I need this essay reviewed and edited to make sure it is in proper APA format and for any grammatical errors. Please make sure that if you make changes you highlight where the changes were made that i can see where it was changed. I need this back by 2:00

Christina McCall

University of Nevada Las Vegas

Cheryl Johnston

Social Work 101 1002

11/18/17

INTRODUCTION

This paper is to demonstrate research acumen. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the context and content of this article and how it relates to class readings. It provides a review of the work of Radey, Schelbe, McWey, and Holtrop, (2017), entitled “Me, myself and I: perceptions of social capital for mothers ageing out of the child welfare system. Child & Family Social Work”. Furthermore, the paper analyzes how the article relates to our class readings and captures some of my personal reaction to the article.

ABSTRACT

A qualitative study analyzed the perceptions of social capital of ageing mothers aging out of the child welfare system from the viewpoints of both mothers and service providers. The researchers organized for small group interviews with 14 service providers and 13 ageing out mothers. Data that was gathered was analyzed using thematic analysis. The research revealed that mothers ageing out lacked beneficial social relationships and, consequently, support. A lack of trust in others and the desire to break intergenerational norms and patterns were identified as key reasons, which led ageing out mothers to not utilize resources that service providers often considered available.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Social capital is one of the critical factors in consideration of a person's wellbeing and social life. It is referred to as the available resources within an individual social network. There is not much literature about social capital involving mothers aging out. Even so, there may be positive benefits of social capital for single mothers. Youth ageing out of the child welfare system are more likely than their peers to become parents at an early age and studies have found that young women ageing out become mothers at rates two to three times higher than their non-child welfare peers (Courtney and Dworsky 2006; Shpiegel and Cascardi 2015).

According to Bourdieu (1986), availability of social capital resources within one’s social network is very critical as it influences the individual’s daily parenting and survival. Social capital resources comprise of an array of resources, which influence the societal stratification process at both community and individual levels, and they include access to people, basic needs, community infrastructure, and information (Briggs 1998). Bourdieu (1986) adds that, social relationships among members of society can yield to social capital outcomes, which have the capacity to serve as sources of support in assisting people both to survive and maximize their wellbeing and health.

Further study by House, Umberson, Landis (1988) attests that ageing out mothers who have access to others for support experience better physical, emotional, mental, and financial health. Edin & Lein (1997) also emphasize on the importance of supporting lower-income, young families in ensuring family survival. However, most single mothers have limited or no access to supports including support from their own families. Dominguez and Watkins’s (2003) revealed that family tensions as well as economic strife often inhibited mothers from turning to their kin or family members in times of need. Indeed, ageing out mothers seem to be part of a population who have weaker family ties and who have limited access to informal support (House, Umberson, Landis, 1988). It is these critical benefits of social capital for well-being together with its non-universal availability, especially among vulnerable populations, which form the basis for this study.

Regarding social capital, the amount and quality of relationships is very important. The study in this article applied the social capital framework to consider the processes through which the social capital element of relationships was linked with basic expressive and instrumental outcomes for mothers aging out of care. The limited evidence on social capital among mothers ageing out indicates that they value long-term relationships, and these supportive relationships contribute to lower stress levels (Budd et. Al 2006). A longitudinal study of 49 mothers ageing out showed that those who were satisfied with their social support systems experienced lower stress levels (Budd et. Al 2006). Other qualitative studies on pregnant and parenting mothers ageing out of the system found that support contributes to a positive motherhood experience (Connolly et al 2012, p.625). On the other hand, an analysis of qualitative interviews shows that mothers ageing out report inconsistent, unstable and unreliable relationships (Mantovani & Thomas 2015; Aparicio Inpress).

Even though the literature for support outcome of mothers ageing out is limited a national qualitative study found that 95% of 17-year-old youth ageing out reported that they had at least one adult to go to for guidance (Shpiegal & Cascardi 2015). This is important for both affirmational and instrumental support. However, mothers ageing out of the system must take advantage of offered resources to have instrumental and affirmational support in their social relationships. Though, collective assets (trusts and norms) and structural variations (access to basic necessities) may impede the ability of mothers ageing out to utilize these resources (Lin 1999). Qualitative studies show that youth and parents ageing out often lack appropriate role models or the ability to trust others (Stockman & Budd 1997; Greeson et. Al 2015b).

METHODOLOGY

The data for this study was gathered as part of national parenting intervention study for parents ageing out of the child welfare system in the northern region of Florida county, in the United States. Researchers in collaboration with community agency service providers recruited participants and gathered data from both ageing out mothers and service providers. To recruit potential participants, researchers provided to the service providers details of the study as well as inclusion criteria. Parents who were ageing out were invited and encouraged to invite their friends who met the criteria of the study. Providers at the partnering agency also assisted with the recruitment of service provider.

Only 13 ageing out mothers and 14 service providers were included for this study. Ageing out mothers ranged in age from 19 to 26 (M = 22). About half (42 percent), of the mothers had spent in foster care for more than 5 years. Majority of the mothers were black (n =9) and white (n = 3), and had two (n = 4) or one (n =6) children. Most of the children were in the age range of between 2 months and 11 years. Most service providers were female (79%) and those identified as black were (n = 7), white (n =6), or biracial (n = 1). Majority of service providers had working experience with parents ageing out ranged between less than a year to more than 30 years.

Procedure

Qualitative data was gathered through several semi-structured, smaller group interviews as follows: 3 small group interviews with parents, 3 small group interviews with service providers, and 1 individual interview with a service provider. The size of each smaller group interviews ranged between 3 and 5 participants and each of the ageing out mothers was given $25 for study participation. Service providers were not compensated due to the nature of their employment. Each of the small group interviews was audio recorded, transcribed, and verified.

Data analysis

This study utilized both a systematic process and a constructivist framework for data analysis. Data analysis process began during data collection, as each researcher was required to organize a minimum of one small group interview and go through transcripts in order to gain data familiarity. The first researcher went through and coded each of small interview transcripts using a series of MS Excel spreadsheets, and additional author separately coded each transcript to identify further codes and revise existing codes. Then, the first author retrieved the subset of relevant data from the larger body of data. The first author returned to the data and reviewed the data excerpts and associated codes in order to develop a set of higher-order themes pertaining to the research questions. These themes were identified separately for each participant group of ageing out mothers and service providers. The first and second author then met to review the themes and made adjustments to ensure they represented the data. The revised themes were then availed for discussed with the third author. The final themes were organized in accordance with the social capital framework.

RESULTS

This study centered on the observations of mother and service provider in regards to support and social relationships among ageing out mothers of the child welfare system. The findings emphasized that social capital outcomes, social capital elements, and capitalization were present in the experiences of ageing out mothers. Results revealed that ageing out mothers often lacked social capital, which was associated with needs in all aspects of support, including instrumental and expressive outcomes. Several aspects of capitalization and support were interdependent, such that when examined together, they led to appreciation of the processes through which ageing out mothers mobilize social capital resources into outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Ageing out mothers of the child welfare system can profit immensely from social capital. While most service providers agreed that there were numerous supports and resources available to mothers, there were also concerns that most mothers were not utilizing those assets. Basically, a social capital concept helps to explain how components of social support may or may not be transmuted into outcomes. As seen from the ageing out mothers, even though social capital may be readily available, structural variations and collective assets may hinder mothers from benefiting from those resources. To develop social outcomes, mothers ageing out may benefit from first meeting their basic needs, and subsequently provide opportunities for challenging norms and building trust. In doing so, it may promote the possibility to capitalize on assets aimed at helping ageing out mothers of care and their families.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The study was funded by the Florida Institute for Child Welfare.

How the Article Relates to the Class Readings

This article relates to my class reading in various ways. First, it is a rich source of information regarding the support needed by ageing out mothers to uphold their health and well-being. Secondly, the research provides a good knowledge on how support could be literally available in the society, but not benefiting the target group. Thirdly, the paper outlines how to make support beneficial to the vulnerable group, for instance by providing opportunities for the vulnerable groups to challenge norms and building trust. Finally, the research is endows me with necessary knowledge concerning steps and procedures needed in developing a good research. Indeed, I have learned that marginalized groups, specifically, ageing out mothers, are in desperate need of support, which is non-universally available.

My Personal Reaction to the Article

The narrative of support is very key in determining individual’s health and well-being. As identified in this article, majority of marginalized groups are in need of support to enable them to live healthy life. However, this most sought support is not equally available to everyone as societal norms and values inhibit people from accessing these social capital assets. Actually, I concur with the findings identified in this article, and I aspire in future to engage service providers and other stakeholders to identify societal aspects, which could inhibit target group from benefiting from resources availed to them for their well-being and healthy life.

Reference

Bourdieu, P. (1986) The forms of capital. In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (ed. J.G. Richardson), pp. 241–258). Greenwood, New York.

Briggs, X. (1998) Brown kids in white suburbs: housing mobility and the many faces of social capital. Housing Policy Debate, 9, 177–221.

Courtney, M.E. & Dworsky, A. (2006) Early outcomes for youngadults transitioning from out-of-home care in the USA. Childand Family Social Work, 11,209–219.

Edin, K. & Lein, L. (1997) Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low- wage Work. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, NY.

House, J.S., Umberson, D., & Landis, J.R. (1988) Structures and processes of social support. Annual Review of Sociology, 14, 293–318.

Mantovani, N. & Thomas, H. (2015) Resilience and survival: black teenage mothers “looked after” by the state tell their stories about their experience in care. Children & Society, 29,299–309.

Radey, M., Schelbe, L., McWey, L. M., & Holtrop, K. (2017). Me, myself and I: perceptions of social capital for mothers ageing out of the child welfare system. Child & Family Social Work, 22(2), 981-991.

Shpiegel, S. & Cascardi, M. (2015) Adolescent parents in the first wave of the national youth in transition database. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 9,277–298.