Parity and the expected consequences of childbearing

In this study 163 young married women with 0, 1, or 2 children described the advantages and disadvantages of having a (another) child in the next three years and the expectations of significant others regarding their childbearing behavior. Childless women were more likely than women at first and second parity to mention self-fulfillment, pleasing parents, strengthening their marriage, less time and freedom, interference with career and education, being emotionally unprepared, and creating friction in their marriage. Women with one child were most likely to mention companionship and achieving family size goals. For women with two children gender preference and less time for present children were particularly salient consequences. Women with one child report experiencing the strongest pronatalist normative pressures but the perceived preferences of significant others were most closely related to own childbearing plans for childless women. The results are discussed in terms of a parity specific approach to the study of motivations for parenthood.The research reported here was supported by Grant HD 10391-01, Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Robyn Boyer is now an independent research consultant in Sacramento, California. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Thomas J. Crawford, Program in Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, California, 92717.     

Remembering and forgetting childhood sexual abuse

Twelve white middle-class women who had been severely sexually abused as children by a family member were asked to provide a narrative of their abuse and discuss their subsequent remembering and forgetting of these experiences. Most claimed they had undergone periods during which they had not recalled their abuse, but also claimed that they had never forgotten their experiences at another point during the interview. Nine of the women had actively tried to forget the abusive experiences, although 8 still experienced recurrent and often relentless intrusive memories. Our findings suggest that women with continuous memories may have longer and more coherent narratives than women without continuous memories. Implications of these findings for understanding the phenomenology of memory experiences and the concept of "recovered" memories of childhood sexual abuse are discussed.     

Nature & prevalence of stalking among New Zealand mental health clinicians

Stalking involves recurrent and persistent unwanted communication or contact that generates fear for safety in the victims. This pilot study evaluated the nature and prevalence of stalking among New Zealand nurses and physicians working in mental health services. An anonymous questionnaire asking respondents to describe their experiences with 12 stalking behaviors was distributed to 895 clinicians. Results indicated that regardless of discipline, women were more likely than men to have experienced one or more stalking behaviors, including receiving unwanted telephone calls, letters, and approaches; receiving personal threats: and being followed, spied on, or subject to surveillance. Women also reported higher levels of fearfulness as a consequence of stalking behaviors. Nearly half of the stalkers were clients; the remaining were former partners, colleagues, or acquaintances. In client-related cases, the majority of respondents told their colleagues and supervisors first, and the majority found them to be the most helpful resource. The results of this pilot study indicate a need for further research focused on the stalking of mental health clinicians in New Zealand and for development of workplace policies for adequate response to the stalking of mental health clinicians.     

Does the Risk Outweigh the Benefits? Adolescent Responses to Completing Health Surveys

The aim of this study is to describe the self‐reported experiences of adolescents in population‐based samples when completing health‐related surveys on topics with varying potential for evoking distress. Survey data were collected in three school‐based studies of bullying behaviors (N = 1,771, 12–14 years), alcohol use (N = 823, 12, 15, and 17 years), and electronic image sharing (N = 274, 13 years). Between 5% and 15% of respondents reported being upset at survey completion, but at most 1.4% were entirely negative in their evaluation. Age was not associated with being upset, but younger adolescents were more likely to see benefit in participation. Although concurrent mental health symptoms increased the risk of being upset, this was mostly mitigated by perceived benefits from participation.     

Design Tactics for Urban Places

Understanding place as process offers an alternative to the reproduction of places as static objects and the resultant problematic exclusion of multiple other narratives. This paper builds on the work of Lefebvre, de Certeau and Massy to develop design tactics for engaging with places as dynamic, plural and interconnected. This paper describes and analyses an original exhibition of large scale participatory artworks which explored the role of travel histories and memory for the author’s sense of place in Perth, Western Australia. Reflection on this exhibition supports the argument that perceiving an urban location as a place depends on the opportunity for inhabitants to layer in their own contributions, and crucially, to observe change brought about by these actions and those of others. This paper concludes by offering fragmentation and malleability as tactics for further design and research within urban development, re-development, and placemaking projects.     

Careering Downwards? Middle Managers' Experiences in the Downsized Organization

The future of middle management has been the focus of attention in the media, following a period of unprecedented restructuring in organizations. However, there are mixed messages in the literature on the impact that this restructuring has had on middle managers' roles and careers, as well as on their reaction to these changes. It is the aim of this paper to address some of these tensions and contradictions. The research presented here is based on a two-year study of middle management in 50 organizations across both the public and private sectors, involving semi-structured interviews with middle managers and key decision-makers. The findings show that, paradoxically, whilst middle managers report feelings of greater job satisfaction from increased empowerment over their work roles, this is in tandem with working in intensified work regimes with increased pressures and stress. Many middle managers are still looking towards hierarchical career progression as the main reward for their continued commitment, despite this being significantly diminished in the downsized, delayered organization. The denial of this reward for what is seen by many middle managers as excessive work demands, it is suggested, will ultimately lead to middle managers becoming increasingly bitter and jaundiced.     

Starting to drink: the experiences of Australian lower secondary students with alcohol

This study describes Australian year eight students' (13-14 years old) experiences with alcohol in terms of communication with parents, initiation into drinking, patterns of consumption, context of use, and harms experienced. The sample comprised 521 year eight students from four state government secondary schools in the state of Victoria. Three of the schools are in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria; the fourth is in a rural center. Female and rural students were more likely to talk to parents about alcohol, but this was not associated with safer drinking. Initiation into drinking was higher among rural students. Rural students also drank more, were more likely to drink without adult supervision, to drink to get drunk, and drink more than planned. Student drinkers experienced just over four alcohol-related harms on average in 12 months, with some indication of greater harm among rural students. Higher levels of drinking by rural students, accompanied by more risky patterns of consumption and the possibility of greater harm, supports prioritizing interventions in rural schools.