An exploration into the wellbeing of the families living in the ‘suburbs in the bush’*

Objective: To examine the wellbeing of families of male mine‐workers living in remote mining towns in Australia. Methods: Through an extensive review of available (but limited) social science literature on mining towns this paper explores and identifies the key social issues and problems of mining towns. Social science and health‐related research are used to argue that there are several factors that may negatively affect the relationship and psychological wellbeing of family members. Results: Atypical work schedules of the mining jobs could negatively affect the long‐term health of the workers, and could constrain their qualitative participation in domestic roles. Limited availability of resources, services and flexi‐time jobs in mining towns marginalise female partners to domestic chores. Higher level of alcohol consumption by workers and their preferred spending of leisure time with workmates symbolise patriarchal culture in mining towns that further marginalises women and could strain marital relationships. These factors could affect the social and emotional health of the children. Conclusion: Interdisciplinary studies are needed to gain realistic understanding of the dynamics of long‐term impacts of long work hours/compressed work weeks, socio‐cultural, motivational and environmental factors on the wellbeing of the workers and their families living in mining towns. Family counsellors and mental health professionals working in remote mining towns must take into consideration the likely negative impacts of work and community on individuals and families.     

Family Capital: How First‐Generation Higher Education Students Break the Intergenerational Cycle

Individuals who attain a higher education, whereas both their parents did not, embody the realization of social mobility. They are referred to as first‐generation higher education students. Previous analyses had often portrayed them as succeeding despite their family background. This research suggests that although they face many challenges, their families are often facilitators of their success. In‐depth, semistructured interviews were used to collect data from Israeli first‐generation students (N= 50). We employed a grounded theory approach, and our analysis reveals that breaking the intergenerational cycle of educational level inheritance involves day‐to‐day family life that prioritizes education through nonmaterial resources. We conceptualized this investment of nonmaterial resources as family capital. A better understanding of this role is valuable for designing efficient policy.     

The South Carolina Multigenerational Linked Birth Dataset: Developing Social Mobility Measures Across Generations to Understand Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Adverse Birth Outcomes in the US South

Objectives To describe the creation of a multigenerational linked dataset with social mobility measures for South Carolina (SC), as an example for states in the South and other areas of the country. Methods Using unique identifiers, we linked birth certificates along the maternal line using SC birth certificate data from 1989 to 2014, and compared the subset of records for which linking was possible with two comparison groups on sociodemographic and birth outcome measures. We created four multi-generational social mobility measures using maternal education, paternal education, presence of paternal information, and a summary score incorporating the prior three measures plus payment source for births after 2004. We compared social mobility measures by race/ethnicity. Results Of the 1,366,288 singleton birth certificates in SC from 1989 to 2014, we linked 103,194, resulting in 61,229 unique three-generation units. Mothers and fathers were younger and had lower education, and low birth weight was more common, in the multigenerational linked dataset than in the two comparison groups. Based on the social mobility summary score, only 6.3% of White families were always disadvantaged, compared to 30.4% of Black families and 13.2% of Hispanic families. Moreover, 32.8% of White families were upwardly mobile and 39.1% of Black families were upwardly mobile, but only 29.9% of Hispanic families were upwardly mobile. Conclusions for Practice When states are able to link individuals, birth certificate data may be an excellent source for examining population-level relationships between social mobility and adverse birth outcomes. Due to its location in the Deep South, the multigenerational SC dataset may be particularly useful for understanding racial/ethnic difference in social mobility and birth outcomes.

     

Social inequalities in health‐related use of time in Australian adolescents

Objective: Young people's socioeconomic position and time use behaviours – including physical activity, sedentary behaviours, social engagement, sleep and cognitive activities – have been associated with health outcomes. This study aimed to describe how time use varies with household income in a representative sample of 9–16 year old Australians. Methods: A random sample of 2,071 9–16 year old Australian children provided household income data and four days’ use‐of‐time data. Average daily minutes spent in various types of activities were calculated. Kruskal‐Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare time use across the income bands. Results: Higher income participants spent significantly more time playing sport (p<0.0001), including team sports (p=0.0005), and in cognitively demanding behaviours such as school routine (p<0.0001), doing homework (p<0.0001) and playing music (p=0.001) than their low‐income counterparts. Conversely, low‐income participants spent significantly more time watching television (p<0.001) and playing videogames (p<0.0002). There were no differences in sleep or social interaction. Screen time and school‐related activities were the major locations of differences. Conclusions: Time use differences in the areas of sport, school‐related and screen activities may be associated with various health and wellbeing outcomes, and thus be a source of health inequalities. Implications : Socioeconomic‐related time use behaviour differences could be used to develop specific interventions to address health inequalities via interventions addressing time use or income inequalities.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Assets and Family Stress Among Low‐Income Families

The “hard times” resulting from the 2008 Great Recession represent an opportunity to re‐examine the theoretical framework for how families use economic resources to manage stress. M. Sherraden's (1991) theory of assets and H. I. McCubbin and J. Patterson's (1983) family adjustment and adaptation response model informed this study of how assets relate to family demands among 839 low‐income families. Structural equation modeling found that assets were directly related to a reduced sense of family demands and that assets were indirectly related to demands via economically stressful events. Findings suggest that social welfare policies that promote assets among low‐income families may positively influence family relations. Future family research would benefit from measuring assets as economic resources and testing how assets affect family functioning.     

The perspective of employers/families and care recipients of migrant live‐in caregivers: a scoping review

In high‐income countries, migrant live‐in caregivers are increasingly in demand to provide health and social care in the home. While there is a wide range of research on the perspectives of live‐in caregivers (including domestic workers) in destination countries, few studies address the perspective of families who hire them. The aim of this study was to explore the extent, range and nature of international literature on the needs and experiences of employers/families and care recipients of live‐in caregivers. We undertook a scoping review of the literature on this topic using Arksey and O'Malley's five stages. With the assistance of a health science librarian, a comprehensive search of nine databases was undertaken from April to July 2014. Two research assistants independently reviewed 2493 articles. The data were analysed through data charting, numerical summary and thematic analysis. Thirteen articles met the inclusion criteria for the scoping review. Many of these studies (n = 7) were conducted in Israel, and the majority (n = 8) focus on elderly care recipients. The findings reveal the diverse roles live‐in caregivers perform, including emotional and physical care; changes in family dynamics and roles upon hiring a live‐in caregiver; the negative experiences, including abuse, of live‐in caregivers and elderly care recipients; the positive outcomes for families with a live‐in caregiver; and families’ common perception that live‐in caregivers are like kin, a part of the family. Furthermore, evidence points to some degree of bi‐directional emotional support between caregivers and employers/families, which adds complexity to their relations and the negotiation of power.     

We are at Full Capacity”: Social care workers persisting through work‐related stress in a new immigrant settlement context in the United States

Cities without a prior established history of Latina/o migration are experiencing the fastest rate of growth in new immigrants in the United States (Wainer, A tale of two cities (and a town): Immigrants in the Rust Belt, 2013; Lichter & Johnson, Immigrant gateways and Hispanic migration to new destinations. International Migration Review, 43 , 496, 2009). These new immigrant settlement cities experience the challenge of adapting their social care context to become more responsive to the needs of immigrants. Yet as cities and social care organisations struggle to keep up with the “lag” time in the availability of culturally and linguistically responsive resources and services, social care providers often work in conditions of scarcity in a social care context that is often lacking in its ability to fully respond to the needs of immigrants. Literature indicates that such conditions of scarcity can lead to work related stress, burn‐out, and can have a negative impact on the quality of services delivered by social care workers. Yet little is known regarding social care providers’ motivations and responses to work stress; and how providers may positively respond and persist in their jobs despite such stressors. This study conducted in the new immigrant settlement city of Baltimore from 2014 to 2016, utilises semi‐structured interviews to qualitatively explore the personal motivational beliefs, workplace and demographic factors associated with buffering stress and frustration among social care workers in a new immigrant settlement city (N = 29). Findings highlight important motivational and work‐related factors that appear to minimise the impact of stress and frustration for social care providers and can be used in the development of burn‐out interventions as well as improving quality of services for vulnerable populations such as, immigrants, especially in low‐resource new immigrant settlement contexts.     

Private Safety Net: Childcare Resources from the Perspective of Rural Low‐Income Families*

Phenomenological analysis was used to understand how rural low‐income families accessed and used child‐care resources to meet the needs of their families using data from Wave 1 of the Rural Families Speak Project. In the aftermath of welfare reform, results highlight the continuing need for policy aimed at building stronger supports for families with inadequate access to child care.     

Genome‐Wide Family‐Based Linkage Analysis of Exome Chip Variants and Cardiometabolic Risk

Linkage analysis of complex traits has had limited success in identifying trait‐influencing loci. Recently, coding variants have been implicated as the basis for some biomedical associations. We tested whether coding variants are the basis for linkage peaks of complex traits in 42 African‐American (n = 596) and 90 Hispanic (n = 1,414) families in the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Family Study (IRASFS) using Illumina HumanExome Beadchips. A total of 92,157 variants in African Americans (34%) and 81,559 (31%) in Hispanics were polymorphic and tested using two‐point linkage and association analyses with 37 cardiometabolic phenotypes. In African Americans 77 LOD scores greater than 3 were observed. The highest LOD score was 4.91 with the APOE SNP rs7412 (MAF = 0.13) with plasma apolipoprotein B (ApoB). This SNP was associated with ApoB (P‐value = 4 × 10^?19) and accounted for 16.2% of the variance in African Americans. In Hispanic families, 104 LOD scores were greater than 3. The strongest evidence of linkage (LOD = 4.29) was with rs5882 (MAF = 0.46) in CETP with HDL. CETP variants were strongly associated with HDL (0.00049 < P‐value <4.6 × 10^?12), accounting for up to 4.5% of the variance. These loci have previously been shown to have effects on the biomedical traits evaluated here. Thus, evidence of strong linkage in this genome wide survey of primarily coding variants was uncommon. Loci with strong evidence of linkage was characterized by large contributions to the variance, and, in these cases, are common variants. Less compelling evidence of linkage and association was observed with additional loci that may require larger family sets to confirm.     

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Extended Family,Friendship, Fictive Kin,and Congregational Informal Support Networks

This study examined differences in kin and nonkin networks among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans), and non‐Hispanic Whites. Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non‐Hispanic Whites. Selected measures of informal support from family, friendship, fictive kin, and congregation/church networks were utilized. African Americans were more involved in congregation networks, whereas non‐Hispanic Whites were more involved in friendship networks. African Americans were more likely to give support to extended family members and to have daily interaction with family members. African Americans and Black Caribbeans had larger fictive kin networks than non‐Hispanic Whites, but non‐Hispanic Whites with fictive kin received support from them more frequently than African Americans and Black Caribbeans. The discussion notes the importance of examining kin and nonkin networks, as well as investigating ethnic differences within the Black American population.     

Romantic Partner and Biological Father Support: Associations with Maternal Distress in Low‐Income Mexican‐Origin Families

Paternal support is often linked to lower levels of maternal psychological distress; however, research has seldom considered the increasing numbers of Mexican‐origin families with a romantic partner social (RPS) father (i.e., mothers' partners who are not formally identified as stepfathers). This study applied a bioecological systems framework to test linkages between support from RPS fathers and maternal depressive symptoms and parenting stress and to consider whether nonresident biological father support and instrumental social support moderate these associations. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the authors analyzed a subsample of Mexican‐origin mothers (N = 76) with 3‐year‐old children. Findings indicated that maternal perceptions of support from RPS fathers were inversely related to depressive symptomatology only when mothers also perceived high levels of support from biological fathers, and the relationship with the RPS father began recently. Neither RPS nor biological father support was associated with maternal parenting stress.     

Time in Parenting Activities in Dual‐Earner Families at the Transition to Parenthood

Time parenting was compared for new mothers and fathers in a sample of 182 dual‐earner families. Parenting domains included positive engagement, responsibility, routine child care, and accessibility. Time diaries captured parents' time use over a 24‐hour workday and nonworkday when infants were age 3 and 9 months. Parents were highly involved with their infants. Mothers were more involved than fathers in positive engagement and routine child care on days and at each assessment, and allocated more available time on workdays to these domains than fathers, with one exception. Fathers and mothers allocated similar shares of available workday time to positive engagement at 9 months. Greater equity in responsibility and accessibility was found; mothers spent more, and a greater share of, parenting time in responsibility than fathers on the 9‐month workday only, and were more accessible on the 3‐month workday only. Implications for parents in today's diverse families are discussed.     

Personal goals and factors related to QoL in Dutch homeless people: what is the role of goal‐related self‐efficacy?

Very little is known about the personal goals of homeless people and how these relate to their quality of life (QoL). By using survey data on 407 homeless adults upon entry to the social relief system in 2011, we examined the personal goals of homeless adults and the association between their perceived goal‐related self‐efficacy and their QoL. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyse the association between QoL and goal‐related self‐efficacy, relative to factors contributing to QoL, such as demographic characteristics, socioeconomic resources, health and service use. Results indicate that the majority of homeless adults had at least one personal goal for the coming 6 months and that most goals concerned housing and daily life (94.3%) and finances (83.6%). The QoL of homeless adults appeared to be lower in comparison with general population samples. General goal‐related self‐efficacy was positively related to QoL (β = 0.09, P = 0.042), independent of socioeconomic resources (i.e. income and housing), health and service use. The strongest predictors of QoL were psychological distress (β = ?0.45, P < 0.001), income (β = 0.14, P = 0.002) and being institutionalised (β = 0.12, P = 0.004). In conclusion, the majority of homeless adults entering the social relief system have personal goals regarding socioeconomic resources and their goal‐related self‐efficacy is positively related to QoL. It is therefore important to take the personal goals of homeless people as the starting point of integrated service programmes and to promote their goal‐related self‐efficacy by strength‐based interventions.     

Mujeres en Accion: Design and Baseline Data

The majority of programs designed to promote physical activity in older Hispanic women includes few innovative theory-based interventions that address cultural relevant strategies. The purpose of this report is to describe the design and baseline data for Mujeres en Accion, a physical activity intervention to increase regular physical activity, and cardiovascular health outcomes among older Hispanic women. Mujeres en Accion [Women in Action for Health], a 12 month randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a social support physical activity intervention in midlife and older Hispanic women. This study tests an innovative intervention, Mujeres en Accion, and includes the use of a theory-driven approach to intervention, explores social support as a theoretical mediating variable, use of a Promotora model and a Community Advisory group to incorporate cultural and social approaches and resources, and use of objective measures of physical activity in Hispanic women.     

Testing a sociomedical model for preterm delivery

The study purpose was to contribute to the development of a model for preterm birth that brings together social, psychosocial and biomedical factors. The three research questions were: (a) Which social and psychosocial factors influence the risk of preterm delivery? (b) Are the effects of social and psychosocial factors independent? (c) Do the biomedical factors identified and measured here explain the effect of social and psychosocial factors? The sample comprised 739 low‐income black non‐Hispanic women. Interviews were conducted after delivery, and medical records were abstracted. Nearly a quarter of the women delivered preterm (23.5%). Two social factors strongly predicted risk of preterm delivery: inadequacy of time and money for non‐essentials. The effect of both was stronger than expected from each alone and was partially mediated by psychosocial factors. Several psychosocial factors also predicted preterm delivery risk but only stress and locus of control were independent predictors. With the inclusion of biomedical factors, stress (OR = 1.86, P = 0.005) and locus of control (OR = 1.75, P = 0.007) continued to be strongly associated with preterm delivery. The effect of inadequate resources for non‐essentials was no longer significant, suggesting mediation. These strong effects of social and psychosocial factors should be examined in future studies.     

Stepping Stones to Resiliency following a community‐based two‐generation Canadian preschool programme

Early intervention programmes are designed to address complex inequities for Canadian families living with low income, affecting social relationships, well‐being and mental health. However, there is limited understanding of resiliency and change in families living with low income over time. We conducted a mixed methods study with recent immigrant, other Canadian‐born, and Aboriginal families living with low income, who attended a two‐generation preschool programme (CUPS One World) between 2002 and 2008. The aim of this study was to develop an understanding of the processes of change. We included 134 children and their caregivers living with low income, and experiencing mental health problems, addiction or social isolation. Children's receptive language, a proxy for school readiness, was measured at programme intake, exit, and age 10 years using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 3rd Edition (PPVT‐III). In Phase I (quantitative), we identified children with receptive language scores in the top and bottom 25th percentile, informing participant selection for Phase II. In Phase II (qualitative), we engaged in constructivist grounded theory to explore experiences of 14 biological mothers, after their children (n = 25) reached age 10 years. Interviews were conducted between June and September 2015. The core category, Stepping Stones to Resiliency, encompassed Perceptions of Family, Moving Forward, Achieving Goals, and Completely Different. Perceptions of Family influenced families’ capabilities to move across the Stepping Stones to Resiliency. Stepping Stones to Resiliency provides a lens from which to view others in their daily challenges to break free of painful intergenerational cycles. It is a reminder of our struggle, our shared humanness, and that movement towards resiliency is more difficult for some than others. Our findings challenge traditional episodic, biomedical treatment paradigms for low‐income families also experiencing intergenerational cycles of mental health problems, addictions, social isolation, and family violence.     

Full‐Time,Part‐Time Full‐Time,and Part‐Time Fathers: Father Identities Following Divorce

This grounded theory study examined how 20 newly divorced, nonresidential fathers manage their fatherhood identities. The theory created from this study proposes that fathers' perceptions of (a) father‐child relationships, (b) how their children's fiscal needs are met, and (c) barriers to their physical interactions with their children influence their fatherhood identities. In spite of all fathers identifying themselves as involved, three types of fathers emerged: full‐time fathers, part‐time full‐time fathers, and part‐time fathers. The findings suggest that men's conceptualizations of father involvement are influenced by their postdivorce experiences with nonresidential fatherhood.     

Mother‐Grandmother Conflict,Negative Parenting,and Young Children's Social Development in Multigenerational Families

Mutigenerational households that include grandmothers and adult mothers caring for grandchildren are increasingly common. The influence, however, of mother‐grandmother relationship quality and grandmothers' parenting on grandchildren's social development remains largely unexplored in these three‐generation households. This study examines linkages among caregiver depressive symptoms, mother‐grandmother verbal conflict, observed parenting, and 36‐month‐old grandchildren's problem and prosocial behaviors among a subsample from the Family Life Project (N = 85) consisting of economically disadvantaged multigenerational families. The findings suggest that mother‐grandmother relationship conflict presents a risk to children's behavior directly and indirectly via mothers' negative parenting behaviors. Mothers seem to be more influenced by the mother‐grandmother relationship than grandmothers. These results highlight the importance of including mother‐grandmother conflict in mutigenerational families in family assessments and interventions.