The Impact of Paternity and Marital Status on Low Birth Weight and Preterm Births

In the United States the number of births to unmarried mothers is at a record high. Although being unmarried is a significant risk factor for low birth weight and preterm births, paternal presence may have a protective effect. In addition to marital status, paternity may be a proxy measure for paternal support. Virginia birth registry data were analyzed to investigate the effect of marital and paternity status on low birth weight and preterm births. Findings from this study show that women who reported being unmarried and with no paternity status were 1.6 (odds ratio = 1.57, 95% confidence interval = 1.41–1.75) and 1.4 (odds ratio = 1.39, 95% confidence interval = 1.21–1.61) times more likely to have preterm low birth weight and term low birth weight babies, respectively. Being unmarried and lack of established paternity appear to be significantly correlated with and may be important risk factors for preterm and low birth weight deliveries. Health care professionals should be aware of the potential role of paternal presence and marital status may play with respect to preterm births and low birth weight.     

Developmental Foundations and Clinical Applications of Social Information Processing: A Review

Social information processing has emerged as an important construct in understanding children's interpersonal functioning. This article reviews (1) the theoretical models guiding research, (2) the development of normative and atypical social problem solving, and (3) the connection between social information processing and individual differences in functioning. Finally, this review ends with a summary of efficacy of programs aimed at preventing social information processing biases or intervening with youth who display dysfunctional social information processing skills.     

Coming together and pulling apart: Exploring the influence of functional status on co-resident relationships in assisted living

Social relationships can have considerable influence on physical and mental well-being in later life, particularly for those in long-term care settings such as assisted living (AL). Research set in AL suggests that other residents are among the most available social contacts and that co-resident relationships can affect life satisfaction, quality of life, and well-being. Functional status is a major factor influencing relationships, yet AL research has not studied in-depth or systematically considered the role it plays in residents' relationships. This study examines the influences of physical and mental function on co-resident relationships in AL and identifies the factors shaping the influence of functional status. We present an analysis of qualitative data collected over a one-year period in two distinct AL settings. Data collection included: participant observation, informal interviews, and formal in-depth interviews with staff, residents, administrators and visitors, as well as surveys with residents. Grounded theory methods guided our data collection and analysis. Our analysis identified the core category, “coming together and pulling apart”, which signifies that functional status is multi-directional, fluid, and operates in different ways in various situations and across time. Key facility- (e.g., admission and retention practices, staff intervention) and resident-level (e.g., personal and situational characteristics) factors shape the influence of functional status on co-resident relationships. Based on our findings, we suggest strategies for promoting positive relationships among residents in AL, including the need to educate staff, families, and residents.     

“Feeling frumpy”: The relationships between body image and sexual response changes in midlife women

This study investigated the relationships between self‐rated attractiveness and self‐reported sexual response changes (over the past decade) and current sexual satisfaction in 307 heterosexual, midlife women. Results indicated that regardless of the woman's specific age, she was more likely to consider herself more attractive when she was 10 years younger, and her self‐perceived attractiveness did not significantly differ based on her menopausal status. The more a woman perceived herself as less attractive than before, the more likely she was to report a decline in sexual desire or frequency of sexual activity. The more she perceived herself as attractive, the more likely she was to experience an increase in sexual desire, orgasm, enjoyment, or frequency of sexual activity. There were no significant statistical relationships between a woman's perception of her own attractiveness as she aged and her current sexual satisfaction.     

Assessing Performance Consequences of Changes in Educational Policy: Toward Systematic Experimentation

This paper argues that schools of social work should determine the empirical consequences of risk-taking changes in educational policy. A commitment to systematic experimentation rather than random innovation is urged in order to promote effective curriculum designs, establish an empirical basis for educational policy decisions, and provide quasi-theories about educational policy change. CSWE is seen as a potential coordinator and repository of data about the effects of changes in educational policy. Furthermore, most schools have the resources to carry out significant studies. With these commitments, we can make policy changes that are predictive of desired outcomes.     

Biographical interviews and imagined futures essay writing: users of two methods in conversation

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a conversation between users of two research methods, biographical interviews and imagined futures essay writing. A dialogue form is used to discuss these methods and their potential to be combined. The value of comparing research methods is discussed, and then the two methods are described and points of connection and contrast are explored. Although one method emphasises looking back while the other looks forward, the two have much in common, including the exercise of imagination, and discussion of individual agency and structural constraint. Both involve the construction of narratives that help understanding of people’s lives as individual trajectories set in broader social and historical contexts. The two methods are quite different but complementary, and possibilities for their combination in one project are identified. The article ends by reflecting on the benefits and drawbacks of using dialogue to consider how research methods sit alongside each other.     

Social Justice in the Social Work Classroom: Applying a Professional Value to Social Work Education

Social justice is a primary value of social work and therefore has a place in discussions of social work education pedagogy. This is especially true for conversations pertaining to students who are underprepared, due to educational inequalities, for successful completion of writing assignments at the undergraduate level. If underprepared students are treated as equals to prepared students, then the social inequalities that contributed to or caused a student to be underprepared are perpetuated rather than challenged. The authors explore responses to underprepared students that are consistent with social work's professional value of social justice.     

Appearance Cues and the Shootings at Columbine High: Construction of a Social Problem in the Print Media

In this study, we used an interpretive approach to examine print media (newspaper) representations of the relationship between appearance and the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado. Our work was guided by the social constructionist definition of a social problem. Grounded theory analyses revealed that both primary and secondary claims-makers staged claims and/or counterclaims contributing to the construction of Columbine as an appearance-linked social problem. The content and form of these claims varied according to the stage in the construction of the problem. Further, although both primary and secondary claims were made with respect to the conceptualization of the problem, an explanation for it, and solutions to it, the roles of primary and secondary claims-makers in constructing the problem varied. Implications of claims made within the media and related to the role of appearance in the shootings are considered, and a call is made for future work in this area.