Psychosocial Studies Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This is a book chapter by Laura Favaro and me, which is coming out soon in a collection edited by Sonia Nunez Puente, called Rewriting women as victims: From theory to practice. We look critically at the spreading out of relentless... more

This is a book chapter by Laura Favaro and me, which is coming out soon in a collection edited by Sonia Nunez Puente, called Rewriting women as victims: From theory to practice. We look critically at the spreading out of relentless positivity and positive psychology in popular media, drawing on Laura's work on online magazines in Spain and the UK. We develop our critique of positive psychology, moving beyond confidence and resilience to examine exhortations to Positive Mental Attitude, and how they operate in a context striated by power and injustice.

What is it like to be an immigrant worker in a ‘hostile environment’ in the UK? How does the form of discursive environment, which sees immigration as a social epidemic, impact on an immigrant worker’s experience of their cultural... more

What is it like to be an immigrant worker in a ‘hostile environment’ in the UK? How does the form of discursive environment, which sees immigration as a social epidemic, impact on an immigrant worker’s experience of their cultural (dis)localities and subjectivity? In this article, I draw on my personal, psychoanalytically informed voice to explore these questions, by foregrounding the materiality of the hosting environment as the place in which the present relational matrix takes place, in which the internal dynamics of object relations are lived in the present sense, and the idiosyncratic expression of selfhood assumes forms.The materialised reality of the place matters not least because it is drenched in power relations but also as it is where an immigrant worker seeks to live. The hostile host, in this sense, sees immigrants not simply as its guests (Derrida and Dufourmantelle, 2000), but as unwelcome yet persistent guests to be yoked to their place of otherness and inferiority. ...

W ith hospital reimbursement increasingly being linked to patient satisfaction, 1 about half of United States hospitals have embraced arts programs as a means of humanizing clinical environments and improving the patient experience. 2,3... more

W ith hospital reimbursement increasingly being linked to patient satisfaction, 1 about half of United States hospitals have embraced arts programs as a means of humanizing clinical environments and improving the patient experience. 2,3 There is emerging evidence that integrating such programs into clinical settings is associated with less pain, stress, and anxiety 4-10 as well as improved mood, 11 greater levels of interaction, 12 and feeling less institutionalized. 13 However, it has been observed that existing studies have been undertaken with variable meth-odological rigor, 14 and few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have linked specific design features or interventions directly to healthcare outcomes. We designed a RCT to test the hypotheses that (1) placing a painting by a local artist in the line of vision of hospitalized patients would improve psychological and clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction and (2) letting patients choose their own painting would offer even greater benefit in these areas. METHODS From 2014 to 2016, our research team recruited inpatients who were being treated in the Pennsylvania State University Her-shey Cancer Institute in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Patients were eligible if they were English speaking, over the age of 19, not cognitively impaired, and had been admitted for cancer-related treatments that required at least a 3-day inpatient stay. During recruitment, patients were told that the study was on patient care and room décor, and thus those who were not being given artwork did not know about the artwork option. By using a permuted block design with mixed block size, we randomly assigned consenting patients to one of the following three groups: (1) those who chose the painting displayed in their rooms, (2) those whose painting was randomly selected , and (3) those with no painting in their rooms, only white boards in their line of vision (see Figure 1). All paintings were created by artists in central Pennsylvania and reproduced as high-quality digital prints for the study, costing approximately $90 apiece. Members of the research team visited patients in the designated rooms three times during their stay-within 24 hours of being admitted, within 24 to 48 hours of the first visit, and within 24 to 48 hours of the second visit-with each visit lasting from 5 to 10 minutes. Patients who were given the opportunity to select art for their rooms were shown a catalogue of approximately 20 available paintings from which to choose a desired print; as with the group whose paintings were randomly selected for them, patients who made a choice had a print immediately hung in their room by members of the research team for the entirety of their inpatient stay. Outcomes and Measures The primary outcomes were psychological and included the following: anxiety, mood, depression, and sense of control and/or influence. These were measured using the validated

Spørsmålet vi vil forfølge i dette kapitlet, er: Hvordan kan vi skape rom for å uttrykke tanker og følelser rundt døden, og hva kjennetegner det som vanligvis blir liggende «under overflaten»? Vi baserer oss på et forskningsprosjekt hvor... more

Spørsmålet vi vil forfølge i dette kapitlet, er: Hvordan kan vi skape rom for å uttrykke tanker og følelser rundt døden, og hva kjennetegner det som vanligvis blir liggende «under overflaten»? Vi baserer oss på et forskningsprosjekt hvor vi har prøvd ut visuell matrise, en ny eksperimentell metode for datainnsamling i en gruppe (Liveng m.fl., 2017; Ramvi m.fl., 2019). I dette prosjektet brukte vi metoden for å utforske forestillinger rundt overganger i alderdommen. Vi ville finne ut av hva en visuell matrise kunne avlede når det gjelder aspekter ved aldring som kan være krevende å snakke om fordi de er vanskelige å se for seg og å tåle, for både informanter og forskere. Det ble gjennomført tre matriser med tre ulike temaer i dette prosjektet: den første på overgangen fra liv til død, den andre på overgangen fra arbeidslivsdeltakelse til pensjonisttilværelse, og den tredje på overgangen fra normal mental funksjon til demens. I dette kapitlet vil vi rette oppmerksomheten mot den første matrisen, som dreide seg om forestillinger knyttet til overgangen mellom liv og død. Avslutningsvis vil vi komme inn på døden som en utfordring for helsepersonell og gi et frempek knyttet til visuell matrises potensial som intervensjon for helsepersonell som konfronteres med liv-og-død-situasjoner i sitt daglige arbeid med pasienter og brukere. (antologikapittel)

Background: The personal is a vital part of professional nursing practice. From a psycho-social perspective, nurses produce and reproduce conceptions of the Self through experience. A literature search on nurses’ self-understanding in a... more

Background: The personal is a vital part of professional nursing practice. From a psycho-social perspective, nurses produce and reproduce conceptions of the Self through experience. A literature search on nurses’ self-understanding in a psycho-social perspective yields no results. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate personal and professional experiences that may have formed the self-understanding of a nurse, and how this self-understanding may have influenced her professional practice.
Methods: Using a single case approach, I conducted a Biographical Narrative Interview with a 50-year-old experienced Norwegian nurse. I asked the nurse to tell me the story of her life and how her work has affected her and possibly changed the way she saw herself. The overall aim of the interpretation was to understand the historically situated subjectivity in terms of the nurse’s personal, social and professional constraints and chosen options.
Results: The nurse’s narrative of her life story made it possible to trace a common theme throughout her experiences, the experience of being “only a nurse”. The nurse experienced a low status, as well as a downgrade in the competence needed to deliver quality care in professional relationships. She felt it difficult to identify with the experience of being on the bottom of the social ladder and to identify with the female, mothering ideal connected to nursing. She desired a better position, and wanted to identify with strong women. In contrast to reality, her self-understanding influenced her relationship with her patients, her professional pride and her further professional development.
Conclusions: This study shows that the professional practice of a nurse was informed by her self-understanding. This study suggests that the individual nurse must be given the opportunity to explore her professional vulnerability based on the assumption that it is both personally and socially constituted. This study indicates that the exploration of a nurse’s self-understanding is one way to contribute to professional development.

This paper takes up Judith Butler’s calls to suspend the desire to completely know the other, and discusses these in relation to the pedagogic relationship in the classroom. It draws upon existing accounts of performative reinscription as... more

This paper takes up Judith Butler’s calls to suspend the desire to completely know the other, and discusses these in relation to the pedagogic relationship in the classroom. It draws upon existing accounts of performative reinscription as a politics to disrupt exclusionary schooling practices and discusses these alongside Butler’s theories of relationality. In so doing, it argues that the pedagogic relationship is the space within which performative reinscription occurs and which holds the potential for more ethical encounters between self and other. Acknowledging the impossibility of completely knowing the other is not an easy position to hold in the institution of the primary school, where policies and practices are based on the concept of rational, knowing subjects. However, this paper suggests that suspending the desire for the other to provide a coherent account of themselves has important implications for performative politics in the primary school classroom.

Tension between the ideal of analytic neutrality — although conceived and applied in various ways — and the putative danger of political neutrality is intrinsic to psychoanalytic investigations of culture and society. It presents itself... more

Tension between the ideal of analytic neutrality — although conceived and applied in various ways — and the putative danger of political neutrality is intrinsic to psychoanalytic investigations of culture and society. It presents itself with urgency in times of social conflict, especially when such conflict is characterized by or framed in terms of victimization, but it has not been a subject of rigorous debate. That the tension between analytic and political neutrality has not been widely examined might mean that when analysts engage in scholarly work outside of clinical settings (e.g., writing books or papers), we adopt a different set of norms to guide our behavior, norms that do not include whatever attitude of neutrality we may observe in the consulting room. 1 But it might also mean that this tension is a site of resistance, that we are unwilling to look closely at a difficult aspect of our work because we expect it to yield uncomfortable experience. Of course, this resistance may be largely unconscious, leading us to miss or mistake the meanings and consequences of our positions. Analytic Neutrality Due to limitations of space, in this essay I do not review the long history or many variations of the idea of analytic neutrality. There remains a healthy discourse on the subject, particularly as it pertains to the timing and nature of interpretations, the self-presence or self-absence of the analyst, and the establishment of an appropriate working atmosphere (see e.

The field of game design for educational content lacks a focus on methodologies that merge gameplay and learning. Existing methodologies typically fall short in three ways: they neglect the unfolding of gameplay through players' actions... more

The field of game design for educational content lacks a focus on methodologies that merge gameplay and learning. Existing methodologies typically fall short in three ways: they neglect the unfolding of gameplay through players' actions over a short period of time as a significant unit of analysis; they lack a common consideration of game and learning mechanics; and they falsely separate the acts of playing and learning. This paper suggests the Gameplay Loop Methodology as a valuable tool for the design of game-based learning, because it addresses these major shortcomings. A case study of the design and production phases of Antura and the Letters, a literacy game for Arabic refugee children, illustrates the uses of the Gameplay Loop Methodology. 1. Educational game design: A merging of game and instructional design The design of educational games is a complex endeavor because educational games are expected to fulfil two requirements, which at first seem contradictory: educational games should be as appealing as commercial, off-the-shelf games designed solely for entertainment, and they should provide their players with a learning experience related to educational domains beyond the game itself. Consequently, the design of educational games must be informed by two different disciplines – game design and instructional design – that bring different histories and approaches to the table (Becker, 2016). In our opinion, the successful design of educational games presupposes a significant merging of both disciplines, in other words, a formal approach combining game and instructional design (see Buchanan, Wolanczyk and Zinghini, 2011). In response to the aforementioned requirement as well as to massive growth in serious game production in general and educational game production in particular, ideas from game design and instructional design were synthesized to form a new field, more specifically, (inter)discipline that is usually called " Serious Game Design " or " Educational Game Design " 1. Lameras et al (2017) describe serious game design as " a relatively new discipline that couples learning design with game features " and state that " [a] key characteristic of this approach is grounded in educational need and theory, rather than a focus purely on entertainment ". In this field, it is undisputed that serious game design poses different challenges from entertainment game design and requires a unique methodology that addresses both instructional strategies and learning theories 2. Accordingly, in recent years, many authors have suggested formal design patterns and methodologies to offer guidelines for the design of serious games. As most of these methodologies were developed in academia (which is closely connected to the relatively small serious game industry), many are more abstract and less practical than traditional game design methodologies, which were developed inside the gaming industry and are thus more strongly influenced by its market-driven logic of immediate application. Despite major achievements inside the academic field of serious game design, for example Arnab and Clarke (2017), assessing the theory and practice of serious game design, still assume the following: " The development of these games does not normally follow a specific set of guidelines or process, which makes them more bespoke and less replicable. Moreover, existing frameworks or guidelines are often high-level and/or theoretical design models that provide general design considerations rather than a prescribed development process. " 1 In this paper, we are concerned with the design of educational games in particular instead of serious games in general. However, we are aware that the majority of available literature relevant for our research and development project employs the broader term " serious games " in reference to " educational games ". Therefore, we will use the term " serious games " whenever we refer to this literature, as well as too the broader category. 2 See eg Gunter, Kenny and Vick (2006): " The goal of serious game design is similar in nature to that of entertainment games, but is more complex, in that not only must one maintain intellectual control of the design elements that lead to a fun and engaging game, but one must also plan instructional elements that lead to a fun, engaging, and educational game experience. To be sure, instructional strategies and learning theories must be included in these formal methods. " 154

Dr Deborah Wright, PPS lecturer, writes 'for those of you who are bemused/fascinated by the current shopping item phenomena taking place, not to mention our ritualised shopping experience that we have moved into, you might like to read a... more

Dr Deborah Wright, PPS lecturer, writes 'for those of you who are bemused/fascinated by the current shopping item phenomena taking place, not to mention our ritualised shopping experience that we have moved into, you might like to read a psychosocial perspective on the containment afforded by society in; Professor Karl Figlio and Barry Richard's paper 'The Containing Matrix of the Social' (available on Pep Web). Figlio and Richards write of the ritualistic, spatial and physical aspects of society, such as street lighting and road systems, and think about the containing importance of our interaction with these and their function. In these unusual times I would argue that the spatial or what I would call spatialising (Wright 2019) importance of the items that feel imperatively needed and sought after-whether it be toilet rolls, soap, pasta, or A4 paper in the wake of home schooling, (the next thing will be seeds and crafting materials!) are part of a containing process involving the shopping experience. I suggest that the state that we have gotten to, with highly ritualised shopping expeditions, where there are several layers to get through; queuing, security, painted lines and squares to stand in and behind, and being admitted to the sacred supermarket to move toward the sacred shopping items, could be thought of as being like the journey through a cathedral to the sacred relics (the object that is sought). This is a state that we can think of as relating to object seeking and its afforded containing potential.

The article analyses Italian second reception system for asylum seekers and refugees (so-called SPRAR system), through the lens of psychosocial well-being. The author examines in depth the connections between migration, trauma and... more

The article analyses Italian second reception system for asylum seekers and refugees (so-called SPRAR system), through the lens of psychosocial well-being. The author examines in depth the connections between migration, trauma and suffering, and proposes a
multidimensional definition of ‘psychosocial well-being’, by drawing on the conceptualization given by ‘Psychosocial Working Group’

There is an excellent fit between the speaking voice and the psycho-social approach, in that the voice connects inner and outer worlds while simultaneously challenging such a division. It remains, however, relatively neglected, both as a... more

There is an excellent fit between the speaking voice and the psycho-social approach, in that the voice connects inner and outer worlds while simultaneously challenging such a division. It remains, however, relatively neglected, both as a psycho-social research resource and as a topic for the psycho-social researcher. This article argues that, while researchers are developing increasingly sophisticated ways of harnessing visual research methods, the oral dimension remains marginalised, with voice almost invariably collapsed into speech. Despite the methodological challenges created by using the voice as a psycho-social research tool, attention to the paralinguistic has the potential to enrich research and deepen our psycho-social understanding of human behaviour. The speaking voice is the nodal point of human communication: notwithstanding the growth of social media and virtual bonds, it remains the prime instrument through which we establish relations with others, acting as connective tissue among both strangers and intimates. Given this centrality, the neglect of the speaking voice as a psycho-social research topic and resource is curious, especially in the context of the enormous interest in conversation and speech over the past few decades. Yet where voice is referred to at all it is often its metaphorical meanings that are signalled: the voice as signifier for political presence and power, a synonym for enfranchisement. Literary studies have also appropriated it, along with other terms from the auditory lexicon such as tone and register, to signal narrative viewpoint or perspective. Voice

In this essay I examine the racial achievement gap in American education in terms of an impaired psychosocial developmental process. I argue that the well-documented academic underperformance of certain minority groups may stem from the... more

In this essay I examine the racial achievement gap in American education in terms of an impaired psychosocial developmental process. I argue that the well-documented academic underperformance of certain minority groups may stem from the unfavorable resolution of a key developmental crisis in constituent members’ early scholastic experience. I go on to suggest that individual educators can play an important role in eliminating the achievement gap by changing the way they teach in their own classrooms. In part, they may do so by adopting a "transcultural" pedagogy or teaching style, according to which both teachers and their minority students develop (at minimum) transcultural proficiencies and (at maximum) transcultural identities, as a promising way to achieve two important ends. First, the fostering of an academically-industrious self-concept in members of historically underachieving minority groups and hence, second, the closing of the achievement gap "from the bottom up"—one classroom at a time.

The word disaster is derived from the Italian disastro or “unfavorable star” and implies a random act of wanton destruction by nature or by human intervention. Yet, in reality, disasters are a regular part of human experience. They occur... more

The word disaster is derived from the Italian disastro or “unfavorable star” and implies a random act of wanton destruction by nature or by human intervention. Yet, in reality, disasters are a regular part of human experience. They occur in every part of the world, taking different forms and touching many lives. Planning to mitigate their effects and acting effectively to help communities to recover is not only possible but necessary (Kasi, Bhadra, & Dryer, 2007). As social workers, we appreciate that disasters disproportionately affect physically, socially, economically, and politically vulnerable populations (Mathbor, 2007; Ritchie, L. & Gill, D., 2018; UN General Assembly, 2007). As clinicians, we appreciate the ways in which experiencing a disaster, as well as every aspect of relief and recovery, can affect the emotional well-being of vulnerable survivors (Inter-Agency Standing Committee [IASC], 2007). We understand that compromised well-being increases vulnerability, so the role that we play is crucial in supporting a population’s ability to survive, thrive, and struggle as active participants in building the future.
This chapter discusses best practices for clinical social work intervention following disaster and terrorism (see Appendix A). The purpose of this chapter is to compile, clarify, and discuss what has been learned in various countries and situations in order to integrate and build upon that knowledge to create opportunities for effective clinical response. Clinical social work principles and practice inform interventions that preserve well-being, support psychosocial development, and facilitate reconstruction as well as address mourning, loss, and care of the mentally ill. They do so by employing the biopsychosocial model that forms an essential unit of clinical social work analysis. This model uses an ecological framework to examine individual, biological, and intrapsychic life as it is situated in the sociocultural sphere. The chapter refers specifically to social ecological theories of resilience, psychodynamic theories that support resilience, as well as the new study of community resilience and the neurobiological principles that underpin it.

Este artículo hace parte de los resultados de una serie de investigaciones sobre el dispositivo atención psicosocial a víctimas del conflicto armado en Colombia. Está orientado por la pregunta ¿cómo son las posiciones asumidas por... more

Este artículo hace parte de los resultados de una serie de investigaciones sobre el dispositivo atención psicosocial a víctimas del conflicto armado
en Colombia. Está orientado por la pregunta ¿cómo son las posiciones asumidas por profesionales en psicología y trabajo social, en el desarrollo de procesos de atención psicosocial en el marco de la implementación del Papsivi, en el periodo 2017-2018, en el Valle del Cauca? La estrategia metodológica incluyó la participación en encuentros de conversación
de casos y la realización de entrevistas con profesionales de dicho programa. En el análisis se hizo énfasis en dos categorías: interpretaciones de la estrategia y actuaciones profesionales en los procesos de atención psicosocial. En los resultados se destaca que las posiciones profesionales emergen como resultado variable-indeterminado, de la combinatoria compleja entre una estrategia prescrita, las interpretaciones subjetivas de dichas prescripciones y las actuaciones desempeñadas en las relaciones
con los destinatarios de un programa de intervención. En el contexto de la atención psicosocial, en el marco del Papsivi, las profesionales expresan interpretaciones en torno a la apropiación de los objetivos de la estrategia, las consideraciones sobre el ideal de rehabilitación y el uso de las
orientaciones metodológicas. En sus actuaciones sugieren principios como: contribuir al reconocimiento de aspectos emocionales-psicológicos, a través de prácticas de escucha orientadas a que en los sujetos se produzca un decir lo no dicho, que cumpla una función de vaciamiento emocional que favorezca el darse cuenta de sus recursos y contribuya a la construcción de nuevos sentidos.

This article addresses the psychic and emotional challenges associated with enabling learners to apprehend their role in, and vulnerability to, the evolving climate crisis. Global warming is arguably one of the most cognitively as well as... more

This article addresses the psychic and emotional challenges associated with enabling learners to apprehend their role in, and vulnerability to, the evolving climate crisis. Global warming is arguably one of the most cognitively as well as emotionally complex topics for learners or members of the public more generally to engage with. Given the emergent nature of climate change, many educators are unsure about how best to enable citizens to navigate the complex emotions that they experience in response to their proximity to, and responsibility for, a myriad of injustices and environmental catastrophes associated with global warming. Meanwhile, new emotions, including ecological grief and heightened levels of climate-related anxiety amongst young people have been reported in epidemiological studies, our understanding of which is as of yet underdeveloped. This article argues that a psychosocial approach to climate change education (CCE) which emphasises the mutual interaction between psychic and social processes which affect the climate crisis and how we relate to it should comprise part of a broader and sustained public response to the climate crisis, especially in contexts where climate-related anxiety and grief are becoming more widespread. It introduces a conceptual toolkit to inform the psycho-affective aspects of CCE, with a particular emphasis on the pedagogical complexities of engaging learners located in emissions-intensive societies with their role as 'implicated subjects' in the climate crisis (Rothberg, 2019).

Ethnographic research has long been associated with the analysis of social structures and abstained from paying due attention to more psychic dynamics, such as fantasies, dreams, hauntings, and other unconscious forces, which have... more

Ethnographic research has long been associated with the analysis of social structures and abstained from paying due attention to more psychic dynamics, such as fantasies, dreams, hauntings, and other unconscious forces, which have conventionally been associated with individual(ised) processes. Drawing on an ethnographic research I conducted in Turkey, this chapter explores the potential unlocked through the incorporation of such individual elements into social analyses. The essay argues that bridging the social and the psychic presents a more comprehensive outlook and helps us understand how the interplay between the social and the individual unfolds as well as how subjectivities are forged through this interplay. It also allows us to forge new methodologies and a new language to trace socio-cultural experiences that were largely left unaccounted for. This chapter pursues the case of haunted treasures and hunts they seem to induce as an example through which psychosocial imaginaries are proven useful in ethnographic research—both methodologically and theoretically.

The concept of wellbeing has been over-used and under-theorized. Dominant approaches to wellbeing within social policy are preoccupied with measurement rather than definition and tend to equate wellbeing with happiness and... more

The concept of wellbeing has been over-used and under-theorized. Dominant approaches to wellbeing within social policy are preoccupied with measurement rather than definition and tend to equate wellbeing with happiness and life-satisfaction. Their main concern is with the production of large-scale comparative data rather than elaborating an adequate account of the essential nature of wellbeing. This article proposes a theory of wellbeing based in relationality and social power to counteract the current lack of theoretical engagement. It uses a 'psychosocial lens' to illuminate the interdependence of subjective and objective wellbeing and argues that wellbeing is constituted through intra-psychic, inter-subjective and social relations. It argues that happiness is not an adequate basis for understanding wellbeing and instead suggests that wellbeing consists of agency, integrity and purpose. It takes a social justice, value-based approach to the realisation of wellbeing and considers the implications for the politics and policy wellbeing.

Dá pra fazer! Guia prático de Economia Solidária e Saúde Mental é uma publicação dirigida a usuários e usuárias, familiares, trabalhadoras e trabalhadores que já desenvolvem, ou pretendem desenvolver, iniciativas em geração de trabalho e... more

Dá pra fazer! Guia prático de Economia Solidária e Saúde Mental é uma publicação dirigida a usuários e usuárias, familiares, trabalhadoras e trabalhadores que já desenvolvem, ou pretendem desenvolver, iniciativas em geração de trabalho e renda junto à Rede de Atenção Psicossocial.

In order to transform Cambodian society, a more holistic vision of social reconstruction is required; one that includes restorative, socioeconomic, political and psychosocial aspects among others. This chapter seeks to address this vision... more

In order to transform Cambodian society, a more holistic vision of social reconstruction is required; one that includes restorative, socioeconomic, political and psychosocial aspects among others. This chapter seeks to address this vision by offering insights to improve and extend the scope of transitional justice in Cambodia. The Court could contribute to achieve that vision. NGOs, with their local perspective and technical experience, are also well-suited to take on a major role. However, taken separately, the ECCC and NGOs are still underfunded and lack expertise in aspects such as psychological support. Thus, they are limited in their ability to fully satisfy the needs of justice for the Cambodian people. The government has a role to play in ensuring that the population has access to, for example, public psychological services to heal the wounds of the past. Therefore, for transformation to be fully attained, all actors including the ECCC, the NGOs, and the government need to work in concert multiplying activities in order to implement integrated transitional justice programs.
Suggested Citation: Strasser, J., Poluda, J., Balthazard, M., Om, C., Yim, S., Im, S., … Sperfeldt, C. (2011). Engaging communities—easing the pain: Outreach and psychosocial interventions in the context of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. In K. Lauritsch & F. Kernjak (Eds.), We need the truth: Enforced disappearances in Asia (pp. 146–159). Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Equipo de Estudios Comunitarios y Acción Psicosocial.

In two studies, this thesis depicts the relationship between minority group status in the United States, perceived discrimination, and coping with stress. Past literature on coping and its types – problem-focused versus emotion-focused –... more

In two studies, this thesis depicts the relationship between minority group status in the United States, perceived discrimination, and coping with stress. Past literature on coping and its types – problem-focused versus emotion-focused – is inconsistent in terms of differences between minority status groups and majority groups. It remains unknown whether or why Black Americans and lesbian or gay Americans may demonstrate coping patterns that differ from White Americans and heterosexual Americans, respectively. What is altogether absent from the literature is the possible mediating factor of perceived discrimination experienced by these minority groups. That is, differences in internal, stable coping processes that manage stress may have been molded by one’s experience with discrimination. Study 1 examines the relationship between race (Black versus White) and coping, mediated by perceived discrimination. Study 2 examines the relationship between sexual orientation (lesbian or gay versus heterosexual) and coping, mediated by perceived discrimination. Both studies confirm the thesis that minority group members exhibit maladaptive, emotion-focused coping more than majority group
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members – but that this difference is explained by the minority group members’ perceived discrimination. Historical and political relevance, social implications, and possible limitations in design and interpretation are discussed.

The idea of 'plague' has returned to public consciousness with the arrival of COVID-19. An anachronistic and extremely problematic concept for thinking about biopolitical catastrophe, plague nevertheless offers an enormous historical... more

The idea of 'plague' has returned to public consciousness with the arrival of COVID-19. An anachronistic and extremely problematic concept for thinking about biopolitical catastrophe, plague nevertheless offers an enormous historical range and a potentially highly generative metaphorical framework for psychosocial studies to engage with, for example, through Albert Camus' (2013) The Plague and Sophocles' (2015) Oedipus The King. It is, moreover, a word that is likely to remain firmly within the remit of public consciousness as we move further into the Anthropocene, to face further pandemics and the spectre of antibiotic resistance. A return to plague also opens up the question of a return to psychoanalysis, which Freud is often cited as having described as a 'plague'. Psychoanalysis is, like plague, a troubling and problematic discourse for psychosocial studies, but, like plague, it may also help us to work through the disorders and diseases of COVID times. In fact, if the recent pandemic has reanimated the notion of plague, the plague metaphor may in turn help to reanimate psychoanalysis, and in this article we suggest some of the analogical, even genealogical, resonances of such an implication.

Background: Giving due consideration to the home, education and employment, eating habits, activities, drugs abuse, sexuality, suicide and depression and safety, WHO suggested ‘HEEADSSS’ approach for looking in to the head of the... more

Background: Giving due consideration to the home, education and employment, eating habits, activities, drugs abuse, sexuality, suicide and depression and safety, WHO suggested ‘HEEADSSS’ approach for looking in to the head of the adolescents. However for wider application of the approach for assessing psychosocial behaviour of adolescents for research and policy planning there is a need and scope for evolving comprehensive scoring system to assess psychosocial status of this vulnerable group. Objectives: To evolve a comprehensive scoring system for assessing psychosocial risk status of adolescent girls through WHO’s ‘HEEADSSS’ approach. Methodology: The study protocol was already approved from the ethical committee. A community based cross-sectional study was carried out on adolescent girls from Chiraigaon Community Development Block of Varanasi District. All the villages in the block were divided into 3 strata according to their distance from the Block Headquarter. One village was selected from each stratum by simple random sampling from which total enumeration of adolescent girls (10-19 years) was done by house-to-house survey. Four hundred girls from the enumerated list were selected as per probability proportion to size (PPS). The study subjects were interviewed using a pretested structured proforma. The obtained data was analysed using Microsoft Excel, 2007 and SPSS (16). A comprehensive system four assessing psycho-social status was evolved on the basis of PEER opinion (n=10). Results: Environment pertaining to home, education and employment accounted for 27% of the total psychosocial risk score (100). The contribution of sexuality, suicide and safety to the overall score was 42%. Parameters related to weight status (eating and activity) were assigned score of 16. The overall psychosocial risk score was categorized as normal (0-10), mild risk (10.1-20), moderate risk (20.1-30), severe risk (30.1-40) and very severe risk (>40) by the experts. As much as 40.0%, 43.6% and 11.75% study subjects had mild, moderate and severe risk for psychosocial abnormality, respectively. Conclusion: Comprehensive scoring system evolved on the basis of PEER opinion is the pioneering work and have been first time attempted globally and gives due consideration to wider applicability in epidemiological research and clinical settings particularly in adolescent guidance clinic.

The chapter is divided up into four main parts. Firstly, it provides a historical outline of the development of media studies by shedding light on the founding of its main schools and traditions. Secondly, it offers an understanding of... more

The chapter is divided up into four main parts. Firstly, it provides a historical outline of the development of media studies by shedding light on the founding of its main schools and traditions. Secondly, it offers an understanding of media from a psychosocial vantage point, so as to then, thirdly, touch upon existing psychosocial traditions of studying media. The final part offers miniature portraits of central thinkers and texts in media studies and discusses their bearings on psychosocial conceptions of the subject. Due to the interdisciplinary origins and outlook of both media and psychosocial studies and their part reliance on the same academic traditions, a significant number of key positions in media studies show strong affinities to psychosocial conceptions of the subject. Countering the dominant, quantitative-empirical research paradigm in media studies, these positions themselves have long-since taken on hegemonic status. This status, in turn, casts an interesting light on psychosocial studies, which has traditionally seen itself as at the margins of the academic field.

Cuadernos para Conversar es una guía para la reflexión y la acción en torno al acompañamiento psicosocial a niños, niñas y jóvenes en situación de desplazamiento desde una perspectiva de derechos humanos. Está dirigido a diferentes... more

Cuadernos para Conversar es una guía para la reflexión y la acción en torno al acompañamiento psicosocial a niños, niñas y jóvenes en situación de desplazamiento desde una perspectiva de derechos humanos. Está dirigido a diferentes agentes sociales interesados en el bienestar emocional de los niños, sus familias y comunidades, que han sufrido los rigores de la guerra. Busca orientar conversaciones que los adultos puedan hacer para ir creando alternativas de relación social que favorezcan la democracia, la justicia y la participación, a partir de la superación de los efectos emocionales que el conflicto armado genera en nuestras vidas.

Before the new millennium the focus and the purpose of the Internet were to provide information. In the last two decades the focus was shifted from information providing to communication and cooperation. Teenagers are among the most... more

Before the new millennium the focus and the purpose of the Internet were to provide information. In the last two decades the focus was shifted from information providing to communication and cooperation. Teenagers are among the most frequent users of social networks. At the same time, they are at their most vulnerable age to social media. Therefore, Kim, a Vietnamese teen girl has been chosen as the object of this case-based study.

«Død er fravær av liv», skriver Lindhardt og Hartling (2019) i oppslagsverket Den store danske. Derfor utgjør døden og livet komplementære størrelser. Alt som lever, må dø. Den som er død, lever ikke. Den som lever, er ikke død. Så... more

«Død er fravær av liv», skriver Lindhardt og Hartling (2019) i oppslagsverket Den store danske. Derfor utgjør døden og livet komplementære størrelser. Alt som lever, må dø. Den som er død, lever ikke. Den som lever, er ikke død. Så enkelt, så utfyllende, og samtidig så fundamentalt motsetningsfylt. Døden er både et enormt emosjonelt ladet erfaringsfelt og et grunnleggende biologisk fenomen. Noen må dø for at noen skal leve. På denne måten balanseres naturens kretsløp. Som menneskelig grenseerfaring er døden likevel nærmest umulig å forholde seg balansert til. Den lar seg ikke overse, selv om mange av oss vil forsøke å holde tanken på døden på avstand. Tvert om krever døden en respons. Vi er helt nødt til å forholde oss til den, før eller siden. Men hvordan skal vi forholde oss til dødens påtrengende vesen? En måte, som mange tar til orde for i dag, er å snakke mer om døden. Ved at vi snakker om det som er ukjent og som mange frykter, vil kanskje døden miste noe av sin brodd? (antologikapittel)

This revisiting of ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ will draw on the psychoanalytical concepts of repression, suppression and projection to explore the central character Eleanor. Centralising the importance of the biographical, and the ways... more

This revisiting of ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ will draw on the psychoanalytical concepts of repression, suppression and projection to explore the central character Eleanor. Centralising the importance of the biographical, and the ways in which the future is always haunted by ghosts from the past, the discussion examines misalignment, unacceptable femininity, the colour red, and the significance of belonging.

рассматривается опыт Франции и Италии по рассмотрению стресса как производственного фактора, который подлежит оценке. В статье приводится судебная практика данный стран о возмещении вреда, причиненного работнику стрессом (work-related... more

рассматривается опыт Франции и Италии по рассмотрению стресса как производственного фактора, который подлежит оценке. В статье приводится судебная практика данный стран о возмещении вреда, причиненного работнику стрессом (work-related stress)

This report provides a snapshot for some of the primary findings, trends and challenges with regard to immigrant integration that have been studied in nine country cases, based on research conducted within the framework of the Horizon2020... more

This report provides a snapshot for some of the primary findings, trends and challenges with regard to immigrant integration that have been studied in nine country cases, based on research conducted within the framework of the Horizon2020 RESPOND project. These countries are Sweden, Germany, Italy, Greece, Austria, Poland, the UK, Turkey and Iraq. All nine country reports study integration in five thematic domains (labour market, education, housing, psychosocial health and citizenship) by looking at policies (macro level), practices (meso) and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers (micro level). This integrated report relies on data discussed in the macro sections of these country reports, and systematically analyses the same thematic fields in each country by looking at: (a) Legal and institutional frameworks for each thematic field (labour market, education, housing, psychosocial health, and citizenship); (b) The main trends in these domains, and (c) Problems and challenges that refugees face (based on the interview material at micro and meso levels). Each section ends with an informative summative table. Overall, the integrated report provides a rich overview of country cases, and thus, can be read either as a whole or as separate sections.