RACIAL INEQUALITY IN MEN'S EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT EARNINGS

Data from the New Beneficiary Study for currently married men who began receiving social security benefits in 1980–1981 indicate that the racial earnings gap is greater in retirement than it was in employment. Racial differences in employment and pension earnings are specified by education and employment status. There is, however, a significant net racial effect in predicting social security earnings. Furthermore, education interacts with race in predicting asset earnings, which constitute the major source of racial inequality in retirement. This analysis highlights not only the enduring problem of poverty for African Americans and Latinos who are "working off the books,' without social security benefits, but also the possibility of a "glass ceiling' that limits access to assets for highly educated nonwhites.     

Rapunzel & the Pumpkin-Eater: Marital Systems of Agoraphobic Women*

A fairy tale character and a nursery rhyme are used to dramatize the marital systems of women with agoraphobia. This systems perspective emphasizes that the disorder is more than an individual or intrapsychic one, that it is an interpersonal or marital adjustment and that the phobic symptoms of the wife also provide a defence for her husband. Rapunzel characterizes an agoraphobic woman with severe dependency and separation problems. Her husband may be a Rescuing Prince — protective of her and denying of his own problems; or, a Pumpkin-Eater — sexually inadequate and withdrawn. The marriages involve unconscious transactions promising mutual protection. Finally, some aspects of psychotherapy, both individual and conjoint are examined.     

Money, power and inequality within marriage

The growing body of research on the intra-household economy suggests that in couple households there are significant associations between control over household finances and more general power within the household. However, most earlier research has been based on relatively small samples. Here a major new British data set, produced by the Social Change and Economic Life Initiative, is used to examine the relations between money, power and inequality within marriage. Six different systems of financial allocation are identified. The results suggest that even when couples nominally pool their money, in practice either husband or wife is likely to control the pool. In only one fifth of couples was the pool jointly controlled, but these households were characterised by the highest levels of equality between husband and wife in terms of decision making, experience of deprivation and access to personal spending money. Findings from the study indicate a complex pattern of relationships between household income level, household allocative system and gender. Female control of finances, though it was associated with greater decision-making power for women, did not protect them against financial deprivation; however, male control of finances, especially when it took the form of the housekeeping allowance, did serve to protect the financial interests of men in comparison with women. Gender inequality was least in households with joint control of pooled money and greatest either in low income households or in higher income households with male control of finances.     

House-sharing

Eighty-five older homeowners living in Los Angeles County were interviewed to assess their interest in a house-sharing arrangement as a means of acquiring companionship. Social exchange theory is used to conceptualize house-sharing as a social context which is conducive to intimacy. The results are interpreted with reference to the social isolation and friendship network literature in social gerontology.     

A Unified Approach for Calculating Core Melt Frequency Caused by Internal and External Initiating Events

A unified approach for calculating the core melt frequency of a specific reactor caused by both internal and external accident initiators is demonstrated. Two classes of internal initiators are examined: transients, of which turbine trip is the chosen example, and loss-of-coolant events of various sizes. The concepts of hazard and fragility analysis first proposed for seismic risk analysis are linked to the frequencies of internal initiating events, and to the plant response as a function of the event intensity. Uncertainties are propagated using discrete probability distribution (DPD) arithmetic. Advantages of this approach include mathematical and conceptual consistency, and an improved uncertainty analysis, which are important considerations if risk studies are to be utilized in decision-making based on quantitative safety goals.     

Assesssing Cohort Birth Expectations Data from the Current Population Survey, 1971–1981

Data from the fertility supplements to the Current Population Survey from 1971 to 1981 indicate that in the aggregate, the lifetime birth expectations of married women 18 to 39 years old in 1971 will closely approximate their completed cohort fertility. During this period, the youngest group of women, 18 to 24 years old, delayed their childbearing; their short-term expectations (1971–76) were not realized, but they made up enough births in the latter half of the decade to enable them to attain their lifetime birth expectations. In retrospect, the “failure” of birth expectations data to predict the “period” fertility downswing in the 1970s resulted not from poor predictions of married women, but rather from unanticipated marital and subsequent childbearing patterns of women who were single at the beginning of the decade. The authors conclude that birth expectations are useful predictors of completed cohort fertility, if adjustments are made to incorporate changes in the proportions married within the birth cohort.     

A different kind of holding environment: a case study of group work with pediatric staff

This paper reports a nearly two-year intervention with staff at a major urban pediatric facility. The authors worked as trainers and consultants for two groups-the Emergency Department (ED) and Chronic Care units (CC). Following two days of training about grief and loss, highlighting skill building for work with traumatized and grieving children and parents, the consultants worked to develop teams which could provide a Winnicottian holding environment for staff. The efficacy of this staff training is analyzed and support needs of staff members are identified. Findings include varied willingness to make use of group support. Chronic care participants are more likely to express willingness to engage in on-going support for one another, while ED staff members seem to prefer structured, educational training and episodic support. The holding environment of the processing groups must be adapted to fit the needs of the medical sub-culture.     

Understanding the Harm of Hate Crime

This article provides an overview of the context and content of this issue devoted to hate crime. Working definitions of hate crime and hate speech are situated within the broader context of intergroup relations, prejudice, aggression, and law and social policy. Theory and research from social psychology, criminology, and legal studies are utilized to describe this context. We present summaries of the multidisciplinary contributions to this issue and note how these articles emphasize the origins of hate crime, the harm that it creates, and victims' and society's response to hate crime. They also highlight tensions between the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Finally, we note the interrelationships among these contributions and discuss the policy implications that arise from their analyses.     

Hateful Sirens. . .Who Hears Their Song? An Examination of Student Attitudes Toward Hate Groups and Affiliation Potential

Sources indicate a rise in hate crimes committed by persons affiliated with hate groups (Bowles, 1993; Levin, 2002). Although the majority of these offenders remain unaffiliated, it is nevertheless important to understand why individuals become attracted to hate groups. This exploratory study examined youth attitudes toward hate groups. Deprivation and interpersonal bonds theories were used to explain hate group attraction among students. Secondary and university students completed the 567 surveys used in the analysis. Results indicated that crime-related measures and exposure to hate groups by word-of-mouth contacts were more often related to supportive attitudes. These effects were further associated with secondary students. Neodeprivation theory is offered for exploring hate group attraction by more educated persons.