African American Stepfather–Stepchild Relationships,Marital Quality,and Mental Health

ABSTRACT

This study examined associations between stepfather–stepchild relationship quality, stepfathers’ depressive symptoms, and two aspects of marriage: marital quality and positive marital interactions. Marital quality was assessed in terms of commitment, trust, passionate and friendship-based love, and happiness. Marital interactions were assessed in terms of intimacy, shared activities, and verbal communication. Using data collected from 149 recently married African American stepfathers, structural equation modeling revealed that when stepfathers reported more positive relationships with their stepchildren, they also reported more positive marital quality and a higher frequency of positive marital interactions (relationship-solidifying activities), and that, in turn, was associated with stepfathers experiencing fewer depressive symptoms.     

Learning Style Preferences of Undergraduate Social Work Students

It has been identified that undergraduate social work students have distinctive learning needs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning style preferences of a group of undergraduate social work students enrolled at a large Australian university. The Kolb Learning Style Inventory, Index of Learning Styles and Success Types Learning Style Type Indicator was distributed to 606 students enrolled in an undergraduate social work degree at one metropolitan Australian university. A total of 116 questionnaires were returned, providing a response rate of 19.14%. The results indicated that converging and assimilating, intuitive and sensing, thinking, judging and perceiving learning styles were favoured by this group of social work students. It is recommended that educators understand and take into consideration the learning style preferences of undergraduate social work students when developing curricula and evaluating teaching approaches, especially when planning and implementing education initiatives. This will help create effective learning environments, appropriate learning opportunities and a contemporary curriculum for social work students.     

Neoliberalism and Health: The Linkages and the Dangers

A recent book addresses the health effects of neoliberalism using the provocative rubric of ‘ neoliberal epidemics ’. This article reviews literature on the health effects of neoliberalism starting with the structural adjustment conditionalities mandated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It continues with an analysis of how neoliberalism increases economic insecurity and inequality , and the effects on health , with a section specific to the health impacts of austerity measures undertaken after the financial crisis that began in 2007. The next section considers contemporary trade policy as an embodiment of neoliberal ideology, and reviews current and anticipated health effects. The article concludes with a brief examination of two paradoxes that are evident in the research literature on neoliberalism and health .     

The case for (promoting) marriage: The devil is in the details

This article considers the quality of the evidence that marriage confers unique benefits, and that, as such, social policies should be enacted to encourage couples, particularly those with few economic resources, to get married and stay together. Public concern about the future of marriage in the United States, we show, is rooted in demographic changes that reflect not so much a turning away from marriage, but an increasing openness to postponing marriage, living together out of wedlock, or divorcing. We examine why people who are motivated to marry hold back from doing so when they see the warning signs of future problems, and what happens when they marry despite them. We argue that marriages are fashioned in the images of the partners and are shaped by the opportunities and constraints of the ecological settings in which they are situated. As such, the promotion of family health and stability will require an approach that attends to couples' psychological, social, and economic needs.     

From tragedy to triumph: a segue to community building for children and families

In 2000, more than 60 nonprofit agencies, health care providers, government officials, and community advocates in Tarrant County, Texas, came together to work for systemic change in the mental health care system. The coalition, known as the Mental Health Connection, began working toward a "No Wrong Door" approach to mental health services, which required aggressive coordination between federal, private, and nonprofit resources. The result is a five- to six-year plan for implementation of a new systems of care model for children with severe emotional disturbances and their families. The Mental Health Connection also focuses on legislative advocacy to bring about necessary policy changes at the local, state, and federal levels. Finally, the coalition focuses on developing sustainable revenue streams that will allow the new systems to remain in place once the group accomplishes the initial mission of the Mental Health Connection.     

BSW students' perceptions of key competencies,values, and practitioner skills Implications for social work education

Abstract

This study profiled undergraduate Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students' self-reported skill levels and valuations of personal qualities, practitioner skills, values and ethics, scientific skills and key competencies germane to social work practice. Differential assessments of personal qualities, practitioner skills, values and ethics, and scientific skills as well as differential assessments of the importance of 14 key competencies challenge a pattern of social work education where an integration of theory and practice is made difficult by a linear sequence of theory, followed by applied theory, followed by practice.     

Ecological Validity and Age-Related Change in Emotion Recognition

Isaacowitz and Stanley (Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 2011) argue that typical measures of emotion recognition used to compare young and older adults—still photos—lack ecological validity. There are many aspects to this argument. In this commentary, I address the main points raised by Isaacowitz and Stanley and argue that they raise a number of valid and interesting points. Nevertheless, I believe that recognition of emotion in still photos provides important information about young-old differences, and has sufficient ecological validity to explain age differences in a number of social insights.     

Testing for Slope Heterogeneity Bias in Panel Data Models

ABSTRACT

Standard econometric methods can overlook individual heterogeneity in empirical work, generating inconsistent parameter estimates in panel data models. We propose the use of methods that allow researchers to easily identify, quantify, and address estimation issues arising from individual slope heterogeneity. We first characterize the bias in the standard fixed effects estimator when the true econometric model allows for heterogeneous slope coefficients. We then introduce a new test to check whether the fixed effects estimation is subject to heterogeneity bias. The procedure tests the population moment conditions required for fixed effects to consistently estimate the relevant parameters in the model. We establish the limiting distribution of the test and show that it is very simple to implement in practice. Examining firm investment models to showcase our approach, we show that heterogeneity bias-robust methods identify cash flow as a more important driver of investment than previously reported. Our study demonstrates analytically, via simulations, and empirically the importance of carefully accounting for individual specific slope heterogeneity in drawing conclusions about economic behavior.