Perfect Bedfellows: Why Early Intervention Can Play a Critical Role in Protecting Children—A Response to Featherstone et al. (2014) ‘A Marriage Made in Hell: Child Protection Meets Early Intervention’

Axford, Nick; Berry, Vashti

doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcx003

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…This allows referral to intervention programs to prepare the parents for the postpartum phase, to protect them from negative outcomes and to promote their resilience. Promisingly, supportive and preventive intervention concepts have been established [see ( 20 , 55 – 58 )]. First efforts were made to train and qualify health and social professionals to recognize at-risk families and provide early practical assistance for them [e.g., ( 56 )].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment Among Postpartum Women—Prevalence of Psychosocial Risk Factors for Child Welfare: An Independent Replication Study

et al. 2022

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IntroductionAs an especially burdensome experience, childhood maltreatment (CM) can have lifelong consequences on the mental health and wellbeing of an individual well into adulthood. We have previously reported that CM constitutes a central risk factor not only for the development of mental problems, but also for facing additional psychosocial risks, endangering healthy development of mother and offspring throughout life (e.g., financial problems, intimate partner violence, substance use). This study was designed to replicate these findings in a larger, independent study cohort.MethodIn this cross-sectional replication study an independent cohort of 533 healthy postpartum women was interviewed within seven days after parturition. CM experiences were assessed retrospectively using the German version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and current psychosocial risk factors for child welfare were assessed using the Konstanzer Index (KINDEX).ResultsOf all women, 16.1% experienced emotional and 10.1% physical abuse, 28.5% emotional neglect, 9.4% physical neglect and 10.3% experienced sexual abuse. Most importantly, the higher the CM load the more psychosocial stressors existed in women's life. In Particular, women with higher CM load had a higher risk for mental health problems, intimate partner violence, financial problems, and a higher postnatal stress load.ConclusionsIn an independent sample, this study replicated the previous findings that CM and psychosocial risk factors for child welfare were strongly associated in a dose-response manner. Our results emphasize the higher vulnerability of women with a CM history in the postpartum period. To avoid negative consequences for mother and child, a regular and evidence-based screening for CM and psychosocial risk factors during pregnancy and puerperium is needed to identify at-risk mothers early during pregnancy and to provide appropriate support. Hence, our findings highlight the mandatory requirement for an interdisciplinary collaboration of gynecological practices, hospitals and midwifes, along with psychologists and psychotherapists and child and youth welfare services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment Among Postpartum Women—Prevalence of Psychosocial Risk Factors for Child Welfare: An Independent Replication Study

et al. 2022

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“…It has been argued that child and family social work in England operates as a ‘hybrid’ system, combining family support services and child protection, and as such, is placed somewhere between the child protection focus of the US, and the family support service orientation of the Nordic countries, such as Norway and Finland (Gilbert et al., 2011). The balance between family services and child protection in England and Wales is variable and highly contested (see Axford and Berry, 2018; Featherstone et al., 2014). Social workers have become the target of ‘blame, hostility and anger’ (Ruch et al., 2014: 318) following high-profile child death enquiries.…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Storytelling among child welfare social workers: Constructing professional role and resilience through team talk

Cook¹

2019

Qualitative Social Work

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Child welfare social work is emotive and demanding work, requiring highly skilled and resilient practitioners. In a context of austerity, increased public scrutiny and accountability, defensive practice has been identified as a feature of professional practice. However, little is known about the processes through which social workers develop resilience or come to adopt a defensive stance in managing the demands of their work. This article focuses on professional storytelling among child welfare social workers. It examines how social workers construct their professional role through team talk and the implications of this for our understanding of professional resilience and defensiveness. Drawing on an in-depth narrative analysis of focus groups with social work teams, eight story types are identified in social workers’ talk about their work: emotional container stories, solidarity stories, professional epiphanies, professional affirmation stories, partnership stories, parables of persistence, tales of courageous practice and cautionary tales. Each story type foregrounds a particular aspect of child welfare practice, containing a moral about social work with vulnerable children and families. The article concludes with the implications of these stories for our understanding of both resilience and the pull towards defensiveness in child welfare social work.

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“…There are different types of debate, of course, and all have their place: those that are essentially technical, focused on method and the interpretation of results (such as the one in this edition, or the one between Dennis Gorman on the one hand, and Gilbert Botvin, Kenneth Griffin, David Hawkins and Rico Catalano on the other, about trials of substance abuse prevention programmes: Gorman, 2005a, b; Botvin and Griffin, 2005; Hawkins and Catalano, 2005); those that are more philosophical, concerned with epistemological and ontological approaches (notably the spat between Stephen Webb and Brian Sheldon on evidence-based practice in social work: Webb, 2001; Sheldon, 2001); and those that are fundamentally about ideology (evident, in part, in recent critiques of early intervention as a neoliberal enterprise, including the exchange between Brid Featherstone and colleagues and Vashti Berry and yours truly: Featherstone et al , 2014; Axford and Berry, 2017).…”

Section: In Praise Of Academic Dust-upsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In praise of academic dust-ups

Axford

2017

JCS

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

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Perfect Bedfellows: Why Early Intervention Can Play a Critical Role in Protecting Children—A Response to Featherstone et al. (2014) ‘A Marriage Made in Hell: Child Protection Meets Early Intervention’

Cited by 8 publications

References 43 publications

Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment Among Postpartum Women—Prevalence of Psychosocial Risk Factors for Child Welfare: An Independent Replication Study

Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment Among Postpartum Women—Prevalence of Psychosocial Risk Factors for Child Welfare: An Independent Replication Study

Storytelling among child welfare social workers: Constructing professional role and resilience through team talk

In praise of academic dust-ups

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