Youth at a Leftist and Rightist Political Rally: Reasons for Participating

Abstract

This paper investigates the degree of uniqueness of the contribution of youth to an anti-war rally of 1970. It contrasts that contribution to the part played by youth at a pro-war rally of the same year. Both rallies took place near the Washington Monument in Washington, D. C. Data collection consisted of on-the-spot interviews of a sample of participants at both rallies. The focus of the interview was on reasons expressed by participants for their attendance at the rally. The data support the following hypotheses: that youth at the anti-war rally were more highly oriented towards specific objectives and general objectives than were older participants at that rally or youthful ones at the pro-war rally; that youth at the anti-war rally were less highly oriented towards personal reasons than older participants at that rally or younger ones at the pro-war rally. Generally reasons for participating were found to be influenced by the interaction of age cohort and ideological thrust of the rally. The importance of belonging to the modal age group for a particular rally was discussed, along with other implications such as the role of generational conflict during the late 1960s and early 1970s.     

What Are the Correlates of Infertility-Related Clinical Anxiety? A Literature Review and the Presentation of a Conceptual Model

Infertility is a major stressor for many couples. Although several reviews addressing psychological distress and depression within infertile couples exist, less emphasis has been placed on infertility-related anxiety. Yet it is important to know whether clinical anxiety is a prevalent problem among infertile couples and what are the characteristics of those suffering from clinical anxiety. The present article summarizes the literature on infertility-related anxiety published between 1997 and 2008 and presents a model of infertility-related clinical anxiety that identifies variables that may distinguish individuals who present with clinical anxiety from those who successfully cope with infertility. This model is intended to inform both research and clinical practice with partners of infertile couples. Methodological shortcomings of infertility research and recommendations for future studies are also discussed.     

Pornography Use and Attitudes: An Examination of Relational and Sexual Openness Variables Between and Within Gender

The purpose of this investigation was to examine male and female pornography users' and nonusers' attitudes regarding sexual openness and inhibition as well as relational variables both between and within gender. Participants included 846 individuals, 355 men and 491 women, with 239 of the men and 117 of the women being pornography consumers. Results indicate that men are more sexual seeking and less relationally oriented than women. However, men are more sexually conservative than women. When comparing groups by pornography usage, both male and female pornography users are more sexually open and uninhibited and less relationally oriented than nonusers. Interestingly, when comparing female pornography users to male nonusers, pornography-using women are more sexually open and uninhibited than nonusing men and are less sexually conservative than nonusing men. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Cultivating Interest and Competency in Gerontological Social Work: Opportunities for Undergraduate Education

Undergraduate social work programs are well-positioned to recruit students to gerontology, but little is known about how well curricular activities help foster students' commitment to the field. This study considers whether a small group of undergraduate students' interactions with older adults positively impacts students' plans to work with older adults; perceptions of skills; and feelings of comfort and competency in working with older adults. Experiences from this study suggest that experiential learning can positively impact students' perceptions of work with older adults, but may not be enough to draw students to the field. Implications for undergraduate education are discussed.     

State capacity: the missing piece in child welfare privatization

Privatization has been used to address the limited capacity of government to achieve positive results in child welfare systems. Privatized systems have not realized better outcomes than their public counterparts, however, and many states continue to struggle with implementation. In order to demonstrate that privatization is in fact an investment on the part of the state, rather than a solution to limited public resources, this article explores the relationship between state capacity and privatization and makes recommendations for more effective partnerships between the public and private sectors.     

Beliefs about alcohol and the college experience, locus of self, and college undergraduates’ drinking patterns

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which locus of self (institutional versus impulse), measured using the Twenty Statements Test (TST), moderates the relationship between beliefs about alcohol and the college experience (BACE) and alcohol use among college undergraduates. Although the majority of our respondents listed more idiosyncratic personal characteristics and preferences than consensual social roles in response to the TST, the number of students classified as institutionals was notably higher than what has been reported within the literature. In opposition to our hypothesis that BACE would affect levels of alcohol consumption primarily among these individuals, our results indicated that the perception that alcohol use is integral to the college experience had a relatively minimal effect on drinking among respondents who defined themselves in terms of institutional roles. Moreover, multiple social roles themselves appeared to reduce the effects of BACE on levels of alcohol consumption. More impulse-oriented personal characteristics and preferences did not exhibit this moderating influence. Thus, our findings suggest that role occupation may be more important than locus of self in shaping students’ susceptibility to beliefs about drinking and college life.     

College student perceptions on campus alcohol policies and consumption patterns

Environmental strategies for colleges and universities to reduce alcohol consumption among their students include the development and enforcement of campus alcohol policies. This study examines students' knowledge and attitudes toward campus alcohol policies and how they relate to alcohol consumption and alcohol social norms. A sample of 422 freshman students was surveyed during their first month at a 4-year public college. Findings indicated that the majority of students (89%) were aware of campus policies, yet of those who were aware, less than half (44%) were accepting of these campus rules and regulations. In addition, the majority (79%) of students drank at social events, despite this behavior being in direct violation of campus alcohol policies. However, those who supported campus rules consumed significantly less alcohol at social events than those who opposed or had no opinion of the rules. Also, those who supported the rules perceived that their peers and students in general consumed significantly less alcohol at social events than those who were opposed or had no opinion. This outcome supports the premise established by several theories of behavior change including the theory of planned behavior, which state that behavior is influenced less by knowledge than by attitude and intention.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Employment History and Retired Women's Social Relationships

This study explores the relationship between retired women's employment history and their social integration and social support networks in retirement. Employment history is defined by former occupation (professional, paraprofessional, nonprofessional) and job continuity (discontinuous and continuous). The sample consists of 330 retired women ranging in age from 50 to 83 years, with diverse occupational histories, who were retired an average of 3.5 years. Results indicate occupational status may influence women's social integration, part-time employment, caregiving tasks, and satisfaction with social support. Continuity of employment appears to only marginally influence social integration with no impact on social support or satisfaction with social support.     

Patterns of abuse in male same-sex relationships

Previous studies of abuse in male same-sex relationships have been limited by convenience samples and/or by incomplete assessments of partner abuse. We examined patterns of same-sex partner abuse in a random sample of 284 gay and bisexual men. Respondents reported on perpetration and receipt of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse over multiple time frames, as well as injuries resulting from abuse. Almost all respondents reported psychological abuse, more than one-third reported physical abuse, and 10% reported having engaged in unwanted sexual activity because of partner force or threats of force. More than half of recipients of partner violence reported sustaining injury. We found strong associations between different forms of abuse, and between severity of abuse receipt and perpetration.     

Measuring Self-efficacy in Gambling: The Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire

This paper reports on the development and psychometric properties of a Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ). Two hundred and ninety-seven gamblers from both normal and clinical populations completed an initial set of 31-items of which 26 were selected for inclusion in the final version of the GRSEQ. A series of factor analyses showed four clear factors accounting for 84% of the variance. These factors can be summarised as situations and thoughts associated with gambling, the influence of drugs on gambling, positive emotions associated with gambling and negative emotions associated with gambling. The GRSEQ total score and factors scores showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.92 to 0.98). Participants experiencing problems with gambling scored significantly lower on the GRSEQ, and discriminant analyses showed that the scale is able to correctly classify the non-problem (i.e., community and student samples) and problem gamblers (i.e., clinical sample). Furthermore, the GRSEQ showed significant negative relationships with other gambling-related variables (gambling urge and gambling-related cognitions) and negative mood states (depression, anxiety and stress) and was shown to be sensitive to change in treatment of pathological gambling. The results suggest that the GRSEQ is a useful measure of gambling refusal self-efficacy that is suitable for assessment of gamblers from both normal and clinical populations.