Coming out to parents: perceptions of family relations, perceived resources, and identity expression as predictors of identity disclosure for gay and lesbian adolescents

This paper examines perceptions of family relations, identity expression, and pro-lesbian/gay resources as factors influencing coming out to parents. One hundred seventy-two adolescents responded to a survey originating from a clinical support group for lesbian and gay youth. Findings indicate that weak family relations significantly detract from coming out to parents indirectly through identity expression and perceived resources. Excluding the effects of family relations, adolescents perceiving supportive resources and expressing their lesbian/gay identity were more likely to come out to parents.     

A cross-national look at married women's earnings dependency

Using the Luxembourg Income Study data we examine married women's dependency on their husbands' earnings in nine Western industrialized countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. When we examine the level and degree of dependency, and the labor force participation of married women across countries, the nine countries fall into the three clusters delineated in Esping-Andersen's welfare states typology. But when we examine the determinants of the dependency within each country, the clustering disappears. Wives' dependency increases with age, the presence of young children, and the number of children. It is reduced when wives' labor force participation and education are high relative to their husbands' and in families that rely more on unearned sources of income. The similarity of patterns across countries suggests that gender differences in the work-family nexus are deeply entrenched in all countries and continue even in the face of very active social policy to minize their effects. This is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 1995, Washington DC. Her current research focuses on gender inequality and parents' time allocation between work and family. She conducts research on various aspects of family demography, including household and family characteristics, co-resident grandparent families, cohabitation, and child care. With Suzanne Bianchi, she is completing a research monograph on trends in the American family. Her research focuses on gender, work, and family issues.     

Testing an explanatory model of the development of depressive symptoms in young women during a life transition

Factors to explain the rising incidence of depressive symptoms among young women making the transition from home to university life were investigated. A path analysis of data from 213 18- and 19-year-old women entering a large university indicated that negative life events, interpersonally derived social support, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms were significantly related. Negative life events that affected the women's self-esteem (drawn from the women's performance in interpersonal relationships) were most strongly associated with depressive symptoms, and self-esteem derived through efficacy (i.e., taking control and acting assertively) was not associated with negative events. The women in the sample appeared to derive efficacy self-esteem from relationships. An analysis of the data supported developing interventions to improve interpersonal relationships rather than focusing on competence in gaining access to resources.     

Adolescent Women's Recommendations for Enhanced Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sexual Behavior

Family communication about adolescent sexual health and behavior promotes adolescent health and family connectedness. However, few studies seek the perspective of adolescents regarding their recommended strategies for family communication. Findings of a survey of female adolescent family planning patients (n = 249) indicated adolescent recommendations for better family communication included treat teen as an equal, 63%; increase parental knowledge about lifestyle and peer pressures, 61%, and improve parental listening skills, 61%. There were no statistically significant differences according to age, pregnancy history, or school enrollment status for suggested strategies for improved communication with parents. Sexually active adolescent daughters expressed interest in maintaining family connectedness and support with increased time for family activities as well as increased quality and quantity of dialogue between the adolescent girl and her parents.     

Improving performance in a contracted physician network

Health care organizations face significant performance challenges. Achieving desired results requires the highest level of partnership with independent physicians. Tufts Health Plan invited medical directors of its affiliated groups to participate in a leadership development process to improve clinical, service, and business performance. The design included performance review, gap analysis, priority setting, improvement work plans, and defining the optimum practice culture. Medical directors practiced core leadership capabilities, including building a shared context, getting physician buy-in, and managing outliers. The peer learning environment has been sustained in redesigned medical directors' meetings. There has been significant performance improvement in several practices and enhanced relations between the health plan and medical directors.     

Alcohol and drug use of inter-city versus rural school age children

The purpose of this study of seventy-nine children was to determine: 1) the prevalence and type of substance use in inter-city and rural eight to twelve-year-old children; and 2) the relationships between child substance use, self-esteem, peer substance use, and family climate. The conceptual framework for the study was a modification of Kumpfer and Turner's Social Ecology Model (1991). Nineteen percent of the children had used alcohol or drugs. Thirty-three percent of the children acknowledged having friends who used substances. Inter-city children reported more alcohol and marijuana use, while the rural children reported more use of inhalants. The responses of both inter-city and rural children also indicated that there were problems with substance use and family violence in the home. Self-esteem and affiliation with drug using peers were significantly correlated with substance use of the child.     

Prevention training of paraprofessionals in the schools: an examination of relevancy and effectiveness

Prevention training programs for paraprofessional school personnel are examined in this article. Prevention training for the reduction of student alcohol and other drug use, incorporating a student well-being model, is described and evaluated. The prevention training, entitled "Enhancing Student Well-Being," took place in two urban school districts with over 200 paraprofessional school personnel participating. The training was evaluated using measures of knowledge gained, self-efficacy, and participant satisfaction. Pre- and post-training differences showed consistent gains in participant efficacy expectations but less consistent gains in outcome expectations and knowledge. Participant satisfaction and self-reports of knowledge enhanced and skill improvement were uniformly high across all training programs. Implications for inservice prevention training of paraprofessionals are discussed.     

Multilevel mediation modeling in group-based intervention studies

This article proposes and evaluates a method to test for mediation in multilevel data sets formed when an intervention administered to intact groups is designed to produce change in individual mediator and outcome variables. Simulated data of this form were used to compare ordinary least squares (OLS) and two multilevel estimators of the mediated effect. OLS and multilevel standard error approximations were also evaluated and recommendations given for optimal estimator choice. These methods were applied to data from an existing substance use intervention to show the impact multilevel mediation modeling can have on the conclusions drawn from real-world evaluation studies.