A Qualitative Study of the Formation and Composition of Social Networks Among Homeless Youth

Although social networks are essential for explaining protective and risk factors among homeless youth, little is known about the formation and composition of these groups. In this study, we utilized 19 in-depth interviews with homeless youth to investigate their social network formation, role relationships, housing status, and network member functions. Our findings reveal that the formation of these networks occurred in different ways including meeting network members through others or in specific social situations. The majority of social network members were currently housed and provided various functions including instrumental and social support and protection. Responses from participants provide valuable insight into the formation of social networks and potentially explain their subsequent involvement in risky behaviors.     

Online measures of looking and learning in infancy

Infants in laboratory settings look longer at events that violate their expectations, learn better about objects that behave unexpectedly, and match utterances to the objects that likely elicited them. The paradigms revealing these behaviors have become cornerstones of research on preverbal cognition. However, little is known about whether these canonical behaviors are observed outside laboratory settings. Here, we describe a series of online protocols that replicate classic laboratory findings, detailing our methods throughout. In Experiment 1a, 15-month-old infants (N = 24) looked longer at an online support event culminating in an Unexpected outcome (i.e., appearing to defy gravity) than an Expected outcome. Infants did not, however, show the same success with an online solidity event. In Experiment 1b, 15-month-old infants (N = 24) showed surprise-induced learning following online events—they were better able to learn a novel object's label when the object had behaved unexpectedly compared to when it behaved expectedly. Finally, in Experiment 2, 16-month-old infants (N = 20) who heard a valenced utterance (“Yum!”) showed preferential looking to the object most likely to have generated that utterance. Together, these results suggest that, with some adjustments, online testing is a feasible and promising approach for infant cognition research.     

Sex Related Factors in the Perception of Threatening Facial Expressions

This study replicated and extended previously reported sex differences involving both viewer and target in the recognition of threatening facial expressions. Based on the assumption that the evolved cognitive mechanisms mediating anger recognition would have been designed by natural selection to operate quickly in the interests of survival, brief tachistoscopic presentation of stimulus photographs was used. Additionally, in contrast to prior published studies, the statistical methods of signal detection research were used to control for the confounding effects of non-random guessing. The main hypothesis, that anger posed by males would be more accurately perceived than anger posed by females, was supported. A secondary hypothesis, that female-posed anger would be more accurately perceived by women than by men, received partial support. Testosterone levels, measured inferentially in terms of diurnal cycles, failed to show the hypothesized positive relationship to accuracy of anger perception.     

Parental Perspectives Regarding Poverty-Based Programs

Title I was created to eliminate the achievement gap and to provide additional support for children living at or below the poverty threshold. In order to be able to evaluate and adjust programs designed to academically serve children in poverty, educators need parental involvement and insight. Unfortunately, collecting such information has proven difficult. The purpose of this study was to try to find a means to generate parental perspectives on the value of poverty-based programs and on how these programs contribute to academic success for their children. The researchers found such a means by forming collaborative relationships with social workers, and gained valuable insights from parents into whether these programs are viewed as helping children succeed academically and on how programs should be altered.     

Neural Correlates of Human and Monkey Face Processing in 9‐Month‐Old Infants

Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence suggests a gradual, experience‐dependent specialization of cortical face processing systems that takes place largely in the 1st year of life. To further investigate these findings, event‐related potentials (ERPs) were collected from typically developing 9‐month‐old infants presented with pictures of familiar and unfamiliar monkey or human faces in 2 different orientations. Analyses revealed differential processing across changes in monkey and human faces. The N290 was greater for familiar compared to unfamiliar faces, regardless of species or orientation. In contrast, the P400 to unfamiliar faces was greater than to familiar faces, but only for the monkey condition. The P400 to human faces differentiated the orientation of both familiar and unfamiliar faces. These results suggest more specific processing of human compared to monkey faces in 9‐month‐olds.     

The Devil is in the Detail: Clinicians,Academics and Researchers Resolving the Problems of Clinical Research

The difficulties associated with conducting valid family therapy research within a clinical practice discourage many potential researchers. This article will describe collaboration between a group of academics, researchers and clinicians who decided to explore the process and efficacy of systemic family therapy conducted within a working private practice. The specific questions we are addressing are, whether the requests clients bring to their first session of therapy can be reliably classified by practitioners, whether these requests change over time, and whether the nature of the request is associated with therapist and client ratings of therapeutic outcome. Additional questions about the form and nature of the therapeutic alliance as experienced by both client and practitioner are also being explored. This paper will map the passage of the work from inception to its current state where over 140 clients are active participants. In doing so attention will be paid to the obstacles encountered: practical, financial and ethical, and the solutions devised to address these.     

The effects of child support guidelines: An analysis of the evidence in court records

Court records from four Ohio counties were used to compare child support orders before and after promulgation of federally mandated guidelines in 1987. There was no significant change in probability of Court Ordered Child Support. Amount Ordered in constant dollars increased between 1985 and 1987–88. Variables influencing Court Ordered Child Support differed post-guidelines. Years Married, Attorney for Both and Attorney for Wife were significant in both years. Number of Children, Rural, and Wife's Motions were significant in 1987–88. Variables affecting amount ordered also differed after adoption of the guidelines. Wife Contested, Husband's Motions, Defendant and Plaintiff no longer were significant in 1987–88. Years Married and Payment by Father were significantly related to Amount Ordered in 1985 but not in 1987–88. Number of Children, Expenses Paid, and Number of Assets were significantly related to Amount Ordered in both years.Salaries and research support were provided by state and federal appropriations to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and by the Department of Family Resource Management, and The Office of Research and Graduate Studies, The Ohio State University.Kathryn Stafford is Associate Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research interests include household management and time use. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.Golden Jackson is Assistant Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research is primarily in the area of the economic effects of divorce. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.Sharon Seiling is Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Family Resource Management, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research is on the impact of family change, especially divorce, on access to housing and overall financial well-being. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Religious Identity and Family Ideologies in the Transition to Adulthood

This article examines how religion shapes family ideologies in young adulthood. Using the 31‐year Intergenerational Panel Study of Parents and Children (N= 909), we find relationships between mother’s religious characteristics when her child was born and the child’s own family ideologies in young adulthood. Further, multiple dimensions of young adults’ religious identities are independently related to their family ideologies, suggesting unique influences of both religious service attendance and the importance of religion. Our results vary across time and family ideologies in interesting patterns, but relationships between religion and attitudes are remarkably consistent. From early in life, mothers’ and children’s religious characteristics shape family ideologies in ways likely to help explain relationships found between religion and family behaviors.     

EDUCATION AND OCCUPATIONAL SEX SEGREGATION:

Occupational sex segregation is estimated to account for a substantial portion of the sex gap in pay for full-time, year-round workers (England 1992). Although women's representation in many formerly male-dominated occupations has increased since 1972, women are still underrepresented in engineering. In 1993 women were awarded 14 percent of all engineering bachelors degrees and accounted for 8 percent of the U.S. engineering labor force. This study uses data from the 1980 senior sample of the High School and Beyond national longitudinal survey to model sex differences in the choice of engineering in college. Multinomial logit models of major choice are constructed as a function of individual-level attributes associated with high school preparation and gender role attitudes. Decomposition analysis indicates that average sex differences in these two areas explain between 8.8 and 33.4 percent of the sex gap. Policy implications are discussed.