Theoretical Perspectives on Adoptive Families' Well-Being

2001 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosario Caballo ◽  
Jennifer E. Lansford ◽  
Antonia Abbey ◽  
Abigail J. Stewart
2021 ◽  
pp. 205015792098482
Author(s):  
Linus Andersson ◽  
Ebba Sundin

This article addresses the phenomenon of mobile bystanders who use their smartphones to film or take photographs at accident scenes, instead of offering their help to people in need or to assist medical units. This phenomenon has been extensively discussed in Swedish news media in recent years since it has been described as a growing problem for first responders, such as paramedics, police, and firefighters. This article aims to identify theoretical perspectives that are relevant for analyzing mobile media practices and discuss the ethical implications of these perspectives. Our purpose is twofold: we want to develop a theoretical framework for critically approaching mobile media practices, and we want to contribute to discussions concerning well-being in a time marked by mediatization and digitalization. In this pursuit, we combine theory from social psychology about how people behave at traumatic scenes with discussions about witnessing in and through media, as developed in media and communication studies. Both perspectives offer various implications for normative inquiry, and in our discussion, we argue that mobile bystanders must be considered simultaneously as transgressors of social norms and as emphatic witnesses behaving in accordance with the digital media age. The article ends with a discussion regarding the implications for further research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radu-Ioan Popa

Abstract The present article follows an in-depth analysis of several relevant articles and major findings concerning the return to work of cancer patients, in various situations, from a manager and patient point of view, putting into discussion the effects and consequences of different factors that may influence the well-being of the patient at work and impact the organizational life. The concepts of returning to work and integration are scarcely analysed throughout the scholarly literature in the case of employees diagnosed with cancer, due to several reasons presented in the paper: from the complex topic of investigation that many studies fail to approach in terms of confidentiality, technical, ethical and moral grounds to the specific and difficult apparatus for research in the case of an even more complex, multiple instances and personalized manifestation long-term illness. In conclusion, the general framework solicits for a more integrated model of research and future multi-facet schemes for interventions, considering that there is a general consensus focusing on the need for connecting the health services with the employee and employer level, alongside stakeholders’ active participation.


Author(s):  
Tomi-Ann Roberts ◽  
Patricia L. Waters

In this chapter, we attempt to explore the motivational questions that arise when we view the psychology of women through the lens of objectification theory, which highlights the centrality of appearance concerns, or “body projects,” for girls and women today. We examine theoretical perspectives on what motivates the sexual objectification of women, considering the ways this treatment may reflect an adaptive evolutionary mating strategy, may serve as a tool for the maintenance of patriarchal power, or may lend existential “protection” against the creaturely, death reminders that women's bodies provide. We then investigate both developmental processes and situational/contextual features that motivate girls and women to internalize a sexually objectifying view on their physical selves. And, finally, we review evidence that self-objectification, though motivating in itself, carries significant consequences for their health and well-being.


2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurika Van Straaten ◽  
Annelize Du Plessis ◽  
S.P. Fanus Van Tonder

Orientation: A literature search for studies on the well-being of support staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) produced very little results. Appreciation was then used to identify elements that might enhance the well-being of a selected HEI’s support staff.Research purpose: The aim was to explore the strengths of a selected HEI that might serve as driving forces for enhancing its support staff’s well-being.Motivation for the study: The lack of research on the well-being of support staff motivated the study. A need was identified to explore driving forces that might enhance their well-being.Research design, approach and method: A literature review guided by theoretical perspectives and theories on staff well-being was conducted. Subsequently, a qualitative action research design involving an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) workshop with support staff of an institution was followed.Main findings: The following strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of the institution’s support services staff were identified: hard-working and dedicated support staff, positive relations among colleagues, a willingness to adapt to change,good remuneration and benefits, job security and a supportive work environment. Appreciative Inquiry was found to be well suited for identifying such strengths, as opposed to methods that focus on identifying problems or weaknesses of an organisation. As a result of this study, the relevant institution might react and build on these identified strengths towards promoting the well-being of its support staff.Practical/managerial implications: Institutions should make an effort to enhance staff well being. The results of the study could also be used to encourage HEIs to use AI to establish optimal staff well-being.Contribution/value add: The study confirmed the power of appreciation to identify the strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of support staff of an HEI.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne M. Crossman

Fitspiration has been positioned as an online interchange featuring images and text designed to inspire fitness and healthy eating. Given its ubiquity as an emerging social media trend, and its unintended impact on body image disturbance mediated by social comparison, Fitspiration has been understudied. This review draws on theoretical perspectives associated with traditional and new media impact on young women’s body image concerns, and overviews strategies to engage students in adopting a healthier body image. The manuscript also provides educational implications and directions for practice, particularly guided by media literacy models that may serve to intervene with body comparisons, inspire deeper learning and a renewed vision of fitness, health, and well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-44
Author(s):  
T.V. Soloveva ◽  
◽  
E.G. Pankova ◽  
D.A. Bistyaikina ◽  
◽  
...  

The article presents the results of a study of the possibilities of the social protection system to improve the quality of life of substitute families in the Republic of Mordovia. The authors conclude that a substitute family is not a legally defined term for any type of family that accepts a child (children) left without parental care. Social protection of a substitute family is a system of support provided by providing a set of social services to the family in order to preserve and strengthen the social, psychological and physical health of members of the foster family and prevent secondary abandonment of the child. Professional formation and support of substitute families is one of the most important stages in the work of specialists working with a child placed in a family and members of this family. The results of the research presented in the article suggest that in General, substitute parents in the Republic of Mordovia are satisfied with the socio-psychological and socio-legal knowledge obtained during the preparation and decision-making on the creation of a substitute family. Adaptation and upbringing of a foster child, the features of children who have a traumatic experience of breaking up with their biological parents and the features of their development in adolescence – are the topics that were most significant for the substitute parents. The authors observed that adoptive families are heterogeneous both in terms of social well-being in General, and by the presence and intensity of elements, and therefore family policies should focus not only on the institution of foster families in General, but to be differentiated in relation to different groups. The results obtained provide a scientific basis for such a differentiated policy, which corresponds to the principle of targeting, widely declared in social policy and social work.


Author(s):  
Nancy L. Sin ◽  
David M. Almeida

Positive emotions and minor positive events are more likely to occur in people’s daily lives than negative emotions and stressors. This chapter provides an overview of theoretical perspectives and previous research linking positive experiences with stress and health. A conceptual framework is proposed that describes constructs within the realm of “daily positive experiences.” The framework posits that daily positive experiences contribute to health through biological, behavioral, and stress-buffering pathways. The sociodemographic patterning of daily positive experiences by age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status is described. Multidisciplinary work is presented linking between-person differences and within-person (day-to-day) variations in daily positive experiences to stressor reactivity, inflammation, and diurnal cortisol rhythms. The chapter concludes with a discussion of unanswered questions and key areas for future discovery and innovation. The study of everyday positive experiences provides insights into health and well-being that go beyond what can be learned from focusing solely on negative experiences.


Author(s):  
Abbie E. Goldberg

The prologue provides historical context for the book, detailing, for example, how adoption has changed over time, particularly with regard to structural openness (i.e., contact between birth and adoptive families) and communicative openness in adoption (i.e., how parents talk about adoption), two key concepts in the book. In addition to changes in openness, other major societal shifts have occurred over the past several decades that impact and intersect with adoption: namely, the rise in gay parenthood and the rise and expansion of the Internet in society. The prologue also introduces the research participants who were interviewed for the book: namely, lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples who adopted through private domestic adoption or foster care, and who were interviewed at various points from preadoption to 8 years after they adopted. The prologue also addresses the major theoretical perspectives (family systems, life course, developmental) that frame the book.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pattharanitcha Prakitsuwan ◽  
George P. Moschis ◽  
Randall Shannon

PurposeThis study aims to show how the increasingly popular life course paradigm (LCP) can be employed as an alternative to the successful aging perspective (SAP) as an overarching conceptual research framework to study elderly consumers' financial well-being.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 804 Thai consumers over the age of 45 selected via the snowball method.FindingsSignificant results were found for hypotheses derived from the LCP for older consumers' financial well-being, suggesting critical roles of early life experiences, developmental factors, adaptation mechanisms and contextual factors.Originality/valueThis paper shows how efforts to study consumers over the course of their lives can be improved by utilizing the principles and theoretical perspectives of the LCP and offers research directions for studying not only older consumer well-being but also numerous consumer behavior issues at any stage of life in an innovative way.


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