Abstracts

Fritz, G. S., Stoll, K. and Wagner, N. N. A comparison of males and females who were sexually molested as children. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy , 1981, 7 , 54–59.
Baisden, Major J., Jr. and Baisden, Joanna. A profile of women who seek counseling for sexual dysfunction. American Journal of Family Therapy , 1979, 7, 1 , 68–76.
Murphy, G. J., Hudson, W. W. and Cheung, P. Marital and sexual discord among older couples. Social Work Research Abstracts , 1980, 16, 11 , 11–16.
Chesney, A. P., Blakeney, P. E., Chan, F. A., and Cole, C. M. The impact of sex therapy on sexual behaviors and marital communication. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy , 1981, 7 , 1, 70–79.
Price, S., Heinrich, A. G., and Golden, J. S. Structured group treatment of couples experiencing sexual dysfunctions. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy , 1981, 6 , 4, 247–257.
Zilbergeld, B. and Rinkleib-Ellison, C. Social skills training as an adjunct sex therapy. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy , 1979, 5, 4 , 340–350.     

Relationship among grip strength,functional outcomes,and work performance following hand trauma

This study examined the relationship among the recovery grip strength, functional outcomes, and work performance following occupational therapy intervention for hand trauma. This study had a sample size of 15 participants whose recovery grip strength was measured using a Jamar dynamometer, whose satisfaction with outcomes was measured by the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ), and whose compliance with the home therapy program was measured by a visual analog scale (VAS). A Pearson r correlation demonstrated a significant relationship between recovery grip strength and two MHQ subset scores: overall hand function (r = 0.59, p = 0.019) and activities of daily living (ADL) performance (r = 0.61, p = 0.016). The participants' self-rating of compliance did not predict or influence either recovery grip strength or MHQ scores. A moderate positive correlation approaching significance (r = 0.51, p = 0.052) was found between grip strength and overall MHQ scores. The researchers concluded that a recovery grip strength measure should be used along with functional measures to appropriately assess overall hand function following hand trauma.     

CHANGING ROLES OF ABILITY AND EDUCATION IN U.S. INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY

Using data on young adults from the 1979 and 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we investigate the changing roles of ability and education in the transmission of economic status across generations. We find that ability plays a substantially diminished role for the most recent cohort whereas education plays a much larger role. The first finding results primarily from a smaller effect of children's ability on status, the second from an increased correlation between parental status and educational attainment. A replication of the analysis by gender reveals that the changes in the role of ability are largely driven by men whereas the changes in education's role are largely driven by women. (JEL J62, I24)     

CAN ENTRY OR EXIT EVENT STUDIES INFORM HORIZONTAL MERGER ANALYSIS? EVIDENCE FROM GROCERY RETAILING

This study estimates how prices change following the entry and exit of grocery retailers. We estimate the effects of entry (exit) by comparing affected markets to a set of unaffected markets using both a difference‐in‐difference estimator and a synthetic control estimator. We find that entry typically results in reduced prices. More surprisingly, we find that exit is frequently associated with falling prices. Our estimated effects of entry on grocery prices are similar in magnitude to estimates of merger price effects in the supermarket industry. This finding suggests that entry event studies may be a useful tool for horizontal merger analysis. (JEL L11, L4, L81)     

Welfare to Well-Being Transition

Welfare to well-being leads to better qualityof life for families and communities. Around the world, societies are experimenting and shifting policies that address welfare to well-being for families and communities. In the U.S., the greatest shift in several decades has occurred with thewelfare reform policies. These shifts haveplaced at issue the extent to which individualsand families and governments contribute toself-sufficiency and sustainability of theirmembers and the collective whole in society. The paper addresses: a framework for thinkingabout sustaining well-being in the context ofmaking transitions from welfare for the few towell-being for the many; a researchillustration of focus group findings on themeaning of self-sufficiency for families whoare currently receiving one type of welfare(food stamps); and the opportunities emergingin the context of the interaction of the familyand society at the community, state, nationaland global level that allows for a wholisticresponse to issues around well-being andquality of life studies.     

Positive Illusions and the Necessity of a Bright Line Forbidding Psychologist Involvement in Detainee Interrogations

The authors commend Costanzo, Gerrity, and Lykes (2007) and their cogent summary of a number of ethical and scientific considerations relevant to evaluating the proper role of psychologists in national security interrogations of so-called "enemy combatants." From their careful analysis they derive a series of recommendations for the American Psychological Association (APA) and other psychology-related associations, all of which are quite powerful. While supporting these recommendations, the authors also argue that the logic and evidence presented by Costanzo et al. imply, in current legal, political, and organizational circumstances, that psychologists should play no role in the interrogations process. The authors propose that a "bright line" should separate the profession of psychology completely from national security interrogations. The argument is based partly upon ethical considerations, on the practical knowledge available for documenting psychologist participation in interrogations as members of the so-called Behavioral Science Consultation Teams (BSCTs) at Guantánamo, evidence from other locations and sources, and equally upon the social psychological research regarding the interrogation process so adroitly summarized by Costanzo et al.     

Emerging Trends in Treating Relationships

Treating relationships has become the hallmark of increasing numbers of therapists in the last decade. The interest in the field of marriage and and family counseling is also reflected by the mushrooming number of theoretical and empirical publications. This paper reviews some of the conceptual and programmatic trends that are occurring and also highlights several of the trends in evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment.     

Summer learning and its implications: insights from the Beginning School Study

There is perhaps no more pressing issue in school policy today than the achievement gap across social lines. Achievement differences between well-to-do children and poor children and between disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities and majority whites are large when children first begin school, and they increase over time. Despite years of study and an abundance of good intentions, these patterned achievement differences persist, but who is responsible, and how are schools implicated? The increasing gap seems to suggest that schools are unable to equalize educational opportunity or, worse still, that they actively handicap disadvantaged children. But a seasonal perspective on learning yields a rather different impression. Comparing achievement gains separately over the school year and the summer months reveals that much of the achievement gap originates over the summer period, when children are not in school. The authors review Beginning School Study research on differential summer learning across social lines (that is, by family socioeconomic level) and its implications for later schooling outcomes, including high school curriculum placements, high school dropout, and college attendance. These studies document the extent to which these large summer learning differences impede the later educational progress of children of low socioeconomic status. Practical implications are discussed, including the need for early and sustained interventions to prevent the achievement gap from opening wide in the first place and for high-quality summer programming focused on preventing differential summer learning loss.     

Voices From the Field: Social Workers Define and Apply Social Justice

Social justice is embraced as a central mission of social work, yet how the profession defines it lacks clear and common understanding. This qualitative study explored the concept of social justice as perceived and applied by social workers in diverse practice settings. Focus-group participants were asked five primary open-ended questions. Key phrases and terms were identified and grouped into four themes: variation in meaning of social justice, confronting injustices, practice reality, and professional responsibility. The findings suggest that social justice as understood and practiced in the field is compatible with theoretical conceptions in the literature, but a predominant understanding remains lacking.