Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services

The author argues for the centrality of peer review in assessing the scholarly merits of manuscripts, given considerable changes in the publication landscape that present formidable challenges for editors to solicit qualified reviewers, and seeks to convince reluctant senior faculty and scholarly practitioners to review manuscripts in their areas of expertise, contending in effect that we have a professional obligation to do so.

A wealth of information regarding how the immune system can influence the brain and result in changes in mood and behavior has accumulated. Inflammation is a causal factor in some cases of major depression and psychotic disorders and predicts whether trauma will result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fortunately, studies in the area of psychoneuroimmunology have also suggested ways to decrease inflammation. Knowledge of this information is vital for social workers so that the impact of their interventions can be maximized. Moreover, for macropractice social workers, the information underscores the importance of access to nutritional food, access to safe places for exercise, and the time for food preparation and exercise, which should be considered as social justice issues.

A growing number of children are being raised by relatives under a variety of different care arrangements. Although the extant literature provides rough estimates of the number and characteristics of children living in most care arrangements, research on kinship probate guardianship is especially scarce. This article focuses on kinship probate guardianship in an effort to build the literature on this understudied population. It examines demographic information about caregivers and children pursuing kinship probate guardianship, the circumstances that necessitate children’s alternative care, and reasons for selecting this custodial arrangement. Findings suggest that children and caregivers who select into kinship probate guardianship have characteristics similar to those of children and caregivers in other types of kinship care. These children move into the homes of their relatives for a variety of reasons, primarily including parental desertion, detention, and drug use.

Child welfare workers (CWWs) face challenges to engaging families, including initial parental resistance, service plan noncompliance and other barriers. Adopting a motivational interviewing (MI) framework may improve engagement and collaboration between CWWs and parents, thereby leading to better child welfare (CW) outcomes. This comprehensive narrative review identifies the use of MI in CW, the outcomes of MI use and the gaps in the literature. Of the 16 articles that met inclusion criteria for our search, 12 suggested MI’s value in parenting skills, parent/child mental health, retention in services, substance use, and CW recidivism. Four of these studies specifically focused on CWW. Future studies should examine specific CW outcomes such as reunification, parent/child relationships, recidivism and parent/child mental health.

This study uses the theoretical model of life course fit to assess the interactions of work, family, and community resources in the context of work–life fit for fathers of children with special health care needs. Work, family, and community resources were significant predictors of work–life fit. A significant moderating relationship was found between work and family resource ecologies and a trend-level moderating relationship between family and community resource ecologies. The findings support the theoretical model of life course fit. Future research needs to include community resource ecologies and explore interactive effects between resources. There is a need for improved work and community resources to support fathers’ employment and reduce the pressure on family resources.

The United States has an opioid abuse problem. Addressing it remains an intractable challenge, particularly in rural areas. This article proposes that an attachment theoretical orientation helps conceptualize why rural states appear to be vulnerable and suggests solutions. A de-identified clinical case study woven throughout the article illustrates the concepts and complexities. The functional importance of attachment is outlined and then applied to addiction. Finally, rurality is defined and described. In keeping with social work’s person-in-environment (PIE) perspective of understanding the individual in context, attachment concepts are applied to rurality. Considering rural opioid use through the PIE frame, applying attachment theory both individually and systemically provides a compelling model for approaches to social work practice addressing rural opioid addiction.

Hoarding is a problem for which coordinated interprofessional interventions are suited to address associated health and safety concerns. Case management (CM) consists of a set of well-established strategies commonly used in community service settings to address serious mental illness and similar complex problems. The present study used qualitative methods to examine whether CM activities occurred in four North American community-based hoarding intervention models. Findings indicated interventions associated with hoarding cases mapped closely onto eight major functions of CM, though emphasis on specific CM activities depended on availability of resources. CM appears to be a useful rubric for approaching complex social and functional problems that arise among urban clients with hoarding disorder.

Family involvement is encouraged to manage conditions and address issues of noncompliance in chronic disease. This study explored the patient–provider partnership experiences of highly motivated patients who are adherent to an evidence-supported eating plan. This study used a focus group with leaders of a patient-driven support group for patients with chronic disease who follow a plant-based eating plan. Positive health outcomes were met with both praise and skepticism. After experiencing improved health, participants felt betrayed by the healthcare system because they were not informed about the eating plan as a treatment option. Sharing treatment options is important inclusive of interventions that may be difficult to adhere to. Future research should focus on positive health outcomes as a motivator and the nature and dynamics of optimum collaboration between providers and patients.