“IF ONLY I COULD�? ~ “THERE IS ALWAYS A LOOPHOLE"? Hope and hopelessness experienced by the severely depressive and nondepressive

The aim of this research was to structure a conceptual model of hope and hopelessness based on dictionary definitions, and to verify this model on the basis of the experiences of the severely depressive and non-depressive elderly. This research has produced a substantive theory of hope and hopelessness which is based on the experiences of the depressive and non-depressive elderly, and on the concept analysis of hope and hopelessness based on English dictionary definitions. The patients who participated in the research were 65 years old and older men and women (n=22) who had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of major depression, and another group: the non-depressive elderly (n=21), who were recruited from the pensioners’ clubs. The data were collected in interviews using the Clinical Assessment Tool, developed by Farran, Salloway and Clark (1990) and Farran, Wilken and Popovich (1992), and it produced 553 pages of written text, which were analysed using the ATLAS/ti programme. ATLAS/ti is a tool for analysing qualitative data and is based on Grounded Theory. The medical and nursing records of the depressive elderly completed source triangulation. The concept analysis of hope and hopelessness was made on the basis of the definitions of English dictionaries (n=103), using semantic analysis and the ATLAS/ti programme. The most important hope-promoting factors were human relations, health and managing in everyday living. Autonomy, self-determination and feeling of security were highly appreciated among the elderly. Hopelessness, on the other hand, was most often associated with the same factors: human relations, health and everyday living. Especially, losses of significant others were experienced as strongly hope-diminishing. Old age had brought freedom from duties concerning others, but now, when you finally had an opportunity to enjoy yourself, you could not accomplish anything; you were clasped in the arms of total inability, depression had come. The most obvious difference in the life course of the depressive and nondepressive elderly was the abundance of traumatic experiences in the childhood and youth of the depressive elderly. The continuous circulation of fearful thoughts was almost touchable, and suicidality was described in connection with these thoughts. You were afraid to be awake and also to go to sleep. Managing day by day was the goal. The research produced the Basic Social Process (BSP) of hope: achieving - maintaining - losing, which expresses a continuous balancing between Being without and Being with. The importance of the object of hope was combined with the amount of hope and disappointment. The process of approaching defined the realisation of hope and the process of withdrawal that of losing. Joy and security versus grief and insecurity defined the Being with and Being without. Two core categories were found. The first one “If only I could�? reflects lack of energy, lack of knowledge, lack of courage and lack of ability. The other one “There is always a loophole�? reflects deliberate tracing of possibilities and the belief in finding solutions, and managing.

Not accepted by the family: "Being difficult" or "being different"?

Using data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS) and combining a quantitative approach and a qualitative approach (N = 8,148 and n = 43, respectively), this study investigates the mechanisms associated with a lack of acceptance by one's family. From the total NKPS sample, 12.1% did not feel (entirely) accepted by their family. The authors hypothesized that people may not feel accepted by their family when they are "difficult," for example, by exhibiting personal problems; another reason might be that they are "different," for instance, because they have made nontraditional life course transitions or differ from their parents in educational level or religious preference. Both quantitative and qualitative results confirm the first hypothesis rather than the second. Qualitative results revealed a gender difference in the mechanisms associated with a lack of acceptance by one's family as well as differences in the resilience of those who had had a difficult family background.

Correlates of frailty, prediction of functional decline and preventative approaches - selected results from the lausanne cohort 65+ (lc65+) study (Switzerland) (Lausanne) and the longitudinal urban cohort ageing study (Lucas) (Germany)

Overall introduction.- Longitudinal studies have been designed to investigate prospectively, from their beginning, the pathway leading from health to frailty and to disability. Knowledge about determinants of healthy ageing and health behaviour (resources) as well as risks of functional decline is required to propose appropriate preventative interventions. The functional status in older people is important considering clinical outcome in general, healthcare need and mortality. Part I.- Results and interventions from lucas (longitudinal urban cohort ageing study). Authors.- J. Anders, U. Dapp, L. Neumann, F. Pröfener, C. Minder, S. Golgert, A. Daubmann, K. Wegscheider,. W. von Renteln-Kruse Methods.- The LUCAS core project is a longitudinal cohort of urban community-dwelling people 60 years and older, recruited in 2000/2001. Further LUCAS projects are cross-sectional comparative and interventional studies (RCT). Results.- The emphasis will be on geriatric medical care in a population-based approach, discussing different forms of access, too. (Dapp et al. BMC Geriatrics 2012, 12:35; http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/12/35): - longitudinal data from the LUCAS urban cohort (n = 3.326) will be presented covering 10 years of observation, including the prediction of functional decline, need of nursing care, and mortality by using a self-filling screening tool; - interventions to prevent functional decline do focus on first (pre-clinical) signs of pre-frailty before entering the frailty-cascade ("Active Health Promotion in Old Age", "geriatric mobility centre") or disability ("home visits"). Conclusions.- The LUCAS research consortium was established to study particular aspects of functional competence, its changes with ageing, to detect pre-clinical signs of functional decline, and to address questions on how to maintain functional competence and to prevent adverse outcome in different settings. The multidimensional data base allows the exploration of several further questions. Gait performance was exmined by GAITRite®-System. Supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF Funding No. 01ET1002A). Part II.- Selected results from the lausanne cohort 65+ (Lc65 + ) Study (Switzerland). Authors.- Prof Santos-Eggimann Brigitte, Dr Seematter-Bagnoud Laurence, Prof Büla Christophe, Dr Rochat Stéphane. Methods.- The Lc65+ cohort was launched in 2004 with the random selection of 3054 eligible individuals aged 65 to 70 (birth year 1934-1938) in the non-institutionalized population of Lausanne (Switzerland). Results.- Information is collected about life course social and health-related events, socio-economics, medical and psychosocial dimensions, lifestyle habits, limitations in activities of daily living, mobility impairments, and falls. Gait performance are objectively measured using body-fixed sensors. Frailty is assessed using Fried's frailty phenotype. Follow-up consists in annual self-completed questionnaires, as well as physical examination and physical and mental performance tests every three years. - Lausanne cohort 65+ (Lc65 + ): design and longitudinal outcomes. The baseline data collection was completed among 1422 participants in 2004-2005 through self-completed questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, physical examination and tests of mental and physical performances. Information about institutionalization, self-reported health services utilization, and death is also assessed. An additional random sample (n = 1525) of 65-70 years old subjects was recruited in 2009 (birth year 1939-1943). - lecture no 4: alcohol intake and gait parameters: prevalent and longitudinal association in the Lc65+ study. The association between alcohol intake and gait performance was investigated.

Ammatti, sukupuoli ja elämänkulun muotoutuminen

Summary: Career, gender and life course

A Mixed-method Social Networks Study Design for Research on Transnational Families

This paper advocates the adoption of a mixed-methods research design to describe and analyze ego-centered social networks in transnational family research. Drawing on the experience of the Social Networks Influences on Family Formation project (2004-2005), I show how the combined use of network generators and semistructured interviews (N = 116) produces unique data on family configurations and their impact on life course choices. A mixed-methods network approach presents specific advantages for research on children in transnational families. On the one hand, quantitative analyses are crucial for reconstructing and measuring the potential and actual relational support available to children in a context where kin interactions may be hindered by temporary and prolonged periods of separation. On the other hand, qualitative analyses can address strategies and practices employed by families to maintain relationships across international borders and geographic distance, as well as the implications of those strategies for children's well-being.

The meaning of marriage for men during the transition to fatherhood : the Swiss context

In Europe, Switzerland presents an unusual pattern of marriage with a very high proportion of couples who begin to cohabit without being married, but with a very low proportion of nonmarital births. A lot of couples marry before the conception of the child or during the pregnancy. In this article we focus on the point of view of men vis-agrave-vis the marriage and its meanings. Qualitative investigations show that men strongly desire marriage for several reasons, from their desire to participate in child rearing to the fear of having their paternity denied by Swiss institutions

A critical analysis of three psychological research programs of doping behaviour

Objectives To consider the various specific substances-taking activities in sport an examination of three psychological models of doping behaviour utilised by researchers is presented in order to evaluate their real and potential impact, and to improve the relevance and efficiency of anti-doping campaigns. Design Adopting the notion of a "research program" (Lakatos, 1978) from the philosophy of science, a range of studies into the psychology of doping behaviour are classified and critically analysed. Method Theoretical and practical parameters of three research programs are critically evaluated (i) cognitive; (ii) drive; and (iii) situated-dynamic. Results The analysis reveals the diversity of theoretical commitments of the research programs and their practical consequences. The «cognitive program» assumes that athletes are accountable for their acts that reflect the endeavour to attain sporting and non-sporting goals. Attitudes, knowledge and rational decisions are understood to be the basis of doping behaviour. The «drive program» characterises the variety of traces and consequences on psychological and somatic states coming from athlete's experience with sport. Doping behaviour here is conceived of as a solution to reduce unconscious psychological and somatic distress. The «situated-dynamic program» considers a broader context of athletes' doping activity and its evolution during a sport career. Doping is considered as emergent and self-organized behaviour, grounded on temporally critical couplings between athletes' actions and situations and the specific dynamics of their development during the sporting life course. Conclusions These hypothetical, theoretical and methodological considerations offer a more nuanced understanding of doping behaviours, making an effective contribution to anti-doping education and research by enabling researchers and policy personnel to become more critically reflective about their explicit and implicit assumptions regarding models of explanations for doping behaviour.

Etnicidad, desarrollo y ‘buen vivir’: reflexiones críticas en perspectiva histórica

El propósito del artículo es reflexionar sobre el binomio etnicidad-desarrollo en perspectiva histórica y desde la atalaya del mundo andino. Pretende visibilizar las ambivalencias y con- tradicciones por las que han circulado los discursos sobre el desarrollo, tanto los de corte convencional como los del Buen Vivir o Sumak Kawsay. El texto aborda cuatro aspectos remarcables de ese proceso: a) el tiempo en el que la alteridad cultural fue conceptualizada como un obstáculo a la llamada ‘modernización’; b) el establecimiento, bajo el neolibera- lismo, de lineamientos sensibles a las potencialidades percibidas en la etnicidad de cara a generar procesos de desarrollo endógenos; c) la dificultad de definir con precisión a qué se refiere el Buen Vivir según se ubique el punto de mira desde posiciones de gobierno o de oposición; y d) en qué medida el del Sumak Kawsay constituye o no una suerte de paradig- ma alternativo potencialmente conducente a un escenario empoderativo de los grupos subal- ternos en nombre de quienes se dice actuar.

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Starting from the mid-1960s, family and fertility patterns in Europe underwent fundamental changes. Social scientists have increasingly turned to intergenerational models to explain such changes. This paper deals with one important intergenerational dimension of fertility, namely the transmission of normative beliefs about childbearing choices. Normative beliefs are important determinants of fertility behavior. While norms are learnt and internalized throughout the life course, primary socialization of children within the family and role modeling are important mechanism to ensure norm transmission. Interaction with family members in adult life may reinforce the effects of early socialization and role modeling. The paper focuses on the ways in which mothers and daughters make sense of normative beliefs about childbearing. I draw on set of semi-structured interviews with childless women in reproductive ages and their mothers, collected in Italy between 2004 and 2006. First, I provide a micro-level descriptive analysis of normative beliefs about childbearing norms in mother-daughter dyads. Second, linking these descriptive analyses to the biography of specific dyads, I identify patterns of continuity and discontinuity in the social meaning of children and their fertility outcomes.

Late careers and the transition to retirement in Switzerland

A substantial body of life-course research has considered occupational trajectories in Switzerland focusing either on early or middle adulthood careers. However, the issue of the last working period and the retirement transition is receiving increasing attention for several reasons: the permanence of low birth rates associated with an ageing population, a high proportion of active old workers, continuous changes in the timing of retirements, and active ageing policies aiming at keeping people working after the state pension age. Moving forward on this topic, the present doctoral thesis aimed to offer new insights on the dynamics of the final career phase and the transition to retirement in Switzerland through a life-course approach. Concerning the main results, this thesis provides consistent evidences on the great influence of longterm familial and employment trajectories as well as individual positional factors on (i) the vulnerability during the last working period, (ii) the timing of retirement, (iii) the voluntariness of late retirement, and (iv) the financial well-being of retirees. In this way, this thesis offers significant contributions to the life-course, gender, and social policy research focused on ageing processes. -- Un ensemble considérable de recherches sur les parcours de vie a examiné les trajectoires professionnelles en Suisse, en mettant l'accent sur la carrière professionnelle des jeunes et, plus tard, à l'âge adulte. Toutefois, l'étude de la fin de la carrière professionnelle (c'est-à-dire de 50 ans jusqu'à la retraite) reçoit une attention croissante pour plusieurs raisons: la persistance du faible taux de natalité associé à une population vieillissante, la forte proportion de travailleurs âgés actifs, des évolutions continues dans le moment du départ à la retraite, et des politiques visant à maintenir les personnes âgées au travail après l'âge légal de la retraite. Pour aller de l'avant sur ce sujet, la présente thèse de doctorat vise à offrir de nouvelles perspectives sur la fin de carrière et la transition à la retraite en Suisse, en mobilisant les outils de la sociologie des parcours de vie. En ce qui concerne les principaux résultats, cette thèse fournit des preuves cohérentes sur la grande influence des trajectoires professionnelles et familiales ainsi que des facteurs positionnels sur (i) la vulnérabilité au cours de la période de travail avant la retraite, (ii) le moment de départ à la retraite, (iii) le caractère volontaire de la retraite tardive, et (iv) le bien-être financier des retraités. Ainsi, cette thèse fournit d'importantes contributions à la recherche sur les parcours de vie, sur les étu es genre, et sur les politiques sociales, focalisées sur le processus de vieillissement.

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The life-design paradigm is among those rooted in Guichard's (2009) life self-construction model that describes the identity processes underlying the development of multiple social selves. In this chapter, which is a tribute to the major contribution of Jean Guichard to the field of educational and vocational guidance and counseling, we will try to explicate the links between career adaptability and subjective identity forms. Both highlight two different and important processes that are interdependent and which should be simultaneously considered in the life design paradigm. These processes allow people to behave as active agents in their environment and are of high importance in the contemporary socioeconomic context, characterized by globalization, an increase in employment insecurity, the destructuralization of one's life course, and individualization. This chapter argues that both career adapt-abilities and identity processes rely on reflexivity and self-awareness abilities. For this reason the system of subjective identity forms, as defined by Guichard, can be considered as a meta-competency allowing adaptation, meaning making, but also the allocation of process resources.

DOHaD et information épigénétique - Enjeux sociétaux [DOhaD and epigenetic information: societal challenges].

The concept of the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) alters our understanding of what constitutes "health" or "disease" intended as chronic, non-communicable diseases, which develop over the life course in high income and emerging countries. It implies a change in paradigm forming a basis for prevention policies across the globe. It also impacts psychological, social, economic, ethical and legal sciences. In line with the unanticipated underpinning epigenetic mechanisms are also the social issues (including public policies) that could be produced by the knowledge related to DOHaD that opens a wide field of inquiry. The information unveiled by epigenetics coupled with information on lifestyle including during the development phase, is of unforeseen nature, raising issues of different nature. Therefore it requires specific attention and research, and a specific support by a pluridisciplinary reflection since the very beginning of its production, to anticipate the questions that might be raised in the future.