No One Wants to Look Cheap: Trade‐Offs Between Social Disincentives and the Economic and Psychological Incentives to Redeem Coupons

Existing research on price deals has largely demonstrated positive financial and nonfinancial consequences of obtaining a deal. In contrast, the research reported here suggests that certain price deals—in this case, coupons—can also produce negative social consequences, such as creating an impression of cheapness or stinginess. Decisions to redeem coupons are shown to involve a trade‐off between the social incentives to avoid coupons and competing economic and psychological incentives to redeem coupons. Consumers strategically adjusted their decision in response to factors that changed the relative strength of these incentives; specifically, they avoided coupons when they were concerned that coupon use would lead to negative social consequences but redeemed coupons when the circumstances reduced these concerns. Although decisions to refuse a coupon might violate principles of economic rationality, it is argued that such decisions are nevertheless functional as they serve important social goals. In this sense, it can be smarter for consumers to forgo a deal rather than obtain one.     

One and One and One is Minus Three: Therapeutic Consultations in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services with Separated and Conflicted Parents

Many children and young people attend mental health services where the conflict and dynamics between their separated parents contribute to their mental health difficulties. Without intervention in the conflicted co-parenting relationship, the child’s mental health may not improve. This article discusses the issues from the position of both children and their parents and describes some psychoanalytic thinking that can be applied in this work. This includes the development of triangular space and a third position in which the relationship itself is seen as a separate third and the understanding of grievance as a state of mind and a psychic retreat. The therapist’s countertransference offers insight into the experience of the child.     

A gendered approach to workforce participation patterns over the life course for an Australian baby boom cohort

Population ageing and its future implications for governments and individuals have been central to much policy debate and research targeted to retain older people in the workforce. This study identified workforce participation patterns across the adult life course for women and men entering later life, and explored the influences of various early and adult life socio-demographic circumstances. Data were collected from 1261 men and women aged 60 to 64 years in the Life History and Health (LHH) Survey (a sub-study of the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study, Australia) in 2010–11. LHH provides detailed information on personal histories of paid work, socio-economic resources from childhood (number of books and father's occupation) and adult life factors such as educational attainment, marital histories, childcare and informal caring. Latent class analysis (LCA) was undertaken to identify patterns of workforce participation for participants across their adult life. Significant gender differences were confirmed. Further analysis (LCA with covariates) showed that women who reported having books during childhood, and those who had post-school qualification, were more likely to have mostly been in paid work and less likely to have not been in paid work; while ever partnered women had significantly higher odds of increasing part time work over time. Men who had reported ever having had informal caring activities were likely to have had decreasing participation in paid work over time, and were highly likely to be not in paid work after 55 years. Ever partnered status was protective for being in paid work for men. These findings indicate the need for gender-specific policies and strategies to enable continued workforce participation throughout adult life and into later working years, particularly for people who had fewer social or economic opportunities earlier in life.     

A client‐generated psychometric instrument: The development of ‘PSYCHLOPS’

PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) is a recently developed, client‐generated, psychometric instrument that can be used as an outcome measure. Based on a similar instrument developed primarily for use in physical illnesses (MYMOP — ‘Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile’), it seeks the client's perspective on their psychological distress. It asks them to describe and then score the problem that troubles them the most at the start of counselling. We describe the development of PSYCHLOPS, including the involvement of the Plain English Campaign and two national mental health organisations: the mental health charity and support group, Depression Alliance (DA) and Primary Care Mental Health Education (PRIMHE). We review the literature and suggest that PSYCHLOPS, by focusing on the problems of greatest priority to the client, might prove a sensitive measure of improvement after counselling.