Carol Kauppi

A Structural Model of Educational Aspirations

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a model to predict educational aspirations of Canadian adolescents. Participants were a national sample of 4,034 students from grades 8-13 (2,037 males, 1,973 females). Results of a modified structural model included three sets of influences: a) a background factor comprised of parental occupation and education; b) a family involvement factor consisting of parental personal and school-based involvement with adolescents; and c) a personal factor with school marks, school and course perceptions, extracurricular reading and parental educational expectations as indicator measures. Educational aspirations was the main outcome variable. Results indicated that the personal factor had a strong direct influence on educational aspirations (β = 1.17, p <.001, R2= .76). The effects of the background and family involvement factors on educational aspirations were mediated through the personal factor. Additional analyses performed in order to test the relationships obtained in the model, revealed several significant interactions amongst the three predictor factors and educational aspirations. The findings emphasize the importance of efforts to enhance the educational aspirations of adolescents through targeted change of modifiable environmental and personal factors.

Employment services for persons with serious mental illness in northeastern Ontario: The case for partnerships

OBJECTIVE To better understand why employment success is low, a case study was conducted to examine the influence of place on access to employment for persons with serious mental illness (SMI) residing in two northeastern Ontario communities (Rebeiro, in progress). METHODS Community-based participatory research methods were used to engage persons who experience SMI, decision-makers and providers in the research. Forty-six interviews were conducted, complemented by primary and secondary quantitative data sources. RESULTS While most consumers consider employment to be a key element of their recovery, employment rates for persons with SMI remain limited in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The findings of this case study reveal the importance of collaborative partnerships to fostering better employment outcomes in northeastern Ontario. CONCLUSION The challenges of collaboration due to rural and northern tensions, as well as various jurisdictional and funding tensions existing at the level of community support the case for partnerships in the provision of employment services in northern and rural places.

Postpartum Depression: Deconstructing the Label Through a Social Constructionist Lens

There is an increasingly widespread utilization of the term postpartum depression (PPD) to describe the emotional and mental turbulence that occurs after childbirth in western society. This paper seeks to analyze the emergence of the label PPD through the application of a social constructionist perspective, to compare lay interpretations with professional explanations, and to situate varied interpretations within a broader social, political and economic context. In doing so, the paper seeks answers to the following questions: (i) how did the label PPD emerge? and (ii) how is it changing now? The processes involved in the social construction of PPD pertaining to the social discovery of PPD, diagnosis and experience of illness, and treatment and outcomes are described and analyzed. The findings reveal that the definitions, explanations and ever-changing constructions of PPD extend beyond biomedical criteria and involve historical, social, cultural and structural dimensions. The varied meanings and interpretations of PPD also reveal the embeddedness of race, class, ethnicity, and gender as they intersect with biomedical perspectives in the construction of PPD. PPD is an objective medical condition for some, while for others it is a social problem rooted in socioeconomic disadvantages, gender inequality and cultural ideals regarding motherhood. The label PPD precludes adherence to a particular intervention and requires social work practitioners to demonstrate flexibility and creativity in dealing with clients. Implications for social work practice, particularly a need to recognize how the disorder known as PPD is socially constructed in the western world, are provided to deal with the multiple realities embedded in the label PPD.

Photovoice and Homelessness in Subarctic and Urban Communities

A photovoice approach was used to enable homeless and precariously housed people to speak, through their photographs and narratives, to the community at large about their housing conditions and the effects on their health. Participant photographers in three communities - one of European origin and two First Nations in northern Ontario, Canada - were provided with cameras and invited to take photographs of their living circumstances. Each photograph tells its own story about couch surfing, sleeping rough, overcrowding, and substandard or inadequate housing. The comparison of remote Indigenous and urban communities makes this study unique. Not withstanding their cultural, linguistic and geographic differences, common themes, evident in their photographs and narratives, allowed for a comparison of understandings regarding the negative impacts of housing on their physical and mental health. The findings from this arts-based project are similar to results of medical studies on the effects of poverty and housing on health. An art-based approach using the photovoice method can be a powerful tool to engage the homeless community in sensitising both health professionals working with this population and the larger community to such issues, and it can enhance the possibilities for social transformation based on social justice. The arts become a tool in the struggle for social justice by revealing hidden aspects of life at the margins and the living conditions of poor and homeless people. A photo exhibit will tour galleries in the three communities.

Postnatal Depression: When Reality Does Not Match Expectations

In popular imagery and discourse, the concept of motherhood is a mythical, magical and powerful role; however, the documented reality of many mothers’ lives indicates that early parenthood does not consist solely of positive experiences (Harwood, MacLean & Durkin, 2007; Nicolson, 1999). Nevertheless, the myths of ideal mothering still prevail in contemporary society. ‘Good’ mothers are seen to be fulfilled in their new social role and as selflessly, happily attending to infant tasks.