Boundary-Spanning Demands,Personal Mastery,and Family Satisfaction: Individual and Crossover Effects Among Dual-Earner Parents

Grounded in ecological systems theory, this study modeled family satisfaction as a function of family-unfriendly work culture, work–family blurring, and personal mastery, examining both individual crossover effects. Analysis of data from 273 married dual-earner parents revealed that family-unfriendly work culture was negatively related to family satisfaction, whereas personal mastery was positively related to family satisfaction. Mothers' family-unfriendly work culture and work–family blurring were negatively related to their husbands' family satisfaction, but no parallel crossover findings were obtained for fathers, suggesting gender differences in crossover. Results were consistent with the notion that family life can be compromised by work cultures that create demands spanning both work and family domains. Implications for the management of work and family boundaries are discussed.     

Transition from the hospital to the community: small group program.

1. Clients in a psychiatric hospital often experience loss of control over their lives and dissatisfaction with their quality of living. A small group rehabilitation program can counteract the effects of institutionalization and restore a sense of mastery to chronic psychiatric clients. 2. The therapeutic nurse-client relationship provides consistency and stability for clients who must cope with the stress of the mental health system and the transition to a community setting. 3. The program strives to restore individuals' self-confidence and dignity, improve their quality of life, and decrease the frequency and length of hospitalization.     

Early social referencing predicts object mastery motivation in infancy: Social antecedents of object mastery motivation

The researchers sought to understand the typical development of social referencing and object mastery motivation in infancy and to determine the relationship between social referencing and object mastery behaviors in infants from 7 to 22 months of age. The study included 36 infants who were followed as part of a longitudinal study of at-risk infants but were not determined to need care in the neonatal intesive care unit at birth. Both mastery behaviors of persistence and success showed a statistically significant effect of age, while social behaviors remained stable from 7 to 22 months. Social behaviors at 7 and 10 months were correlated with persistence at 22 months and success at 16 to 22 months demonstrating that early social referencing predicts object mastery behaviors in later infancy. Further research should determine if this trend extends to early childhood.     

Network autocorrelation models with egocentric data

Network autocorrelation models have been widely used for decades to model the joint distribution of the attributes of a network's actors. This class of models can estimate both the effect of individual characteristics as well as the network effect, or social influence, on some actor attribute of interest. Collecting data on the entire network, however, is very often infeasible or impossible if the network boundary is unknown or difficult to define. Obtaining egocentric network data overcomes these obstacles, but as of yet there has been no clear way to model this type of data and still appropriately capture the network effect on the actor attributes in a way that is compatible with a joint distribution on the full network data. This paper adapts the class of network autocorrelation models to handle egocentric data. The proposed methods thus incorporate the complex dependence structure of the data induced by the network rather than simply using ad hoc measures of the egos’ networks to model the mean structure, and can estimate the network effect on the actor attribute of interest. The vast quantities of unknown information about the network can be succinctly represented in such a way that only depends on the number of alters in the egocentric network data and not on the total number of actors in the network. Estimation is done within a Bayesian framework. A simulation study is performed to evaluate the estimation performance, and an egocentric data set is analyzed where the aim is to determine if there is a network effect on environmental mastery, an important aspect of psychological well-being.     

Maintaining mastery despite age related losses. The resilience narratives of two older women in need of long-term community care

The aim of this article is to examine how older people mobilise sources of strength, often denoted under the concept of resilience, to maintain mastery over their lives in the context of significant threats to their function. Departing from a relational approach to resilience, we focus on how they cooperate and interact with significant others to achieve their personal goals. This is illustrated by the narratives of two older women. The concept of resilience helps us to reflect on their stories and to gain an in-depth understanding of the mediating sources of strength older people rely on when encountering the losses associated with old age. The narratives of the women show that what on the surface appears to be a similar burden to a life or function, turned out to be interpreted and responded to in a different way. Maintaining mastery in old age is a symbolic and interactional process, and a shared responsibility for older persons and their social environment. Important mediating sources of strength that turn out to influence positively one's sense of mastery include a positive perception of one's situation, openness about one's vulnerability and responsiveness to help. In order to promote older people's sense of mastery, significant others need to approach them in a positive way, by being aware of the way support is offered, by believing in their potential and strength and by allowing reciprocity in the relationship. When these conditions are fulfilled, it becomes possible to enter into a constructive dialogue and recommendations can be developed – in terms of treatment – that are consistent with the older persons' values and expectations.     

Psychodynamic Issues in the Treatment of Binge Eating: Working with Shame,Secrets, No-Entry,and False Body Defenses

Two clinical moments from patients in treatment for Binge Eating Disorder (DSM 5) are described where a manifest problem with body image difficulty was initially denied. Each patient entered treatment with the desire to lose weight as well as gain a fuller understanding of self and mastery over addictive eating patterns that caused considerable psychological anguish. An integrated treatment matrix of practical, contemporary psychodynamic interventions and more behavioral, experiential and supportive tools allowed each patient to uncover and work through heretofore split off aspects of their bodily selves. Defense mechanisms such as ‘no entry’ fantasies and ‘the false body’ that have recently been described in the analytic literature are applied in formulating each case example. The author underscores how therapists must probe for secrets in the personal and family history that are ‘hidden, but in plain view’ and pursue them in order for the patient to embrace a more coherent, true sense of her/his bodily self. These secrets often contain a less conscious rationale for treating the body poorly and perpetuating hated, shameful and derogatory aspects of body image that may become externalized onto the therapist. These externalizations can further complicate countertransference reactions that must be acknowledged and worked through by the therapist in personal or self-analysis.     

Mastery,Homeownership, and Adult Roles During the Transition to Adulthood

We investigate the relationship between homeownership and personal sense of mastery in the transition to adulthood and examine whether three important adult transitions (employment, marriage/cohabitation, and parenthood) moderate the impact of homeownership on mastery. Utilizing the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth—Young Adult Sample (N = 1,609), we estimate change models to assess the direct effects of homeownership on mastery as well as whether this impact is modified by the transition to adult roles. Homeownership increases the sense of mastery among young adults. Homeowners who are unemployed paradoxically receive a boost to mastery not experienced by those who are employed, and homeowners who are parents experience increased mastery, compared to those who do not have children. Owning a home has a positive influence on young adults' sense of mastery during a period when their mastery is in flux and they are accumulating new roles.     

The life-course origins of mastery among older people

In this article, we aim to identify the sources of mastery--the understanding that individuals hold about their ability to control the circumstances of their lives. The sample for our inquiry was drawn from the Medicare beneficiary files of people 65 and older living in Washington, DC, and two adjoining Maryland counties. We find that past circumstances, particularly those reflecting status attainment and early exposure to intractable hardships, converge with stressors experienced in late life to influence elders' level of mastery. The impact of past conditions, however, does not necessarily directly affect the current mastery of older people. Instead, the effect of prior experiences on current mastery is mediated by what we refer to as life-course mastery: one's belief that one has directed and managed the trajectories that connect one's past to the present. Our analyses show that life-course mastery largely serves as the mediating channel through which individuals connect their past to their present.     

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Personal Mastery Among Sexual Minority African-American Female Sex Workers

Research among sexual minorities has traditionally examined problems such as substance use, HIV risk, mental health problems, and victimization. Among sexual minority street-based female sex workers, these vulnerabilities can be magnified. Grounded in theories of resilience, this study examines risk and protective factors associated with a high level of personal mastery among a vulnerable population of women. Data are drawn from baseline interviews from street-based African-American female sex workers enrolled in a randomized intervention trial in Miami, Florida. We compare sexual minority (N = 197) and heterosexual (N = 365) women on measures of risk and protective factors; among sexual minority women we present logistic regression analyses which reveal that severe mental distress and HIV transmission risk are associated with low levels of personal mastery, while protective factors of transportation access and social support are associated with high levels of personal mastery. These findings suggest that these protective factors may potentially facilitate the development of personal mastery and represent beneficial avenues for intervention efforts.     

Does traffic noise alter calling time in frogs and toads? A case study of anurans in Eastern Ontario,Canada

In habitats disturbed by anthropogenic noise, acoustically communicating species may develop behavioral responses that help them transmit information and overcome signal masking. We studied four anuran species breeding in wetlands, ponds, and ditches near a highway in eastern Ontario, Canada, to test whether they called more often when traffic noise intensity was lower, and stopped calling when the noise intensity increased (i.e., gap calling behavior). We made call recordings between April and July 2011, and compared the traffic noise intensity (sound pressure level) between times when the anurans were calling and times when they were not calling. We found that the two species with the highest call peak frequency (American toad, gray treefrog) called randomly with regard to traffic noise intensity. In contrast, the two species with the lowest call peak frequency (green frog, bullfrog) called more often when traffic noise intensity was low. The behavioral response in the two latter species likely represents a short-term strategy that enhances their signal-to-noise ratio thereby increasing the chance of effective communication. Our results support predictions derived from the acoustic adaptation hypothesis: low-frequency signals are more prone to be masked by anthropogenic noise and therefore require behavioral adjustments (in this study gap-calling behavior) to ameliorate this effect.     

Medical malpractice,social structure,and social control

The origin and handling of doctor-patient conflict can be understood with reference to the sociological aspects of professional health care. This premise is explored by applying Black's theory of social control to the empirical evidence concerning malpractice litigation in the United States. The vertical, organizational, and relational distances between the health care provider and the patient are particularly relevant for predicting when malpractice claims will be made and how they will be resolved. These social-structural variables help explain several patterns in the American malpractice experience, including the aggregate increase in claim rates over the past four decades; the persistence of toleration as the modal response to medical injury; why poorer patients are less suit-prone than higher income patients; why surgical specialties have higher claim rates than general practice and psychiatry; why hospitals are sued disproportionately less often than individual doctors; and the relatively high frequency of prodefendant decisions when lawsuits are decided by a judge or jury.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1992.     

Medical sociology: some tensions among theory, method, and substance

Why is it that quantitative and qualitative researchers on health issues often have divergent findings and conclusions? Exploration of such differences can be a useful way of bringing separate intellectual enclaves in medical sociology together and also can stimulate future inquiries. Some differences can be resolved by more precise definitions, by comparable frequency and timing of measurement, and by careful evaluation of meaning contexts. The triangulation of methods, using diaries as a bridge between surveys and qualitative measurement, offers particular promise. Improved theory on the relationships of method to data, and more attention to behavioral sequences and the social context of measurement, can serve as a stimulant to innovative solutions.     

OUT OF UTOPIA:

An important segment of writings on postindustrialization is distinctly utopian in stressing the greater mastery and control made possible by recent innovations in information technology. The utopian theme underscores the technical outcomes of innovations and highlights their benefits for ameliorating social problems. By contrast, our work suggests that many of the social problems in contemporary society are a consequence of recent innovations in information technology. We argue that postindustrial theorists are correct in stressing mastery over certain technical problems but incorrect in slighting the destabilizing effect innovations have on organizations and the markets in which these organizations participate. These destabilizing effects complicate organizational strategies by increasing market risk and uncertainty. Since most organizations are risk aversive, social problems are created as organizations externalize their costs and pass along risk to other, more dependent actors. Illustrations from two institutions, politics and the economy, indicate that many postindustrial innovations are associated with heightened competition as well as greater risk and uncertainty across the institutional order. We conclude that postindustrial technology introduces no net gain in man aging the complexities of the social world. Risk and control are both integral to technological innovation and constitute the paradox of postindustrialization.     

Challenges in Isolating the Effect of College Attainment and Debt Accumulation on Young Adult Self‐Concept

Prior studies have found college attendance to boost self‐esteem and mastery in young adults. Yet, college attendance itself is likely influenced by self‐esteem and mastery levels experienced in adolescence. And both are likely influenced by adolescent cognitive ability and academic achievement. Using data from the NLSY79‐YA, we illustrate the difficulties in isolating the positive effect of college on young adult self‐concept. First, we estimate adolescent self‐concept trajectories for respondents and analyze whether these trajectories are predictive of college attendance and degree attainment. Second, we assess whether the inclusion of adolescent self‐concept trajectories significantly reduces the beneficial effect of college on young adult self‐esteem and mastery. We also investigate the complex temporal relationship between adolescent characteristics, debt accumulation, and young adult self‐concept. Our findings show that the positive effects of college attainment and debt accumulation on young adult self‐concept are significantly reduced when measures of adolescent self‐concept and cognitive ability are included. These results imply that the benefit of going to college or acquiring debt may be overstated when adolescent characteristics are not taken into consideration.     

Vorking mothers and the family

Social work tends to develop interest in law and legal development, particularly in family law, juvenile crime and social welfare fields. Social workers are often the closest observers of such laws in action, and naturally wish to help administer and amend them. My impression is that they are often inadequately prepared to do so—but not in the way they may think. Some sociology of lawyers may be more important than a mastery of technical law.     

Territorial behavior and fear of crime in the elderly

Observations were made of the visible territorial markers of elderly homeowners. Attitudinal measures of their fear of crime indicated that high-territorial elderly were less fearful of being victimized than were low-territorial elderly. Strong sex differences in the amount of fear were also found, as were interactions of territoriality with the sex and with the living arrangement (alone or not alone) of the homeowner. The results are discussed in the context of the mastery of the environment by the elderly.     

Why the Term “Social Sciences” Has Come into Use

Too often, social studies educators are asked to focus their design and enactment of learning experiences on the mastery of content knowledge, often at the expense of other aims and goals. In response to this problem, the authors of this article explore the reclamation of dispositions in social studies curriculum planning and teaching. First, he authors clarify what is meant by dispositions in the social studies. Then, by drawing on seminal works in the field, they ofter a taxonomy of social studies dispositions in order to assist pre-service and in-service teachers to consciously plan for dispositional development. Finally, the authors detail how these dispositions can be operationlized within a series of practical examples.     

Neighborhood social capital, parenting strain, and personal mastery among female primary caregivers of children

Neighborhood social capital-resources inherent within community networks-has been identified as a potential facilitator of personal well-being. We test hypotheses concerning how neighborhood social capital moderates the influence of parenting strain on mastery (individuals' understanding of their ability to control personal life circumstances) for female primary caregivers of children. First, we test how different forms of neighborhood social capital-social support, social leverage (information exchange), informal social control, and neighborhood organization participation-modify the association between parenting strain and mastery. Second, we test whether such moderation depends on one's access to these forms via neighbor ties. Analyses of Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey data (N = 765) indicate that the negative relationship between parenting strain and mastery worsens as informal social control increases. Social support and informal social control, however, buffer this parenting strain-mastery relationship when caregivers have stronger ties to neighbors. Our findings implicate mechanisms of "negative social capital" and warrant more nuanced considerations of neighborhood social capital's health-promoting potential.