New frameworks for careers guidance: developing a conceptual model of the interview

Recent research has highlighted limitations in our understanding of the dynamics occurring within the careers guidance interview. A study was conducted of how the client and practitioner engage in the exchange within the interview and how meanings are negotiated and received by each of the participants. The objectives for the study were to examine a sample of guidance interviews in order to: (i) identify which interventions by practitioners are perceived as helpful and unhelpful by clients and practitioners; (ii) establish how helpful and unhelpful interventions relate to change in understanding; and (iii) compare and contrast the identification and commentaries by practitioners and clients. The results showed that practitioners reported significantly more helpful interventions than clients and that there was limited agreement in the identification of interventions. Three thematic categories were derived to group the helpful interventions. This analysis provided the basis for the development of a conceptual model of the interview. Further research to test the model and assess its potential to inform careers guidance training and practice is outlined.     

The Haunting of Men: Commentary on Thomas Burkhalter’s “Foregrounding Masculinities in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy”

Thomas Burkhalter’s paper opens an important conversation about the fate of White masculinity in post-Apartheid South Africa. The commentary celebrates the nuance and complexity of the analysis but also suggests that social and historical context would deepen its reach. This concerns taking account of the ways in which the therapeutic moment described owes its formation to a historically and socially specific form of White liberal masculinity. The implications of this for women gendered as female are explored.     

Assessing the Helpfulness of One Parenting Assistance Helpline

This study examined the services provided by one statewide warmline established to assist parents and caregivers of children from birth through adolescence. Warmlines offer telephone-based, non-crisis support for individuals experiencing diverse issues that include parenting questions and concerns. The University of Alabama Child Development Resources collaborated with the Alabama State Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention to institute the Parenting Assistance Line to provide information and support to parents and caregivers of children, age birth through adolescence. Overall, the staff of the Parenting Assistance Line responded to 9487 calls during the 6 years of data reported here. Through a secondary data analysis of calls to the Parenting Assistance Line from June 2007 to July 2013, this study describes the concerns of callers in relation to the ages of the children about whom they are calling and also evaluates the perceptions of the helpfulness of the information and support provided by the warmline. We found that frequently calls involved parent support and parental stress for parents and caregivers of children from infancy through adolescence. The findings suggest that telephone assistance lines offer a viable choice for parents and caregivers seeking affordable and accessible resources when stressed by the responsibilities of caring for children and adolescents and/or seeking information related to parenting issues. The study identified the limitations of research involving secondary data collected for purposes other than research that program administrators and evaluators should consider when planning and implementing services of this nature.     

Message in a bottle: a comparative study of spiritual needs of children and young people in and out of hospital

Using the metaphor of a message in a bottle as a framework and sending an S.O.S. to adults, the question of what are the three biggest needs of children and young people was asked. Data consisting of 107 important needs of children and young people was collected from 36 children and young people both in and out of hospital: in hospital by chaplains and other health care professionals, and out of hospital by children and youth work undergraduate students. This was a convenience sample across the United Kingdom with the majority of respondents in the Midlands. The data were coded and then thematically analysed and separately compared to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Emotional needs was the largest theme for hospitalised children and young people and relationship needs for the non-hospitalised children and young people. For both groups Maslow’s level 3 need of belonging was the greatest averaging at just over half the needs shared. A discussion of the results of the analyses identifies some ways in which the needs of hospitalised children and young people may differ, identifying some implications for practice.     

ANGER AND DEPRESSION IN GIRLS AND BOYS A Study of Gender Differences

A growing body of literature supports the link between anger suppression and depression and females'greater likelihood than males of demonstrating both. Anger suppression was hypothesized to be involved in the development of gendered identity for girls, specifically by rendering girls more likely to experience depression. Employing an ethnically diverse sample of public school children, differences between fifth through ninth grade girls and boys in anger suppression and depression were investigated using self-report data. Results supported the hypothesis that girls suppress anger at higher rates than boys but not the related hypothesis that this suppression results in higher levels of depression. Age was not related to either anger suppression or depression, and no significant relationship was found between suppressed anger and depression for either sex. The impact of girls'anger suppression on their emotional and gender development is discussed.     

Socially Valued Roles,Self‐Determination,and Community Participation among Individuals Living with Serious Mental Illnesses

Decades after deinstitutionalization, individuals living with serious mental illnesses remain isolated, socially disengaged, and devalued members of communities. Burgeoning research and services need conceptual clarity to improve such social conditions. This qualitative inquiry used grounded theory and participatory approaches to conduct an in‐depth exploration of community participation for individuals living with serious mental illnesses based on key stakeholder perspectives (n = 45). Results revealed that community participation is a multifaceted construct with layers of meaning for individuals living with serious mental illnesses. Overarching themes are contextualized in Self‐Determination Theory and presented with deidentified illustrations. Implications for services, research, and policy are discussed.     

Sex differences in facial emotion perception ability across the lifespan

Perception of emotion in the face is a key component of human social cognition and is considered vital for many domains of life; however, little is known about how this ability differs across the lifespan for men and women. We addressed this question with a large community sample (N?=?100,257) of persons ranging from younger than 15 to older than 60 years of age. Participants were viewers of the television show “Tout le Monde Joue”, and the task was presented on television, with participants responding via their mobile devices. Applying latent variable modeling, and establishing measurement invariance between males and females and across age, we found that, for both males and females, emotion perception abilities peak between the ages of 15 and 30, with poorer performance by younger adults and declining performance after the age of 30. In addition, we show a consistent advantage by females across the lifespan, which decreases in magnitude with increasing age. This large scale study with a wide range of people and testing environments suggests these effects are largely robust. Implications are discussed.