Neighborhood processes, self-efficacy, and adolescent mental health

Self-efficacy beliefs are central to mental health. Because adolescents' neighborhoods shape opportunities for experiences of control, predictability, and safety, we propose that neighborhood conditions are associated with adolescents' self-efficacy and, in turn, their internalizing problems (i.e., depression/anxiety symptoms). We tested these hypotheses using three waves of data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 2,345). Results indicate that adolescents living in violent neighborhoods tended to report lower self-efficacy beliefs, partly because they were more likely to experience fear in their neighborhood. However, moving out of Chicago neighborhoods marked by violence and low collective efficacy to neighborhoods outside of the city was associated with adolescents' increased self-efficacy (vs. staying in such neighborhoods), an association explained by adolescents' school-related experiences. Finally, through self-efficacy, these neighborhood processes had an indirect association with adolescents' internalizing problems. Results partially support a model linking neighborhood conditions, cognitions about the self, and emotions.     

Pathways to early coital debut for adolescent girls: a recursive partitioning analysis

This study examined pathways to early coital debut among early to middle adolescent girls in the United States. In a two-year longitudinal study of 104 adolescent girls, recursive partitioning (RP) analyses were conducted to examine the specific factors that were related to engaging in first intercourse by the 10th grade among adolescent girls who had not yet engaged in sexual intercourse by the 8th grade. RP analyses identified subsamples of girls who had low, medium, and high likelihoods of engaging in early coital debut based on six variables (i.e., school aspirations, early physical intimacy experiences, depression, body objectification, body image, and relationship inauthenticity). For example, girls in the lowest likelihood group (3% had engaged in sex by the 10th grade) reported no prior experiences with being touched under their clothes, low body objectification, high aspirations to complete graduate education, and low depressive symptoms; girls in the highest likelihood group (75% had engaged in sex by the 10th grade) also reported no prior experiences with being touched under their clothes, but had high levels of body objectification. The implications of these analyses for the development of female adolescent sexuality, as well as for advances in quantitative methods, are discussed.     

Field trials of a novel toolkit for evaluating 'intangible' values-related dimensions of projects

A novel toolkit has been developed, using an original approach to develop its components, for the purpose of evaluating 'soft' outcomes and processes that have previously been generally considered 'intangible': those which are specifically values based. This represents a step-wise, significant, change in provision for the assessment of values-based achievements that are of absolutely key importance to most civil society organisations (CSOs) and values-based businesses, and fills a known gap in evaluation practice. In this paper, we demonstrate the significance and rigour of the toolkit by presenting an evaluation of it in three diverse scenarios where different CSOs use it to co-evaluate locally relevant outcomes and processes to obtain results which are both meaningful to them and potentially comparable across organisations. A key strength of the toolkit is its original use of a prior generated, peer-elicited 'menu' of values-based indicators which provides a framework for user CSOs to localise. Principles of participatory, process-based and utilisation-focused evaluation are embedded in this toolkit and shown to be critical to its success, achieving high face-validity and wide applicability. The emerging contribution of this next-generation evaluation tool to other fields, such as environmental values, development and environmental sustainable development, shared values, business, education and organisational change is outlined.     

Increasingly heterogeneous ages at first birth by education in Southern European and Anglo-American family-policy regimes: A seven-country comparison by birth cohort

According to the 'reproductive polarization' hypothesis, family-policy regimes unfavourable to the combination of employment with motherhood generate greater socio-economic differentials in fertility than other regimes. This hypothesis has been tested mainly for 'liberal' Anglo-American regimes. To investigate the effects elsewhere, we compared education differentials in age at first birth among native-born women of 1950s and 1960s birth cohorts in seven countries representing three regime types. Women with low educational attainment have continued to have first births early, not only in Britain and the USA but also in Greece, Italy, and Spain. Women at all other levels of education have experienced a shift towards later first births, a shift that has been largest in Southern Europe. Unlike the educationally heterogeneous changes in age pattern at first birth seen under the Southern European and Anglo-American family-policy regimes, the changes across birth cohorts in the study's two 'universalistic' countries, Norway and France, have been educationally homogeneous.     

The educational gradient of childbearing within cohabitation in Europe

Nearly every European Country has experienced some increase in nonmarital childbearing, largely due to increasing births within cohabitation. Relatively few studies in Europe, however, investigate the educational gradient of childbearing within cohabitation or how it changed over time. Using retrospective union and fertility histories, we employ competing risk hazard models to examine the educational gradient of childbearing in cohabitation in eight countries across europe. In all countries studied, birth risks within cohabitation demonstrated a negative educational gradient. When directly comparing cohabiting fertility with marital fertility, the negative educational gradient persists in all countries except Italy, although differences were not significant in Austria, France, and West Germany. To explain these findings, we present an alternative explanation for the increase in childbearing within cohabitation that goes beyond the explanation of the Second Demographic Transition and provides a new interpretation of the underlying mechanisms that may influence childbearing within cohabitation.     

The effectiveness of PREP with lower-income racial/ethnic minority couples

The current study examined the effectiveness of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) with lower-income and racial/ethnic minority (African American and Latino/a) couples. Additionally, we tested whether relationship outcomes varied based on the delivery format (i.e., group format vs. couple format). The sample included 321 unmarried couples expecting a child or who have a child 3 month old or younger. The couples participated in 16 hr of PREP via a group or a couple format over the course of 2-3 months. Couples relationship quality was assessed prior to and directly after the program. The results showed that men and women demonstrated significant gains in their communication skills, relationship functioning, friendship, dedication, and relationship confidence. Couples who participated in PREP via the couple format had better outcomes on three of the seven relational outcomes as compared to couples who participated in PREP via the group format.     

Training and Generalization of Peer-Directed Mands With Non-vocal Children With Autism

The current investigation evaluated the effects of extinction and prompts on training and generalization of peer-directed mands for preferred items using a picture exchange communication system with 2 children diagnosed with autism. Results showed that independent mands with a peer increased during treatment for both participants, generalized to a novel peer without explicit training for 1 participant and following training for the second participant, and maintained in a more naturalistic setting that simulated a free-play activity in a classroom.     

A longtidunal study on the effects of team building for univesity baseball team in Japan: from the view point of team-vitalization

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect in the experience of TB among university baseball team from the view point of team-vitalization. We carry out one university baseball team (102 males, 6 female). The average age of the participants was 19.99 years (SD = 1.41). Then, using Check List of Team- Vitalization that was developed by consulting firm in Japan, we examined the degrees of team-vitalization. The answers of this investigation were collected from the participants at fifth times (before intervention of TB, immediately after TB, after three months of TB, before intervention of follow-up training of TB, and immediately after follow-up training of TB). This study for eight months provided the following three conclusions; 1) University baseball team was vitalized through the experience of TB. 2) Team-vitalization was higher than before TB experience, but this effect of the TB did not seem to be permanent. 3) To keep intervention of TB was very important.