Public opinion about AIDS before and after the 1988 U.S. government public information campaign

In October, 1987, the Centers for Disease Control mounted a massive public information campaign to alert the public to the dangers of AIDS and to provide information about its transmission and prevention. Using data from two Gallup surveys, one just before the campaign began and the other several months after its conclusion, we examine changes in public information and misinformation about transmission, in concern about AIDS as an epidemic, and in reported behavior to avoid exposure to AIDS. We conclude that although some changes in knowledge did take place, these were essentially a continuation of trends beginning before the public information campaign and continuing well after its conclusion. For these and other reasons, we argue that the effects of the campaign on public information were minimal. However, between 1987 and 1988 there was a small but statistically significant increase in reported condom use, an increase paralleled by increased condom sales between 1986 and 1988. In addition, there was a substantial increase in the number of people expressing concern about AIDS as an epidemic for the population at large. The campaign may well have contributed to both of these changes.     

Environmental resettlement and social dis/re-articulation in Inner Mongolia, China

The expanding use of resettlement as a tool for addressing environmental and poverty-related concerns in China calls for further research into its impacts on local populations. Our knowledge of the effects of such resettlement is very limited, particularly in relation to its social impacts. This paper examines the impoverishment risk of social disarticulation as it is experienced by resettlers in an Inner Mongolian environmental resettlement village—Wan Sheng village. We argue that social disarticulation as a risk of resettlement is by no means an inevitable downward spiral towards social oblivion and anomie. Resettlers, in this case at least, have recreated a living, functioning community that provides many aspects of support for its inhabitants. This is in spite of unfavourable construction and increased economic deprivation. It is the adaptive abilities of these resettlers that come to the fore in Wan Sheng, suggesting aspects of rearticulation and cohesion, and not simply disarticulation.

“We're Supposed to Look Like Girls,But Act Like Boys”: Adolescent Girls’ Adherence to Masculinity Norms

In the ecological systems perspective, gender ideologies are part of the macrosystem that shapes human development. A growing literature indicates that youth accommodate and resist such ideologies, with adherence to masculinity norms being linked with negative adjustment. Most masculinity research focuses on boys’ adherence to masculinity, but girls are also pressured to uphold masculinity norms. Using mixed modeling, we examined girls’ adherence to masculinity and psychological (self‐esteem, depressive symptoms) and social (peer support and conflict) well‐being in the United States (N = 407; M_age = 12.28) and China (N = 356; M_age = 12.41). In both countries, adherence to masculinity was negatively associated with psychosocial well‐being. Chinese girls reported greater masculinity adherence, but associations with psychosocial well‐being were not moderated by nationality.     

Maternal Buffering of Adolescent Dysregulation in Socially Appetitive Contexts: From Behavior to the Brain

Adolescents are more susceptible to dysregulation in positive social contexts, compared to children. We investigated whether maternal presence would buffer these effects in adolescence. Fifty‐four adolescents and children (age range = 8–17 years, M_age = 13.38 years) completed a social go‐nogo task during an fMRI scan alone and in the presence of their mother. We found age‐related patterns, such that older relative to younger youth displayed more disinhibition toward socially appetitive than socially aversive stimuli, which was buffered by maternal presence. Furthermore, with age, maternal buffering in socially appetitive contexts elicited heightened activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala–medial prefrontal cortex connectivity. Findings underscore the importance of caregivers in promoting the neural regulation of their offspring during adolescence.     

Differential Behavioral and Neural Profiles in Youth With Conduct Problems During Risky Decision‐Making

Neuroimaging work has examined neural processes underlying risk taking in adolescence, yet predominantly in low‐risk youth. To determine whether we can extrapolate from current neurobiological models, this functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated risk taking and peer effects in youth with conduct problems (CP; N = 19) and typically developing youth (TD; N = 25). Results revealed higher real‐life risk taking, lower risky decisions, and no peer effects on a risk‐taking task in CP youth. CP youth showed greater ventral striatum (VS) activity during safe than risky decisions, whereas TD youth showed greater VS activation during risky decisions. Differential VS activity explained higher real‐life risk taking in CP youth. Findings provide preliminary evidence that risk‐taking behavior in youth with CD problems is characterized by differential neural patterns.     

Effects of an Integrative Field Seminar for MSW Students

Integrative field seminars can help students with the difficult task of integrating learning between field and class. Are the seminars effective? We compared one cohort of MSW students who were required to attend an integrative field seminar (n = 101) with another cohort that was not offered a seminar (n = 147). We questioned each cohort at the end of the generalist practicum about skills and attitudes we thought the seminar would enhance. Students who attended a seminar reported better critical thinking, more identification with the profession, and more satisfaction with their field education. However, they were similar to students without a seminar on 10 other skills, including evaluations by their field instructors.     

Qualitative cost–benefit evaluation of complex,emergent programs

This paper discusses a methodology used for a qualitative cost–benefit evaluation of a complex, emergent program. Complex, emergent programs, where implementation varies considerably over time and across sites to respond to local needs and opportunities, present challenges to conventional methods for cost–benefit evaluation. Such programs are characterized by: ill-defined boundaries of what constitutes the intervention, and hence the resources used; non-standardized procedures; differing short-term outcomes across projects, even within the same long-term goals; and outcomes that are the result of multiple factors and co-production, making counter-factual approaches to attribution inadequate and the use of standardized outcome measures problematic. The paper discusses the advantages and limitations of this method and its implications for cost–benefit evaluation of complex programs.