Social Sources of Community Solidarity in U.S. Congregations

Community solidarity, or a collective sense of belonging, plays a vital role in the health and survival of many organizations. Consequently, identifying the elements that contribute to a strong sense of solidarity within communities has long been a topic of inquiry for scholars. In this study, we draw upon prior theorizing to develop and test four hypotheses regarding the organizational characteristics associated with community solidarity in religious congregations. Multivariate models are estimated using national data on religious congregations from the 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey (n?=?357). Organizations with greater community solidarity tend to feature higher levels of social capital (operationalized with measures of friendship networks and participation in organizational activities), higher levels of official membership within the organization, and inspiring congregational leadership. Higher levels of commitment are associated with greater community solidarity, but the effect is wholly mediated by social capital. Congregations that engender higher levels of community solidarity share certain organizational features, including higher levels of social capital, higher rates of membership, and inspiring leaders.     

Physical exercise and improvements in mental health

1. Walking groups provide activity and support for their members. 2. Exercise competes with anxiety and depression and may diminish these negative affects. 3. Most YMCAs provide financial aid by reducing fees for people with disabilities.     

Colored Property: State Policy and White Racial Politics in Suburban America

Norman Cohn, Europe's Inner Demons (1975), xiv+302 (Chatto‐Heinemann for Sussex University Press, £4.50).

Eugene Kamenka and R. S. Neale (eds), Feudalism, Capitalism and Beyond (1975), viii+147 (Edward Arnold, £3.95, paperback £1.95).

David G. Hey, An English Rural Community: Myddle under the Tudors and Stuarts (1974), 260 (Leicester University Press, £5.80).

Enid Gauldie, Cruel Habitations: A History of Working‐Class Housing 1780–1918 (1974), 363 (Allen &; Unwin, £5.75, paperback £3.00).

Lee Holcombe, Victorian Ladies at Work; Middle‐Class Working Women in England and Wales, 1850 to 1914 (1974), x+253 (David and Charles, Newton Abbot, £4.95).

Bo Öhngren, Folk i rörelse. Samhällsutveckling, flyttningsmönster och folkrörelser i Eskilstuna 1870–1900 (1974), 414+26 pp. English summary (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Historica Upsaliensia No. 55, Uppsala). (People on the Move. Social development, migration patterns and popular movements in Eskilstuna 1870–1900)

Michelle Perrot, Les Ouvriers en Grève: France 1871–1890 ( 1974), 2 volumes, 900 (Mouton: Paris and The Hague, Dfl 149). (Workers on Strike: France 1871–1890)

J. E. Knodel, The Decline of Fertility in Germany, 1871–1939 (1974), xix+306 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., £7.60).

Kenneth D. Brown (ed.), Essays in Anti‐Labour History: responses to the rise of Labour in Britain (1974), viii+409 (Macmillan, £10.00).

Bob Jessop, Traditionalism, Conservatism and British Political Culture (1974), 287 (George Allen and Unwin, £4.65).     

Differences in Life Satisfaction and School Satisfaction Among Adolescents From Three Nations: The Role of Perceived Autonomy Support

Past research shows that higher well‐being is reported by adolescents who live in individualistic rather than collectivistic nations. Such cross‐national differences may be due to the amount of autonomy support adolescents receive from authority figures. To examine this hypothesis, in the current study, 322 adolescents from Denmark, South Korea, and the United States completed self‐report surveys that assessed adolescents' school and life satisfaction and their experience of autonomy support from parents and teachers. Results showed that Danish adolescents reported highest school satisfaction, life satisfaction, and perceived autonomy support, followed by American and Korean adolescents, respectively. Furthermore, cross‐national differences in school and life satisfaction were partially mediated by adolescents' perceptions of autonomy support from authority figures. These findings support self‐determination theory ( Deci & Ryan, 1985 ) and the ecological model of child development ( Bronfenbrenner, 1986 ).     

Factors Associated With Substance Use Disorders Among Traumatized Homeless Youth

This study aimed to identify homeless youths’ lifestyle and trauma-related risk factors as well as protective factors associated with alcohol use disorder or no disorder and drug use disorder or no disorder. Youth receiving homeless services in Denver (n = 201), Austin (n = 200), and Los Angeles (n = 200; N = 601) completed quantitative interviews assessing demographic information, alcohol and drug use, homeless lifestyle risk factors, trauma-related risk factors, and protective factors. Findings showed differences in trauma-related risk factors between alcohol and drug use disorders, but not homeless lifestyle risks. Protective factors predicted substance use disorders beyond risk factors. Understanding trauma-related risk and protective factors associated with substance use disorders could improve interventions.     

Risk Detection and Self‐Protection Among Homeless Youth

Utilizing qualitative interviews with a large sample of 145 homeless youth seeking services at homeless youth service agencies from across three U.S. cities (Los Angeles, Denver, and Austin), this study sought to explore youths' perspectives on ways in which they detect risk and protect themselves on the streets. Results indicated that youth use a combination of internal cues (affective responses) and external cues (reading people) to detect danger, although many times danger was described as undetectable. Certain contexts, includes those that were unfamiliar, difficult to escape, or involved drugs were described as most dangerous. In response to these dangers, youth employed self‐protection strategies such as carrying weapons, banding together with trusted others, isolating, or seeking programing to leave the streets.