The Self‐Directed Search as a Stand‐Alone Intervention With College Students

The Self‐Directed Search (SDS; Holland, 1994 ) is sometimes administered to large student groups outside of counseling to address common career development needs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the SDS as a stand‐alone intervention by comparing a general sample of college students who completed the SDS (n = 39) with a no‐treatment control group (n = 41) on several outcomes. Completion of the SDS related to an increase in the number of career alternatives being considered 4 weeks later but did not relate to career exploration, career decision‐making self‐efficacy, career indecision, and seeking of career counseling services. If the SDS is used outside of counseling with broad student samples, the authors suggest providing additional intervention to ensure that it promotes exploration of any additional careers being considered.     

Rural Appalachian High School Students’ College‐Going and STEMM Perceptions

The authors examined perceptions of key social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) variables related to college‐going and science, technology, engineering, math, and medical (STEMM) careers in 10th and 11th graders (N = 892) attending 3 rural Appalachian high schools. The authors examined differences in perceptions related to gender, prospective 1st‐generation college student status, and the presence or absence of aspirations to pursue a STEMM career. Young women and young men scored similarly on all but 1 dependent variable, college‐going self‐efficacy (young women scored higher). Students who had STEMM career aspirations had higher scores on every measure than those who did not. Results suggest examining a 3rd prospective 1st‐generation college student status group—students who are unsure of their parents’ education level—as a distinct group in future research. By examining the college‐going and STEMM attitudes of rural Appalachian high school students, this study advances the literature and informs practitioners on reducing educational and vocational inequalities in this region.     

Building Career PATHS (Postschool Achievement Through Higher Skills) for Young Women With Disabilities

The PATHS (Postschool Achievement Through Higher Skills) curriculum is designed to address the career development needs of young women with disabilities and other barriers. Participants (N = 110) in a pilot test of the curriculum showed increases in vocational self‐efficacy, social efficacy, and awareness of disability/gender issues related to career planning, whereas those in the comparison group did not make similar gains. Qualitative findings from focus groups (N = 68) revealed that PATHS participants improved in self‐confidence, self‐awareness, ability to identify strengths, knowledge of multiple career options, and the capacity to set goals and plan for future careers.     

Self‐Destructive Symptomatic Frames in Clinical Adolescents: Is the Same Different?

This study examines individual and family predictors of different self‐destructive patterns—only suicidal ideation, only nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI), or suicide attempts (that may also include both suicide ideation (SI) and NSSI)—in a sample of outpatient adolescents (N = 42; 86% females) with mean age of 16 years (SD = 1.86). Results indicated that there are differences in youngsters with self‐destructive behaviors in their perception of paternal rejection and maternal control, when compared with youngsters reporting only SI. Adolescents from the groups with self‐destructive behaviors differ only in age. Together, these data highlight the relevance of adopting an ecosystemic perspective, which includes both the patients and their families, regarding treatment and prevention of self‐destructive symptomatic frames.     

Household Work Complexity,Intellectual Functioning,and Self‐Esteem in Men and Women

Using data from a U.S. longitudinal investigation of psychological effects of occupational conditions (a project of the National Institute of Mental Health’s unit on Socioenvironmental Studies), we examined the relationship between the complexity of household work and 2 psychological variables: intellectual flexibility and self‐esteem. Longitudinal reciprocal effects analyses revealed that for men (n = 351) and women (n = 355), more complex household work was associated with increased intellectual flexibility. For women, complex household work was also associated with increased self‐confidence and decreased self‐deprecation. For men, complex household work was associated with decreased self‐confidence. The results are discussed in terms of theories of the cognitive and neurological effects of environmental complexity and of theories of self‐esteem.     

A cross‐cultural test of the work‐family interface in 48 countries

This study tests a cross‐cultural model of the work‐family interface. Using multigroup structural equation modeling with IBM survey responses from 48 countries (N= 25,380), results show that the same work‐family interface model that fits the data globally also fits the data in a four‐group model composed of culturally related groups of countries, as well as a two‐group gender model. This supports a transportable rather than a culturally specific or gender‐specific work‐family interface model: notably, job flexibility related to reduced work‐family conflict, reduced family‐work conflict, and enhanced work‐family fit. Work‐family fit related to increased job satisfaction. Findings suggest that investment by multinational companies in job flexibility initiatives may represent a dual‐agenda way to benefit men, women, and businesses in diverse cultures.     

Women leaders,self‐body‐care and corporate moderate feminism: An (im)perfect place for feminism

This article offers self‐body‐care as an aspect of corporate moderate feminism and a manifestation of postfeminism for women leaders. It explains how postfeminism as a bodily practice surfaces through women leaders' body work and how women ‘top' leaders strategize to stabilize their credibility by identifying their own and other women' body work needs and the steps they take to meet these. Self‐body‐care extends understandings of body work as part of postfeminist governmentality and contributes to understandings of moderate feminism as that which deflects and reflects feminism and constrains and empowers subjects. As such self‐body‐care offers an (im)perfect space for disruption and for Gender and Organization Studies (GOS) scholars to pursue the implications and potential of postfeminism. We call for women elite leaders to be part of feminist futures and illustrate self‐body‐care as an aspect of corporate moderate feminism by highlighting complexity in the postfeminist thesis and reflexively re‐examining two of our previous published empirical studies of women ‘top' leaders.     

Parental Involvement Promotes Rural African American Youths’ Self‐Pride and Sexual Self‐Concepts

This study, an evaluation of the Strong African American Families Program, was designed to determine whether intervention‐induced changes in targeted parenting behaviors were associated with young adolescents’ development of racial pride, self‐esteem, and sexual identity. Participants were 332 African American mothers and their 11‐year‐old children in 9 rural Georgia counties. Families were randomly assigned to a control group or an intervention group. Unlike those in the control families, mothers in the intervention group reported increases in targeted parenting behaviors, which promoted self‐esteem, positive racial identity, and positive sexual self‐concepts among their children. These findings expand the study of African American youths’ identity development by including broader domains of identity and parenting processes other than racial socialization.     

Child‐Care Usage and Mother‐Infant “Quality Time”

Mothers' time‐use patterns were compared in families in which infants spent more than 30 hours per week in child care (In‐Care group; n= 143) versus 0 hours per week (At‐Home group; n= 183) from birth to 6 months of age. In‐Care group mothers spent about 12 fewer hours per week interacting with their infants, for about 32% less time; fathers of these infants were more involved in caregiving. The groups did not differ in the quality of mother‐infant interaction. In the In‐Care group, quantity of interaction was related to greater separation anxiety and concerns about effects of maternal employment. Time‐use data were not related to child outcomes at 15 months of age. Results suggest that the effect of extensive time spent apart on the quantity and quality of mother‐infant interaction may be smaller than anticipated.     

Usefulness and Reliability of Tanner Pubertal Self‐Rating to Urban Black Adolescents in South Africa

Self‐rating of pubertal development is the recommended method to assess puberty in large community‐based surveys of adolescent development and behavior. The aim of this study was to validate for the first time pubertal self‐assessment using the sexual maturation scale developed by Tanner among Black South African adolescents (n=182) aged between 10 and 18 years who were recruited and assessed at public schools in Soweto—Johannesburg. There was significant concordance between adolescents' and same sex health professional's assessment of pubic hair growth and breast development in females (κ coefficients .71 and .76, respectively; p<.0005), and pubic hair growth and genital development in males (κ coefficients .63 and .60, respectively; p<.0005). We conclude that the Tanner pubertal self‐rating appears to be a reasonably valid instrument to use among black South African youth. The tool can be administered in school or other community‐based settings with moderate confidence provided the procedure is thoroughly explained to the participant through the developed tutorial in the language of choice, and privacy and confidentiality are assured.     

Core Self‐Evaluations,Work–Family Conflict,and Burnout

This study investigated how core self‐evaluations relate to work–family (and family–work) conflict and burnout. Drawing from a sample of 289 police officers and civilian staff who were either married or living in a union as common‐law partners, this study advances an empirical integration of work–family and core self‐evaluations research. The results suggested that even when work, nonwork, and demographic variables are controlled for, positive core self‐evaluations (i.e., composite scale, self‐esteem, locus of control, emotional stability) are related to less work–family (and family–work) conflict. The associations between core self‐evaluations and burnout are partially mediated by work–family (and family–work) conflict. Finally, core self‐evaluations moderated the association between work–family conflict and burnout, but not the one between family–work conflict and burnout.     

Self‐Focused Attention and Career Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Career Adaptability

The purpose of this study was to examine how 2 forms of self‐focused attention, self‐reflection and self‐rumination, influence career anxiety. The authors hypothesized that the association between these 2 types of self‐focused attention and career anxiety would be mediated by career adaptability on the basis of a career construction model of adaptation. The participants were 326 undergraduate students in South Korea. The results of this study supported the hypothesized mediation model by indicating significant indirect effects of self‐reflection and self‐rumination on career anxiety via career adaptability. The direct effect of self‐rumination on career anxiety was significant (B = .44, p < .01), but the direct effect of self‐reflection on career anxiety was not significant (B = –.05, p > .05). The authors discuss implications for counselors to help college students manage career anxiety by encouraging and supporting increased career adaptability. Future research to examine the cross‐cultural validity of the current findings is needed.     

Maternal Psychosocial Adversity and the Longitudinal Development of Infant Sleep

Research has identified associations between indicators of social disadvantage and the presence of child sleep problems. We examined the longitudinal development of infant sleep in families experiencing high (n = 58) or low (n = 64) levels of psychosocial adversity, and the contributions of neonatal self‐regulatory capacities and maternal settling strategies to this development. Assessments of infant sleep at 4‐, 7‐, and 12‐weeks postpartum indicated no differences in sleeping difficulties between high‐ and low‐adversity groups. However, more infant sleep difficulties were reported in the high‐ versus low‐adversity groups at 12‐ and 18‐month follow‐ups. Neonatal self‐regulatory capacities were not related to the presence or absence of adversity, or to subsequent infant sleep quality. However, there were group differences in maternal settling strategies that did predict subsequent infant sleep difficulties. The pattern of sleep disturbance observed in association with maternal psychosocial adversity at 18‐months was consistent with risk for broader impairments in child functioning.     

Evaluating the Nature of the Still‐Face Effect in the Double Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face Paradigm Using Different Comparison Groups

The current study explored two possible comparison groups for the double Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face (FFSF) paradigm to evaluate their effects on infant behavior and different hypotheses about the nature of the Still‐Face (SF) effect, an effect not fully understood. Mothers and their 4‐month‐old infants were randomly assigned to one of three groups, a double FFSF group (Group_FFSF, n = 44), a control, semi‐structured play group (Group_Story, n = 46), or a control, unstructured play group (Group_Play, n = 28). As hypothesized, Group_FFSF infants exhibited the classic SF response (decreased positive affect and gaze to mother; increased negative affect) and Group_Play infants showed an increase in negative affect over episodes. Contrary to expectations, Group_Story infants displayed a similar, but less intense, pattern of behavior as Group_FFSF. Taken together, the findings indicate that multiple episodes of face‐to‐face play exceeded 4‐month‐olds' regulatory capacities and that infants are sensitive to shared communicative intentions and violations of social expectations, whether these violations are negative or positive in nature.     

Cross‐Ethnic Equivalence of Socialization Measures in European American and African American Youth

We examined the cross‐ethnic equivalency of socialization measures developed primarily with European American families. Four aspects of measurement equivalence were assessed: conceptual, operational, scalar, and functional. Evidence of between—and within—group measurement equivalency of socialization measures was derived from youth reports of 500 European American and 134 African American individuals ages 10 to 18, using confirmatory factor analyses and item response theory analyses. Findings indicate that most individual indicators of socialization, with the exception of paternal psychological control and parent‐youth conflict, demonstrated cross‐ethnic equivalence. The findings also suggest that lax control is better represented as a multidimensional construct (leniency and laxness).     

Women's self‐defense and sexual assault resistance: The state of the field

Public attention to sexual assault has increased dramatically over the last decade, spurring questions about how it can be prevented. One approach that has received scant attention is women's self‐defense training (sometimes known as sexual assault resistance training). This neglect is curious because empowerment‐based women's self‐defense (ESD) training is so far the only approach that has produced substantively significant decreases in victimization rates. In this article, I review the research evidence on women's self‐defense training. Does resisting a sexual assault affect the outcome of sexual violence? Does self‐defense training further reduce women's risk of violence? What are the other consequences of self‐defense training? How does self‐defense work for different groups of women—for example, those who have survived prior victimizations? Are the critiques of women's self‐defense training valid? Finally, what do we still need to learn about women's self‐defense? Overall, I argue that this evidence presents a compelling case that women's self‐defense training should be central to any efforts to prevent sexual violence.     

Family Therapy Retention: An Observation of First‐Session Communication

This study examined the relationship between communication patterns and retention among families (n = 18) receiving family therapy. Those that attended 12 sessions were labeled completers (n = 6), 4–8 sessions were middle dropouts (n = 6), and 1–3 sessions were early dropouts (n = 6). Audiotape recordings of the first therapy session were transcribed. The content (positive or negative) and total percentage of communications by the parent, adolescent, and therapist were coded. Completer and middle dropout parents (but not adolescents) showed higher talk time proportions than parents in the early dropout group. Completer families had higher percentages of therapist‐to‐parent communications, while early dropout families had higher percentages of therapist‐to‐adolescent communications. There were no significant differences between middle dropouts and completers in either content or total communications. These findings demonstrate the potential utility of examining within‐session communication patterns and suggest that within‐session processes may determine therapy retention.     

Career Self‐Efficacy and Perceptions of Parent Support in Adolescent Career Development

The authors examined the relative contributions of both proximal and distal supports to the career interests and vocational self‐efficacy in a multiethnic sample (N = 139) of middle school adolescents. Consistent with Social Cognitive Career Theory, it was found that (a) vocational self‐efficacy and career planning/exploration efficacy consistently predicted young adolescents' career interests across Holland (J. L. Holland, D. R. Whitney, N. S. Cole, & J. M. Richards, 1969) themes; (b) gender and career gender‐typing predicted interests in Realistic, Investigative, and Social careers; and (c) perceived parent support accounted for 29% to 43% of the total unique variance in vocational self‐efficacy for all Holland theme careers.     

Parental Emotional Support,Science Self‐Efficacy,and Choice of Science Major in Undergraduate Women

Former participants in a high school enrichment program for girls interested in science careers were surveyed 1 to 2 years after high school graduation. After reporting their college major, they completed measures of science self‐efficacy and quality of emotional bonds with parents. Of the 41 women, 5 were not enrolled in college. Those actually majoring in science (n = 23) reported significantly higher science self‐efficacy than those who were undecided or had chosen nonscicnce majors (n = 13). Science self‐efficacy was significantly negatively associated with recollections of fathers as having been highly controlling and likely to use a “love withdrawal” parenting style.