Hindsight,foresight and insight: The challenges of longitudinal qualitative research

This paper describes a UK based longitudinal qualitative study following approximately 100 young people over 9 years. It provides an overview of the research design, methods of data collection and analysis as well as reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies employed. We focus on the value of a devolved research design, complementary cross-section and temporal analytic approaches and the effects of being involved in a longitudinal study on researchers and participants. The paper aims to contribute to a growing understanding of the practical, ethical and epistemological challenges presented by longitudinal qualitative methods, and highlights those challenges that are specific to this method as well as those which are amplified by this kind of approach.     

Associations among Maternal Behavior,Delay of Gratification,and School Readiness across the Early Childhood Years

This study examined the developmental pathways from maternal behavior to school readiness within a sample of 1007 children, with a specific focus on the mediating role of delay of gratification (DoG). Maternal behavior across the first 36 months of age was explored as a predictor of children's DoG at 54 months as well as their behavioral and academic competence in kindergarten. Results support sensitivity as a predictor of children's DoG and indicate significant associations between DoG and teacher‐reported externalizing behavior, social skills, and academic skills. Moreover, DoG partially mediated the associations between maternal sensitivity and school readiness skills, with the highest percentage of mediation reported for social skills. Findings indicate maternal sensitivity and DoG as potential targets for efforts aimed at enhancing school readiness among young children.     

A Reply to Gambino's "An Epidemiologic Note on Verification Bias: Implications for Estimation of Rates"

While two-stage designs in problem gambling research are expensive and relatively difficult to execute, they have the potential to yield more accurate prevalence estimates as well as valuable additional information about gambling and problem gambling in the community. However, gains in precision are heavily dependent on the accuracy of the screening methods used and the sample sizes involved. Sound practice requires reliable information about the variances and confidence levels associated with different screens. In the spirit of contributing to the ongoing dialog about ways to improve the measurement of problem gambling, we examine several reasons to question whether the revised estimates offered by Gambino are in fact an improvement.     

Editorial—On the role of the humanities in urban ecology: The case of St. Petersburg

Urban ecology is increasingly interdisciplinary, with biophysical and social scientists joining forces to study how human and built environments and processes interact with non-human nature. Humanistic disciplines that study high culture and intellectual currents also bear upon urban ecology, since cities are not simply aggregates of human and non-human factors but seats of civilization and loci of concentrated creative energy. The Russian city of St. Petersburg, which Dostoevsky called the most abstract and intentional city in the world, offers an example of the way individual acts of intellectual and artistic creation affect the energy balance of a city and its interaction with ecological forces. Such concentrated creative energy may be a key to making cities sustainable, and it should not remain outside the calculus of urban ecology.     

Problem-solving communication in foster families and birthfamilies

This study assessed child behavior problems and parent-child communication behaviors during problem solving in three groups of families with adolescent children: foster families, birthfamilies with a child at risk for behavior problems, and birthfamilies with a child not at risk. Levels of positive and negative communication behaviors in the foster families were similar to those in the lower-risk families and were significantly related to foster child behavior problems.     

Events and experiences impacting the development of clinical self confidence: a study of the first year of client contact

Research was conducted to identify the events and experiences influencing the development of clinical self-confidence during the first year of client contact for beginning marriage and family therapists. Thirty-nine recent graduates of a master's degree training program participated in a semistructured interview in which they were asked to describe the influences on their clinical self-confidence. Through qualitative analysis, four event and experience categories emerged as exerting the most influence on confidence at this stage of professional development: supervision, contact with clients, contact with peers, and personal life stress. The authors recommend providing strength-focused supervision, acknowledging the effects of client contact, encouraging peer contact, and attending to personal life stress.