Are Males and Females Sexually Abused As Children Socially Anxious Adults?

It is well documented that childhood sexual abuse is associated with deleterious outcomes in the areas of anxiety, depression, and sexual functioning. However, very little research has been conducted to specifically investigate childhood sexual abuse's relationship to adult social anxiety in both males and females. Participants included 250 undergraduate students from a large metropolitan university. Results indicated that almost one-third of males and a little over a third of females reported being sexually abused as a child or adolescent. Although a large portion of the sample exhibited socially anxious symptomology, childhood sexual abuse did not place males and females at increased risk for social anxiety. The use of a nonclinical, college student sample may provide researchers the opportunity to investigate resiliency in individuals with a history of childhood sexual abuse.     

Editorial

This paper questions whether it is possible that current policy and guidelines could ever effect a significant shift in education of social work students. There are several issues which need to be appreciated if social work education is to become anything more than an induction to a technical craft. These issues include debate on the nature of theory and reflective practice and on pedagogy and curriculum. Rather than understand theory and reflective practice in the applied technicist sense what is required is an understanding and appreciation of moral practical deliberation—what scholars of the virtues refer to as phronesis. Debate on pedagogy has stopped short of tackling important issues which find succour in technicist and managerialist accounts of practice. As such, any idea that practice experience will improve the practice of student social workers is questionable.     

Seasonal and weather-related behavioral effects among urban Aboriginal, urban non-Aboriginal, and remote Aboriginal participants in Canada

The influence of seasonal change and weather on mood, social activity, weight, food consumption, and sleep length was compared across urban Aboriginals (n = 43), urban non-Aboriginals (n = 49), and remote Aboriginals (n = 39) in Ontario, Canada. Such research is important since climate change may differentially shape the well-being of social groups. Behavioral items—including mood, social activity, weight, sleep, and food consumption—were measured using the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire, and associations between these items and meteorological data were examined with bivariate and multivariate approaches. Weather variables had consistent, significant associations with behavior except within the remote Aboriginal group despite living in a more extreme climate. Lifestyle and adaptation may contribute to an increased weather tolerance among remote Aboriginal people, intriguing findings as cultures grapple with the implications of future climate change.     

Don't ask don't tell: examining attitudes about black homosexuality and the media in an online forum

On 8 November 2005, a posting appeared on the BET.COM Bulletin Board under the heading Noah's Arc. It read: ‘Has anyone caught the new show called Noah's Arc? It comes on a gay/lesbian channel called LOGO and the show is really good. It is about four gay men living and loving in Los Angeles … it gives us a glimpse into a world of gay men and the struggles that they endure in life. I suggest that all of you watch it.’ Using textual analysis, this study examines the responses of forum users addressing the following research question: Thematically, what attitudes and opinions emerged from the postings surrounding the question ‘Has anyone caught the new show Noah's Arc?’ Eight themes emerged from the postings submitted by 84 respondents as BET.COM visitors engaged in a four-month discussion about sexual orientation and identity, race, religion and spirituality. The analysis reveals that while many respondents were homophobic and heterosexist, others had a more sophisticated and enlightened understanding of sexuality, media images and stereotypes, religion, and identity politics. Results suggest that an inevitable consequence of discussions of homosexuality is a discussion of morality and religion.     

The cost of uncertain life span

Much uncertainty surrounds the length of human life. The standard deviation in adult life span is about 15 years in the USA, and theory and evidence suggest that it is costly. I calibrate a utility-theoretic model that shows that 1 year in standard deviation is worth about half a life year. Differences in variance exacerbate health inequalities between and among rich and poor countries. Accounting for the cost of life-span variance appears to amplify recently discovered patterns of convergence in world average human well-being because the component of variance due to infant mortality has exhibited even more convergence than life expectancy.     

Identifying Factors that Influence State-specific Hunger Rates in the U.S.: A Simple Analytic Method for Understanding a Persistent Problem

An existing measure of food insecurity with hunger in the United States may serve as an effective indicator of quality of life. State level differences in that measure can reveal important differences in quality of life across places. In this study, we advocate and demonstrate two simple methods by which analysts can explore state-specific contributions to state-specific hunger rates. Using existing survey data and the U.S. Department of Agriculture measure of household food insecurity with hunger, we illustrate how comparing group-specific hunger rates within states and how the demographic method of standardization can both be used to assess how a state’s population and local characteristics influence hunger rates and other quality of life indicators associated with hunger.     

Why people feel crowded: An examination of objective and subjective crowding

Prior studies have found only a modest relationship between objective and subjective crowding, defying logic and commonsensical notions of why people feel crowded. Using data from a representative sample of Bangkok, Thailand, where the level of household crowding is four times that in western societies, we explore several possibilities of why this is the case. Examining seven different indicators of objective crowding, our analyses suggest that the modest relationship is not an artifact of measurement. Contrary to the assumption of prior investigations, the findings indicate that the objective-subjective crowding relationship is nonlinear and that there is a ceiling effect muting the impact of increased objective crowding. The analyses further suggest that the strength of the relationship is mitigated somewhat, with part of the feeling of being crowded accounted for by household circumstances, such as the degree of control an individual has over the use of household space.