Sozialwesen (SW)
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School shootings - Considerations on prevention subject to relative ignorance of the phenomenon
(2009)
Communicating with spoken dialogue systems (SDS) such as Apple’s Siri® and Google’s Now is becoming more and more common. We report a study that manipulates an SDS’s word use with regard to politeness. In an experiment, 58 young adults evaluated the spoken messages of our self-developed SDS as it replied to typical questions posed by university freshmen. The answers were either formulated politely or rudely. Dependent measures were both holistic measures of how students perceived the SDS as well as detailed evaluations of each single answer. Results show that participants not only evaluated the content of rude answers as being less appropriate and less pleasant than the polite answers, but also evaluated the rude system as less accurate. Lack of politeness also impacted aspects of the perceived trustworthiness of the SDS. We conclude that users of SDS expect such systems to be polite, and we then discuss some practical implications for designing SDS.
One of many ways in which spoken dialogue systems (SDS) are becoming more and more flexible is in their choice of words (e.g. alignment to the user’s vocabulary). We examined how users perceive such adaptive and non-adaptive SDS regarding trustworthiness and usability. In Experiment 1, 130 participants read out questions to an SDS that either made or did not make lexical alignment in its replies. They perceived higher cognitive demand when the SDS did not employ alignment. In Experiment 2, 135 participants listened to a conversation between a human and the same SDS in an online study. They judged the aligned SDS to have more integrity and to be more likeable. Implications for the design of SDS are discussed.
People adapt their word choice to both humans and computers. In this study, language style (elaborated vs. restricted) and perceived conversational partner (human vs. spoken dialogue system) were varied. Convergence was greater when reacting to a restricted language style. Participants preferred human partners and an elaborated language style. In line with communication accommodation theory, results suggest that considering restricted capabilities (cognitive organization) constitutes a central motive for convergence. Implications for spoken dialogue system design are discussed.
This review assessed population-based estimate rates of cancer patients with minor and young adult children (≤ 25 years), children and young adults having a parent with cancer as well as the psychosocial situation and well-being of children and young adults affected by parental cancer. Eighteen publications on population-based studies were included. Studies varied in the age ranges of both cancer patients and children. The prevalence rates of cancer patients having children ranged from 14 to 24.7% depending on the sample structure (e.g., age, gender). Studies reported that between 1.6 and 8.4% of children resp. young adult children have a parent with a history of cancer. Seven publications reported on the psychosocial situation or well-being in children and young adults affected by parental cancer. Estimate rates of psychosocial problems, psychiatric diagnoses or distress ranged between 2.5 and 34% of children depending on the method of measurement and outcome. The differences in the sample structure between the studies impeded the comparison of prevalence rates. However, the findings help to determine the need for specific support services and health care planning. The results emphazise the importance to routinely include issues on the parental role of patients and questions on the well-being and coping of children into psychooncological care. If necessary, support should be provided to families living with a cancer diagnosis.
Based on an integration of socioecological systems and intergroup contact theory, we hypothesized that the context in which intergroup contact takes place moderates its association with attitudes toward refugees. To test this prediction, majority members in Germany reported in three studies (Ntotal = 695) how often they have had positive and negative direct and indirect contact with refugees in different contexts and their attitudes toward refugees. While the association between direct contact and intergroup attitudes was relatively context-independent, the association between indirect contact and attitudes toward refugees strongly depended on context. Indirect contact was more strongly associated with attitudes toward refugees in contexts with close relationships (family and friends) than in contexts with distanced relationships (newspaper and TV).
UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Parental palliative disease is a family affair, however adolescent's well-being and coping are still rarely considered. The objectives of this paper were a) to identify differences in psychosocial adjustment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adolescents and young adults with parents suffering from palliative cancer or cancers in other disease stages, b) to relate psychosocial adjustment and health-related quality of life to adolescent coping, and c) to explore significant mediator and predictor variables. METHODS Cross-sectional data were derived from a multi-site research study of families before child-centered counselling. N=86 adolescents and young adults were included, their mean age 13.78 years (sd 2.45), 56% being female. Performed analyses included ANCOVA, multiple linear regression, and mediation analysis. RESULTS Adolescents with parents suffering from palliative cancers reported significantly less total psychosocial problems, and better overall HRQoL. There were no significant group differences regarding coping frequency and efficacy. Our set of coping items significantly mediated the effect of parental disease stage on psychosocial problems and HRQoL. Further, parental disease status and general family functioning predicted psychosocial problems (R2adj =.390) and HRQoL (R2adj =.239) best. CONCLUSION The study indicates distress among adolescents throughout the entire parental disease process. Our analysis suggests that counselling services could offer supportive interventions which focus particularly on adolescent coping as well as family functioning.
There is still so much ahead of us - Family functioning in families of palliative cancer patients
(2013)
Adopting a systems approach, parental cancer has its impact on patients, spouses, and dependent children. The purpose of the current study was to examine family functioning dependent on parental disease stage and on family member perspective in families of cancer patients with adolescent children. The cross-sectional study was conducted within a German multisite research project of families before their first child-centered counseling encounter. The sample comprised individuals nested within N = 169 families. Analyses performed included analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and intraclass correlation. Open answers were analyzed following quantitative content analysis procedures. Between 15% and 36% of family members reported dysfunctional general functioning scores. Parents indicated more dysfunctional scores on the Family Assessment Device scale Roles, and adolescents more dysfunctional Communication scores. Regarding assessment of family functioning, there was higher agreement in families with parents in a palliative situation. For adolescents with parents in palliation, incidents because of the disease tend to become more dominant, and spending time with the family tends to become even more important. As our study pointed out, parental cancer, and especially parental palliative disease, is associated with both perceived critical and positive aspects in family functioning. Supporting families in these concerns as well as encouraging perceptions of positive aspects are important components of psycho-oncological interventions for families with dependent children.
Minor Children of Palliative Patients: A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Family Interventions
(2012)
OBJECTIVE Parental physical disease is a family issue, but families' minor children are seldom considered. The current study analyzed experiences with implementation of counseling for families with physically ill parents and minor children during a European multisite pilot project. METHOD Implementation protocols of seven European partner centers collaborating in a joint research project were analyzed by Mayring's qualitative content analysis. Both an inductive approach and a deductive approach were chosen. Satisfaction of families and therapists was considered based on information from three partner centers. RESULTS Satisfaction with counseling was rather high. Mentioned problems referred to aspects related to liaison partners, family-related aspects and physicians' concerns. Recommendations related to contacting families, liaising with other professions, implementing counseling together with a research project, and training. Results are integrated in the current dissemination literature. CONCLUSION Successful implementation was mostly determined by aspects of interdisciplinary cooperation and communication, perceived relative advantage and organizational premises. With regard to this kind of innovative child-centered family mental health services, top-down and bottom-up implementation strategies should be combined, and strategies of maintenance and sustainability should be considered from the very beginning.
Male juveniles in segregated poor neighbourhoods are at increased risk of violence. The code of the street approach is commonly used to understand the context informing street violence in such marginalized spaces, but the concept is mainly used in Western countries, especially in African American communities in the US. This study investigates whether the code of the street is also applicable to the largest Roma neighbourhood in Europe, located in Bulgaria, through guided interviews with male juveniles. The results show that some elements of the code work are applicable in this space, but clear differences also emerge. These findings affect the generalizability of the approach and the understanding of street violence.
„The Codes of the Street in Risky Neighborhoods: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Youth Violence“
(2019)
OBJECTIVE To compare the emotional and behavioral problems of children of patients suffering from cancer or a mental disorder and their association with parental quality of life. METHODS A total of 223 children from 136 families and their 160 parents were investigated from multiple perspectives in a cross-sectional study. The consistency of different adjustment reports between family members was examined. Through mixed models, the differences between parental HRQoL and the children's symptomatology were studied with regard to the type of parental illness. The prediction of children's adjustment through parental HRQoL was further examined. Additionally, gender and age of the children were considered. RESULTS Half of the children exhibited psychosocial problems. Gender and age differences were independent of the type of parental disease. In families with parental cancer, the reports of children's adjustment were more consistent between family members than in families where a parental mental disorder was present. We found differences in HRQoL between families with mentally ill parents and those with parental cancer patients. Specifically, the healthy partners of mentally ill parents showed worse HRQoL compared with healthy partners of cancer patients. Healthy parents' reduced HRQoL was associated with worse adjustment in their children, regardless of the type of parental illness, but this result was not found for ill parents. CONCLUSION Family members confronted with parental cancer or mental disorders are more burdened compared with those from the normal population, independently of the type of disease. Our results indicate that the type of a parental disease has no direct effect on children's adjustment. However, there are disease-specific effects on parental HRQoL, which are associated with children's adjustment.
OBJECTIVE Parental cancer increases the risk of psychosocial problems in adolescents. We investigated the frequency and efficacy of adolescents' coping strategies and relationships between those strategies and mental health status. Age and gender differences regarding coping and mental health were also investigated. METHODS In total, 214 adolescents from 167 families participated in a cross-sectional, multicenter study. All participants were recruited from standard oncological care. Among the participants, 52% utilized a child-centered intervention program. Adolescents' coping skills were measured using KIDCOPE. Mental health status was rated by adolescents and parents by the SDQ for symptomatology and the KIDSCREEN for well-being. RESULTS We found that 29% of the adolescents showed emotional and behavioral problems. We found gender differences in mental health status but not in coping. Adolescents used a broad spectrum of coping strategies. Active problem-solving, distraction, acceptance, wishful thinking and seeking social support were the most frequently used coping strategies. The utilization of certain coping skills was mediated by their perceived efficacy. Problem-focused or approach-oriented coping strategies generally are associated with better mental health, while avoidance-oriented coping are associated with worse mental health. Emotion-focused coping was associated with both lower and higher mental health. CONCLUSION The strategies used by adolescents to cope with parental cancer are associated with their mental health. Problem-solving and approach-oriented coping strategies should be facilitated by psychological interventions regardless of age and gender. Age and gender differences in adolescents' mental health should be further investigated because these differences are not explained by differences in coping strategies.