The Healthy Young Men's Study: Sampling Methods to Recruit a Random Cohort of Young Men Who Have Sex With Men

Recruiting a scientifically sound cohort of young men who have sex with men (YMSM) is an enduring research challenge. The few cohort studies that have been conducted to date on YMSM have relied on nonprobability sampling methods to construct their cohorts. While these studies have provided valuable information about HIV risk behaviors among YMSM, their generalizability to broader YMSM populations is limited. In this article, the authors describe a venue-based sampling methodology used to recruit a large and diverse cohort of YMSM from public venues in Los Angeles County, California. Venue-based sampling is a multistage probability sampling design that uses standard outreach techniques and standard survey methods to systematically enumerate, sample, and survey hard-to-reach populations. The study design allowed the authors to estimate individual, familial, and interpersonal psychosocial factors associated with HIV risk and health-seeking behaviors for a cohort of YMSM with known properties. Study participants completed an extensive baseline survey and over a 2-year period completed four follow-up surveys at 6-month intervals. The baseline survey was administered in both English and Spanish.     

Using the bridges transition framework for youth in foster care: Measurement development and preliminary outcomes

Youth in foster care often undergo multiple transitions before reaching adulthood, and these transitions often create significant stress and can exacerbate emotional and behavioral problems. A measurement instrument (the Youth Experience of Transitions, or YET) was designed to assess foster care youths' understanding of transitions, and this instrument was tested on a group of youth undergoing an intervention program designed to assist them in coping with the stress of these transitions while in foster care. The intervention was based on the Transitions Framework by William Bridges and was implemented in multiple community agencies with funding from the Andrus Family Fund. Using factor analysis, we found that the YET contained two factors representing (1) openness and (2) determination. For youth in the participating foster care programs, growth in openness from baseline to 6 months was linked to a significant decrease in internalizing symptoms; no significant links were found for externalizing symptoms. Implications for foster care intervention programs are discussed.     

Trauma-informed forensic child maltreatment investigations

Trauma-informed child welfare systems (CWSs) are the focus of several recent national and state initiatives. Since 2005 social work publications have focused on systemic and practice changes within CW which seek to identify and reduce trauma to children and families experiencing child maltreatment or other distressing events, as well as to the agency personnel working with these clients. Within the body of trauma-informed literature, little attention has been devoted specifically to the initial investigative response and its role in controlling for system induced trauma to the child, family, and caseworker. Training child protection services (CPS) workers on the impact of trauma in child maltreatment forensic investigations and the worker's role in anticipating and mitigating the effects of trauma during the investigative process is rarely addressed in the trauma-informed literature. This article reports on a training strategy to infuse trauma information into an existing forensic child maltreatment investigation curriculum with the goal of enhancing CPS caseworker's knowledge, skills, and values concerning the importance of viewing investigations and their associated tasks through a trauma lens.     

A care coordination program for substance-exposed newborns

The Vulnerable Infants Program of Rhode Island (VIP-RI) was established as a care coordination program to promote permanency for substance-exposed newborns in the child welfare system. Goals of VIP-RI were to optimize parents' opportunities for reunification and increase the efficacy of social service systems involved with families affected by perinatal substance use. Findings from VIP-RI's final four years show that by 12 months, 86% of substance-exposed newborns had identified permanent placements and 77% were placed with biological parents or relatives.     

The use of self-generated identification codes in longitudinal research

Longitudinal research designs involve data collection at multiple time points to measure change over time. Therefore, identification of the same respondents is essential at each time point so that data from the same respondents can be matched for comparison over time. Subject-generated identification codes permit an anonymous means to track respondents over multiple data collection points. This article describes the evolution of subject-generated identification codes, techniques to improve respondent match rates, and the authors' experience using this mechanism in a longitudinal study of staff registered nurses working in hospitals. Challenges, recommendations, and implications for using subject-generated identification codes are discussed.     

The gender and race-ethnicity of faculty in top social science research departments

This paper provides a recent profile of the gender and race-ethnicity of faculty in top research departments of economics, political science, and sociology. Most faculty are male, although there appear to be critical masses of women in political science and sociology. Blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented among faculty relative to their shares of the population. Within each racial-ethnic group examined, there are more male than female faculty members, with a smaller gender gap for Blacks than for other racial-ethnic groups. In general, the higher the rank, the greater the proportion of males than females, especially for Whites and Asians.     

A statistical model of tracking

A method is proposed to model individual patterns of growth over time by linear combinations of optimally chosen weighted orthogonal vectors. The goal is to distinguish individuals who track from nontrackers. Nontrackers are defined as those who follow different, usually more complex, growth patterns than trackers. Thus, nontrackers require more vectors than do trackers in modeling their longitudinal observations. A method of specifying the class-specific vectors and individual weights is demonstrated. When the proportion of nontrackers in the population is small, a modified form of the Akaike maximum entropy criterion is used to select the number of vectors appopriate for each person and also to classify each person into a tracking category. When the proportion of nontrackers is large, the modified Akaike criterion together with scatterplots of the growth curve weights are needed to distinguish trackers from nontrackers. The apprach is illustrated with longitudinal observations of height measured in an epidemiologic survey of children.     

Adjustment to disability

This article will focus on the biopsychosocial challenges encountered when an individual is disabled at an early age as well as when an individual acquires a disability later in life. Two case examples will focus on the adaptations/life choices that are necessary to adequately meet psycho/social/developmental needs and enhance individual self esteem. The case of Rita, a woman who lost her hearing at age two, highlights the importance of integrating a biopsychosocial approach to understand the multiple challenges and adaptations of individuals who are disabled at an early age. Laureen, a woman who acquired a spinal cord injury during her late teen years, described her struggles as a young adult adapting to a physical disability. Both cases highlight the importance of integrating an ecological/systems framework focusing on a biopsychosocial perspective, emphasizing the interrelationship between biological, psychological, social, technological, cultural and political factors.     

Hiding and seeking: Children's lived experiences during COVID-19

A qualitative study explored the perspectives and lived experiences of school-age children during COVID-19 using a child rights lens. Twenty children between the ages of 7 and 12 participated in open-ended, virtual interviews. Our hermeneutic analysis found children's right to play and education were severely compromised leaving children to navigate between two worlds: the adult world of public health restrictions and that of their childhood. Despite challenges and lost childhood opportunities, children emerged as competent social agents and responsible citizens. Planning for future pandemics should include policies and practices that balance public health needs with the protection of children's rights.