Divorce Disclosures and Adolescents' Physical and Mental Health and Parental Relationship Quality

Two studies were constructed to examine the associations between custodial parents' negative disclosures about the other parent after a divorce and parent–adolescent relational quality (closeness and satisfaction) and adolescents' physical and mental health. In general, the results suggested that even though negative disclosures about the other parent might be associated with more cohesive relationships between custodial parents and adolescents, it does not mean that adolescents are immune to the physical and psychological effects of such disclosures. In Study 2, negative disclosures about the other parent were associated with adolescents' increased reports of physical and mental health symptoms. The results revealed a similar effect for general divorce information and adolescents' mental health. However, there was no association for catharsis and adolescents' physical and mental health. The results from both studies also revealed that adolescents perceived that their custodial parents disclosed more negative information about the other parent than the parents perceived that they disclosed.     

The Community Action Framework in Practice: An Illustration Based on the Ready by 21 Coalition of Austin/Travis County

The field of positive youth development has expanded focus from articulating and measuring desired manifestations of positive well-being to assembling the environmental conditions known to promote these desired outcomes. Evidence of the effectiveness of community-level efforts promoting positive youth development is still emerging, in particular theory-driven examples of community-driven youth development. This study examined the Community Action Framework, one theory-based community youth development model, through the experiences of the Ready by 21 Austin/Travis County coalition (RB21). The coalition connects youth-serving organizations and also regional coalitions, while promoting the positive development of area youth. Participant observation, interviewing, and archival strategies were integrated to capture information related to the complex and dynamic coalition. Results indicated that RB21 represents a practical and meaningful application of the Community Action Framework. Specific examples and recommendations are provided as guidance for other community level youth development efforts.     

Retelling the Past Using New Technologies: A Case Study into the Digitization of Social Work Heritage Material and the Creation of a Virtual Exhibition

This article explains the rationale for the digitization of social work heritage material and the virtualization of an archived nondigital museum exhibit constructed by a Scottish Museum of Social Work. The project involved the “virtualization” of an existing social work museum exhibition on the migration of “Home Children” from Scotland to Canada in the late 19th and early 20th century and the digital preservation of historical assets (both text and images) held by the contemporary social care organization involved in the migration of the children. This article discusses best practice in the preservation of historical assets, the methodology and technology used in the creation of the multimedia version of the exhibition, and the complexities of negotiating intellectual property rights in the transition from historical artifacts to new digital works.     

The Influence of Service Factors on Spousal Caregivers' Perceptions of Community Services

The literature clearly denotes that spouses differ from other family members in their reactions to caregiving, their patterns of service use and their assessment of specific services. Yet, despite their prevalence as caregivers, little is known about their unique perceptions of community services and the factors that impact their experiences with the service system. The purpose of this study was to explore the relative influence of (a) spouses' personal factors (e.g., gender, family support) and (b) service factors (e.g., one-on-one professional support), on spousal caregivers' perceptions of community services. The study employed a survey design with a sample of 73 spousal caregivers caring for their partners with dementia at home.

This study found that spousal caregivers have more negative perceptions of the service system when their in-home workers are not informed about their spouses' likes, dislikes and routines. This service factor was the most significant predictor of caregivers' service perceptions. The study further found that most spousal caregivers receive fewer than five consultations from a non-medical professional over a one year period. While spouses longed for more professional support, this service factor was not uniquely associated with service related stress. The policy and practice implications of these findings are discussed.     

Is It Our Day or the Bride’s Day? The Division of Wedding Labor and Its Meaning for Couples

Based on qualitative interviews with southern California heterosexual engaged couples, I examine how wedding planning work is divided between the bride and the groom and how couple’s meaningfully interpret the division of labor. I find that couple’s wedding planning work disproportionately falls to women, especially that labor that is invisible. Wedding work, in many respects, is another form of unpaid and unappreciated women’s work, not that unlike housework. Yet, couples do not understand wedding work as an unequal pursuit. Couples use an assortment of interactional strategies to interpret wedding work as a joint and equal enterprise.     

Formulating waste management strategies based on waste management practices of households in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

Rapid urbanisation, population growth and changes in lifestyles in low- and middle-income countries contribute to increasing the per capita domestic waste generation. This trend leads to deplorable environmental and public health conditions, especially in rapidly expanding cities of low- and middle-income countries lacking appropriate waste management systems, Santiago de Cuba is no exception. To improve solid waste management in the city of Santiago de Cuba, the generation of household waste was studied and individual waste treatment approaches were assessed. The principle of a household level analysis was adopted to enable the development of strategies based on the specific conditions of households, their awareness and needs.In February 2004, a survey covering 1180 households was conducted on issues such as monthly consumed goods, waste generated and its treatment. The waste generated by the households was subsequently assessed by means of a measuring campaign. The measured volume not only comprised the collected waste fraction but also the waste materials treated on-site or recovered and recycled by all the different means available.The paper contains the results of the composition and distribution of the waste generated by the households as a function of socio-demographic data. Furthermore, the paper describes the various household treatment strategies dependent on specific waste material types. Several types of household waste can be differentiated by statistical cluster analysis. These household types are characterised not only by the amount of waste generated but also by socio-economic status and waste treatment practices. The results obtained are used to develop a range of waste management strategies, each relating to a household type and characterised by its generated amount, waste material type and spatial urban distribution. Since the strategies are adapted to the requirements and needs of the households, they are more readily accepted by the population concerned. Such socially anchored strategies will contribute to improving the waste situation in the city of Santiago de Cuba and allow an optimised allocation of local resources.     

Feeling Caught Between Parents: Adult Children's Relations With Parents and Subjective Well‐Being

Research on divorce has found that adolescents’ feelings of being caught between parents are linked to internalizing problems and weak parent‐child relationships. The present study estimates the effects of marital discord, as well as divorce, on young adult offspring's feelings of being caught in the middle (N =632). Children with parents in high‐conflict marriages were more likely than other children to feel caught between parents. These feelings were associated with lower subjective well‐being and poorer quality parent‐child relationships. Offspring with divorced parents were no more likely than offspring with continuously married parents in low‐conflict relationships to report feeling caught. Feelings of being caught appeared to fade in the decade following parental divorce. These results suggest that, unlike children of divorce, children with parents in conflicted marriages (who do not divorce) may be unable to escape from their parents’ marital problems—even into adulthood.     

What adult worker model? A critical look at recent social policy reform in Europe from a gender and family perspective

Analyses regularly feature claims that European welfare states are in the process of creating an adult worker model. The theoretical and empirical basis of this argument is examined here by looking first at the conceptual foundations of the adult worker model formulation and then at the extent to which social policy reform in western Europe fits with the argument. It is suggested that the adult worker formulation is under-specified. A framework incorporating four dimensions—the treatment of individuals vis-à-vis their family role and status for the purposes of social rights, the treatment of care, the treatment of the family as a social institution, and the extent to which gender inequality is problematized—is developed and then applied. The empirical analysis reveals a strong move towards individualization as social policy promotes and valorizes individual agency and self-sufficiency and shifts some childcare from the family. Yet evidence is also found of continued (albeit changed) familism. Rather than an unequivocal move to an individualized worker model then, a dual earner, gender-specialized, family arrangement is being promoted. The latter is the middle way between the old dependencies and the new “independence.” This makes for complexity and even ambiguity in policy, a manifestation of which is that reform within countries involves concurrent moves in several directions.     

Sex differences in valuations of the environment?

Sexual selection theory affords a rationale for predicting that men, especially young men, may be more willing than women to risk harms and to discount the future in the pursuit of short-term gains. These propositions apply to many domains of risky behavior, and it is likely that they apply to decisions involving potential harms to the environment and health hazards as well. Two preliminary studies of university subjects' responses to hypothetical dilemmas that support the predicted sex difference are described. Important understudied questions are, to what extent reckless risk acceptance may be mitigated by material wellbeing, by marriage, and by parenthood.