International Journal of Social Welfare最新文献

Persistent disparities in smoking prevalence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians have been widely attributed to systemic discrimination and the enduring impacts of colonisation. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the extent to which these structural and social determinants contribute to the observed gap. This study investigates the drivers of smoking prevalence disparities using nationally representative longitudinal data from Australia (2002–2022). Employing regression analysis and a modified two-fold decomposition approach, we quantify the contributions of various explanatory factors. Our analysis identifies financial distress and alcohol consumption as primary contributors to the explained component of the disparity, with age and educational attainment also playing significant roles. These findings reflect broader socioeconomic inequalities that disproportionately affect Indigenous communities. Notably, a substantial portion of the disparity remains unexplained, suggesting the influence of unobserved factors such as systemic discrimination, cultural norms, colonisation, peer effects, and intergenerational trauma. Despite targeted tobacco control efforts, smoking rates remain markedly higher among Indigenous Australians, particularly in remote regions. Our study underscores the need for comprehensive, culturally responsive strategies to address both structural determinants and unobserved influences to reduce smoking prevalence disparities and achieve health and wellbeing equity for Indigenous Australians.

Against the backdrop of China's comprehensive relaxation of fertility policies, the anxiety experienced by Chinese women during fertility decision-making is widely discussed. To outline the current state of research on Chinese women's fertility anxiety, we systematically reviewed and analyzed 50 relevant studies published between 2015 and 2024, focusing on the conceptualization of fertility anxiety, assessment methods, influencing factors, and theoretical frameworks. The findings indicated that fertility anxiety is a multidimensional psychological state encompassing cognitive anxiety (emerging from rational evaluation of potential consequences of fertility decisions) and emotional anxiety (shaped by sociocultural norms, gender role expectations, and available social support). Recently, research on fertility anxiety has begun to integrate both cognitive and emotional dimensions, which is crucial for designing effective intervention strategies and policy response mechanisms. However, unified and standardized multidimensional measurement tools are still lacking. Studies have often combined quantitative and qualitative methods to indirectly depict the characteristics of fertility anxiety. Regarding influencing factors, research has demonstrated the interconnections between individual attributes, family background, the sociocultural environment, and policy systems, which jointly shape women's fertility anxiety. Various theoretical frameworks have been employed to explain the complex these factors, highlighting the multifaceted and multilayered nature of fertility anxiety. Future research should further advance indigenous theory development and cross-cultural comparison, deepen the tracking of dynamic mechanisms of fertility anxiety, and develop context-sensitive and ecologically valid assessment tools to reveal the interactions among individual, social, and cultural factors, thereby providing a theoretical basis for optimizing policy design and constructing multi-level support systems.

Sustainability issues have been extensively investigated in corporate social responsibility research; however, limited research has been conducted on sustainability issues in military organizations. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study investigated the relationships of ethical leadership with the job satisfaction and life satisfaction of military personnel as well as the mediating role of perceived military social responsibility (PMSR) in these relationships. A total of 581 valid questionnaires were collected from Taiwanese military personnel in three stages. Overall, the collected questionnaire data suggest that PMSR mediates the relationships of ethical leadership with job satisfaction and life satisfaction. The results of this study can be used as a reference by military organizations in the development of suitable policies for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

This article investigates social vulnerability, legal challenges, and migratory experiences of unaccompanied foreign minors entering Europe via Melilla, a Spanish city in northern Africa. A mixed-methods approach integrates statistical analysis and qualitative research, including natural language processing on 1274 records and 1200 in-depth interviews. The theoretical framework combines social vulnerability theory, the child-rights perspective, and migration decision-making models to clarify how structural (institutional and cultural) and individual (motivations and social networks) factors influence school attendance frequency and continuity, as well as integration in a border environment. Quantitative findings emphasize the key roles of socioeconomic status and educational modality (public vs. Quranic), revealing no significance for nationality. Qualitative evidence underscores linguistic barriers and discrimination, highlighting the necessity of enhanced psychosocial and cultural support. Given these results, the study calls for urgent reforms to child protection policies and border-control strategies, aligning measures with the principle of the child's best interests.

This article examines the use of split shifts—workdays divided into two periods with a long, unpaid break—in Swedish eldercare. Despite their widespread use, the structural factors driving this scheduling practice remain unclear. Using a case study approach and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the study explores these factors across municipalities. Insights were drawn from interviews with HR managers, previous research, and power resource theory (PRT), which were used to identify and test relevant conditions. Empirically, the study highlights key drivers behind the use of split shifts; theoretically, it demonstrates how PRT can explain variations in working conditions. The findings reveal two distinct pathways: one involving a high proportion of elderly residents, economic hardship, and absence of a left-wing majority; the other replacing political orientation with high unemployment. These patterns support both the interview data and theoretical framework, showing how structural conditions shape staffing practices in eldercare.

This paper sheds light on the trajectories of working-age beneficiaries of means-tested minimum income schemes (MIS) regarding employment, activation, and benefit receipt. For this purpose, we address two main questions: What types of trajectories can be identified in the MIS in terms of spell length, access to employment, and labor activation? What factors influence belonging to a certain trajectory? Drawing on monthly administrative longitudinal data, we analyzed MIS benefit trajectories between 2016 and 2020 in Spain using sequence and cluster analysis. The results indicate a significant polarization between long-term trajectories characterized by a substantial presence in labor activation measures and those recipients with a short spell in the program and considerable access to employment. An intermediate path is constituted by medium-duration trajectories, with average access to employment and activation. This leads to important recommendations for program reforms aimed at adopting differentiated measures according to the type of social problems behind each trajectory.

Chinese female workers have a de jure right to maternity benefits, enshrined in law and policy since the 1950s. Using the concept of institutional drift, this article examines why entitlements are not awarded as legally stipulated. It finds that the transition from a command to a market economy undermined the effectiveness of maternity benefit entitlements. Although maternity insurance was introduced in 1994 to alleviate drift, employer non-compliance and lax enforcement resulted in non-take-up of benefits. The non-contributory design of the insurance makes employers both contributors to and distributors of the maternity benefits to which formally employed workers are entitled. Combining historical research, interviews and quantitative data, this article documents the historical evolution of maternity benefits in China, identifies drift as the mechanism underlying uneven insurance coverage and declining benefit levels, and argues that a comprehensive understanding of non-take-up must go beyond the individual worker level to include the role of employers and local governments.

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa and the African diaspora, there is documented oppression of girls and women. While many policies and laws have been created to improve the well-being of this population, many of them are ineffective, oftentimes due to harmful cultural practices enshrined by systems of oppression. This paper conducts a cross-cultural comparative analysis using the framework of intersectionality to explore the unique oppression that girls and women experience in sub-Saharan Africa and the African diaspora. Specific cultural practices and policies will be analyzed using Ghana and the United States. In Ghana, we explore the Trokosi system as a cultural practice which negatively influences the well-being of girls and women. In the United States, we explore the child welfare system, which we argue also negatively influences the well-being of Black girls and Black women. Similarities and differences related to the underlying oppression that both groups experience are explored in detail utilizing both contextual intersectionality and situated intersectionality.

This article examines Iran's welfare regime and pays close attention to the gendered and religious dimensions of Iranian social policies. Despite the formal recognition of social security coverage as a citizenship right, Iran’s welfare system remains uneven in its coverage. About half of Iran's population benefits from state-provided social insurance programs, with others dependent on community support and social assistance. Simultaneously, while there have been notable advancements in educational attainment and reproductive health among women, a significant proportion of women are not attached to the labor market and rely heavily on family and state social assistance rather than on social insurance coverage. Emphasizing the role of religion, this article illuminates the country's social policy landscape and the multifaceted factors underpinning or hindering its welfare formation.