Relative Importance of Contact Conditions in Explaining Prejudice Reduction in a Classroom Context: Separate and Equal?

Research on contact theory has typically presented four major situational conditions of intergroup contact as separate and equally important in creating an environment that leads to lower levels of racial/ethnic prejudice. We empirically test this "separate and equal" assumption with a variety of student samples and outcome variables. Using data from three cohorts of high school students, as well as one middle school sample, we demonstrate that acquaintance potential and interdependence are the most consistent and robust predictors of prejudice reduction, outgroup orientation, and perceptions of a common ingroup identity. Findings concerning differences in the relative importance of these situational conditions for different racial/ethnic groups are also reported. Implications for implementing optimal contact conditions for prejudice reduction among various ethnic groups are drawn.     

Seasonal work and sexual behaviour

This research investigates the sexual behaviour and patterns of contraceptive use among seasonal workers temporarily employed at holiday centres in the south of England. Respondents were interviewed in depth at the beginning of the 1996 summer work season, and reinterviewed 5 months later toward the end of the season. This longitudinal methodology enabled changes in sexual behaviour and attitudes during the summer to be identified. The findings show marked changes in the social and sexual behaviour of seasonal workers when at a holiday centre, in particular an increase in the number of sexual partners, casual sex, and sexual risk‐taking behaviour. Seasonal workers showed the same patterns of contraceptive use as those of young people in the general population. Indeed there was no change in their contraceptive behaviour while at the holiday centre even though, for many, their sexual behaviour had changed significantly. Young people working at a holiday centre for the first time were shown to be at greatest risk of experiencing unsafe sex. The evidence of sexual risk‐taking has important social and health implications in locations which experience an annual influx of young people in seasonal employment.     

Physical activity patterns in healthy middle-aged women

ABSTRACT

Exercise in healthy female adults around the menopausal transition has been routinely examined in leisure activities alone, potentially discounting the physical activity (PA) that is accumulated in household and outdoor domains. The purpose of this study was to quantify PA in healthy middle-aged women and to examine the extent to which the Center for Disease Control (CDC) PA guidelines were met through leisure, household, and outdoor activities. Methods: 440 healthy women, 51–64 years old, BMI ≥18.5 or < 40 kg/m², participated in the study using the Lifetime Physical Activity Questionnaire (LPAQ) to quantify PA. Results: 25.91% met the CDC PA guidelines if leisure time alone was examined. When multiple domains were included, 73.41% of the women met the PA guidelines. This percentage is much higher than the reported 20.6% of U.S. adults who met the guidelines in 2011. PA in women may be underrepresented in data limited to leisure time PA.     

Improving College Progress among Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) Young Adults: The Role of Assets

Little is known about the impact of assets on low- to -moderate-income (LMI) young adults’ college progress. In this study college progress refers to young adults who were currently enrolled in, or who have a degree from, a 2-year college or a 4-year college. Findings from this study suggest LMI young adults with school savings were more than three times as likely to be on course than LMI young adults without any savings or who had savings but had not designated any of it for school. In regard to net worth, we found no evidence to suggest that higher amounts of negative net worth were statistically significant; however, high positive net worth was associated with LMI young adults college progress. Findings suggest policy instruments designed to assist adolescents to save such as universal Child Development Accounts may be a simple and effective strategy for helping to keep LMI young adults on course.     

Consommation des mass media: biculturalisme des mass media ou bilinguisme des consommateurs?*

The frame of reference of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Bicul-turalism postulates that both French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians have within their reach mass media that allow for their cultural development. This study examines the validity of this assertion by comparing it with observations related to mass media consumption among Montrealers. Diffusion techniques, even though unilingual, could be bicultural in their content and thus serve as instruments for reciprocal knowledge for anglophones and francophones. This does not seem to be the case. The objective of knowing one another could also rest upon the bilingualism of individuals and the consumption of media in both languages. A unilingualism-bilingualism scale was constructed to evaluate this possibility. Among all linguistic groups, even the equilingual ones, there are very few who watch TV programmes and read newspapers in both languages. Unilin-guals and bilinguals other than equilinguals mostly consume mass media products in the language they know best. The linguistic factor alone is incapable of explaining the attraction of the francophones for the English-speaking media, nor does it offer satisfactory explanations for the behaviour of the equilinguals. Le cadre de référence de la Commission d'enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme prétend que les Canadiens anglophones et francophones disposent des mass media qui leur permettent de se développer culturellement. La présente étude essaie d'en mesurer l'adéquation avec certains faits relatifs à la consommation des mass media chez les Montréalais. Les techniques de diffusion, tout en étant unilingues, pourraient être biculturelles dans leur contenu et ainsi servir d'instruments de connaissance réciproque pour les Canadiens anglophones et francophones. Telle ne semble pas être la situation. L'objectif de connaissance réciproque pourrait aussi reposer sur le bilinguisme des individus et la consommation des media dans les deux langues. Une échelle d'unilinguisme-bilinguisme a été constituée. Chez tous les groupes linguistiques, même les équilingues, il y a peu de consommateurs de la télévision et des journaux dans les deux langues. Les unilingues et les bilingues autres que les équilingues consomment surtout dans les langues qu'ils comprennent le mieux, mais le f acteur linguistique reste inadéquat pour expliquer l'attrait des médiums de langue anglaise sur les francophones de même que le comportement des équilingues.     

Adolescents' beliefs about marijuana use: a comparison of regular users, past users and never/occasional users

A questionnaire investigating adolescents' opinions and experiences regarding marijuana use was administered to 163 adolescents and young adults (96 boys and 67 girls) aged 13 to 20 (mean age = 16.8, s.d. = 1.5). Items referred to marijuana and other substances' dangerousness, representations regarding the positive and negative consequences of marijuana use. Responses were compared according to marijuana use status (classified into never/occasional use, current regular use and past regular use). Results show that adolescents' opinions differ according to their experience with marijuana use. Current regular users evaluate marijuana as less dangerous, but alcohol and heroin as more dangerous in comparison with never/occasional and past users. Current and past users are more likely to define marijuana as a medical drug and a plant used in agriculture, and less likely to define it as an illegal drug. Current and past users evaluate marijuana use as a way to cope with stress, to relax to a greater extent than do never/occasional users do. The latter attribute more negative consequences to marijuana use such as diminished driving ability and school performance and a pathway to hard drugs.