Proactive coping with discrimination: A mediator between ethnic-racial socialization and Latinx youth's internalizing symptoms

There is a dearth of knowledge in the coping literature on how minoritized youth cope with racism-related stressors and the predictors of effective coping responses. This two-wave study examined the direct and indirect effects of ethnic-racial socialization on depressive and anxiety symptoms via proactive coping with discrimination in a community sample of 135 Latinx adolescents (M_age = 16, SD = 1.27; 59% female). Results indicate that cultural socialization was related to higher use of proactive coping with discrimination 6 months later, which in turn, was related to fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. There were no direct or indirect effects between preparation for bias and mental health outcomes.     

Compliance Strategies under Permits for Emissions

We characterize the trade‐offs among firms' compliance strategies in a market‐based program where a regulator interested in controlling emissions from a given set of sources auctions off a fixed number of emissions permits. We model a three‐stage game in which firms invest in emissions abatement, participate in a share auction for permits, and produce output. We develop a methodology for a profit‐maximizing firm to derive its marginal value function for permits and translate this value function into an optimal bidding strategy in the auction. We analyze two end‐product market scenarios independent demands and Cournot competition. In both scenarios we find that changing the number of available permits influences abatement to a lesser extent in a dirty industry than in a cleaner one. In addition, abatement levels taper off with increasing industry dirtiness levels. In the presence of competition, firms in a relatively clean industry can, in fact, benefit from a reduction in the number of available permits. Our findings are robust to changes in certain modeling assumptions.     

The Importance of Sex in the Lives of Women Living with HIV: A Critical Quantitative Analysis

The authors explored the importance of sex for 1,289 women living with HIV in Canada. Approximately half of women viewed sex as “very” (19.6%) or “somewhat” important (32.3%) and the remaining reported “neither important or unimportant” (22.0%), “somewhat unimportant” (5.4%), or “not at all important” (20.1%). Women who had a regular sex partner, identified as African, Caribbean, or Black, were more educated, believed HIV treatment prevents transmission, or had better physical health-related quality-of-life reported greater importance of sex, whereas those who were older, used illicit drugs, or experienced violence in adulthood reported lesser importance. Findings underscore the diversity of women's perspectives within the context of their lives.     

Decision-making in Swiss home-like childbirth: A grounded theory study

Background

Decision-making in midwifery, including a claim for shared decision-making between midwives and women, is of major significance for the health of mother and child. Midwives have little information about how to share decision-making responsibilities with women, especially when complications arise during birth.

The Personal Wellbeing Index in the South African IsiXhosa Translation: A Qualitative Focus Group Study

Social Indicators Research - International scholars who rely on the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) to compare cross-cultural quality of life have often been confronted with the problems of nuances...     

Past,Present, and Future: Editorial on Virtual Reality Applications to Human Services

Abstract

“Virtual Reality” interventions in human services may include 360° video, augmented reality, mixed reality, and fully immersive 3-dimensional virtual reality simulations. A variety of applications have been evaluated in various fields of study, including medicine, social work, psychology, and human performance training. Currently, the state of research of VR interventions in human services has primarily focused on efficacy and effectiveness research, with few studies evaluating “scaling up” or implementation of VR interventions in larger populations. Unfortunately, the state of efficacy and effectiveness studies of VR interventions still remains weak with some applications due to smaller sample sizes, lack of randomized control trials, and a gap in reporting key intervention qualities, dosage, and outcomes. With new developments in combining artificial intelligence with VR, realism and the potential for human interaction with computer generated simulations may boost presence and immersion within these applications. This editorial provides an overview of the state of virtual reality applications in human service provision, potential gaps to be addressed by research in the future, and the development of AI based interactive sequences that may boost use presence.     

The Relationship Between Food Banks and Food Insecurity: Insights from Canada

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Food banks have become the first line of response to problems of hunger and food insecurity in affluent nations. Although...     

A Definition and Categorization System for Advanced Materials: The Foundation for Risk‐Informed Environmental Health and Safety Testing

Novel materials with unique or enhanced properties relative to conventional materials are being developed at an increasing rate. These materials are often referred to as advanced materials (AdMs) and they enable technological innovations that can benefit society. Despite their benefits, however, the unique characteristics of many AdMs, including many nanomaterials, are poorly understood and may pose environmental safety and occupational health (ESOH) risks that are not readily determined by traditional risk assessment methods. To assess these risks while keeping up with the pace of development, technology developers and risk assessors frequently employ risk‐screening methods that depend on a clear definition for the materials that are to be assessed (e.g., engineered nanomaterial) as well as a method for binning materials into categories for ESOH risk prioritization. The term advanced material lacks a consensus definition and associated categorization or grouping system for risk screening. In this study, we aim to establish a practitioner‐driven definition for AdMs and a practitioner‐validated framework for categorizing AdMs into conceptual groupings based on material characteristics. Results from multiple workshops and interviews with practitioners provide consistent differentiation between AdMs and conventional materials, offer functional nomenclature for application science, and provide utility for future ESOH risk assessment prioritization. The definition and categorization framework established here serve as a first step in determining if and when there is a need for specific ESOH and regulatory screening for an AdM as well as the type and extent of risk‐related information that should be collected or generated for AdMs and AdM‐enabled technologies.