More but not better jobs in Chile? The fundamental importance of open‐ended contracts

Chilean governments since 1990 have relied on economic growth to generate employment, higher wages and better conditions of employment. But the results of this policy have been mixed: quantitative improvements in employment and wages have not been matched by improvements in job quality. Contrasting Chile's seemingly rigid regulatory framework with its actual labour market flexibility, the authors stress the importance of employment conditions in assessing labour market performance. They empirically explore the effects of individual and job characteristics on employment and income‐generating capabilities, whose most powerful determinant, they find, is employment under an open‐ended contract. They conclude with a discussion of policy implications.     

Associations Between Friendship,Sympathy, and Prosocial Behavior Toward Friends

The current study examined the associations between multiple aspects of the friend relationship (connection, companionship, psychological control) and global prosocial behavior toward friends. Participants included 467 early adolescents (M age of child = 13.32, SD = 1.05, 49% female, 69% European American), and data were collected at two time points, roughly 1 year apart. Structural equation modeling suggested that friend psychological control was negatively associated with prosocial behavior toward friends, while friend connection was positively associated (via adolescent sympathy). Discussion focuses on the friend relationship as an important influence on adolescent sympathy and prosocial behavior toward friends.     

Integrating Sociological and Psychological Perspectives on Coparenting

Rapidly changing demographics of American families have redefined coparenting and brought about the need for cross‐disciplinary measurement and theory integration that is grounded in a developmental, life course perspective. First, we briefly review sociological scholarship on coparenting, highlighting both qualitative and quantitative work. Second, we provide a brief historical overview of coparenting from the psychological perspective, focusing on its theoretical foundation, multiple components, and importance for individuals and families. Third, we highlight the strengths and weaknesses of sociological approaches to coparenting and discuss the benefits of integration. Finally, we suggest avenues for future interdisciplinary work on coparenting that are heavily shaped by the shifting demographics of American families.     

Infant Recognition of Hebrew Vocalic Word Patterns

The ability of infants to recognize phonotactic patterns in their native language is widely acknowledged. However, the specific ability of infants to recognize patterns created by nonadjacent vowels in words has seldom been investigated. In Semitic languages such as Hebrew, groups of multisyllabic words are identical in their nonadjacent vowel sequences and stress position but differ in the consonants interposed between the vowels. The goals of this study were to assess whether infants learning Hebrew show a preference for (1) a nonadjacent vocalic pattern or template, common in Hebrew nouns (CéCeC), over a nonattested nonadjacent vocalic pattern (CóCoC), and (2) a nonadjacent vocalic pattern common in Hebrew words (CaCóC) over an existing but less common pattern (CaCéC). Twenty Hebrew‐learning infants aged 8 to 11 months were presented with lists of nonsense words featuring the first two patterns (Experiment 1), and 20 were presented with nonsense words featuring the second two patterns (Experiment 2). The results showed longer listening to CéCeC than to CóCoC lists and to CaCóC than to CaCéC lists, suggesting that infants recognized the common nonadjacent vocalic patterns in both cases. The study thus demonstrates that Hebrew‐learning infants are able to disregard the intervening consonants within words and generalize their vocalic pattern to previously unheard nonwords, whether this pattern includes identical or different vowels and regardless of the rhythmic pattern of the word (trochaic or iambic). Analysis of the occurrence of the relevant vowel patterns in input speech in three Hebrew corpora (two addressed to children and one to adults) suggests that exposure to these patterns in words underlies the infants' preferences.     

Explaining the Mexican‐American Health Paradox Using Selectivity Effects

While typically socioeconomically disadvantaged, Mexican migrants in the United States tend to have better health outcomes than non‐Hispanic whites. This phenomenon is known as the “Hispanic health paradox.” Using data from Mexico and the United States, we examine several health outcomes for non‐Hispanic whites and Mexicans in the United States and in Mexico and employ Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions to help explain the paradox. We find evidence that selectivity is playing a significant role in the relatively healthy status of Mexican migrants in the United States. More importantly, there is evidence that health selectivity is a complex process and its effects typically do not work the same way for different health conditions and across genders. We also find evidence that some of migrants' health advantages are lost as they spend more time in the United States.     

Relational Ethics,Depressive Symptoms,and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples in Therapy

The purpose of this study was to examine depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction as problems related to relational ethics in one's family of origin and current partner relationships in a sample of 68 other‐sex couples seeking therapy at a large university clinic. We used the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to analyze dyadic data collected prior to beginning therapy. Specifically, we found significant actor effects between relational ethics in one's family of origin and depressive symptoms, as well as between depressive symptoms and low relationship satisfaction for both male and female partners. We also found significant partner effects for relational ethics in current partner relationship, depressive symptoms, and low relationship satisfaction. Clinical application of contextual therapy theory is discussed.     

Neuroticism,Negative Thinking,and Coping With Respect to Career Decision State

Using structural equation modeling, the present study investigated relationships between neuroticism, coping strategies, and negative career thoughts within the context of attaining a positive career decision state. Results from the initial model, based on a sample of college students (119 women, 113 men; M = 20.3 years) enrolled in a career development course, revealed that coping strategies were not a significant contribution to the model. The final model, without coping strategies, showed that neuroticism had a significant indirect effect on career decision state through negative thinking and that the relationship between neuroticism and career decision state was also significant. Findings also indicate that in the presence of negative career thoughts, neuroticism becomes associated with a more positive career decision state. Practical implications include suggestions that counselors intervene on clients' negative career thoughts to potentially render their neurotic tendencies more productive in reaching a desired career decision state.     

Becoming a (Pan)ethnic Attorney: How Asian American and Latino Law Students Manage Dual Identities

Managing professional and personal identities often belabor upwardly mobile racialized individuals. I examine in this article how Asian American and Latino law students negotiate (pan)ethnic identities while learning to become lawyers. I contend that managing dual identities creates (pan)ethnic duty among Asian American and Latino law students. I focus on those planning to work in law firms, at least initially. While there are many career options for law students, most, irrespective of race, pursue initial careers at law firms. What leads them there? How do racialization and expectations play a role in this career aspiration? And how do students negotiate the pressure to give back, or manage the internally/externally imposed duty they feel to serve respective communities? I find that Asian American and Latino law students draw on a repertoire of strategies (marginal panethnicity, tempered altruism, and instrumental ethnicity) that encompass different accounts, identities, and roles enabling creativity and elasticity for professional and personal identities. The findings suggest that panethnicity remains salient for upwardly mobile individuals of color, even those who do not ostensibly appear to be concerned with panethnic communities and causes.