Children's understandings of characters' beliefs in persuasive arguments: links with gender and theory of mind

This study investigated the role of gender plays in the relation between children's theory of mind (ToM) and persuasion. We explored children's use of the belief information of the characters involved within a persuasive situation. In two studies, children (four- to eight-year-olds) performed a comic strip task that described a persuasive situation. Results showed that the relations between ToM scores and persuasion abilities differed according to gender. First-order false-belief understanding and persuaded parent belief-relevant argument choices were significantly higher correlated in females (r (80)?=?.35, p?<?.001) than in males (r (77)?=?.10, p?=?.31). Results suggest complex gendered patterns among the relations between ToM and persuasion abilities. Implications for further research on the role of gender in ToM and persuasion are discussed.     

Reviewing the literature on the breakdown of foster care placements for young people: complexity and the social work task

Young people in long-term foster care are at risk of experiencing poor social, emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes. Moreover, these placements have a significantly greater chance of breaking down compared with those involving children. This article critically evaluates the factors associated with this particular outcome. The article was researched through a literature review conducted by a social work practitioner in one Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. The findings evidenced that, apart from overriding safety concerns, placement breakdown was not a one-off event but rather a complex process involving the interplay between a range of dynamic risk and protective factors over time, operating in the wider context of the young person's history and life experiences. The significance of these findings for social work practitioners is finally considered by identifying key theories to inform understanding and intervention.     

Processing gender: lived experiences of reproducing and transforming gender norms over the life course of young people in Northern Uganda

The years between 10–19 represent a critical stage of human development during which boys and girls learn and embody socially constructed gender norms, with long-term implications for their sexual and reproductive health. This ethnographic cohort study sought to understand how gendered norms and practices develop during the transition from child to young adult in post-conflict northern Uganda. A total of 60 girls and boys aged 10–19 were selected using purposive sampling for in-depth interviews over a three-year period; 47 individuals completed all four interviews. Drawing on feminist theory and an ecological perspective, findings were used to create a conceptual framework displaying the experiences of young people navigating patriarchal and alternative norms, emphasising their lived processes of performing and negotiating norms within six key domains (work, puberty, family planning, intimate partner relations, child discipline and alcohol). The framework identifies: (1) personal factors (knowledge, agency and aspirations); (2) social factors (socialisation processes, capital, costs and consequences); and (3) structural factors (health/educational systems, religious institutions, government policies) which may encourage young people towards one norm or another as they age. These findings can inform policies and programmes to transform gender norms and promote equitable, healthy relationships.     

Waiting for the doctor: gender differences in the timing of an intervention by the occupational physician

This study aims to answer the question whether the relatively high inflow risk into disability for women, compared to that for men, is related to a lower chance of being called by the occupational physician during sickness absence. This chance is influenced by sociodemographic, health-related, and work-related factors, as well as by the duration of sickness absence. Using a proportional hazards model, the risk of being called by the physician within a certain time period (the so-called hazard rate) is estimated. Kaplan–Meier curves show a gender difference in the hazard rate. Women appear to have a higher chance of being called by the occupational physician (i.e., a shorter waiting time). The influence of the covariates on the hazard rate is estimated using a Weibull model. The Weibull estimations show a negative duration dependence for women, while for men there is no duration dependence. It is concluded that the higher chance for women to be called by the occupational physician is not associated with a gender difference in treatment. Rather, it is the result of a difference in underlying characteristics. Underlying characteristics that significantly predict the waiting time for the occupational physician are in particular related to the labor market position of the employee: educational qualifications, firm size, industry, occupational workload, and job tenure. Other significant predictors are duration and diagnosis.     

Doc McStuffins and Dora the Explorer: representations of gender,race, and class in US animation

Children are exposed to animated cartoons at an early age, and the gender, class, and race-related messages are likely to be influential in the development of children’s beliefs and attitudes about gender roles, class, and racial groups. Although representations of females and minority children in animated cartoons have improved over the years, stereotypical and racially biased portrayals of females and racial minority groups remain. Using an intersectionality theoretical lens, a textual analysis was conducted to examine the representation of the two current leading, minority female characters in children’s animated cartoons: Doc McStuffins and Dora the Explorer. Character portrayals, stereotypes, challenges to traditional stereotypes, and the intersecting role of race, gender, and class on the representations of the characters are explored in this analysis.     

Exploring the potential of refugees and asylum seekers for social care work in England: a qualitative study

Literature highlights the potential for refugees to contribute to the labour force of receiving countries. Such a contribution may be welcomed in sectors, such as social care, where demand for labour is increasing and high vacancy rates exist. This article reports on empirical data examining the potential of refugee communities to work in social care in England. The analysis is based primarily on 20 interviews with refugees and asylum seekers and five representatives of refugee support groups, conducted in 2008-2009. The findings of this sub-study are set within results obtained from other interviews as part of a multi-methods study examining the contribution of migrants to the English care sector. In-depth interviews were analysed thematically, guided by a theoretical framework linking employment, migration and the nature of care work. The findings highlight a general willingness of refugee participants to join the care workforce. Individual and structural barriers to increased employability were identified, as well as possible strategies to overcome them. Although the findings and discussions presented are based on data collected in England and are specific to the care sector, most are more generalisable and may inform strategies aiming at maximising refugees' employability in other sectors and in other developed states.     

Breast cancer in two regimes: the impact of social movements on illness experience

This article uses the narrative of one woman, Clara Larson, to explore changes over time in the experiences of illness available to women diagnosed with breast cancer. To claim that different illness experiences become available at different times is simply to acknowledge that experiences of disease are shaped not only by the individual circumstances of disease sufferers and the particular character of their pathologies, but by culturally, spatially and historically specific regimes of practices. This article explores the impact of social movements on the regime of breast cancer and makes four contributions to the scholarship on illness experience. First, it offers the concept disease regime as a way of conceptualising the structural shaping of illness experience. Second, it demonstrates the value of incorporating social movements more thoroughly into the study of illness experience. Third, it proposes that social movements change illness experiences in two ways: (1) by changing the sufferer or her relationship to the regime's practices; and (2) by changing and expanding the regime's actual practices. And fourth, it demonstrates how gender and sexuality are constituted within disease regimes and are challenged by social movements. This article is informed by four years of ethnographic research conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area between 1994 and 1998, supplemented by historical research and more than 40 taped interviews and oral histories with current and former breast cancer patients, activists, educators, scientists, support group leaders and volunteers.     

Depressive symptoms in the Netherlands 1975-1996: a theoretical framework and an empirical analysis of socio-demographic characteristics, gender differences and changes over time

This article examines the longitudinal trend of depressive symptoms in the Netherlands, using large-scale national data recorded over the period 1975-1996. Our analyses showed fluctuations in the overall longitudinal trend. On the basis of a general theoretical framework, we formulated hypotheses concerning which socio-demographic characteristics determine the likelihood of suffering from depressive symptoms and how these associations might have changed over time. Our results revealed that people on low incomes, unemployed people, unmarried people and those who had given up their church membership were associated with depressive symptoms. Some associations between socio-demographic categories and depressive symptoms have changed over time. Divorced people have become progressively less likely to suffer from depressive symptoms compared with married people, whereas the reverse holds for those who were never married. People on low incomes have become more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms over time in comparison to people with the highest incomes. Gender differences in these associations were also found: educational level and church attendance were more beneficial to women in protecting them from depressive symptoms than they were to men.     

Oral contraceptives,androgens, and the sexuality of young women: I. A comparison of sexual experience,sexual attitudes,and gender role in oral contraceptive users and nonusers

Female undergraduates (108) volunteered for a study of hormones and sexuality, 55 of whom were oral contraceptive (OC) users. In this paper, OC users and nonusers are compared on measures of sexual attitudes and behavior, use of erotic fantasy, and gender role. In the second paper, the effects of OC on androgen levels and the relationship between androgens and behavioral measures within each group are reported. OC users were more likely to have a current sexual partner and less likely to be virgins. The two groups did not differ in frequency of masturbation or use of erotic fantasies. OC users reported less restrictive sexual morality and more interest in erotic images. These differences persisted when women without current partners were excluded. Among those in active sexual relationships, OC users reported more frequent sexual intercourse, higher psychosexual motivation and enjoyment, and were more positive in their evaluation of their partners than OC nonusers.Grant acknowledgement supported in part by a Medical Research Council of Canada Grant (No. MA-8707) awarded to B. B. Sherwin.     

Social care as first work experience in England: a secondary analysis of the profile of a national sample of migrant workers

Migrant workers are increasingly important to the care sector in England as well as in other developed countries. The profile of migrants is likely to continue changing due to reforms in immigration policy and legislation limiting the range of jobs open to migrants from non-EU countries while facilitating migration from the new European Union accession countries. This article reports on detailed secondary analysis of newly available data on the characteristics of migrants working in the care sector as their first job. The analysis was undertaken in 2009 as part of research investigating the contribution made by migrant care workers in England. The sample was identified from the new National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDSSC), which is completed by social care employers in England. Workers whose ethnicity was identified as not White British and who had their previous job abroad were used as a proxy of recent migrants. The analysis shows that this group of workers has a significantly different profile compared with other workers. Recent migrants in the care sector were significantly younger and held higher qualifications relevant to social care; however, there were no significant gender differences. They were also significantly concentrated in the private and voluntary sectors and in direct care work. There were variations between recent migrants' ethnicity and their job roles, with Asian workers more prevalent in senior care positions. These findings have a number of possible implications for social care workforce and providers, particularly within the current context of changing migration rules and social care reforms.