Friendships in the early years

Having a best friend or close friend is closely connected to children’s health and well being in the early years. Having friends safeguards children from social isolation and is associated with academic attainment and social success. In early childhood, children often make friends through play or other shared activities. This chapter investigates friendships and children’s well being in the early years of schooling. Drawing on direct accounts and representations from interviews with young children about friendships, the chapter outlines characteristics of friendship and strategies children use to make friends and manage disputes as they negotiate roles in play and shared spaces. Three key dimensions of friendship are evident in the children’s accounts: friendship is enduring, friendship is mutual and friendship involves an emotional investment. This chapter provides educators with an understanding of the important role that friendships have for happiness and wellbeing in the early years.

Can we text you? A qualitative exploration of young unemployed job-seekers’ attitudes to receiving resilience-building SMS messages

A significant minority of young job-seekers remain unemployed for many months, and are at risk of developing depression. Both empirical studies and theoretical models suggest that cognitive, behavioural and social isolation factors interact to increase this risk. Thus, interventions that reduce or prevent depression in young unemployed job-seekers by boosting their resilience are required. Mobile phones may be an effective medium to deliver resilience-boosting support to young unemployed people by using SMS messages to interrupt the feedback loop of depression and social isolation. Three focus groups were conducted to explore young unemployed job-seekers’ attitudes to receiving and requesting regular SMS messages that would help them to feel supported and motivated while job-seeking. Participants reacted favourably to this proposal, and thought that it would be useful to continue to receive and request SMS messages for a few months after commencing employment as well.

Migrants' use of the Internet in re-settlement

The project is a qualitative and ethnographic study investigating how the internet is used by migrants from cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups. It examines how internet use assists the re- settlement process in Brisbane, Australia. The project aims to support strategies and initiatives in the successful re-settlement of migrants from CALD groups into urban localities. It has 2 main foci: • To find out how and what type of online information and services are used by migrants and what are the barriers to accessing the information. Information and resources about transport, housing, health, social services, education and other information is essential for successful re-settlement. • In what ways is the internet is used as a social medium, to communicate with friends and family in homeland countries and connect with people in local regions, in ways that might help to combat social isolation.

Vulnerability to loneliness in people with intellectual disability: an explanatory model

Research with typically developing groups has identified loneliness as a significant predictor of a range of physical and mental health problems. This paper reviews research about loneliness in children and adults with intellectual disability. Although a considerable body of evidence has highlighted the difficulties individuals with intellectual disability have with friendships, there is a relative scarcity of research focused explicitly on loneliness. The available evidence suggests that up to half of those with intellectual disability are chronically lonely, compared with around 15-30% of people in the general population. The cognitive, physical and mental health problems already associated with intellectual disability are likely to be compounded by experiences of chronic loneliness. We argue that people with intellectual disability are highly vulnerable to loneliness and present a theoretical model of vulnerability that comprises three reciprocally influencing domains: social attitudes and expectations; opportunities and experiences; and skill deficits associated with intellectual disability. We propose that societal views which have traditionally devalued and stigmatised those with intellectual disability limit their opportunities for experiencing social and emotional connectedness with others. Individual skill deficits in areas such as communication, self-regulation and social understanding, as well as functional difficulties associated with intellectual disability, also potentially influence the opportunities and experiences of people with intellectual disability, both directly and via multiple layers of the social context. In turn, limited opportunities will entrench particular skill deficits and reinforce negative attitudes towards intellectual disability. Future research about loneliness and intellectual disability needs to address the difficulties of measuring emotional isolation in this population, as well as the possibility that people with intellectual disability may understand, experience and interpret loneliness somewhat differently from others. The model proposed in this paper provides a starting point for developing a more sophisticated understanding of the experience of loneliness for individuals with intellectual disability.

The forgotten ones : a case study on conceptualising and implementing a peer mentoring program for postgraduate coursework students

We employed an action research approach to develop a context specific peer mentoring program (Postgrad Assist) that aids first year postgraduate coursework (PGCW) students in their transition to postgraduate study. We explored the transition literature and best practice approaches, undertook comprehensive surveys of both our students and staff, conducted student focus groups, formed a diverse working party, with strong representation from students and adopted an on-going evaluation program to develop and refine Postgrad Assist. The program substantially alleviated transitioning students’ cultural and academic shock, and social isolation. The program makes a contribution to the transition and mentoring research domain in that it challenges the common misconception that PGCW students are similar to undergraduate students with no particular distinguishing features that would suggest a need for a different approach to their mentoring.

Connecting the person with dementia and family : a feasibility study of a telepresence robot

Background Maintenance of communication is important for people with dementia living in long-term care. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using “Giraff”, a telepresence robot to enhance engagement between family and a person with dementia living in long-term care. Methods A mixed-methods approach involving semi-structured interviews, call records and video observational data was used. Five people with dementia and their family member participated in a discussion via the Giraff robot for a minimum of six times over a six-week period. A feasibility framework was used to assess feasibility and included video analysis of emotional response and engagement. Results Twenty-six calls with an average duration of 23 mins took place. Residents showed a general state of positive emotions across the calls with a high level of engagement and a minimal level of negative emotions. Participants enjoyed the experience and families reported that the Giraff robot offered the opportunity to reduce social isolation. A number of software and hardware challenges were encountered. Conclusions Participants perceived this novel approach to engage families and people with dementia as a feasible option. Participants were observed and also reported to enjoy the experience. The technical challenges identified have been improved in a newer version of the robot. Future research should include a feasibility trial of longer duration, with a larger sample and a cost analysis.

A/Effective connections : mobility, technology and well-being

This article investigates the significance of internet communication technologies for mediating affect in ways that help promote feelings of well-being among recently arrived migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD) in Australia. It is based on a qualitative study that focuses on the internet's communicative capabilities for maintaining kinship ties in homeland countries, and for forging new connections in the host city of Brisbane during the early re-settlement period. Through the experience of ‘presence’ and affective communities, it emphasizes the ways in which visually mediated interaction helps to combat feelings of social isolation and loneliness. The study finds that internet use is creating new forms of sociality among migrants and plays a key role in the re-settlement period. It highlights the importance of publicly available computers and training for migrants.

Videogames: Dispelling myths and tabloid headlines that videogames are bad

Videogamers are often portrayed as adolescent overweight males eating fast food in their bedroom, and videogames often blamed in the media for violent crime, obesity, social isolation and depression. However videogaming is a mainstream activity. In Australia 65% of the population play videogames (Digital Australia 2014), and humanity as a species play about 3 billion hours of videogames a week. This paper dispels the myths and sensationalised negative tabloid headlines that videogames are bad by presenting the latest research showing that videogames can help fight depression, improve brain function and stimulate creativity; that gamers have higher levels of family closeness and better attachment to school; and that videogames help boys and young men to relax, cope and socialise. Children and adolescents deliberately choose to play videogames in the knowledge that they will feel better as a result, and videogame play allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, and/or age. The potential benefits of videogames to the individual and to society are yet to be fully realised. However already videogames are helping many gamers to flourish in life.

Loneliness in individuals with intellectual disability

Although some substantial issues exist regarding measurement of loneliness in individuals with intellectual disability, research has generally concluded that members of this group are more likely to (1) appear to others to be lonelier than their typically developing peers and (2) self-report greater loneliness than typically-developing individuals. As examples, in a study by Solish, Perry, and Minnes (2010), parents of children with intellectual disability reported fewer friendships and social activities for their children than parents of typically-developing children. Oates, Bebbington, Bourke, Girdler, and Leonard (2011) found that approximately one-third of the parents in their population study of children with Down syndrome reported that their child had no friends. When questioned directly about the experience of loneliness, only boys with mild intellectual disability reported more loneliness than their same age, typically-developing peers (Williams & Asher, 1992).

Finnish Homicides and Mental Disorders: An investigation of offense and offender characteristics

Although the majority of people with mental illness are not violent, scientific studies over the last decades show that certain psychiatric disorders increase the risk of violent behavior, including homicide. This thesis examined crime scene behaviors and offender background characteristics among mentally ill Finnish homicide offenders. Previously, homicide crime scene behaviors have been investigated in relation to offender demographic characteristics, whereas this study compares the behaviors of offenders with various mental illnesses. The study design was a retrospective chart review of the forensic psychiatric statements of Finnish homicide offenders. The work consists of four substudies. The aims of the study were as follows: To describe differences in the childhood and family backgrounds as well as in the adolescent and adult adjustment of Finnish homicide offenders belonging to different diagnostic categories (schizophrenia, personality disorder, alcoholism, drug addiction or no diagnosis). Further, the study examined associations between the crime scene behaviors and mental status of these offenders. Also, the distinguishing characteristics between two groups of offenders with schizophrenia were examined: early starters, who present antisocial behavior before the onset of schizophrenia, and late starters, who first offend after the onset of mental disorder. Finally, it was investigated how the use of excessive violence is associated with clinical and circumstantial variables as well as offender background characteristics among homicide offenders with schizophrenia. The main findings of the study can be summarized as follows. First, offenders with personality disorder or drug addiction had experienced multiple difficulties in their early environments: both family and individual problems were typical. Offenders with schizophrenia were relatively well-adjusted in childhood compared to the other groups. However, in adolescence and adulthood, social isolation, withdrawal and other difficulties attributable to these offenders illness became evident. In several aspects, offenders with alcohol dependency resembled offenders with no diagnosis in that these offenders had less problematic backgrounds compared to other groups. Second, the results showed that crime scene behaviors, victim gender and the victim-offender relationship differ between the groups. In particular, offenders with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or drug addiction have some unique features in their crime scene behaviors and choice of victims. Offenders with schizophrenia were more likely to kill a blood relative, to use a sharp weapon and to injure the victim s face. Drug addiction was associated with stealing from the victim and trying to cover up the body. Third, the results suggest that the offense characteristics of early- and late-start offenders with schizophrenia differ only modestly. However, several significant differences between the groups were found in characteristics of offenders: early starters had experienced a multitude of problems in their childhood surroundings and also later in life. Fourth, violent acts where the offender did not commit the offense alone or had previous homicidal history were predictive of excessive violence among offenders with schizophrenia. Positive psychotic symptoms did not predict the use of excessive violence. Nearly one third of the cases in the sample involved multiple and severe violence, including features such as sadism, mutilation, sexual components or extreme stabbing. In sum, mentally disordered homicide offenders are heterogeneous in their offense characteristics as well as their background characteristics. Empirically based information on how the offender s mental state is associated with specific crime scene behaviors can be utilized within the police force in developing methods of prioritizing suspects in unsolved homicide cases. Also, these results emphasise the importance of early interventions for problem families and children at risk of antisocial behavior. They may also contribute to the development of effective treatment for violent offenders.

Systematic literature review: Research on Supported Playgroups

Overview This review of research conducted with supported playgroups was prepared for the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE). The report provides a synthesis of the research on the effectiveness of supported playgroups to improve child, parent, and community outcomes and to identify key features of supported playgroups that support effective outcomes. Supported playgroups are community-based services that provide a low intensity parenting intervention, through regular group sessions for parent-child dyads. Supported playgroups target vulnerable families who may benefit from parenting support. Supported playgroups have common goals to enhance children’s early learning and parental wellbeing. Method A search strategy was devised to identify research studies, nationally and internationally, that involved parent-child group programs for families with young children, delivered under the leadership of an employed facilitator. Academic databases and other data sources were explored for studies conducted in the period from 2004 to 2014. Summary descriptions of the research studies were developed; assessment of research methodologies was made; research evidence on the effectiveness of supported playgroups to improve child, parent, and community outcomes was identified; and comparative analyses of the implementation features of supported playgroups were completed. Findings The search strategy identified 34 research publications, reporting on 29 different programs. Twenty-six of the studies report on research conducted in Australia and eight reported on research conducted in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Three clusters of playgroups were identified: Category 1 - Standard supported playgroups; Category 2 - Mobile playgroups; Category 3 – Supported playgroups with specific interventions. The research studies identified encompassed experimental and non-experimental research designs. The studies of standard supported playgroups and mobile playgroups were most often qualitative studies and modest in scale, in terms of the number of research participants. Experimental and quasi-experimental research designs characterised the studies identified in the category of supported playgroups with specific interventions. Overall, the research studies that were categorised as supported playgroups with specific interventions provided stronger evidence for effectiveness to improve parental behaviour in ways that are known to support children’s early developmental competence. Qualitative studies, including case studies and ethnographic research, documented important features of program delivery, such as the importance of facilitators’ interpersonal skills to positive experiences for families in the playgroups; as well as the important opportunities that the playgroups afforded to vulnerable families to reduce social isolation. Conclusions The potential for supported playgroups to improve a broad range of learning and psychosocial outcomes for children and parents was suggested by many of the research studies. However, the nature of the research designs employed means that it is not possible to conclude that there is strong evidence of the impact of supported playgroups on child, parent, and community outcomes. The qualitative studies did provide rich descriptions about the implementation processes of playgroups and also captured the variability in the delivery of the playgroups in terms of who participated, local contextual factors that impacted on the playgroup experiences, and the nature of the experiences of parents within the playgroups. Research methodologies need to be employed that address the limitations of the studies to date. This would provide more defensible evidence that supported playgroups have an impact over time on outcomes for children, families, and communities. Overall, this area of research remains relatively under-evaluated in terms of rigorous research designs. The identified research studies point to some promising research directions but do not yet enable strong claims to be made about the effectiveness of the standard playgroup or mobile playgroup models to impact on parenting outcomes. Data collected from interview and survey methodologies clearly identifies that supported playgroups are highly acceptable to families. Given the popularity of supported playgroups to engage families across diverse communities, and the reported high levels of satisfaction and benefits identified within many of the research studies, it is clear that the provision of supported playgroups is fulfilling an important community need by providing support to parents with young children. However, there is a need to strengthen the evidence base that supported playgroups are an effective early parenting intervention that improves outcomes for children, parents, and communities.

Enabling Indigenous education success beyond regional borders

Higher education is a powerful tool for reducing social and economic disadvantage. But access to higher education can be difficult, particularly for Indigenous Australians who face multiple levels of social, economic and geographical isolation. While enabling programs can support Indigenous students to gain university entry, the experience at Central Queensland University (CQUniversity) suggests that their past success has been limited. In this paper, the authors describe the enabling program available to Indigenous students at CQUniversity. They suggest that the newly developed, flexible, online version of the program is helping to address geographical and social isolation and improve successful outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

Connecting and collaborating in regional, rural and remote Western Australia

Teachers working in regional, rural and remote areas of Western Australia often experience a strong sense of geographic and social isolation from peers, colleagues and appropriate support mechanisms due to the huge distances between towns and communities. The projects described here have focused on the use of technology to enhance both teacher and student learning; and assist with Indigenous education and teacher professional learning. Connecting and collaborating through technologies is emerging as a powerful tool for motivating and engaging both teachers and learners within schools. Coupled with the direction of the current Federal Government with the Digital Education Revolution and the Digital Regions initiatives, opportunities for better serving regional, rural and remote communities are discussed, as are some of the current issues and needs related to these schools in Western Australia. The scope of these projects has been such that three guiding principles have been implemented through contextual lenses of varying foci - at the level of an individual, a school, and a community.

Evaluation of methods and applications for behavioural profiling of transgenic mice

During the last 10-15 years interest in mouse behavioural analysis has evolved considerably. The driving force is development in molecular biological techniques that allow manipulation of the mouse genome by changing the expression of genes. Therefore, with some limitations it is possible to study how genes participate in regulation of physiological functions and to create models explaining genetic contribution to various pathological conditions. The first aim of our study was to establish a framework for behavioural phenotyping of genetically modified mice. We established comprehensive battery of tests for the initial screening of mutant mice. These included tests for exploratory and locomotor activity, emotional behaviour, sensory functions, and cognitive performance. Our interest was in the behavioural patterns of common background strains used for genetic manipulations in mice. Additionally we studied the behavioural effect of sex differences, test history, and individual housing. Our findings highlight the importance of careful consideration of genetic background for analysis of mutant mice. It was evident that some backgrounds may mask or modify the behavioural phenotype of mutants and thereby lead to false positive or negative findings. Moreover, there is no universal strain that is equally suitable for all tests, and using different backgrounds allows one to address possible phenotype modifying factors. We discovered that previous experience affected performance in several tasks. The most sensitive traits were the exploratory and emotional behaviour, as well as motor and nociceptive functions. Therefore, it may be essential to repeat some of the tests in naïve animals for assuring the phenotype. Social isolation for a long time period had strong effects on exploratory behaviour, but also on learning and memory. All experiments revealed significant interactions between strain and environmental factors (test history or housing condition) indicating genotype-dependent effects of environmental manipulations. Several mutant line analyses utilize this information. For example, we studied mice overexpressing as well as those lacking extracellular matrix protein heparin-binding growth-associated molecule (HB-GAM), and mice lacking N-syndecan (a receptor for HB-GAM). All mutant mice appeared to be fertile and healthy, without any apparent neurological or sensory defects. The lack of HB-GAM and N-syndecan, however, significantly reduced the learning capacity of the mice. On the other hand, overexpression of HB-GAM resulted in facilitated learning. Moreover, HB-GAM knockout mice displayed higher anxiety-like behaviour, whereas anxiety was reduced in HB-GAM overexpressing mice. Changes in hippocampal plasticity accompanied the behavioural phenotypes. We conclude that HB-GAM and N-syndecan are involved in the modulation of synaptic plasticity in hippocampus and play a role in regulation of anxiety- and learning-related behaviour.

Pärjätäkseen pitää olla sosiaalinen, aktiivinen ja menestyvä ihminen. Kaikkea hyvää vaan heille, mutta entäs me muut? Vertaistuki Yksinäisyys-nettiryhmässä avunsaajan ja avunantajan näkökulmista.

Yksinäisyyden merkitys hyvinvointia uhkaavana tekijänä on viimeaikoina noussut esiin yhä enenevissä määrin. Yksinäiset korkeakouluopiskelijat ovat erityisen haavoittuvassa elämäntilanteessa, sillä nuoren aikuisen elämään liittyvät erityiset kehitykselliset haasteet. Tärkeää on, että opiskelijat saavat tukea tilanteeseensa, jotta yksinäisyyden kauaskantoisilta vaikutuksilta vältyttäisiin. Vertaistuki voi monen kohdalla olla tärkeää, ja Internet mahdollistaa matalan kynnyksen paikan avun hakemiseen. Tutkielmassani perehdyn Nyyti ry:n ylläpitämään, korkeakouluopiskelijoille tarkoitettuun Yksinäisyys-nettiryhmään, ja siinä esiintyvään vertaistukeen. Erityisen tutkimusasetelmastani tekee vertaistuen tarkastelu sen kaksijakoisuuden kautta: millaisia avunsaajana olemisen ja avunantajana toimimisen tapoja kirjoituksista on löydettävissä, ja miten ne suhteutuvat toisiinsa. Näin voidaan ymmärtää paremmin keskustelijoiden tarpeita ja odotuksia, ja sitä, miten ryhmä pystyy niihin vastaamaan. Aineistoa on tutkittu sisällönanalyysin menetelmin. Näyttäisi siltä, että ryhmään kohdistetaan enemmän odotuksia ja tarpeita kuin mihin se pystyy vastaamaan. Avunsaajana olemisen luokkia oli yhteensä 15, jotka kuvasivat viittä eri ulottuvuutta. Ulottuvuudet olivat kokemuksellisuus, kontrolliodotus, vaikeusaste, suhde tietoon ja odotuksellisuus. Avunantajana toimimisen kohdalla luokkia muodostui kahdeksan, jotka kuvasivat neljää ulottuvuutta. Näitä olivat empatia, eteenpäin suuntaavuus, opastus ja kyseenalaistus. Avunsaajana oleminen hallitsi nettiryhmän keskusteluja, ja sitä kuvastavat tekstit olivat paitsi määrällisesti pidempiä, myös sisällöllisesti rikkaampia. Suhteutettaessa avunsaajan ja avunantajan tapoja toisiinsa havaitaan, että ryhmässä osoitettu tuki pystyy hyvin vastaamaan moniin odotuksiin, mutta toisaalta jokin tuenmuoto saattaa olla päinvastainenkin joidenkin luokkien tarpeille. Voikin olla, että vertaistuesta on keskustelijoille hyötyä tiettyyn tasoon asti, mutta suuri määrä erilaisia tarpeita ja odotuksia tekee mahdottomaksi niihin kaikkiin vastaamisen. Hyvä jatkotutkimuksen aihe olisi haastatteluin selvittää kirjoittajien omia näkemyksiä siitä, mistä kokevat ryhmään kirjoittaessaan hyötyvänsä. Tutkielman keskeisimpiä lähteitä ovat olleet: Weiss, R.S. (1973). Loneliness: the experience of emotional and social isolation, Kraut, R. ym (1998). Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?, Jung, J. (1987) Toward a social psychology of social support., Dennis, C-L. (2003). Peer support within a health care context: a concept analysis.