Jaunuoliams netekusiems tėvų globos turimi socialiniai santykiai ir jų kokybė yra svarbus išorinės paramos šaltinis. Pozityvūs ir konstruktyvūs bendravimo įgūdžiai, gebėjimas užmegzti ir palaikyti ilgalaikius socialinius ryšius yra viena iš sėkmingos adaptacijos visuomenėje prielaidų. Daug vaikų, patenkančių į globos institucijas, stokoja konstruktyvių socialinių įgūdžių. Prieraišumo sutrikimai vaikystėje bei kitos emocinės problemos sąlygoja nesugebėjimą užmegzti ilgalaikių, emocinį pasitenkinimą tenkinančių ryšių. Temos aktualumas. Temą nagrinėti skatina šios srities lietuviškos literatūros stoka ir ji pateikiama kaip bendro pobūdžio informacija. Taip pat ši tema yra mažai nagrinėjama moksliniuose darbuose. Krizes patiriančių šeimų vaikų tolimesnei socializacijai yra svarbūs, ir visuomet išliks būtini, ryšiai su artimiausiais šeimos nariais – tėvais, broliais, seserimis. Todėl viena svarbiausių socialinio darbo krypčių išlieka vaikų, esančių globoje, šeimos narių švietimas ir pagalba siekiant išsaugoti artimus ryšius su vaikais. Tyrimo objektas − laikinojoje globoje gyvenusių jaunuolių socialiniai ryšiai. Tyrimo tikslas – analizuoti jaunuolių gyvenusių laikinojoje globoje socialinius ryšius. Pirmoje šio darbo dalyje apžvelgiama Lietuvos valstybės politika netekusiam tėvų globos, vaikui, labiau išryškinant laikinąją globą (rūpybą) ir socialinio darbuotojo vaidmenį teikiant pagalbą tėvų globos netekusiems vaikams. Antroje darbo dalyje aptariama globoje esančių vaikų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Social relationships and their quality constitute a very important source of exterior support for young people who have lost parental care. Positive and constructive communication skills and ability to form and maintain long-lasting social relationships are among the conditions for successful adaptation. Most of the children, who come to the institutions of social care are lacking in the constructive social skills. Attachment disorders in childhood and other emotional problems condition inability to form long-lasting, emotionally satisfying relationships. Importance of subject. The choice of the subject has been based on the lack of literature in Lithuanian in this area as well as tendency to treat the issue on the level of general information. The issue is not treated extensively in scientific works in general as well. Relationships with closest relatives – parents and siblings - are always important and necessary for the ongoing socialization of children of the families experiencing crisis. Therefore, one of the most important areas of social work is education and support of family members of children in social care, aiming to safeguard their close relationships with relatives. Object of research − social relationships of young people who have lived in temporary care. Aim of research – to analyze social relationships of young people who have lived in temporary care. The firs part of the paper is an overview of the politics of Lithuanian Republic towards a child who... [to full text]

Background: The literature on the social relationships of unpartnered women is inconclusive. These different findings suggest that unpartnered women’s relationships may vary across place. This research adds to the literature by focusing on the key relationships of unpartnered, older women living in one place – rural Cape Breton. Methods: Nine interviews were completed with unpartnered women, ages 50-65 living alone in rural Cape Breton. Results: The first theme speaks to the value of positive relationships to the women’s mental and emotional health. The second theme is about obstacles to developing and maintaining positive social relationships. The third key theme centres on the need for change. Conclusions: Older, unpartnered women living alone in rural Cape Breton have numerous positive relationships. However, they also experience various obstacles to these relationships. These findings point to the need to promote positive relationships and reduce the obstacles to these relationships.

Bakgrund: Skolfrånvaro är ett komplext område och som kan betraktas som ett folkhälsoproblem då det är en riskfaktor för framtida utanförskap. En ofullständig skolgång försvårar ett aktivt deltagande i arbets- och samhällsliv vilket ökar risken för framtida ohälsa. Riskfaktorer för hög skolfrånvaro finns på individ-, familj-, skol- och samhällsnivå. Dessa riskfaktorer interagerar med varandra och har en kumulativ effekt. Goda relationer inom och mellan dessa nivåer beskrivs som skyddsfaktorer för hög skolfrånvaro.Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hypotesen om att det fanns en skillnad mellan gruppen med skolfrånvaro och gruppen utan skolfrånvaro avseende familjestruktur, sociala relationer och delaktighet hos elever i Värmland.Metod: Metoden var en kvantitativ empirisk studie av elevdata i Elevhälsodatabasen ELSA. Sambandsanalyser mellan utfallsvariabeln skolfrånvaro och sociodemografi, sociala relationer och delaktighet analyserades med sambandstestet Chi2, Pearsons r på 95% nivån.Resultat: Resultaten visade att det fanns skillnader beträffande familjestruktur mellan elevgruppen med skolfrånvaro och gruppen utan skolfrånvaro. Elever med skolfrånvaro bor i betydligt mindre utsträckning i en sammanhållen familj med båda föräldrarna. Resultaten visade också på samband mellan sociala relationer och skolfrånvaro. Elever med skolfrånvaro trivdes i mindre omfattning bra hemma och hade färre vuxna att prata med jämfört med elever utan skolfrånvaro. De upplevde också lägre grad av trygghet, trivsel och vänligt bemötande i skolan och hade i större utsträckning blivit rädda då någon gjort dem illa. Äldre elever med skolfrånvaro upplevde mindre delaktighet och att bli lyssnad till i skolan än elever utan skolfrånvaro.Konklusion: I skolan behövs en ökad förståelse för att elever med hög skolfrånvaro är ”elever i svårigheter” istället för ”elever med svårigheter” där elevhälsans kompetens inom det psykosociala området kan användas på individ-, grupp- och organisationsnivå. / Background: School absence is a complex issue that can be considered as a public health problem as it is a risk factor for future exclusion. An incomplete schooling makes it harder for an active participation in working and social life, which in turn increases the risk of ill health. There are risk factors for high school absenteeism at the individual-, family-, school- and community level. These risk factors interact with each other and have a cumulative effect. Good relationships within and between these levels are protective factors for high school absenteeism.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that there was a difference between the group with school absenteeism and the group without school absenteeism in family structure, social relationships and participation among students in VärmlandMethod: The method was a quantitative empirical study of student-data in the student health database ELSA. Correlation analyzes between the school absenteeism and sociodemographics, social relationships and involvement were analyzed with a Chi2 test , Pearson's r on the 95 % level .Results : The results showed that there were differences in family structure between the group of students with school absenteeism compared to the group without school absenteeism. Students with school absenteeism lived to a significantly less extent in a cohesive family with both parents. The results also showed a correlation between social relationships and school absences. Students with school absenteeism felt less comfortable at home and had fewer adults to talk to compared to students without school absenteeism. They also experienced lower levels of security, comfort and friendly treatment in the school and had to a higher frequency become afraid when someone treated them badly. Older students with school absenteeism did not feel participation or that they were listened to in school at the same rate as students without school absenteeism.Conclusion: The school needs a better understanding that students with high absenteeism is "students in difficulty " and not "students with difficulties " where student health service competence in the psychosocial field may be used at individual, group and organizational levels.

This thesis argues that local ‘neighbourhoods’ of shared understanding are not conceived solely through reference to an imaginary ‘other’ but, instead, may inhere in and be rejuvenated by a tension between internally generated and contradictory ways of understanding collectivity. Among commercial fishermen of the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria (Australia), I show that social facts are generated by agents-acting-in-settings, and that aspects of fishermen’s collective practice and representation are informed by such local contingencies as ‘who you are, what you are up to, and with whom’. The neighbourhood, I argue, is realised in performance, during everyday encounters in occupational contexts such as ‘on the lake’ or ‘down at the Co-op’. But fishermen also imagine togetherness, in different contexts, through the construction of conceptual boundaries, by identifying themselves as, for instance, ‘a fourth generation lake fisherman’. These two modes of conceiving how one belongs to a community – through performance or via recourse to structural ideals, produce remarkably different ways of viewing the world, relating to other people, and relating to one’s surrounds. On the one hand, a community constituted by social interaction relies on action in the present and a view towards ongoing future interactions between community members. This mode of belonging is dynamic and is characterised by movement, towards others and towards the future.

The aim of this essay is to study social capital among entrepreneurs and employees and see how trust in social relations manifests itself in each working group. This is based on two theoretical concepts: social capital and trust. The essay focuses primarily on the social capital but will also affect trust in social relations. In the essay analysis questions is answered about how entrepreneurs and employees' social capital manifests itself and how trust in social relations is expressed in each working group. The general results of the essay are the following: Social capital for employees and contractors manifests itself in different ways, even if they have not proven to be any different in how much support they have from colleagues or other related parties. It has also been shown that contractors and employees utilize their social capital in various ways. Those surveyed employees and entrepreneurs trust towards social relations have also shown differ. This has been reflected in how they perceive hierarchical systems in the workplace, in the great extent they can be themselves and trust their colleagues. This is basely proved in that they possess different forms of employment, and thus has a different chance to influence who they work with.

Syftet med studien är att utveckla kunskaper om hur förskollärare uppfattar relationersom syftar till lärande. Undersökningsfrågan studien lutar mot är; Kan förskollärarenstödja barns lärande genom skapande av relationer mellan förskollärare och barn? Föratt utveckla kunskaper om hur förskollärare uppfattar relationer som syftar till lärandehar en kvalitativ metod använts där förskollärare intervjuats. Begrepp som använts istudien är empati, omsorgsrelation, undervisningsrelation, intimitetszon och lyhördhet.Resultatet beskriver att ett empatiskt bemötande kan ses vara gynnande för relationenmellan barnen och förskollärarna. Vidare påvisas i resultatet att relationerna har olikakaraktär. Innehållet i kategori ett i resultatavsnittet påvisar en omsorgsrelation vilkenkan ses vara nödvändig för att en undervisningsrelation ska ges möjlighet att byggas. / <p><strong>Fastställt via akademichefsbeslut HIG-STYR 2019/7 den 2019-01-07</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>Daniel Petterson, fil dr, univ. lekt Pedagogik och Erika Björklund, fil dr, univ. lekt Pedagogik går in som examinatorer på PEG700 under veckorna 1 till och med 3, 2019 då Peter Gill, prof. Pedagogik, gått i pension från och med 2019-01-01.</p>

Bakgrund: Goda sociala relationer är i viss mån grundläggande för ungdomars identitetsutveckling. Utveckling av deras sociala förmågor har även positiva effekter på deras psykiska hälsa. För ungdomar med hörselnedsättning kan sociala relationer bli svåra eftersom de lever i ett samhälle där hörande kommunicerar med talad svenska och döva kommunicerar med svenskt teckenspråk. Ungdomar med hörselnedsättning har inte samma förutsättningar som hörande och det kan därför vara svårt för dem att hänga med i sociala samspel och skapa sociala relationer till andra. Om ungdomar med hörselnedsättning inte kan teckenspråk har de inte heller förutsättningar för att hänga med i det sociala samspelet som finns i dövsamhället. Den teoretiska inramningen för studien är James Marcias teori om identitetsutveckling och socialkonstruktionistisk teori. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur ungdomar med hörselnedsättning upplever sin psykosociala hälsa utifrån sina sociala relationer och hur de påverkar deras möjligheter till identitetsutveckling. Metod: Kvalitativ metod användes i studien och data samlades in med nio semistrukturerade intervjuer med ungdomar med hörselnedsättning i åldrarna 12–16 år. Resultatet har analyserats med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat och slutsatser: Under analysen framkom två kategorier; kompisar är viktiga men det är svårt och kommunikation är bra men den fungerar inte alltid. Ungdomarna upplevde att de hade kompisar men att de fanns i skolan och att de inte umgicks med dem på fritiden. De berättade också om hur kommunikationen påverkade deras möjligheter att kunna hänga med i det sociala samspelet. Ungdomarna undvek vissa situationer och höll sig tillbaka på grund av att de inte hörde allt som sades vilket de upplevde som pinsamt, jobbigt eller att de såg dumma ut. På grund av olika kommunikationssätt kan ungdomar med hörselnedsättning bli begränsade och få mindre möjligheter till sociala relationer och på så sätt kan de ges mindre utrymme till utveckling av sin identitet, sina sociala förmågor och att få en bra psykisk hälsa. Resultatet visar att samhällets strukturer begränsar vilka möjligheter till utveckling av identitet och sociala relationer som ungdomar med hörselnedsättning får. / Background: Good social relationships are a fundamental part of adolescents identity development, development of their social skills and have positive effects on their mental health. For adolescents with hearing impairment, social relationships can be difficult because they live in a society where hearing people communicates with spoken Swedish and deaf people communicates with sign language. Adolescents with hearing impairment don´t have the same ability as hearing people and it can for that reason be difficult to keep up in social interaction and create social relationships with others. If adolescents with hearing impairment don´t know sign language they also have no prerequisites for the social interaction that exists in the deaf community. The theoretical framework for the study is James Marcia's theory of identity development and social construction theory. Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate how adolescents with hearing impairment experience their psychosocial health based on their social relationships and how they affect their opportunities for identity development. Method: Qualitative methodology was used in the study and data was collected with nine semi structured interviews with adolescents with hearing impairment aged 12-16 years. The result has been analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results and conclusions: During the analysis two categories emerged; friends are important, but it is difficult, and communication is good, but it does not always work. The adolescents experienced that they had friends but that they were at school and did not spend time with them in their spare time. They also talked about how communication affected their opportunities to be able to keep up with social interaction. The adolescents avoided certain situations and retreated because they did not hear everything that was said which they felt as embarrassing, difficult or that they looked dumb. Due to different communication needs, adolescents with hearing impairment can be limited and have less opportunities for social relationships, thus providing less space for the development of their identity, social skills and good mental health. The results show that society´s structures limit what opportunities for development of identity and social relationships that adolescents with hearing impairment may have.

O crack é a substância ilícita que mais leva à busca por tratamento para uso de substâncias no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Os usuários frequentemente relatam dificuldades nos seus relacionamentos interpessoais, no entanto ter relacionamentos saudáveis é crucial para o processo de recuperação. As evidências até agora demonstram que além do uso de substâncias psicoativas, outros fatores da vida do sujeito, como características sociodemográficas, dificuldades emocionais, comportamentais e sociais podem se tornar barreiras para o resgate e cultivo de relacionamentos saudáveis. Sendo assim, a presente dissertação teve por objetivo investigar a associação entre severidade dos problemas no funcionamento interpessoal dos usuários de crack e fatores de risco associados, tais como características sociodemográficas, fatores relacionados ao uso de substâncias do paciente, de seus parceiros, familiares e amigos e comorbidades psiquiátricas. Este foi um estudo transversal multicêntrico, com a participação de homens e mulheres (N=407), em tratamento para problemas por uso de crack, na rede de saúde pública de seis capitais brasileiras. A magnitude de associação entre o desfecho (T-score: problemas na área Família/Social) e os fatores em estudo (características sociodemográficas, comorbidades psiquiátricas, exposição a eventos estressores na vida, uso recente de substâncias psicoativas, dados sobre o consumo de substâncias pelos usuários, seu parceiro, familiares adultos e amigos e envolvimento com atividades ilícitas) foi avaliada através da razão de prevalência (RP), estimada pela regressão de Poisson com variância robusta. Ter diagnóstico de abuso de álcool, transtorno de estresse pós-traumático, transtorno da personalidade antissocial, episódio depressivo atual e o número de dias consumindo crack no último mês estava significativamente associado com maior severidade nos problemas na área Família/Social. Os achados deste estudo demonstram uma relação entre maior frequência de uso de crack e co-morbidades psiquiátricas com ter mais problemas nos relacionamentos com parceiros, familiares e amigos. Sendo a reinserção social, uma conquista fundamental para a recuperação, nossos achados apontam que, além do uso de crack em si, outros elementos podem representar barreiras para o bom funcionamento social destas pessoas. Estes resultados advogam em favor do desenvolvimento de intervenções psicossociais que foquem na melhora do funcionamento interpessoal de usuários de crack e a inclusão de familiares e amigos nas abordagens terapêuticas. Além disso, sugere-se o oferecimento de tratamento concomitante para as comorbidades psiquiátricas. / Crack-cocaine is the illicit psychoactive substance that most leads to substance use treatment seeking in the Unified Health System (SUS). Users frequently report difficulties in interpersonal relationships, yet having healthy relationships is crucial to the process of recovery. Evidence so far demonstrate that in addition to psychoactive substance use, other factors in the user’s life, such as sociodemographic characteristics, emotional, behavioral, and social problems, may become barriers to the rescue and cultivation of healthy relationships. Thus, the present dissertation aimed to investigate the association between severity of problems in interpersonal functioning of crack-cocaine users and related risk factors such as sociodemographic characteristics, consumption of psychoactive substances by users, partners, adult relatives and friends, and psychiatric comorbidities. This was a multicenter cross-sectional study, involving men and women (N = 407), undergoing treatment for their crack-cocaine use in public health facilities of six Brazilian capitals. The magnitude of association between the outcome (T-score: problems in the Family/Social area) and factors under study (sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric comorbidities, exposure to lifetime stressful events, data regarding the use of psychoactive substances by users, their partner, adult relatives and friends and engagement in illicit activities) was evaluated by the prevalence ratio (PR), estimated by Poisson regression with robust variance. Having a comorbid diagnosis of alcohol abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, antisocial personality disorder, current depressive episode and the number of days of crack use in the last month was significantly associated with greater severity in the problems in the Family/Social area. These findings demonstrate a relationship between higher frequency of use of crack cocaine and psychiatric comorbidities with more problems in relationships with partners, family and friends. Since social reintegration is a fundamental achievement for recovery, our findings indicate that, besides the use of crack itself, other elements may represent barriers to the social functioning of these people. These results support development of psychosocial interventions that focus in the improvement of interpersonal relationships of crack cocaine users and the inclusion of family and friends in the treatment. In addition, it is suggested that interventions should target concomitant treatment for psychiatric comorbidities.

The possibility that lifestyle factors may delay or accelerate cognitive decline in aging has garnered significant attention and a considerable body of research has formed. However, investigating the relations between social engagement and cognitive function in aging have been somewhat equivocal in their findings and there is a lack of understanding of the mechanisms by which social engagement may impact cognitive function and the role of factors limiting social engagement. The aim of this dissertation was to build on current understanding of how specific aspects of social relationships relate to cognitive functioning in older adulthood and how these aspects are affected by challenges and barriers to social participation. This dissertation is comprised of three studies addressing several specific research questions. Study one (Chapter 2) examined whether relations with cognitive performance over time differ for structural aspects of social relationships (social network and social contact) versus functional/subjective aspects of social relationships (loneliness and social support) and whether the associations are between cognitive performance and stable, “trait-like” components of social relationships or fluctuating “state-like” components of these constructs, using autoregressive latent trajectory modeling of data from the Health and Retirement Study. Study two (Chapter 3) used a multilevel modeling approach to examine whether the spouses/partners of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia experience a within person decline in cognitive performance and whether changes in structural and functional/subjective aspects of social relationships interacted with a spouses’ diagnosis of memory disease to predict within person change in cognitive performance. Study three (Chapter 4) investigated whether rejection sensitivity, social avoidance, and fears of negative social evaluations were predictive of lack of social participation and loneliness in a sample of Vancouver Island older adults. These factors have previously been investigated in younger adults as risk factors for loneliness and social withdrawal, but social isolation in older adulthood is often attributed to lack of social opportunities. This dissertation demonstrates the importance of considering precise aspects of social relationships, including barriers to social participation, and their relations to cognitive functioning. / Graduate / 2019-12-12

Varied academic accounts exist of the psychological and physiological benefits experienced through engagement with music. MacDonald, Kreutz and Mitchell (2012) state that there is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest that music has the ability to positively affect our feelings of health and wellbeing. Despite qualitative studies into the benefits of music on older people, in particular singing, (Hallam et al, 2013; Clift et al, 2008), there has been less focus on this retired generation. In a study by Pickles (2003) into music and the ‘third age’, a plea is made for a further understanding of the musical opportunities and needs for this age group. For the first time ever there are more than ten million people now aged over 65 within the UK (UK Parliament website, 2015) and their number exceeds those under 16 (McVeigh, 2009). Contemporary studies indicate a positive correlation between good health and wellbeing with productive pastimes (Stephens & Flick, 2010; Franklin & Tate, 2009), and further evidence shows a positive correlation between those who are married and lifespan longevity (Jaffe et al 2006). This supports the need to further research the function of music as a motivational activity and its position within couple relationships in the older generation. The aim of this investigation was to explore lifelong musical engagement and its role in the wellbeing of married couples in retirement. Five retired couples who were in good health and actively engaged in musical pursuits were interviewed individually utilising an idiographic methodology, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Seeking to offer new insights into the importance of music in this key area of health, identity and social relationships each participant offered meaningful perspectives on the phenomenon being investigated. Analysis of their narratives revealed three overarching themes: i) the centrality of music throughout the lifespan, ii) music as a therapeutic tool, and iii) music in the present and its role in future selves. Significant findings showed how the use of music within the dyadic relationship facilitates a joint identity through the lifespan which continues into old age, assists social reconstruction when agency is under threat, brings positivity and respect through matched musical preferences, enriches feelings of positivity for the future as musical engagement is still possible when mobility becomes an issue, enhances feelings of togetherness, and provides joy through the provision of a legacy to future generations. Recommendations are made for future research into expanding awareness of specific areas of musical engagement which enhance a sense of wellbeing in older age couples, and increasing knowledge of its role in other age group intimate partnerships.