Four criteria to evaluate providers' service-delivery response to new contraceptive introduction

This article presents an evaluation framework developed to assess the first-level effects of introducing the Standard Days Method (SDM) in Peru Ministry of Health clinics. Four questions are asked: 1) To what extent do providers routinely achieve SDM service delivery standards? 2) Is the time invested in SDM delivery consistent with program norms? 3) How does SDM delivery compare with delivery of established methods? and 4) How does SDM introduction affect delivery of established methods? A study at 62 clinics demonstrated the framework's usefulness. The Standard Days Method introduction had positive overall effects on the quality of care but provider training needed adjustments.     

Very Preterm and Full‐Term Infants’ Response to Socio‐Emotional Stress: The Role of Postnatal Maternal Bonding

Very preterm (VPT) infants are at risk for altered socio‐emotional stress regulation, even in the absence of perinatal complications. Moreover, becoming a mother of a VPT infant is a traumatic event, which might affect the establishment of a bonding relationship toward the infant during the postnatal period. The main aim of the present study was to assess the association between maternal postnatal bonding and socio‐emotional stress response in 3‐month‐old VPT infants, compared to full‐term (FT) controls. Thirty‐three VPT and 28 FT infant‐mother dyads underwent the maternal Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face (FFSF) procedure to assess socio‐emotional stress regulation. Maternal postnatal bonding was measured through the Maternal Post‐Natal Attachment Scale (MPAS), which includes three scales: Quality of attachment, Absence of hostility, and Pleasure in interaction. The VPT infants exhibited less self‐directed and other‐directed regulatory behaviors during the Still‐Face episode. Mothers of VPT infants reported lower Quality of attachment compared to FT counterparts. Importantly, higher levels of Quality of attachment were associated with more other‐directed behaviors during the Still‐Face episode in FT dyads, whereas this was not observed in VPT dyads. In conclusion, VPT infants might be exposed to a double‐risk condition for socio‐emotional development, encompassing both difficulties in stress response and the exposure to a less‐than‐optimal maternal bonding.     

Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youths: A Developmental Milestone Approach

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths are over-represented in the homeless population. To examine why some LGB youths become homeless, this report compares homeless and non-homeless LGB youths. Of the 156 LGB youths, 48% reported ever being homeless (i.e., running away or being evicted from home). Results indicate that sexual orientation awareness and the initiation of sexual behavior occurred earlier in homeless than in non-homeless LGB youths and predated the first homeless episode. Substance use was more frequent and first occurred at an earlier age in homeless as compared to non-homeless LGB youths; however, substance use occurred subsequent to first homelessness. Childhood sexual abuse was associated with homelessness; and, early sexual orientation development was related to homelessness among youths without a history of sexual abuse. Findings suggest that interventions should help youths cope with their unfolding sexual orientation and work to prevent or address the consequences of sexual abuse.     

Transforming Sex: An Interview with Joanne Meyerowitz,Ph.D. Author of How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States

Christine Jorgensen's widely publicized sex reassignment surgery in 1952 brought transsexualism to worldwide attention and fostered medical interest in transsexualism. Joanne Meyerowitz has traced the history of Jorgensen's personal odyssey, the medical history of transsexualism, and the broader impact of transsexualism on United States culture. In this interview, Meyerowitz discusses how she came to this project and some of its theoretical and methodological challenges. Finally, she sets her historical work in the context of contemporary gender and transgender politics.     

Adaptation of a community-based participatory research model to gain community input on identifying indicators of successful parenting

Parenting models are generally based on families in stable homes, rather than in transitional situations such as in foster care, homeless shelters, and other temporary, at-risk residences. Consequently, these models do not recognize the unique challenges of families in transition. This study explored the domains of the Circumplex Model and examined its fit for transitional families using tenets from community-based participatory research. Findings suggest that in addition to the Circumplex Model's components, caregivers with children living in transition believe that managing the scrutiny of external authority systems and countering the negative influences of poverty and racism are two indicators that contribute to parenting success. Obtaining consumer-informed views of parenting not only is an important contributor to standards of practice, but also a promising avenue for future research.     

Women's Labour Force Participation and Part Time Work in Spain

Spain is one of the southern countries where the percentage of women working part-time is relatively low in comparison to other European countries, together with a low female activity rate. Some important obstacles to increasing female activity rates have already been removed, as younger cohorts of women show a more permanent attachment to the labour force than older women, meeting even high unemployment, which is especially acute for women and young people. Under the recent labour market reform, it is hoped that part-time contracts, which were first regulated in 1984, would be a way of facilitating flexibility and an incentive for employers to create jobs, as the experience of other countries has shown. The relative novelty of part-time work in Spain is the reason why this typically female employment regime has not been much explored in Spain yet, in spite of its important role in the reorganisation of the employment system.     

Teaching Note—Description and Preliminary Evaluation of a Modified College Experience for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

ABSTRACT

This article describes the implementation and preliminary evaluation of a modified college experience for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) at a small liberal arts college. To increase social work students’ interest in working with this population and access of people with IDD to higher education, Bridges to Skidmore was founded in 2010 as a low-cost method for providing cooperative learning opportunities for students and individuals with IDD. Preliminary evaluation reveals that participation can change students’ attitudes toward those with IDD, which may increase their intention to work with this population in the future. The program has created an enriching experience for the college students, lecturing professors, and adults with IDD, and can be easily replicated on other campuses.     

Sexual Orientation Development of Heterosexual,Bisexual, Lesbian,and Gay Individuals: Questions and Hypotheses Based on Kaestle’s (2019) Research

Christine Kaestle’s work assessed the three major dimensions of sexual orientation: sexual attractions, behaviors, and identity. She tracked the unfolding of sexual orientation over time, from adolescence to early adulthood (i.e., late twenties to early thirties), using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a U.S. representative sample. This article addresses some of the implications, questions, and hypotheses suggested by Kaestle’s findings. It ends by requesting follow-up data in adulthood to test hypotheses and resolve differences between the author and Kaestle in interpretation of the data.     

A model for culturally adapting a learning system

The Cross-Cultural Adaption Model (XCAM) is designed to help identify cultural values contained in the text, narration, or visual components of a learning instrument and enables the adapter to evaluate his adapted model so that he can modify or revise it, and allows him to assess the modified version by actually measuring the amount of cultural conflict still present in it. Such a model would permit world-wide adaption of learning materials in population regulation. A random sample of the target group is selected. The adapter develops a measurin g instrument, the cross-cultural adaption scale (XCA), a number of statements about the cultural affinity of the object evaluated. The pretest portion of the sample tests the clarity and understandability of the rating scale to be used for evaluating the instructional materials; the pilot group analyzes the original version of the instructional mater ials, determines the criteria for change, and analyzes the adapted version in terms of these criteria; the control group is administered the original version of the learning materials; and the experimental group is administered the adapted version. Finally, the responses obtained from the XRA rating scale and discussions of both the experimental and control groups are studied and group differences are ev aluated according to cultural conflicts met with each version. With this data, the preferred combination of elements is constructed.