Soma Sen

Expectations of Filial Obligation and Their Impact on Preferences for Future Living Arrangements of Middle-Aged and Older Asian Indian Immigrants

Filial obligation, described as culturally-defined rights and duties that prescribe how family members are expected to care for and provide support to each other, is an important variable that influences older immigrants’ preferences for living and care arrangements. This exploratory study examined variables associated with expectations of filial obligation among middle-aged and older, Asian Indian, first generation immigrants and explored the relationship between variations in expectations of filial obligation and expressed preferences for future living arrangements. Data were collected through telephone surveys of 226 English-speaking immigrants in Atlanta, GA. Although no significant relationships were observed between filial obligation expectations and length of residence in the U.S., respondents indicated a variety of preferred future living arrangements. Contrary to current living arrangement patterns found among older immigrants, very few respondents preferred to move in with their children. The most popular preference was to “move closer to children,” followed by “moving to a retirement community” with the majority preferring a retirement community geared to Asian Indians. Other preferences included “not moving” and “returning to India.” Variations in expectations of filial obligation, length of residence in the U.S., and self-rated health were significantly associated with these preferences. Implications are discussed for building capacity within ethnic communities to address living arrangement preferences and their repercussions for caregiving in ethnic families and in communities.

Critical Theory: Pathway From Dichotomous to Integrated Social Work Practice

Social work is rich in ideologies and traditions. One of our defining characteristics has been that we struggle with dichotomies. The focus of this article relates to our practice dichotomy: the struggle between service to the individual and change of the environment. This article uses critical theory as an ideological foundation to bridge the dichotomous approach between micro and macro social work practice. Applying critical theory to social work practice fits well with the professional values of enhancement of peoples well-being, promotion of social justice, and empowerment of oppressed populations, while blending micro and macro practice. The article concludes with guidelines for critical social work practice.

Does Social Capital Act as a Buffer Against HIV Risk Among Migrant Men in Sub-Saharan Africa?

The 2007 World Bank data on HIV/AIDS for sub-Saharan Africa indicates that 22.5 million adults and children over 15 are living with HIV, including 1.7 million new infections. AIDS killed approximately 2.3 million people in the same year, making this region by far the worst affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This paper proposes a macro-level model for understanding the spread of disease within the context of migration. We use social capital theory to generate a framework for exploring how migration might serve as a conduit for the disease transmission. Specifically, we investigated male migrants in the Republic of Angola and argued that a migrant laborers movement away from his village diminishes his social capital in terms of social support, norms, and networks while stresses from migration could prove to be conducive to the spread of the HIV virus. We use univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses to explore the relationship between migration and HIV risk while considering social capital as the intervening factor. Social capital is conceptualized as a combination of social engagement, social support, and person-to-person contact. To this end, this study analyzes secondary data collected on a sample of migrants in Angola. Two hypotheses are tested: Migrants have lower social capital than nonmigrants and lower levels of social capital are related to higher risky behaviors. Results indicate that migrants have a lower level of social capital and migrants with lower social capital tended to have higher risky behavior.

Integrating a transcultural perspective into the social work curriculum: a descriptive and exploratory study

This paper describes a transcultural perspective, employed by one social work program, as an integrative framework for addressing diversity throughout the curriculum. The transcultural perspective incorporates five interrelated but distinct dimensions: (1) culture (recognizing the importance of culture at all levels of practice); (2) understanding dynamics of power, privilege, and oppression; (3) positionality and self-reflexivity; (4) respectful partnership; and (5) cultural competence (translating principles into culturally responsive practice). Also presented are findings from a study assessing student understanding after delivery of educational modules introducing the transcultural perspective.

The Culture of Methamphetamine: Reframing Gay Men's Methamphetamine Use

Most often, methamphetamine researchers examine the biological and psychological outcomes of chronic methamphetamine use and problems leading toward relapse. Consequently, the current intervention models tend to sidestep the salience of socio-cultural environments that influence methamphetamine use. In line with the person-in-environment framework of social work, we submit that understanding these facets can illuminate the dynamic processes that initiate and support methamphetamine use and the subsequent risky sexual behaviors among gay and bisexual men. To that end, this article is a review and synthesis of existing literature on methamphetamine use in the men who have sex with men community. We also provide some recommendations for practitioners.

Migration, Poverty, and Risk of HIV Infection: An Application of Social Capital Theory

A majority of current HIV/AIDS interventions are designed primarily after individual-based public health models and pay little attention to the socioeconomic environment in which HIV transmission occurs. This article focuses on outlining how migration acts as a conduit for disease transmission in South Africa and then proposes a macro-level prevention model based on social capital theory, thus then supplementing current prevention literature. It is based on the argument that social disruption and stresses from migration lead to sexual interactions during the migration periods that amplify the risk of HIV transmission among migrants.

Exploring the Transferability of Competency-Based Education Model to Social Work Education in Vietnam

Abstract The Socialist Republic of Vietnam (hereafter Vietnam) has made extraordinary strides in terms of economic progress during the past two decades. Such rapid economic change has also created many social problems such as poverty, family abuse, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and mental health problems. Vietnam has taken steps to develop workforce capacity to ameliorate such challenges by investing in social work educational programs, including participation in an international collaborative initiative, the Social Work Education Enhancement Program (SWEEP). This article describes the procedures and process of the initial stage of the development of a competency-based social work curriculum in Vietnam through SWEEP. More specifically, this paper presents the following collaborative strategies between partners in Vietnam and the SWEEP team in the United States: conducting a needs assessment; providing trainings on competency-based education (CBE) to the partners in Vietnam; and receiving feedback from the partners to grasp the challenges at the early stage of development of CBE in Vietnam. While this article focuses on Vietnam, the SWEEP project can be a reference from which to develop social work education in other countries in regard to global collaboration for development of social work curriculum based on the CBE model.

Social Construct of Sex Work in India: Implications for HIV Prevention

In India, while female sex workers (FSWs) are one of the groups most susceptible to HIV/AIDS transmission, research and interventions typically sidestep FSWs’ stories. The authors use interviews with 20 FSWs to reflect a more recent trend of research that encourages FSWs to tell their stories. Based on the findings that suggest both individual and structural factors influencing womens involvement in sex work, the authors suggest a theoretical framework for designing more comprehensive and culturally grounded intervention strategies targeting this population.