Personal and Family Correlates of Resilience Among Adolescents Living in Single-Parent Households in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Based on the responses of 291 Taiwanese adolescents living with single parents, this article examines the personal (gender and academic performance) and family (gender of parent living together and family type) correlates of resilience of the participants with reference to different psychosocial domains. Whereas girls displayed higher resilience in some dimensions of personal and school resilience domains than did boys, boys experienced higher family resilience than did girls. Better academic performance was positively related to effective coping, personal independence, global personal resilience, and parental expectation on academic performance. Adolescents living with single mothers displayed higher personal independence and family resilience than did adolescents living with single fathers. Compared with adolescents not living with any parent or those who lived with both parents after divorce, adolescents living in nuclear and stem families displayed higher positive orientation to older people and experienced higher family resilience.     

Identifying extraordinary contributors to work and family research: eight modalities of excellence

ABSTRACT

In this study we quantitatively and qualitatively explore two research questions: (1) ‘What qualifies a scholar to be classified as an extraordinary contributor to work and family research?’ and, (2) ‘Who are extraordinary contributors to work and family research?’ We first selected a group of top work and family scholars based on total citation counts and a multi-level nomination process. We then qualitatively explored our research questions via e-mail correspondence and telefocus groups. From these data, we distilled eight core themes, or ‘modalities of excellence,’ to categorize extraordinary contributors: (1) publishing (traditional academic metrics), (2) publishing (reputation among scholars), (3) disseminating work and family research (translational research), (4) funding work and family research, (5) service to the work and family field, (6) mentoring future work and family scholars, (7) landmark work and family contributions, and (8) overall reputation. Using quantitative measures (citation counts) and qualitative exploration (e-mail correspondence, telefocus groups, and surveys of work and family scholars), we identified extraordinary contributors in each modality.     

Negotiating Ethnic Identity in the College Korean Language Classes

This article examines the ways in which second-generation Korean-American students form and transform their senses of ethnicity through their participation in Korean language classes at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. These classes were largely populated by second-generation Korean-Americans. Called the "New Second Generation," these Korean-American students, who have "successfully" proceeded through the American educational system, show that adaptation to the host society does not necessarily lead to assimilated American identity, and that learning Korean (a "heritage" language) does not necessarily lead to homogeneous ethnic identity formation. Although "heritage" (or "ethnic") language has often been taken up as a symbol for group maintenance, my study shows that actual interaction with the language is complexly and heterogeneously experienced among the group members, especially in relation to the ethnic identity formation process. Korean classes (as a transnational social field) contain complicated and contradictory characteristics, resulting from their complex mixture of class participants, their institutional location, and their national and transnational situation. Korean-American language learners negotiate their sense of ethnic identity by interacting with social meanings initiated from words, passages, illustrations, and texts. Furthermore, Korean-American student's language performance and cultural tastes, which are perceived and evaluated by themselves and others, differently locate these students on a continuum of "Koreanness" and "Americanness," reflecting different relationships to Korea and different senses of being Korean.     

Academic achievement of Vietnamese American adolescents: A community perspective

This article investigates influences on academic achievement among Vietnamese American high school students. Theorists have offered a variety of explanations for Asian American academic success, and characteristics of individual families have received particular attention in many of these explanations. Here, it is argued that the academic success of Vietnamese American students may be understood as the product of “social capital,” or tightly integrated sets of associations, within Vietnamese American communities. If this is the case, it is further argued, high levels of scholastic performance among Vietnamese American youth should be proportionate to their involvement with an ethnic community. The article uses data from a specific Vietnamese American community to find whether community involvement by adolescents and their families is in fact associated with academic achievement. Participation in an ethnic church, proportion of friends who are Vietnamese, and attendance at after‐school Vietnamese classes are used as indicators of adolescents’ community involvement. Membership in ethnic community organizations is used as an indicator of parental community involvement. Findings support the contention that the involvement of Vietnamese American adolescents and of their parents in the ethnic community are strong predictors of academic achievement and that the structure of individual families promotes scholastic performance primarily by promoting community involvement.     

Drug trafficking and addiction among low-income urban youths: An ecological perspective

Drug addiction and drug trafficking continue to be a major problem during adolescence and a primary cause of significant problems in adulthood. For low-income, urban, African American youths, these problems are compounded by environmental factors-such as communities that are depleted of resources, schools that are inadequately funded, family members who are unemployed-and other physical, legal, spiritual, social and psychological factors. These ecological factors have the potential to impinge significantly on the lives of those who become involved with drug use and sales. The problems resulting from these issues not only affect the individual but also family members, communities and the nation.

This paper examines the patterns of drug addiction and trafficking among African American youths in poverty, with an eye toward answering the following questions: What is drug trafficking? What is the youths perception of drug addiction? What role does drug trafficking play in subsequent drug use? What is the nature and role of ecological factors, such as poverty, in the interaction between drug addiction and drug trafficking? How do these issues reflect on developmental theories of addiction?     

Russian Families

Abstract

The Russian Federation (Russia) is the largest country in land mass and its population is seventh in the world. The historical development of the Russian family is connected, first of all, with Russian Orthodoxy. After the October revolt of 1917 socialism began and the bases of the traditional family were abolished. However, since the 1930s the family was still formally recognized as a primary cell of Soviet society. In modern Russia the demographic data show the tendencies of a decrease in the number of concluded marriages and an increase in the number of divorces, one-child and childless families. Nevertheless, according to representative opinion polls, the family is highly valued in Russian society. What modern challenges worry members of Russian strong families the most and how do they manage these challenges? To answer these questions, we have undertaken qualitative sociological research.     

Preface

Being raised by a single mother is one factor that has been suggested as contributing to the plight of African American males. Yet few studies have focused specifically on African American single mothers' experiences with raising sons. This qualitative study explored the following questions: (1) What are the experiences of African American single mothers in the raising of their sons? (2) What coping strategies do African American single mothers use in the raising of their sons? Two rounds of unstructured open-ended interviews were conducted with 11 African American single mothers of at least one son. Implications for family therapy based on the interviews are presented.     

Implications of Posttraumatic Stress Among Military-Affiliated and Civilian Students

Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms are associated with problem drinking and alcohol-related consequences, as well as academic correlates among military-affiliated and civilian students. Participants: The final sample (n = 248) included 78 combat-exposed student service members/veterans, 53 non–combat-exposed student service members/ veterans, 38 ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) students, and 79 civilian students. Methods: Self-report data were collected spring 2011 via a Web-based survey measuring PTS, problem drinking, alcohol-related consequences, grade point average, educational self-efficacy, academic amotivation, and persistence. Results: Military students exposed to combat-related trauma reported significantly greater PTS symptoms than other military and civilian groups. PTS symptoms were associated with problem drinking and alcohol-related consequences for all groups, yet unrelated to academic correlates among those exposed to combat-related trauma. Conclusion: This study adds to the scant literature base exploring the unique characteristics of student service members/veterans in higher education.     

Cohesion,Satisfaction With Family Bonds,and Emotional Well‐Being in Families With Adolescents

The present paper investigated whether higher cohesion and satisfaction with family bonds were associated with the daily experience of emotional well‐being in varying social circumstances. Using a sample of school‐age adolescents (N = 95) and both their parents, data were gathered daily over 1 week using a diary approach in addition to self‐report instruments. Multilevel analyses revealed higher cohesion to be associated with well‐being in fathers and adolescents, but not in mothers. Parents also reported higher well‐being when with friends or colleagues than when alone. Moreover, fathers who scored higher on cohesion reported higher well‐being when with family members than when alone, whereas adolescents who scored higher on satisfaction with bonds reported lower well‐being when with peers or siblings than when alone.     

The role of mothers in economic socialization of saving behaviour in Polish adolescents / El rol de las madres en la socialización ecónomica del comportamiento de ahorro de los adolescentes polacos

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of mothers in the economic socialization of saving-related attitudes, motives and behaviours in Polish adolescents. Research to date has shown that economic education in the family and parental models (especially the mother) are particularly important for the development of adolescent saving behaviour. Youth saving was hypothesized to be enhanced by active economic education (direct teaching) in the family and certain attitudes of mothers towards money (attitude modelling). A questionnaire-based approach was used and responses from 154 mother-adolescent (aged 13–19 years) dyads were analysed. Correlation and regression analyses showed that modelling of attitudes is more important for the formation of pro-saving attitudes and behaviour than direct teaching of children to engage in economic activities.     

The Impact of Parental Remarriage on Children

Abstract

A meta-analysis of 61 studies was undertaken to determine the impact of parental remarriage on the academic achievement and psychological well-being of children, of which the vast majority were adolescents. Separate analyses were done on studies that did and did not use sophisticated controls in their analyses. Comparisons were made between children from remarried versus intact families as well as children from remarried and divorced or widowed single-parent families. Children from remarried family structures achieved academic levels that were generally more than two-tenths of a standard deviation lower than children from intact families. Children from remarried families also achieved somewhat lower levels than children from corresponding single-parent family structures. The difference between children from remarried families and children from intact families was nearly two- tenths of a standard deviation for measures of psychological well-being, for studies that did not use sophisticated controls and was somewhat less for studies that did use sophisticated controls. The significance of these results is discussed, doi: 10.1300/J002v40n04_05     

“Something Amazing I Guess”: Children's Views on Having A Say About Supervised Contact

Abstract

This paper reports on a small-scale, qualitative study on children's perspectives about their participation in decision-making processes regarding supervised contact. The paper begins with an overview of the study and a summary of findings in relation to four key research questions framed around the idea of children having a say, that is, children's views and perspectives of their participation in family law decision-making processes. These key questions include: What are children's experiences of having a say? What are children's understandings of having a say? Did children want a say in the decision for them to have supervised contact? How did having (or not having) a say feel? Discussion focuses on what importance children place on having a say in family law matters, a finding that is contrasted with children's experiences of marginalisation and exclusion from decision-making processes and of ambivalence and reluctance sometimes expressed around having a say. Children's idea of having a say as taking place in and through particular forms of dialogue and conversation, thus enabling the recognition of children and respect for what they have to say, are also explored. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of the study for professionals working in family law     

The evolution of altruistic preferences: mothers versus fathers

What can evolutionary biology tell us about male-female differences in preferences concerning family matters? Might mothers be more solicitous toward offspring than fathers, for example? The economics literature has documented gender differences—children benefit more from money put in the hands of mothers rather than fathers, for example—and these differences are thought to be partly due to preferences. Yet for good reason family economics is mostly concerned with how prices and incomes affect behavior against a backdrop of exogenous preferences. Evolutionary biology complements this approach by treating preferences as the outcome of natural selection. We mine the well-developed biological literature to make a prima facie case for evolutionary roots of parental preferences. We consider the most rudimentary of traits—sex differences in gamete size and internal fertilization—and explain how they have been thought to generate male-female differences in altruism toward children and other preferences related to family behavior. The evolutionary approach to the family illuminates connections between issues typically thought distinct in family economics, such as parental care and marriage markets.     

Bullying and its consequences: In search of solutions—Part II

Abstract

In Western societies the closing of the twentieth century witnessed sweeping changes across many forms of life – including the Mafia. Within the crime families male dominance continues but with important qualifications. The norm of male authority has been eclipsed by Carmela soprano emerging triumphantly from the loyal maternal role of devotion to her family, church, and her cooking. Behind the glitter of jewels, the clouds of teased-cut hair and frosted nails are smart, savvy, morally conflicted women who are more that tightlipped, emotionally smothered Mamma Coreleones. What transformations are apparent in this new world of post-RICCO crime? Has the erosion of traditional organized crime power provided opportunities for the emergence of a subculture of clever, resourceful women occupying and inhabiting some of the conventional roles in Mafia-type hierarchies? How do these wives, mistresses, mothers and daughters of “made men” in crime organizations actually function? How does the exposure to criminality conspire to attract or repel women caught up in the midst of such activities? Some examples of women immersed in organized crime in the United States and elsewhere will be examined.     

White Mothers Negotiating Race and Ethnicity in the Mothering of Biracial,Black-White Adolescents

Abstract

Eleven White mothers of biracial, Black/White adolescents were interviewed in a qualitative study to determine whether and how these mothers socialize their children to issues of race and ethnicity. The majority of the women were raising their children with a focus exclusively on an African American culture and not including elements of an ethnicity germane to the mother. Their children identified as biracial privately and Black publicly. The specific strategies utilized by the women to foster ecological competence are discussed.     

Ten Research Questions for Family Therapy

A growing evidence‐base shows that family therapy works, but many gaps in our knowledge remain about the conditions under which family therapy is effective and how it works. In this paper, ten critical research questions about family therapy that need to be addressed are considered. In short these are:

• 1 Is family therapy as effective in community settings as it is in specialist clinics?
• 2 For what problems is family therapy cost‐effective?
• 3 Does family therapy work for under‐researched problems and populations?
• 4 Do social‐constructionist and narrative approaches to family therapy work?
• 5 Can family therapy protocols be enhanced for non‐responders?
• 6 Can family therapy be combined with other psychotherapies to effectively treat specific problems?
• 7 Can family therapy be combined with pharmacotherapy to effectively treat specific problems?
• 8 What specific factors contribute to the effectiveness of family therapy with particular problems?
• 9 What common factors contribute to the effectiveness of family therapy?
• 10 What therapist and client factors contribute to the effectiveness of family therapy?

     

Gender,work-family conflicts,and perceived parental success: The moderating role of gender ideology

ABSTRACT

We know little about how perceptions of conflict between work and family shape the subjective views of dual-earner parents. Given time constraints and the prevalence of gendered parenting norms, gender ideologies and work-family conflicts may help explain perceived parental success. Using data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, I explore whether gender ideology moderates how conflicts between work and family relate to perceived parental success. Among dual-earner mothers, work-to-family conflict was negatively related to perceived parental success. For dual-earner fathers, work-to-family conflict was positively associated with perceived parental success among more traditional fathers, while the opposite was the case for more egalitarian fathers. Family-to-work conflict was only negatively related to the perceived parental success of more traditional fathers. These findings suggest that gender ideologies are more central in explaining how work-family conflicts relate to fathers’ perceived parental success compared to that of mothers.     

An Exploration of Family Environment,Adolescent Perceptions,and Home-Based Intervention

ABSTRACT

Home-based family intervention has become a successful approach to treatment in the field of social work and family therapy. Studies in this area have usually focused on the outcome of nonplacement as the measure of success; few studies have reported specifically on changes in family environment and adolescent perceptions following home-based intervention. Using the family life cycle as a theoretical framework, this study assessed changes in family environment and adolescent perceptions from pretest to post-test in families receiving home-based family intervention. Findings indicate that the family environment improved in cohesion, conflict, and independence; and adolescents improved in self-concept and peer security from pretest to posttest. Suggestions for aftercare are presented.