Examining coping strategies used by Spanish female social work students: evidence for the importance of social problem-solving abilities

The present study examined the role of social problem-solving abilities in the coping strategies used by 310 female social work students from Spain. Results from comparative analyses of the coping strategies, used by students to deal with stressful situations, indicated the greater use of functional forms of coping (eg problem solving and cognitive restructuring), compared to dysfunctional forms of coping (eg problem avoidance and wishful thinking). Moreover, results from regression analyses indicated that constructive social problem-solving abilities, namely, positive problem orientation and rational problem solving, predicted the use of functional coping strategies (eg problem solving, cognitive restructuring, and express emotions). Alternatively, one damaging social problem-solving ability, namely, negative problem orientation, predicted the use of dysfunctional coping strategies (eg problem avoidance, wishful thinking, self criticism, and social withdrawal). Taken together, these findings provide an important first step for understanding what and how social problem-solving abilities might inform how social work students cope with stressful situations as they arise. Some implications for social work education and training are discussed.     

Picking the Winners: Politician vs. Voter Predictions of Two Controversial Ballot Measures

Abstract Both politicians and voters were asked to predict outcomesof two Oregon ballot measures in 1982. As expected, politicians'predictions always were closer to the mark than voters' were.Further, voters showed stronger signs of wishful thinking (the"Looking-Glass effect") in their predictions than did politicians.Using published preelection polls apparently improved politicians'accuracy in 1982, as well as voters' accuracy in a separate1984 survey. No other sources of data improved predictive accuracy.Findings have implications for theories of representative governmentand are consistent with a new theory of public opinion.     

The Islamic Banking Industry in Jordan

Thirty-three years ago Islamic banking was considered wishful thinking. However, serious research over the past two-and-a-half decades has shown that Islamic banking is not only feasible and viable, but is an efficient and productive way of financial intermediation. A number of Islamic banks have also been established during this period in Jordan. The objective of this paper is to examine the structure and performance of the Islamic banking industry in Jordan during the period 2000–2006. We find that the Jordanian Islamic banking industry is still in its infancy compared to a number of countries in the region and there is a growth trend in the financial services market, despite its current concentration and limited size.     

Reflections on Donald J. Trump’s First 100 Days

The arrival of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States is frightening to U.S. intellectuals on many grounds, not the least of which is his narrow conception of who and what is an “American.” This essay explores this broad worry but also reflects more personally on those dangers. It contrasts visions of ‘America’ and argues that the U.S. is indeed a house divided unto itself, but not in terms of geography or citizenship. And, contrary to much wishful thinking over the years, that right-wing of the U.S. population is not a fringe element of U.S. society.     

The Adoptee’s Journey

The subject of adoption has often been mired in wishful thinking and denial. Because of the secrecy in the system, adopted children have beenforced to repress their need to know about their origins; many feel invisible because an essential part of them is unacknowledged by their adoptive parents and society. The purpose of this article is to help mental health and legal professionals, as well as those in the extended community, to see what is specific about the formation of the adoptee’s inner world. It introduces the concept of cumulative adoption trauma and discusses the adoptee's need to dissociate feelings of loss, grief and anger. The struggle to form a coherent sense of selfmay eventually lead to the adoptee's need to search out the birth parents in order to integrate the past and the present and move on into the future.     

The Adoptee's Journey

The subject of adoption has often been mired in wishful thinking and denial. Because of the secrecy in the system, adopted children have been forced to repress their need to know about their origins; many feel invisible because an essential part of them is unacknowledged by their adoptive parents and society. The purpose of this article is to help mental health and legal professionals, as well as those in the extended community, to see what is specific about the formation of the adoptee's inner world. It introduces the concept of cumulative adoption trauma and discusses the adoptee's need to dissociate feelings of loss, grief, and anger. The struggle to form a coherent sense of self may eventually lead to the adoptee's need to search out the birth parents in order to integrate the past and the present and move on into the future.     

The process of coping with domestic violence in adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Research suggests that the use of disengaged or avoidant strategies to cope with interpersonal violence contributes to the development of depressive symptoms and other psychological difficulties. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) who are exposed to subsequent episodes of abuse may be more likely to rely on disengaged coping strategies, placing them at elevated risk of psychological symptomatology. In this study, we explored the interrelationships between coping, depression, and self-esteem in an ethnically diverse sample of domestic violence survivors (N = 219) with and without a history of CSA. As predicted, CSA survivors (n = 86) reported significantly greater use of disengaged coping strategies (wishful thinking, self-criticism, and social withdrawal) than non-CSA survivors (n = 133). As hypothesized, both a CSA history and the use of disengaged coping significantly predicted higher levels of depression and lower self- esteem. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Suicide Attempts by Adolescent Latinas: An Exploratory Study of Individual and Family Correlates

Epidemiological data show high rates of suicide attempts among adolescent Latinas. Few studies have addressed the psychosocial, cultural and family correlates of suicide attempts among this age group of a rapidly growing population. The authors studied 31 adolescent Hispanic females who were receiving mental health services; 14 girls had attempted suicide in the previous five years and 17 had never attempted suicide. The two groups of girls did not differ significantly with respect to demographic profiles, levels of depression, family type, acculturation, or self-esteem. However, as hypothesized, the mutuality between girls and their mothers was lower among suicide attempters. Maladaptive coping skills of withdrawal and wishful thinking were more commonly used by attempters, and non-attempters used emotional regulation and problem-solving more frequently. Findings are discussed within the context of the empirical and theoretical literature and implications for practice are considered.     

Childhood Coping Strategies of Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Female Sexual Abuse Victims

A sample of 66 college women's retrospective reports of childhood sexual abuse was examined in order to identify the coping strategies implemented by victims of intrafamilial and extrafamilial sexual abuse at the time of their victimization Results indicated that both intrafamilial and extrafamilial victims reported attempts to regulate their distress (with emotion-focused coping strategies) and to impact the actual abuse situation (using problem-focused coping strategies). However, intrafamilial victims reported employing more of both types of coping as compared to extrafamilial victims. With regard to more specific types of emotion-focused coping, intrafamilial victims reported using more wishful thinking, detachment self-blame, and self-isolation. Differences between the two groups are also examined on a strategy-by-strategy basis. The implications of these results are discussed with regard lo clinical interventions for victims.     

Climate Change,the Quadrilemma of Globalization,and Other Politically Incorrect Reactions

Abstract

Current global climate change negotiations face some contradictions that are not always addressed as they are considered politically incorrect. These include, first, the decoupling of commitments for planetary environmental policies with the actual national strategies. A relevant example is the Bolivian administration, which presents a strong rhetoric for biospheric Mother Earth Rights, but its national development strategies generate more environmental impacts and weaken enforcement at the local level. Second, the core ideas and beliefs that explain development varieties that generate climate change are deeply rooted, so changes in political ideologies, either from traditional ‘left’ or ‘right’, do not determine policies to effectively overcome climate change. Third, accumulation of scientific information is not enough to promote the necessary changes, because these deep roots conditioned perceived and acceptable alternatives. Fourth, this lead to tensions among the pursuit of economic financial globalization, the sovereignty of the nations-states, democracy, and the basement of global environmental conservation. This is a quadrilemma, because if one or two of these objectives are pursued, at least one other is violated. Nevertheless, international negotiations rest on wishful thinking that this is possible. Uncovering these contradictions is politically incorrect for many realms.     

The Wider Benefits of Adult Learning: An Illustration of the Advantages of Multi‐method Research

This study presents a technique for enhancing causal validity in in‐depth interview research. The technique is based on the logic of control, as applied in various research contexts such as experiments and statistical analyses. According to this logic, to detect the real effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable, all other variables must be held constant. By using interview control questions (ICQs), this study applies this principle in in‐depth interviewing. An ICQ is a probe question that controls an independent variable in the participant’s thinking. Two modes are presented: simple control (neutralizing an independent variable to examine whether it is a necessary condition for an outcome) and parallel control (isolating an independent variable to examine whether it is a sufficient condition for an outcome). In both modes, the method allows for additional independent variables to surface. Applications in in‐depth interviews exploring attitudes toward victimless deviance are presented.     

Establishing a mutual reality.

Nursing stories are a vehicle for sharing the uniqueness of the nurse-patient relationship. In this article, a nurse-patient engagement within an acute mental health inpatient unit is described and viewed through various lenses. Consideration is given to literature on reflective thinking. Each lens lends itself to exploring the reflective thinking that occurred for the author. The author's personal perspective on an ethic of care is presented.     

Do fixed payments affect effort? Examining relative thinking in mixed compensation schemes

Several earlier studies have shown that people exhibit “relative thinking”: they consider relative price differences even when only absolute price differences are relevant. The article examines whether relative thinking exists when people face mixed compensation schemes that include both fixed and pay-for-performance components. Such compensation schemes are prevalent in many occupations (e.g., salespeople and managers) and therefore are an important practical issue. Surprisingly, the ratio between the pay-for-performance and the fixed compensation does not affect effort, meaning that no relative thinking is found. Another experiment shows that this is not due to reciprocity that cancels out relative thinking. In a third experiment subjects make similar decisions without incentives and the results suggest that the different context (compensation schemes instead of price comparisons) and not the introduction of financial incentives (which were not used in previous studies) is the reason that relative thinking disappears. The results have implications for designing incentive schemes in firms and for designing experiments.     

Race, Identities and Lives

This paper uses an individual biography to make an analysis of racialized identity. It explores the connections between subjectivity and the broader social scenes in which it operates, and argues that identity is the outcome of a negotiation between existential conceptions of the self in racial terms, and the administrative mechanisms through which individuals are dealt with as members of social categories. By thinking about identity in terms of specific forms of alterity, mobility and conceptions of home, this paper argues that lives acquire race through their social practices and spatial arrangements.     

The Portuguese Republic

The findings and recommendations of researchers and specialists in thinking-skill learning and teaching have important implications for classroom efforts to improve student thinking. This summary identifies various types of thinking skills and skill components recommended for classroom instruction. The author describes and cites research-derived features of effective, direct instruction in thinking skills and describes a framework for this instruction. He also describes researcherand specialist-recommended teaching techniques and lesson strategies for introducing any thinking skill, guiding continuing skill practice, and teaching students to transfer thinking skills to other contexts. He presents researcher recommendations of when, where, and why such direct skill instruction can be effectively provided. The research cited here suggests both students' academic achievement and their quality of thinking can be improved by using these techniques and strategies to teach thinking skills in subject-matter courses.     

Females' Coping Styles and Control Over Poker Machine Gambling

An investigation of the relationship between impaired control over gambling, coping strategies, and demographic variables was conducted by surveying female poker machine players (N = 163) in their gaming venues. Metropolitan (n = 14) and regional (n = 6) gaming venues in Victoria, Australia participated. Control over gambling was measured using the Impaired Control Over Gambling Scale (Baron & Dickerson, 1994). Coping strategies were measured using (Folkman et al., 1986) adaptation of the Revised Ways of Coping Checklist (Vitaliano et al., 1985). MANOVA supported the hypothesis that the lower the control over gambling the greater the reliance on emotion-focused coping (blamed self, wishful thinking, avoidance) with F = 9.92, 13.35, 14.04 respectively, all significant at p < .001. MANOVA failed to supported the hypothesis that problem-focused strategies (problem focus, seek social support) would be significantly related to control over gambling with F = .82 and .21 respectively. Control over gambling was not related to age, employment, relationship status, education, ordistress from significant life events, further supporting the relationship between control and coping strategies. Ways in which coping styles might be related to pathological gambling are discussed.     

Is There a Place for Biopsychosocial Formulation in a Systemic Practice?

There is a long history of literature concerning integrative practice and how a systemic practice can fit with other models of therapy Much of this literature has focused on establishing a space for systemic therapy within the dominant medical paradigm, and exploring how the medical model can be enhanced by systemic ideas. The outcome has been better practice, especially in child and adolescent mental health. Interestingly, however, there has been less discussion of the converse: the family therapy literature has rarely considered whether or not systemic practice itself can be enhanced by ideas from the dominant medical model. This article proposes that a biopsychosocial formulation can enhance systemic practice by: (I) holding clinicians accountable for their thinking; (2) facilitating a rigour and attention to detail that may prove useful when therapy falters; (3) opening up other possibilities for intervention; and (4) providing a way to engage with the dominant medical paradigm and support clients in negotiating their way through this system. Potential problems nevertheless arise when integrating a biopsychosocial formulation into a systemic framework. This article identifies these problems and presents ideas for how they can be managed in practice.     

Making and Remaking State Institutional Arrangements: The Case of U.S. Trade Policy in the 1970s*

Abstract The article describes the struggle between free-trade advocates and protectionists in the early 1970s in the United States over the institutional arrangements governing trade policy formation and implementation. The analysis of the struggle and its impacts offers several modifications to historical institutionalist analysis of institutional dynamics and change. First, the uneven distribution of benefits by institutions is an intended outcome of institutional designers. Second, institutions are causally effective when they reflect a balance of forces that no longer exists. Third, unanticipated effects within given institutional arrangements are the outcome of intended counter-strategies.     

DOES RELATIVE THINKING EXIST IN REAL‐WORLD SITUATIONS? A FIELD EXPERIMENT WITH BAGELS AND CREAM CHEESE

Many experiments show that consumers consider relative price differences even when only absolute price differences are relevant from an economic perspective, a phenomenon that was denoted “relative thinking.” These experiments, however, were conducted using hypothetical questions. To test whether the relative thinking bias also exists in real‐world situations, a field experiment where subjects could purchase either a bagel or a bagel with cream cheese was conducted. The monetary addition for the cream cheese was kept constant ($0.20) in both treatments, but the bagel's price varied ($0.05 in one treatment and $0.30 in the other). Relative thinking then implies that more people should add the cream cheese when the bagel's price is higher, because the relative price increase for the cream cheese is then smaller. However, the results did not document any relative thinking—more people (in percentage of those who purchase) added the cream cheese when the bagel's price was lower (the difference between the treatments, however, was not statistically significant). A replication of the experiment as a hypothetical‐scenario experiment did document relative thinking, suggesting that introduction of financial incentives might alleviate relative thinking. (JEL C93, D01, D10, L00, M31)     

Outcome valence and externality valence framing in public good dilemmas

The aim of this paper is to examine how framing influences people’ s cooperation behavior in social dilemmas. In Experiment 1 we investigated the influence of outcome valence (positive vs. negative outcome) and externality valence (positive vs. negative externality) framing on players’ willingness to cooperate in a repeated public good game. We found a significant interaction effect on first-round cooperation, indicating larger cooperation rates when there is a negative outcome valence and a positive externality on others. Furthermore, this effect remained largely stable when comparing cooperation over all rounds, resulting in 45–63% increased cooperation compared to the other conditions. In Experiment 2 we replicated the effect in an applied vignette study, lending support for the generalizability of this framing effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that public goods provisions may be increased substantially by framing the situation’s outcome valence as negative rather than positive.