Sexual assessment and the epidemiology of AIDS

Research on the transmission dynamics of AIDS necessitates an extraordinarily rigorous sexual science. Thus, the purpose of the present paper is to isolate sexual parameters which are crucial to the epidemiology of AIDS. Several representative mathematical models of the proliferation of HIV are described. From these models, three consistent sexual parameters emerge (sexual orientation, anal intercourse, and selection of sexual partners). Consequently, each parameter is examined for the feasibility of assessment and the reliability of existing data. However, as the present review suggests, the relevant data on sexual parameters are either marginal or nonexistent. Therefore, alternatives are described, and the broader implications of measurement error on epidemiological predictions is developed.     

Is risky sex rational?

Consideration of a simple model of sexual decision‐making suggests that many individuals who engage in risky sexual practices do so for “rational” reasons. Within a framework of subjective values and perceptions, risky sex may be rational in the sense that the benefits derived from sexual expression outweigh the threat of loss from AIDS. One implication of this conceptualization is that in order to understand risky behavior, primary consideration must be accorded the perceptions, attitudes, and desires of the individual.     

I think she doth protest too much: A reply to tiefer

In the November 1991 issue of The Journal of Sex Research, Tiefer (1991) provides a critique of a recent article of mine about sexual science (Abramson, 1990). The present paper is a brief reply to Tiefer. This paper notes the contribution that Tiefer makes about methodological diversity. Additionally, this paper suggests alternative viewpoints about the personal nature of Tiefer's critique, the necessity for polarizing sexual science and feminist perspectives, and the definition of rigorous. In the conclusion, sexual science is briefly restated.     

The voice of troubled youth: Children's and adolescents' ideas on helpful elements of care

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study in a Flemish centre for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural disorders. The aim of this study was twofold. First, we wanted to examine how youth reflect on their own behaviour and that of their peers'. Secondly, we wanted to know what, according to the youth, are the most significant helpful elements of treatment. Analysis shows a continuum of negative behaviour, ranging from relatively ‘normal’ disruptive behaviour such as arguing, up to serious disruptive behaviour such as physical aggression. This behaviour has a negative influence on the climate of the organization. ‘Availability of staff’, ‘nearness of staff’, ‘a clear set of rules and boundaries’, and ‘some time on my own/some alone time’ are perceived as helpful elements of treatment. ‘Strictness’, ‘not listening’, and ‘inappropriate staff attitudes and interventions’ are perceived as counterproductive elements of treatment. Results are discussed and recommendations both on the orthopedagogical as well as on the scientific level are formulated.     

Combining Happines’s and Suffering in a Retrospective View of Anchor Periods in Life: A Differential Approach to Subjective Well-Being

The intersection of dimensions of subjective well-being (SWB) generates SWB types. We delineated SWB types by cross-tabulating happiness and suffering ratings that participants attributed to outstandingly meaningful periods in their life referred to as anchor periods. A sample of 499 older Israelis (age 58–94) was queried about two positive periods (the happiest, the most important) and two negative periods (the most miserable, the most difficult). A variety of variables discriminated between the more frequent congruous types of Happy (high happiness and low suffering) and Unhappy (low happiness and high suffering), but also presented the incongruous types of Inflated (high happiness and high suffering) and Deflated (low happiness and low suffering) as discriminable. Thus, women were more likely to be Inflated whereas men were more likely to be Deflated; low education related more to Happy in the happiest period and to Unhappy in the negative periods; present life satisfaction related more to Happy than to Unhappy in the positive, but not in the negative, periods; and Holocaust survivors were more likely to be Deflated and Unhappy in the negative, but not in the positive, periods. The study supported a differential perspective on SWB within people’s narratives of their lives. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Use of court-appointed advocates to assist in permanency planning for minority children

Despite federal law on reuniting children in care with their families, minority children remain in dependency longer and are more likely to be placed in long-term foster care than white children. This article describes a program of volunteer, court-appointed advocates to assist in cases of abuse and neglect involving minority families, and an outcome study. Significantly fewer children were placed in long-term foster care and significantly more children were placed in adoptive families than in a comparison group of families.     

Implications of increased infectivity in early-stage HIV infection. Application of a Bernoulli-process model of HIV transmission

Recent reports suggest that the infectivity of sexually transmitted HIV (i.e., the probability of transmission on a single sexual contact) may be up to 1,000 times greater during the first few months of infection than during the long asymptomatic period that precedes the development of AIDS. Assuming the validity of this estimate, a simple Bernoulli-process model of HIV transmission indicates that, in some cases, the expected number of secondary infections is greater for the brief period of primary infection than for the much longer asymptomatic phase. The implications of these findings for current HIV/AIDS prevention practices are analyzed with particular attention to the role of condom use in preventing HIV transmission.     

Group Conflict Theory in a Longitudinal Perspective: Analyzing the Dynamic Side of Ethnic Competition

One of the most established approaches to explain attitudes toward immigration is group conflict theory. However, even though the theory was articulated in dynamic terms, previous research has almost exclusively tested it through cross‐sectional analyses. The aim of this study is to disentangle the dynamic character of ethnic competition from more permanent determinants of ethnic threat. The findings show that a remarkable variation of concern over immigration, usually attributed to permanent positions of economic vulnerability, disappears when within‐person variation is modeled. In line with a dynamic approach of ethnic competition, becoming unemployed or being laid off increases concern over immigration. This effect is independent of social class.     

Improving Field Instruction: An Evaluation of a Seminar for New Field Instructors

Abstract

The field work component of social work education plays an important role in fusing the knowledge, skills, and values of the profession. Moreover, field instructors must be competent to ensure the success of the educational process. Thus, the training of new field instructors is critical to this success. This article reports the findings of a study evaluating the impact of a training seminar for new field instructors on student perceptions of the field experience. A 10-session seminar in field instruction was offered to new direct practice field instructors as a requirement for continued supervision of students. Students' responses to a questionnaire about their field instruction indicated that seminar attendance was related to the degree of emphasis on teaching students from process recordings and also on discussion of student learning needs. Students with trained field instructors were more satisfied with the faculty field liaison. Overall, trained instructors demonstrated expected supervisory behavior more often than untrained instructors for 75% of the 83 supervisory activities studied, although only a limited number of comparisons reached statistical significance.     

Why do Socioeconomic Differences in Women’s Living Standards Converge After Union Dissolution?

European Journal of Population - Union dissolution is a critical event for women’s living standards. Previous work has found that women in high-income unions lose more from union dissolution...