Mary Breheny

Politicizing dominant discursive constructions about teenage pregnancy: re-locating the subject as social:

Authors of research examining the issue of teenage pregnancy represent authoritative social voices, in strong positions of warrant that participate in shaping dominant social attitudes towards the subject. Their research projects are used to develop policies, information, service provision and practices that are major forces in shaping the actual experience of being pregnant as a teenager. This article examines local examples of such research and locates interpretation of these alongside other international studies. Prevalent in the research is the taken for granted assumption that pregnancy in adolescence is undesirable, and that research knowledge can, and should be, applied to reduce rates of teenage pregnancy. Despite clear indications of social issues being a major source of negative impacts of being pregnant in adolescence, the dominant theme is of teenage pregnancy as an individual health or behavioural problem in need of a psychological solution. This article would like to draw attention to and make visible the contingent, political and potentially problematic nature of those constructions. The suggestion is made that future work could benefit from genuine attention to: 1) social issues, especially in relation to resources and access; 2) work that explores meanings around pregnancy for young people, and 3) the application of politically engaged reflexivity in research.

Individual responsibility and social constraint: The construction of adolescent motherhood in social scientific research

Research has an important role in the production of knowledge and in shaping dominant social attitudes towards adolescent motherhood. Although adolescent motherhood has been framed as a social problem in social scientific research, recent researchers have attempted to go beyond the focus on disadvantage to suggest that outcomes for adolescent mothers depend upon individual differences and contextual factors related to successful mothering. Social structures have also been considered, and adolescent motherhood has been investigated from the perspective of the mothers themselves. Each of these approaches to researching adolescent motherhood provides a subject position for adolescent mothers with associated potential for both positive and negative impact on their social lives. These implications and the alternatives to individualizing success and discounting social constraint require consideration. Useful strategies could include valuing motherhood regardless of the social and economic position of the mother, and addressing structures which contribute to the exclusion of adolescent mothers from education and economic participation.

‘I sort of pay back in my own little way’: managing independence and social connectedness through reciprocity

ABSTRACT There is increasing emphasis in the media, public and policy discourses about the implications of the ageing population on promoting independence and self-reliance in old age, which is linked to the importance of social connection and the dangers of social exclusion. This paper examines how the potentially contradictory moral imperatives of independence and connectedness are managed by older people through reciprocity. Thirty-six interviews were conducted with people aged 55–70 years in New Zealand, and the data have been analysed discursively. Older people drew upon social conventions of independence as well as describing firm ties to family and community. One way in which the contradictions between the discourses of independence and connectedness were managed was through the notion of reciprocity. This allowed the participants to describe their lives as linked to others through acts that benefited both parties, constructing both a sense of connection and a rejection of the position of dependency on others. Using this linguistic resource has both possibilities and limitations for older peoples attempts to manage a moral identity as they age. Although many approaches can be used to construct an equal relationship between people, a commitment to reciprocity in social exchanges may restrict older people from accepting help if they do not see the interactions as contributions to others.

Youth or disadvantage? The construction of teenage mothers in medical journals

Teenage motherhood is routinely discussed in medical and nursing journals as a cause for concern and a social problem. Taking these accounts as a starting point, this paper uses discursive analysis to understand how the teenage mother is produced as an unsuitable mother. Beginning with a ‘Public Health’ discourse, early motherhood is understood as a disease requiring surveillance and a public health response. Using an ‘Economic’ discourse, teenage mothers are positioned as a financial drain on society and early motherhood as a cost to the mothers themselves. An ‘Ethnicity’ discourse classifies young mothers into ethnic groups and explains differential fertility rates through the resistance of appropriate reproductive technology among minority group members. These understandings are reflected in a ‘Eugenics’ discourse, which engages metaphors of parenting as a biological priority and highlights the unsuitability of young mothers as parents. An examination of these discourses shows that concern about teenage motherhood is as much about the wrong sort of young women becoming mothers, as mothering too soon.

Healthy ageing from the perspective of older people: A capability approach to resilience

A policy focus on healthy ageing has been critiqued for homogenising, oppressing and neglecting the physical realities of older age. Current healthy ageing discourse places responsibility on individuals for achieving good physical health and ignores their broader circumstances. Sen’s capability approach provides a basis for including the physical changes of ageing and the social environment by focusing on what older people themselves value in regards to healthy ageing. Accounts of desired living standards in 145 interviews with people aged 63–93 years in New Zealand were subjected to a thematic analysis which revealed six commonly valued ‘functionings’: physical comfort, social integration, contribution, security, autonomy and enjoyment. The capability to achieve the valued functionings was of high importance regardless of physical health status while this capability was often limited by social and material circumstances. The importance of an environment supportive of valued functionings provides a framework for understanding health for older adults, whatever their present physical abilities. We suggest that health psychology is in a good position to reflect critically on the impact of discourses promoting healthy ageing in the lives of older adults, and consider broader models that include understandings of resilience and capability.

Involvement without interference: How grandparents negotiate intergenerational expectations in relationships with grandchildren

Abstract Grandparents play a key role in many families. Examining talk about grandparenting provides a way to understand expectations structured by family roles and wider societal expectations. In this study, 29 grandparents talked about their experiences of grandparenting in New Zealand Participants described the joys and wonder of grandparenting, however, boundaries must be continually negotiated or conflict can occur. Participants described governing their behaviour according to the need to balance connection with their grandchildren and the rights of their adult children to raise children in accordance with their own values. Grandparents constructed relationships with grandchildren as demonstrations of involvement without crossing boundaries into interference. To achieve this, the contemporary grandparent–grandchild relationship was described as based on caring and companionship. Tensions between involvement and interference provide a framework through which grandparents monitor and balance an appropriate level of interaction with grandchildren and may constrain their ability to intervene in family difficulties.

Menopause and the virtuous woman: the importance of the moral order in accounting for medical decision making

Whether or not to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT) around the time of menopause is seen as an important decision for many mid-aged women. Recent studies of information provided to women to assist them in making a medical decision about the use of HRT have highlighted the importance of understanding the broader social context of the decision. In this article we examine one important aspect of western mid-aged womens social world: the moral order and the imperative of virtue. Qualitative data from a survey, focus group discussions, and interviews with mid-aged women about HRT use are used to provide examples of the importance of the local moral order in womens talk about menopause and HRT use. The implications of these data will be discussed in terms of the different narrative resources available to construct menopause and HRT, the role of morality, and the demonstration of virtue in daily social life, including medical decision making.

Intergenerational inequity arguments and the implications for state-funded financial support of older people

ABSTRACT As population demographics shift towards an older population structure in the Western world, concerns about the future costs of pensions are apparent in politics, media and everyday conversations. In New Zealand, the universal state-funded pension paid to all citizens over the age of 65 years is often considered to be unsustainable in the context of population ageing. To examine the arguments surrounding universal superannuation, rhetorical analysis was undertaken on two New Zealand newspaper articles that discussed the future cost of pensions, and the 233 public responses these articles generated. The cost of superannuation was used to emphasise the different characteristics of each generational cohort and the ways that this produced inequity across generations. Claims of intergenerational inequity generated antagonism and widened divisions between generational groups. Foregrounding generational inequity in the discussion of superannuation has profound implications for state-funded income support for older people which relies upon widespread public support. Intergenerational inequity ignores the significant inequity in health and social circumstances in retirement among older New Zealanders and overlooks the significant impact of universal superannuation on protecting older New Zealanders from poverty in later life.

Measuring living standards of older people using Sen's Capability Approach: development and validation of the LSCAPE-24 (Living Standards Capabilities for Elders) and LSCAPE-6

ABSTRACT The impact of disparities in socio-economic status on the health of older people is an important issue for policy makers in the context of population ageing. As older people live in different types of economic circumstances and because, as people age, their desires and needs are different to those of younger generations, measures of living standards need to be appropriate for older people. This paper reports on the validation of a measure of living standards for older people based on Sens Capability Approach. Using this approach, living standards are conceptualised as varying from constraint to freedom rather than from hardship to comfort. Using the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing omnibus survey of 3,923 adults aged 50–87 years, the validity of the measure was assessed. The results indicate that this measure assesses what older people are able to achieve. In addition, this measure discriminates better at the higher end of the living standards spectrum than an existing measure that assesses living standards from hardship to comfort in terms of what people possess. From this, a short form of the measure has been developed which offers a conceptually based and valid measure useful for survey research with older people. This measure of living standards provides future avenues for improved understandings of socio-economic position in later life.

Online Research with Informal Caregivers: Opportunities and Challenges

In this article we discuss the opportunities and challenges of using the Internet as part of an emergent methodology in qualitative research. Utilising a deliberative process of democratic enquiry, an online forum was used to identify important capabilities for the health of informal caregivers for older people in New Zealand. Recognising the difficulties associated with recruiting and interviewing informal caregivers, the study was advertised and conducted via the Internet. Over four months, 60 informal caregivers, from varied backgrounds, contributed to an online forum created specifically for the research. The asynchronous, anonymous format facilitated participants’ personal accounts of caregiving, which highlighted the tensions and complexity of caregivers’ lives. This resulted in a key finding that emotions, particularly attachment, play a significant role in the day-to-day experience of informal eldercare provision. Overall, we found that Internet-mediated research offers an innovative option for qualitative data collection, which has potential for including hard-to-reach populations and enabling insightful, contextual data collection.