Ira Malmberg-Heimonen

Social inequality and health: the role of social capital

The aim of the article is to examine whether and to what degree the unequal distribution of social capital in the population explains the relationship between socioeconomic position and health in Norway. Theoretical insight and empirical evidence seem to suggest that social capital mediates the effect of socioeconomic position on health outcomes. However, only a few studies have addressed this question and those that have done so have used few and simple indicators of social capital. This study is based on a nationwide cross-sectional survey (N = 3190) commissioned by Statistics Norway. The survey was designed to cover a comprehensive set of variables measuring different aspects of the theoretical construct of social capital. Two health outcomes, self-perceived health and longstanding illness, were analysed. The results showed that the mediating role of social capital between socioeconomic position and health was negligible for both health outcomes. After controlling for socio-demographic variables and socioeconomic position, only neighbourhood satisfaction and generalised trust showed a significant association with self-perceived health, whereas none of the social capital variables had any significant association with longstanding illness. Some theoretical and methodological implications of the results are discussed.

Effective Group Training Techniques in Job-Search Training

The aim was to examine the effects of group training techniques in job-search training on later reemployment and mental health. The participants were 278 unemployed workers in Finland in 71 job-search training groups. Five group-level dimensions of training were identified. The results of hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated that preparation for setbacks at the group level significantly predicted decreased psychological distress and decreased symptoms of depression at the half-year follow-up. Trainer skills at the group level significantly predicted decreased symptoms of depression and reemployment to stable jobs. Interaction analyses showed that preparation for setbacks at the group level predicted fewer symptoms of psychological distress and depression, and shared perceptions of skilled trainers at the group level predicted fewer symptoms of depression among those who had been at risk for depression.

Out of Unemployment? A Comparative Analysis of the Risks and Opportunities Longer-Term Unemployed Immigrant Youth Face when Entering the Labour Market.

Because of high unemployment rates among youth in Europe, comparative research has focused on identification of those risks and opportunities associated with the integration process from unemployment to work. The integration process of immigrant youth, however, received much less attention, despite their initially higher risk of unemployment than that for non-immigrant youth. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the exit from longer-term unemployment, with a focus on the integration into work of young immigrants in Finland, Sweden, France and Germany, countries that represent different welfare models and have different integration policies towards immigrants. The research is based on a European survey on youth unemployment with representative samples of longer-term unemployed young people in each of the studied countries. The results demonstrate that longer-term immigrant youth, compared with their non-immigrant counterparts, are less likely to find employment in Finland, face greater risks of mental health problems in Sweden and face increased risks of financial deprivation in France. In agreement with previous literature, these findings demonstrate that, with regard to expectations, the social democratic welfare states in particular have failed to promote the integration of longer-term unemployed young immigrants.

Activation or discouragement—the effect of enforced participation on the success of job-search training Aktivointi vai lannistaminen—Työnhakuryhmään velvoittamisen vaikutukset This article has been published in the doctoral dissertation: Malmberg-Heimonen, I. (2005) Public welfare policies and private responses: Studies of European labour market policies in transition, Finnish Institute of occupational Health, People and Work, Research Reports 68.

In recent years, there has been a shift in labour market policies towards enforcing unemployed workers’ participation in labour market programmes by means of financial sanctions. Requirements of activation and financial sanctions have changed the nature of social work and generated a conflict between client needs and policy requirements. The aim of this study is to investigate whether and how enforced participation modifies the impact of job-search training on re-employment and mental health. A total of 627 unemployed persons participated in this six-month follow-up study with a control group. In particular, those unemployed workers who were not able to meet the goal of the enforced initiatives by gaining employment are at risk of adverse mental health effects or even of discouragement on the labour market. The results of the follow-up study show that enforced participation did not increase re-employment; however it impaired the positive mental health impacts of the programme. Further analyses demonstrate that enforced participation in job-search training decreased re-employment among the longer-term unemployed workers. It is important that social workers acknowledge the risks that are involved with the enforcement for the more vulnerable groups of unemployed workers.

Social Workers’ Training Evaluated by a Cluster-Randomized Study Reemployment for Welfare Recipients?

Objective: Using a cluster-randomized design, this study evaluates whether a skill training program for social workers increases reemployment among welfare recipients. The program focuses on systematizing follow-up work within the areas of encounters with users, system-oriented efforts, and administrative work. Methods: Data consist of baseline and 18-month follow-up questionnaires for welfare recipients (N = 617) in the 18 participating labor and welfare offices randomized into experimental and control groups. Full-time employment, part-time employment, and participation in active labor market programs were assessed. Results: After adjusting for the clustered structure of data, the findings demonstrate that social workers’ skill training increased reemployment among welfare recipients. Although neutral effects on full-time employment, there was a highly significant effect on part-time employment (p = .000). In contrast, recipients from the control group were significantly more often in activation programs at the follow-up (p = .004). Conclusions: Close and comprehensive follow-ups to support reemployment among welfare recipients should be emphasized.

The social capital and mental health of long-term social assistance recipients in Norway

Previous findings have generally demonstrated the positive mental health benefits of social capital. However, the mental health benefits of social capital for social assistance recipients have not been fully demonstrated. This study analyses the mental health benefits of individual-level bonding and individual-level bridging social capital for 551 Norwegian longer-term social assistance recipients. The findings demonstrate that bonding social capital, i.e. contacts with friends and access to social resources, are positively associated with mental health. Of the variables in the study that relate to bridging social capital, social trust and trust towards the social worker particularly show significant associations for mental health. Consequently, it is important that the mental health benefits of various forms of bonding and bridging social capital are acknowledged within social work practices and that social work practitioners actively aim to increase social trust in longer-term social assistance recipients.

A study of coordinator positionings in family group conferences

Although the coordinator is essential in mobilizing and remobilizing the social network of individual participants during the family group conference (FGC) process, we lack knowledge on the coordinators’ meaning and their interaction with various FGC actors. The data in this study come from nine interviews with FGC coordinators conducted as part of a randomized controlled study in which FGCs were implemented in two Norwegian municipalities: Oslo and Bergen. Positioning theory is used as an analytical tool for interpreting the findings. The results indicate that it is a challenge for coordinators to maintain the ideal of the ‘neutral’ coordinator while building trusting relationships with participants. Coordinators’ strategies for managing these challenges are interpreted as discursive positionings that enable communication, trust and participation, potentially securing FGC as an empowering process for the participant. The results indicate that coordinators are crucial actors in carrying out the FGC process.

Equal opportunities, true options or hidden unemployment? A comparative perspective on labour‐market marginality

Previous studies have shown that women generally adjust to unemployment better than men. This study shows that young women value work equally as highly as men, and have negative feelings when unemployed, which indicates the existence of a closed gender gap. However, children have a different influence on men’s and women’s unemployment experiences. Being a parent increases job-search activity and work involvement among men. On the other hand, children moderate negative experiences of unemployment among women, and they decrease their job-search activity and work involvement. Being a parent increases labour-market marginality among young unemployed women. For young men it is a motivational factor for searching for and getting a job. The comparison shows furthermore that patterns of re-employment vary in the involved countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Scotland. They reflect differences in the overall unemployment situation in the countries and the welfare strategies applied.

Understanding the longer-term effects of family group conferences

Few studies estimate the longer-term effects of family group conferences (FGCs), as previous research has been mainly qualitative or has focused only on the shorter-term effects of FGCs. This study analyses, using a randomised controlled design, the longer-term effects of adult FGCs in terms of social support, mental health and re-employment. A total of 149 Norwegian longer-term social assistance recipients were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Participants were followed up 12 months after baseline. To gain in-depth knowledge of the FGC process, 15 participants were interviewed. Despite high shares of participant satisfaction and significant shorter-term effects, the one-year follow-up identified neutral effects of the intervention. Qualitative interviews demonstrated that lack of reciprocity in social relationships and lack of follow-up were the main reasons for the stagnation of an initially positive FGC process.

Long-Term Effects of Research-Based and Practice-Based Job Search Interventions: An RCT Reevaluation

Objective: This study reevaluates the effects of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of job search interventions on labor force participation. In the trial, various methods of job search interventions were included, of which about half were research-based JOBS (Job Opportunity and Basic Skills) interventions and the other half were practice-based, that is, without a theoretical or empirical base. This study compares effects of the research-based and practice-based interventions. Methods: The trial included data from 1998 to 2000 of 1,013 unemployed people in Finland with 3-year follow-up data from official labor market records. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze the intervention effects on labor market outcomes. Results: The results demonstrated that beneficial long-term effects were produced only in interventions based on the research-based JOBS method for participants at risk of baseline depression. In contrast, the practice-based interventions seemed to have adverse effects on employment. Conclusions: These findings indicate the importance of research-based interventions within active labor market policies.