Work in unemployment - occupied or preoccupied? A review

This review explores the literature on the concept of work in unemployment and its relationship to health. A range of literature about the activities of unemployed people is reviewed and discussed with reference to three questions: What do unemployed people do?, What activities are associated with the health of unemployed people? and Do unemployed people work? From the literature, two groups of unemployed people are described: those who are characterised by active patterns of activity and those characterised by passive patterns. It is argued that the active group is psychologically healthier than the passive group. Concepts of work in both groups of unemployed individuals are presented, arguing that the active group seeks to replace employment with other work activities and that the passive group are engaged in work also, but that this presents as fret and preoccupation about their situation. These concepts of work are presented in the context of three major theoretical models of the personal impact of unemployment. Finally, implications for practice and directions for future research are suggested.     

Employers and the Management of Retirement

In the UK early withdrawal from the labour market is seen as a risk and a cost, worsening the dependency ratio, raising public and private pension costs and threatening additional welfare expenditure over the longer term. Explanations of the retirement process have focused on the welfare state and the impact of pensions and other social security policies. This paper argues that a missing actor in these accounts is the employing organization. Early retirement in the UK has been predominantly driven by the labour requirements of employers rather than state policies to encourage older workers to take early retirement. There is a case for arguing that significant change in retirement behaviour in the UK will come primarily from the modification of employers’ policies. This research is a case study of three employers: one public‐sector and two commercial. It examines the dynamics of the retirement decision. This paper reports the public‐sector case. The findings indicate that employers, in order to reduce their pensions liabilities and stem the cost of early retirement, are trying to regain control of the retirement process. The employees interviewed felt they experienced little choice concerning their retirement, had limited knowledge of the options open to them and found pensions complicated and confusing.     

Investigating Family Shared Realities With Factor Mixture Modeling

The authors introduce factor mixture modeling (FMM) and its implications for assessing varying degrees of shared reality in families. FMM extends the typical factor analytic model that uses a set of observed indicators to identify an unobservable factor and its structure. FMM examines the possibility a sample is a mixture of “classes,” each with unique factor structures. To demonstrate, varying factor structures of father involvement are identified using father, mother, and child reports as observed indicators. Three classes were identified and relate to varying degrees of shared reality regarding the father. Predictors and outcomes of these classes are modeled. The class in which the child's view most overlapped with his or her parents' view was predicted by higher child agreeableness and higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms. As hypothesized, membership in this class predicted lower levels of parental conflict and fewer parental attempts to involve their children in their conflicts.     

Dating and Sexual Behavior Among Single Parents of Young Children in the United States

Theory and research on partnered parents suggests trade-offs between parenting and sexuality, with those trade-offs most pronounced among mothers of young children. However, little research has focused on how a growing demographic of single parents negotiates dating and sexual activity. The current study drew upon a 2012 nationally representative sample of 5,481 single Americans 21 years of age and older, of whom 4.3% were parents of a child age five or younger. Dependent variables were sexual thoughts, frequency of sexual activity, number of sexual partners in the past year, dates during the previous three months, and whether one was actively seeking a relationship partner. Covariates included parental age, sex/gender, sexual orientation, education, and income. Using the entire sample of singles, we found no main effects of number (0, 1, 2+) of children aged five years and younger or number of children aged two years and younger on dating and sexual behavior variables. Next, using analyses restricted to single parents (n = 2,121), we found that single parents with a child aged five years or younger, adjusting for covariates, reported greater frequency of sexual activity and first dates but no differences in other outcomes compared with single parents of older children.     

Adolescents' Prosocial Behavior Toward Family,Friends, and Strangers: A Person‐Centered Approach

This study examined longitudinal change in adolescents' prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers. Participants included 491 mother–child dyads (average age of child at Time 1 = 11.5, 67% European American). Growth mixture modeling suggested that prosocial behavior toward family was generally stable or decreased over time, while prosocial behavior toward friends increased over time. However, findings highlighted unique developmental trajectories within subgroups of adolescents for prosocial behavior toward family and friends and found that maternal warmth and adolescent sympathy, self‐regulation, and gender consistently distinguished between groups. Discussion focuses on the need for a more multidimensional approach to prosocial development.     

集群自组织的复杂网络仿真研究

集群演进过程是一个很难进行实证研究的问题,影响因素的复杂性以及动态数据的匮乏严重制约了对集群演进的定量研究.基于传统管理理论和方法的局限性,尝试从复杂理论角度研究集群演进过程.首先认为集群演进实质上是自组织过程,然后再通过复杂网络聚类系数、度分布、平均路径长度、网络的时效和质量等指标,采用仿真模拟方法对集群自组织过程进行了量化研究.主要结论有:(1)在集群自组织过程中,企业会首先利用地理位置的优势广泛地与群内其他企业接触,通过不断学习过程,从而建立相对稳定的交流圈层;(2)给定企业不同的能力,每个企业所享受到的集群优势是有差异性的,而同一集群内部企业在自组织过程中会逐步产生趋同性;(3)集群自组织过程是企业总体从无序逐步到有序的自发过程,企业与环境之间,以及企业与企业之间都会呈现出相互适应而逐步稳定的趋势.     

Sexual minority youth in romantic relationships: Associations with youth well-being

This study investigated differences in depressive symptoms, loneliness, and self-esteem for monosexual (lesbian, gay) and plurisexual (bisexual, pansexual, queer) sexual minority youth (SMY) by relationship status (single, partnered) and relationship configuration (same-gender partner, different-gender partner). Participants included 338 SMY (M_age = 19.10 years) who reported on their relationship status, partner's gender identity, well-being, and ability to confide in partner about LGBTQ issues. Results indicated that for plurisexual youth, single status was associated with greater loneliness; plurisexual youth with same-gender partners reported fewer depressive symptoms and marginally greater ability to confide in their partner about LGBTQ issues than those with different-gender partners. Findings reveal similarities across SMY while also highlighting some unique challenges among plurisexual youth with different-gender partners.