Women with a gambling problem bear a negative social stigma. Based on the theory of symbolic inte... more Women with a gambling problem bear a negative social stigma. Based on the theory of symbolic interactionism, this study examined the construction of social identities by 17 Israeli women diagnosed with a gambling disorder. Interpretive interactionist analysis revealed how they construct their identity through correspondence with patterns of behavior that are perceived as normative, and identified 3 major themes: "I'm not actually a gambler" (the presentation of a multidimensional identity comprising other identities besides that of a gambler); "Staying normative during gambling"; and "I have changed" (reformed gamblers' presentation of themselves as having changed for the better). The findings underscore the complex dialogue behind the identity construction put forward by women with a gambling problem, their yearning to be perceived by society as normative women and to fit in despite their stigmatized behavior, and the tension they feel in socie...
The aim of this qualitative research was to understand how runaway girls perceive the processes i... more The aim of this qualitative research was to understand how runaway girls perceive the processes involved in leaving home and the meaning they attribute to it. Method: Findings are based on in-depth interviews with 10 Israeli girls aged 13-17 with a history of running away from home. Results: The meaning of running away as it emerged from the girls' descriptions of their lives prior to leaving home was that of survival-both psychological and physical. The girls' stories centered on their evolving experiences of alienation, loneliness and detachment, and the failure of significant relationships at home and outside of home to provide them with the support they needed. These experiences laid the ground for the "final moments" before leaving, when a feeling of "no alternative," a hope for a better future, and various particular triggers led the girls to the decision to leave home. Conclusion: Participants' insights about the dynamics leading to running-away center on the meaning of family relationships, particularly those with the mother, as constituting the girl's psychological home. The girls seemed to perceive running away as an inevitability, rather than a choice, and even portrayed the running away as "living suicide." Yet, their stories clearly demonstrate their ability to cope and the possession of strengths and skills that enabled them to survive in extremely difficult home situations. Practice implications: The findings of this research highlight the importance of improving services for reaching out and supporting girls who are on the verge of running away from home. Such services should be tailored to the needs of girls who experience extreme but often silenced distress at home, and should facilitate alternative solutions to the girls' plight other than running away. An understanding of the dynamics leading to running away from the girls' perspective has the potential to improve the efficacy of services provided by contributing to the creation of a caring, empowering, understanding and trustful professional relationship.
Health & Social Care in The Community, Feb 25, 2020
Commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults (hereafter CSEY) are at high risk for vari... more Commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults (hereafter CSEY) are at high risk for various health adversities, but little is known about interventions that can improve their health outcomes. This study reports changes in health behaviourspositive health behaviours, drug use and risky sexual behaviour-in the first stages of treatment of 122 participants in a comprehensive multi-module program for CSEY in Israel. Data included sociodemographic and background information upon program entry, monthly reports on the treatment the participants received and their status. Data were collected monthly through online questionnaires completed by case managers for each of the CSEY in their care. A three-part analytic strategy assessed changes in repeated measures over time and their contributors. Latent class analysis helped identify differential trajectories of change over time among different participant groups. Findings showed overall significant decrease in risky sexual behaviours and improvement in positive health behaviours among certain CSEY groups. Participants with higher levels of health-risk situations and behaviour at program entry (e.g. more victimisation, less residential safety) were more likely to show improvement in health behaviours during intervention, but less likely to change their moderately risky sexual behaviours. Program participants with high levels of drug use did not show improvement in drug use patterns over time. This study demonstrates that a comprehensive multi-module intervention for CSEY can significantly improve health behaviour outcomes among serviced CSEY, and highlights the value of person-oriented care, and of research that can detect vulnerable subpopulations within CSEY who require uniquely tailored interventions. Personalising treatment to specific differential needs of CSEY, coupled with early detection and intervention, can improve program outcomes. Further research is needed to understand contributors to change and changes in subsequent health outcomes.
This paper explores the common but complex challenge facing many social workers of using structur... more This paper explores the common but complex challenge facing many social workers of using structured group intervention models while maintaining sensitivity and responsiveness to the group process. It puts forward guidelines for the development of both structured and responsive group intervention, based on our extensive experience in developing and implementing two such models focusing on the fathering of violent men and the mothering by abused women. First, we suggest incorporating into the development process of such group intervention a reliance on a continuous dialogue with members of the target population, group members and facilitators, while maintaining an evolving and flexible design. Second, we propose three desirable attributes of a model for structured and responsive group intervention: preceding action with understanding; modularity; and offering a choice of options. Finally, we present and demonstrate principles for the facilitation of such groups.
Only a few studies have measured attitudes toward men who pay for sex (MWPS), and those that did ... more Only a few studies have measured attitudes toward men who pay for sex (MWPS), and those that did so usually based their assessment on a limited number of items. This study sets out to devise a measure of attitudes toward MWPS that is founded on a solid theoretical framework and features satisfactory psychometric properties. Based on a conceptualization of the available literature, a tentative model for examining attitudes toward MWPS (the attitudes toward men who pay for sex scale, ARMPS) was constructed, designed to measure the factors that express a perception of (1) paying for sex as a legitimate behavior and (2) paying for sex as a deviant behavior. The participants were 687 Israeli men. The analysis included inter-item correlations, exploratory factor analysis, comparison of two wording versions, the assessment of construct validity, and the assessment of criterion validity and reliability. The findings confirmed the ATMPS scale reliability and construct validity and suggest the benefits of further application in other cultural and linguistic contexts.
This study deals with how substance-dependent men perceive their paternal identity. Data were bas... more This study deals with how substance-dependent men perceive their paternal identity. Data were based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 Israeli fathers who were enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment. Content analysis revealed that participants had undergone a process of parental identity formation composed of four distinct stages: absence, awakening, taking responsibility, and resolution to reform oneself as a father. The discussion highlights the developmental nature of this process. Also discussed are the effects of three factors on the formation of paternal identity: the treatment for addiction, the subjects' newfound identity as ''clean addicts,'' and social perceptions and discourses about fatherhood and addiction.
The study presented in this research note aims to expand our understanding of the experience of f... more The study presented in this research note aims to expand our understanding of the experience of fathering for men who are violent toward their partners. The naturalistic qualitative methodology applied was shaped by phenomenological, feminist, and interpretative interactionist influences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 abusive men identified through domestic violence intervention centers. The findings describe the drama of fathering for abusive men, centered on an inner dialogue between an experienced constriction and a yearning for a closer, deeper connection with their children. The discussion focuses on the meaning of fathering for abusive men, and possible applications for intervention are proposed.
Children exposed to domestic violence Violent mothers The battered women's movement Overlap of do... more Children exposed to domestic violence Violent mothers The battered women's movement Overlap of domestic violence and child abuse This article critically reviews current knowledge on abused women who abuse their children. First, the stage is set by examining the history of handling this sensitive issue by the battered women's movement and child welfare services, pointing at its marginalization by both scholars and practitioners. Then the empirical research on this phenomenon is presented, following by a discussion of why this scholarship is so limited. The article concludes by outlining a proposal for an alternative feminist scholarship on this topic.
The article reports the results of an exploratory study on the impact of shelter work on shelter ... more The article reports the results of an exploratory study on the impact of shelter work on shelter staff. Specifically, the study examined the relationships between workers' personal variables, aspects of workers' position and workers' emotional burnout. The findings suggest that shelter workers in Israel experience low levels of emotional burnout, high levels of work-related emotional disturbance after work hours and high levels of social support. Age, education, position percentage and years in current job were found to relate to various dimensions of emotional burnout.
Public policy encourages women, including survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), to develo... more Public policy encourages women, including survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), to develop economic independence. However, a critical review of the literature in this field reveals that IPV survivors face unique obstacles in doing so: active and violent intervention by the perpetrator; damage to the survivor's health due to prolonged subjection to violence; and structural obstacles. A background of gendered violence, low socioeconomic status, and belonging to a marginalized ethnic or racial group, may further intersect with the direct and indirect influences of that violence, resulting in even greater obstacles to the development of economic independence. The article concludes with a discussion of how existing intervention programs for developing economic independence among survivors of IPV meet those obstacles, and a framework for intervention in this domain.
Ellen Bogolub’s article provides an example of ‘bringing about good’ for research participants, b... more Ellen Bogolub’s article provides an example of ‘bringing about good’ for research participants, by identifying and reporting possible service gaps affect-ing them. This brief commentary centers on three questions surroundingparadigmatic, methodological and ethical concerns raised by this case example:What is ‘good’in social work research?; Who are the participants in social workresearch to whom good should be brought?; How can good social work researchavoid negative consequences and guarantee merit for research participants?
This study examined how staff members in shelters for abused women perceive the women's mothering... more This study examined how staff members in shelters for abused women perceive the women's mothering and the challenges when working with these mothers. Data were collected through focus group interviews with 30 workers at Israeli shelters for abused women. Findings revealed that workers typically held a "deficit perspective" when describing the residents' mothering skills. Most seemed committed to the notion of empowerment as a guiding framework for intervention with the women and made an effort to facilitate the women's choices and autonomy in spite of the obstacles. The study examined workers' perceptions from personal, professional, and sociocultural perspectives.
American Psychological Association eBooks, Oct 27, 2004
ABSTRACT This chapter provides an analysis of the ethics of research on children’s exposure to do... more ABSTRACT This chapter provides an analysis of the ethics of research on children’s exposure to domestic violence. To do justice to this complex issue, the proposed analysis is grounded in knowledge developed on the ethical dimensions of research with children and on domestic violence, child abuse, and sensitive issues. Furthermore, the analysis considers ethical dimensions of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Finally, the analysis attends to the standards and procedures for ensuring an ethically proper research design and implementation. My goal is to advance a fair and caring treatment of participants in studies on children’s exposure to domestic violence. Although many of the views I propose on ethical practice in this research domain are critical, my point of view is constructive. I believe that for too long we as researchers have been deeply influenced by a scientific paradigm that regards research participants as means to an end, essential raw material for the operation of the highly esteemed scientific machine with which we can achieve an understanding and control of our world. Following many critical and constructivist writers (e.g., Apter, 1996; Lather, 1991; Lincoln, 1995; Massat & Lundy, 1997; Reason, 1994), I suggest that we are ready now to try to integrate our expertise in developing valid and reliable knowledge with a perception and treatment of “our subjects” as partners to the scientific undertaking in which we are involved. My use of the term 111 partnership in this context does not indicate shared responsibility of researchers and participants for research processes and outcomes but rather calls attention to the relational aspect of the social inquiry, as examined further below.
This naturalistic qualitative study examines the concept of ''home'' for runaway girls. Through t... more This naturalistic qualitative study examines the concept of ''home'' for runaway girls. Through the ''home story'' of girls who run away from home, the authors hoped to understand the many facets of home, as well as broaden the existing knowledge-base about the phenomenon of adolescent runaway girls. Data consisted of in-depth interviews with 15 girls aged 13 to 21. The findings attest to the complex perception of home by participants as both existing and not existing. In essence, the meanings of home for them were related to its absence. The discussion centers on the psychological understanding of the meaning of home as a mental construct that is a part of the personality and on the shaping of the meaning of home by social norms and structures.
Women with a gambling problem bear a negative social stigma. Based on the theory of symbolic inte... more Women with a gambling problem bear a negative social stigma. Based on the theory of symbolic interactionism, this study examined the construction of social identities by 17 Israeli women diagnosed with a gambling disorder. Interpretive interactionist analysis revealed how they construct their identity through correspondence with patterns of behavior that are perceived as normative, and identified 3 major themes: "I'm not actually a gambler" (the presentation of a multidimensional identity comprising other identities besides that of a gambler); "Staying normative during gambling"; and "I have changed" (reformed gamblers' presentation of themselves as having changed for the better). The findings underscore the complex dialogue behind the identity construction put forward by women with a gambling problem, their yearning to be perceived by society as normative women and to fit in despite their stigmatized behavior, and the tension they feel in socie...
The aim of this qualitative research was to understand how runaway girls perceive the processes i... more The aim of this qualitative research was to understand how runaway girls perceive the processes involved in leaving home and the meaning they attribute to it. Method: Findings are based on in-depth interviews with 10 Israeli girls aged 13-17 with a history of running away from home. Results: The meaning of running away as it emerged from the girls' descriptions of their lives prior to leaving home was that of survival-both psychological and physical. The girls' stories centered on their evolving experiences of alienation, loneliness and detachment, and the failure of significant relationships at home and outside of home to provide them with the support they needed. These experiences laid the ground for the "final moments" before leaving, when a feeling of "no alternative," a hope for a better future, and various particular triggers led the girls to the decision to leave home. Conclusion: Participants' insights about the dynamics leading to running-away center on the meaning of family relationships, particularly those with the mother, as constituting the girl's psychological home. The girls seemed to perceive running away as an inevitability, rather than a choice, and even portrayed the running away as "living suicide." Yet, their stories clearly demonstrate their ability to cope and the possession of strengths and skills that enabled them to survive in extremely difficult home situations. Practice implications: The findings of this research highlight the importance of improving services for reaching out and supporting girls who are on the verge of running away from home. Such services should be tailored to the needs of girls who experience extreme but often silenced distress at home, and should facilitate alternative solutions to the girls' plight other than running away. An understanding of the dynamics leading to running away from the girls' perspective has the potential to improve the efficacy of services provided by contributing to the creation of a caring, empowering, understanding and trustful professional relationship.
Health & Social Care in The Community, Feb 25, 2020
Commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults (hereafter CSEY) are at high risk for vari... more Commercially sexually exploited youth and young adults (hereafter CSEY) are at high risk for various health adversities, but little is known about interventions that can improve their health outcomes. This study reports changes in health behaviourspositive health behaviours, drug use and risky sexual behaviour-in the first stages of treatment of 122 participants in a comprehensive multi-module program for CSEY in Israel. Data included sociodemographic and background information upon program entry, monthly reports on the treatment the participants received and their status. Data were collected monthly through online questionnaires completed by case managers for each of the CSEY in their care. A three-part analytic strategy assessed changes in repeated measures over time and their contributors. Latent class analysis helped identify differential trajectories of change over time among different participant groups. Findings showed overall significant decrease in risky sexual behaviours and improvement in positive health behaviours among certain CSEY groups. Participants with higher levels of health-risk situations and behaviour at program entry (e.g. more victimisation, less residential safety) were more likely to show improvement in health behaviours during intervention, but less likely to change their moderately risky sexual behaviours. Program participants with high levels of drug use did not show improvement in drug use patterns over time. This study demonstrates that a comprehensive multi-module intervention for CSEY can significantly improve health behaviour outcomes among serviced CSEY, and highlights the value of person-oriented care, and of research that can detect vulnerable subpopulations within CSEY who require uniquely tailored interventions. Personalising treatment to specific differential needs of CSEY, coupled with early detection and intervention, can improve program outcomes. Further research is needed to understand contributors to change and changes in subsequent health outcomes.
This paper explores the common but complex challenge facing many social workers of using structur... more This paper explores the common but complex challenge facing many social workers of using structured group intervention models while maintaining sensitivity and responsiveness to the group process. It puts forward guidelines for the development of both structured and responsive group intervention, based on our extensive experience in developing and implementing two such models focusing on the fathering of violent men and the mothering by abused women. First, we suggest incorporating into the development process of such group intervention a reliance on a continuous dialogue with members of the target population, group members and facilitators, while maintaining an evolving and flexible design. Second, we propose three desirable attributes of a model for structured and responsive group intervention: preceding action with understanding; modularity; and offering a choice of options. Finally, we present and demonstrate principles for the facilitation of such groups.
Only a few studies have measured attitudes toward men who pay for sex (MWPS), and those that did ... more Only a few studies have measured attitudes toward men who pay for sex (MWPS), and those that did so usually based their assessment on a limited number of items. This study sets out to devise a measure of attitudes toward MWPS that is founded on a solid theoretical framework and features satisfactory psychometric properties. Based on a conceptualization of the available literature, a tentative model for examining attitudes toward MWPS (the attitudes toward men who pay for sex scale, ARMPS) was constructed, designed to measure the factors that express a perception of (1) paying for sex as a legitimate behavior and (2) paying for sex as a deviant behavior. The participants were 687 Israeli men. The analysis included inter-item correlations, exploratory factor analysis, comparison of two wording versions, the assessment of construct validity, and the assessment of criterion validity and reliability. The findings confirmed the ATMPS scale reliability and construct validity and suggest the benefits of further application in other cultural and linguistic contexts.
This study deals with how substance-dependent men perceive their paternal identity. Data were bas... more This study deals with how substance-dependent men perceive their paternal identity. Data were based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 Israeli fathers who were enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment. Content analysis revealed that participants had undergone a process of parental identity formation composed of four distinct stages: absence, awakening, taking responsibility, and resolution to reform oneself as a father. The discussion highlights the developmental nature of this process. Also discussed are the effects of three factors on the formation of paternal identity: the treatment for addiction, the subjects' newfound identity as ''clean addicts,'' and social perceptions and discourses about fatherhood and addiction.
The study presented in this research note aims to expand our understanding of the experience of f... more The study presented in this research note aims to expand our understanding of the experience of fathering for men who are violent toward their partners. The naturalistic qualitative methodology applied was shaped by phenomenological, feminist, and interpretative interactionist influences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 abusive men identified through domestic violence intervention centers. The findings describe the drama of fathering for abusive men, centered on an inner dialogue between an experienced constriction and a yearning for a closer, deeper connection with their children. The discussion focuses on the meaning of fathering for abusive men, and possible applications for intervention are proposed.
Children exposed to domestic violence Violent mothers The battered women's movement Overlap of do... more Children exposed to domestic violence Violent mothers The battered women's movement Overlap of domestic violence and child abuse This article critically reviews current knowledge on abused women who abuse their children. First, the stage is set by examining the history of handling this sensitive issue by the battered women's movement and child welfare services, pointing at its marginalization by both scholars and practitioners. Then the empirical research on this phenomenon is presented, following by a discussion of why this scholarship is so limited. The article concludes by outlining a proposal for an alternative feminist scholarship on this topic.
The article reports the results of an exploratory study on the impact of shelter work on shelter ... more The article reports the results of an exploratory study on the impact of shelter work on shelter staff. Specifically, the study examined the relationships between workers' personal variables, aspects of workers' position and workers' emotional burnout. The findings suggest that shelter workers in Israel experience low levels of emotional burnout, high levels of work-related emotional disturbance after work hours and high levels of social support. Age, education, position percentage and years in current job were found to relate to various dimensions of emotional burnout.
Public policy encourages women, including survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), to develo... more Public policy encourages women, including survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), to develop economic independence. However, a critical review of the literature in this field reveals that IPV survivors face unique obstacles in doing so: active and violent intervention by the perpetrator; damage to the survivor's health due to prolonged subjection to violence; and structural obstacles. A background of gendered violence, low socioeconomic status, and belonging to a marginalized ethnic or racial group, may further intersect with the direct and indirect influences of that violence, resulting in even greater obstacles to the development of economic independence. The article concludes with a discussion of how existing intervention programs for developing economic independence among survivors of IPV meet those obstacles, and a framework for intervention in this domain.
Ellen Bogolub’s article provides an example of ‘bringing about good’ for research participants, b... more Ellen Bogolub’s article provides an example of ‘bringing about good’ for research participants, by identifying and reporting possible service gaps affect-ing them. This brief commentary centers on three questions surroundingparadigmatic, methodological and ethical concerns raised by this case example:What is ‘good’in social work research?; Who are the participants in social workresearch to whom good should be brought?; How can good social work researchavoid negative consequences and guarantee merit for research participants?
This study examined how staff members in shelters for abused women perceive the women's mothering... more This study examined how staff members in shelters for abused women perceive the women's mothering and the challenges when working with these mothers. Data were collected through focus group interviews with 30 workers at Israeli shelters for abused women. Findings revealed that workers typically held a "deficit perspective" when describing the residents' mothering skills. Most seemed committed to the notion of empowerment as a guiding framework for intervention with the women and made an effort to facilitate the women's choices and autonomy in spite of the obstacles. The study examined workers' perceptions from personal, professional, and sociocultural perspectives.
American Psychological Association eBooks, Oct 27, 2004
ABSTRACT This chapter provides an analysis of the ethics of research on children’s exposure to do... more ABSTRACT This chapter provides an analysis of the ethics of research on children’s exposure to domestic violence. To do justice to this complex issue, the proposed analysis is grounded in knowledge developed on the ethical dimensions of research with children and on domestic violence, child abuse, and sensitive issues. Furthermore, the analysis considers ethical dimensions of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Finally, the analysis attends to the standards and procedures for ensuring an ethically proper research design and implementation. My goal is to advance a fair and caring treatment of participants in studies on children’s exposure to domestic violence. Although many of the views I propose on ethical practice in this research domain are critical, my point of view is constructive. I believe that for too long we as researchers have been deeply influenced by a scientific paradigm that regards research participants as means to an end, essential raw material for the operation of the highly esteemed scientific machine with which we can achieve an understanding and control of our world. Following many critical and constructivist writers (e.g., Apter, 1996; Lather, 1991; Lincoln, 1995; Massat & Lundy, 1997; Reason, 1994), I suggest that we are ready now to try to integrate our expertise in developing valid and reliable knowledge with a perception and treatment of “our subjects” as partners to the scientific undertaking in which we are involved. My use of the term 111 partnership in this context does not indicate shared responsibility of researchers and participants for research processes and outcomes but rather calls attention to the relational aspect of the social inquiry, as examined further below.
This naturalistic qualitative study examines the concept of ''home'' for runaway girls. Through t... more This naturalistic qualitative study examines the concept of ''home'' for runaway girls. Through the ''home story'' of girls who run away from home, the authors hoped to understand the many facets of home, as well as broaden the existing knowledge-base about the phenomenon of adolescent runaway girls. Data consisted of in-depth interviews with 15 girls aged 13 to 21. The findings attest to the complex perception of home by participants as both existing and not existing. In essence, the meanings of home for them were related to its absence. The discussion centers on the psychological understanding of the meaning of home as a mental construct that is a part of the personality and on the shaping of the meaning of home by social norms and structures.
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Papers by Einat Peled