The revised safe at home instrument for assessing readiness to change intimate partner violence

This article describes the development and factor structure of the Revised Safe At Home instrument, a 35-item self-report measure designed to assess individuals' readiness to change their intimate partner violence behaviors. Seven new items have been added, representing content specific to the Maintenance stage, and other items have been revised to strengthen the assessment of earlier stages and address gender concerns. Confirmatory factor analysis using multisite data (two sites, a total of 281 men at intake) supported the conclusion that a four-factor model (Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation/Action, and Maintenance stages) was consistent with the observed covariances. A high degree of correlation between the Preparation/Action and Maintenance scales was observed, but subsequent testing indicated a need to treat the two as distinct factors in the model. It is recommended that scoring include only 31 items that perform well.     

政治交叉、社会表征与学术干预:中产阶级在中国的形成

本文运用法国"实用主义"学派波尔坦斯所提倡第二种研究路径,来分析中国社会学家对本国中产阶级问题的学术研究。本文希望通过这一特独的视角能透视中国中产阶级现象的本质、内涵以及学者的学术研究对这一现象本身所产生的影响,并在此基础上提出政治交叉、社会表征与学术干预是中国中产阶级形成的基础的观点。     

Determinants and Long‐Term Effects of Attendance Levels in a Marital Enrichment Program for African American Couples

Although most efficacious marital enrichment programs are multisession, few studies have explored whether outcomes differ according to session attendance, particularly among minority groups with lower than average participation in prevention programs. This study therefore investigates attendance levels and long‐term improvements in couple functioning among 164 couples participating in the Promoting Strong African American Families program. Structural equation models indicated session attendance predicted 2‐year changes for men's reports of communication, commitment, and spousal support (marginally) but not for women's. Individual and couple characteristics that predicted attendance levels were also identified. Results highlight distinct gender differences in the effects of sustained attendance as well as characteristics that provide early identifiers for African American couples at increased risk of low program attendance.     

Mechanisms of Family Impact on African American Adolescents' HIV‐Related Behavior

A longitudinal model that tested mediating pathways between protective family processes and HIV‐related behavior was evaluated with 195 African American youth. Three waves of data were collected when the youth were 13, 15, and 19 years old. Evidence of mediation and temporal priority were assessed for 3 constructs: academic engagement, evaluations of prototypical risk‐taking peers, and affiliations with risk‐promoting peers. Structural equation modeling indicated that protective family processes assessed during early adolescence were associated with HIV‐related behavior during emerging adulthood and that academic engagement, evaluations of prototypical risk‐taking peers, and affiliations with risk‐promoting peers accounted for this association. Evidence of a specific pathway emerged: protective family processes→academic engagement→negative evaluations of prototypical risk‐taking peers→affiliations with risk‐promoting peers→HIV‐related behavior. Academic engagement also was a direct predictor of HIV‐related risk behavior.     

An Overview of a Multimedia Benchmarking Analysis for Three Risk Assessment Models: RESRAD, MMSOILS, and MEPAS

Multimedia modelers from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE) collaborated to conduct a detailed and quantitative benchmarking analysis of three multimedia models. The three models—RESRAD (DOE), MMSOILS (EPA), and MEPAS (DOE)—represent analytically-based tools that are used by the respective agencies for performing human exposure and health risk assessments. The study is performed by individuals who participate directly in the ongoing design, development, and application of the models. Model form and function are compared by applying the models to a series of hypothetical problems, first isolating individual modules (e.g., atmospheric, surface water, groundwater) and then simulating multimedia-based risk resulting from contaminant release from a single source to multiple environmental media. Study results show that the models differ with respect to environmental processes included (i.e., model features) and the mathematical formulation and assumptions related to the implementation of solutions. Depending on the application, numerical estimates resulting from the models may vary over several orders-of-magnitude. On the other hand, two or more differences may offset each other such that model predictions are virtually equal. The conclusion from these results is that multimedia models are complex due to the integration of the many components of a risk assessment and this complexity must be fully appreciated during each step of the modeling process (i.e., model selection, problem conceptualization, model application, and interpretation of results).