Applying the transtheoretical model to female and male perpetrators of intimate partner violence: gender differences in stages and processes of change

The Transtheoretical Model has been recently applied to men seeking services at battering intervention and prevention programs (Eckhardt, Babcock, & Homack, 2004; Murphy & Baxter, 1997). This study considers whether women arrested for intimate partner violence differ from male perpetrators in terms of stages of change and processes of change. No gender differences were found regarding stage of change. In general, all individuals presenting for treatment were in the early stages of change. The use of various processes of change was strongly related to stage of change, with individuals in the more advanced stages of change using more behavioral and experiential strategies to become nonviolent. However, except for the use of social liberation strategies, there were no gender differences in the use of the various processes. These findings suggest that the Transtheoretical Model may apply to female perpetrators equally as well as to male perpetrators. Intervention programs designed for male batterers using the Transtheoretical Model may also be helpful in the treatment of women arrested for domestic violence.     

Understanding perceptions of substance use education in social work: an analysis of survey responses from MSW program leaders

ABSTRACT

This article details the findings of a series of analyses regarding how the institutional leaders of Master of Social Work Programs (MSW) in the United States form their perceptions on the role and implementation of substance use concepts in social work education. Five statistical tests were performed on data collected from a 2017 substance use education (SUE) survey of MSW program leaders, and the analyses were used to explore how program leaders form their perceptions on: the importance of SUE to social work, the need for regulatory measures for SUE in social work, the SUE needs of individual MSW programs, the implementation of substance use course content, and graduating students’ substance use intervention capacities. Significant findings from the analyses showed that: the amount of foundational course emphasis on clinical SUE within individual programs is a significant predictor of program leader perceptions on students’ clinical substance use intervention capacities; different categories of substance use intervention preparedness have interconnected effects among domains of preparedness; and perceptions on the importance of SUE to social work have a significant impact on program leaders’ opinions regarding regulatory measures for SUE in social work.     

Where college students look for vaping information and what information they believe

Abstract

Objective: This convergent mixed methods study examined how information sources influence college students’ beliefs and knowledge about vaping. Participants: College students either completed a survey (n?=?522; January–April, 2016) or were interviewed (n?=?33; 2015–2016). Methods: College students completed an online survey asking ‘where’ students had heard about e-cigarette and ‘what’ they had heard. Responses were quantified and a chi-square analysis was conducted. Additional college student e-cigarette users were interviewed about the credibility of information sources. Thematic analysis was conducted with the coded interviews. Results: There was a significant relationship between information sources for e-cigarettes (social sources, media, advertising, education/research) and the messages they recalled. Friends who vaped and e-cigarette users were the most credible information sources. Confirmation bias and scientific impotence bias characterized assessment of e-cigarette information. Conclusions: Health education specialists working on college campuses should provide accurate information via communication channels most unitized by college students.     

National Culture on the Cross-National Variation of Homicide: An Empirical Application of the Inglehart–Welzel Cultural Map

Although there has been a growing literature on the effects of culture on the cross-national variation of homicide, this literature remains limited in the operationalization of national culture as well as in the modeling of the cultural effects. Adopting a multidimensional measure of national culture developed in the World Values Survey, this study examines the effects of various aspects of national culture, as well as their interaction, on the cross-national variation of homicide. The findings of this study provide evidence for the effect of national culture on homicide variation across countries while painting a more complex picture about the potential mechanisms of these effects.     

Coming Out and the Potential for Growth in Sexual Minorities: The Role of Social Reactions and Internalized Homonegativity

Coming out is a significant and sometimes difficult process in the lives of sexual minorities, but disclosure can also affect wellbeing in positive ways, including reduced distress and greater relationship satisfaction. This study investigates the possibility of stress-related growth and depreciation following coming out. To obtain a diverse sample with varying coming-out experiences, data were collected from undergraduate students as well as from online sources, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual support groups and Pride groups. Regression analyses indicated that negative social reactions to coming out predicted both growth and depreciation, although they more strongly predicted depreciation. Positive social reactions were positively related to stress-related growth, while internalized homonegativity was inversely associated with growth. Although the two sample sources (online and campus) differed in some ways, sample source was not a significant predictor in the regressions, nor was it indicated as a moderator in exploratory ANOVA analyses.     

Caregiver Decision-Making: Household Response to Child Illness in Sub-Saharan Africa

We draw upon a framework outlining household recognition and response to child illness proposed by Colvin et al. (Soc Sci Med 86:66–78, 2013) to examine factors predictive of treatment sought for a recent child illness. In particular, we model whether no treatment, middle layer treatment (traditional healer, pharmacy, community health worker, etc.), or biomedical treatment was sought for recent episodes of diarrhea, fever, or cough. Based on multinomial, multi-level analyses of Demographic and Health Surveys from 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we determine that if women have no say in their own healthcare, they are unlikely to seek treatment in response to child illness. We find that women in sub-Saharan Africa need healthcare knowledge, the ability to make healthcare decisions, as well as resources to negotiate cost and travel, in order to access biomedical treatment. Past experience with medical services such as prenatal care and a skilled birth attendant also increases the odds that biomedical treatment for child illness is sought. We conclude that caregiver decision-making in response to child illness within households is critical to reducing child morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Anger and Approach Motivation in Infancy: Relations to Early Childhood Inhibitory Control and Behavior Problems

The relations among infant anger reactivity, approach behavior, and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry, and their relations to inhibitory control and behavior problems in early childhood were examined within the context of a longitudinal study of temperament. Two hundred nine infants’ anger expressions to arm restraint were observed at 4 months of age. Infants’ approach behaviors during play with an unpredictable toy and baseline frontal EEG asymmetry were assessed at 9 months of age. Inhibitory control during a Go/No‐Go task and parent report of behavior problems were evaluated at 4 years of age. High anger‐prone infants with left, but not right, frontal EEG asymmetry showed significantly more approach behaviors and less inhibitory control relative to less anger‐prone infants. Although a link between anger proneness in infancy and behavior problems in early childhood was not found, a combination of low approach behaviors and poor inhibitory control was predictive of internalizing behaviors.