Quantifying loss aversion: Evidence from a UK population survey

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty - We quantify differences in attitudes to loss from individuals with different demographic, personal and socio-economic characteristics. Our data are based on...     

Mothers’ Parenting Stress and Engagement: Mediating Role of Parental Competence

ABSTRACT

Guided by role-strain theory and the spillover hypothesis, this study used data (n = 2,637) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the link between mothers’ parenting stress, perceived parental competence, and parental engagement when the child was age 1, 3, and 5, respectively. Analyses were based on a multiple-sample path analysis that tested direct and indirect effects for mothers of biologically intact and nonintact families. Mothers who reported higher levels of parenting stress at child age 1 experienced lower levels of perceived parental competence at child age 3. Higher levels of perceived parental competence at child age 3 predicted increased mother–child engagement levels at child age 5. Test of indirect effects confirmed that perceived parental competence mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parental engagement for mothers of intact and nonintact families. Implications are discussed.     

Families Created by Donor Insemination: Father–Child Relationships at Age 7

This study examined the psychological well‐being of fathers and father–child relationships in families with a 7‐year‐old child conceived by donor insemination. Twenty‐four donor insemination families and comparison groups of 25 egg donation and 32 unassisted‐conception families were assessed using a standardized interview and questionnaires administered to the father, and father–child dyads participated in an observational assessment of father–child interaction. On the basis of perspectives from Parental Investment Theory and stress‐related models, it was expected that donor insemination fathers would show raised levels of psychological problems and a poorer quality of parenting and have more conflictual relationships with their children than genetically related fathers in egg donation and unassisted‐conception families. These hypotheses were not supported by the findings. Instead, it seems that commitment to parenthood may be more important than genetic relatedness for positive father–child relationships.     

Mental Health Practitioners' Views of the Families of Individuals With Schizophrenia and Barriers to Collaboration: A Mixed Methods Study

Family involvement has been identified as a best practice in the treatment of schizophrenia. Yet studies show a small number of families of individuals with schizophrenia are involved in treatment. In this mixed method study, community mental health practitioners from different disciplines responded to a quantitative survey (N = 88), a qualitative structured question guide (N = 8), and open-ended questions (N = 43) that explored their views of families of individuals with schizophrenia and barriers to collaboration with them. Practitioners did not blame the family for causing their family member's schizophrenia. Barriers to collaboration were reported in three main areas: (a) time/workload barriers, (b) agency/system barriers, and (c) family barriers, while at the same time recognizing family collaboration as effective practice and reporting a desire to engage more families in the treatment process. Younger practitioners viewed organizational factors as more significant barriers to collaboration. Substance use factors emerged as a theme as a barrier to collaboration.     

Developing a Multicomponent Model of Nutritious Food Access and Related Implications for Community and Policy Practice

Access to nutritious foods is limited in disenfranchised communities in the United States. Policies are beginning to focus on improving nutritious food access in these contexts; yet, few theories are available to guide this work. We developed a conceptual model of nutritious food access based on the qualitative responses of food consumers in 2 different regions of the American South. Five domains (economic, service delivery, spatial–temporal, social, and personal) and related dimensions of nutritious food access were identified. The conceptual model provides practical guidance to researchers, policy makers, and practitioners working to improve nutritious food access in communities.     

A Comparison of Majority-race Children With and Without a Minority-race Friend

Majority‐race (black or white) ¹ elementary school children with and without a minority friend (black or white) in their classroom were compared on measures of social, behavioral, and affective characteristics. Analyses focused on 260 4th through 6th grade students who were racial majorities in their classrooms and had at least one reciprocated friendship in the classroom‐based peer group. Overall, the results were consistent with the scenario that majority children with minority friends are high status, prosocial, and socially satisfied members of the peer group, compared to majority children without a cross‐race friendship, although race and gender differences were observed. In contrast, class‐level characteristics (e.g. class size, the proportion of participating children in each classroom of the majority race, and the number of minority‐race children in the classroom) were not predictive of whether a majority child had a cross‐race friendship or not. Implications for the current status of black– white relations among our youth were discussed.     

Does Brief Bradycardia at the Onset of Arm‐Restraint Predict Infants’ Emotional Reactivity During Restraint?

Using electrocardiogram data with 78 six‐month‐old infants, this study examined the presence or absence of brief orienting bradycardia during the onset of maternal arm‐restraint and subsequent differences between infants on behavioral organization during restraint. Results showed that 45 of the infants exhibited brief episodes of bradycardia at the onset of arm‐restraint. Group comparisons showed infants exhibiting bradycardia to have greater emotional reactivity during the arm‐restraint protocol, which included a shorter latency to cry, decreased orientation toward mother, increased escape attempts during restraint, greater intensity of crying, and longer duration of crying than non‐bradycardiac infants. These findings suggest that bradycardia at the outset of a mild perturbation episode may signal infants’ attention to the emotional content of novel dyadic interactions and the disruption of expectancies in ongoing interactions, leading them to become distressed more quickly, turn their attention away from mom, and attempt to escape the restraint with greater vigor.     

Social Class and Habitus at the End of College: Cultural Similarity and Difference among Graduating Seniors

ABSTRACT

Existing research offers a range of perspectives on the impact of the college experience on culture. While some scholars claim that higher education leads to cultural convergence or homogenization among students, others emphasize the durability of class-based cultural differences during college. This article seeks to understand the degree to which students from across class backgrounds leave college with a similar habitus. Drawing from interviews with 62 graduating seniors from three distinct class backgrounds, I examine cultural similarities and differences at two layers of habitus as students look toward life after college. Findings demonstrate that while students’ specific aspirations for graduate study and careers are similar, their general cultural schemas—evidenced by students’ perceptions of what constitutes success and failure after graduation—and sense of self diverge along class lines. In other words, these interviews provide evidence that college seniors across class backgrounds are comparable in their secondary habitus but differ at the level of their primary habitus. These findings have implications for the way we conceive of social mobility through higher education as well as our understanding of multiple layers of habitus.     

Wealth,Rights, and Resilience: An Agenda for Governance Reform in Small‐scale Fisheries

The diversity of social, ecological and economic characteristics of small‐scale fisheries in developing countries means that context‐specific assessments are required to understand and address shortcomings in their governance. This article contrasts three perspectives on governance reform focused alternately on wealth, rights and resilience, and argues that – far from being incompatible – these perspectives serve as useful counterweights to one another, and together can serve to guide policy responses. In order to better appreciate the diversity in governance contexts for small‐scale fisheries it puts forward a simple analytical framework focused on stakeholder representation, distribution of power, and accountability, and then outlines principles for identifying and deliberating reform options among local stakeholders.