An Index of the Condition of Children: The Ideal and a Less-than-Ideal U.S. Example

This paper uses recent data on U.S. children from the National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) to create indices that tally the number of problems or risks that individual children experience. We compare results with those from indices developed elsewhere that assess the change across sets of population-level indicators. While the two types of indices show similar trends over time, specific changes, as well as trends, depend on the specific domain of well-being or context examined, highlighting the importance of the distinction between well-being and context. Children with problems in multiple domains tend to be socio-economically and demographically disadvantaged compared with other children. We preface this work by providing an overview of the history of child well-being indicators and distinguish indices of child well-being from indices of the condition of children.

Religious Social Support Protects against Social Risks for Adolescent Substance Use

We used a social developmental perspective to identify how prominent social contexts influence substance use during adolescence. Longitudinal data were collected annually from 167 parent–adolescent dyads over four years. We investigated whether parent substance use was related to adolescent substance use directly and indirectly via peer substance use and whether these associations were moderated by religious social support. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicated significant moderated mediation: Greater parent substance use predicted increases in adolescent substance use indirectly via increased peer substance use when adolescent religious social support was low or average, but not high. These results suggest religious social support may protect adolescents against prominent social risks for intergenerational substance use.     

Predicting Well‐Being and Internalizing Symptoms in Late Adolescence From Trajectories of Externalizing Behavior Starting in Infancy

This study aimed to examine the long‐term prediction of well‐being and internalizing symptoms from trajectories of externalizing behavior problems in 921 children from a population‐based sample. We found that a high stable trajectory of externalizing behavior from infancy (age 1.5) to mid‐adolescence (age 14.5) predicted lower scores on life satisfaction and flourishing for both girls and boys (age 18.5). The high stable trajectory also predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms in boys and anxiety symptoms in girls (age 18.5). The findings are noteworthy as they document how a person‐oriented study of externalizing behavior problems starting in infancy can predict well‐being and internalizing in late adolescence. The findings underline the importance of early health promotion and problem intervention efforts.     

Promoting Health and Wellness in African American Males through Rites of Passage Training

The current work presents exploratory research findings related to the effectiveness of Let the Circle Be Unbroken, an African-centered “rites of passage” training program, to promote health and well-being in a sample of high-risk, African American males. An abbreviated version of the ADPRC-TADPOLE questionnaire was administered to 39 African American boys, between the ages of 8 and 16 years, who were participating in a community-based “rites of passage” training program. Findings suggest that the Let the Circle Be Unbroken training program is a viable program for improving self-esteem among young African American males. The implications of this research are relevant to the reduction of some health disparities observed among underrepresented populations, especially African American males.     

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Career Goal Attainment

The purpose of this study was to examine barriers to and facilitators of career goals among college students in the framework of the Social Cognitive Career Theory (R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackétt, 1994). Questionnaires were completed by 2,743 college freshmen. Chi‐square tests and MANOVA were used to analyze the data. The authors found gender and ethnic differences in perceptions of barriers to career goals. Differences were found by ethnicity, but not by gender, in perceptions of facilitators of career goals. The authors examined factors influencing career choice goals and specific barriers and facilitators. They discuss implications for career counselors.     

Contextual Influences on Work and Family Roles: Gender,Culture, and Socioeconomic Factors

Multiple factors influence the ways in which men and women combine work and family roles. Career counselors and other career development professionals must be cognizant of the cultural shifts in gender roles and the unique perspectives of younger generations regarding work–family interface. Workplace characteristics, economic trends, and personal values converge to influence decisions related to career, family, and other life roles. Much of the existing literature addressing work–family interface has been conducted in the United States and may not generalize to international populations. In this conceptual article, the authors examine current empirical knowledge and culturally sensitive frameworks for understanding work–family interface across countries and cultures. The authors discuss implications and recommendations for practice based on an integrated conceptualization of the literature.     

“This Is Not Your Practice Life”: lululemon and the Neoliberal Governance of Self

Cet article s'intéresse à l’énorme réussite de lululemon athletica, et en particulier à la façon dont ses stratégies de marque s'approprient la pratique du yoga pour les intégrer à un modèle consumériste de discipline et de soin de soi. On arguera que la stratégie de marque de lululemon est liée à l'hyperindividualisme néolibéral ainsi qu'aux discours plus généraux de développement personnel qui définissent le bien‐être comme un accomplissement personnel et moral. Nous approfondissons la façon dont la stratégie de marque lululemon se reporte constamment à des concepts vagues, homogénéisateurs et extrême‐orientaux des spiritualités du Levant, qui instrumentalisent les pratiques yogiques et renforcent les idéologies occidentales en matière de santéisme, parallèlement à la performance personnelle, corporelle et commerciale. Nous arguons que lululemon intègre au consumérisme des discours de prise de pouvoir, illustrant la façon dont les discours de choix et de soin de soi renforcent le soi responsabilisé qui est au c?ur même des sociétés néolibérales contemporaines. This paper examines the enormous success of lululemon athletica and specifically how its branding practices appropriate yogic practice into a consumerist model of discipline and self‐care. lululemon branding is linked with neoliberal hyperindividualism and broader self‐help discourses that define health and wellness as a personal and moral achievement. We explore how lululemon branding consistently refers to vague, homogenizing, and orientalist concepts of Eastern spiritualities that instrumentalize yogic practices, and reinforce Western ideologies of healthism along with personal, bodily, and market performance. We argue that lululemon folds empowerment into consumerism: discourses of choice and self‐care reinforce the responsibilized self that is the core of contemporary neoliberal societies.     

Minutewomen,Victims, and Parasites: The Discursive and Performative Construction of Women by The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps

This study uses data from 40 interviews and 80 hours of participant observation to examine the discursive and performative (embodied, enacted, and nonverbal) position of women in twenty‐first‐century militia–nativist organizations, using the case study of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC). The case of the MCDC demonstrates that the organization produces competing narratives for understanding the role of white and migrant women in U.S. society. White American women are constructed as victims of immigration, while white women within the organization are viewed as capable colleagues. Migrant women are produced as both parasites on American society and victims of Mexican male sexuality. As this article shows, women's demands for agency, their political drives, their ascribed race, and their intentions shape their discursive production.