Getting Beyond the Productivity Gap

Although contemporary definitions of scholarship describe diverse activities through which faculty develop, verify, and advance knowledge of their profession, evaluations of social work program productivity have continued to emphasize the quantity of full-length articles published in selected social work journals. For this study, the authors applied a conceptual framework based on the intended audience and the function of over 1,700 articles and book reviews published from 1990-1993 by faculty of professorial rank at 45 social work doctoral programs. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed four qualitatively distinct patterns of scholarly productivity, none of which was associated with quantitative productivity. Implications for social work practice and for knowledge development are identified and discussed.     

Postdivorce Relationships in Families and Children's Psychosocial Adjustment

Divorced mothers and their school-aged children in 50 single-mother families and 37 stepfather families reported on mothers' ex-partner relationships, children's relationships with both parents, and children's well-being. A 2 (family structure) × 2 (gender) multivariate analysis of variance revealed a main effect of gender: Mothers with sons report higher levels of ex-partner relationship satisfaction. An interaction effect was also found: Boys in single-mother families report more acceptance and fewer conflicts than boys in stepfather families. Multiple regression analysis revealed that mother–ex-partner relationships are associated with children's problem behavior, whereas child–nonresidential father relationships are associated with positive aspects of children's well-being. The results indicate that family structure itself is not associated with child adjustment. What matters most is the quality of family relationships.     

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Illness and Wellness: Implications for Depression1

The purpose of this research is to determine the relationships among race, socioeconomic status (SES) and depressive symptomatology. Contrary to the findings of over 20 years ofpsychiatric epidemiology, two research teams have recently reported that Blacks, primarily those oflow SES, are significantly more depressed than Whites occupying the same status. Using the same epidemiologic field survey data as one of these research groups (Whites = 1,648; Blacks = 450), the issues of race, SES, and depression are reopened for examination. Depressive symptomatology was measured by the Florida Health Study Depression Scale. The findings indicated that, in general, Blacks had significantly higher levels of depressive symptomatology than Whites. However, these differences were eliminated once SES, a composite of occupational status, education, and household income, was statistically controlled. Race, in other words, was not found to be an independent predictor of depression. The author concludes that poverty is hazardous to one's psychological well-being and that race, by itself, is merely a proxy for socioeconomic status. In addition, methodological issues associated with the conceptualization and opera~ tionalization of socioeconomic status and mental health constructs such as depression are explored.     

Child Sexual Abuse and Women's Sexual Health: The Contribution of CSA Severity and Exposure to Multiple Forms of Childhood Victimization

Research studies have provided increasing evidence for the potential adverse impact of child sexual abuse on women's sexual health. The present study examined the association between child sexual abuse and sexual health while controlling for various forms of childhood victimization. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 889 young women from the province of Quebec. Results suggest that child sexual abuse survivors were more likely to report having experienced other forms of childhood victimization than were women without child sexual abuse. Women with a history of both child sexual abuse and multiple forms of victimization were at greater risk of experiencing more adverse outcomes, including risky sexual behaviors, sexual problems, and negative sexual self-concept. Regression analyses revealed that child sexual abuse was significantly related to indicators of sexual health outcomes even when controlling for the effect of single forms of victimization. Clinically, interventions optimizing sexual health may be particularly helpful for a subgroup of child sexual abuse survivors.     

Global walls and global movement: new destinations in Jewish migration, 1918–1939

Research often argues or implies that the First World War suddenly discontinued the age of Jewish mass migration and led to increased sedentarism. Indeed, the former main destinations like the USA drastically cut down on the arrival of East European Jews. This did not, however, result in the end of Jewish mass migration. This article will demonstrate that it rather led to manifold attempts to circumvent the newly introduced and increasingly exclusive measures, to a rising complexity of transnational movement patterns, and finally to the emergence of new destinations and Jewish communities all over the globe. This movement, however, was overshadowed and impacted by the almost global rise of xenophobia and fascism. Based on local histories, statistical and legal sources, as well as reports and communications by delegates of Jewish relief organizations, this article presents a social history of the intersection between global Jewish migration and politically motivated migration management. It leaves behind the focus on “departure” and “arrival” in Jewish migration history and elaborates on the relevance and dynamics of transmigration, the dominance of migrant networks and the complex relationship between national policies and migrants' agency.     

Pornographic Picture Processing Interferes with Working Memory Performance

Some individuals report problems during and after Internet sex engagement, such as missing sleep and forgetting appointments, which are associated with negative life consequences. One mechanism potentially leading to these kinds of problems is that sexual arousal during Internet sex might interfere with working memory (WM) capacity, resulting in a neglect of relevant environmental information and therefore disadvantageous decision making. In this study, 28 healthy individuals performed 4 experimental manipulations of a pictorial 4-back WM task with neutral, negative, positive, or pornographic stimuli. Participants also rated 100 pornographic pictures with respect to sexual arousal and indicated masturbation urges previous to and following pornographic picture presentation. Results revealed worse WM performance in the pornographic picture condition of the 4-back task compared with the three remaining picture conditions. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis indicated an explanation of variance of the sensitivity in the pornographic picture condition by the subjective rating of the pornographic pictures as well as by a moderation effect of masturbation urges. Results contribute to the view that indicators of sexual arousal due to pornographic picture processing interfere with WM performance. Findings are discussed with respect to Internet sex addiction because WM interference by addiction-related cues is well known from substance dependencies.     

Book reviews

’Rearing Wolves to Our Own Destruction’: Slavery in Richmond, Virginia, 1782–1865. Midori Takagi. Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia. 1999. xi, 187 pp. $37.50 (cloth). ISBN 0–8139–1834–0.

Hidden Lives: The Archaeology of Slave Life at Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest. Barbara J. Heath. Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press. 1999. x, 81 pp. $12.50 (paper). ISBN 0–8139–1867–7.

Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and ‘Race’ in New England, 1780–1860. Joannk Pope Melish. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1998. xvii, 296 pp. £26.50 (cloth). ISBN 0–8014–3413–0.

American Slaves in Victorian England: Abolitionist Politics in Popular Literature and Culture. Audrey A. Fisch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2000. x, 139pp. £35.00/$59.95. (cloth). ISBN 0–521–66026–2.

Slaves and Slaveholders in Bermuda, 1618–1782. Virginia Bernhard. Columbia. Missouri: University of Missouri Press. 1999. xviii, 316pp. £29.95. ISBN 0–8262–1227–1.

Centering Woman: Gender Discourses in Caribbean Slave Society. Hilary McD. Becklks. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers; Princeton: Marcus Weiner Publishers; Oxford: James Currey Publishers. 1999. xxv, 211 pp. £15.95 (paper). ISBN: 976–8123–78–8.

Empire and Antislavery: Spain, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, 1833–1874. Christopher Schmidt‐Nowara. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 1999. xiii, 239 pp. $50.00(cloth). ISBN 0–8229–4089–2; $22.95 (paper), ISBN 0–8229–5690 X.

Shaping the Discourse on Space: Charity and Its Wards in Nineteenth‐Century San Juan, Puerto Rico. Teresita MartíNez‐Vergne. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1999. xv, 235 pp. $32.50 (cloth). ISBN 0–292–75220–2; $17.95 (paper). ISBN 0–292–75221–0.

The Colonial Caribbean in Transition: Essays on Postemancipation Social and Cultural History. Edited by Bridget Brereton and Kevin Yelvington. Kingston and Gainesville: The Press, University of the West Indies and the University Press of Florida. 1999. xxiii, 319 pp. $49.95 (cloth) ISBN 0–8130–1696–7; $30.00 (paper) ISBN 976–640–030‐X.