Assessing the long-term effects of EMDR: results from an 18-month follow-up study with adult female survivors of CSA

This 18-month follow-up study builds on the findings of a randomized experimental evaluation that found qualified support for the short-term effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in reducing trauma symptoms among adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The current study provides preliminary evidence that the therapeutic benefits of EMDR for adult female survivors of CSA can be maintained over an 18-month period. Furthermore, there is some support for the suggestion that EMDR did so more efficiently and provided a greater sense of trauma resolution than did routine individual therapy.     

Status Inequality and Close Relationships: An Integrative Typology of Bond-Saving Strategies

Equality is described in the literature as a prerequisite to satisfying close relations, but research has not seriously grappled with how a sense of equality is created or how inequalities might be overcome. This paper uses an interactionist perspective to explore how individuals maintain or repair a close social bond when a perceived difference in status is defined to be problematic. In 7 76 essays, respondents described a situation where a status inequality disrupted a close relationship, the strategies one or both of the participants used to maintain the bond, and how effective the strategies were. Analytic induction yielded four basic strategy types: (a) accept the status inequality; (b) avoid the situation which fosters feelings of inequality; (c) alter the inequality by redefining or concretely mitigating it; and (d) acknowledge and discuss the problematic situation. Findings from previous research on facework, embarrassment, and shame are integrated into this typology, and implications are drawn for symbolic interactionist theory and research.     

A snapshot in time: Family policy and the United Nations International Year of the Family

Some of the special agendas and initiatives of the International Year of the Family (IYF), sponsored by the United Nations, are highlighted. After reviewing the history and structure of IYF, findings concerning salient areas and topics for nationally based policy and programs are presented. These findings are derived from a content analysis of materials assembled from 136 UN Member States, as well as analysis of other documents and discussions with the IYF Secretariat. The saliency of concerns is also presented by grouping countries according to their level of human suffering. Familycentric policy considerations are discussed, and implications are cited for universities, policy makers, and practitioners.     

Why do drug treatment organizations use contingent staffing arrangements? An analysis of market and social influences

Contingent staffing arrangements are defined as conditional and transitory work arrangements. In the drug abuse treatment sector, contingent staffing arrangements have the potential to improve treatment if they are used to increase access to needed services. Alternatively, such arrangements could interfere with the development of consistent, long-term client-staff relationships. Unfortunately, little is known about the consequences of or influences on contingent staff arrangements in this sector. The goal of this study is to examine the conditions under which outpatient substance abuse treatment organizations are more likely to use contingent staffing arrangements. Building on previous research on the social organization of health care structures and practices, we develop a conceptual model based in market economics and institutional perspectives to suggest that treatment organizations choose contingent arrangements in response to market conditions and uncertainty, institutional demands, and client needs. Using data from a nationally representative study conducted in 1988, 1990, and 1995, we find limited evidence that drug treatment units use contingent staff in response to market pressures. Labor market and demand uncertainty, however, are systematically associated with greater use of contingent staff. Study results suggest that expectations and norms from the institutional environment, particularly the organizational context of the treatment unit are strong predictors of the use of contingent staff. By considering both market and social influences of contingent staffing, we contribute to a growing body of research on how markets and institutions interact to influence organizational structures and practices in the health care system.     

The cost effectiveness of hepatitis immunization for US college students

Hepatitis B immunization is recommended for all American children, and hepatitis A immunization is recommended for children who live in areas with elevated disease rates. Because hepatitis A and B occur most commonly in young adults, the authors examined the cost effectiveness of college-based vaccination. They developed epidemiologic models to consider infection risks and disease progression and then compared the cost of vaccination with economic, longevity, and quality of life benefits. Immunization of 100,000 students would prevent 1,403 acute cases of hepatitis A, 929 cases of hepatitis B, and 144 cases of chronic hepatitis B. Hepatitis B vaccination would cost the health system $7,600 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained but would reduce societal costs by 6%. Hepatitis A/B vaccination would cost the health system dollar 8,500 per QALY but would reduce societal costs by 12%. Until childhood and adolescent vaccination can produce immune cohorts of young adults, college-based hepatitis immunization can reduce disease transmission in a cost-effective manner.     

Time frames

Response to the events of 9/11 evidenced the need for greater local and national capacity to meet the needs of children and families before, during, and after future attacks.     

Structural change in the communication of precedent among state supreme courts, 1870–1970

State supreme courts often cite each other as authorities. These citations constitute a network of the interstate communication of precedent. I develop here a simple procedure for decomposing and standardizing variation in the strength of communication network ties, which yields terms for concentration (comparable to density), prestige variation, dependency variation, and variation due to the interaction of prestige and dependence. Applied to the interstate communication of precedent between 1870 and 1970, the procedure reveals several structural changes. The trend in the network over those hundred years was from a hierarchy dominated by a few Eastern courts, through a period of widespread production of precedent and homogeneous communication, to a decentralized regional structure with diffuse centers of authority.     

Working at a marginal 'career': the case of UK social science contract researchers

Contract researchers constitute a significant occupational group within the UK higher education system, and the products of their labour are crucial to the research profile of the institutions in which they work and to the sector as a whole. Given the ‘marginality’ of the contract researcher role, with its attendant insecurities and inferior employment conditions in comparison with ‘permanent’ faculty, it is perhaps not surprising that relatively few individuals manage to sustain any continuity of employment resembling a career path. The fact that some researchers do succeed in achieving this is therefore worthy of investigation. This paper examines and charts some of the ways in which contract researchers manage their everyday work routines and construct a presentation of self in order to maximise opportunities for ‘staying in the game’.