Mexican Immigrant Self‐Employment Along the U.S.‐Mexico Border: An Analysis of 2000 Census Data*

Objective. This study explores the entrepreneurial tendencies of Mexican immigrants in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) on the U.S. side of the Mexican border vis‐à‐vis the U.S. interior. Methods. Using 2000 Census data available in the 5% Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, we empirically analyze the self‐employment rates and earnings of Mexican immigrants residing in U.S. cities near Mexico versus those in nonborder MSAs. Results. Our findings indicate that Mexican immigrants in MSAs along the U.S.‐Mexico border have significantly higher self‐employment rates (but lower earnings) than their counterparts in the rest of the United States and non‐Hispanic whites in border cities. Explanations for these findings include the existence of trade opportunities in U.S. border cities as well as intense labor market competition that crowds a greater share of immigrants into self‐employment. Conclusion. Immigration reform that curtails the immigration flow from Mexico might hinder small business formation and economic development on the U.S. side of the Mexican border.     

Competing Processes of Sibling Influence: Observational Learning and Sibling Deidentification

Although commonly cited as explanations for patterns of sibling similarity and difference, observational learning and sibling deidentification processes have rarely been examined directly. Using a person‐oriented approach, we identified patterns in adolescents' perceptions of sibling influences and connected these patterns to sibling similarities and differences and sibling relationship qualities. Participants included two adolescent‐age siblings (firstborn age M = 16.39, second‐born age M = 13.78) from 171 maritally intact families. Two‐stage cluster analyses revealed three sibling influence profiles: modeling, deidentification, and non‐reference. Analyses revealed differences in the correlations between firstborn and second‐born siblings' personal qualities across the three groups and differences in the sibling relationship qualities of younger siblings who reported modeling vs. those who reported deidentifying from their older siblings. Discussion focuses on refining the study of sibling influence processes.     

Men in the valley: gay male life on the suburban-rural fringe

This study examines the geography of the population of gay men located in the Connecticut River Valley area of Massachusetts where, by the 1990s, a significant minority lived on the metropolitan edge and in rural towns. Previous research has focused on the rich social life of urban gay men or on the isolation of those in rural areas. In contrast, in this study, interview data indicated that many gay men have created a way of life that was gay, non-urban and home centered, with gay men integrated into the larger community. Interviewees described their lives in the region as being positively affected by a level of tolerance, if not complete acceptance, more often associated with large urban centers.Gay men's attitudes toward the relatively large and public lesbian population in the region were complicated. The legacy of lesbian separatism from the 1970s and early 1980s caused some division, and there had been some resentment on the part of gay men in being the less visible and powerful part of the gay and lesbian population. However, in the Valley lesbians had done much of the hard work of increasing acceptance of lesbian and gay people, and recently gay men and lesbians have collaborated on significant projects. Overall, a gay male culture has formed at relatively low densities indicating both the diversity of rural areas and the de-linking of gay social networks from urban cores and the presence of self-conscious diversity in rural areas.

We don’t have a neighborhood we all live in and one or two bars that we all go to, or everybody flocks to a certain bar on Sundays at 3 o’clock, or another bar on Saturdays at 11 o’clock, or you’ll find us at this restaurant and that restaurant and this restaurant, only. But because we’re everywhere in the area, we sit in parking commission, we haul garbage, and we treat the sick and we teach schools, and we are police officers, and we are administrators, and we are clerical staff, and whatever. … I think we’re ahead of the curve in that way in that we’re very strong and … for the most part we are so comfortable with it that we don’t need to ghettoize ourselves. And yet we want to be around each other, and so volleyball's very popular. Potlucks are very popular. You know there's still a need for an opportunity for us to meet each other, but our day to day lives are lived in the larger community, and are involved in the larger running of our towns, and I think that's ahead of the curve for the larger general gay population. (Paul, age 35, human resources specialist, partnered, white, non-native, upper Valley resident, homeowner)

Sexual abuse,family violence,and female delinquency: findings from a longitudinal study

The current study examines the effects of three forms of childhood victimization on self-reported delinquency and aggression in adolescent girls. These analyses are based on a longitudinal sample of 141 mother-daughter pairs participating in a study about marital violence and child development. When the children were school aged, mothers and children provided reports describing (a) child exposure to marital violence, (b) escalated physical abuse against the child, and (c) child sexual abuse. Children were followed up into adolescence and re-interviewed. Self-reports of delinquency (violent and nonviolent), running away, and violence against parents were collected. Results indicate that out of the three forms of victimization, child sexual abuse emerged as the strongest predictor of girls' violent and nonviolent criminal behavior. Girls with a history of physical abuse in childhood were most likely to assault their parents. Witnessing marital violence failed to contribute further to delinquency, beyond the adverse association with childhood sexual abuse. Findings highlight a unique avenue for delinquency in girls via childhood sexual exploitation.     

'A Feeling of Being Connected': Friendships between People with and without Learning Difficulties

Recently, programmatic attempts to encourage close ties between people with learning difficulties and typical citizens have increased. It is believed that such relationships will extend the assimilation of people with learning difficulties into society. The researcher presents the perspectives of four pairs of friends about the meaning of their friendships. The informants shared similar ideas and expectations about the characteristics of friendship in general. These included its mutual, exclusive, and voluntary nature; the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of friends to each other; and the positive regard or affection found between friends. Despite efforts on the part of service providers to support the development of friendship between people with and without learning difficulties, the biggest barriers for the individuals in this study were the practices of the human service system, which curtailed opportunities for people which would have promoted the development and maintenance of friendships.     

Including the Socially Excluded: The Impact of Government Policy on Vulnerable Families and Children in Need

This paper is based on a literature review undertaken for theOffice of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2004 (Buchanan et al., 2004)on the impact of government policy in England and Wales forchildren aged from birth to thirteen at high risk of socialexclusion as recorded up until May 2004. It describes the conceptof ‘social exclusion’; its meaning for children;the aims of government policy; the specific impact of governmentpolicy on vulnerable families and children in need (includingchildren needing child protection and all ‘looked after’children) as defined by the 1989 Children Act. The paper demonstratesthat although progress has been made, there are still majorareas of concern. The more discursive parts at the end of thepaper reflect the views of the author and later thinking, andwere not part of the original submission to the Social ExclusionUnit.     

Going to Camp Together: Lighting the Group Work Fire in a New Generation

This article describes the structure and process of Group Work Camp, an experiential training program sponsored by the International Association for Social Work with Groups (IASWG). The purpose of this 3-day event, which offers workshops and activities in a camp environment, is to transmit the skills, culture, and philosophy of social work with groups to students and new professionals. Camp also aims to connect participants to the group work community through interaction with skilled and enthusiastic professionals and educators. Participants live together as a large group and engage in ever-changing small groups. They learn primarily by experiencing group membership in the present moment, reflecting on this experience, and then discussing its implications. As the Chinese proverb says, “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand.” In the course of this experiential learning process participants develop strong connections with peers and mentors and become familiar with IASWG, a resource for support and stimulation that will be invaluable as they pursue group work practice in an environment likely to isolate them from group work peers. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of this model for group work education, supervision, and practice.     

The Family Contexts of Gender Development in Childhood and Adolescence

We review research on the family's role in gender development during childhood and adolescence. Our discussion highlights children's dyadic family relationship experiences with their parents and siblings; additionally, we describe ways in which the larger system of family relationships, including gendered dynamics in the marriage and the differential family experiences of sisters versus brothers may have implications for gender development. We also emphasize the significance of contextual factors—ranging from situational demands and affordances to forces emanating from the larger social ecology—in family gender socialization. We conclude that family experiences may have a more important impact on gender development than has previously been believed, and we highlight directions for future study. These include: (1) applying more complex models of parent socialization and family dynamics to the study of the family's role in gender development; (2) expanding on research directed at the socialization of sex differences to study how family dynamics are linked to individual differences in girls’ and boys’ gendered qualities and behaviors; and (3) further exploring how contextual factors exert an impact on gender socialization in the family.     

Current reproductive technologies: increased access and choice?

This article discusses key issues related to current reproductive technologies including contextual and personal barriers to use, complexity of decision making, limited access to technologies for poor women and women of color, and the politics and social controversy surrounding this area. New reproductive technologies have to be put to the same test as any other product--can and will women use them correctly? We need to not only know about the technology itself; we also need to know about the individuals who intend to use the technology and about contextual factors that influence use. Accordingly, the articles in this issue focus on the multiple determinants that influence acceptability of reproductive technologies and the policy, political, and legal implications associated with their use.