Working Between Worlds: Qualitative Methods and Social Psychology

We invite social psychologists in the United States to join with psychologists in other countries and with researchers in other disciplines to include qualitative approaches in their research repertory. Several classic studies in social psychology used field-based qualitative approaches, yet in recent decades, these ways of working have been on the margins of American social psychology. We explore what a qualitative stance offers and entails, giving examples from our own and others' research. The relentless attention that qualitative workers have given to issues of bias, subjectivity, and research ethics prompts us to consider how such issues are always present in research, regardless of its methods.     

Triangulation of self-report and investigator-rated coping indices as predictors of psychological stress: a longitudinal investigation among public utility workers

The aims of the present study were to: (a) determine if self-reported coping is consistent with conceptually-equivalent investigator-rated coping indices; (b) establish which types of coping are associated with psychological stress; and (c) establish whether using investigator-rated in addition to self-report coping indices to predict stress outcomes is beneficial in a real life context of worker's stressors. To fulfil these aims, a longitudinal investigation was conducted among 40 Canadian workers from the public utility sector. Results from semi-structured interviews about their worst current stressors revealed main effects for some coping types as assessed with investigator-rated indices, whereas no main effects were observed with self-report coping indices. Still, self-report and investigator-rated coping indices together significantly predicted follow-up stress. Psychological stress was most strongly predicted by investigator-rated behavioural approach. While self-report cognitive approach predicted lower psychological stress, investigator-rated cognitive approach predicted greater stress. Findings underline the importance of using both types of coping indices to predict outcome.     

Working Mothers: A Review

Books reviewed in this article: Elizabeth Bortalaia Silva (eds), Good Enough Mothering? Feminist Perspectives on Lone Motherhood Simon Duncan and Rosalind Edwards (eds), Single Mothers in an International Context: Mothers or Workers? Kim England, Who Will Mind the Baby? Geographies of Child Care and Working Mothers     

A young man referred to specialist secure accommodation

Young people referred to secure residential provision often present with a multitude of adverse childhood experiences, and it is frequently these dysfunctional backgrounds which prove to be the instigators of their current severely disruptive and antisocial behaviour. This paper presents a case of a young man referred to a specialist secure unit for juveniles, namely the Glenthorne Centre in Birmingham. The aim was to explore the background factors acting as possible instigators of, and reinforcers for, his current behaviour. Analysis was carried out using the multiple sequential functional analysis technique. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The prevalence of evidence-based substance use prevention curricula in the nation's elementary schools

Current guidelines for school-based substance use prevention suggest that prevention efforts should begin in elementary grades, before students begin using substances. Previous research suggests, however, that the use of evidence-based curricula in these grades may be low. Using a 2005 survey of public school districts in the United States that include elementary grades (n = 1563), we assessed the prevalence of elementary curricula use, particularly those designated as evidence-based. We found that although 72% of districts administer a substance use prevention curriculum to their elementary students, only about 35% are using one that is evidence-based and only about 14% are using an evidence-based curriculum more so than any other prevention curriculum. We present prevalence estimates for specific evidence-based curricula and conclude by discussing possible reasons for and implications of our findings.     

Adolescents at risk of mental health problems in the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective population-based study of the effects of government mandates and school closures

There is increasing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial mental health impacts for adolescents. Yet, few definitive studies have investigated which adolescents were at higher risk of poor mental health and well-being during the pandemic. Data were drawn from the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study, a prospective cohort study of students in Australia (N = 1211). Prevalence of mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, self-harm and good subjective well-being) was estimated in school Years 5–12, where Years 11 (2020) and 12 (2021) coincided with the pandemic. The age- and sex-adjusted relative risk of each mental health outcome for each priority group during the pandemic were estimated. During the pandemic, over 50% of study participants reported depressive symptoms, and one quarter reported anxiety symptoms. There was a decrease in good subjective well-being compared with pre-pandemic years, while self-harm prevalence remained similar. History of mental health problems, school disengagement and frequent peer victimisation increased the risk of experiencing mental health problems during the pandemic. Schools play a central role in maintaining the mental health and good subjective well-being of students, and this is particularly important during periods of social disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Bayesian modelling of effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on child cognition based on data from multiple cohorts

High levels of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) result in significant cognitive deficits in children, but the exact nature of the dose-response relationship is less well understood. To investigate this relationship, data were assembled from six longitudinal birth cohort studies examining the effects of PAE on cognitive outcomes from early school age through adolescence. Structural equation models (SEMs) are a natural approach to consider, because of the way they conceptualise multiple observed outcomes as relating to an underlying latent variable of interest, which can then be modelled as a function of exposure and other predictors of interest. However, conventional SEMs could not be fitted in this context because slightly different outcome measures were used in the six studies. In this paper we propose a multi-group Bayesian SEM that maps the unobserved cognition variable to a broad range of observed outcomes. The relation between these variables and PAE is then examined while controlling for potential confounders via propensity score adjustment. By examining different possible dose-response functions, the proposed framework is used to investigate whether there is a threshold PAE level that results in minimal cognitive deficit.