Estimates of intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy vary by population being studied, measures, and other methodological limitations, hindering the ability to gauge the relationship between IPV and negative birth outcomes. The authors report aggregated data from a subsample (n = 148) of the first three waves of the Women's Employment Study. The authors compared groups of women who did and did not give birth to low birth weight infants on demographic, material deprivation, risk behavior, mental health, and IPV factors. The prevalence of domestic violence was more than twice as high for women with low birth weight infants as those women who had a normal weight infant. When considering additional risk factors, including food insufficiency, substance dependence, and depression and/or posttraumatic stress disorder, IPV remained a significant indicator, but it was most strongly associated with low birth weight among women also experiencing depression and/or posttraumatic stress disorder.
Research continues to demonstrate that female social workers earn less than their male counterparts and experience significant barriers to professional advancement. Yet, little has been written about factors promoting women's progress within the structural barriers that disadvantage women social workers. The combination of ethic of care, risk and resilience, and ecological theories informs the conceptual model outlined in this article. This model provides a roadmap for understanding national and organizational impediments to the success of women social workers and offers strategies for empowering women in the profession in the United States. Social work practitioners and administrators must engage in frank discussions about sexism, nurture leadership skills, and advocate for the elimination of gender discrimination and for the promotion of equal opportunity in social service organizations.
Over the last few decades, the notion of sustainability has become an interdisciplinary buzz word. Sustainability has been an integrative concept that includes three constructs or pillars: a) social; b) economic; and c) ecological. Until recently, theoretical approaches based on the three pillars approach have operated in silos rather than exploring the interconnectedness of the constructs. Few models have moved beyond the idea that logical relations exist among the constructs (social, economic, and ecological) to consider factors external to communities, nor have they examined the internal socio-economic factors that influence positive outcomes. While this conceptualization has raised awareness about the distribution of scarce resources, it has not been useful in creating resilient and sustainable development. The model proposed in this paper is theoretically driven and considers the multifaceted concepts of ecological perspectives and risk and resilience. In addition, unlike previous conceptual representations, the model suggested in this paper offers opportunities for intervention to decrease risk, promote community cohesion, and encourage social change through empirical investigation.
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