Affilia

This article describes the marital and domestic violence experiences of poor women in South Carolina in the context of an orthodoxy of conservatism. Drawing on Bourdieu’s scholarship, the authors present a conceptual framework that is based on the concepts of habitus, orthodoxy, and heterodoxy. The interpretation of the qualitative and quantitative data connects the observed behavioral phenomena with the structural, cultural, and political factors that sustain them. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings and the debate on marriage promotion

As a result of poverty, discrimination, and immigration and acculturation stress, adolescent Latinas in the United States often struggle with low self-esteem, depression, suicide attempts, and school dropout. Drawing from two studies conducted by the authors, this article discusses factors that are related to the adaptive functioning and sense of well-being of adolescent Latinas, the roles played by mother-daughter mutuality, and the supports offered by after-school programs

Domestic violence reportedly affects more than 5 million Americans each year, more than 85% of whom are women. Many of these women turn to their faith-based communities for support and guidance, but little is known about how the church members they turn to perceive or understand domestic violence. This article reports the outcomes of three focus groups in three diverse communities of faith in the African American community that resulted in a better understanding of how church leaders and congregants view spirituality and religion and how they converge with domestic violence. Implications for research and practice are presented for domestic violence intervention

In the lesbian community, there are many women who entered same-sex relationships in midlife after previously identifying as heterosexual. This article reviews the state of knowledge regarding this unique group of women. Attention is given to the impact of this life-changing event on the woman; her relationships with family members and friends; her awareness of status-related oppression; and the process of becoming a cultural insider given her new identity. Suggestions are included for providing support to women who are undergoing the transition and for future research with this understudied population

This qualitative study explored the work and child caregiving commitments and choices of 69 women with options limited by poverty and rural living. Four groups of women with distinct patterns of commitment to working and child caregiving varied in the ways in which they achieved caregiving-work arrangements that were congruent with these commitments. Mothers who were constrained not only by economic and geographic limitations but also by multiple personal challenges emerged as particularly distressed. Variations in caregiving and work commitments call for variation in family and employment supports; implications for social work policy and services are discussed

In this article, the authors analyze the experiences of one participant in HOPE, a pilot program that supports teenage mothers who want to pursue a college education. Using feminist standpoint and social capital theories, the analysis explores the meaning of themes that are interwoven throughout four narratives about family, education, college/dreams, and HOPE. Some emergent themes, such as key relationships and client-centered learning environments, are well known; others, like the client’s perception of ambivalent social messages about mother-student roles and the function of mentoring in the development of critical thinking, are less recognized but essential to extending theory about academic decision making

The battered women’s movement lost a great leader and visionary when Susan Schechter died of endrometrial cancer in 2004. Schechter’s legacy reminds advocates for battered women of how efforts to develop safe places for battered women began, the context of those times, how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. Her pioneering work in the area of the overlap between child maltreatment and adult domestic violence and services to children who are exposed to domestic violence has left the social work profession with a challenging agenda that must be met to create safety for all women and children