Child welfare NGOs in China : implications for state-society relations

The civil society perspective and the corporatist perspective have thus far dominated studies on state-society relations in the Chinese context. While these paradigms are insightful, their unidirectional and rigid natures may no longer adequately describe the complex nature of evolving state-society relations in China. As such, Joel S. Migdal’s State-in-Society framework is adopted as the theoretical premise of this study. Allowing for more fluidity, the State-in-Society theory serves as an alternative approach towards examining interactions between the state and nonprofits and between the state and society. The concept of social control within the framework is examined in further detail. Descriptive multiple case study was used as a method of inquiry, followed by thematic analysis. Findings generally corroborate with the logic of social control, with compliance, participation and legitimacy being the incremental stages with which both nonprofits and the state seek to attain from each other and from the public. It was found that the state employ strategies including co-optation, procedural validation and hijacking scholarship to gain participation whereas moral reinforcement, rhetoric validation, and image consolidation are used to attain legitimacy. Ironically, nonprofits employ similar strategies in an attempt to change the state’s behaviour. Vilification and shaming are used to gain compliance, while resource appropriation and preemptive engagement are employed to attain participation. Moral reinforcement, image consolidation, individual credibility and persistence were found to be critical factors in bolstering organizational legitimacy. Furthermore, findings generally support the claim that nonprofits operating in rural areas enjoy greater autonomy than those active in urban areas. Even so, state-society relations is highly localized and therefore overgeneralization should be avoided. In addition to contributing to the discourse on state-society relations, this study seeks to identify the role of nongovernmental organizations in orphan care provision in China. Along with content analysis and field observations, 10 in-depth cases are presented to illustrate existing obstacles pertaining to orphan care provision. Identified barriers are subsequently compartmentalized into five main categories: knowledge level, policy level, cultural level, organizational level, and state-NGO relations. Given the distinct welfare system extant between rural and urban areas, findings indicate that orphans in rural areas are disproportionately disadvantaged compared to those residing in cities. This may be due to the relatively weak economic and human resources that often characterize rural China. One important observation is the growing tendency for local governments to regard nongovernmental organizations as critical service partners. However, the sustainability of this service model is questionable, especially when the state claims to carry primary responsibility over citizen welfare. The legal ambiguity concerning the registration and governance of nonprofits also jeopardizes future undertakings. Nevertheless, it is strategically and rationally sensible for local governments to ally with nonprofits insofar as there are deficiencies in the former’s capacity to deliver social services for disadvantaged children. This study concludes by discussing policy implications on China’s third sector and social development.published_or_final_versionSocial Work and Social AdministrationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

Depression and its risk factors among pregnant women in 2008 Sichuan earthquake area and non-earthquake struck area in China

Background On May 12, 2008, a powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck China's Sichuan province. While some studies have assessed the mental and physical wellbeing of disaster victims, few have examined the long-term impact of natural disasters on pregnant women's mental health. As such, this study aims to assess whether the Sichuan earthquake continues to negatively affect women's mental health, 4 years since its occurrence. In addition, predictive and protective risk factors of depressive symptoms among pregnant women were also identified. Methods From June 2012 to October 2012, 520 pregnant women were interviewed, of whom 253 were from an earthquake struck area and 267 were from a non-earthquake struck area. Symptoms of antenatal depression were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) with a cutoff of≥10. Results The prevalence rate of depression among pregnant women in the earthquake area was 34.5% (95% CI, 28.9-40.6), while the rate in the non-earthquake area was 39.6% (95% CI, 33.9-45.5). The perceived stresses associated with pregnancy and social support from husbands are significantly correlated with antenatal depression. Limitations: Lack of diagnosis for antenatal depression and it is a self-report evaluation. Conclusions This study found that the Sichuan earthquake does not necessarily have a long-lasting effect on pregnant women who were once victims of the disaster. It was found that pregnant women who experience high levels of pressures from the pregnancy and receive medium support from husbands are more susceptible to experience antenatal depression than pregnant women who perceive higher levels of support from husbands. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex