Search

This paper outlines research findings on the relevance of the Secure Base model (Schofield & Beek, 2014) for developing supportive teams in child and family social work. When the social work team functions as a secure base, this can help workers cope with the emotional demands of the role. The concept of the secure base comes from attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) in which our relationships with significant others, who are available, sensitive to our needs and reliable, provide us with a secure base to return to when life is stressful and provide us with comforting internal mental models when we are physically away from them. This ‘secure base for exploration’ reduces anxiety and enables us to engage with the world, consider the internal world of others (empathy) and remain resilient when life is stressful. Using data from 52 phone interviews with child and family social workers across eight local authorities in the UK, we show how the Secure Base model has relevance for emotion regulation and resilience for child and family social workers. Data were analysed using Theoretical Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). In the context of the emotional demands of social work, our data indicate that the supervisors and teams provide a work related secure base across five dimensions by behaving in ways which instil these beliefs: Availability - ‘People are there for me’; Sensitivity - ‘My feelings are manageable’; Acceptance - I don't always have to be strong’; Cooperation - ‘I can work with others to find a solution’; Team belonging - ‘I am valued and I belong’. Implications for practice are proposed to help supervisors and team members reflect on beliefs and behaviours which can help provide a secure base for their teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been serious concerns in the UK about the number of young people who are looked after in state care but are also young offenders. The relationship between the care system and offending is complex, since there are shared risk factors, in particular histories of poor parenting, abuse and neglect. This article reports on a mixed methods study. It focuses on findings regarding a sample of 100 young people (age 14–19), using data from file searches, psychological measures and narrative interviews. The sample was made up of three sub-samples — looked after young people who had offended, looked after young people who had not offended and young people who had offended but were not looked after. This paper presents the study's findings in relation to the characteristics and pathways of these groups. It illustrates the range and interaction of individual, family and education and activity risk and resilience factors. In particular, it highlights the role of social cognition deficits in increasing the risk of offending for young people in state care. It also identifies the significance of relationships and constructive activity in promoting resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The influence of trait emotional intelligence (Trait EI) on work–family conflict is important for individual difference effects in regulating emotion in work–family life. Trait EI’s influence on perceptions of work interfering with family (WIF) life, and family life interfering with work (FIW) performance, is of special relevance and was examined in 179 employed fathers. It was hypothesised that Trait EI would negatively predict both WIF and FIW in a model containing known WIF/FIW antecedents. In addition, of the four Trait EI factors (Self-control, Emotionality, Sociability and Well-being), Trait EI Emotionality would predict WIF, Trait EI Self control would predict FIW, and Trait EI Sociability would predict both WIF and FIW, all negatively. Results confirmed the first and third hypotheses: regression analyses revealed that Trait EI was negatively associated with levels of WIF and FIW, as was Trait EI Self-control, indicating that fathers who are able to regulate their emotions experience less work–family conflict. Neither Trait EI factors of Emotionality nor Sociability significantly predicted WIF or FIW. The implications of these findings for work–family balance are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]