Self-perceived unpopularity: Its relationship to emotional and behavioral problems

Childhood unpopularity has been a focus of study but earlier studies have not highlighted children's self-perceptions and their relationship to childhood adaptation. The authors studied 404 children preschool to third grade to examine early risk and current factors associated with feelings of unpopularity. Children who perceived themselves as unpopular in grade three experienced multiple problems in functioning, although they were largely unobtrusive silent sufferers. Self-perceived unpopularity was most strongly related to current factors and served as a marker of emotional difficulties. Implications for identification of these vulnerable children and suggestions for future research are presented.     

Monetary incentives in support of academic achievement: results of a randomized field trial involving high-achieving, low-resource, ethnically diverse urban adolescents

Significant resources have been directed at understanding and alleviating the achievement gap in education. Most programs focused on this aim rely on a top-down approach, including funding for infrastructure improvement, curriculum development, class size, and teacher salaries. This article presents findings from a randomized field trial that evaluates a bottom-up approach in which high-achieving students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds from poor families are given monetary incentives to maintain their academic standing. The evaluation was designed to explore the role of monetary incentives as a mechanism for promoting resiliency in the face of poverty-related challenge. Discussion of what motivates students to learn is framed as a function of normal cognitive and socioemotional development in challenging environments. Evaluation findings indicate that monetary incentives are effective in promoting academic success to different degrees and for different reasons depending on students' perception of the meaning of the incentive in relation to their emergent identity.     

Working together to improve care: collaboration between a state psychiatric hospital and an academic institution

This article describes a collaboration between state mental health services division and a state university that focuses on the improvement of patient care services in state psychiatric hospitals. The collaboration is different from other initiatives linking state institutions and academia as it is composed of a team of psychiatrists, advanced practice nurses, and master's prepared psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners. The historical development and accomplishments are described and the process of working with a state psychiatric hospital is explored.     

The Application of Genetic Information for Regulatory Standard Setting Under the Clean Air Act: A Decision-Analytic Approach

In 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an “Interim Policy on Genomics,” stating a commitment to developing guidance on the inclusion of genetic information in regulatory decision making. This statement was followed in 2004 by a document exploring the potential implications. Genetic information can play a key role in understanding and quantifying human susceptibility, an essential step in many of the risk assessments used to shape policy. For example, the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants at levels to protect even sensitive populations from adverse health effects with an adequate margin of safety. Asthmatics are generally regarded as a sensitive population, yet substantial research gaps in understanding genetic susceptibility and disease have hindered quantitative risk analysis. This case study assesses the potential role of genomic information regarding susceptible populations in the NAAQS process for fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) under the CAA. In this initial assessment, we model the contribution of a single polymorphism to asthma risk and mortality risk; however, multiple polymorphisms and interactions (gene‐gene and gene‐environment) are known to play key roles in the disease process. We show that the impact of new information about susceptibility on estimates of population risk or average risk derived from large epidemiological studies depends on the circumstances. We also suggest that analysis of a single polymorphism, or other risk factor such as health status, may or may not change estimates of individual risk enough to alter a particular regulatory decision, but this depends on specific characteristics of the decision and risk information. We also show how new information about susceptibility in the context of the NAAQS for PM_2.5 could have a large impact on the estimated distribution of individual risk. This would occur if a group were consequently identified (based on genetic and/or disease status), that accounted for a disproportionate share of observed effects. Our results highlight certain conditions under which genetic information is likely to have an impact on risk estimates and the balance of costs and benefits within groups, and highlight critical research needs. As future studies explore more fully the relationship between exposure, genetic makeup, and disease status, the opportunity for genetic information and disease status to play pivotal roles in regulation can only increase.     

Reconstructing Moral Identities in Memories of Childhood Language Brokering Experiences

Language brokering is a common phenomenon, whereby children of immigrant parents mediate both verbally and with written documents between their parents and other different language speakers or writers, converting meanings in one language into meanings in another. This paper explores some of the moral identities – the interplay between moral ideals and individuals' personal identities – adults construct from their memories of their activities as child language brokers. Qualitative research on adults who were, and to a large extent still are, language brokers for their parents, found that in the context of parent‐teacher meetings, some individuals recast their behaviours in a manner that rendered themselves as good, honest, ethical and well‐behaved students. This paper argues that the moral identities individuals construct from memories of their childhood experiences have social and cultural dimensions, and are contingent upon the context and the situation. The paper also has policy implications with regards to the status of the child, and the relationship of that status to cultural context and expectation, given that the circumstances of their lives cannot be removed. Regarding policy, this research could inform practitioners, schools, and the general public about the impact of language brokering experiences on children, and may help in some way to alleviate the stress/burdens associated with language brokering. Additionally, it could bring about increasing understanding of how people establish identities based on their lived experiences.     

Token resistance to sexual intercourse and consent to unwanted sexual intercourse: College students’ dating experiences in three countries

The purposes of this study were to extend the research conducted by Muehlenhard and her colleagues (e.g., Muehlen‐hard & Hollabaugh, 1988) on token resistance to sex and to consider a second form of sexual miscommunication, consent to unwanted sex. We examined the incidence of these forms of sexual miscommunication among both women and men and in three different cultures: the United States, Russia, and Japan. Survey data were collected from 1,519 unmarried college students (970 from the U.S., 327 from Russia, and 222 from Japan). Contrary to the stereotype that only women engage in token resistance to sex, men also reported that they had been in situations in which they had said no to sex while desiring it. In the U.S. only, a greater proportion of men than women have engaged in token resistance to sex. Rates for consent to unwanted sex also varied by gender and culture. American women had the highest rate of consent to unwanted sex. The importance of collecting cross‐cultural data on sexuality and intimacy is discussed.