The role of coping and problem drinking in men's abuse of female partners: test of a path model

This article examines the relationship of coping and problem drinking to men's abusive behavior towards female partners. While previous research has demonstrated a consistent association between problem drinking and male abuse of intimate partners, virtually no studies have assessed the role of coping in relation to men's violence. Furthermore, multivariate studies have not examined how these factors operate together to increase risk for abusive behavior. An ethnically diverse sample of 147 men in a court-mandated program for domestic violence offenders completed questionnaires at the first session. Path modeling was conducted to test the extent to which coping and problem drinking predicted both physical and psychological abuse. In addition, the relationships of problem drinking and physical abuse to injury of the men's female partners were examined. Results indicated that both the use of avoidance and problem-solving coping to deal with relationship problems were related indirectly to abusive behavior through problem drinking. Greater use of avoidance coping strategies was more likely among problem drinkers. By contrast, men who used higher levels of problem-solving coping were less likely to be problem drinkers. Avoidance, but not problem-solving coping also was directly and positively related to physical and psychological abuse. Men identified as problem drinkers were more likely to use both physical and psychological abuse. Finally, greater use of physical violence was strongly related to higher levels of injury among female partners, and served to mediate the relationship between problem drinking and injury. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the identification of risk and protective factors for men's violent behavior toward intimate female partners and implications for developing intervention strategies.     

Preface

Sociological Forum -     

A residual-based test of the null of cointegration in panel data

This paper proposes a residual-based Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test for the null of cointegration in panel data. The test is analogous to the locally best unbiased invariant (LBUI) for a moving average (MA) unit root. The asymptotic distribution of the test is derived under the null. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to study the size and power properties of the proposed test.

overall, the empirical sizes of the LM-FM and LM-DOLs are close to the true size even in small samples. The power is quite good for the panels where T ≥ 50, and decent with panels for fewer observation in T. In our fixed sample of N = 50 and T = 50, the presence of a moving average and correlation between the LM-DOLS test seems to be better at correcting these effects, although in some cases the LM-FM test is more powerful.

Although much of the non-stationary time series econometrics has been criticized for having more to do with the specific properties of the data set rather than underlying economic models, the recent development of the cointegration literature has allowed for a concrete bridge between economic long run theory and time series methods. Our test now allows for the testing of the null of cointegration in a panel setting and should be of considerable interest to economists in a wide variety of fields.     

Sense of belonging and depressive symptoms among GLB adolescents

Research has indicated that gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) adolescents are at an increased risk of mental health problems. Research has also indicated that experiencing a sense of belonging is important for one's mental health. This study investigated sense of belonging to the general community and sense of belonging to a GLB specific youth group (Minus18) as predictors of depressive symptoms among self-identified GLB adolescents (N = 99). Participants completed the Sense of Belonging Instrument and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results showed that although sense of belonging to the general community and sense of belonging to the Minus18 community were both directly related to depression, only sense of belonging to the general community contributed significantly to the prediction of depression when they were entered simultaneously in a regression analysis. Results also showed that sense of belonging to the general community mediated the relation between sense of belonging to the Minus18 community and depression. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at increasing sense of belonging to a GLB-specific community are likely to be of indirect benefit to the mental health of GLB adolescents, whereas interventions aimed at increasing sense of belonging to the general community are likely to be of direct benefit to the mental health of GLB adolescents.     

Moving Beyond Housing: Service Implications for Veterans Entering Permanent Supportive Housing

As a result of efforts to end homelessness among U.S. veterans, more former service members are entering permanent supportive housing (PSH). While PSH has been successfully used to house homeless veterans, more research is needed about services beyond housing placement and retention. This study uses the Gelberg–Andersen behavioral model for vulnerable populations to determine associations between predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics and recent service use (i.e., services to satisfy basic needs, occupational development, financial, healthcare, mental health) among unaccompanied homeless veterans (N?=?126) entering PSH in Los Angeles. Among the significant findings, as indicated using univariable logistic regression models, were veterans who had incarceration histories were more likely to utilize basic needs services, compared to those without incarceration histories. Veterans who received an honorable discharge were more likely to utilize occupational development services, compared to veterans with other discharge statuses. Veterans who had a case manager were more likely to utilize mental health services than those without a case manager, while those who received social security were less likely to utilize mental health services compared to veterans who did not receive social security. Veterans who met criteria for a psychological disability and veterans who met criteria for probable PTSD were more likely to use basic needs services and mental health services than veterans who fell below these thresholds. Clinical implications for social workers including “equal access to services,” “enhancing economic stability,” “providing safe and affordable housing with trauma-informed services,” and “training service social workers to deliver well-informed linkages and services” are discussed.     

Building relational possibilities: theoretical roots of infant mental health practice in the case of Alycia

The practice of infant mental health (IMH) has evolved from a combination of theoretical frameworks focused upon early relationships and the complex interplay between individuals and their internal and external worlds. The main components of IMH practice: developmental guidance; emotional support; parent–infant psychotherapy; concrete support; and advocacy, demonstrate a connection between psychoanalytic theoretical frameworks and social work values and forms the basis of practice for IMH therapeutic programmes. This paper will trace the theoretical roots of IMH practice and utilise a clinical case example to illustrate the ways in which insights from object relational, self psychological and attachment theories are integrated into IMH home visiting practices.     

Rapid response to a college outbreak of meningococcal serogroup B disease: Nation's first widespread use of bivalent rLP2086 vaccine

Objective: To outline the reasoning behind use of bivalent rLP2086 in a Rhode Island college meningococcal B disease outbreak, highlighting the timeline from outbreak declaration to vaccination clinic, emphasizing that these two time points are <3 days apart. Participants: Staff, faculty, and students at College X eligible for vaccination. Methods: An outbreak response was initiated, advantages/disadvantages of available MenB vaccines were discussed, and a vaccination clinic was coordinated. Results: Bivalent rLP2086 was chosen as the vaccination intervention. We achieved a 94% coverage rate for the first dose. To date, this intervention has prevented further cases of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B disease at College X. Conclusions: The close, efficient collaboration of public health stakeholders and College X led 94% of the eligible population to be safely vaccinated with at least one dose of bivalent rLP2086. This outbreak marked the first time bivalent rLP2086 was effectively used as an intervention response.     

Caught between the orientalist–occidentalist polemic: gender mainstreaming as feminist transformation or neocolonial subversion?*

Here we provide a critical reading of gender mainstreaming as a potential emancipatory force that has been co-opted within orientalist–occidentalist polemics. This remains a critical period in the “mainstreaming” debate, where feminist reappropriation is necessary to repoliticize the concept and reorient development sector focus from tokenistic inclusivity to social transformation. We consider two sides of the debate. In the first scenario, the requirement for gender mainstreaming in international development discourse has not only failed to address its original feminist goals, but has become (or remained) an extension of orientalist, neocolonial projects to control and “civilize” developing economies. Here, a putative concern for gender equality in development is used as a means to distinguish between the modern, civilized One and the colonial, traditional Other. In the second scenario, gender mainstreaming is held up as all that these “othered” occidentalist forces stand against; an exemplar of the inappropriate imposition of “western” moralistic paradigms in non-western contexts. Ultimately, the co-optation of gendered discourses in development through these orientalist–occidentalist polemics serves to obfuscate the continued depoliticization of mainstreaming. A critical question remains: can gender mainstreaming ever transcend this discursive impasse and reassert its feminist transformatory potential?