German Law Reform Does Not Reduce the Prevalence of Coercive Measures in Residential Institutions for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Background: Approximately 10% of children, adolescents and young adults with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) in Bavaria live in residential institutions. 2015 saw media reports raising suspicions about excessive use of coercive measures (cM) in those institutions. Until a law reform at the end of 2017 made permission from family courts mandatory for cM, their use was governed by parental consent. The REDUGIA project conducted a representative survey comparing cM and their relation to challenging behaviour (cB) and employee stress in Bavaria pre and post reform.Methods: We sent questionnaires to 65 residential institutions for children, adolescents and young adults with IDD in 2017 (pre reform, T1) and 2019 (post reform, T2). To assess changes, we analysed data from all available questionnaire pairs (T1 and T2, N = 43). We calculated paired t-test and correlative analyses concerning the relationship between cB, cM, and employee stress.Results: The number of residents overall (T1: N = 1,661; T2: N = 1,673) and per institution (T1: m = 38.6 ± 32.0; T2: m = 38.9 ± 34.5, p = 0.920) remained stable. We did not see any changes in the Index cB (p = 0.508) or the proportion of residents per institution displaying various types of challenging behaviour (all ps>0.220). There was no change in the Index cM (p = 0.089) or any indicator of employee stress, all ps > 0.323. At follow-up, the Index cB correlated positively with the Index cM (r = 0.519 p < 0.001). Regarding employee stress, the Index cB correlated positively with the frequency of sick leave (r = 0.322, p = 0.037) and physical attacks on employees (r = 0.552, p < 0.001). The Index cM also correlated positively with the frequency of sick leave (r = 0.340, p = 0.028) and physical attacks on employees (r = 0.492, p = 0.001).Discussion: Coercive measures are not a general phenomenon, but are focused on specialised institutions. The law reform did not lead to changes in the number of children, adolescents and young adults with IDD affected by coercive measures in residential institutions in Bavaria. There were still large discrepancies between institutions in the prevalence of challenging behaviour and coercive measures. Coercive measures were associated with challenging behaviour and employee stress. Taken together, findings from REDUGIA emphasise the need to prevent challenging behaviour and thus coercive measures.

Children’s Experiences of Welfare in Modern Britain

The history of childhood and welfare in Britain through the eyes of children. 'Children’s Experiences of Welfare in Modern Britain' brings together the latest research as provided by the state, charities and families from 1830 to 1980. Demonstrating how the young were integral to the making, interpretation, delivery and impact of welfare services, the chapters consider a wide range of investments in young people’s lives, including residential institutions, emigration schemes, hospitals and clinics, schools, social housing and familial care. Drawing upon thousands of personal testimonies, including a wealth of writing by children themselves, the book shows that we can only understand the history and impact of welfare if we listen to children’s experiences.

SOME ASPECTS OF MEDICAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES FOR SENIOR CITIZENS IN THE LIVING CONDITIONS IN A BOARDING HOUSE FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED

The article presents the results of a sociological study of the attitude of senior citizens who are on inpatient care in residential institutions for the elderly and disabled to various types of services provided within the framework of medical and social support. To diagnose the problems of providing medical and social assistance to the elderly in the conditions of inpatient social service institutions, we conducted an author's sociological study, some of the results of which are presented in the work.

Research on Understanding the vulnerabilities of Children with Disabilities Living in Alternative Care

Children with disabilities (CWDs) are one of the most marginalised and excluded groups in the society. Facing daily discrimination in the form of negative attitudes, lack of adequate policies and legislation, they are effectively barred from realising their rights to healthcare, education and even survival. It has been estimated that exposure towards all forms of violence against CWDs is four-time greater than that of children without disabilities. Bangladesh has an estimated 7–10 million CWDs (out of a total of 72 million children, World Health Organisation Report). Most of the time, these children are treated as a burden to their families or the community and thus become subject to violence. There are very few specialised institutions with residential facility to take care of them. So, they are institutionalised in general residential institutions at a significantly higher rate than other children. But both the special and general residential institutions have lack of skilled human resources and knowledge of the special situation and needs of CWDs. Peer groups of the CWDs are also less sensitised, which result in further stigma and discrimination of CWDs. A 2010 study was done by the Ministry of Women and children Affairs. The findings from interviews with adolescents’ aged 13–16 in 12 locations of Dhaka City revealed their extreme vulnerability. In 2010, a study by Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation that conducted a survey supported by the Save the Children Sweden–Denmark found that 51.4% of CWDs are either at risk of sexual abuse (12.5%) or have been sexually abused (38.9%).The government of Bangladesh has taken a number of legislative and policy steps that indicate commitment to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. In terms of international instruments, Department of Social Services under Ministry of Social Welfare operates various types of institutions for the children and also CWDs. The study will adopt qualitative and quantitative methods to collect information from both primary and secondary sources and also assess the situation of government non-government organisations/religious institutions where CWDs have residential facilities in order to understand which factors contribute to increased vulnerability of these children.

The main theoretical approaches to psychological counseling of children in residential care

The article considers one of the important directions of the practical psychologist-teacher in residential institutions - psychological counseling, the problem of psychological counseling of boarding school students, specific features of counseling by a teacher-psychologist, features of the consultant's interaction with boarding school students, the content of the motivational and need-based sphere of students at all stages of their stay in this institution: during the period of adaptation of students, correction, and training, as well as during their preparation for new living conditions and practical life after graduation, a teenager, getting into the new environment of a residential institution, it faces a lot of complex problems, it has questions about almost all vital situations: family and household, material, interpersonal, labor, legal, and so on. In the case of solving any problem situations, the level of anxiety increases in the pupils, on the basis of which neurotic states can develop, psychological overstrain, which manifests itself in numerous conflicts. To prevent them objectively and to resolve any contradictions in each residential institution psychologists-teachers must be organized counseling on topical issues of activity, relations and communication between pupils, special attention in the process of psychological counseling is given to the subject of "works" adviser: behaviour, feelings and experiences of pupils, and lists in detail the difficulties and errors made by the educational psychologist in the process of psychological counseling.

Psychological aspects of aggressive behavior of children living in residential institutions

Актуальность проблемы исследования агрессивности воспитанников учреждения интернатного типа определяется острой социальной значимостью проблем воспитания и развития детей, оставшихся без попечения родителей, а также недостаточной освещенностью и проработанностью проблемы подростковой агрессивности в микросоциальной среде, формирующейся в условиях детского дома и учреждениях интернатного типа. Целью исследования является выявление психологических особенностей агрессивности воспитанников учреждения интернатного типа. Ведущими методами исследования являются опросник Ильина «Личностная агрессивность и конфликтность»; детский вариант методики Розенцвейга «Исследование реакций человека на фрустрацию»; опросник Басса-Дарки, предназначенный для диагностики различных видов агрессивных реакций; а также методы математической и статистической обработки данных. В качестве теоретико-методологической основы исследования выступают труды отечественных и зарубежных исследователей по вопросам агрессии и агрессивного поведения детей, влияния ведущих психических новообразований на формирование личности и индивидуальных особенностей поведения подростков; а также основные подходы к изучению сиротства. Результаты исследования показали, что при возникновении фрустрирующей и конфликтной ситуаций «семейно депривированные» подростки склонны к агрессивному реагированию статистически значимо чаще, чем их сверстники, воспитывающиеся в семье; при этом агрессивность скорее имеет неосознаваемый и защитный характер. Воспитанники интернатного учреждения подросткового возраста характеризуются следующими психологическими особенностями проявления агрессивности: преобладанием экстрапунитивных реакций самозащитного типа; низким уровнем фрустрационной толерантности; высоким уровнем враждебности; преобладанием физической агрессии над косвенной. К наиболее выраженным формам проявления агрессивности подростков детского дома относятся вербальная, физическая агрессии, подозрительность и обидчивость. К проявлениям «позитивной агрессивности» воспитанников детского дома относится наступательность (напористость и настойчивость). Полученные результаты обуславливают разработку практических рекомендации по проведению коррекционно-развивающих мероприятий с агрессивными подростками, воспитывающимися в учреждениях интернатного типа, а также могут послужить основой для создания программы психологических тренингов по созданию благоприятных условий для оптимизации межличностного взаимодействия между детьми. The problem of children’s up-bringing and development as well as their aggressive behavior (the children who are placed in residential institutions) is of great social significance. The issue of teenage aggressiveness in micro social environment, in conditions of orphanage or special boarding school, requires detailed analysis and wide highlighting. The purpose of the research is the identification of psychological aspects of the aggression of the children living in residential institutions. The key research methods are the following: questionnaire by Ilyin “Individual Aggression and Proneness to Conflict”, behavior assessment system for children Picture Frustration Study by Saul Rosenzweig, the Buss-Durke Aggression Questionnaire as well as mathematical and statistical data processing. The research theoretical and methodological framework for the aggression, aggressive children behavior, age-related psychiatric changes, in forming of personality and individual characteristics of adolescent behavior, is essentially based on the works of Russian and foreign researchers. The results of the research revealed that children deprived of a family environment in a frustrating and conflict situation tend to behave aggressively compared with their peers from family environment. It should be noticed that this aggression is of unconscious and protective nature. The adolescents living in residential institutions are characterized by the following psychological particularities of aggression: extra-punitive response of protective nature, low frustration tolerance, high hostility level and physical aggression prevailing over indirect one. The main forms of aggression of the adolescents living in residential institutions are verbal aggressiveness, physical aggression, suspicion and resentment. The acts of positive aggression are assertiveness and persistence. The results provide practical recommendations for conducting of the remedial and development activities among aggressive teens living in residential institutions. Moreover, these results can be used for developing of the program for psychological training in order to provide favorable conditions for interpersonal interactions among children.

Providing Housing for Orphancy Children: Key Challenges and Social Risks

Providing housing for orphans is one of the most pressing problems of modern Russian society. The purpose of the article is to analyze the key problems of providing housing for orphans and children left without parental care, to study the social consequences of violation of their housing rights. The analysis of statistical data illustrates a number of significant problems in the implementation of state policy aimed at ensuring the housing rights of orphans. The key one is the insufficient level of funding, which does not allow regional authorities to fulfill their obligations in a timely manner and in full. The following problems in the field of providing housing to orphans were highlighted: dysfunction of interagency interaction, legal gaps, lack of conditions for registering graduates of residential institutions at the place of residence, narrowing social support, medical care, existing practices of providing housing of unsatisfactory quality, in rural settlements with remote access, low level of infrastructure development, limited conditions for finding a job.