Exploring U.S. Social Work Students’ Sexual Attitudes and Abortion Viewpoints

Social workers frequently engage with sexual and reproductive health topics, yet a notable paucity of social work research exists regarding abortion. Informed by overlapping theoretical frameworks of human rights and reproductive justice, this study examined a large, nationwide survey of social work students in the United States (N = 504). Linear regressions indicated that students’ endorsements of permissive sexual attitudes and support for birth control are inversely associated with holding anti-choice abortion views. Moreover, distinct relationships were found among sociodemographic characteristics and abortion attitudes and knowledge, suggesting that social work education efforts regarding contentious reproductive and sexual health topics should also focus on nuances of cultural competence and diversity, as well as general human rights principles and professional ethics.     

Drought and disproportionate disease: an investigation of gendered vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS in less-developed nations

Environmental change and climate-related disasters are an under-examined factor impacting women’s health, globally. Drawing on ecofeminist theory, we conduct analyses examining if the HIV burden among women is higher in nations that experience suffering from droughts. Specifically, we posit that droughts, which typically impact more people and for greater lengths of time than other climate-related disasters, have a unique impact on women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. We use a cross-national dataset of less-developed countries and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to explore and compare relationships between suffering from drought and total HIV prevalence and suffering from drought and women’s proportion of HIV cases. Overall, the results demonstrate that while droughts have an inconsistent impact on total HIV prevalence, suffering from drought significantly increases the proportion of HIV cases among women in comparison to men, net of the impact of common economic, social, cultural, and political predictors. The findings suggest that suffering from drought differentially impacts women’s health in less-developed countries, where a number of mechanisms, such as transactional sex or displacement, likely underlie the associations identified.

     

Book Reviews Nature's Services Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Gretchen C. Daily (Ed.). Washington,D.C: Island Press, 1997. 392 pages,paperback

Population and Environment -     

Editorial: To All Good Friends,With Thanks

Population and Environment -     

Comment on Bermingham's Summary of the U.N.'s Year 2000 Replacement Migration,Is it a Solution to Declining Population and Aging?

The UN's solicitousness for developed countries because of the possibility of their being depopulated seems disingenuous. In fact, developed countries are typically the losers from vast immigrant flows, and the underdeveloped countries that rid themselves of excess population are the gainers.     

Practice Guidelines In Child Custody Evaluations for Licensed Clinical Social Workers

Child custody evaluations and decisions are often complicated and emotionally charged. The following guidelines are offered as a framework for clinical social workers who are asked by the judicial system to undertake these evaluations. The historical background of child custody and the theoretical considerations that have guided the courts are reviewed. The traditional areas of consideration and the empirical data related to these areas are examined. The guidelines present pertinent information regarding ethical considerations, parent–child relationship, parenting style, gender issues, parental conflict, parental alienation, domestic violence, race, religion, sexual preferences, geography, parental psychopathology, substance abuse, child’s preference, physical health of the child, and behavioral health of the child. A format for the evaluation process is described and includes the role of the clinician, confidentiality, fees, and review of documents, interviewing, home visits, psychological testing, and the actual written report. Making recommendations to the court regarding child custody is an area of practice that clinical social workers encounter in ever-increasing numbers. Clinical social workers are called upon to give recommendations regarding child custody in neglect or abuse cases, in termination of parental rights proceedings, and in the area divorce and of guardianship. In an effort to provide clinicians with scientifically grounded parameters for rendering these recommendations, the following guidelines are recommended. These guidelines provide a framework of scientific principles, along with established and accepted clinical practice, to enhance the practitioner’s decision making in these challenging and complicated cases. The guidelines are specifically designed for clinical social workers doing custody evaluations in cases of marital divorce and are restricted to that area of practice.     

Drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases

This meeting report documents the exciting ongoing research aimed at developing new therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases at the interface between academia and industry, and illustrates the direction the NIH "roadmap" for medical research is taking. Some of the projects have resulted in very promising drugs, identified and developed by academic centers, entering clinical trials.     

Population Dynamics: Poverty,Inequality, and Self-Regulating Fertility Rates

Population growth without a parallel increase in capital impoverishes any society and tends to deepen inequality. The system is dynamic because people who perceive or foresee contracting economic opportunity usually restrict family size. Worsening poverty feeds back into the loop to slow, then stop further population growth.