Using TV as a Guide: Associations Between Television Viewing and Adolescents' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

Using both correlational and experimental methodology, this study examined contributions of TV viewing to adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior. A sample of 244 high school students was assigned to view clips depicting either one of three sexual stereotypes or neutral content. Participants then completed measures assessing their attitudes about sexual roles and relationships, their regular TV viewing habits, and their sexual experiences. Results indicated that more frequent viewing of talk shows and of “sexy” prime‐time programs, and viewing TV more intently for companionship, were each associated with greater endorsement of sexual stereotypes. Additionally, more frequent viewing and stronger identification with popular TV characters were associated with greater levels of sexual experience. Laboratory exposure to specific stereotypical content lead to greater acceptance of gender and sexual stereotypes, as well. Implications for television's role as a sexual educator are discussed.     

Celiac disease in North America: the disabling experience

Diagnosed as having celiac disease during my final year of undergraduate studies at McGill University, in the spring of 2005, my identity and lifestyle have undergone a transformative process. In this article I examine my experience of having celiac disease post-diagnosis, using the social model of disability framework. I examine the barriers that persons having celiac disease experience, both generally and personally. At the general level I explore the parallels between the experience of having celiac disease and the experience of being disabled: culturally, environmentally and financially. At the personal level I recount the emotional experience of being disabled.     

Will It Help? Identifying Socialization Discourses That Promote Sexual Risk and Sexual Health Among African American Youth

Because much of the existing research examining sexual communication to African American youth focuses on demographic and parental factors predicting sexual risk behaviors, less is known about factors predicting sexual health, and little is understood about the contributions of peer communications. The current study aimed to expand existing approaches by assessing which socialization discourses communicated by parents and peers contribute to sexual risk and health outcomes (sexual assertiveness, positive sexual affect, and condom self-efficacy). Participants were 631 African American undergraduates (73% female) who indicated the extent to which they had received from their parents and peers each of 28 messages representing four cultural discourses: abstinence, relational sex, sex positive, and gendered sexual roles. As expected, parents were perceived to emphasize relational sex and abstinence messages more than peers, and peers were perceived to communicate sex-positive and gendered sex role messages more than parents. Greater exposure to abstinence messages predicted lower levels of sexual experimentation, whereas exposure to sex-positive messages predicted higher levels. In addition, exposure to relational sex and sex-positive messages predicted higher levels of sexual assertiveness and positive sexual affect. Implications are discussed concerning sexual communications that could help Black youth develop healthy sexual perspectives.     

What Works for Whom,How and under What Circumstances? Testing Moderated Mediation of Intervention Effects on Externalizing Behavior in Children

In this study, we investigate whether changes in child social cognitive functioning and parenting are the mechanisms through which an individually delivered real‐world child intervention, Stay Cool Kids, aimed at preventing externalizing problem behavior in high‐risk elementary school children, induces changes in child behavior. Moreover, we tested whether mediation was moderated by child characteristics (gender and personality). The sample consisted of 264 fourth‐grade children displaying externalizing behavior (TRF t‐score > 60). Forty‐eight schools were randomly assigned to the intervention or no‐intervention control condition. The results of mediation analyses provided evidence for child positive self‐perception and maternal involvement as working mechanisms of the intervention. Child personality factor extraversion moderated the mediating effect of involvement whereas no moderated mediation was found for gender. Working mechanisms of the intervention differ for children with different personality characteristiscs.     

NO ROOM FOR ABUSE

In Canada, media reports on health care tend to focus on the high costs of the health care system; reporting privileges the economic aspects of this social service. In the Canadian system, long-term care or chronic care is a type of service that is situated within the health care system. Long-term care institutions typically house older individuals who have lost a significant amount of autonomy and require constant care. Until recently, the services dispensed within these institutions were unseen by the media, and thus the public did not reflect much on these services. The publication of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Future on Health Care in Canada in 2002 has fostered a growing public awareness of the vulnerability of older individuals and those with chronic illnesses, and their relationship with their care-givers. Although it may be the case that the typical care for such persons in these situations is now emerging from a zone of invisibility, it is uncertain that the media coverage accurately portrays the realities of institutionalized care-giving. This essay examines the care practices in long-term care institutions in order to understand the processes at work in an environment in which care is commodified. The ‘area’ in which this caring labour is located is an area where constant moral compromise can create a climate where abuse can become endemic. This paper considers these environments and the potential for abuse in them in relation to the concept of ‘grey zone’, first formulated by Primo Levi and later adapted by Giorgio Agamben and Claudia Card, as well as in relation to the related concept ‘bare life’, also formulated by Agamben. The author argues that the ‘greyness’ produced by care practices that are bound to a cost-effective and task-oriented framework create an environment that is not conducive to proper moral behaviour.     

A Review of the Racial Biases of Social Welfare Policies

Social welfare policies are crucial in advancing the well-being of individuals, yet they recreate the social disadvantage they attempt to ameliorate. Notably, these policies have perpetuated racial inequality in our society by implicitly or explicitly disadvantaging certain groups. This paper presents a review of the biases of social welfare policies. Using components of social construction and critical race theories, this paper highlights the ways the design and implementation of policies are racially bias. Among the policies it examines are mothers' pension, Social Security Act, and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.