Perceptions and Use of a Web-Based Referral System in Child Welfare: Differences by Caseworker Tenure

In the child welfare system, technology may help caseworkers make service referrals efficiently. However, acceptance and use of new technology does not occur equally for all caseworkers. Influenced by the Technology Acceptance Model, we investigate differences in perceived ease of use and usefulness of a web-based referral system by caseworker tenure, and how these perceptions relate to use of the system. Results from 31 interviews with newer and more tenured caseworkers suggest important similarities and differences in how these groups perceive the technology, and suggest that differences in perception are related to differences in actual use.     

Survival of the fittest: capacity building for small nonprofit organizations

This paper discusses capacity building activities designed for small nonprofits who are members of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida's ADEPT program. The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (SHFBCF) is a nonprofit organization that collects, stores and distributes donated food to more than 450 nonprofit partners in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties. This project sought to delineate, design, and implement the capacity building trainings desired by ADEPT member agencies. It also analyzed the relationship between the number of clients served, number of staff, number of volunteers, and the training needs. At the conclusion of the capacity building trainings, data was collected to gauge participants' perceptions of the capacity building trainings and their perceived impact on the effectiveness of the ADEPT Program and its member agencies. The generalizability and applicability of the research results to other small community-based organizations providing social and human services is also discussed.     

The Social Care Work Portfolio: An Aid to Integrated Learning and Reflection in Social Care Training

The focus of the paper is on the use of a specifically designed portfolio in social care training as an aid to both integrated learning and reflection. Integrated learning is achieved through the use of discrete sections in the portfolio which require students to discuss their practice placement agencies from perspectives that demonstrate their understanding of subjects such as theories and practices of social care, psychology, social policy, legal studies. Reflection, which is considered a core element of social care training, is examined as a learning tool. A model for the promotion of reflection is presented to help students gain new perspectives on their learning experiences. Criteria for the assessment of both integrated learning and use of reflection are discussed. Some comments of students, recorded during the evaluation process, are presented as evidence of their learning through the use of the portfolio model.     

Adolescent Loneliness and Health in Early Adulthood

The health consequence of loneliness in the early life course is an understudied topic in the sociological literature. Using data from Waves 1–3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine pre‐disease pathways in the relationship between adolescent loneliness and early adult health. Our results indicate that loneliness during adolescence is associated with diagnosed depression, poorer adult self‐rated health, and metabolic risk factors related to cardiovascular disease. High depressive symptoms and parent support are important pathways through which the health consequences of loneliness are exacerbated or offset. There is also evidence that lonely youth remain at higher risk for experiencing adult depression and poor self‐rated health even in the presence of equivalent levels of parental support relative to non‐lonely adolescents. Furthermore, lonely adolescent females are more vulnerable to reporting poor adult self‐rated health and being overweight or obese in adulthood. In sum, our study demonstrates the importance of adolescent loneliness for elevating the risk of poor health outcomes in adulthood.     

A Case Study of Sample Design for Longitudinal Research: Young Lives

This paper presents a case study to illustrate the range of decisions involved in designing a sampling strategy for a complex, longitudinal research study. It is based on experience from the Young Lives project and identifies the approaches used to sample children for longitudinal follow‐up in four less developed countries (LDCs). The rationale for decisions made and the resulting benefits, and limitations, of the approaches adopted are discussed. Of particular importance is the choice of sampling approach to yield useful analysis; specific examples are presented of how this informed the design of the Young Lives sampling strategy.     

CLOSENESS WITH PARENTS AND PERCEIVED CONSEQUENCES OF PREGNANCY AMONG MALE AND FEMALE ADOLESCENTS

Using the 1994–1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the association between closeness with parents and teen beliefs regarding the consequences of pregnancy. Unlike previous studies in this area, we include measures of closeness to both mother and father and examine effects for both male and female adolescents by family type (two-biological- or two-adoptive-parent, stepfather, and single-mother families). Our findings indicate that parental closeness is most salient for boys living with two biological or adoptive parents. For girls living with two biological or adoptive parents and boys and girls living in stepfather families, controlling for other aspects of the parent-child relationship, as well as adolescent, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics, eliminates the protective influence of closeness to parents. For teens living in single-mother families, closeness with mother has no effect on beliefs about the consequences of pregnancy. Overall, our findings indicate that it is teen beliefs regarding parental viewpoints on educational achievement and engagement in sexual activity, rather than closeness per se, that has the link to adolescent beliefs about the consequences of pregnancy.     

Parental Childrearing Attitudes as Correlates of Father Involvement During Infancy

Using daily diary data to document involvement with infants at 6 - 8 months of age (n = 142) and 6 months later (n = 95), we examined relations between reported childrearing attitudes and resident fathers' relative (as compared to mothers') involvement with children. Fathers' authoritarian views related negatively to their relative involvement on weekdays, and this relation held over time for caregiving and playing activities. Mothers' protective attitudes had concurrent negative associations with fathers' relative weekend involvement. Findings suggest that fathers' authoritarian and mothers' protective attitudes relate to how parenting responsibilities are shared within families and may be detrimental to how much fathers become, or choose to become, directly involved in the care of their infants in comparison to mothers.     

Concurrent and Across Time Prediction of Young Adolescents' Social Functioning: The Role of Emotionality and Regulation

The social functioning of 64 young adolescents (10‐ to 12‐year olds) was examined in relation to negative emotionality and regulation during early adolescence, as well as two, four, and six years earlier. Young adolescents who were viewed as relatively high in social functioning (i.e., high teacher‐rated school social competence; low mother‐ or father‐rated problem behavior) were generally viewed as relatively low on negative emotionality and high on regulatory abilities during early adolescence as well as two, four, and six years earlier. Furthermore, negative emotionality and regulation during early adolescence, and in some cases at previous time periods, contributed unique variance to the prediction of social functioning during early adolescence. Young adolescents who were consistently low in social functioning across time were higher on negative emotionality and lower on regulation than were young adolescents who were consistently high on social functioning over time.