Many parents ponder why one of their children seems more emotionally troubled than the others. A new study in the United Kingdom reveals a possible basis for those differences.
Can science explain why couples break up? The mathematical anatomy of a fall
French director Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, winner of the 2023 Oscar for best original script, reconstructs a fatal fall in order to dissect the collapse of the romantic relationship between the film’s leading couple, Sandra Voyter and Samuel Maleski. Far from an exception, breakups of the sort depicted in the film are commonplace: global data shows high levels of marriage failure, with a marked increase towards the end of the last century.
Local governments in Japan offering support for end-of-life preparations
Local governments in Japan are moving to support the end-of-life preparations by elderly people with no relatives, by asking their wishes for funerals and cleaning up their belongings to mitigate their worries in their closing days.
Fighting Kenya’s femicide
Grassroots socialist and feminist organising in spaces like Kayole Social Justice Centre, Nairobi, are leading the fight against patriarchy, capitalism, and a colonial present
Why some people receiving federal benefits don’t consider themselves poor − even though poverty rates have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic
For the past 25 years, my research as a cultural anthropologist has taken me into the homes and neighborhoods of people living in poverty in cities and rural communities throughout the U.S. To better understand their day-to-day lives, I also have spent time in grocery stores, churches, nightclubs, parks and health clinics.
Social Security to Expand Access to SSI Program by Updating Definition of a Public Assistance Household
Overdose Deaths Top 200 in Vermont for Third Straight Year
The tally is a 5 percent drop from the 244 deaths that Vermont recorded in 2022. And though it may tick up once the state reviews another 15 pending death certificates, it represents a plateau after two years of staggering increases.
Most Gypsy and Traveller sites in Great Britain are located within 100 metres of major pollutants, shows research
Gypsy and Traveller communities are among the more socially excluded groups in the UK. There is a long history of government failures in meeting these groups’ housing needs…. For our recent study, we mapped local authority-managed Gypsy and Traveller sites in Great Britain. Of those sites, 39% were within 50 metres of one or more major pollutants and 54% were within 100 metres.
Exhausted Dumfries and Galloway social workers taking more sick days due to stress
A new report has shown that the number of social work employee sickness absences has shot up to 14.59 days per year – more than 60 per cent higher than the target of just nine days…. “It is important that we recognise the significant stress staff are experiencing as a consequence of the significant increased demand for social work services.
You Report an Unhoused Person in a Mental Health Crisis. This Is What Happens Next
In San Francisco, it is not uncommon to cross paths with a person experiencing homelessness in the throes of a mental health crisis. The scene can be tragic, confusing and sometimes might feel dangerous. Bystanders might wonder how to summon help from the city — and what will happen if they do. We created a flow chart to answer those questions, though it does not capture all possible outcomes.
This School for Autistic Youth Can Cost $573,200 a Year. It Operates With Little Oversight, and Students Have Suffered.
Shrub Oak opened in 2018 with grand promises: beautiful dorms, an indoor therapy pool, an equestrian stable, a restaurant-quality kitchen, sophisticated security, round-the-clock care and cutting-edge education for students with autism from around the world. Some of those promises never materialized. A ProPublica investigation — based on records from school districts, court documents and interviews with nearly 30 families and just as many workers — also found accusations of possible abuse and neglect: unexplained black eyes and bruises on students’ bodies, medication mix-ups, urine-soaked mattresses and deficient staffing. Many parents and workers, armed with confidential documents and photos of student injuries, described their futile efforts to get authorities to intervene.
Faster approach for starting extended-release naltrexone to treat opioid use disorder shown effective
Starting people with opioid use disorder on extended-release, injectable naltrexone (XR-naltrexone) within five to seven days of seeking treatment is more effective than the standard treatment method of starting within 10-15 days, but requires closer medical supervision, according to results from a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Virginia school board to vote on restoring Confederate names
A Virginia school board could vote to return two schools back to their original Confederate names in a debate that has bitterly divided a town. Above: The Confederate banner is still flown in parts of Shenandoah County
‘I’ll wake up at 4am thinking is that child safe this weekend?’ – Social workers in Belfast strike over ‘extreme staffing pressures’ leaving vulnerable children at risk
Nipsa members on strike at the Shankill Wellbeing and Treatment Centre.
BASW, SWU & UNISON press for action to resolve fitness to practice delays
All three organisations have expressed concerns about Fitness to Practice hearing delays announced by Social Work England (SWE) due to budget constraints.
EU public transport calls for strong political and financial support
IRU and partners call upon the EU to support collective passenger transport to achieve economic, social and sustainability goals.
“That kind of hopelessness”: loss of rural services fuelling social problems
Community members say the closure of in-person social services in rural areas has left people who need a hand up with nowhere to go.
Ten Years After the Flint Water Crisis, Distrust and Anger Linger
Don’t worry! The Clintons promised to help.
Science has an AI problem: This group says they can fix it
“When we graduate from traditional statistical methods to machine learning methods, there are a vastly greater number of ways to shoot oneself in the foot,” said Narayanan, director of Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy and a professor of computer science. “If we don’t have an intervention to improve our scientific standards and reporting standards when it comes to machine learning-based science, we risk not just one discipline but many different scientific disciplines rediscovering these crises one after another.”
How rich is too rich?
Where should society draw the line on extreme wealth? A fresh account sets out the logic and suggests how to redress inequality. Above: In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, residents in unplanned settlements live just blocks away from wealthy suburbs.
Greens and Students Against Placement Poverty say Labor’s plan to address placement poverty is totally inadequate
“Today’s announcement shows the pressure is moving Labor in the right direction, but reflects a lack of understanding of the severity of placement poverty and its impact on students. This is yet another Labor solution that won’t touch the sides of the crisis.”
Medical professionals could fear prosecution under SNP’s ‘conversion therapy’ ban, says Hilary Cass
Medical professionals who try to help children with gender identity issues could become “frightened” of prosecution under SNP plans to ban “conversion therapy”, Hilary Cass has warned. The leading paediatrician, who last month published a landmark review into child gender services in England, said that clinicians would be worried about becoming the “test case” under new laws.
Hundreds of thousands of CA children dropped off Medi-Cal since last year
Medi-Cal has dropped several hundred thousand low-income children from the health insurance rolls since April 2023, according to a new report from Georgetown University.
Future of historic UT-Austin campus building in the hands of state board
The site of the first desegregated school in Austin, the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, has delayed its demolition, but it still needs to obtain a State Antiquities Landmark status from a state board to survive. However, it could still be torn down even if it receives this status.
Houston’s Market-Driven Housing Solution Is No Triumph
Mayors of large US cities are looking to Houston for inspiration in solving their homelessness problems. But Houston’s “Housing First” policy is designed to clear the streets and buoy landlords rather than provide stable housing for all. Above: A homeless man seeks shelter from the rain in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas.
More stigmatizing language found in clinical notes for older, female, or patients of color with opioid use disorder
Bias and stigma can be experienced and communicated in many ways, including the language used by clinicians in encounter notes in electronic health records (EHRs). Stigmatizing language (SL) can discourage people from seeking help for medical disorders, whereas person-first language, avoiding stigmatizing terms like “addict” and “abuse,” and individualizing people helps to defeat stigma. A team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine set out to investigate the use of SL in clinical notes of patients with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD).
Ending the Logic of War
It began with the “war on terror” after September 11 and the subsequent attacks in Europe…. In the name of fighting the respective enemies, a massive rearmament of the military, police and surveillance technologies was set in motion, basic civil rights were restricted. Urgent concerns such as social justice and climate protection have been and continue to be marginalized with reference to ever new states of emergency and the overpowering threat posed by the current enemy
What does the new Commonwealth Prac Payment mean for students? Will it do enough to end ‘placement poverty’?
The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social worker will be eligible to receive A$319.50 per week while on placement.
Belize’s First International Social Work Conference
The University of Belize has hosted the annual Social Work Conference for nearly a decade, but this year marked the first time the conference became an international event…. The conference covered various topics such as practice for police officers in mental health, mental health needs of children in foster care, and trauma and resiliency in gang-involved girls in Belize.
Birdwatching can help students improve mental health, reduce distress
A new study finds people who have nature-based experiences report better well-being and lower psychological distress than those who do not. Birdwatching in particular yielded promising results, with higher gains in subjective well-being and more reduction in distress than more generic nature exposure, such as walks.
Laotian Workers, Facing Poor Economic Conditions, Seek Work Elsewhere
Large numbers of Laotian workers, facing poor economic conditions, are seeking work in Thailand, South Korea and Japan, bringing Laos millions of dollars in repatriated salaries but exposing the workers to debt traps and human trafficking. Above: Women prepare jackfruit for sale along a street in Luang Prabang, Laos
The Canadian State Is Euthanizing Its Poor and Disabled
Canada boasts one of the world’s highest assisted-death rates, supposedly enabling the terminally ill to die with dignity. However, this suicide program increasingly resembles a dystopian replacement for care services, exchanging social welfare for euthanasia.
‘Behind the Blue’: UK grad finds passion for global social work through Explore First
Cierra Couch, a representative of the University of Kentucky May Class of 2024, is a first-generation college student who came to UK in 2020 with a strong sense of determination, but without a clear roadmap.
Jim Stone’s Falk College Legacy: Service to the Advisory Board and Legislative Policy Day
School of Social Work Professor Eric Kingson (left) and Chair Carrie Smith present Jim Stone with an award for his dedication to the annual Legislative Policy Day event.
Unions welcome cost-of-living relief for nursing, teaching and social work students
Australians studying to be teachers, nurses, midwives, and social workers face significant financial challenges during their clinical and professional placement periods, contributing to long-term workforce shortages in these critical fields.
BASW & SWU statement on the situation in Israel and Palestine/Gaza
This is an update on prior joint statements from BASW and SWU
As families change, so must safety nets
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Year of the Family (IYF). In the decades since it was proclaimed, demographic shifts, technological transformations, migration, urbanization and climate change have upended societies around the world.
Taiwan to allow foreign nationals to serve in social work sector: MOL
Social workers visit a rough sleeper near Taipei Main Station.
Social Welfare Professor Receives National Award from the Department of Justice
Michelle Ballan, Professor and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, has received the Building Knowledge Through Research Award from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), a program of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Social-media break has huge impact on young women’s body image, study finds
There’s a large and growing body of evidence pointing to potentially negative impacts of social media on mental health, from its addictive nature to disruptions in sleep patterns to effects on body image. Now, a new study has found that young women who took a social media break for as little as one week had a significant boost in self-esteem and body image — particularly those most vulnerable to thin-ideal internalization.
This Is How Power Protects Itself
This shock-and-awe campaign was about smashing a rapidly expanding student movement whose bravery has captivated people around the world. It was about eliminating the threat that the pro-Palestine movement poses to business as usual. It was about showing university donors, Republicans, Democrats, and the White House that these schools knew which side they were supposed to be on. And it was about reminding these students—these kids who had the nerve to sit in tents—of who is in charge and who isn’t…. You can feel the question thrumming through the violence and repression: How dare you? Above: NYPD officers in riot gear march onto Columbia University campus
Loneliness grows as we age
Loneliness in adulthood follows a U-shaped pattern: it’s higher in younger and older adulthood, and lowest during middle adulthood, reports a new study that examined nine longitudinal studies from around the world. The study also identified several risk factors for heightened loneliness across the whole lifespan, including social isolation, education and physical impairment.
Women aren’t just dying, they’re being deliberately injured, too
Protesters at Melbourne’s No More anti-violence rally at the weekend hold placards of women who were killed in alleged incidents of gender-based violence.
Irish moonshine and the village that declared itself an outlaw republic
“I believe making it illicitly is a dying practice,” says Ó Griallais. “As for why those who continue it, there is a number of reasons. We love being a bit irreverent in Ireland. As poitín-making was originally outlawed while Britain was in power, making it almost feels liberating for some of the illicit makers. It is an old kind of social justice that has continued in the form of distilling.”
At Ramsey County’s remodeled 911 center, embedded social workers play key role
The staff who handle 911 calls throughout St. Paul and Ramsey County returned to their remodeled center this week, with embedded social workers now stationed in the middle of the room. Above: Ramsey County social workers, front, from left, Pa Kou Lee, Jennifer Rockhill, Natashia Powell, and Emily Thompson occupy the newly-remodeled Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center in St. Paul
An interview with Paraguay’s first openly gay politician
What follows is an interview with Federico Enciso (above), a 28-year-old master student in social work and the former candidate for the opposition party, PLRA (Authentic Radical Liberal Party), who just so happens to be gay
Students on social work, nursing and teaching placements to get weekly $319.50 means tested Prac Payment from July next year
Placements are particularly a feature of feminised areas of study and work, and the government is also linking the measure to its gender equality strategy, Working for Women.
How a Few Secret Donors Are Fueling the New Right-Wing Infrastructure
The Bradley Impact Fund helps finance the work of groups led by Michael Flynn and Stephen Miller. Most of the money can be traced to four undisclosed sources, documents show.
Researchers review findings and clinical messages from the Women’s Health Initiative 30 years after launch
Data from influential study underscore the importance of personalized and shared decision-making to support the health of postmenopausal women.
Social Work England committed ‘abuse of power’ in ‘punishing’ practitioner’s gender critical beliefs
Social Work England carried out a “serious abuse of its power as a regulatory body” in allowing its fitness to practise (FTP) processes to be “subverted to punish and suppress” a practitioner’s protected gender critical beliefs. That was the damning verdict of an employment tribunal in a judgment issued this week…. The Professional Standards Authority, which oversees Social Work England, said, in a statement: “Through our performance review process, (in which we assess regulators against the Standards of Good Regulation), we will monitor how Social Work England responds to the Employment Tribunal judgment and its recommendation.