Attitudes toward abortion among catholic Mexican-American women: The effects of religiosity and education

Contrary to observed trends in religious fertility and contraceptive use differentials, Catholic/non-Catholic differentials in attitudes toward abortion have not been converging. This study suggests that this may be due to an interaction between religiosity and education. In a sample of Catholic Mexican-American women in Los Angeles County, the authors found that among respondents brought up in Mexico, education had a liberalizing effect on their attitudes. With the exception of the most devout, the same trend was observed among U.S.-reared respondents. Among the most religious group, however, education had the opposite effect, suggesting that convergence will be delayed.     

The Role of Death in the Addict Family

Drug addiction is a potentially life-threatening problem with suicidal ramifications. Within the family of the addict, the addiction takes on a special, participatory meaning; the addicted member is treated as one undergoing a slow death. These families attach special significance to death and give it considerable emphasis. This appears to arise from unresolved and premature deaths experienced by the family, particularly the parents. The addict is substituted for the deceased member. Treatment can deal with these issues directly through making the mourning explicit. The death issue can also serve as a vehicle for family change.     

Objective and subjective determinants of prospective residential mobility

The increasing interest in subjective as well as objective measures of well-being raises the issue of the relative importance of these two different types of measures when they are included as independent variables in analytical or predictive models. In the research reported here, survey data are used to evaluate the relative importance of objective and subjective indicators in providing an understanding of why households desire to move. Overall, it is found that subjective indicators add considerably to the explanation of mobility inclinations over and above that contributed by objective indicators. A comparison of explanatory powers for the full sets of objective and subjective predictors within two length of residence subgroups indicates some interesting differences, however. Objective and subjective predictors are close in explanatory power for longer-term residents, while subjective measures are considerably more important for shorter-term residents.     

Gender and poverty: Self-esteem among elementary school children

Studies of children's perceptions have shown that self-esteem is an important factor in their social and school performance and that over time low self-esteem is at the root of much problematic behavior among adolescents. This study focuses on children in poverty, adding a home domain dimension absent in most self-esteem scales and examining gender differences. The study findings show that a process of discounting exists between home and school domains and self-worth gender comparisons show a significant deficit for girls. These results contradict previous research that place the onset of deterioration of girls' self-esteem at an older age. The praxis implications of this exploratory research on the intersection of poverty, age and gender are discussed.     

Governance for reconstruction in Africa: challenges for policy communities and coalitions

This article seeks to advance analyses and responses to conflict prevention and reconstruction in Africa that go beyond state‐centric perspectives to include a range of non‐state players. Drawing on examples from both Uganda and Canada, it focuses on the activities of NGOs that have ‘partnered’ with state‐based actors in various peacekeeping and peace‐building operations as well as on the increasingly important role played by think‐tanks. The latter have emerged in Africa as major contributors to the proliferating literature on the political economy of violence, an approach that recognizes that African conflict reflects imperatives of production and consumption in relations that juxtapose Africa’s political institutions and cultures with international and global political economies. The article argues that novel forms of ‘security communities’ are emerging from the non‐state/state/international partnerships and coalitions that have developed around contemporary issues like ‘blood’ diamonds, small arms, debt and HIV/AIDS, thus drawing attention to connections between conflict and development.     

A discussion of current attachment research and its clinical applications

This article highlights Stern's recent conceptualization of the infant's development of internal working models of attachment and the relationship between internal working models and the narrative self. Research studies, including Ainsworth's and Main's seminal work on types of infant attachment models, are reviewed. These include secure, avoidant insecure, ambivalent insecure, and disorganized-disoriented types of infant attachment. Later research supports the continuation of these same attachment patterns in the children at age six. A clinical case, a sixteen year old and her infant, is presented to illustrate how the client's working model of attachment plays out in the treatment process.     

A multi-dimensional assessment of the health needs of homeless infants and pre-school children in Phoenix

The dual purpose of this study was to identify the comprehensive health needs of a selected group of homeless children in Phoenix, Arizona, and to utilize the findings in developing needed services. A non-random sample of 60 infants and pre-school children were given on-site physical, dental, developmental, behavioral, and nutritional assessments. The study included Medicaid's Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment procedures, complete oral screening, the Denver Developmental and Denver Articulation Screening Test, the Pre-school Behavior Inventory, and parental interviews. Fifty-eight of the 60 children screened needed further evaluation, treatment, or followup services. The most significant problems included low hematocrit readings, inadequate immunizations, and untreated medical and dental problems specific to this age group. Also identified were developmental delays and potential behavior problems. It is imperative that aggressive outreach and followup services be developed to reach homeless children and to insure that needed interventions are provided.     

Parenthood in the Twenty-First Century: African American Grandparents as Surrogate Parents

African American grandparents serve important roles as surrogate parents. Historically they are honored and recognized for their extraordinary service in augmenting the child welfare system. This article provides a contemporary view of the significant number of African American grandparents who serve as surrogate parents. Their assets and challenges are discussed. Following on the work by Dr. Linda Burton and collaborators in 1995, this article addresses the relationship between temporal context, developmental context, and ethnic/racial context of the life course as it relates to grandparenthood in the twenty-first century. In addition to the discussion of African American grand-parenting trends, challenges and benefits in the twenty-first century, the article presents implications of these contexts for the surrogate parenting by older African Americans relative to social work education, research, and policy.     

Concurrent Seasonal Adjustment With Census X-11

Much investigative effort is being expended worldwide toward improving seasonally adjusted estimates from the Census X-11 program. Several recent investigations have resulted in a recommendation to obtain the most recent month's adjustment by applying X-11 to data through that month (concurrent adjustment), rather than relying on projected factors obtained from an earlier run. Although there are theoretical arguments supporting the applicaton of X-11 concurrently, a comprehensive study documenting the results of concurrent adjustment with X-11 on U.S. economic series has not previously been undertaken. This study evaluates the effect of applying X-11 concurrently to a set of selected Census Bureau economic time series. The accuracy of concurrent estimates, in terms of mean absolute deviations from historical estimates, is examined. The results obtained are generally favorable to concurrent adjustment.