Personal and Family Correlates of Suicidal Ideation Among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

Based on the family ecological model, personal (hopelessness, social problem solving, emotional competence) and family (parent-adolescent communication, family functioning) quality of life measures related to adolescent suicidal ideation were examined in 5,557 Secondary 1 to Secondary 4 students in Hong Kong. Results showed that suicidal ideation was positively related to adolescent hopelessness but negatively related to emotional competence, social problem solving, father–adolescent communication, mother–adolescent communication and family functioning. Multiple regression analyses showed that hopelessness was the most important predictor of adolescent suicidal ideation, followed by mother–adolescent communication, family functioning, social problem solving, father–adolescent communication, and emotional competence. Path analyses with and without direct effects showed that hopelessness mediated the effect of personal and family correlates on adolescent suicidal ideation. Theoretical and practice implications of the findings are discussed.     

Speaking to silence: toward queering nonverbal communication

The majority of nonverbal communication research and pedagogy reproduces heterosexist and sexist ideologies, normalizing and naturalizing gender and sexual binaries, and sanctioning an exceedingly narrow range of gendered and sexualized subjects, practices, and relationships. This essay proposes that nonverbal communication scholarship and pedagogy need to address these issues. First, I provide a brief summary of the history of the field of nonverbal communication. Second, I critique the conspicuous absence of the queer subject, the rigid essentialism, and the pervasive heterosexism in nonverbal communication textbooks in particular. Finally, I discuss three examples of communication research that avoid these pitfalls and herald what queering nonverbal communication might look like.     

The paradoxes of communication and collaboration in maternity care: A video-reflexivity study with professionals and parents

BackgroundResearch on maternity care often focuses on factors that prevent good communication and collaboration and rarely includes important stakeholders – parents – as co-researchers. To understand how professionals and parents in Dutch maternity care accomplish constructive communication and collaboration, we examined their interactions in the clinic, looking for “good practice”.MethodsWe used the video-reflexive ethnographic method in 9 midwifery practices and 2 obstetric units.FindingsWe conducted 16 meetings where participants reflected on video recordings of their clinical interactions. We found that informal strategies facilitate communication and collaboration: “talk work” – small talk and humour – and “work beyond words” – familiarity, use of sight, touch, sound, and non-verbal gestures. When using these strategies, participants noted that it is important to be sensitive to context, to the values and feelings of others, and to the timing of care. Our analysis of their ways of being sensitive shows that good communication and collaboration involves “paradoxical care”, e.g., concurrent acts of “regulated spontaneity” and “informal formalities”.DiscussionAcknowledging and reinforcing paradoxical care skills will help caregivers develop the competencies needed to address the changing demands of health care. The video-reflexive ethnographic method offers an innovative approach to studying everyday work, focusing on informal and implicit aspects of practice and providing a bottom up approach, integrating researchers, professionals and parents.ConclusionGood communication and collaboration in maternity care involves “paradoxical care” requiring social sensitivity and self-reflection, skills that should be included as part of professional training.     

Assisted living, elderly women and sense of self: communicating the impact of reduction of long-standing activities

Through the use of in-depth interviews this study examines elderly women's communication about transitioning to assisted living and personal sense of self. A combination of communication and aging theory and socio historical factors aid in understanding the communication elderly women use to describe themselves within the context of life events prior to and after becoming an assisted living resident. Findings reveal that decrease in long-standing feminine sphere (traditionally female household) tasks due to the transition to assisted living is the major factor leading to the inability to communicate the sense of self. Inability to adjust and accept the downsizing of feminine sphere activities leads to several mental, physical and social implications.     

居住空间、邻里交往与社会距离--基于CSS2011的城镇居民与农民社会距离的影响因素研究

利用CSS2011调查数据,探讨了当前我国城镇居民与农村居民社会距离的影响因素。研究发现：个人经济地位越高,与农民的社会距离越近,家庭经济地位与个人文化地位越高,与农民的社会距离越远;居住空间条件越好,与农民的社会距离越远;与邻居互惠性交往程度越高,与农民的社会距离越近。研究认为,在城镇现实的体制和制度环境下,以下两个方面的努力可以缩减城镇居民与农民的社会距离,提升他们对农民的心理接纳程度：一是通过制定各种政策措施,遏制并缩小目前城镇内部和城乡之间的住房不平等程度;二是创造理想的社会交往环境,促进城镇居民与包括邻居在内的社区其他居民和进城农民之间的互惠性交往。     

“You get old. You get invisible”: Social isolation and the challenge of communicating with aging women

Social isolation is a problem facing many older women. Isolation can contribute to poor health as adults age without social support. Increased and tailored communication offers service organizations more opportunities to provide social support to these adults. This research examines perceptions of aging to explore communication behaviors, barriers, and opportunities for improved communication and service provision for aging women. Using data from focus groups and interviews, this study finds that participants from community organizations rely on word of mouth and traditional media to communicate with their aging constituents, despite opportunities to use digital communication and to develop communication plans for this population.     

Perzeption, Interaktion und die Ökologie der Gesellschaft — eine systemtheoretische Suche nach den Sinnen

This paper is an attempt to analyze the senses from a sociological perspective and within the context of Niklas Luhmann’s reflexive theory of social systems. A functional specification of the persceptive senses for the constitution and structuring of social systems will be achieved by means of the basic distinctions of system/environment, consciousness/communication, and interaction/society. Essentially, four levels can be distinguished with regard to perception, consciousness, and communication: 1) reflexive sensory perception of perceptions, 2) sensory perception of communication, 3) sensory perception due to communication, 4) communication based on purposefully initiated perception. As a result, the senses can be understood, on the one hand, as an infrastructural resource of communication and an ecological condition of society; on the other hand, they are themselves a binding, immanent structural principle of the social, or, more precisely, of interactions.     

Assisted Living,Elderly Women and Sense of Self: Communicating the Impact of Reduction of Long-Standing Activities

ABSTRACT

Through the use of in-depth interviews this study examines elderly women's communication about transitioning to assisted living and personal sense of self. A combination of communication and aging theory and socio historical factors aid in understanding the communication elderly women use to describe themselves within the context of life events prior to and after becoming an assisted living resident. Findings reveal that decrease in long-standing feminine sphere (traditionally female household) tasks due to the transition to assisted living is the major factor leading to the inability to communicate the sense of self. Inability to adjust and accept the downsizing of feminine sphere activities leads to several mental, physical and social implications.     

The Role of Proactive Coping Strategies,Time Perspective,Perceived Efficacy on Affect Regulation,Divergent Thinking and Family Communication in Promoting Social Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood

The study analyzed the influence of time perspective, proactive coping strategies, perceived self-efficacy in affect regulation, divergent thinking and perceived quality of family communication on social well-being in a sample of 232 emerging adults. Social well-being showed positive correlations with proactive coping strategies, future-oriented time perspective, expression of positive emotions and regulation of negative emotions, divergent thinking, open communication with parents. A problematic family communication and a present-oriented time perspective were negatively correlated with social well-being. A forward Ridge step-wise regression model was conducted, evidencing four significant positive predictors of social well-being: proactive coping, perceived efficacy in affect regulation and open communication with parents; on the contrary, present oriented time perspective contributes significantly but negatively to social well-being.     

Communication about sex and birth control between mothers and their adolescent children

This paper explores the extent of communication about sex and birth control between mothers and two of their children between the ages of ten and eighteen. Results indicate that mothers are more likely to discuss these issues with their older and female children. Variations in patterns of communication are also examined by mother's education, race, and family income. Since many of the questions were asked of both mothers and children, comparisons are made of mother and child reports of discussions about sexual relations and birth control. Mothers' attitudes toward premarital sex and use of birth control, as well as her own behaviors in these areas are examined for their relationships to whether she communicates with her children about these topics. The relationship between presence of communication and children's knowledge about birth control is also discussed.This article is based on data collected by William and Susan Philliber, and the methodology students of the Department of Sociology, University of Cincinnati. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, April 13–15, 1978, Atlanta, Georgia. Requests for reprints should be sent to Pearila Brickner Rothenberg, Center of Population and Family Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, New York, New York 10032.     

Spousal communication and contraceptive use among the Yoruba of Nigeria

A noted feature of many less developed societies is that marital partnershardly discuss reproductive issues with the result that decisions on theseissues are usually taken by men and their kinsmen. Because of lack ofspousal communication, negotiation for individual reproductive preferenceshas been limited. Thus, the reproductive preferences of men who desirelarger family sizes and oppose contraceptive use have usually been foundto prevail. The need to encourage husband-wife communication aboutreproductive issues cannot be overemphasized. The present study examinesthe level of spousal communication and its impact on contraceptive useamong Yoruba couples in southwest Nigeria. Data for the study are obtainedfrom a survey on the Role of Men in Family Planning conducted in one of thestates inhabited by the Yoruba of Nigeria – Ondo. The sample for this study consists of 381 monogamously married couples. Multivariate analyses were used to determine the impact of background variables on dependent variables. The study shows that fairly high percentages of men and women perceive that decisions on reproductive issues are taken jointly by both partners. The significantly high proportion of women who perceive that they participate in decision making is particularly worth noting and is an indication that women's voices are heard in the study society. Although the impact decreases on controlling for other variables, spousal communication was found to affect contraceptive use: contraceptive is higher among marital partners who discuss and take joint decisions on contraception. The study also reveals that family planning counseling has a significant impact on contraceptive use.     

Internet Communication Versus Face-to-face Interaction in Quality of Life

This study seeks to understand the role of the Internet in quality of life (QoL). Specifically, it examines the question of whether Internet communication serves, like face-to-face interactions, to enhance quality of life. It is hypothesized that the use of the Internet for interpersonal communication can improve quality of life among Internet users, just like face-to-face communication in everyday life. Sample survey data were collected in four Chinese cities, namely Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, and Wuhan, to serve as replicates to test the hypothesis. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) of Diener (1984) was used to measure quality of life in the four cities. It was found that contrary to our expectation, Internet communication cannot predict quality of life while face-to-face communication with friends and family members can. The result was the same across the four Chinese cities. Possible reasons for this finding are examined and discussed.     

Feminist power and its implications on Uganda’s malaria communication campaign

This paper examines power and its manifestation in Uganda’s “Stop Malaria Campaign.” It specifically questions the apparent radical feminism, which is conceptualized as a quest for power, and how such excesses drive implementation of the campaign. The paper explains data collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews using feminist communication theory as informed by the critical ideas of feminism and power. These three ideas help to put into perspective: domination of the campaign by one gender, interpretation of the campaign’s objectives to suit that one gender, and communication methods used in the campaign. Analysis of the above three processes shows that men are the weaker gender in the malaria prevention drive, an idea that has clashed with the existing male chauvinism on which several families still thrive in Africa. A view that radical feminism should be seen as an organized form of power that needs to be checked if Uganda’s malaria communication campaign is to be implemented successfully is herein proposed, along with some solutions to the challenges.     

Gay grows up:an interpretive study on aging metaphors and queer identity

This study is based upon qualitative research conducted with the Phoenix chapter of the Prime Timers, a social organization that offers older men in the gay community a space to communicate their general needs and desires. Using data collected through participant observation and informant interviews, the research demonstrates the ways in which the group's affiliates respond to queer sensibilities. The analysis argues that intergenerational communication is fettered by age stereotypes that generate communicative boundaries between young and old members of the gay community. The report then suggests that age-based breakdowns in communication prevalent in the gay community are further advanced by a difference in intergenerational approaches to survival.     

Integration of male bisexuality and marriage

Eighteen couples who had originally entered therapy because of conflicts created by the husband's bisexuality were studied to determine the dynamics and adjustment of their marriages. All the couples, to varying degrees, had been openly dealing with the husband's bisexuality for at least two years. Through questionnaires and psychological instruments, couples indicated that openness and communication helped the relationship. The greatest difficulties they encountered were in their sexual relationships. Marital satisfaction and adjustment was found to be negatively correlated with increasing age, number of children, later onset of homosexual activities, increased emotional involvement with male partners, increased numbers of people who know about the husband's homosexual activities, and increased sexual dissatisfaction and conflict. Basically, this study reinforced the notion that some marriages can survive by way of open communication, acceptance and understanding, dynamics which help compensate for the inherent conflicts these couples face.     

Postnatal gestational diabetes mellitus follow-up: Perspectives of Australian hospital clinicians and general practitioners

Problem

The reasons for low postnatal screening rates for women with gestational diabetes mellitus are not well understood. Multiple care providers, settings and changes to diagnostic criteria, may contribute to confusion over postnatal care. Quality of communication between clinicians may be an important influence for the completion of postnatal gestational diabetes mellitus follow-up.

The Association Between Adolescent Life Satisfaction, Family Structure, Family Affluence and Gender Differences in Parent–Child Communication

The study sought to examine young people’s life satisfaction in the context of the family environment, using data from the 2006 HBSC: WHO-collaborative Study in Scotland (N = 5,126). Multilevel linear regression analyses were carried out for 11-, 13- and 15-year old boys and girls, with outcome measure ridit-transformed life satisfaction. The study found there to be a relationship between family structure and life satisfaction for boys and girls aged 13 and 15 years. Family affluence mediated this relationship, however the extent of this mediation depended both on age and gender. For both boys and girls at all ages, life satisfaction was more strongly associated with parent–child communication than with family structure or family affluence. After adjustment for risk/health behaviours and attitudes towards peers and school, family structure remained significant for boys aged 13 years only. Whereas difficult parent–child communication acted as a risk factor of low life satisfaction for boys and girls, easy communication acted as protective factor among girls only.     

人文素质对医患关系影响的调查分析

紧张的医患关系是目前我国医疗卫生领域面临的主要问题,问卷和访谈调查结果显示：影响医患关系的主要因素是医患双方的人文素质、缺乏沟通、媒体的误导等非技术性因素。缓和医患关系,应该从医院、医生、患者、社会等各个层面着手,建议构建仁心仁术的医院,做知性理性的就医者,形成公益公正的社会氛围。具体如医患双方提高法律、道德等人文素养,促进沟通和交流,倡导良好的医德医风,健全和完善医疗纠纷处置机制,发挥媒体的正面引导作用等。     

Inter-generational Heritage of the Assimilation of Migrant Children

This paper discusses the inter-generational heritage of the assimilation,and analyzes the effect of the parent-child communication and some family backgrounds on the situation and development of the assimilation of migrant children,based on the panel data(PSDMC).The results show that,better communication between parents and migrant children helps to develop the children’s assimilation.Meanwhile school effect is significant after controlling for the effects of individual characteristics and family background.The assimilation of migrant children has the properties of inheritance and plasticity.Inheritance affects more on the beginning level,and the parent-child communication determines the direction and slope.Therefore,it is more important to improve migrant children’s family environment and adapt better parent’s teaching approach.     

流动儿童社会融合的代际传承

文章利用"人口迁移与儿童发展的跟踪研究"数据,从状态与变动两个方面,讨论了社会融合在代际间的传承问题,以及家庭因素对流动儿童社会融合的影响作用。分析结果显示,社会融合在代际间具有传承性,充分的亲子交流能够促进流动儿童社会融合状况及其发展;控制家庭背景后,学校效应依然显著。结论认为,社会融合不仅具有代际的传承性,而且具有一定的可塑性。传承结果决定了流动儿童社会融合的起点,而亲子交流决定其方向和速度。因此,必须更加重视家庭环境建设与家庭教育方式的改进。