Child Aggression as a Source and a Consequence of Parenting Stress: A Three‐Wave Longitudinal Study

This longitudinal study examined the links between child aggression and parenting stress over 4 years. Child aggression was hypothesized to contribute to parenting stress, which should increase aggression. Parents and teachers of 239 German children aged between 6 and 15 years completed measures of child aggression at Time 1 and Time 3, complemented by children's self‐reports of aggression at Time 3. Parents rated their child‐focused and parent‐focused stress at an intermediate measurement Time 2. Child‐focused stress mediated the path from Time 1 to Time 3 aggression in boys and girls, whereas parent‐focused stress was unrelated to Time 3 aggression. The findings help to understand the continuity of aggressive behavior in childhood and adolescence and highlight the need to intervene early with families susceptible to parenting stress.     

Does the Internet matter for strong ties? Bonding social capital,Internet use,and age-based inequality

As the Internet becomes pervasive in western societies, social capital emerges as a valuable sociological tool to analyze the social effects of Internet use. Thus, a growing body of research has been looking into the relationship between social capital and Internet usage. This research has been showing a positive relationship between them; however, results are not as conclusive when we consider one of the main dimensions of social capital: bonding. Bonding relates to resources that are embedded in one’s strong ties (i.e., family members and close friends). The study of bonding is of particular sociological interest, since the discussion around the social effects of the Internet still suggests that it takes time away from strong ties and that is more useful to connect with weak ties (i.e., acquaintances). This study examines the relationship between bonding and the Internet, using representative survey data and semi-structured interviews from Portugal. Findings show that bonding is predicted positively by Internet use but negatively by age. On one hand, the Internet seems to compensate for the negative age effect because older adults who use it are more likely to have a high level of bonding. On the other hand, the Internet reinforces accumulated social advantage.     

Targeting the role of the endosome in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease: a strategy for treatment

Membrane-bound endosomal vesicles play an integral role in multiple cellular events, including protein processing and turnover, and often critically regulate the cell-surface availability of receptors and other plasma membrane proteins in many different cell types. Neurons are no exception, being dependent on endosomal function for housekeeping and synaptic events. Growing evidence suggests a link between neuronal endosomal function and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology. Endosomal abnormalities invariably occur within neurons in AD brains, and endocytic compartments are one likely site for the production of the pathogenic beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta), which accumulates within the brain during the disease and is generated by proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). The enzymes and events involved in APP processing are appealing targets for therapeutic agents aimed at slowing or reversing the pathogenesis of AD. The neuronal endosome may well prove to be the intracellular site of action for inhibitors of beta-amyloidogenic APP processing. We present here the view that knowledge of the endosomal system in the disease can guide drug discovery of AD therapeutic agents.     

Parents, Politics and the Public Purse: activists in the special education arena in Germany

Using a 'social interest' approach, this paper details the advocacy strategies of parents of children with disabilities in the Federal Republic of Germany during the 1980s. Parents developed grass-roots organizations beginning in the 1970s in the former West Germany in response to the stigma and isolation of the well-developed system of Sonderschulen (special schools). Parent groups described here include both those with children already in the Sonderschulen working to ensure its promise of special help for their children and those working to bypass the Sonderschule system by establishing model integration programs in the general schools. The collective actions that led to local successes for both these parent advocate approaches are documented, but so, too, are the obstacles the parents encountered in the broader political arena. Politicians continue to cite limited education budgets, especially following the unification of the two Germanys, and they also raise concerns which some parents share: that significant expansion of special educational support into the general schools could undermine the viability of the Sonderschulen . Thus, one political response to the integration movement has been to find places for some children with disabilities in the general schools, but accompanied by only minimal special education support.     

The Development of a Physician Vitality Program: A Brief Report

We describe the development of an innovative program to support physician vitality. We provide the context and process of program delivery which includes a number of experimental support programs. We discuss a model for intervention and methods used to enhance physician resilience, support work‐life balance, and change the culture to one that explicitly addresses the physician's biopsychosocial‐spiritual needs. Recommendations are given for marriage and family therapists (MFTs) who wish to develop similar support programs for healthcare providers. Video Abstract     

The Comparative Contributions of Congruence and Social Support in Career Outcomes

The authors assessed the relative contributions of social support and interest‐occupation congruence in job satisfaction and tenure. Congruence predicted 13% of the variance in job satisfaction for men, but it was not a significant predictor of job satisfaction for women. Social support accounted for 10% of the variance in job satisfaction for women but was not a significant predictor for men. Neither congruence nor social support predicted tenure. Implications for vocational counseling are discussed.     

Gender Differences in Heterosexual College Students' Conceptualizations and Indicators of Sexual Consent: Implications for Contemporary Sexual Assault Prevention Education

Because sexual assault is often defined in terms of nonconsent, many prevention efforts focus on promoting the clear communication of consent as a mechanism to reduce assault. Yet little research has specifically examined how sexual consent is being conceptualized by heterosexual college students. In this study, 185 Midwestern U.S. college students provided responses to open-ended questions addressing how they define, communicate, and interpret sexual consent and nonconsent. The study aimed to assess how college students define and communicate consent, with particular attention to gender differences in consent. Results indicated no gender differences in defining consent. However, there were significant differences in how men and women indicated their own consent and nonconsent, with women reporting more verbal strategies than men and men reporting more nonverbal strategies than women, and in how they interpreted their partner's consent and nonconsent, with men relying more on nonverbal indicators of consent than women. Such gender differences may help to explain some misunderstandings or misinterpretations of consent or agreement to engage in sexual activity, which could partially contribute to the occurrence of acquaintance rape; thus, a better understanding of consent has important implications for developing sexual assault prevention initiatives.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

A busy time for librarians was late May through early July 2008 with the Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians meeting May 14–16, the North American Serials Interest Group meeting June 5–8, and an American Library Association preconference Electronic Serials 101: What I Wished I’d Known Before I Got in Over My Head, June 27.     

Effects of a Solution-Focused Mutual Aid Group for Hispanic Children of Incarcerated Parents

Children of incarcerated parents are five to six times more likely to go to prison than their peers (Johnston, 1995). Yet, there is a lacuna in the literature that examines the effectiveness of interventions for children with an incarcerated family member. The purpose of the present study is to describe a solution-focused, mutual aid group intervention and to examine the effects of the group on the self-esteem of elementary-age Hispanic children of incarcerated parents when compared to a no-treatment comparison group. Implications for social work practice and research with this vulnerable population are addressed.