned to stay with others who don’t take drugs. By sharing their experiences and decision to avoid chemicals, the disadvantaged ones will enjoy the chance to make new friends, as well as get support from them, which is extremely important in preventing their doom to relapse in recovery.

Much of the researches available on young parenthood have focused on the experiences of teenage mothers and mainly those separated from the young fathers. Subsequently, efforts have been made to ascertain the proportional involvement of fathers in various aspects of parenting and the distinctive contributions of fathers (knight et. Al, 2006). There are significant gaps in the provision of service for teenage fathers (Cater et al 2006). Practitioners wishing to offer support for the young fathers face a number of barriers such as the difficultly in finding young fathers, the lack of adequate support for young fathers when they are identified, complicated family issues, educational difficulties and the negative attitudes of individual professionals.

Despite the growing research on young fathers, there remains a dearth of research that recognises the wide diversity of young fatherhood and the different needs young fathers may have (e.g. young fathers in care, young fathers in prison, non-resident fathers, young fathers from ethnic minority groups). Young fathers are invisible as a group, yet they are more likely to require support services and be affected by unemployment, poor housing, and a lack of education (Speak et al., 1997). It is therefore not surprising that little is known about the expectations and experiences of young fathers in accessing support and the barriers they face.

The study arose from the observation that there is limited information available in current research on the views and experiences of young fathers in Outer London Borough. Much of the research that is available on young parents focuses on the experiences of young mothers. This study sought to establish, from the perspective of young fathers and the organisations that worked with them their expectations and experiences in accessing support and the effectiveness of the support available.

Research questions

How accessible and effective are the support available to young fathers in meeting their socio-economic needs in Outer London Borough?

Aims

The aims of my research are:

to identify which organisations are offering support to young fathers and how they worked with them;

to explore young fathers’ view of support available to them and the obstacles they face in accessing it;

to establish, from the view point of young fathers and the organisations that worked with them the effectiveness of the support.

Research methodology

The qualitative paradigm aims to understand the social world from the viewpoint of respondents, through detailed descriptions of their cognitive and symbolic actions, and through the richness of meaning associated with observable behavior (Wildemuth, 1993).

The research would be undertaken using the following qualitative research techniques:

Desk scoping.

Structured interviews with young fathers and service providers.

Case study review of projects and initiatives that provide practical support to young fathers.

Desk Scoping

Desk Scoping focused on investigating into the existing evidence. This included searching the following sources:

An extensive search was made of all relevant databases, libraries and journals for literature sources pertaining to the project issue. In addition a comprehensive review of internet based literature and resources were made. Using the London South Bank University library online resources via http://library.lsbu.ac.uk, ASSIA (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts), an electronic resource, was searched, 51 results were found using the term young parenthood (search was from 2001 to current), 33 results were found using the term teenage father (search was from 2002 to current to reduce the search result to a manageable number) and 9 results were found using the terms young father and support. ASSIA covers English language journals in applied social sciences and includes health, economics, social issues & social policy, organisational behaviour and communication.

Relevant governmental organisations’ websites were searched for information gathering.

As relevant reports were identified through these avenues, the references within these reports were followed as a way of further identifying relevant research reports.

Interviews

The most common forms of collecting qualitative data are participant observation and in-depth interviewing (Kenworth, Snowley & Gilling 2004). Cohen & Manion (1993) interviews are initiated by the reviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research-relevant information and focused by (her or) him on content specified by research objectives of systematic description, prediction or explanation.

7 semi-structured interviews will be conducted with service delivery personnel from those organisations offering specialist support to young fathers (social services, connexions, parenting support, parentingUK, first housing, health agency, and employment support). These interviews would be conducted by telephone to identify common/different support practices and to evaluate their perceived effectiveness.

In addition to the interviews, local service providers would take part in informal meetings. Some would be interviewed at the start of the study and provide information on the local context. Others would provide ongoing dialogue during the time of the study, particularly those from maternity services in the study localities. A roundtable dissemination event would be held towards the end of the study to discuss findings and their relevance for local practice and policy.

A minimum of 10 semi-structured interviews would be held with young fathers (young fathers in care, young fathers in prison, non-resident fathers and young fathers from ethnic minority groups) who have either received or not received support. Due to the delicate nature of these interviews and the potential vulnerability of the participants, an appropriate qualified researcher, following the strictest ethical guidelines, will sensitively conduct interview. Prior to any interviews, the researcher will update their Child Protection Training to ensure that s/he is fully aware of current relevant issues.

The core themes to be explored through the structured interviews are:

identifying the support needs of young fathers;

local services available to young fathers, both practical and emotional;

partnership working among agencies that provide young fathers with support;

opportunities and challenges to providing practical support to young fathers.

Interview will be conducted in the participants’ homes and supported by adult family member or friend. Parental/guardian consent will be confirmed prior to the interview and all interviews will be recorded digitally. Data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Their names and other identifying information would be anonymised in the presentation of finding. The young people taking part would be assured in writing and verbally that the narratives they shared would be treated in confidence and that confidentiality would be breached only in the event of disclosure or child protection concerns being revealed regarding issues not already known to the relevant agencies.

A semi-structured interview will be used by the same researcher to ensure consistency; all interviews will be digitally recorded with consent and lasted between 20 and 60 minutes. Digital recording the interviews would enhance the reliability of the interview. Using semi-structured interviews in this study enables the interviewer to be guided by the participant who should be encouraged to talk freely, even though the interviewer may have certain points to cover.

Participant will be recruited in the following way:

Young fathers who have used organisations offering specialist (social services, connexions, parenting support, parentingUK, first housing, health agency, and employment support) support will be contacted via a list to be provided by the agencies and invited to join the study only after securing the young person’s agreement and parental/guardian consent. For others who have not used specialist services, would be recruited through their children’s mothers or via local contacts and word of mouth.

Young fathers will be encouraged to participate in the study, through awarding a ?10 ASDA voucher to all participants. Should sufficient participants be identified, selection through criteria including age, gender and ethnicity type will be made to ensure a broad representation of demographic groups.

Case Study

To explore in more depth the experiences of young fathers and to understand more fully the practice of those organisations offering activities to young fathers, three case studies were reviewed. These case studies are examples of projects or initiatives that provide practical support to young fathers. The aim of the review was to explore the range of approaches that have been developed to support the practical needs of young fathers, highlighting successes, challenges faced and lessons learned.

The findings reported here centre mainly on the experiences of becoming and being a father from the viewpoints of the young men involved in the case studies. Additionally the report includes some young women’s perspectives on the young men as fathers.

Research design

It is anticipated that in order to complement existing longitudinal survey data, the current study will employ primarily qualitative methods to explore the young fathers expectations and experiences in accessing support and the effectiveness of the support they receive. The aim of a qualitative researcher is to explore people’s experiences, feelings and beliefs so that statements about how people interpret and structure their lives can be made (Holloway & Wheeler 1996).

The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach would be used for this study and will provide an insight and understanding of young fathers expectations and experiences in accessing support and the effectiveness of the support. IPA was chosen over the ‘Grounded Theory’ approach (Glaser & Strauss 1967), as we do not want to develop a theory but to understand and explore how the participants understood their personal and social environment and what experiences and events meant for them.

It is envisage that a retrospective, life-history approach, including a range of groups (e.g. young fathers in care, young fathers in prison, non-resident fathers, young fathers from ethnic minority groups and practitioners) will give insights into young fathers’ expectations and experiences in accessing support and the effectiveness of the support they receive. I expect the sample to reflect a sufficient range of potentially significant variables such as gender, age, ethnicity and social background.

The ethical committee within the London South Bank University (LSBU) would consider the study for approval. All participants would be given information sheets explaining the procedure. Before giving signed consent, participants would be advised that they were free to leave at any time. Pilot studies would be done of the questions being asked to check the clarity of the language.

Beck & Hungler (2001) suggest that four ethical principles must be considered when participating in research: (1) the right not to be harmed, (2) the right to be fully informed on all aspects of the study, (3) the right to decide to take part or not (and the right to withdraw at any time) and (4) the right to privacy, anonymity and confidentiality.

Qualitative research commences during the process of data collection. While the researcher processes the information patterns are then looked for during the interview and then select a theme to follow. The data analysis continues throughout the interviews and also once data is collected. Two researchers will independently undertake the analysis and checked and re-checked with each other for emergent themes.

Diversity within the sample would allow for the exploration of young fathers’ experiences across a range of circumstances relating to their age, locality, education and employment, living arrangements, relationships with their partner, support from family and friends, contact with formal services, etc.

Social work and qualitative research share the mutual goals of dealing with subjectivity, describing the complexity of lived experience, and appreciating realities where intuition is valued. Qualitative methodology is, therefore, in my view a suitable method to be employed in researching the expectations and experiences of young fathers in accessing support.

Researchers would take necessary steps not to introduce bias by accidentally reporting their interpretation of participants’ feelings. At the beginning of the study researchers would declare and record their feelings. The researchers would also ensure that the level of subjectivity remains at a relatively neutral level.

Ethical issues are important and would be considered at every step of the research process. This is not just about obtaining ‘ethical approval’ for a study but also ensuring the rights of participants are not violated. When reporting the findings of the research, participants’ anonymity and confidentiality would not be breached.

The role of the interviewer is to encourage participants to discuss their experiences of the phenomenon. It is possible that in the cause of the interview participants could inadvertently discuss personal information that they had not planned to reveal, or that may rekindle tragic or uncomfortable experiences related to this study. Researchers would continue to negotiate with participants to ascertain whether they wish to continue with the interview or not. Psychological support would be in place to manage any emotional distress that may result from the interview. Everything would be done in the course of the study to protect the rights of vulnerable respondents.

The researchers would not make any exaggerated claims as to the significance of the research and implications for practice, and further research would be located in the study’s findings. Moreover, the researcher would relate the findings of the study back to the original research purpose, and illustrate whether or not it has been adequately addressed (Thorne et al., 2005). The researchers would conclude by placing the findings in a context that indicates how this new information is of interest, and its implications for social work. These conclusions would reflect the study’s findings and ideally would offer recommendations as to how they may be developed.

The most common criteria used to evaluate qualitative research studies are credibility, dependability, transferability and confirmability (Lincoln et al., 1985). It is therefore important that the readers are able to identify the criteria used and are able to clearly follow each step of the research process.

To ensure the credibility of the study process, the study would address the issue of whether there is consistency between the participants’ views and the researcher’s representation of them. The participants would be consulted at every stage of the study and they would be allowed to read and discuss the study findings. The researcher would also describe and interpret his experience as a researcher.

The study would provide evidence of a decision trail at each stage of the research process. Future researchers would clearly be able to follow the trail used by the researchers and potentially arrive at the same or comparable conclusions. The researchers would demonstrate how conclusions and interpretations have been derived from the data. It’s hoped that the findings would be transferable to other context outside the study situation and people who were not involved in the research study would find the results meaningful.

One of the shortcomings of a qualitative research based study of this nature is their lack of objectivity and generalisation of their findings. The study has been designed to seek answers to how persons or groups make sense of their experiences. In my view small qualitative studies can gain a more personal understanding of the phenomenon and the results can potentially contribute valuable knowledge to the community. Hamilton (1980) asserts that the value of a study is established by reference to the phenomena it seeks to comprehend and the understandings it aspires to develop. Stake (1980) suggests that using qualitative methodology in this type of study may be in conceptual harmony with the service users’ experience and thus be a natural basis for generalization.

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Framework J Adv Nurs 48(4): 388-96

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Myers, M. (2000). Qualitative research and the generalizability question: Standing firm with Proteus. The Qualitative Report, 4(3/4). http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR4-3/myers.html

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes health promotion as:

‘the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health.’ (WHO 1986, p.11)

Through discussion with the Head of Establishment and members of staff at Kirklandpark Nursery, staff wished to incorporate diet and nutrition into their room planning. They felt this would be an effective area of focus as the nursery was working towards its silver award in the Health Promoting Nurseries. Staff also informed me that what I carried out would be used as evidence towards this.

One of the strategies that educators can use to promote the health and wellbeing within children’s services is the enablement strategy. This aims to ensure there are equal chances for all to reach optimum health (Naidoo and Wills, 2000:86).

This strategy also helps people expand their knowledge and skills in health matters, so they can recognise and deal with health issues in their lives (Naidoo and Wills, 2009:62).

Within the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) there is a significant focus on the curriculum area ‘health and wellbeing’. In the experiences and outcomes there is a section on ‘Food and Health’, which aspires children to build on their existing skills and knowledge to make better food choices for a healthier future.

According to the Curriculum for Excellence:principles and practice:

‘A poorly balanced diet can contribute to the risk of developing a number of diseases and conditions including tooth decay, obesity, certain cancers, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke’ (Scottish Executive 2007, p.7)

With the CfE’s assessment in mind, and having liaised with children and staff, I planned an experience and used the enablement strategy to promote this. Observation 5 demonstrates that children were enabled with information and knowledge about the reasons for their own health, as we discussed why healthy/unhealthy foods were good and not so good for our bodies.

While confident about the general promotion of health and wellbeing, when educating the children on the causes of their own health. I initially found it difficult to explain exactly what unhealthy foods can do to our bodies. I consulted my mentor for ideas and she provided me with suggestions on how I could implement this. I strongly feel this is an area for development.

The enablement strategy resembles the empowerment strategy as it requires practitioner’s to act as a facilitator, then step back, giving control to society (Naidoo and Wills, 2009)

Adventures in Foodland is a pack which aims to direct educators in positively inspiring children to acquire a taste for eating healthily at a young age. (NHS Health Scotland, 2003). I used the enablement strategy to do this.

As an educator I found this pack extremely relevant and helpful. In observation 7 the children were given control as they informed me which foods they would like to try. I listened and acted as the facilitator by purchasing the foods, helping to prepare them and then stepping back, allowing the children to be in control. The children were given the choice to try the foods which I provided them. A social learning theorist, Albert Bandura believed that children copy others who have more power than them e.g. adults (Sayers, 2008 cited in Flanagan 2004) In observation 7 I was a good role model and tried the foods with the children, which encouraged others to try as well.

I also used the educational strategy. This is similar to the enablement strategy as it aims to provide people with knowledge and information, in order for them to make a choice about the way they feel about their health. (Naidoo and Wills, 2000)

The educational strategy differs from the behaviour change strategy as it does not make a person change the way they do things but instead encourages change (Naidoo and Wills 2000).

The National Care Standards, Standard 3.3 aa‚¬” Health and Wellbeing states:

‘children and young people have opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles and relationships, hygiene, diet and personal safety’ (Scottish Executive, 2009).

Diet and nutrition relates to this standard and links with the educational and enablement strategy I used. The children were given equal opportunities to learn about these stated in standard 3.3. In observation 7 I used a big book with the children to gather their ideas on hygiene and personal safety. I strongly believe that doing this was a useful and effective way in gathering ideas to promote the health and well-being to everyone in the setting.

I explained to the children what the book would be used for, I listened to their ideas and worked in a team with all partners. I was also assertive in speaking to children about the big book, and consulting them about ideas.

My mentor offered valuable feedback and encouraged me to consult more with parents and show them their child’s work.

A publication by Her Majestyaa‚¬a„?s Inspectorate of Education’s (HMIE) titled How good is our school? The Journey to Excellence promotes well-being and respect. In dimension 9 there is an aspect on ‘promoting positive healthy attitudes and behaviours’ (HMIE, 2006)

This links with the educational strategy I used as it encourages and provides people with the knowledge and information they need to make choices.

Observation 6 demonstrates how important the educational strategy is in providing children with knowledge of a healthy balanced diet. This allowed children to think about what they eat. Some children thought differently and changed their views in a positive way. However, I found it difficult to explain what was meant by a healthy balanced diet in words that children would understand. I came across ‘the eatwell plate’ after finishing the project which would have been a fantastic resource to use with the children and help further their understanding. For my continuing professional development I aim to focus on how to better myself in finding other ways to communicate with children effectively when explaining what is meant by a healthy balanced diet.

Advocacy is a further strategy used to promote health and wellbeing. Advocacy means talking on out for someone, such as a child, parent or a subject matter (Hall and Elliman 2007).

Advocacy is also about expanding people’s knowledge on the health matter. (Naidoo and Wills 2009)

Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge aims to better the health of people living in Scotland (Scottish Executive, 2003) I used advocacy to do so by speaking out for the children in regards to their diet and nutrition. Observation 2 helped to expand knowledge among children, parents and staff regarding this. I helped change the home corner into a fruit and vegetable shop. Multi-agency working was used and I demonstrated assertiveness in putting my point across when communicating with staff about which ways to promote health and wellbeing.

I also employed the enablement and the empowerment strategy when I acted as the facilitator and allowed the children to take control of the experience, as they chose which resources they wanted to go in their shop.

The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 puts emphasis on health promotion being a huge part of the activities provided in schools.

(Scottish Government, 2007) The 10 learning experiences I carried out played a significant part in promoting the health and wellbeing of others.

I feel the enablement and empowerment strategy was successful in promoting health and wellbeing to all partners. The children were given choice and were in control. Parents were also empowered to take control and choose to take on board the knowledge provided. I involved parents by writing on the white board to inform them of what the children had been learning. This ties in with the Nutritional Guidelines for Early Years as it encourages educators to speak to parents daily to inform them what was available for snack (Scottish Executive, 2006) In observation 10 M’s grandfather told me he had never considered making fruit kebabs before but he liked the idea and intended to make them for M’s birthday party at the weekend. A further area I can improve on is building relationships with all parents.

I also feel the educational strategy worked in the sense that some children made healthier choices at snack and at home. This also promoted health and wellbeing for parents as their child was influencing healthier choices at home. A few children continued to make unhealthy choices by asking for a biscuit at snack. As the educational strategy encourages rather than instructs change, this did not work well with a couple of the children/parents.

If I had more time, I would involve parents and other commercial partners more, such as Sainsburyaa‚¬a„?s and deepen children and parents understanding further.

My mentor also said if I had longer I could make parents more involved, by inviting them for snack and encouraging them to help out, such as taking the children to the shops to buy snack.

In conclusion, I feel my ability to promote the health and wellbeing in the area diet and nutrition to service users in Kirklandpark nursery was done well considering the short period of time I had. I took account of literature, national advice and my mentors feedback. The strategies I used were effective and my findings from literature, government publications and initiatives helped me discuss this. By doing this project it has made me realise there are strategies I need to work on in order to professionally develop.

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References

Hall, D. and Elliman, D. (2003). Health For All Children (4th Edition). Oxford: Medical Publications.

HMIE (2006) How good is our school? A Journey to Excellence, Livingston

Naidoo, J. and Wills, J. (2009) Foundations for Health Promotion (3rd Edition)

Naidoo, J. and Wills, J (2000) Health Promotion: Foundations for Practice (2nd Edition)

NHS Scotland (2003) Adventures in Foodland, Edinburgh

Sayers, S. (2008) HNC Early Education and Childcare Heinemann

Scottish Executive (2007) Curriculum for Excellence: health and wellbeing principles and practice,Learning and Teaching Scotland

Scottish Executive (2003) Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge, Edinburgh

Scottish Executive (2006) Nutritional guidelines for early years: food choices for children aged 1-5 years in early education and childcare settings, Edinburgh

Scottish Executive (2009) The National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the Age of 16; Standard 3 Health and Wellbeing

World Health Organization (1998) Health Promotion Glossary Switzerland : World Health Organization

Sexual abuse has been a growing concern in our society. The statistics on sexual abuse in America are alarming. According to Finkelhor (1994) “approximately 150,000 confirmed cases of child sexual abuse were reported to child welfare authorities in the United States during 1993” (p.31). Lucinda stated, “I have worked with children who have been sexually abused and it is a devastating experience for the individual”.

Working with an individual who has a history of sexual abuse would be very difficult. The individual will likely be guarded and possibly closed off from the surrounding environment. He or she may not want to talk about what happened in their past, and want to shut it away so they never have to relive the horror that happened to them. Since this abuse is not as visible as physical abuse, it is harder for people outside the abuse to recognize it. The individual in the abuse may feel that it is their fault, or they are inviting the abuser into the relationship. The abused individual may also feel that when speaking about the abuse to another person, that person will judge them think it is the fault of the abused.

Core Issues

Some of the core issues in treatment while working with someone diagnosed with a history of sexual abuse is gaining the clients trust so that they may disclose their history of being sexually abused and feeling safe and not being judged. Lucinda stated, “For me, the most important factor for the clinician is to gain the trust of the individual first before the client feels safe enough to share such an experience with a total stranger”. Sexual abuse is a touchy subject to some and some individuals do not disclose having been sexually abused because they feel ashamed or guilty or they fear being judge has damaged goods. According to Lev’s post, “88% of cases of sexual abuse are never disclosed by the child.” In agreement, Alaggia (2005) states, “50% to 80% of victims do not purposefully disclose childhood sexual abuse before adulthood” (p.454).

Another core issue is the ability to gain that initial trust between the client and the clinician. For someone that has had a history of sexual abuse this can be a hard aspect to have happen. This is understandable because at some point in that person’s life they lost the ability to trust when someone took that opportunity away from them. It’s like that individual had their bond of trust violated and that may carry over as an adult for the ability to trust their own feelings and judgment. Additional core issues noticed with those sexually abused would be placing the blame on themselves or taking the responsibility for what has occurred to that individual. Also, having a constant fear instilled in them that something is wrong with them. Perhaps even issues with power and control because one may feel that was stripped away from them. An abused child will not open up unless they can trust again (trust is obviously something that is tarnished and even lost through the abuse).

Another core issue in treatment while working with someone diagnosed with a history of sexual abuse is using memory to work through the trauma. As Courtois (1992) points out, “Therapy is geared not only to the retrieval of autobiographical memory, but towards the integration of affect with recall to achieve resolution of the trauma.” Because so many feelings, emotions of the memories are difficult to deal with on a day to day basis, many victims of sexual abuse tend to dissociate and therefore can suffer from dissociative disorder and PTSD. I think it is extremely important to address sexual assault of males. So often is hard to come forward about the assault but as Hopper (2010) addresses, “Approximately one in six boys is sexually abused before age 16.” He goes on to talk about the long lasting affect’s of sexual abuse and how it can become a perpetuated cycle of being hurt: “Avoiding getting close to people and trying to hide all of one’s pain and vulnerabilities may creating a sense of safety. But this approach to relationships leads to a great deal of loneliness, prevents experiences and learning about developing true intimacy and trust, and makes one vulnerable to desperately and naively putting trust in the wrong people and being betrayed again.” A core factor for many that are abused is that they are not alone. Many times knowing that others are dealing with a similar situation can make a huge difference.

Therapeutic Models

The types of therapeutic modality that works best for someone who has been abused should be determined based on the individual and the therapist preference. In the article by Courtois (1999) discusses that the resolution of sexual abuse trauma requiring retrieval of memory and the working through of the associated affect. This is important so the individual can heal by having fully acknowledged what has occurred to them in the past. The article further states, memory retrieval is an important component of the therapeutic process. As a therapist, an essential task when working with the client, would be having them acknowledge the abuse that has happened to them and be able to retrieve the full memory to proceed in the healing process. Courtois (1999) notes how memory deficits “are quite characteristic of trauma response and are utilized in the interest of defense and protection. This is an essential point for the clinician to understand in working on trauma resolution in general and memory retrieval in particular”. The strengths perspective acknowledges the client as the expert, which allows the memory retrieval to be a lot easier, and to be more accurate from the client.

It is crucial that clinicians be educated when working with individuals who have a history of childhood sexual abuse. Stearn (1988) states, “to diagnostically assess and treat clients in the most effective manner, social workers need to discover how each sexual abused clients views himself or herself, significant others, and the world” (p.466). Jennings (1994) “examines ways of using a broad spectrum of creative approaches, such as art, play, dance, music and drama, and combinations of those, to work with people who have been traumatized by experiences of sexual abuse” (p.471). Lucinda stated, “In my opinion, the best therapeutic modality that would work best with clients who have a history of childhood sexual abuse is using the strengths perspective”. The client is the expert on his or her own experience because only they know how they felt and what actually occurred during those moments. Bell (2003) believes

“the strengths perspective involves turning away from rational, empirical models that order and codify reality, toward a constructivist view, which holds that the identification of human problems reflects not objective reality, but the perspective of the one doing the looking. With this constructivist understanding, three assumptions emerge from the strengths perspective. First, clients have personal and environmental strengths and are more likely to act on those strengths when they are affirmed and supported. Second, the strengths perspective views the client as the expert on his or her own experience. Third, the roles of the social workers shift from expert and “fixer” to collaborator who respects and fosters the strengths of the client” (p.513).

Lucinda stated, “I feel that being empathetic, understanding, and compassionate are important in working with these clients”. According to Calof (1993) “listening to their stories and helping them explore the truth of their experiences has enabled many to turn their lives around” (p.45).

Family therapy is also important. Acknowledging the important and loving family members and their role in the victim’s life can help. With their love and support, the abused can work with the family to form treatment plans and other means of support.

As social workers, we have to not only listen to what our clients are saying but also read their body language as well as anything else they give us as clues. They are children who have been violated and are reluctant to speak because in their minds they did something wrong. We have to work collaboratively with the non-offending family (if that is obvious), schools, doctors, and other professionals so that we can get a full picture of the child’s symptoms, behaviors, and problems. Once we establish there has been abuse and from whom, we must remove the abuser if that has not already been done. Only then will we be able to work with the child towards a state of healing. Healing cannot happen when someone is still being abused. However literature does state most do not disclose what has happened until they are adults. Sometimes, it is not possible to remove the abuser if nothing is said about the abuse. As social workers, we would have to take every incident as it comes and deal with it as soon as possible. Unfortunately and sadly, most sexual abusers get off with a slap in the hand while the children they abuse suffer for the rest of their lives.

Essential Task for Therapists

An essential task for the therapist is providing a safe environment. Ensuring that a victim of sexual abuse feels comfortable in their setting is a pertinent factor in providing treatment. Also, maybe the sex of the therapist will matter. If the victim is female and was sexually abuse by a male, she may only feel comfortable speaking with another female. Lana stated, “The women in my placement have expressed many times their fears and anxieties when in groups with men after sexual assaults that they faced both as children and adults”.

As therapist we should not only be treating for sexual abuse, we should also be doing more about prevention and education to all young children. It should not take years for a person to disclose that they were abused as child without having the ability to address the abuse. They should not have to go through the feelings that it was their fault or the one to blame. Laura stated, ” I think it is very important for children to understand that it is often an adult that they know who becomes an abuser. Schools teach stranger-danger, and to fear the stranger, when often the threat comes from an individual close to or seen by the child.” Children need to be aware that there are monsters who can appear as nice people, who are not only strangers, and the only way to make something bad go away they have to talk. Some ways to do this is by using examples of what is appropriate from different people is the best way to get things across. Also, using child-like language is very important as well. Using characters from TV and books can be used as examples of love and family as long as the child can relate and understand in a certain way.

A therapist of someone who has a history of sexual abuse would need to patient and empathetic, while urging the individual to share their story. The individual has likely lived many years of hiding the abuse and trying to act like it never happened, while trying to live a “normal” life. This is not possible, as the horrible history will present itself in varying disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, dissociative disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder and create upset in their life. The therapist must create an era of trust and safety in which the individual can feel comfortable and able to speak about their past. I think the therapist needs to ease into the revelations in order to help the individual to feel more comfortable; with each small piece, followed by safety and reassurance, another may follow, allowing the individual to reveal their past. This is really the ideal, and the therapist will need to be able to help the person overcome the varying disorders and other issues in their life.

Why People Develop Problems with Substances

Psychological and sociological theories as to why people develop problems with substances and their application vary; some theories relate to genetics others to the environment. Most Theories focus on particular features of the rate of drug use: Illicit drugs, Alcoholism, Addiction, The drug experience-how and why people use them, Individuals, Society, Career.

Social learning is just one of the theories that try to explain the use of substance misuse. A degree of difference is found in society’s attitudes and behaviours. Learning depends on priority, intensity, time and involves practice, motivation, attitude, and meaning. (Edwin Sutherland 1939).

Thinking about different theories on behaviour can help us to understand why and how some people have substance problems, for example,

Behavioral theories: behavioural psychology or behaviourism is based on all behaviours being learned through conditioning. Cognitive theories:focus on internal thoughts such as motivation, attention, decision making and problem solving. Developmental theories: think about learning, development and growth. Humanistic theories: look at human beings being basicaly good. Personality theories: looks at the behaviours, thoughts and feelings that make each person an individual. Social psycology theories: focus on explaining social behaviours. (Psychologist World)

Applying these theories can assist in understanding why some people depend on substances while others do not.

Looking at society as a whole does not give a clear picture as to why some people develop substance dependency. If you look at different areas of society you start to see deprived areas, poverty, unemployment, peer pressure, boredom or pressures from work, family history or a pre-disposition to substance problems as well as the environment that a person is brought up in could influence someone’s substance dependency.

If a child is born to a mother that is dependant on drugs or alcohol then the child may be born with a predisposition to that specific dependency, if a child is raised in an area where drugs and alcohol are freely available then they could be pressured by peers to consume the available substances. This is seen commonly among teenagers when they start to experiment with new things and where peer pressure to be the same as everyone else can entice a young person to start taking a substance to please or maintain relationships with peers. This can lead to long term dependency that can continue into adult hood especially if the child has a predisposition to substances or has an addictive tendency, causing the cycle to continue. Society’s attitude towards alcohol problems has been largely accepted as the “Scottish way of life” according to the 2004 Scottish social attitudes survey carried out by the Scottish government.

Cultural Attitudes

“Every person in Scotland has a part to play in reviewing their attitudes and behaviours, and contributing to the debate about how we collectively address these problems.” (Carolyn Churchill, 2010)

Alcohol problems are estimated to cost Scotland around ?3.56 billion per year in NHS, social work, police, emergency services, and the wider economic and human costs. Alcohol misuse not only affects the health and wellbeing of individual drinkers, but also have a major impact on family relationships, the wider communities as well as society as a whole. (Alcohol Focus Scotland)

Through using these services society is trying to reduce the amount of substance abuse within Scotland. This is however an uphill struggle and until attitudes change it will be left to the medical profession, police and emergency services and the social work department to fire fight the problems within the Scottish communities. Social justice is concerned with equality of justice, not just in the courts, but in society as a whole. This idea stresses that people have to have equal rights and opportunities from the poorest to the wealthiest in society deserve equal chances and opportunities. New legislation may assist the problem however it is the attitude of the individual that will ultimately start to change the attitude of society as a whole.

Criminal Justice law changed in 2010 this gave courts more flexibility in the way they were able to sentence people that passed through the courts. This now allows courts to look at ways of reparation without using short term imprisonments.

Statutory Orders are those non-custodial sentencing options available to all Sheriff Courts in Scotland. This allows greater choice of sentance for the sherriff. Using Social Enquiry Reports, Community Service Orders, Probation Orders (including those with a requirement of unpaid work), Probation Orders with a Requirement of Unpaid Work, Supervised Attendance Orders, Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, Restriction of Liberty Orders, Statutory Throughcare, Voluntary Assistance and the Throughcare Addiction Service, Home Circumstances Reports, Diversion from Prosecution and Bail Information, the sheriff can now look at the crime and the persons background and apply a decision/sentence that is proportionate to the crime. (Criminal Justice Act 2010)

Safer and stronger communities are at the heart of Scottish Government policy. Communities that people are proud to belong to, where they feel safe and have confidence that justice and fairness will prevail, where people take responsibility for each other and for their own actions. (People and the Law)

Youth justice is closely connected to Getting it Right for Every Child which underpins the principals of agencies involved with young people. Getting It Right For Every Child is the Government’s policy for addressing the needs of all children – and it provides the framework within which public agencies can work better together with a focus on improving outcomes for children. Building the capacity of families and communities to engage in activities that support children is central to this approach. The Early Years and Early Intervention Framework being developed jointly by the Scottish Government and CoSLA will ensure a strong focus on what needs to be done to ensure that all children, including the most vulnerable, get the best start in life. (The Road to Recovery)

Youth justice is about intervening at an appropriate time with a plan and a good framework for the intervention. Multi agency co-operation is needed for this to work effectively using a range of procedures and practices dealing with young people who are putting themselves and/or others at risk or offending.

Scotland’s children’s hearing system was initiated by a change to the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and is now part of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and is at the heart of youth justice. Since its introduction children under the age of 16 are only considered for prosecution in an adult court if the crime they have committed is deemed to be very serious such as murder. The hearing system deals with children and young people who are in need of care and protection as well as those who have displayed offending behaviours.

Youth justice traditionally worked with children from the age of 8 to 16 but has recognised the need to start preventative work with younger children to support them in the transition from children to adults in a more positive way. In recognising this youth justice introduced several preventative measures including restorative justice in schools, safer school partnership, and positive activities for young people, targeted youth support and targeted mental health in schools. The government also introduced the Youth Justice Re-investment Pathfinder Initiative this allows local authorities to act as “Pathfinders” to develop ways locally of reducing offending and re-offending without a custodial sentence.

Assessing, Planning and Intervention

Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) is a good place to start when assessing the needs of children and their families. GIRFEC takes a holistic view of the child GIRFEC has an integrated, common approach to gathering information about a child’s well-being. It uses three tools, the Well-being Indicators: identify record and share concerns, and take action as appropriate My World Triangle: Triangle helps practitioners gather relevant information to look at the strengths and pressures affecting a child and their family. The triangle is deliberately offered from the child’s view to reinforce the Getting it right for every child principle that children should always be kept at the centre. The Resilience Matrix: help organise and analyse information.

All children can be: Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors, Responsible Citizens and Successful Learners. To achieve this all children need to be Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Respected and Responsible and Included. These are known as the ‘wellbeing indicators’ and are remembered by the acronym S.H.A.N.A.R.I. (GIRFEC)

Doing a GIRFEC assessment takes a multi agency view where social work, health and education professionals have a part to play in the assessment process. An assessment should be appropriate, proportionate and timely, once an assessment is done a more holistic picture about the needs of the children and the family has been obtained allowing the practitioner to plan a course of action for the children and family. Through careful planning strategies and interventions can be put into place to allow the children and family to move forward. All interventions and strategies need to be consensual so the whole family need to be involved in the planning and decisions made to ensure their commitment to the action plan. Intervention strategies will vary depending on the family and the problems they are facing. Using evidence based practice the best relevant information based on the best practices in the field of social work, health and education will achieve the most desirable outcome for the family, this also allows for the assessment and intervention to be transparent and informed.

The Key Capabilities document has four headings which together form the Key Capabilities in Child Care and Protection:

Effective Communication, The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) codes of practice describe communicating as being done in an appropriate, open, accurate and straightforward way. Knowledge and Understanding, this includes keeping up to date with relevant legislation, being accountable, using professional judgment and knowledge based social work practice, working effectively as a professional. Professional Confidence and Competence include, carrying out duties accountably, using professional judgment and knowledge based social work practice. Values and Ethical Practice, Work at all times within the professional codes of practice, ethical principles and service standards that underpin high quality social work practice, by applying these to any assessments or interventions it is possible for the practitioner to take an non-judgemental and anti discriminatory approach to the clients and there issues.

Assessment of the Key Issues Affecting this Family

Dean has already been involved in a previous incident involving alcohol where he had assaulted Sandra and her brother in front of the children while he was under the influence of alcohol. Dean has been working with the social worker in an attempt to rectify his relationship with Sandra. Through getting drunk and losing control he has committed a serious offence Dean needs help with his problematic drinking, aggression and anger management as his actions will have a lasting effect on the children and Sandra.

Resilience varies from child to child some children do not develop any problems either as children or adults. Families being together in harmony and good social networks are just two of the ways a child builds their resilience however the issues faced by Nathan and Jordan are numerous, they may have to take on responsibilities far beyond their years which effects their education and peer relationships, they may suffer physical and psychological health issues, domestic violence and child abuse, there are concerns regarding anti social behaviour increasing the risk of aggression towards others, hyperactivity or conduct disorders, emotional and attachment disorders and neglect. Building resilience in this situation will need a good level of self esteem, confidence and self efficiency as well as the ability to adjust to change and problem solving skills. There are implications for the children’s safety and welfare which may become a child protection issue.

Dean and Sandra are in crisis which would imply that a short piece of intervention work could be used to rectify this situation. Working with Dean and Sandra on new skills to avoid this type of situation and setting achievable goals and supporting them they should be able to continue to work on their relationship as they were before this incident happened.

As a longer term intervention such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy could be a useful tool in this situation, by getting Dean to think about his own thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and actions may assist Dean at looking at his behaviours thoughts and feelings differently and try to take a more positive look at how he can deal with similar situations in the future. This is about getting Dean to view situations in a more positive way therefore being able to handle the situation in a more positive way. This work is not a quick fix for Dean’s behaviours and he needs to want to take part for it to work. Sandra should be included in part of this therapy as she seems to be one of the objects of Dean’s anger as does Sandra’s brother. (PSYCH)

Dean would also benefit from working with people who have experience in substance related problems such as his GP or a voluntary group. Dean would have to be in agreement with these strategies for them to work. Giving Dean options allows him to take charge of the situation and enables him to move forward at a pace he is comfortable with.

If Dean is working voluntarily towards resolving his alcohol, anger and aggression issues it may help his assault case when it goes to court.

The impact on the family will be minimized if dean and Sandra are working together to tackle this situation and work through the problems they are now facing as a family unit supporting each other and the children to a mutually beneficial outcome for the family and wider society.

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Case Study

The role of the social worker in criminal justice

From 1 February 2011 a Social Enquiry Report will be called a Criminal Justice Social Work Report.

When a sheriff or judge wants to know more about an accused persons background, they will ask for a Criminal Justice Social Work Report. If a person is likely to be going to jail for the first time, the court must have a report. The report provides the court with the information needed to decide the most appropriate way to deal with offender. A Criminal Justice Social Work Report is written by a social worker, who contacts you by letter and asks you to attend an interview. The social worker will ask for information about your, current circumstances, personal and social history, previous offences, and current or previous supervision.

At the end of the interview the social worker will explain to you what sentencing options are available to the court.

Explore the challenges faced by the differences in working with three Service User Groups – adults, older people and children. Discuss how, by drawing on relevant life course theories, your communication skills would need to be modified in order to meet these challenges and remain effective, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive.

Interacting via communication with Service users is of one of the highest important aims for social / care workers providing care. Each individual case is unique and I will be explaining how communication skills differ from each person to the next.

There are many different life course theories that can be used to explain how a person develops through the stages of life. In this assignment I will be looking at Eric Berne’s Transactional analysis for the adult group and showing how adults have to change their tone and manner as they are seen as the teachers for the next generation. I will be explaining Cunning and Henry’s Disengagement theory as this is a very important phase for older people and communication can be limited because of the perils of old age. Also I will be looking at Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Bolwby’s attachment theory in relation to children and how these theories affect communication. Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development contains elements for all three age groups so I will be looking briefly at the different stages involved, and I will also be looking at any challenges that occur within the groups and what skills are needed to overcome this via social work / care workers.

Interacting via communication with Service users is of one of the highest important aims for social / care workers providing care. Each individual case is unique and I will be explaining how communication skills differ from each one person to the next. There are many different life course theories that can be used to explain how a person goes through the stages of life. For adults I will be taking you through Eric Berne’s Transactional analysis and for the elderly group I will look at Cunning and Henry Disengagement Theory and how this affects communication for the older generation and then I will be looking at Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Bowlby’s attachment theory and how these theories affect communication within the children’s group. Then I will be showing how Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development are involved in all three service user groups and I will also be looking at any challenges that occur within the groups and what skills are needed to overcome this via social work / care workers.

A life course is the advancement a person takes from birth to cessation (Crawford and Walker, 2003 p. 3) Also (Newman and Newman, 2007 p. 185) shows the life course as a perspective which helps to explain how altering societal predicaments affect development and combination of the phases of family and work life over a number of years. (Fiske, 1982 p. 2) explains communication as being an action that every person can identify with, by talking, listening to the television or distributing knowledge these are all forms of communication. He describes two main studies of communication as being either an expression of words or a creation and replacement of meanings.

If we take a look at the Transactional analysis theory (Woods, 2010) shows that Eric Berne’s theory was about ego states which are parent, adult and child. It covers a wide range of exclusive advancement including communication, behaviour and personality. Looking at adult communication he saw this as being the main voice used to influence the whole learning process. He believes that if someone is talking in a childish manner automatically the adult will respond with a voice of authority, either in a sarcastic tone or a caring parenting manner. (Chapman, 1995) also shows that transactional analysis is used for therapeutic, personal development and communication; it helps a person understand one’s self. To communicate we use our own feelings which can shift at any one given time, and to reply we will use the exact way of thinking. So to have stable conversations an adult needs to act interested to what is being said and show the person speaking that they have their full attention and this will make for a stronger relationship between them both.

Favourable communication according to (Weger and Polcar, 2002) is the basic domain of an interpersonal friendship. If you offer support and are willing to provide comfort through good and bad times then this will in turn be a healthy natural relationship.

(Wolvin, 2010 p.144) believes the art of communication is to listen, with doing this you are better able to understand the concept of communicating, and then you can identify and evaluate the question helping you to make sense of it.

Behavioural issues can be defined by a person’s determined state, they show up as objectives and by using these objectives a person will come up with a way of achieving their potential via talking. So by communicating it is up to the individual to put as much information into the conversation so the recipient can define their answer to make it a purposeful state (Ackoff, 1958)

(Nussbaum, 2000) states that elderly people have to regularly change their lifestyle to adapt to adjustments associated with getting older. Age can cause many challenges for communication, examples are: memory loss or loss of hearing. Because of these it could take considerable time for any acknowledgement whilst trying to communicate, they may tend to make inaccurate sentences and be less sensitive about issues that may otherwise hurt someone else’s feelings. There are many theories linked to prosperous aging examples of these are: continuity theory, activity theory, socioemotional selectivity theory and disengagement theory.

Looking at the disengagement theory (Maddox, 1964) states that the disengagement is the final stage of the life course process. Life goals are a very important phrase in everybody’s life and this seems to extend through to the older generation also. The belief is that psychological departure leads to total exclusion from the older person’s social life, and without this communication will be very limited as they may not have any family of friends visiting on a daily basis.

Communication with older people can be a complicated process. At the time when it is needed the most communication seems to be a burden because of the life processes which come with the old age. To overcome some of the frustrations of speaking to an older person if you allow extra time for them to speak and sit face to face with them, then if there is any hearing loss at least the person can watch your lips to understand what you are saying to them. If you speak slowly and clearly or even write down some of the conversation to explain in a bit more detail this then will help the person immensely and by doing this you are showing respect and helpfulness towards to person you are talking to (Robinson et al. 2006)

There are many challenges involved with working with older people, (Hepple, 2004) shows there are many approaches that can be used to try and boost communication issues. Group and behavioural approach or reality familiarisation is widely used to try and amend the forgotten memories. Whichever approach is used will depend mainly on the resources of the institution that is providing the care plan for the service users involved.

Looking at Piaget’s cognitive development (Feldman, 2004) believes that his work was not the dominant competitor for a while but now it has accomplished extensive significance to researchers again. Some critics thought his work was to complex and to widespread but his stages still form the basis of the developing mind. (Boeree, 1999) shows the stages of development for a child as being the Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and the formal operations stage. According to (Koprowska, 2005 p. 97) a baby within the first couple of months will try and make blubbering noises in response to you talking to them and will only start trying to develop simple words by the age of one. So the best means of communication with young children would be via play and interaction. Children do not enjoy sitting for long periods of time so by drawing or innovative games could be the easiest way for communication to take place for the younger age groups in Piaget’s stages.

(Geddes, 2007) believes that using Bowlby’s attachment theory will help in the understanding of sensitive experiences which in turn helps you to communicate with young children. The basis of communication is to show your inner self via your feelings, thoughts and creativity. So by looking at Bowlby, the attachment for a child will help with their future experiences if the start of their life is one of security within a family unit. The child then will be able to examine the world and if there are any pressures they can always return to their safe haven for security. With a negative attachment a child will struggle with communication and relationships. They tend to be insecure and prefer to keep themselves to themselves as they don’t respond well to any attention and can start to be disruptive and aggressive because they feel vulnerable and out of their depth.

The Children Act 1989 sets out the rights of the child, so the child needs to engage in any outcomes that will modify their lives and future. Social workers need impressive skills in communication as there are many barriers that can stop any interaction with the child so they need the ability to be able to cope under any form of pressure or obstacle placed before them. Social workers deal with many families and young children all with very different backgrounds examples of these are: children who are leaving care, children who have behavioural problems and children who may have health problems or disabilities, each case is different so the social worker needs to be able to produce a care plan and have the skills in place to communicate on every different level to provide the best possible care for the service users involved. (Koprowska, 2005 p. 94)

Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development involve all three age groups, when looking at children Erikson’s stages progress through at least four of them. (Adoption media, 1995) states that if a child wants to proceed onto the next stage they need to complete the one before. A child will develop trust if well cared for and be insecure if not; this will show up in all the stages there is a negative to every positive. So a child will only learn from what they are taught and if they are shown the right way to develop through the various stages then as they become parents they will be secure and happy to show their children the right upbringing to carry on the process to the next generation.

(Zastrow and Ashman, 2007 p. 444) states that the seventh stage of Erikson’s life development is Generativity versus stagnation. Generativity is instructing family and friends to make improvements in their lives to make the future better for their offspring. This will involve safeguarding and improving the lives of future generations for a better quality of life. Stagnation on the other hand is the selfish side of the stage, adults who only think about their own needs and are not willing to take anyone else’s feeling’s into consideration.

(Greene and Kropf, 2009 p. 90) shows Erikson’s final stage as being Integrity versus Despair. Absoluteness is achieved if the person involved has leaded a full and complete life, dealing with everyday disappointments as well as accomplishments successfully. Despair on the other hand is for the people who fear death and the ones who have not accomplished everything they wanted to do in their lives and wish for another chance to achieve this.

If communication is not sort in the identity stage (Sanchez, 2002) states that this could affect self confidence in later life. New ideas start from communication, a person needs to be able to express their thoughts and feelings. Interpersonal communication through all of Erikson’s stages will help an individual have a healthy developed identity.

(SCIE 2010) shows how social workers have to work by their codes of ethics and values showing respect, empathy and a genuine helpfulness towards the service user they are working with. They will always provide a complete care package to help empower the individual to deliver the best possible outcome. If the social care worker uses an interpersonal approach this in turn will guide the service user to help them decide how their care is achieved and help make the decision process a group decision, so communication is a key element to this approach which will then help with the relationship between the user and the social care worker.

To summarise there are many different ways to communicate with the three service user groups. People who work in the social work/care sector are trained to be able to customise their expertise to care and communicate at all levels. If the care worker shows empathy and helpfulness they will get more back from the service user then they would if you started the conversation with an aggressive attitude. Service users what to be listened to, they want you to understand what care they expect. You will have to change the way you speak in all different circumstances, speaking to children will be completely different to speaking to an adult or an elderly person. Body language and facial gestures also show as an important part of communicating with someone, even repeating what the other has said will show that you are taking them seriously. You need to be able to change your approach for all different situations and use different interventions to cater for each individual seeking care.

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This assignment will explain the role of a Local Authority (LA) Social Worker (SW) when working with ‘children in need’ and their families, and those in need of safeguarding and protection, will also explain the main role of children and families’ sw and reasons why they would be involved. Furthermore it will discuss the importance of multidisciplinary working; identify different forms of abuse, their impact and alleviation. In line with evidence based practice, the Children Act 1989 sections 17 and 47 will be analysed as intervention methods

It’s important as a sw to utilise an understanding of theories of human growth and development to understand the various stages of development that the children are undergoing, before making any decision of safeguarding. Children in need may have faced extraordinary experiences in their early lives that may affect their physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural development. Safeguarding is defined by (HM Government 2013) as ‘the action we take to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm’. Child protection is defined by RCPCH, (2006) as ‘the process of protecting individual children identified as either suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect’.

Section 17 (10) of the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) defines a child in need as a child who is ‘unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for him/her of services by a local authority’ or ‘his/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired without the provision for him/her of such services’ or ‘he/she is disabled’ (H M Government, 1989, section 17) gives LA ‘duties and powers to provide services for children in need and their families Part’ 111 (Sec17 (1)).

When a referral is made, LA is forced to consider initial enquiries within 10 days. This is to find out what is happening to a child and decide which action should be taken to protect the child as set in the CA1989 S47 of Protection of Children (Brammer 2013). This guide draws’ on all professionals to work together to promote children’s welfare and ensures families are provided with much needed resources.

In some historic children cases these processes weren’t upheld and lead to the death of children like Baby P and Victoria Climbie. Lord Laming ((Laming and Office, 2003)) stated that communication has played a major role in successes and failures of the system. He also made recommendations that will ignite working together in terms multi-disciplinary teams working together information sharing’ Connolly and Ward, (2008) suggested ‘It is good practice to consider children’s rights to protection as of paramount duty and at the same time work in partnership with their parents unless doing so would harm them’.

The Framework for Assessment of Children (Figure 1) in Need and their Families (DoH, 2000) emphasises the use of an ecological approach to identify the child within the environment and offers a holistic approach (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). It enables professionals to identify systems affecting a child, the most and the social forces impacting on his lifespan therefore, resulting in interventions being applied where they are needed most. An ecological approach looks at people, families, cultures, communities, policies and identifies and intervenes upon strengths and weaknesses in the transactional processes between these systems (Greene and Greene, 2008).

Figure1 (Department of Health 2000, p.1)

Living conditions may result in disturbed nights, which can lead to strain and tiredness (Hazel, 2002). Similarly, inadequate housing may cause parents anxiety and affect their capacity to care for the children. Therefore, a sw could use their powers to make a referral for families to acquire an adequate accommodation. According to Gill and Jack (2007) the ecological theory is important in the development of holistic approaches to safeguarding children. Its strengths are that it focuses on individuals as part and incorporating other systems, so it integrates social with psychological elements of practice however, it is criticised for assuming that everything fits into a social order (Payne, 2009).

A SW is expected to consider human rights issues when completing any assessment. In the community there’s a whole variety of groups e.g. ethnic minorities, women, disabled people, homosexuals children just to mention a few. Professionals are required to uphold and defend the rights of individuals whilst seeking to meet their needs and this are all governed by The Human Rights Act 1998. Brayne & Shoot, (2010) said ‘the act has also heavily influenced the Disability Discriminations Act, (2005) and Equality Act, (2006 & 2010)’

Welbourne (2012) said ‘SW is a profession that engages with people’s lives at all levels, from the practical to the deeply personal. Lord Laming (2003) said ‘child protection is everyone’s business, and it’s important that SW, police, and health workers take the lead role for the procedures and processes that protect children from harm’.

The CA 1989 sec 47(1) places a duty on LA to investigate when they:

‘are informed that a child who lives or is found in their area

is the subject of an emergency protection order
is in police custody’
‘have reasonable cause to suspect that a child who lives, or is found in the area is suffering, or is likely to suffer a significant harm’

LA will conduct an initial child protection conference that consists of all professionals including the child, family members. This is a partnership aimed at setting out plans in place for both family and the group members. They will meet within 10 days after the initial conference and at least 8 weeks after that. The plan will be considering day to day details of the care plan and to put it into practice. After the case has been opened, implemented and put into practice, a Review Child Protection Case Conference is called to review and assess the progress of the case. The first review is held within 3 months of the initial conference and at least six months after that. A SW will always aim to achieve results and return the child to their parents.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006 (Department of Health) has 5 identifiable forms of abuse as neglect, physical, emotional, sexual and domestic abuses, and the latter has been recently added and recognised in its own right. Coleen L (2003) suggested that ‘Negligence can include behaviours that receipt, fraudulently misrepresentation, defamation of character act, violation of human rights, malicious prosecution.

Maureen O’Loughlin and Steve O’Loughlin (2008) suggested that ‘Parents have a central role in their children’s welfare and protection from harm, and should therefore be included in all decisions and actions taken by professionals…’ Parents have their complex needs as well, some abuse drugs and alcohol and generally have low self-esteem. If parents deny sw access to a child and there’s a possibility of a greater risk of life or likelihood of serious harm, LA will apply for the Child Assessment Order sec43 CA 1989 when they considering any kind of contact, LA would have reasons to suspect concerns with development, welfare and health of a child. This order will only last 8 days without extension. Emergency Protection Order (EPO) under S44 of the CA 1989. It can last for 8 days with the option to extend for 7 more days.

Brayne & Carr, (2010) suggested that ‘It is important that any discussions with children are done in a way that minimises the distress and maximises the likelihood of them providing clear and accurate accounts’ The children may be looked after by the LA with parental agreement (Children Act, 1989, sec. 20. ‘A child may only be kept in police protection however, for 72 hours’ (Brammer 2006). Other order available is Recovery order sec50, will be applied if a child under PPO or EPO is removed from the responsible applicant. Police can recover the child and return them to the place of safety.

SW has ‘an obligation to conduct themselves ethically, engaging in ethical decisionaˆ?making, including partnership working with service users’ and this was quoted by The Code of Ethics for Social Work (BASW, 2011). Social work is a very privileged profession, they draw up conclusions and judgement on what they observe and hear. Hence it’s necessary to develop an inner skill not to use prejudice in any engagement. Empowerment has been understood as a paradigm within anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice (Lishman, 2007) and can be implemented through partnership working, which is a key social work value (Thompson, 2009).

This assignment has shown how and why a sw would intervene when a child becomes in need. It also discussed the LA’s responsibility for children in need and their families. Aim is to protect and safeguard children from harm by forming partnership working with families; assist in providing alternative services to promote their welfare. The assignment drew up on relevant legislation that ensure welfare of a child remains paramount, also challenges all professionals to collaborate in a systematic manner. Children have been let down in the past and Every Child Matters ensured it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that their health and development is secured. This reiterates the importance of SW’s impact into the system, drawn from Code of Ethics sw’s should always challenge any discrimination, recognise diversity, always distribute resources to those in need, challenge unjust policies and practices and work in solidarity. In conclusion a sw would not be aware if a child is in need or requires protection; however, the facts in this essay provide a sensible method of judgement on whether a child is in need or at risk of significant harm.

Due to changing trends in the world, many women continue to enter the workforce day and night performing almost similar duties like men. Motivated by a number of factors ranging from social to economic environment surrounding the move has always sparked debates not only among men but also in women who argue against the idea. The debate revolves around working versus those women who stay at home and take care of their families especially children. These concerns explore existence of any effects of working mothers to their children in terms of academic performance in schools and their emotional development which significantly depends on what happens at childhood. Another concern is the possibility of high stress levels faced by working mothers on a daily basis compared to their counterparts at home. This research analysis utilized findings from experts and surveys aimed at unraveling the truth about working mothers.

Introduction

Who are working mothers? This is a label name which refers to women who have career jobs and responsibilities apart from taking care of their children and husband at home. The number of this type of women has continued to increase not only in the neither United States, nor Europe but all over the world. Even as immense criticism continues to surround the idea of working women, it is of paramount need to focus on some of the factors which contribute to this phenomenon. It is clear that the world is always at a constant change process in terms of social believes, practices and also economic transformation. Many women have opted to join the work a way of enhancing equality with men who believe that women are supposed to be stationed at home and carry out domestic duties (Randall, 2003). The question that ponders the mind of many is whether the notion of working mothers is the only focal point in addressing the issue of gender equality in the society. Is there a better approach? Definitely there are considerable realistic and workable ways of establishing a society that recognizes men and women as equal beings.

Although viewed negatively by some people, many women believe that by joining the work force, there would be significant ease and improvement in meeting the family needs. Sharing of family responsibilities between men and women is by far a very important idea. With increasing global economic hitches, there is every need for every family in the world to establish ways of making ends meet without extreme straining. As a result, working mothers believe that this is the only way of lessening family crisis which may arise from unsatisfied needs and unmet expenses which can be shared between a husband and wife. This sounds human and acceptable but it has lacked taste in a number of men in the world and other women who still advocate for “stay home” mothers in the 21st century.

It is clear that the question of whether women need to be incorporated in the workforce like men still causes controversy. With growing working opportunities for both men and women, it is very normal for girls to go to school, join colleges and universities and secure jobs just like their male counterparts. This is quite commendable. However, the basis of this argument rests on the opportunity cost incurred when women join the workforce. It is believed that working women make inefficient mothers. Although this varies from one person to the other, sociologists argue that there is usually little or no time left for children brought up by working mothers. Additionally, working women experience a lot of stress compared to non working mothers who spent their entire time with their families (Harper & Richards, 1986). This is attributed to overwhelming demands which may arise from work stations and homes. Balancing of time between the two masters, job and family remains a mega challenge among working women in the world.

Statement of problem

According to this research, very little has been done with regard to the effect of working mothers on their children’s emotional development and academic behavior. As a result, the research explores the general impact of working mothers on their children compared to non working women.

Research questions

What is the negative impact of a working mother on a child’s academics and emotions?

What is the positive impact of a working mother on the life of her child?

What is the impact of non working mothers on their children’s life?

Literature review

Working mothers has received massive coverage from both individuals and groups of people aimed at unraveling the truth which surround this debate topic. However, many people reckon that the idea is quite open with a wide range of views which may vary from person to person. One of search people who have invested time in sociological research is Elizabeth Perle McKenna. In her 1998 research, McKenna analyses the relationship between work and family as experienced by working women around the globe. She exhaustibly dwells on the issue of work and identity and the dissatisfaction which arises when work does not give intended satisfaction. She argues that many women find themselves ignoring pivotal areas of their lives by devoting their time and concentration to work (McKenna, 1998). This devotion is usually aimed at attaining certain traditional symbols of success like money, challenging jobs and power.

As viewed by McKenna, women entered the workforce massively under terms that were designed by men. They were eager and full of passion of leaving the old fashion of staying at home. They did this like immigrants abandoning their natural habitat and adapting to the workforce designed for and by men to suit their lifestyle and nature. Unfortunately, most if not all working systems have been designed to define men based on what they do and not who they are (McKenna, 1998). This system calls for long working hours in order to gain recognition and reward. This is still the case today even though almost sixty percent of women in the United States belong to the working class. In other words, the workforce does not recognize the nature of women with regard to the diverse responsibilities they have at home. It assumes the fact that women belong at home. McKenna writes this book from a personal experience and recalls moments in her life when she found it hard to balance work with growing family needs until she had to quit her job after having changed career severally.

McKenna admits that women who are unable to quit working find it hard to balance between work and family responsibilities. She poses that although many women want attain success as traditionally defined, it is almost impossible excel career-wise and thrill as a good mother, caregiver and a good wife. She notes that the pursuit of such identity breeds nothing but depression, stress and finally burnout.

Research findings

This research found out that working mothers have a wide range of impact on their families with special emphasis on their children. Non working mothers have all the time to take care of their families and provide necessary care and love to their young ones. Children born of working mothers experience difficulties during their early stages of development. As young beings, children need enough time from their caregivers who are non other their mothers. In the absence of this care emotional impact is felt which may affect up to the academic capabilities of such children. Working mothers also experience emanating from challenges of time balancing (Peters 1968). On the other hand, working men feel independent and provide families needs including among others, children’s quality food. Both working and non working children may significantly influence the development process of children.

Discussion

The number of working mothers has continued to rise from about 30% in 1970s to approximately 50% in early 21st century. This has significantly affected the life of many children. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1999). Children from families with working mothers have emotional depressions with measurable difficulties in their academic life. There is also continuing research on the effect of mothers’ working stress on children. Even as this research continues, the fact is that a child is always hyper sensitive to the emotional status of the mother before and even after birth.

Do children born of working mothers receive sufficient attention and care? When mothers spend almost full of their day time at work, many children less effective especially at school. Since most working mothers maximize their working time when children are in their pre-school, these children show wanting and unappealing results (Cavel, 2001). These children feel some form of emptiness which ends up affecting their class concentration and general performance compared to children whose mothers are not working. It is also important to affirm that a child’s early stages are very important in shaping his character and personality. Children who spend less time with their mothers as a result of work commitments are likely to experience hardships in language development which goes further to affect a child’s academic progress. This is because learning in class mainly depends on communication propagated by language proficiency (Associated Press, 1999).

Working mothers also experience a lot of stress which arise from the inability to balance between work and family needs. These two responsibilities appear to be like two jobs which are being handled by one person at the same time. As a result, these mothers are ever in a hurry to catch up with time and attend to unfinished duties at home and at work place. These mothers end up meeting the needs of the family with very few men willing to share the responsibility (Gershaw, 1988). In the event that a child falls sick, mothers find it difficult to fully attend to the child at the expense of her sleeping job. They also feel stressed over their own lives. Many working women are not willing to give birth. In other words, working continues to rob women off their mothering ability.

Although working mothers have significant negative impact on their children, these mothers also have all the reasons to smile and the need for them to receive recognition. There are positive impacts generated by these mothers with the baseline of it being provision of basic needs, especially food. Many children brought up by working mothers live in considerably good standards compared to those of non working mothers. Working mothers usually have a wide domain of choices in terms of dietary. This ensures good childcare and healthy upbringing (Booth, 2000).

A working mother is also a challenge to her children (Figes, 2001). As the immediate role model, mothers play a mega role in shaping the character of her children. Children admire good character and adorable achievements realized by those people who surround them. Therefore working mothers challenge their children to work hard and experience better achievements compared to what may she has.

Conclusion

In general, working mothers negatively impact their children. This is mainly witnessed in areas of emotional development and academic performance. This is mainly due to the inability to balance between family responsibilities and demands of the job. Stress is also common among working mothers a trend that is significantly low among non working mothers. It should be noted that working is highly encouraged among family members. However, mothers should devote most of their time to taking care of their children. They can take up less demanding jobs especially at tender ages of their children.

There are increasing number of women continue their careers after given birth to their childs. They are regarded as “working mothers”, whom are facing many difficulties to keep balance between the work and the family. This phenomenon led to many studies about the effect of maternal employment base on a secure mother-infant attachment.This paper raise the question: many mothers are often confronted with the dilemma of choosing between their jobs or careers, and their children, whether they should come back to work after post partum. The attachment theory in this paper was found by John Bowlby, whom emphasized the importance of mother’s attention and care on the infant. He argued that there was a long time last influence on the infant future life. There are also contemporary reasearches suggested that maternal employment have benefits on the family and the infant. The paper analyze the deveopment of mother-infant attachment theories and current studies, to evaluate the positive and negative effect to the infant of working mother.

Infant-mother attachment

Attachment theory was formulated by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby. It is a psychological, evolutionary, and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans pointed out that a young child needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally . According to his study of attachment theory, infant behaviour associated with attachment is primarily the seeking of proximity to an attachment figure, moreover, secure base and safe haven are the features and function of attachment relationships. Infants become attached to adults who are sensitive and responsive in social interactions with them.

Many experts agree that the mother-child attachment bond is the term for our first interactive love relationship-the one we had with our primary caregivers, our mothers. The mother-child attachment bond shapes infants’ brains, profoundly influencing their self-esteem, their expectations of others, and their ability to attract and maintain successful relationships . Nowadays studies also support that during the early development, the infant-mother interaction and the early social experiences may produce long-lasting changes in the brain of the infant with profound behavioral and emotional effects throughout the whole life . The infant behaviors that have been implicated as resulting from this theoretically compromised mother infant relationship have included slight, transient effects on sociability and affective sharing to results suggesting significant increases in irritability, cognitive delays, behavioral problems, and difficulties with attachment among others .

Overall, following attachment theory, the early connection developed between a primary child care provider and an infant is essential for development. Lacking of experience make it difficult for them to handle the issue about this new member and family transition, especially for the first-time parenthood. The success or failure of the attachment bond has a life-long effect in a person’s life.

Maternal employment and infant attachment

Whether and how about the mother’s working status affect the infant was a topic of great interest in the 1980s. In the context of mothers’ increased participation in paid work, attention has also turned to the impact of maternal employment and the use of nonmaternal child care as additional factors likely to affect maternal caregiving and the developing attachment relationship. Many scientists, politicians, and parents were worried about the children, especially infant, would suffer if others but not the moter cared for them most of the time , others argued that such worries were based on oppressive sexist prejudices not data . So debates started, positive or negative influence on the attachment of mother and infant, whether working mothers is taking the responsibility of the infant or not.

Why do mothers go to work

Why mothers go to work; in Hong Kong society, women go to work for more personal and social reasons than for financial reasons. In traditional society, mothers are performing stereotyped roles as be responsible for the household, such as doing housework, preparing dinner, caring of the children and husband. Now in modern society, women are no longer restricted by the traditional mother and wife role. For the economical reason, they want to make more benefits to the family and gain more independence in economic position. For the education standard, women who achieved high educational qualification, want to apply their knowledge to the work and pursue a successful career, and they are needed by the society. For the changing social norms, women are achieving more equalities in work, morevoer, they are not acted as “bad moms” when they go to work and pay less attention on the children. The whole society tend to accept working mothers.

Though several reasons and conditions mentioned above seem to allow mothers to join the workforce, still many of them face with a dilemma regarding their career and family . Still so many mother feel struggling in the situation of whether to work or not.

Negative aspect of working mothers

According to the above attachment theories, it is easy to acknowledget the harm that would do to the infant lack of attachment. It is to say that negative influences on the development of secure attachment, or even potentially damaging . Fail to provide the child with sufficient structure, recognition, understanding, safety, and mutual accord may lead to become physically and emotionally distant in relationships in later relationship, remain insecure, become disorganized, aggressive and angry, and develop slowly. . A working mother is tend to create an insecure and inconsistent attachment.

Stifter, Coulehan, and Fish , found no significant connections between work status and attachment security, but did caught the public attention of the consideration and inclusion of other variables such as maternal separation anxiety and maternal sensitivity. Specially the research did find that infants of mothers who were employed but reported high work-related separation anxiety were more likely to develop anxious-avoidant attachments. And then, a finding suggested that employed mother were less invested in parenthood and had high level of anxiety , implied high anxiety would get in the way of taking good care of the infant.

A baby is supposed to grow up to be loving, well adjusted individual. A full-time employed mother would have missed out on being there and watching the baby from up close. These are important formative period, as a mother’s instinct, want to be around to strengthen the attachment bond between mother and infant. The effects of maternal employment of secure mother-infant attachment relationship to be negative of majority according to those researches. These evidences support the hypothesis that working mothers increase the risk of some undesirable outcomes, espacilly in the baby’s first year.

Positive aspect of working mothers

Do maternal employment have an adverse effect on the children? The answer may be no. In fact, mothers with careers have a positive impact on children, as they serve as good role models. A study in Australia found no relation between maternal employment and infant attachment.

In the early study, Bowlby insisted that separation from the mother should be kept to a minimum . However, in the further study, he developed his statement as ‘a subsidiary attachment figure can meet an infant’s needs adequately in the primary figure’s absence’ . In another words, mother was not the only attachment bond to the baby and this finding gave the mother an opportunity to take a breath during the overwhelming duties. She did not need to take the only responsibility to the feedback towards the infant.

Later, some scholars emphasized quality but not quantity of the attachment. Too much and too sensative responds to the baby may triggered a spoiling parental style. Prior to an infant’s self-regulation of external stimuli, parents are responsible . Parents have to learn the difference between too much and too little responds for managing the infant inattentiveness and excessive stimulation. Providing the appropriate amount of feedback for the baby is conducting a healthy attachment bond.

I was impressed by a professors’s saying that many parents feel very selfish and cruel in leaving their crying young child for the absence time. However, it is not only a beneficial opportunity for her parents, it is also an important lesson in trust for her that you will always be clear about when you are leaving, you will always provide a caring protector while you are gone, and, best of all, you always return to love and protect her . Parents should be comforted that, properly leaving but not always stick to the baby is also buliding a trustful relationship.

For the further concern of the baby, Such working mothers tend to emphasise education, and also manage to spend quality time with their children. Talking about the dual income, the standard of living is higher, children get access to better quality education and extra-curricular activities. Acadamic statistic demonstrated this fact: secure parental employment lowers the incidence of poverty and the associated risks to children . ‘The increase in the percentage of children living with a working parent is welcome news,’ said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health. ‘Secure parental employment helps to reduce the psychological toll on families, brought on by parental unemployment and underemployment.Secure parental employment may also enhance children’s psychological well-being and improve family functioning by reducing stress and other negative effects that unemployment and underemployment can have on parents.”

Conclusion

As we can see, there are pros and cons about maternal employmet. So we still have to deal with this dilemma and make our own decision. I think there are no right or wrong answers in this case. Whether you want to get back to work from the day you stop nursing your child, or whether you want to be a homemaker your entire life is entirely up to you. Some women find joy in the workplace, while others find it at home.

In some conditions, women can handle both children and work well though it is a hard task. Maybe having one does not require sacrificing the other.