Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Qualitative research methods are advancing from individual analysis levels to dyadic and above to present multiple facets of reality, coinciding well with micro (individual), mezzo (family and groups) and macro (communities and society) levels in social work (SW) practices. Complex units (CU) comprise two groups with several members in each group, with each CU member having a perspective on the studied phenomenon; some perspectives are in congruence, others not. However, methodological approaches to the analysis of CUs are lacking. Based on the naturalistic–constructivist paradigm, this methodological article aims to present a Complex Unit Interviews Analysis (CUIA) approach that can be used in qualitative SW research. It includes a four-phase circular procedure: Phase 1—full analysis (i) familiarisation, (ii) coding, (iii) identifying themes; Phase 2—selective analysis of how a theme plays out in a CU (i) vertical analysis (across interviews within each CU group) and (ii) horizontal analysis (between groups of a CU); Phase 3—refining themes by analysis across CUs; Phase 4—conducting Phase 2 and Phase 3 for each theme identified in Phase 1. CUIA is illustrated using a family study case that presents multiple facets of a phenomenon's reality by combining individual perspectives to form a CU perspective within SW and familial contexts.

Abstract
Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) as a repartnering form represent new late-life beginnings. A large study on LAT relationships constructed in CCRCs identified envy and jealousy, yet they were not examined in-depth. Envy is wanting something we lack, whereas jealousy is fear of losing something that is ours to another. These emotions are rarely explored in the context of older adults' relationships. Using Goffman's framework of (semi)-totalitarian institutions, our aim is to heuristically examine experiences of envy and jealousy from the perspective of residents and staff. In total, thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel with ten LAT residents, ten non-LAT residents and ten CCRC staff members, including social workers. Findings refer to kinds of envy, ignoring envy and the development and consequences of LAT-related jealousy and/or envy in CCRCs. The discussion and conclusions address how semi-totalitarian CCRC features influence envy and jealousy experiences. They include implications for social work practice with older adults and their family members regarding adjustment to life in the CCRC and may assist CCRC management and social workers in addressing possible consequences of envy and jealousy.

Abstract
When analysing (intergenerational) family relationships for social work practice, it is often unclear what relates to familial and what to cultural bodies of knowledge. Often the conclusion is that 'they are both', which challenges family assessment processes. We aim to address this by suggesting an integration between the familial and the cultural, through presenting their shared parameters and constructs. This results in a non-judgemental approach for social work practice analysis. Integration is illustrated using data from a stepfamily that participated in a large qualitative study on the meaning of late-life repartnering, from an intergenerational family and multicultural perspective in Israel, as a case example. The stepfamily included both partners and an adult child and grandchild of each partner. Individual interviews were conducted with each stepfamily member separately and transcribed verbatim. In late-life repartnering, two multigenerational families with potentially diverse cultural backgrounds encounter each other late in their life history and become a stepfamily. This is especially relevant in immigration societies that practice both collectivist and individualist familial norms. A multigenerational stepfamily perspective provides a rich source for examining our familial–cultural integration approach for social work practice analysis and could be applied to other family contexts. Conclusions and implications are addressed.

AbstractObjectivesIn this study, the researchers examined adult children's experience during and after their parents' late‐life divorce. The study applies a familial/dyadic perspective. Family systems theory is used heuristically.BackgroundLate‐life divorce is rising due to increased social legitimacy of divorce and life‐expectancy. As parents age, their adult children become more involved in their parents' lives. Accordingly, adult children are expected to fulfill roles in their parents' life transitions such as late‐life divorce. However, adult children's experiences regarding their parents late‐life divorce is not as available in previous studies, especially from a dyadic/familial perspective.MethodSemistructured in‐depth qualitative‐interviews were conducted separately with 51 participants (28 adult children, 23 parents) composed of seven family units (n = 33) and nine parent–child‐dyads (n = 18). Thematic analysis and dyadic interview analysis were used.ResultsDuring the divorce, adult children experienced meaningful roles supporting their parents, mediating between them, or pushing them to finalize the divorce. Some avoided involvement. Parents described roles they assigned to their adult children and their consequences. After divorce, adult children continued supporting their parents, experiencing role reversal earlier than expected. Their new roles included relieving loneliness and worry and providing care.ConclusionThe roles adult children experience reveals unique challenges for adult‐child–parent relationships after parents' late‐life divorce, influencing the family system.ImplicationsConceptualizing adult children's roles and the implications for family systems contributes to theoretical knowledge. Family counselors should provide families with relevant tools to deal with these consequences. Policy makers and training programs for family therapy should address the consequences of late‐life divorce.

'Lived experiences' of forgiveness of older abused women throughout a life in intimate partner violence are described and analysed from a phenomenological perspective. Semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 older abused Jewish women in Northern Israel. The data were analysed along two dimensions: one related to the need to explore who forgives whom; the other to various ways of forgiving, starting from not forgetting and not forgiving, moving through forgiveness experienced as burden, the struggle between forgetting and remembering as an obstacle to forgiveness at the same time, remembering without verbalizing violence, 'giving in', and ending with forgiving and not forgetting. The discussion deals with the ways forgiveness enables the bridging between suffering, martyrdom, strength resulting from wisdom of age and survival. The meaning of being an older abused woman in the light of this duality is explored.

Abstract
Late-life divorce is a growing phenomenon in the Western world, likely to expand due to increasing expectancy and changes in marital and family values. However, existing research on divorce and its consequences for offspring focuses on young and middle-aged adults, analysing individual rather than familial/dyadic perspectives. Accordingly, our study employs a holistic perspective on the family unit following late-life divorce which is especially relevant to societies that value familism as an essential element in individuals' lives. Coincidingly, the term familyhood expresses an atmosphere of closeness and unity among family members and is a commonly used expression in Israel. Using family systems as a framework, our aim was to examine how, if at all, familyhood is experienced after divorce considering how it was experienced prior to divorce from a long-term marriage in Israel. Semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews (N = 72) were conducted separately with divorcees aged 60–81 who divorced at age 56–68 (N = 44), and with their adult children aged 19–40 at the time of their parents' divorce (N = 28). Interviews were given thematic analysis and dyadic qualitative analysis. The findings reveal the meaningfulness of familyhood following late-life divorce via a fourfold typology of familyhood continuity/change experienced as present or lacking, before or after divorce. The typology addresses key elements of when, where, by whom and how familyhood is reconstructed, along with strategies to maintain familyhood. Paradoxes inherent in the intersection of divorce and familyhood, discussed within the Israeli sociocultural context, are located between self-determination and familism. Implications are presented.

Abstract
Academic online social work (SW) education has developed over the decades, fully transitioning to it following the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have examined the emotional responses, coping strategies and resilience of faculty and students to this transition. Our aim is to examine online education experiences and their meaning for faculty and SW students following the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed based on principles of thematic analysis. Interviewees included fifteen SW students and fifteen faculty members at schools of SW (n = 30) from universities and colleges throughout Israel, who also participated in a quantitative survey addressing online SW education. Findings include two themes: (i) Between the illusion of intimacy and the illusion of anonymity: Is it so? (ii) Experiences of difficulty, acceptance and choice relating to online education interactions. Both themes refer to interpersonal dimensions of communication and contact between faculty and students and among students. The desire to preserve a traditional education format versus openness to the online platform is discussed using critical reflexivity. Alternative education programmes combining the two should be developed. The unique and deceptive interplay between intimacy and anonymity in the online space should be considered in courses relying on interpersonal interaction and self-disclosure.