Sexual Orientation,Relationships with Parents,Stress, and Depressive Symptoms among Adults

Disparities in depressive symptoms as a function of sexual orientation have been well documented, but less is known about their origins. This study examines whether, even in adulthood, less favorable parental relationships are associated with disparities in depressive symptoms as a function of sexual orientation. Cross-sectional data were drawn from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) participants reported lower quality parental relationships, greater stress, and more depressive symptoms than did heterosexual participants. Lower quality parental relationships were associated with higher stress. Higher stress and lower quality parental relationships were associated with more depressive symptoms. GLB individuals reported lower father relationship quality and higher stress, which partially mediated the association of sexuality and depressive symptoms. Lesbian and bisexual women reported lower mother relationship quality and higher stress, which fully mediated the association of sexuality and depressive symptoms. While no differences in mother relationship quality existed for men, mother relationship quality was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms for gay and bisexual men than for heterosexual men. Even in adulthood, greater stress and depressive symptoms among GLB individuals were at least partially accounted for by less favorable parental relationships.     

Responding to child maltreatment: Comparison between the USA and China

A recent study estimated that over one‐fourth of Chinese children have suffered maltreatment (Fang et al., 2015 ). However, the current child welfare policy in China is limited to orphans, abandoned children, and children with disabilities. Also, there is very little comparative research in China on Chinese and other countries’ child welfare systems. The purpose of this study was to analyze applicable US and Chinese child welfare policies, identify gaps in Chinese policy regarding child maltreatment, and make recommendations for a policy agenda for improving child welfare in China based on cultural values and existing policy structures. Results show that China has considerable capacity to make improvements in child protective services, foster care, and adoption policies. Based on the results of this study, several implications are provided to develop China's child maltreatment policy to increase children's outcomes of well‐being, safety, and permanency. Key Practitioner Message: ? To understand the background and system of current Chinese child maltreatment policy; ? To review US child maltreatment policy and its implementation to identify gaps in the Chinese child maltreatment system; ? To provide policy suggestions to develop Chinese child maltreatment policy and provide recommendations for social work education and practice in China.     

瑞典社会民主主义与第三条道路--艰难的选择

第三条道路的许多观念构成了瑞典社会民主党纲领的基本内容和社会民主党政府实施的具体政策 ,诸如积极有效的劳动市场政策 (从福利到工作 )、教育政策、终生学习和拥有就业能力的政策。与此同时 ,许多社会民主党人认为 ,第三条道路是可怕的和值得怀疑的。为了理解瑞典在第三条道路讨论中的勉强态度 ,我们了解一些 2 0世纪 90年代瑞典的背景情况是很重要的。最近 ,一个政府委员会完成了对 90年代瑞典福利政策的平衡测算 ,报告的序言部分表明 ,在90年代 ,人口因素和瑞典经济和劳动力市场最不景气的阶段交织在一起。委员会强调 ,瑞典人口的构成…     

Research with Deaf People: Issues and Conflicts

The field of sign language research is fraught with problems-prejudice, mistrust, misunderstanding, unmet expectations, identity crises and pervasive mythologies, to name but a few. Some of these problems arise from cultural differences between the (usually hearing) researchers and the people they study. Others stem from a lack of appropriate training and sensitivity on the part of the researcher. Those who investigate aspects of deafness itself (medical, educational or psychological) also face these problems since they, too, need to be in contact with members of the deaf community. Researchers in fields other than deafness may find that they share many of the same problems. As a result of extended study of sign language and the deaf community and the experience of working with deaf associates for 15-20 years, both in the United Kingdom and in the USA, we have begun to understand the tensions felt by both deaf and hearing people when they come together in the research enterprise. This paper is an attempt to open a debate on the issues which have been ignored in the search for results and publications. Failure to deal with these points will undermine the validity of supposedly objective results. The issues concern the power relations between the communities and the roles of the research staff in relation to each other and to their respective communities.     

Mortality in the two Germanies in 1986 and trends 1976–1986

By using the new analysis programme LIFETIME the mortality data of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR are compared by age, sex and cause of death. The data submitted to the WHO were used for this purpose. Within the period from 1976 to 1986 life expectancy has risen in the Federal Republic of Germany, whereas in the GDR it increased to a minor extent only, so that the gap between the two parts of Germany has clearly enlarged. This enlarged gap in life expectancy largely depends on a higher mortality in the GDR due to diseases of the circular system and the respiratory organs, external influences and ‘other’ causes of death. The last-mentioned two groups also ‘contain’ the normally separatedly reported causes of death ‘cirrhosis of the liver’, ‘suicide’, ‘accidents’, and some diseases of the digestive system. These causes of death probably have gained a certain weight — like in other Eastern European countries — so that their evidence has been undesirable due to political reasons. In 1976 the GDR still reported these causes of death separately.     

The future of grand challenges research: Retiring a hopeful concept and endorsing research principles

Editorial notes in leading management journals have urged scholars to address Grand Challenges (GC) as an opportunity for producing knowledge that matters for society. This review explores whether current conceptualizations of GC support a productive path for management and organizational scholarship by guiding empirical inquiry, facilitating cumulative theory development, and informing practice. We systematically examine scholarly articles, calls for papers, and editorial notes published in management journals for consistency in how researchers use and define the concept of GC and the scope of associated phenomena and attributes. We find three prominent conceptual architectures in use: discursive, family resemblance, and phenomenon driven. The variety and incoherence of current uses of the GC concept and the lack of efforts to improve its analytical competence lead us to suggest its retirement. Instead, we propose building on the enthusiasm around GC research and using GC as a term to define research principles that collectively help align research efforts and improve theoretical development and practice. The principles we propose capture a genuine origin story for management research on GC.     

SBIRT Training in Social Work Education: Evaluating Change Using Standardized Patient Simulation

A grand challenge for social work is addressing widespread public health problems of alcohol misuse. MSW students (n = 83) received Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) training through didactic sessions, role plays, and pre–post videotaped standardized patient (SP) interactions. SBIRT knowledge, self-reported practice behaviors, and confidence were assessed at pretest, 30 days, and 6 months posttest. Videos were coded to assess intervention-adherent behaviors. General linear mixed models analyzed changes. Participants demonstrated increased adherence to SBIRT behaviors, and knowledge, skills, and confidence increased posttraining. Findings suggest SBIRT training increases students’ capacity to implement evidence-based interventions designed to reduce alcohol misuse.     

What Shall We Call Ourselves? Last Names Among Lesbian,Gay, and Heterosexual Couples and Their Adopted Children

ABSTRACT

Choices of last names for both adults and children are important family decisions that are often made upon marriage or upon the birth of a child. The gendered nature of such choices among heterosexual populations is well known, but they have not been widely studied among lesbian or gay populations. We studied selection of last names among 106 adoptive families—27 headed by lesbian couples, 29 headed by gay couples, and 50 headed by heterosexual couples—all of whom had adopted children at birth or in the first weeks of life. Whether in selection of last names for adults or for children, we found that heterosexual adoptive couples were more likely than lesbian and gay adoptive couples to follow patronymic conventions. Thus, heterosexual parents and their children were most likely to have identical last names. For lesbian and gay couples, in contrast, the most common scenario was for both adults to retain last names given to them at birth and hyphenate them to create last names for their children. Parents in lesbian and gay couples offered more detailed explanations of their choices than did those in heterosexual couples. Explanations offered by heterosexual parents were most likely to refer to tradition, but those given by same-sex parents were more likely to mention egalitarian or practical considerations. Overall, we found that same-sex and other-sex couples took very different approaches to the problem of naming themselves and their children.     

Promoting low-income preschoolers’ school readiness through a text messaging intervention

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of a language-rich math content text message intervention as a way to promote child literacy outcomes for children enrolled in 15 Head Start centers participating in Jumpstart. Two-hundred and fifty-eight families were randomly assigned to treatment (language-rich math text) or control (information about kindergarten enrollment) conditions. Families received text messages in English, Spanish, or written Chinese. Parents reported on children’s fall entry skills and family demography. Teachers reported on children’s interest in math and literacy. Children were directly assessed on literacy skills to determine if the language-rich math content increased literacy skills. Structural equation models reveal no main effects for the sample of 258, but subgroup analyses by language show intervention effectiveness. For families receiving text messages in English, effectiveness depended on children’s fall letter and shape knowledge for increasing phonological awareness (English). The intervention appears most effective for Spanish-speaking families by increasing children’s math and literacy interest, definitional vocabulary, and print knowledge. Limitations and finding implications are discussed.