School discipline and disruptive classroom behavior: the moderating effects of student perceptions

This study examines the relationship between school discipline and student classroom behavior. A traditional deterrence framework predicts that more severe discipline will reduce misbehavior. In contrast, normative perspectives suggest that compliance depends upon commitment to rules and authority, including perceptions of fairness and legitimacy. Using school and individual-level data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 and multilevel regression modeling, the author finds support for the normative perspective. Students who perceive school authority as legitimate and teacher–student relations as positive are rated as less disruptive. While perceptions of fairness also predict lower disruptions, the effects are mediated by positive teacher–student relations. Contrary to the deterrence framework, more school rules and higher perceived strictness predicts more, not less, disruptive behavior. In addition, a significant interaction effect suggests that attending schools with more severe punishments may have the unintended consequence of generating defiance among certain youth.     

Living will: Ruminations of an economist

The typical living will is an awfully imperfect instrument for doing what it is supposed to do. This paper is one economist's attempt to make sense of living will. The foray takes one deep into the domain of mainstream economics. The paper concludes that, despite its shortcomings, living will makes good economic sense and its future is bright.     

Embedding Social Justice within Micro Social Work Curricula

Social work struggles with the dichotomy between social and economic justice and micro practice. A large percentage of United States social workers (65%) practice in micro practice settings, yet the profession is challenged to commit to its social justice roots. This article reviews the history of social and economic justice within the social work profession, examines the role of distributive justice, and outlines strategies to integrate social and economic justice into micro social work courses. The article details implications for strengthening a social and economic justice perspective in micro curricula.     

Sexual self-disclosure among university women

Although there has been considerable research about self-disclosure, there has been a lack of research regarding disclosure of sexual topics. In order to increase our understanding of sexual self-disclosure (SSD), a scale was developed to measure SSD, and 10 variables were tested as predictors of SSD. The subjects were 203 unmarried university females aged 18-22. SSD was measured separately for each of the target groups of mother, father, close friend, and dating partner. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed separately for virgin and non-virgin subjects. The one variable which was significant for each of the target groups in each of the analyses was sexual comfort level of the target person. The variables of sex guilt and target person's sexual attitudes were significant for disclosure to each of the target groups among the nonvirgin subjects but to only some of the target groups among the virgin subjects. The remaining seven predictor variables were significant for at least one of the target groups. In the multiple regression models, the proportion of variance explained ranged from 28% to 58%. The results indicate the value of controlling for both target group and virginity status when analyzing the relationship of predictor variables to SSD.     

Vicarious trauma:predictors of clinicians' disrupted cognitions about self-esteem and self-intimacy

This study examined vicarious trauma in clinicians who provide sexual abuse treatment (N = 383). A random sample of clinical members from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children were surveyed. Vicarious trauma was measured using the Trauma Stress Institute Belief Scale (Pearlman, 2003). Maltreatment was measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein & Fink, 1998). Respondents reported high rates of childhood maltreatment. Simultaneous multiple regression analyses were used to examine relationships between gender, age, maltreatment history, and vicarious trauma. Male gender predicted greater disrupted cognitions about self-esteem and self-intimacy. Clinician age and childhood emotional neglect predicted greater disrupted cognitions about self-intimacy. Implications for education, practice, and research are discussed.     

Why the Gap? Determinants of Self-Employment Earnings Differentials for Male and Female Millennials in the US

We investigated gender differences in self-employment earnings for US Millennials, and whether differences could be attributed to individual characteristics, business characteristics, or factors related to household formation, such as marriage and parenthood. Using a nationally representative dataset of US youth, we found significant earnings differences favoring men and suggestive evidence of a “motherhood earnings penalty” (Budig and England 2001, p. 204–225). After controlling for business characteristics, however, the effect of gender itself was not statistically significant and the effect of motherhood only approached statistical significance, suggesting that gendered choices and paths explain earnings differences, not gender or motherhood per se. Future work would benefit from a larger dataset and should explore the role of work location and education in earnings.     

Assessment of slip resistance under footwear materials, tread designs, floor contamination, and floor inclination conditions

Slip and fall incidences are common in our daily lives. They are not only important environmental safety issues but also important occupational safety and health problems. The purpose of this study was to use the Brungraber Mark II to measure the friction so as to investigate the effects of the shoe sole, surface condition and the inclined angle of the floor and their interactions on friction coefficient. The results of the study showed the effects of all the main factors and their interactions were significant (p<0.001). Engineering designs & ergonomic interventions in slip & fall prevention should take these factors in full consideration.     

Intra‐ and Interracial Best Friendships During Middle School: Links to Social and Emotional Well‐being

This study examined patterns of intra‐ and interracial best friendships during middle school and their associations with social and emotional well‐being. We hypothesized that intraracial friendships would be beneficial for racial or ethnic minority youth because such relationships provide protection and solidarity in a discriminatory society. Results revealed that most youth had only intraracial best friends during middle school, but 38% had at least one interracial best friend. Associations between interracial best friendships and well‐being varied by racial group; Black and Asian American youth with only interracial best friends reported lower emotional well‐being than those with only intraracial best friends. Additionally, intraracial best friendships were associated with higher conflict than interracial best friendships, especially for Black and Latino youth.     

Stability and Change in Private and Public Ethnic Regard Among African American,Puerto Rican,Dominican, and Chinese American Early Adolescents

Over the past 20 years, researchers have demonstrated that ethnic identity in adolescence is multifaceted and dynamic, encompassing a number of aspects of content and self‐definition. The present study examines private regard (i.e., youths' positive evaluations of their ethnic group) as well as public regard, which refers to their perceptions of others' evaluations of the group. The primary objective of the present study was to examine stability versus change in private and public regard among an ethnically diverse sample of early adolescents as they progressed through middle school. Using data from a longitudinal investigation of 6th graders, we found that private regard was stable over time and quite positive for all groups. In addition, while Chinese American youths' public regard tended to increase over time, African American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican youths' public regard decreased across the middle school years. Implications for ethnic identity theory are discussed.