AIDS funding and the rhetoric of scarcity

This article describes the “rhetoric of scarcity,” a viewpoint that focuses on the inadequate past support for and the uncertain future of AIDS funding. This view is at variance with the consistent rise in financial support for AIDS and with the criticism from some quarters that AIDS is being overfunded relative to other diseases. The rhetoric of scarcity expressed by members of the AIDS community is distinctive but not unique to HIV/AIDS and can be traced to qualities of the epidemic and the ways in which nonprofit organizations obtain their funds.     

The Impact of Experiential Exercises on Communication and Relational Skills in a Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper-Training Program for College Resident Advisors

Abstract

Objective: In an effort to identify students at risk for suicide, many colleges are implementing suicide prevention training for campus gatekeepers. This study evaluated the efficacy of a 3-hour, experiential-based gatekeeper training that included an emphasis on enhancing communication skills and relational connection in addition to the didactic foci of standard gatekeeper training. Participants: Sixty-five college student resident advisors (RAs) were trained with Campus Connect. Methods: The training was dismantled to examine the specific contribution of experiential exercises on training outcomes. Results: Compared to didactic training alone, following participation in experiential exercises RAs’ training outcome scores exhibited additional improvement on the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory–2 and a 14-item self-report measure of self-efficacy for specific suicide- and crisis-related knowledge and skills. Conclusions: In gatekeeper training, experiential exercises emphasizing awareness and empathic responding and practice of these skills contribute to an improvement in crisis response skills above and beyond that of didactic training alone.     

Are dual and single exposures differently associated with clinical levels of trauma symptoms? Examining physical abuse and witnessing intimate partner violence among young children

A significant portion of children living in the United States have experienced trauma. Informed by the developmental traumatology model, we explored the effects of physical abuse and witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV) on childhood trauma symptoms. This study utilizes a convenience sample of 580 high‐risk children between 3 and 12 years who received services from one‐child advocacy centre during a 12‐month period. We performed a series of binary logistic regression analyses to examine if physical abuse, exposure to IPV, and dual exposure (i.e., both physical abuse and IPV) are distinctly associated with six trauma symptoms, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress (PTS), dissociation, anger, and sexual concerns. The results indicated that dual exposure was predictive of all trauma symptoms, except for dissociation. Additionally, physical abuse was associated with PTS, anger, and sexual concerns, whereas exposure to IPV was associated with depression, PTS, and sexual concerns. Research and implications for practitioners working with young children are discussed.     

Manufacturing ghost fathers: the paradox of father presence and absence in child welfare

Fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, and yet, they are rarely seen by child welfare. This invisibility exists whether or not fathers are deemed as risks or as assets to their families. Using an analysis of fundamental child welfare policies and practices and relevant literature, the paper examines how 'ghost' fathers are manufactured, and how this phenomenon affects families and professionals in child welfare. An analysis of gender, class, race and culture of child welfare discourses shows how these fathers are seen as deviant, dangerous, irresponsible and irrelevant, and even further, how absence in child welfare is inextricably linked to blaming mothers. In failing to work with fathers, child welfare ignores potential risks and assets for both mothers and children.     

Fatherhood regimes and father involvement in France and the UK

This paper contrasts and compares the institutional framework for fatherhood and father involvement and the survey evidence relating to fathers’ contribution to childcare and domestic work in the two countries. It shows that while men's contribution to such activities appears to be increasing in both France and the UK, change is slow and father involvement does not necessarily seem to correlate directly either with patterns of female labour force participation or with the support offered by the institutional framework. The authors explore the theoretical frameworks most appropriate for explaining their findings and situate them primarily in terms of Pfau-Effinger's theorization of the gender arrangement (1998, 2002, 2004). The authors conclude that while change in father involvement is slow, the introduction of statutory and organizational work–life balance measures which alter the gender order open up opportunities for negotiated change in the division of the labour in the home.     

Clusters and Correlates of Experiences With Parents and Peers in Early Adolescence

This study used a person‐oriented approach to examine links between adolescents' experiences with parents and peers. Cluster analysis classified 361, White, working‐ and middle‐class youth (mean age=12.16 years) based on mothers' and fathers' reports of parental acceptance and adolescents' reports of perceived peer competence. Three patterns were identified: high mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; low mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; and high mother acceptance, moderate father acceptance, and low peer competence. The groups differed with respect to youth's and parents' individual characteristics, family and peer dynamics, and youth functioning over time. Discussion focuses on the utility of a person‐oriented approach for studying parent–peer linkages in early adolescence and their implications.     

Long- and short-term affective states in happiness: Model,paradigm and experimental evidence

The present paper evaluates relevant findings on long- and short-term affective states in subjective well-being and argues for a componential model that combines the two into the more general concept of happiness. Two age parameters, one for long-term and one for short-term affect are added to the simple model to account for age changes in happiness. Measures of long- and short-term affect are presented, as is a paradigm for separating the components. Support for the simple model is provided by an experimental investigation with 64 college students who were exposed to positive and/or negative mood induction. As expected, the induction had substantially greater effect on short- than on long-term affect measures, particularly the negative induction procedure. These findings are consistent with predictions. However, multiple age cohorts will have to be assessed within a longitudinal framework to obtain values for the age parameters.     

SHORT REVIEWS

Books reviewed in this article: Adele E. Clarke , Disciplining Reproduction: Modernity, American Life Sciences, and “the Problems of Sex” Delia Davin , Internal Migration in Contemporary China Anton Kuijsten, Henk de Gans, and Henk de Feijter (eds.) The Joy of Demography… and Other Disciplines: Essays in Honour of Dirk van de Kaa William Petersen , Malthus: Founder of Modern Demography Eric B. Ross , The Malthus Factor: Population, Poverty and Politics in Capitalist Development Nicholas Van Hear , New Diasporas: The Mass Exodus, Dispersal and Regrouping of Migrant Communities Thomas M. Wilson and Hastings Donnan (eds.) , Border Identities: Nation and State at International Frontiers