The Restructuring of Social Inequalities During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia

As the COVID-19 virus began to spread across Australia, a six-week national lockdown was implemented in late March 2020. Australians were largely confined to their homes and nonessential economic and social activities ceased. Subsequently, lockdowns were implemented at various times in various states, territories and regions in response to local outbreaks of the virus. To examine how the restrictions associated with the pandemic impacted on the working lives of young Australians during the 2020 lockdowns, I draw on Life Patterns project data generated from semistructured interviews conducted with 40 participants in September and October 2020. From a class perspective, the lockdowns exacerbated existing inequalities related to occupation. Some participants, such as those in the hospitality sector, were stood down whereas other participants either worked from home (e.g., professionals and white-collar workers) or continued working as usual after being classified as essential workers (e.g., nurses, doctors, security guards). Participants who were stood down immediately were left to fend for themselves until the Federal Government introduced JobKeeper payments. They had to rely on their annual leave, withdraw money from their retirement savings and/ or move in with family or friends just to survive. Participants who were able to keep working saved money due to being confined to home and not be able to socialise or take holidays. Consequently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some participants depleted their savings whereas others had built on their existing wealth

Bevaikystė ir požiūris į rūpinimąsi vyresnio amžiaus tėvais Lietuvoje

In rapidly ageing societies, caring and responsibilities for parents in old age is a widely discussed topic. This is particularly relevant in societies with low fertility and high rates of childlessness. Lithuania is one of the countries where demographic ageing rates have risen sharply in a short period of time. This process has been driven not only by low fertility but also by emigration of middle-aged and young people and increasing life expectancy. There is no lack of research on demographic changes in ageing societies in the country, but very little is known about the attitudes of childless men and women towards caring for their parents in old age. The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes of childless and child-bearing individuals towards parental responsibilities in Lithuania. Our analysis is based on the 2018-2019 ‘Families and Inequality Survey’ dataset collected in Lithuania. The data covers 3,005 individuals aged 34-48 at the time of the survey. The representative sample was obtained by using a stratified sampling method. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with respondents in their homes by using a standardized questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square methods. We found that the proportion of men (12.0%) who do not want to have children is statistically significantly higher (p=0.003) than the proportion of women (7.6%). We found that childless people were less likely than those with children to agree with the statement that children should look after their parents. In addition, women were more likely than men to agree with these statements. Our findings are important from a practical point of view – when considering social care and pronatalist policy measures. Research project is financially supported by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. P-MIP-22-24.Sparčiai senėjančiose visuomenėse vaikų pareigos tėvams ir jų priežiūra senatvėje yra plačiai nagrinėjama tema. Vis dėlto apie bevaikių vyrų ir moterų požiūrį į rūpinimąsi tėvais senatvėje yra žinoma mažai. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti, koks yra vaikų turinčių ir bevaikių asmenų požiūris į pareigas tėvams Lietuvoje. Analizė remiasi 2018–2019 m. Lietuvoje atlikto „Šeimų ir nelygybių tyrimo“ reprezentatyvios anketinės apklausos duomenimis. Tyrimo imtį sudarė 3 005 asmenys, kuriems apklausos metu buvo 34–48 metai. Duomenys analizuoti naudojant dažnių pasiskirstymo lenteles, dažnių skirtumai vertinti taikant chi kvadrato metodą, vidurkiams palyginti naudotas ANOVA metodas. Nustatyta, kad bevaikiai asmenys rečiau negu vaikų turintys asmenys sutiko su teiginiais, kad vaikai turi rūpintis savo tėvais. Be to, šiems teiginiams dažniau pritarė moterys negu vyrai

Socialinė sveikatos nelygybė: vaikų kochlearinės implantacijos Lietuvoje rezultatai

The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic, family, and educational differences in children’s speech perception development after cochlear (hearing) implantation. The research was conducted in Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos during the years 2013–2018. Open-set speech perception in quiet surroundings were evaluated during hearing assessments (n=81). Information about different factor groups was collected according to the Nottingham Children’s Implant Profile questionnaire. Three main factor groups were analysed: (a) demographic, (b) family, and (c) educational. A Bourdieu-based approach was adopted to analyse social inequalities of health of children with cochlear implants. Different factors were operationalized as different forms of capital. Our findings highlight the importance of family’s social and cultural capital to children speech perception after cochlear implantation. Šio tyrimo tikslas įvertinti vaikų su kochleariniais (klausos) implantais kalbos suvokimo raidos demografinius, šeimos ir lavinimo veiksnius. Tyrimas atliktas 2013–2018 metais Vilniaus universiteto ligoninės Santaros klinikose. Klausos raida buvo įvertinta naudojant atvirojo tipo kalbos suvokimo testus, kurie atlikti tylioje aplinkoje (n=81). Informacija apie skirtingas veiksnių grupes surinkti remiantis Notingemo kochlearinės implantacijos profilio klausimynu. Tyrimo metu buvo nagrinėtos trys pagrindinės veiksnių grupės: demografiniai, šeimos ir lavinimo veiksniai. Gauti rezultatai nagrinėti sveikatos nelygybės teorinių prieigų kontekste, pasitelkiant P. Bourdieu teorines įžvalgas. Skirtingi veiksniai buvo operacionalizuoti kaip skirtingos kapitalo formos. Tyrimo rezultatai pabrėžė šeimos socialinio ir kultūrinio kapitalo svarbą vaikų su kochleariniais implantais kalbos suvokimo raidai

Gimstamumo ir lyčių revoliucijos sąsajos: Lietuva lyginamojoje perspektyvoje

The study analyses trends in egalitarianism in gender role attitudes and changing associations between fertility and gender equity within and across countries and over time. Lithuania is compared to five European countries, employing an index of gender role attitudes that is constructed based on five international surveys. Findings reveal that Lithuania is not only the most traditional and slowest in transition to egalitarianism of all the countries analyzed, but also stagnating in gender revolution. The results support a U-shaped pattern between changes in fertility and gender role attitudes in almost all countries. This relationship can be moderated not only by levels of gender-equitable attitudes, but also by dispersion in attitudes and normativity of dominant gender role attitudes. The results reveal that maturation of the gender revolution can have a moderating effect.Straipsnyje taikant lyginamąją perspektyvą analizuojamos Lietuvos ir dar penkių Europos šalių požiūrio į lyčių vaidmenis tendencijos, egalitariškumo ir gimstamumo pokyčių sąsajos. Analizė atliekama naudojant penkių tarptautinių tyrimų duomenis, kuriais remiantis konstruojamas požiūrio į lyčių vaidmenis egalitariškumo indeksas. Atlikta analizė rodo, kad Lietuva iš kitų analizuojamų šalių išsiskiria labiausiai tradiciniu ir lėčiausiai egalitarėjusiu požiūriu į lyčių vaidmenis bei lyčių revoliucijos stagnacija. Analizė patvirtina U formos sąsajas tarp gimstamumo lygio ir požiūrio į lyčių vaidmenis beveik visose šalyse. Gauti rezultatai atskleidžia, kad šioms sąsajoms gali turėti poveikį ne tik lyčių lygiateisiškumo lygis, bet ir požiūrio į lyčių vaidmenis variacija ir normatyviškumas

Psichosocialinių paslaugų onkologiniams ligoniams ir jų artimiesiems teikimą lemiantys veiksniai Lietuvoje

It is acknowledged by various organizations, experts, and researchers around the world that meeting psychological and social needs is an important factor in cancer treatment. However, there is a shortage of psychosocial care supply for cancer patients and their family members in Lithuania. The aim of this study is to discern the causes of this insufficient supply. In order to find out the possible causes, Jon Elster’s action explanation framework was used. According to the framework, it is possible to deduce these factors: institutional constraints, economical (resources and labor supply) constraints, social preferences, and political preferences. Qualitative research (expert interviews) and secondary data analysis research methods were employed to gather the required data. A data analysis shows that the there are no institutional constraints for the provision of psychosocial care. However, there is a lack of public resources dedicated for the provision of psychosocial care. As a consequence, the main providers of psychosocial care for cancer patients and their family members are NGOs, which heavily depend on volunteer labor force. There is a contradiction in the point of view toward the professionalization of psychosocial care provision. It is the natural position of medical professionals that the provision of psychosocial care should be in the hands of professionals. On the other side, NGOs disagree with such a perspective. The need for psychosocial care is verbalized by experts and professionals; however, the general public prefers medical treatment. Thus, it is understandable why the public resources allocated to the provision of psychosocial care are so scarce. It is also evident that the political parties are not interested in psychosocial care, as it was shown by our analysis of their political programs.Onkologinių ligų gydymo kontekste vis labiau akcentuojamas psichologinių ir socialinių (psichosocialinių) sergančiųjų ir jų artimųjų poreikių tenkinimas. Psichosocialinės pagalbos paslaugos leidžia spręsti šių poreikių tenkinimo problemą. Tyrėjai ir ekspertai pažymi, kad psichosocialinės pagalbos paslaugų onkologinėmis ligomis sergantiems asmenims teikimas yra nepakankamas. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti veiksnius, kurie lemia nepakankamą šių paslaugų teikimą. Visų pirma sukurtas psichosocialinės pagalbos paslaugų teikimo modelis, kurio pagrindas – Jono Elsterio veiksmo modelis. Remiantis modeliu, išskirti šie psichosocialinės pagalbos teikimą lemiantys veiksniai: institucinis kontekstas, ekonominės galimybės, socialinės ir politinės preferencijos. Institucinio konteksto analizei buvo naudojama dokumentų analizė; ekonominių galimybių ir socialinių preferencijų analizei pasitelktas ekspertinis interviu ir antrinių duomenų analizė. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad psichosocialinės pagalbos teikimas Lietuvos sveikatos politikoje yra institucionalizuotas. Nepaisant to, teikiant psichosocialinę pagalbą dominuoja ne pelno savanoriškas sektorius ir tai yra tiesiogiai susiję su tuo, kad viešųjų išteklių psichosocialinei pagalbai beveik neskiriama. Tyrimas parodė, kad skiriasi požiūris į tai, kas gali teikti psichosocialinę pagalbą. Socialinės preferencijos iliustruoja, kad daugiausia dėmesio gydant onkologines ligas skiriama medicininėms paslaugoms, o politinės preferencijos rodo, kad psichosocialinių paslaugų teikimas nėra prioritetinė sveikatos politikos kryptis

Demografiniai nuostoliai dėl moterų savižudybių Lietuvoje 2007–2020 metais: socialinė diferenciacija ir iššūkiai psichikos sveikatos politikai

In many countries of the world, including Lithuania, suicide rates for men are several times higher than for women. Therefore, the phenomenon of men’s suicide is receiving a lot of attention in public, scientific, and political discourses. In contrast, much less attention is paid to tackling women’s suicides and women’s mental health problems. Lithuania has been among the countries with the highest suicide rates for both men and women in the world for several decades, but research on the social and demographic aspects of women’s suicide in Lithuania is lacking. This paper aims to examine the demographic losses that Lithuania suffers from women suicides and assess the socio-demographic differentiation of these losses. The empirical part of the study was based on the calculation of years of life lost methodology. The years of life lost method is acknowledged as an accurate measure for assessing the impact of specific causes of death on premature mortality. Data sources for this study were the World Health Organization, Institute of Hygiene, and Human Mortality Database. The results of our study show that the number of years of lives lost due to women’s suicide decreased statistically significantly from 376 [321; 431] in 2007 to 287 [238; 335] in 2020. In Lithuania, the total number of women suicide was the highest among the 80+ year age group, however, the number of years of life lost due to suicide was the highest among the 30-39 year age group. The change in women’s suicide rates was inconsistent and for women, the decline in demographic loss due to suicide was twice as slow as for men. Nevertheless, the number of years of lives lost due to women’s suicide was about 5 times smaller than that of men in 2020. In Lithuania, high rates of women’s suicide reflect the poor state of women’s mental health, which poses challenges to the country’s mental health policy and sustainable demographic development.ietuva jau kelis dešimtmečius patenka tarp šalių, kurių savižudybių rodikliai yra didžiausi pasaulyje, tačiau tyrimų, kuriuose būtų nagrinėjami socialiniai ir demografiniai moterų savižudybių aspektai, Lietuvoje trūksta. Šio straipsnio tikslas – apskaičiuoti demografinius nuostolius, kuriuos patiria Lietuva dėl moterų savižudybių, ir įvertinti šių nuostolių socialinę ir demografinę diferenciaciją. Empirinė tyrimo dalis atlikta naudojant prarastų gyvenimo metų skaičiavimo metodiką. Tyrimo duomenų šaltiniai: Pasaulio sveikatos organizacija, Higienos institutas ir Human Mortality Database. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad nuo 2007 iki 2020 metų prarastų potencialių gyvenimo metų skaičius Lietuvoje statistiškai reikšmingai sumažėjo nuo 376 [321; 431] iki 287 [238; 335], tačiau moterų savižudybių lygio kaita buvo nenuosekli, o demografinių nuostolių dėl savižudybių mažėjimas buvo beveik perpus lėtesnis negu vyrų

Migrantų iš Ukrainos ir Baltarusijos socialinė integracija Lietuvoje

The phenomena of migration in today’s society is not surprising, but how often do we think about immigrants and their interactions with the local population, within themes of language, culture, social life, employment and general integration. International organizations say that although basic rights and protection of immigrants is ensured in Lithuania, immigrants in our country still do not have the opportunity to participate in public life as well as they should. The aim of this article is to refresh our knowledge of migrants' own experiences with regards to social integration and their own subjective welfare, by specifically examining the two largest groups of immigrants, Ukrainians and Belarusians. For the purpose of the study, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted, of which 10 were with Ukrainians and 10 with Belarusians. The study revealed that language is an important factor in the formation of a new identity and social integration. It was also noted that immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus have varying degrees of success entering the local labor market and they usually have to work in lower-skilled jobs. It is also worth mentioning that immigrants support their immigration efforts by way of similar culture and adaptation in their national communities, churches or social networks. Lastly, immigrants from Ukraine and Belarus are satisfied with life in Lithuania and notice positive differences compared to their country of origin, such as transparency and order in the country, a well-functioning banking and public transport system. They also note that the mentality of local Lithuanians and their own is similar, which is a development that has happened due to a shared Soviet experience and proficiency in the Russian language.Migracija mūsų visuomenėje nieko nestebina, bet ar susimąstome apie imigrantus ir jų sąveiką su vietiniais piliečiais, kalbos, kultūros, socialinio gyvenimo ir užimtumo aspektais. Tarptautinės organizacijos kalba, jog Lietuvoje yra užtikrinamos pagrindinės imigrantų teisės ir apsaugos, tačiau atvykėliai vis dar neturi lygių galimybių dalyvauti visuomeniniame gyvenime. Šiuo straipsniu siekiama papildyti mūsų žinias apie imigrantų patirtis integracijos ir gerovės klausimais, tiriant ukrainiečių ir baltarusių imigrantus. Buvo atskleista, jog kalba yra svarbus identiteto formavimo bei socialinės integracijos veiksnys. Pastebėta, jog imigrantai iš Ukrainos ir Baltarusijos paprastai turi dirbti žemesnės kvalifikacijos darbus. Bendrai imigrantai yra patenkinti gyvenimu Lietuvoje ir pastebi pozityvius skirtumus lygindami su savo kilmės šalimi

Ageless Assets: Social Investment and Active Aging Profiles in Lithuania

This article argues that the aging population significantly affects the welfare state. Social investment strategies could respond to a changed economic and social order by enhancing active aging. While the social investment perspective has been a topic of discussion for decades, certain aspects remain underexplored. This study, therefore, aims to assess the impact of social investments on active aging. The study, based on the social investment approach and active aging model, analyzes quantitative data from Wave 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The Lithuania sample included 1437 participants. In the analytical phase, Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis were utilized (SPSS ver. 26). The findings unveil four active aging profiles (low activity, moderate activity, balanced activity, and high activity). The two groups are distinguished by aging conditions, such as poor health, lack of social investment, and high reliance on social benefits. The positive impact of social investment is underscored by the improved aging conditions outlined in the last two profiles. This study enriches the social investment research domain by providing valuable insights into the influence of social investment policies on the lives of older individuals and their potential to age actively

“What Now?” vs. “Now It’s My Turn!” – Reflecting on Motherhood after the Children Have Left

Interested in being a mother and mothering across time, I compare two types of data: (a) interviews with middle-class mothers of grown-ups reflecting upon their prior (maternal) life in Germany, and (b) self-help books addressing parents in this life-phase, called the ‘empty nest’. My analysis reveals differing understandings and constructions of motherhood. The books homogenise being a mother and naturalise what a mother is, does and feels. Accordingly, women complete themselves and find self-fulfilment primarily as mothers, and thus, they struggle when children have moved out as this provides problems for mothering or even signifies the end of motherhood. Contrary to this, the interviews display much greater diversity: despite retrospectively construing images of comprehensive motherly care, gender differentiated life-courses and intensive mothering prior to children’s move out, the interviewees narratively present varying ways of being a mother and a dynamic balancing of motherhood with other sources of identity. Thus, their self-descriptions clash with the self-help depiction of static motherhood in books and uniform experiences of the nest emptiness. Rather than discussing a void and asking, “What now?”, the interviewees make sense of the lived temporality of motherhood and pragmatically deal with the changing needs for mothering. None of them suffers when they launch their children into independent life as they develop coping strategies in former life-course stages, continue to mother after the children have left home, and claim “Now it’s my turn!