The study reported herein adopted a stress and coping framework to examine the functions of social support in protecting the mental health of migrant workers who experience migration stress during settlement in Shanghai, China. A total of 475 migrant workers from four major districts in Shanghai were recruited for a survey through multistage cluster sampling. The results suggest that migration stress, particularly financial and employment difficulties, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, and social companionship support contributed substantially to the mental health of both male and female migrant workers. Although instrumental support significantly influenced the mental health of male migrants, esteem support significantly influenced the mental health of female migrants. In addition, although social support did not exert any mediating effect on the mental health of both male and female migrant workers, social companionship support appeared to moderate the migration stress and mental health of female migrant workers. Sociocultural factors are put forth as explanations for these findings. The implications of this study include the provision of workshops and counseling and the strengthening of informal support networks for migrant workers.

For many survivors of serious road trauma, the physical and psychological consequences are complex and lifelong. The longer-term psychosocial recovery experience for survivors, however, is rarely documented in the social work literature. This article reports on findings from a study of road trauma recovery experiences. The findings are presented in relation to posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress experiences, as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and the Impact of Event Scale. Data were collected from 79 anonymous self-administered postal surveys from participants who had received treatment in an Australian rehabilitation center following serious orthopedic injury. One-third of these survivors continued to experience serious psychological distress in the aftermath of road trauma and a range of other psychosocial consequences four years after their accident. Although 87 percent of the sample continued to experience posttraumatic stress difficulties, 99 percent reported experiences of posttraumatic growth. Implications of these findings for social work practice are discussed.

Research evidence now clearly shows a direct link between women's experiences of domestic violence and heightened rates of depression, trauma symptoms, and self-harm. A research project based in Women's Aid outreach services provides further evidence of women's experiences of severe emotional distress. However, their experiences of mental health services were often found to be negative. A number of practices within the medical model of mental health were unhelpful including: the lack of recognition of trauma or provision of trauma services; making the abuser invisible through focusing on the woman's mental health reified from her experiences of abuse; blaming the victim; offering medication rather than counselling support; the negative, consequent effects on child contact and child protection proceedings if the woman is labelled with mental health problems. Alternatively, women found services, often in the voluntary sector, helpful when they provided the following interventions: helping women name domestic violence; actively asking about the abuse; attending to safety planning; responding to women's specialist needs; and actively working with women to recover from abuse experiences. Support for her children was also seen as very helpful. Implications for practice include the commissioning of further services in the voluntary sector, addressing the inadequate response within the medical model, and increasing the sensitivity of responses to women's emotional distress across all sectors.