A kleinian analysis of homophobia

Abstract

This article uses Melanie Klein's developmental frame of reference to better understand the psychodynamics of especially virulent forms of homophobia. Homophobia is seen as a potential indication of lack of resolution of the paranoid‐schizoid position. The defense mechanism of projective identification is extensively used, resulting in impoverishment of the personality. Heterosexual feelings are designated good and are retained while homosexual feelings are split off and rejected as bad. Clinical case illustrations are provided.     

Volunteerism Among Social Work Students During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Abstract

This study examined volunteer activities and predictors of volunteerism among graduate and undergraduate social work students (N = 416) from four universities in the Gulf Coast area following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The convenience sample drawn from all social work students at these universities included 89% females, and 52% of the students were in a master's level program. Sixty-one percent of the respondents were African American and 31% were non-Hispanic white. The majority of students volunteered (97%) despite experiencing a range of hurricane-related stressors. Multivariate analyses yielded a regression model that best predicted heightened volunteerism, which included age, school site, previous volunteer experience, hurricane-related stressors, altruism, and increased commitment to social work values (R ² = .35). The strongest predictors of volunteerism were stressor, increased commitment to social work values, and altruism (betas = .30, .26, and .21 respectively). The findings are consistent with previous research on volunteering in times of disaster and with current thinking about posttraumatic growth .     

Social Ecological Factors of Sexual Subjectivity and Contraceptive Use and Access Among Young Women in the Northwest Territories,Canada

Adolescent women in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, experience many sexual health challenges that are linked to a history of colonization and intergenerational effects of trauma. This study was informed by social ecological theory and explored how young women in the NWT develop sexual subjectivity within the context of contraception use and access during this time of decolonization. A total of 41 participants (aged 13 to 17 years) attended the Fostering Open eXpression among Youth (FOXY) body-mapping intervention in six NWT communities and then completed semistructured interviews. Framework analysis identified barriers to the development of sexual subjectivity that included a culture of stigma and shame surrounding sexuality; pervasive alcohol use in communities; predatory behaviors by older men; poor quality sexual health education offered in schools; and issues with accessing health services. In addition, analysis identified the following facilitators: comprehensive sexual health education; widespread access to free condoms; and positive health support networks with female relatives, peers, and some teachers. Our findings suggest the need for multiple intervention strategies within a complex social ecological framework, including arts-based interventions that focus on developing self-esteem and self-efficacy of youth, combined with interpersonal interventions that strengthen communication skills among supportive adults, and community-level campaigns that target stigma reduction and shift cultural norms.     

Coitus‐dependent contraceptives: Factors associated with effective use

The factors associated with adequate contraceptive use among university women relying on coitus‐dependent contraceptives were examined. Sixty‐nine sexually active women between the ages of 18 and 34 completed daily logs of their sexual activity, contraceptive behavior and basal body temperature over three menstrual cycles. Contraceptive use was analyzed by menstrual cycle phase and results indicated that frequency of use was significantly higher during the ovulatory phase as compared to the menstrual period. Additional findings using discriminant function analysis indicated that compared to risk takers, non‐risk takers were more likely to initiate sexual intercourse, have more orgasms, have a non‐Catholic background, be living with their partners and have been in their relationships longer. These data suggest that women in less stable relationships and with more sexual inhibitions may be more at risk of an unwanted pregnancy.     

An early example of brief strengths‐based practice: Bertha Reynolds at the National Maritime Union, 1943–1947

Bertha Reynolds, one of the foremothers of social casework, is known for her commitment to social justice and the struggles of poor and working people. Her ideas about brief strengths‐based practice, which she taught when she supervised social workers at the National Maritime Union between 1943 and 1947, are less well known. She presented these ideas with case examples in her book Social Work and Social Living, a work that includes a critique of society, social policies, and the social work profession. The author contends that Reynolds was ahead of her time in her conceptualization of brief treatment.     

The urban neighborhood and cognitive functioning in late middle age

This study examines the association of cognitive functioning with urban neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and racial/ethnic segregation for a U.S. national sample of persons in late middle age, a time in the life course when cognitive deficits begin to emerge. The key hypothesis is that effects of neighborhood on cognitive functioning are not uniform but are most pronounced among subgroups of the population defined by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Data are from the third wave of the Health and Retirement Survey for the birth cohort of 1931 to 1941, which was 55 to 65 years of age in 1996 (analytic N = 4,525), and the 1990 U.S. Census. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage has an especially large negative impact on cognitive functioning among persons who are themselves poor, an instance of compound disadvantage. These findings have policy implications supporting "upstream" interventions to enhance cognitive functioning, especially among those most adversely affected by neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage.     

Trauma and couples: mechanisms in dyadic functioning

Research traditionally has focused on the development of symptoms in those who experienced trauma directly but overlooked the impact of trauma on the families of victims. In recent years, researchers and clinicians have begun to examine how individual exposure to traumatic events affects the spouses/partners, children, and professional helpers of trauma survivors. The current study reports data from a larger mixed-methodology study that includes qualitative interview data from 17 individuals, coded to identify the mechanisms that may affect the couple's interpersonal functioning when there is a history of trauma exposure in one or both partners. The following primary themes were identified: role in the relationship, boundary issues, intimacy problems, triggers, and coping mechanisms. Areas for future research and clinical implications also are identified.     

Healing of genital injuries

Child sexual abuse as well as accidental trauma may cause acute injuries in the anogenital area. Most data on residual findings following genital trauma come from longitudinal studies of children who have been sexually assaulted, undergone surgical procedures, or experienced accidental trauma. Like injuries in other part parts of the body, such injuries undergo a predictable pattern of healing. Most superficial injuries heal without any residual evidence. Deeper injuries, as well as those that become infected or experience repeated disruption, may produce permanent changes. While the presence of such changes supports allegations of prior anogenital trauma, their absence does not preclude the trauma from having occurred.     

Altruistic behavior and habit formation

This article examines whether altruistic behavior is habit forming. The basic premise is that if engaging in altruistic behavior when young is a good predictor of such behavior in adulthood, then this is consistent with the notion that altruistic behavior is habit forming. Using U.S. data, we examine donations of both money and time and find that engaging in charitable behavior when young is a strong predictor of adult altruistic behavior, with all other things equal. A major issue in the interpretation of this result is that the correlation between youthful and adult altruistic behavior may be due to some third variable that affects both. Although it is impossible to rule out such a possibility, we are able to control for family influences that likely could affect lifetime attitudes toward altruism.