Purpose plus: supporting youth purpose, control, and academic achievement

Research in the past decade suggests that a persistent achievement gap between students from low-income minority backgrounds and higher-income white backgrounds may be rooted in theories of student motivation and youth purpose. Yet limited research exists regarding the role of purpose on positive youth development as it pertains to academic achievement. Using a sample of 209 high school students, this study examines the effectiveness of an intervention designed to promote purpose development and internal control over academic success in high school students from a low-socioeconomic-status community. Findings reveal that a short-term intervention was effective in significantly increasing internal control over academic success and purpose in life for students participating in the intervention group. In addition, analysis of academic achievement for students who experienced positive gains in internal control and purpose demonstrates significant gains in academic achievement as measured by grade point average. Implications are made for further study of internal control and life purpose as a means of academic intervention in the effort to address the achievement gap.     

‘Green‐Collar Crime’: Environmental Crime and Justice in the Sociological Perspective

One of the more neglected areas of research in the field of criminology are the crimes committed by ‘white collar’ offenders. An even more understudied area is the corporate crimes that are committed against the environment for profit. Despite this dearth of research, there have been several sociologically significant examinations into some of the more serious environmental crimes committed over the last three decades. While some of this research is theoretically underdeveloped, more recent studies have attempted to develop a coherent framework to study environmental crime. By linking and synthesizing two literatures in both white‐collar criminology and environmental justice, sociologists have begun to develop a framework for examining ‘green crimes’, the motivations, opportunity context, victimology, and enforcement issues. This article will be a survey of these studies and development literature along with some typological and definitional issues relevant to the subfield. This aims to map where criminology has been in the sub‐field of environmental crime and provides directions for where future research should be headed.     

Quality and rigor of the concept mapping methodology: A pooled study analysis

The use of concept mapping in research and evaluation has expanded dramatically over the past 20 years. Researchers in academic, organizational, and community-based settings have applied concept mapping successfully without the benefit of systematic analyses across studies to identify the features of a methodologically sound study. Quantitative characteristics and estimates of quality and rigor that may guide for future studies are lacking. To address this gap, we conducted a pooled analysis of 69 concept mapping studies to describe characteristics across study phases, generate specific indicators of validity and reliability, and examine the relationship between select study characteristics and quality indicators. Individual study characteristics and estimates were pooled and quantitatively summarized, describing the distribution, variation and parameters for each. In addition, variation in the concept mapping data collection in relation to characteristics and estimates was examined. Overall, results suggest concept mapping yields strong internal representational validity and very strong sorting and rating reliability estimates. Validity and reliability were consistently high despite variation in participation and task completion percentages across data collection modes. The implications of these findings as a practical reference to assess the quality and rigor for future concept mapping studies are discussed.     

Measuring the willingness to foster children with emotional and behavioral problems

Many children in foster care have emotional or behavioral problems or are at risk for these problems. It is important to identify parents willing to foster children with these problems in order to ensure placement, care, stability and well-being of such children. This study presents a new 40-item self-report measure of the willingness of parents to foster children with emotional and behavioral problems, and two 20-item parallel forms of this measure. In addition, this study presents evidence of reliability and validity of scores derived from these measures with a national sample of 297 foster mothers. Coefficient alpha for these measures was .92 or greater, indicating excellent internal consistency reliability. Scores from these measures were unrelated to demographic characteristics, providing evidence of discriminant validity. In addition, scores from these measures were higher for foster mothers licensed to provide treatment foster care than for mothers only licensed to provide regular foster care, providing support for known groups validity. Finally, support for construct validity is provided by the fact that foster mothers with higher scores on these measures had fostered longer, were fostering more children at the time of this study, and had fewer children removed from their home at their request.     

Group psychotherapy for bisexual men and their wives

A significant number of men and women experience conflict surrounding homosexual expression within marriage. As the media focuses more attention on these relationships, more bisexual men and their wives seek counseling or psychotherapeutic assistance. Based upon the author's research and clinical experience, this article outlines a group psychotherapy strategy for bisexual men and their wives. Relevant research and background data on mixed-orientation marriages are summarized. Treatment strategy explores intervention processes, resistances to treatment, the unique supportive experiences of the group, and qualities of the co-therapist who may provide assistance to bisexual men and their wives.     

Optimism,hardiness, and explanatory style as predictors of general well-being among attorneys

Three personality constructs, optimism, hardiness, and explanatory style have been identified as dispositions that bolster health (Roben and Salovey, 1989). This research focused on individual differences in optimism, hardiness, and explanatory style among professional adults and their relative contribution to general well-being. A survey was mailed to attorneys, who were members of the County Bar Association, in a large midwestern city. The results showed only optimism and the positive internal facet of explanatory style to be significantly related to general well-being. Canonical analysis indicated that this relationship was mainly due to the components of general well-being that are traditionally psychological in nature. The experiential and physical components were significantly related but of less importance.     

Social Capital and Casino Gambling in U.S. Communities

This paper empirically analyzes the impact that the spread of casino gambling has on social capital in communities throughout the United States. Social capital is a networking process that translates into an individual’s effectiveness in the community and workplace, and binds communities together. Several recent studies have also demonstrated a link between higher levels of social capital and quality of life. In this study, social capital is measured based on six dimensions: trust, civic, volunteerism, group participation, giving, and meeting obligations of family and friends. Using data from the DDB Needham database for the years 1978, 1988, and 1998, regression analysis is conducted on over 300 Metropolitan Statistical Areas throughout the United States to determine the impact that the spread of casino gambling has on social capital. The results of the analysis indicate that the presence of casino gambling significantly reduces social capital when a casino is located within 15 miles of a community, suggesting that a casino’s location influences a community’s quality of life and should be a consideration when deciding on the merits of gambling legalization.     

Kin availability and the living arrangements of older women

This paper models the distribution of older women across household types, taking account of variations in the availability of kin, as well as other explanatory variables such as income and race. Household types are distinguished by the presence or absence in the household of siblings, parents, children, or others, including unrelated individuals. A modified multinomial logit model is used to represent the simultaneous effects of kin availability and other variables on the probability of living in each household type. The results indicate that while income is related to the propensity to live alone, the relationship appears to operate solely through the effect of income upon the propensity to share a household with close relatives. Older black women are shown to be more likely to live in extended-family households, holding constant both income and the availability of kin.