A Career Development Program for Inner-City Black Youth

This article describes an innovative project designed to more effectively meet the career development needs of inner-city Black youth. The model for this project includes a multi-service approach that integrates many traditional vocational development services and community counseling strategies within a culturally sensitive program.     

Intimacy Is Sharing Hurt Feelings: A Comparison of Three Conflict Resolution Models

To check on the validity of three different methods of dealing with anger, 1) calm, rational discussion, 2) "fair fighting," and 3) sharing of hurt and of fear of hurt, two different studies were performed. In the first study a video-taped procedure was presented to 36 undergraduates. Their preferences indicated no support for the hypothesis of sex differences in dealing with conflict and some support to differential preferences for each of three methods. In the second study, three structured programs directly derived from the three theoretical positions were administered at random to 11 couples. Their reactions suggested some support for the position that intimacy may be found in sharing of hurt feelings. Theoretical issues and directions for future research are considered.     

The mental health status of Latino children in the public child welfare system: a look at the role of generation and origin

As the number of Latino children in public child welfare continues to grow, it is necessary to understand how their mental health is faring. The paper examines emotional and behavioural needs among Latino children who had contact with the public child welfare system. The purpose of this longitudinal study was twofold: to examine the severity of emotional and behavioural problems, and to assess the predictive role of generation status and Latino origin. Latent growth models were completed using the National Survey on Children and Adolescent Well‐Being. The predictive model for the externalizing CBCL scale revealed that generation status and Latino origin were significant predictors. At baseline, Puerto Rican children exhibited higher rates of externalizing problems compared with Mexican children. Over time children who were first/second generation tended to have lower scores compared with the third‐plus generation children. Implications for practise are discussed.     

Demographic Predictors of Consistency and Change in Heterosexuals' Attitudes toward Homosexual Behavior over a Two-Year Period

This study investigated demographic predictors of consistency and change in heterosexual people's attitudes toward homosexual behavior. A nationally representative sample of Australian men and women were recruited via random digit dialling in 2004 through 2005. Participants completed annual computer-assisted telephone interviews over the next five years. Questions about attitudes toward male and female homosexual behavior were assessed at Wave 1 (2004–2005) and Wave 3 (2006–2007) of the study. The majority of the sample reported tolerance of both male and female homosexual behavior (with women slightly more tolerant than men). Multivariate analyses showed that those who regularly attended religious services were more likely to consistently disapprove of homosexual behavior and more likely to change from tolerant to disapproving. Among those who were initially tolerant, younger respondents and those with higher educations were less likely to become homophobic. The results of this study show that individual attitudes toward homosexual behavior are open to change, particularly toward a more tolerant position. Religiosity appears to be consistently associated with the development and reinforcement of homophobic tendencies.     

Economic abuse,physical violence,and union formation

Intimate partner violence often includes economic abuse; unfortunately, economic abuse has not been examined sufficiently in the literature. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this paper examined the occurrence of and changes in economic abuse and physical violence over time and how these factors influenced union formation. The results indicated that the prevalence of economic and physical abuse increased over time, particularly for economic abuse. The changes in union formation for cohabiting and visiting mothers were quite substantial over time. Regression analyses indicated that, over time, the occurrence and the increase of economic abuse and the increase of physical violence were significantly and negatively associated with the likelihood of stable union formations such as marriage and cohabitation. Policy and research implications are discussed.     

Perceptions of Readiness for Legally Literate Practice: A Longitudinal Study of Social Work Student Views

Law is a prescribed element of the curriculum for the social work degree. Research and development work have included a systematic review, practice survey and curriculum building; however, little evidence exists about the outcomes of teaching and learning of law in social work education, although students report increasing levels of satisfaction. Moreover, doubts remain about how far students acquire legal knowledge and skills in its implementation.

This survey of social work students in seven UK universities measured their law learning and their confidence in using this knowledge. Concept maps and a self-audit questionnaire were used to capture students' understanding and perceptions of this knowledge domain and self-assessments of their legal knowledge and skills. A large sample was achieved across first, second and final year students.

The interface between the legal rules and practice is a site of anxiety and perceived difficulty. In some areas students offer relatively confident self-assessments of their legal knowledge and skills for practising law. However, levels of confidence in other areas of their law learning raise doubts about the degree to which they can advocate for, and protect, service users. Conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of students' law learning.     

Helping Young Children Cope with Community Violence: A Proposal for the Reduction of Social Distress in the Inner Cities

The authors discuss the crisis of violence in our society and its impact on young children. Research on early violence prevention is reviewed, and a rationale for building parent-teacher coalitions to attempt solutions to the problem of violence is presented. A curriculum for co-training ofparents and early childhood professionals in violence prevention is outlined. The need for longitudinal research on the implementation and impact of early violence prevention programs is noted.