scholarly journals A Social Safety Net: Developing a Model of Social-Support Figures as Prepared Safety Stimuli

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica A. Hornstein ◽  
Naomi I. Eisenberger
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Physical Health Outcomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Safety Signals ◽  
Improve Health

Although the presence of social-support figures (e.g., close friends and family members) is known to increase feelings of safety, reduce threat responses, and improve health, the route by which these effects occur is not well understood. One explanation is that social-support figures are members of a powerful category of safety signals—prepared safety stimuli. Here, we review research demonstrating that social-support figures act as prepared safety stimuli and explore the impact that these unique safety stimuli have on fear-learning processes. According to recent work, the presence of social-support figures both reduces fear acquisition and enhances fear extinction, ultimately decreasing perceptions of threat. These findings shed light on the route by which social support buffers against threat and illustrate the unique properties of prepared safety stimuli and how they might be used to improve mental and physical health outcomes.

Hate Crimes and Race-Based Trauma on Latinx Populations: A Critical Review of the Current Research

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483802097968
Author(s):  
Sarah Lockwood ◽  
Carlos A. Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hate Crimes ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Physical Health Outcomes ◽  
Trauma Responses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Do So

Traditionally, the literature has sought to understand the impact of racial minority status and trauma as it relates to interpersonal violence, domestic violence, and sexual assault. What has not been as extensively reviewed and summarized is how racially or ethnically motivated hate crimes impact the mental health of minorities—particularly Latinx/Hispanic groups. This review aims to summarize the current body of literature on the intersection of race-motivated hate crime and trauma responses within Latinx community. To do so, the theoretical foundation for this inquiry will build from a race-based trauma perspective. Specifically, this review connects existing frameworks for race and trauma and integrates literature that examines Latinx or Hispanic populations that have experienced discrimination, bias, or hate crime as a result of their identity or perceived identity. The importance of situating bias or hate events within the trauma literature stems from a lack of overall formal evaluation of these events, and how these occurrences are historically overlooked as a traumatic stressor. The findings of this review suggest that (1) experiencing racially motivated victimization can cause adverse mental and physical health outcomes in Latinxs and (2) currently, there is only one study that has examined the impact of hate crime on Latinxs in the United States. This leaves the field with unanswered questions about the impact of hate crime victimization among Latinxs, which is an ever-growing area in need of attention.

Caught in the Net: The Impact of Changes to Canadian Employment Insurance Legislation on Part-time Workers

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norene Pupo ◽  
Ann Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Labour Force ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Employment Insurance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Canadian Context ◽  
Insurance Programme ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Industrialised Countries ◽  
The Impact

Throughout Western highly industrialised countries, there has been a marked shift toward more conservative social policies signalling a dismantling of the welfare state as part of the process of globalisation. This paper examines the aetiology of the (un)employment insurance programme in the Canadian context. Recently, legislators have tightened eligibility rules, lowered earnings replacement rates and altered coverage requirements. While these changes signal a shredding of the social safety net, they differentially impact on certain segments of the population. Despite official pronouncements of fairness, employment insurance changes intensify the subordination women experience in the paid labour force.

How are Social Ties Protective?

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley E. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Family Social Support ◽  
The Family ◽  
Physiological Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Abstract Social ties are the most important resource human beings have. Although other people can be difficult and challenging, they can also provide protection, solace, and social support, among other benefits. However, some relationships can be toxic and because these adverse conditions can be physiologically taxing, they can negatively affect both mental and physical health. Changes such as these can operate in large part through alterations in the sympathetic nervous system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, and the immune system. Much of the benefit of social support is perceptual and stems from the comfort of believing that supportive others can or will be there when times are stressful. The abilities to gain and perceive social support begin early in life and are heavily influenced by the climate of the family. Social support depends, in part, on reciprocity, yet many challenges to receiving support exist. Giving support to others has its own psychological and physiological benefits, although at intense levels, such as demanding caregiving responsibilities, these benefits dwindle. Moreover, social support needs change over time with changing circumstances. Public policy efforts to help people build and capitalize on their potential support networks is essential to maximize the impact of social ties on mental and physical health.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity in the Impact of Economic Cycles and the Great Recession: Effects within and across the Income Distribution

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Bitler ◽  
Hilary Hoynes
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Social Safety Net ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Economic Cycles ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
The Social ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, we examine the effects of economic cycles on low-to moderate-income families. We use variation across states and over time to estimate the effects of cycles on the distribution of income, using fine gradations of the household income-to-poverty ratio. We also explore how the effects of cycles affect the risk of falling into poverty across demographic groups, focusing on age, race/ethnicity, and family type. We conclude by testing to see whether these relationships have changed in the Great Recession. We discuss the results in light of the changes in the social safety net in recent decades.

scholarly journals Monoculturals and Biculturals: Similarities and Differences in Health and Social Outcomes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanne Moadel-Attie ◽  
Sheri R. Levy ◽  
Bonita London
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Intergroup Contact ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Physical Health Outcomes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Social Identity Theory posits that social identities (cultural identities in particular) are critical to individual’s self-concepts, often predicting relative costs and benefits in terms of social and health outcomes. In accordance with this theoretical framework, we aimed to explore psychosocial outcomes for monocultural and bicultural individuals. We conducted an online survey at Stony Brook University, collecting data from 339 undergraduates about their cultural identification, social behaviors, and mental and physical health outcomes. The results of our exploratory study, analyzed via hierarchal regression, indicated that there were no significant differences between monoculturals and biculturals in terms of mental and physical health. However, there were significant differences between these groups in regards to desired intergroup contact, indicating that biculturals and individuals with high identity mismatch exhibited a higher propensity for intergroup contact than monoculturals and those with low identity mismatch, respectively. Accordingly, beyond the impact of maintaining multiple cultural identities and strength of identity, identity mismatch plays a significant role in psychosocial outcomes.

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