When the levee breaks: treating adolescents and families in the aftermath of hurricane katrina

Hurricane Katrina brought to the surface serious questions about the capacity of the public health system to respond to community-wide disaster. The storm and its aftermath severed developmentally protective family and community ties; thus its consequences are expected to be particularly acute for vulnerable adolescents. Research confirms that teens are at risk for a range of negative outcomes under conditions of life stress and family disorganization. Specifically, the multiple interacting risk factors for substance abuse in adolescence may be compounded when families and communities have experienced a major trauma. Further, existing service structures and treatments for working with young disaster victims may not address their risk for co-occurring substance abuse and traumatic stress reactions because they tend to be individually or peer group focused, and fail to consider the multi-systemic aspects of disaster recovery. This article proposes an innovative family-based intervention for young disaster victims, based on an empirically supported model for adolescent substance abuse, Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT; Liddle, 2002). Outcomes and mechanisms of the model's effects are being investigated in a randomized clinical trial with clinically referred substance-abusing teens in a New Orleans area community impacted by Hurricane Katrina.     

CAN A HIGH SENSE OF CONTROL AND JOHN HENRYISM BE BAD FOR MENTAL HEALTH?

Social stratification profoundly affects mental health. Specifically, substantial empirical evidence finds that higher status promotes mental health via a higher sense of control and a propensity to cope actively with problems. An unresolved issue, though, is whether the effects of sense of control and active coping on mental health are uniformly beneficial across levels of socioeconomic status. Perceived control and John Henryism, an active coping style, may undermine mental health, especially for lower-status persons, who lack resources. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey for African Americans, Hispanics, and whites, we find that both sense of control and John Henryism tend to be monotonically related to positive mental health regardless of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity.     

CONCERN FOR GOD AND CONCERN FOR SOCIETY: RELIGIOSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

This paper adds to the integration of sociology of religion and social stratification by bringing together work in social justice from sociology of religion and economic issues from social stratification. The research focuses on the narrower topic of attitudes toward economic justice. Specifically, it focuses on the contributions of both religiosity and religious affiliation to such attitudes. The contributions of the religious components are assessed independent of other factors identified to be important in the two areas. Using data from the 1987 panel of the General Social Survey, multiple analyses of variance reveals relatively strong structural effects but no relationship between religiosity and attitudes toward economic justice. Religious affiliation is statistically significant, but of sufficiently limited “captured variance” that substantive interpretation must wait future research.     

Towards an embodied understanding of the structure/agency relationship

Theoretical conceptualizations of the structure/agency relationship have been central to the development of the discipline, yet tend to exhibit two major limitations. First, they share a relatively disembodied view of the agent which overemphasizes cognition and marginalizes the significance of the emotional dimensions of interaction for human action and social structure. Second, most have difficulty maintaining the causal significance of both the 'people' and the 'parts' of the social system and are, therefore, unable to examine adequately their interplay. This paper suggests these problems are related, and examines the contribution recent formulations of the 'interaction order' can make toward overcoming the difficulties characteristic of this key sociological debate. The 'interaction order' identifies the embodied dimensions of interaction as consequential for, yet irreducible to, structures and agents, enables us to investigate the 'loose coupling' of interaction to individuals and social systems, but is underdeveloped in important respects. This paper addresses these limitations. It also highlights the utility for the structure/agency debate of identifying a sector of embodied interactions concerned with the maintenance of social selves, and suggests how this somatic sector of social life might be developed analytically.     

The Continuing Legacy of the Communist Legacy? The development of family policies in Poland and the Czech Republic

This article compares family policies in Poland and the CzechRepublic in order to explain why the two countries have differentpolicies. Previous studies are right to claim that post-communistfamily policies are basically going in a refamilialist directionthat gives mothers a greater incentive to return to the home,but they tend to neglect the important differences that existbetween countries. Although previous studies were correct toemphasize the role of the anti-feminist communist legacy inexplaining this trend toward re-famialilization, it is a country'seconomic-institutional legacy that goes the farthest in explainingthe differences in policies.     

Correlates of Marital Duration and Black-White Intermarriage in California

A 10% random sample of all divorce cases in California in 1977 provides the data base for this study of black-white intermarriage. We find that although there are many similarities between same-race and black-white intermarriages, marriages which involve black husbands and white wives differ in several respects from other types. Not only are they shorter in duration of marriage; they have fewer children or none at all; spouses rank relatively higher in education, the black husband higher in education than the black husband of the black wife; they involve relatively few teenage marriages partly because a relatively high percentage of the black husbands have been married previously. In addition, when black husbands are married to white wives, they are less likely than husbands in other marriages to file for divorce, leaving that initiative, wives who tend to have slightly higher education levels than their black husbands. Though there are relatively few marriages of white husbands and black wives, they tend to be very similar to same-race marriages and thus tend toward greater marital stability in terms of the above characteristics.     

Intervening in Children's Involvement in Gangs: Views of Cape Town's Young People

Gangs have a long history in Cape Town and children tend to begin involvement around age 12. Children's views on causes of children's involvement in gangs and appropriate interventions, were sought for inclusion in policy recommendations. Thirty focus group discussions were held with in- and out-of-school youth in different communities. Participants identified failing social structures as the causes of gangsterism. They recommended interventions to enable social structures to provide a wide range of opportunities for positive youth development, rather than programmes narrowly focused on gangs.     

Psychological predispositions and network structure: The relationship between individual predispositions,structural holes and network closure

We examine the effect of individual psychological differences on network structures, proposing several hypotheses about how individual differences might predispose actors to structure their social environment by seeking network closure or by sustaining structural holes. We introduce a new triad census method to examine personal networks of strong and weak ties. For 125 egocentric networks we correlated the triad census results with several extensively researched psychological instruments. The triad census reduced to three principal components, describing central aspects of strength-of-weak-ties and structural holes theories. Psychological predispositions explained a significant proportion of the variance in each of these components. Our results suggest that people who see themselves vulnerable to external forces tend to inhabit closed networks of weak connections. On the other hand, people who seek to keep their strong tie partners apart, and thereby bridge structural holes, tend to be individualists, to believe that they control the events in their lives, and to have higher levels of neuroticism. Finally, people with strong network closure and “weak” structural holes (as with the “strength of weak ties”) tend to categorize themselves and others in terms of group memberships. They also tend to be more extraverted and less individualistic.     

EAP Referral Training and Supervisor's Beliefs About Troubled Workers

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between EAP referral training and supervisors' interactions with troubled workers. Using a field survey, self-report, retrospective methodology, 224 industrial supervisors' beliefs about impaired employees were examined in connection with the former group's participation in constructive confrontation training and their attitudes toward EAPs. In general, based on Bayer and Gerstein's (1988a) Bystander-Equity Model of Supervisory Helping Behavior, it was predicted that supervisors who had attended training and/or held positive attitudes toward their EAP would report more welldeveloped beliefs about troubled workers than persons who had not received training and/or held negative attitudes toward their EAP. Overall, our results provided support for the idea that constructive confrontation training enhances supervisors' recognition of impaired employees. While we anticipated this finding, we did not expect supervisors to report that their attitudes toward their EAP were unrelated to their beliefs about troubled persons. Alternative explanations for why supervisors behaved differently from what we had anticipated are offered, as are suggestions for how to conduct research on other aspects of the supervisor-impaired worker identification process.     

Workplace discrimination and missing limbs: the national EEOC ADA research project

Using the Integrated Mission System of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the employment discrimination experience of Americans with missing limbs is documented. Researchers compare and contrast the key dimensions of workplace discrimination involving Americans with missing limbs and persons with back and other non-paralytic orthopedic impairments. Specifically, the researchers examine demographic characteristics of the charging parties; the industry designation, location, and size of employers against whom complaints are filed; the nature of discrimination (i.e., type of adverse action) alleged to occur; and the legal outcome or resolution of these complaints. Findings indicate that persons with missing limbs were more likely to encounter discrimination if they were male, under 20 or over 65 years of age, and White or Native American. They were also more likely to encounter more frequent discrimination when they worked for employers in the Southern United States, those with 200 or fewer employers, or whose industry designation involved manufacturing, construction, or transportation. Finally, the nature of job discrimination experienced by Americans with missing limbs is more likely to involve hiring, promotion, or job training than other issues. Implications for policy and advocacy are addressed.     

Why Seek Asylum? The Roles of Integration and Financial Support

The suspicion that asylum seekers seek beneficial conditions in host areas has become a controversial and popular topic. It has led to accusations of economic migration, with deterrent and preventative measures introduced to try to control this “problem”, and in particular, the intended uniformity of asylum procedures has been a key aim of European harmonisation talks. As a small, qualitative study, this article is based upon thirteen semi‐structured interviews held with Somali individuals who sought asylum. It aims to explore destination choices with reference to the experiences and explanations given by some whose voices are otherwise largely excluded from debates. It asks to what extents and why they occurred. It reveals that having homes, jobs, educations, and more were key parts of what exile meant to these individuals, and so demonstrates reactivity behind topics more typically held to be “voluntary” concerns. Choices upon destinations were limited, however, and far bigger influences were the people smugglers or agents whom most relied upon to facilitate their entries past the preventative border controls. Beyond this, deterrence or prevention measures had no effect. The data is also used to explore the controversial and similarly under‐researched role of financial support. It is shown to have been connected with the interests that persons had in adjusting to new areas and dealing with their interim disadvantage, and not as something that justifies suspicions. This study supports arguments that policy makers should concentrate less upon deterrence or prevention, and more on the conditions that exist to propel such movements. Its findings suggest that insufficient certainty, support, or quality of life can create pressures for seeking asylum and that these should be addressed by policy makers; it also argues that “voluntary” aspects of movements might more recognisably be parts of exile.     

Deepening the divide: Does globalization increase the polarization between winners and losers of globalization?

Does globalization increase polarization in attitudes toward international trade, immigration, and international organizations? Research from a variety of fields and disciplines assumes this relationship, but empirical studies are few. In this study, I examine whether globalization increases the attitudinal divide between education groups, with education being one of the main characteristics of social stratification distinguishing winners from losers of globalization. I use data from three waves of the National Identity Module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) from 1995 to 2013 covering 29 countries (n = 79,101) to analyze between- and within-country interactions between the level of globalization and education in explaining attitudes toward globalization. The results show that while the attitudinal divide between educational groups is larger in countries with higher levels of globalization (between effect), polarization decreases as the level of globalization increases within countries (within effect), as persons with lower and medium levels of education become more positive toward globalization under increasing levels of globalization. The results are consistent across a wide range of robustness checks, including controlling for occupational class as a further distinction between winners and losers of globalization. The findings suggest that the expectations about a widening attitudinal divide between winners and losers of globalization should be treated with more caution.     

Genetic Moderation of the Impact of Parenting on Hostility Toward Romantic Partners

Although gene × environment studies are typically based on the assumption that some individuals possess genetic variants that enhance their vulnerability to environmental adversity, the differential susceptibility model posits that these individuals are simply more sensitive to social context, whether that context be adverse or supportive. Thus, those persons most vulnerable to adversity are the same ones who reap the most benefit from support. This idea was tested using longitudinal data from a sample of several hundred African Americans. The findings indicated that relatively common variants of the GABRA2 gene interact with parenting to predict hostility toward romantic partners in a manner consonant with the differential susceptibility hypothesis. Individuals with these genetic variants displayed more aggression toward their partner than those with other genotypes when they had been subjected to harsh parenting, but they exhibited less aggression toward their partner than other genotypes if their parents had avoided harsh parenting practices.     

Standards and the Form of Agreement 2002 Presidential Address Western Economic Association

Contract stipulations tend to be subject to commodity standards. Standards make it clearer what transactors have agreed upon. They also bring stipulations from different contracts under a common denominator. The lower the cost of measuring an attribute and the wider the range of its application, the higher the likelihood that the attribute will become subject to new standards. New standards are predicted to increase the role of contracts in agreements and to reduce that of long-term relations; to lower the prices of the commodities that use the standards; to increase the rate of theft of these commodities; and, by making it clearer what it is that parties exchange, to reduce the level of vertical integration. Finally, new standards propel markets toward perfect competition.     

Public Concern with Animal Well‐Being: Place,Social Structural Location,and Individual Experience*

Abstract While sociologists and the public at large are increasingly interested in the life conditions of animals, conceptual and empirical development of the topic is limited. This paper seeks to further develop the sociological research on attitudes toward animal well‐being. We build on insights from contemporary stratification theory to explain the nature of animal attitudes and their determinants. We also extend past work by examining a broader range of factors related to attitudes about animal well‐being, focusing on place, other social structural factors, and individuals' unique animal‐related experiences. Data are from a survey of over 4,000 Ohio residents conducted in 2002. We find that childhood experience has the greatest place‐based effect on attitudes. Other findings highlight the importance of social structural factors, suggesting support for the “underdog hypothesis.” Women, people experiencing economic hardship, those with less education, younger and middle aged people, and blacks tend to be more concerned with animal well‐being. Individualized, experiential variables are also important. Our results reflect the complexity of attitudes about animals and point to the need for greater sociological attention to factors left largely unexplored in previous studies, including childhood place‐based factors, economic hardship, and individuals' unique animal‐related experiences     

Letter From the Editors

ABSTRACT

In this article we explore older persons’ definitions of and explanations for elder abuse in the Netherlands by means of interviews with older persons. A qualitative study was conducted based on semistructured interviews with 35 older persons who had no experience with abuse. Our findings show that older persons participating in our study define elder abuse foremost as physical violence that is performed intentionally. The study participants explain elder abuse as a result of the dependency and vulnerability of older persons, of changing norms and values, and of changes in the position of older persons in society, which result in disrespect toward older persons and a lack of social control and responsibility. The older persons’ explanations for the occurrence of abuse mainly focus on societal changes; older persons seem to regard elder abuse primarily as a societal problem. This understanding of, and explanation for, elder abuse may influence their detection and reporting behavior, as they may tend to acknowledge only severe cases of intentional physical violence that leave clear and therefore physically detectable evidence.     

Beninese and Ethiopian Informal Insurance Groups: A Comparative Analysis

Informal insurance groups have been created in many poor regions in response to a risky environment typical of developing countries. Drawing on original datasets from Benin and Ethiopia, this article provides empirical evidence describing the various forms these indigenous institutions take. While their principal role has been to provide indemnities for funeral expenses, they also cater for a wide range of shocks. The article finds striking resemblances in group structures and types of coverage offered, suggesting that households for whom the costs of formal insurance contracts are prohibitive tend to deal with risk in a comparable way. Dissimilarities may reflect different local household structures or the extent to which these groups are advertised and known to the public.     

The socio-economic circumstances of children at risk of disability in Britain

Our aims were to describe the socio-economic circumstances faced by families supporting a child at risk of disability and to investigate the extent to which disability is associated with hardship once family income is held constant. We analysed data on 7070 family units containing 12,916 children aged under 17. Families supporting a child at risk of disability were significantly more disadvantaged across a wide range of indicators of socio-economic position. The hardship experienced by these families was only partly accounted for by between group differences in income, debt and savings. Children who are already at risk of disability as a result of a range of physical and cognitive impairments are more likely than other children to live under conditions that have been repeatedly shown to impede development, increase the risk of poor health and (additional) disability and increase the risk of social exclusion.     

Predictors of Continued Conflict After Divorce or Separation: Evidence From a High-Conflict Group Treatment Program

High-conflict divorces appear to be different than other divorces due to the magnitude of ongoing hostile interactions and court involvement. This study assessed whether agreement, communication, and the beliefs that co-parents held regarding child welfare contributed toward conflict of divorced or separated co-parents. Results suggest that co-parents' communication and ability to agree with each other differed significantly based on the number of times they returned to court. Co-parents' agreement and their beliefs regarding child welfare predicted their perceived relationship quality. The findings indicate that these factors would likely be useful to address in treatment practices.