Issues of Elder Care among Migrant Workers in Contemporary Rural China: Filial Piety Redefined from a Foucauldian Perspective.

This article reports on research that explored rural migrant workers' experiences of returning to their hometown to provide care for elderly parents diagnosed with cancer. The authors used a culturally integrated approach to Foucauldian discourse analysis to consider how 24 participants narrated their experiences of care in China. The discourse of care demonstrated a strong commitment to filial piety despite their unique care challenges, and this commitment was bolstered by discourses that emphasized how much parents had sacrificed, as well as by a persistent forgetting of experiences or background details that suggested any lack of parental sacrifice in recent Chinese history. Policy implications related to enhancing filial care are discussed.

Chinese Migrant Workers' Care Experiences: A Model of the Mediating Roles of Filial Piety.

Filial piety is a highly relevant cultural mechanism that mediates the impacts of caregiving experiences on Chinese adult children, worldwide but perhaps especially in rural China. We undertook qualitative research with 24 migrant workers who were caring for an elderly parent diagnosed with terminal cancer. Research aims included building a comprehensive explanatory theoretical model for filial piety's mediating role in caregivers' lived experiences. We undertook a culturally sensitive Foucauldian discourse analysis of data, which showed that filial piety can not only function as a positive resource but also (mainly) translate to a requirement for secrecy, including about an ill parent's prognosis and the need for support for caregivers. The findings challenge the extent of this secrecy and the burdens it places on caregivers. Policy makers should take account of the importance of filial piety and its mediating role both as a resource and hindrance to providing support to caregivers.

The risk of low risk: First time motherhood, prematurity and dyadic well-being.

Premature birth has a well-documented impact on infants, mothers and their dyadic interactions. First time motherhood in the context of low risk premature birth-relatively unexplored in the literature-is a specific experience that sits at the nexus of premature infancy, motherhood and the processes that underpin dyadic connection. This qualitative study analyzed semistructured interviews with first time mothers of low risk premature babies. Findings were generated in response to research questions concerning mothers' meaning-making, bonding and identity. Findings demonstrated that maternal meaning-making emerged from a dyadic framework. When mothers or their infants were considered outside of a dyadic context, surplus suffering inadvertently occurred. Findings have important implications for infant mental health practice in medical settings, for postnatal support in the aftermath of premature birth, and for understanding the meaning of risk.

El nacimiento prematuro tiene un impacto bien documentado en los infantes, madres y sus interacciones diádicas. La maternidad primeriza dentro del contexto de nacimiento prematuro de bajo riesgo -relativamente no explorado en la literatura- es una experiencia específica que se asienta en la coyuntura entre infancia prematura, maternidad y los procesos que respaldan la conexión diádica. Este estudio cualitativo analizó entrevistas semiestructuradas con madres primerizas de bebés prematuros de bajo riesgo. Los resultados fueron generados como respuesta a las preguntas de la investigación relativas a los procesos de dar sentido, establecer conexión de afectividad, así como de identidad de las madres. Los resultados demostraron que el proceso materno de dar sentido surgió de un marco diádico. Cuando las madres o sus infantes fueron considerados fuera de un contexto diádico, ocurrió por inadvertencia un sufrimiento en exceso. Los resultados tienen implicaciones importantes para la práctica de salud mental infantil en escenarios médicos, para el apoyo en el período que sigue al nacimiento prematuro, así como para la comprensión del significado de riesgo.

La naissance prématurée a un impact bien documenté sur les nourrissons, les mères et leurs interactions dyadiques. Le fait d'être mère pour la première fois dans le contexte d'une naissance prématurée à faible risque - relativement peu exploré dans les recherches - est une expérience spécifique qui se situe au coeur de la petite enfance prématurée, de la maternité et des processus qui soutiennent la connexion dyadique. Cette analyse qualitative a analysé des entretiens semi-structurés avec des mères étant mères pour la première fois et ayant eu des bébés prématurés à faible risque. Les résultats ont été générés en réponse à des questions de recherches concernant la quête de signification des mères, leur lien et leur identité. Les résultats démontrent que la quête de signification maternelle émergeait d'une structure dyadique. Lorsque les mères ou leurs bébés étaient considérés au dehors de ce contexte dyadique une souffrance excédentaire s'est produite par inadvertance. Les résultats ont des implications importantes pour la pratique de santé mentale du nourrisson dans des contextes médicaux, à la fois pour le soutien postnatal après une naissance prématurée et pour la compréhension de la signification du risque.

Domestic Property Violence: A Distinct and Damaging Form of Parent Abuse.

This article reports on the qualitative phase of mixed method research conducted in a medium-size city in New Zealand, which examined 14 parents' experiences of child- and youth-perpetrated domestic property violence (DPV). The research used semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis, enabling parents' perceptions of the causes and impacts of this form of family violence to be explored in depth. Three superordinate themes were identified in the analysis: damage done, the various impacts of DPV; staying safe and sane; and making sense of DPV, parents' perspectives. An ecological meaning-making theory emerged from the data and provided an overarching interpretative framework for considering the themes both separately and together. The findings showed that DPV is a distinct form of parent abuse and one that can have serious impacts of a financial, emotional, and relational nature. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed along with ideas for further research into this problem.

Insight development in schizophrenia: the construction of dangerousness in relapse.

Mental health professionals believe that lack of insight is a major problem in schizophrenia because it significantly interferes with adherence to medical treatment. Yet few researchers have attempted to ask people with schizophrenia for their views on how insight develops and impacts on their quality of life. We explored these questions in interviews and focus groups with 19 Canadian people who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and identified as having good insight, and with New Zealand and Canadian treatment providers. We found that participants developed insight in three stages, which we labeled the period of chaos, the dynamic period, and the period of wisdom. Crises led participants to realize that their safety and their relationships with loved ones would continue to be dangerously imperiled unless they made sustained efforts to maintain wellness. We propose the Theory of Dangerousness to explain how participants developed and maintained their motivation to remain well.

Resilience as an underexplored outcome of workplace bullying.

The problem of workplace bullying appears to be especially common in the hospitality industry and in health, education, and social services. Bullying results in negative effects on the psychological and physical health and well-being of targets, bystanders, and those accused of bullying. I undertook a qualitative research project to investigate the experiences of 17 New Zealand social workers who identified themselves as having been targets of workplace bullying. All participants had experienced negative physical and psychological health impacts. I also found, however, that in the aftermath of their difficult experiences, most considered that they had eventually developed greater resilience. Resilience was enhanced when participants' sense of control over their situation improved and when they received support from witnesses and managers. I make recommendations to indicate how these resilience-promoting conditions can be achieved in the organizational setting.