Adjustment Strategies in the Family Business: Implications of Gender and Management Role

Four gender/role categories are compared to ascertain the influence that gender and management roles and related characteristics have on adjustment strategies selected during hectic times in the family or the family business. The five adjustment strategies involve reallocation of family or business tasks, intertwining tasks, using volunteer help and hiring outside help. Data are from the 1997 National Family Business Study (n = 673). Findings from multiple regression analysis indicate that, with the exception of intertwining tasks, there are not significant differences between men and women on adjustment strategies when controlling for family and business demands and human resources. Single-role managers are more likely to reallocate family resources to the business than are two-role managers, regardless of gender.     

Family Status and Work Attitudes: An Investigation in a Professional Services Firm

To help employees better balance work and family responsibilities, organizations are increasingly offering a variety of work–family programmes. However, anecdotal reports suggest that employees without spouses or children perceive that they receive fewer organizational benefits and bear greater burdens than their married or parent counterparts. By providing a more ‘family‐friendly’ work environment, organizations may foster perceptions of inequity in people without families (single adults without dependent children, SAWDCs), possibly resulting in lower job satisfaction and other work‐related outcomes. Using a sample of 454 employees of a professional services firm, we examined attitudinal differences between individuals with and without families. Findings suggest that SAWDCs and non‐SAWDCS differed in terms of age, organizational level, use of flexible work arrangements and firm tenure. However, we found no differences in hours worked, job involvement, job satisfaction or organizational commitment. Interestingly, SAWDCs had more favourable perceptions of the organization's work–family culture than non‐SAWDCs, suggesting that those who do not utilize family‐friendly benefits view them more favourably than those who actually need or use the benefits. In addition to identifying directions for future research, we offer suggestions for organizations, including taking a more universal approach to benefits to the advantage of all employees.     

Does Affirmative Training Matter? Assessing CFT Students’ Beliefs About Sexual Orientation and Their Level of Affirmative Training

This study examined couple and family therapy (CFT) students’ beliefs about sexual orientation, their self-reported competency working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients, and the level of affirmative training students received in their CFT programs. One hundred and ninety students from accredited CFT programs completed the study. While participants reported feeling only somewhat competent to work with LGB clients and less than half reported receiving any training on affirmative therapy, the majority of the participants did appear to hold positive attitudes toward LGB clients. The results support the literature arguing for CFT programs to include specific training on affirmative therapy practices, as the level of affirmative training was directly related to participants’ self-reported clinical competency working with LGB clients.     

Gender Differences in Perceived Business Success and Profit Growth Among Family Business Managers

Using data from the 1997–2000 National Family Business Surveys (NFBS), this study investigated the effect of gender on business success and profit growth among family businesses. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) results indicate that all else being equal, female managers perceived their businesses as more successful than male managers, and they reported more profit growth between 1996 and 1999 than male managers. The results of the dummy variable interaction approach also show that a differential response existed in profit growth over time between female and male managers in relation to health status, business liabilities, business size, and whether the business was home-based. This study concludes that there are many distinct differences between male and female managers in business performance.     

The psychology of AMBER Alert: Unresolved issues and implications

The AMBER alert system is likely affected by a number of psychological processes, yet remains understudied. The system assumes people will remember Alert information accurately and notify police, but psychological research on related phenomena (e.g., memory, willingness to help) indicates that people may not be able or willing to act in ways the promote the success of the system. In addition, the system is intended to deter child abductions, however, the system could prompt copycat crimes from perpetrators seeking publicity. The system could also cause a precipitation effect in which a perpetrator who sees the Alert could decide to murder the child immediately to avoid capture. Policy recommendations are made based on psychological research and theory, although more research is needed to develop the most effective system possible.     

Everybody's Doin' It (Right?): Neighborhood Norms and Sexual Activity in Adolescence

A neighborhood’s normative climate is linked to, but conceptually distinct from, its structural characteristics such as poverty and racial/ethnic composition. Given the deleterious consequences of early sexual activity for adolescent health and well-being, it is important to assess normative influences on youth behaviors such as sexual debut, number of sex partners, and involvement in casual sexual experiences. The current study moves beyond prior research by constructing a measure of normative climate that more fully captures neighborhood norms, and analyzing the influence of normative climate on behavior in a longitudinal framework. Using recently geo-coded data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), we analyze the effect of normative climate on adolescents’ sexual behaviors. Results indicate that variation in neighborhood normative climates increases adolescents’ odds of sexual debut and casual sex, and is associated with their number of sex partners, even after accounting for neighborhood structural disadvantage and demographic risk factors.     

Open Adoption and Post-Adoption Birth Family Contact: A Comparison of Non-Relative Foster and Private Adoptions

This study used data from the National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP) to compare post-adoption contact in families with non-relative private domestic and foster care adoptions. This study is the first to use a nationally representative sample to examine and compare the extent of post-adoption contact in both private and foster adoptions. The results suggest that children adopted from foster care were less likely to experience post-adoption contact with their birth families than children adopted privately despite the fact that they were more likely to have lived with their birth families.