Using Child Services: The Importance of the Mother–Child Relationship and Maternal Social Support

Gaps between children’s need for clinical services and receipt of services create a risk for negative child outcomes, therefore, it is important to identify factors that bolster parental use of child services. Attachment theory lends support to potential power of both parent–child relationship quality and the social support received by the parent in promoting service utilization and ultimately child outcomes. Study 1 uses a sample of 8-year-old children and their mothers to examine the roles of service use as a mechanism linking maternal social support and child behavioral outcomes. Study 2 uses a sample of 12-year-olds and mothers to more closely examine deficits between service need and the role of mother–child relationship quality in explaining the link between maternal social support and service deficits. Overall, this study highlights the importance of maternal social support and the parent–child relationship in predicting child service utilization, with nuanced results.     

Soccer matches as experiments: how often does the ‘best’ team win?

Models in which the number of goals scored by a team in a soccer match follow a Poisson distribution, or a closely related one, have been widely discussed. We here consider a soccer match as an experiment to assess which of two teams is superior and examine the probability that the outcome of the experiment (match) truly represents the relative abilities of the two teams. Given a final score, it is possible by using a Bayesian approach to quantify the probability that it was or was not the case that ‘the best team won’. For typical scores, the probability of a misleading result is significant. Modifying the rules of the game to increase the typical number of goals scored would improve the situation, but a level of confidence that would normally be regarded as satisfactory could not be obtained unless the character of the game was radically changed.     

Gauging the public's preparedness for mobile public relations: The “Text for Haiti” campaign

The technology acceptance model was created to measure the public's attitudes toward and acceptance of new technologies. Text messaging has been used in the public relations domain for crisis communication alerts, but there have been few attempts to use it in other domains. Through an electronic survey of previous American Red Cross donors, donors to the “Text for Haiti” campaign had more favorable attitudes than those who did not donate via text messaging. However, the survey participants did not completely reflect the technology acceptance model. Although they perceived that text message campaigns were easy to participate in, the path analysis revealed that these thoughts resulted in less desirable attitudes toward participating in the campaigns.     

Beyond image repair: Suggestions for crisis communication theory development

This commentary explores whether and how crisis communication theory needs to be adapted to account for the rise of social media. Through a review of existing theory, we offer recommendations for future research in the evolving media landscape.     

What remains of Abu Ghraib?: digital photography and cultural memory

Ten years on, the photographs from the US-operated Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib have become synonymous with the war on terror for highlighting an unseemly combat culture. This article focuses on the ongoing functions of these viral photos as objects of cultural memory and also highlights their use as war trophies. Drawing on theories of digital photography, emotional and gestural communication, visual semiotics, and cultural memory, this article examines six of the circulated images. Focusing on the symbolic, the visual contents of the photos are contrasted with the rhetorical account from criminal investigator Brent Pack in the documentary Standard Operating Procedure. While Pack concludes that these images are in fact abusive, he nevertheless dismisses the relevancy of the emoting individuals within the photographs. The arguments here take a particular shape: the pictorial display of emotion is not only relevant, but is essential to the communication of group identity and the perpetuation of cultural memory, which is reinforced by the role that digital photographic technology plays in aiding the circulation of this cultural memory.     

Examining the impact of social media on mood and body dissatisfaction using ecological momentary assessment

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effects of social media consumption on body dissatisfaction and negative affect using ecological momentary assessment, a method of assessment over time in the participants’ naturalistic environment. Participants: Woman college students (N?=?30) from a large public university participated in the study in Fall 2015. Methods: Participants were contacted via their smartphones five times per day for five days and asked to complete a battery of measures which assessed social media use, body dissatisfaction, and negative affect. Results: Results demonstrated that the number of social media sites visited was a significant predictor of body dissatisfaction while time spent using social media was not. The number of sites visited and time spent on social media were both significant predictors of general negative affect, sadness, and guilt. Conclusions: Results demonstrate the negative impact that social media use can have on body dissatisfaction and negative affect.     

“You Can Help People”: Adolescents’ Views on Engaging Young People in Longitudinal Research

We sought to discover adolescents’ thoughts about participation in longitudinal research and identify recruitment and retention strategies that were meaningful to them. We conducted seven focus groups with 10–15‐year‐olds in two large rural centers in New South Wales, Australia, and all focus groups were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Adolescents discussed factors salient to their involvement in focus groups, as well as factors that may influence involvement in a longitudinal study. At the outset of the focus groups, adolescents had a positive view of “research,” but were reluctant to engage in research that involved biologic samples. Effective recruitment of adolescents requires an appreciation of motivators, and time and resources to extend potential participants’ understanding.     

Social Self‐Control,Externalizing Behavior,and Peer Liking Among Children with ADHD‐CT: A Mediation Model

This study investigated the role of externalizing behavior as a mediator of the relation between social self‐control and peer liking among children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder‐combined type (ADHD‐CT). A model was proposed whereby externalizing behavior would fully statistically account for the direct relation of social self‐control to peer liking. One hundred seventy‐two children ages 7.0–9.9 years with ADHD‐CT were rated by their teachers regarding their social self‐control and by their parents and teachers regarding their rates of externalizing behavior. Same‐sex classmates provided ratings of overall liking. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the proposed model. Results supported the proposed model of externalizing behavior as fully statistically accounting for the relation of social self‐control to peer liking. This study demonstrated the crucial role that externalizing behaviors play in the social impairment commonly seen among children with ADHD‐CT.