Career trajectories of older women: implications for career guidance

As work and employment transitions become more frequent and difficult, the demand for formal career guidance increases. Women are likely to experience structural labour market disadvantage and may benefit from formal support that is sympathetic to their particular needs. Yet the traditional psychological paradigms that dominate career guidance practice have assumed homogeneity. To contribute both to broader debates about careers services for adults and the development of more relevant theoretical frameworks for career practice for women, results are presented from an international, comparative qualitative investigation of the career trajectories of older women (aged 45 to 65) in Australia, England and South Africa. These results confirm a need for career guidance that is nuanced and differentiated for women.     

An Ecological Analysis of Batterer Intervention Program Standards

Summary

Many states and local jurisdictions have drafted and implemented standards for batterer intervention programs. This article first presents a review of the arguments for and against the current standards. The author argues that the extant empirical research on batterer intervention is, at best, a limited source of knowledge for setting standards. The author then uses Bronfenbrenner's (1972, 1975) ecological framework to analyze existing standards, and to guide recommendations for future research on batterer intervention.     

Non-Violent Survival Strategies in the Face of Intimate Partner Violence and Economic Discrimination

Intimate partner violence (IPV) theory often locates violence equitably between women and men. Women, however, sustain greater degrees of injury than men and often use violence as a measure of protection rather than as an act of aggression. Yet measures of protection must be viewed in multiple contexts. In this case, the context is poverty, which reveals that violence by women in response to IPV is not the only way that women deal with the violence in their lives. This article explicates four strategies that battered women in poverty deploy in their protective trajectory and highlight alternative resistance strategies women use to overcome multiple structural barriers.     

Attachment Mediates the Childhood Maltreatment–Daily Hassles Link in Low-Income,Suicidal African American Women

This study examined if attachment patterns mediated the link between childhood maltreatment and total daily and interpersonally oriented life hassles in 135 low-income, inner-city, suicidal African American women. Participants completed self-report measures of childhood maltreatment, attachment styles, and daily life hassles dimensions. Bootstrapping analyses revealed that (a) negative views of self mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and social and cultural difficulties and social acceptability; and (b) negative views of other mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and total daily life hassles, social victimization, and social and cultural difficulties. These findings can inform interventions for suicidal African American women with a history of childhood maltreatment and subsequent maladaptive attachment styles.     

Interpersonal Violence,Recovery, and Resilience in Incarcerated Women

Abstract

Our first study focuses on interpersonal violence and characteristics of resilience (evaluated by the Multidimensional Trauma Resilience and Recovery [MTRR] interview and rating scales) in a sample of incarcerated women. The second study applies qualitative data analysis to a case study of one participant in group therapy for incarcerated women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. Despite extensive history of both frequent and severe abuse, the women displayed a high degree of resilience across multiple domains, including, in particular, the ability to derive meaning from traumatic events and to place the memories into context, ability to form meaningful relationships with others, and ability to regulate affect. These findings were replicated in study two, which illustrates the process of recovery from a poly-traumatic history.     

Resilience and Post-Traumatic Recovery in Cultural and Political Context

Abstract

Violence against women has been conceptualized in terms of controlling female sexuality, restricting women's autonomy, humiliating and keeping women out of sight, maintaining male control and dominance, and dishonoring other [male] enemies. This paper discusses situations where the violation of women's bodies becomes the site for political rivalries and thus incurring masculine/national honor. The etching of political rivalries onto women's bodies for national honor or to inflict dishonor has a long history and is not unique to Pakistan. Within the theoretical frameworks of ecological psychology and cultural anthropology, this paper highlights the resiliency shown by two Pakistani women in their efforts toward posttraumatic recovery as they situate their traumatic experiences within their immediate structural, political, and cultural contexts, which in turn influence their behavior and shape the specific choices they make.     

Spirituality,religiousness, personality as predictors of stress and resilience among middle-aged Vietnamese-Born American Catholics

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the predictive power of spirituality and religiousness in terms of well-being. Spirituality and religiousness were measured by the ASPIRES Scale. Participants in this study were 171 middle-aged Vietnamese-born American Catholics. Results indicated that both resilience and stress significantly related to Prayer Fulfillment, Religious Involvement, and Religious Crisis, and Universality related significantly to resilience. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions examined the incremental predictive validity of spirituality and religiousness over gender, religious status, and personality. Results demonstrated that spirituality and religiousness incrementally predicted stress overload and resilience in midlife over these other variables (Δ R² scores ranged from .02 to .06). These findings provided further support for the hypothesis that spirituality and religiousness are important resources for managing stress and maintaining resilience for middle-aged Vietnamese-born American immigrants.     

Cumulative trauma and midlife well-being in American women who served in Vietnam: effects of combat exposure and postdeployment social support

Background and Objectives: Research increasingly demonstrates that trauma exposure can have cumulative effects, yet much remains to be learned about effects of cumulative trauma, particularly regarding longer term adjustment. One such trauma, combat exposure, is insufficiently understood, especially for women, who are increasingly engaged in professional combat activities. Design: The study comprised a cross-sectional survey assessing multiple aspects of current well-being in women approximately 25 years after their service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Methods: Participants were 1374 women (78% military and 22% nonmilitary; mean age = 59.7). This study investigated the relations between three separate categories of trauma exposure (childhood, adulthood, and combat) and well-being and examined whether perceived social support at return from Vietnam moderated the association between combat exposure and well-being. Results: While both childhood and adulthood trauma exposure related to midlife well-being, combat exposure still uniquely predicted outcomes. Further, postdeployment perceived social support moderated the association of combat and well-being: recollected higher perceived social support at homecoming buffered participants from the links between combat exposure and well-being. Conclusions: These results may have important implications for interventions to reduce the impact of traumatic experiences, particularly in light of the increasing exposure of women to direct combat events.     

Experiences of Newly Married Black Women Staying with the Extended Family in a Township in South Africa

We report the results of a phenomenological study on the experiences of newly married black women staying with extended family in South African townships. Our goals for the study included in-depth interviews on experiences and guidelines to facilitate these women's mental health. We interviewed six newly married women (age range 20 to 30 years; mean period in marriage = 3 years) staying with the extended families in an urban South African township. An open central question was posed to the newly married black women who fitted the inclusion criteria and this was followed by probing questions to explore and describe the experiences of staying with the extended family in an urban township. Newly married black women who do not follow the expected practices from the teachings of the extended family experienced victimisation by the extended family. The mental health of newly married black women staying with the extended family in an urban South African township could be facilitated by empowering these women with communication skills to enable them to express their feelings and concerns effectively.     

The Impact of Life-Long Illness on Women: A Qualitative Study of Low Socio-Economic Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Patients

The purpose of this qualitative, ethnographic study was to explore the impact of a chronic disease on low socio-economic women with RA in South Africa. Ten women participants with a mean age of 48 years and a mean duration of RA of 10 years were obtained through purposive sampling from a public hospital RA clinic. In-depth individual interviews were conducted as a method of data collection. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed for the data analysis. Grounded theory analysis was used which produced 3 primary categories around the impact of RA: (1) Physical impact, (2) Social and economic impact, and (3) Psychological impact; and 5 sub-categories, namely, Pain and poor Functional Status, Change in life-style following a weakened economic position, Change in the constitution of the “Self”, Change in the constitution of the “Self” of the spouse/partner, and Depression. Depression, pain and poor functional status are well known health outcomes for RA patients. Perceived change in the psychological concept of the “Self” is less frequently reported. The value of this study is that the concept of the self is further explored in chronically ill individuals as a ‘fluid’ one, with the potential for undergoing a complete transformation as a consequence of RA.