The Effects of a Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing Procedure on the Vocal Behavior of Children Diagnosed with Autism

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Recent research suggests that the sound produced by a child’s vocalization can become a conditioned reinforcer via the temporal pairing of an...     

Residential care: an effective response to out‐of‐home children and young people?

The ever‐growing number of out‐of‐home children in Italy over the last decade has urged an assessment of the available care services. Although foster care is spreading rapidly, many young people are still housed in residential facilities. Reflection on residential care quality has intensified at both a national and an international level. This paper presents the results of a study on residential care facilities for children and young people in the region of Northern Italy (Lombardy). Four dimensions of ‘quality’ are considered: efficiency, effectiveness, participation in planning and intervention, and empowerment of children and their family relationships. The combined effects of these dimensions are defined as ‘relational quality’. The results show that residential care facilities are generally good, while Social Services resources often appear inadequate for interventions aimed at birth families (efficiency). The well‐being of children in residential care facilities is high, even if they tend to move from one facility to another, rarely returning to their birth family (effectiveness). The involvement of children and their families at different stages of the care path is limited (participative approach). Finally, the most critical element is the failure to properly involve birth families (empowerment).     

Emerging adulthood features and criteria for adulthood: Variable- and person-centered approaches

Reaching adulthood is the aim of the transition to adulthood; however, emerging adults differently define both adulthood and the transitional period they are living. Variable-centered and person-centered approaches were integrated in the present paper to investigate if the criteria used to define adulthood are linked to how emerging adults perceive the transitional phase they are going through. Participants were 1513 emerging adults (53.60% female; 807 university students and 706 young workers), aged from 19 to 30 years. Participants completed self-report measures about dimensions of emerging adulthood and criteria for adulthood. Main results revealed that, according to the variable-centered approach, criteria of adulthood and dimensions of emerging adulthood are only slightly associated, while the person-centered approach revealed that people who have a composite view of adulthood are also less probably perceiving their emerging adulthood as a period characterized by a lack of possibilities. Implications and future lines of research are discussed.     

Micro‐provision of Social Care Support for Marginalized Communities – Filling the Gap or Building Bridges to the Mainstream?

As English social care services reconstruct themselves in response to the personalization agenda, there is increased interest in the contribution of micro‐providers – very small community‐based organizations, which can work directly with individuals. These micro‐providers are assumed to be able to cater for the ‘seldom heard’ groups which have been marginalized within mainstream social care services. This article reviews recent literature from the UK published in peer‐reviewed journals from 2000 to 2013 on support provision for people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. It considers the marginalising dynamics in mainstream, statutory social care support provision, and how far local community, specialist or small‐scale services are responding to unmet need for support and advice among marginalized groups. The review found that there is a tradition of compensatory self‐organization, use of informal networks and a mobilization of social capital for all these groups in response to marginalization from mainstream, statutory services. This requires recognition and nurturing in ways that do not stifle its unique nature. Specialist and community‐based micro‐providers can contribute to a wider range of choices for people who feel larger, mainstream services are not suitable or accessible. However, the types of compensatory activity identified in the research need recognition and investment, and its existence does not imply that the mainstream should not address marginalization.     

Future-oriented or present-focused? The role of social support and identity styles on ‘futuring’ in Italian late adolescents and emerging adults

Late adolescence and emerging adulthood are periods in the life cycle when individuals are involved in anticipating and planning for the future (futuring). However, in the last five or six years, as the effects of the recession have made themselves felt in Southern Europe, the situation that young people face has deteriorated dramatically. As a consequence, contemporary young people’s relationship with the future is strongly marked by these social difficulties, and family support becomes essential to their survival. The present study was interested in how futuring could be influenced by identity styles and perceptions of social support. Participants were 1201 Italian late adolescents and emerging adults attending the last year of high school and first years of university. We used three self-report measures: Functions of Identity Scale, Identity Style Inventory, and Social Support Scale. Findings indicate that futuring was influenced by the normative style and the diffuse-avoidant style and by the interactions between both normative identity style and diffuse/avoidant identity styles with peer support. Gender and age differences are discussed.     

Connecting Society and Policymakers? Conceptualizing and Measuring the Capacity of Civil Society Organizations to Act as Transmission Belts

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are considered important intermediaries between citizens and policymakers. They are assumed to function as transmission belts that filter societal preferences and channel them to policymakers. Although the ability of CSOs to connect civil society with policymakers has been put into question, it has rarely been theoretically specified and empirically tested. This paper develops a conceptualization of CSOs that examines their capacity to function as transmission belts. It does so by distinguishing two organizational dimensions related to member involvement and organizational capacity. The paper draws on a large survey of CSOs active at the EU to empirically assess these organizational dimensions and relate them to basic CSOs’ characteristics. The findings indicate that one out of three organizations approximates the ideal-type transmission belt. The findings contribute to a better understanding and assessment of CSO’s potential contribution to policy-making in representative democracies.     

Racial/Ethnic Inequality Among Older Workers: Focusing On Whites,Blacks, and Latinos Within the Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Framework

The experience of older racial/ethnic minority workers may differ from that of their non-Hispanic White counterparts because of persistent racial/ethnic differences; however, our knowledge of older minority workers is fragmentary. Using the cumulative advantage/disadvantage framework, this study aimed to identify factors that explain older Americans’ labor market participation after age 65 and whether racial/ethnic differences exist among those factors. Using the 2004 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study data, racially separate analyses were performed to systematically compare factors by race. The results showed that factors influencing labor force participation after age 65 were indeed conditioned by race. Health and meaning of work significantly influenced non-Hispanic Whites, whereas home ownership increased the odds of working among non-Hispanic Blacks, and Latinos were concerned with health alone. The findings suggest that older ethnic minorities appear to experience a greater vulnerability to involuntary labor market exit—as opposed to personal preference or financial necessity. This racial/ethnic inequality should be understood not as sudden occurrences in old age, but as a by-product of the interplay between the individuals’ lifetime experiences and the social structures that impose cumulative advantages/disadvantages on them. Continued research will help reduce racial gaps in the next generation of older workers.