Enhancing Health-Conscious Behaviors Among Clients in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

The physical health of substance abuse clients significantly deteriorates because of the client’s prolonged abuse of alcohol and other drugs and accompanying behaviors. The purposes of this study are (a) to understand how substance abuse clinicians think about the health needs of their clients, (b) to identify the mechanisms through which clinicians seek to enhance health-conscious behaviors among their clients, and (c) to identify how substance abuse clinicians view their role in enhancing health-conscious behaviors among their clients. A qualitative study was conducted using in-depth, semistructured interviews with substance abuse clinicians (N = 16) from 4 substance abuse treatment centers. Using the theory of planned behavior as a framework for understanding the promotion of health-conscious behaviors in substance abuse treatment, the findings suggest that substance abuse clinicians are capable of enhancing health-conscious behaviors among clients in substance abuse programs.     

Family Relationships and Religious Identities of GLBQ Christians

ABSTRACT

Nonheterosexual individuals are half as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to report a religious identity. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer (GLBQ) emerging adults who maintain a religious identity and affiliation throughout their adolescent and young adult years challenge dominant narratives of sexuality and religion (Pew, 2012, 2013). This study contextualizes these demographic findings and considers their impact on family life and sexual identity. The authors present data from 11 qualitative interviews with GLBQ individuals between the ages of 20 and 25. Results are presented in a model describing how participants constructed a GLBQ Christian identity, and how they perceive the acceptance of their identities in both their families and church communities.     

High-Risk Sexual Behavior in Postmenopausal Women

Individuals who participate in sexual behavior indeed expose themselves to multiple risks, including social, emotional, and physical risks. Outcomes associated with risk behavior can have detrimental consequences on one’s interpersonal relationships, self-esteem, and overall health and well-being. This study examined how four factors (relational, decision-making, sexual variables, and safety) operate in a postmenopausal women’s decision to engage in risky sexual behavior. Data were collected online from 44 women, ranging in age from 34 to 68. Results indicate this model explains 62.6% of the variance in risky decision-making for postmenopausal women. Implications and directions for future research are addressed.     

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Acceptance of One’s Gay or Lesbian Family Member

Research suggests that the coming out process can be stressful not only for individuals disclosing their sexual orientation, but also for the family members who receive the news. While research demonstrates that family acceptance of such disclosures is related to one’s religious beliefs, less is known about how religion influences the process of acceptance. There are theoretical reasons to expect that individuals’ religious beliefs interact with their attitudes regarding acceptance in reciprocal ways. Utilizing data from 14 semistructured interviews with family members of lesbian and gay individuals, we offer a preliminary examination of how the process of acceptance is both influenced by and influences a person’s own religious beliefs. Results suggest that the acceptance process involves a complex interaction between an individual’s general proclivity toward acceptance, the degree to which religion promotes or opposes the acceptance of same-sex relationships, and the level of investment one has in their church.     

Marketplace Competition in the Personal Computer Industry*

A decision regarding development and introduction of a potential new product depends, in part, on the intensity of compeitition anticipated in the marketplace. In the case of a technology-based product such as a personal computer (PC), the number of competing products may be very dynamic and consequently uncertain. We address this problem by modeling growth in the number of new PCs as a stochastic counting process, incorporating product entries and exits. We demonstrate how to use the resulting model to forecast competition five years in advance.     

Spatial variation in poverty-generating processes: Child poverty in the United States

This study builds on research demonstrating that sub-regions within the United States have different processes that abet poverty and that child poverty is spatially differentiated. We focus on the social attributes of the local area to assess what the geographic place represents in terms of social characteristics, namely racial/ethnic composition and economic structure, and to resolve apparent inconsistencies in poverty research. Using spatial regime and spatial error regression techniques to analyze county census data, we examine spatial differentiation in the relationships that generate child poverty. Our approach addresses the conceptual and technical aspects of spatial inequality. Results show that local-area processes are at play with implications for more nuanced theoretical models and anti-poverty policies that consider systematic differences in factors contributing to child poverty according to the racial/ethnic and economic contexts.     

Captain America and Thriller: How Artistic Expressions Shape Mobilization Processes in Social Movements

Social activist and anarchist Emma Goldman purportedly said, “If I can't dance, it's not my revolution!” Although falsely attributed to Goldman, subsequent protesters later adopted the sentiment, such as London‐based activists Reclaim the Streets (RTS), and, more recently, Occupy Wall Street (OWS). Art and protest has a long history, ranging from the use of song in the Civil Rights Movement to the use of graffiti in the global movements of 1968 to the creative performances of activists in AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) to the dramatic street performances and costumes in the Battle of Seattle of 1999. Existing literature illuminates how art shapes mobilization processes of social movement. This review demonstrates two major ways in which art shapes mobilization processes, specifically the communication and visibility of movements and the emotional work of movements. In addition, suggestions are made for future research at the intersection of art and social movements.     

Discrepancies About Adolescent Relationships as a Function of Informant Attachment and Depressive Symptoms

Developmental scientists studying interpersonal relationships often find that informants disagree in their reports, and two theoretical perspectives suggest that these discrepancies may be predictable. In two studies of adolescents' interpersonal relationships, we examined two factors that may predict the absolute magnitude and the direction of the discrepancies in reports about several types of relationships. Specifically, we examined informants' depressive symptoms and attachment as predictors of absolute and directional discrepancies in reports about (a) adolescents' relationships with peers, (b) parent–adolescent relationships, and (c) adolescents' friendships. Findings revealed that informant depressive symptoms sometimes were associated with discrepancies. In contrast, informant attachment more consistently accounted for absolute and directional discrepancies.     

A prospective study of the onset of sexual behavior and sexual risk in youth perinatally infected with HIV

Perinatally HIV-infected (PHIV+) youth are surviving into adolescence and young adulthood. Understanding the sexual development of PHIV+ youth is vital to providing them with developmentally appropriate HIV-prevention programs. Using pooled data (N = 417) from two longitudinal studies focused on HIV among youth (51% female; 39% HIV+) and their caregivers (92% female; 46% HIV+), the rate of sexual onset during adolescence across four youth-caregiver combinations was compared: PHIV+ youth with HIV+caregivers (12%), PHIV+ youth with HIV- caregivers (27%), HIV- youth with HIV+caregivers (34%), and HIV- youth with HIV- caregivers (27%). Youth with HIV- caregivers were more likely than other youth-caregiver groups to have had their sexual onset. Youth with HIV+ caregivers reported a slower rate of onset of penetrative sex across the adolescent years. Findings are discussed by highlighting the role that both youth and caregiver HIV status play in the onset of sexual behavior across adolescence.