24-month update on the impact of roundtables on permanency for youth in foster care

Although the number of children in foster care has decreased in recent years (U.S. DHHS, 2012), additional strategies are needed to help youth achieve legal permanency before they age out of foster care. One such strategy is the permanency roundtable, which convenes a team of professionals to facilitate the permanency planning process by identifying realistic solutions to permanency obstacles for youth. Nearly 500 youth went through the initial permanency roundtable process in Georgia in 2009. Just over half were male (57%) and over nine in ten (92%) were African American. At the start of the roundtables, the median age was 13, and the median length of stay in foster care was 52 months. Two years after their roundtable, 50% of the nearly 500 children had achieved legal permanency. Analyses, presented separately for three age groups (0–6, 7–12, and 13–18), examine outcomes and predictors of legal permanency. Recommendations, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.     

Recalling sexual behavior: A methodological analysis of memory recall bias via interview using the diary as the gold standard

This study examined the effect of time lag on the validity of retrospective self‐reports of sexual behavior. Seventy‐five heterosexual students (44 women, 31 men) made daily recordings of sexual behavior, condom use, and alcohol or substance use for 1 month. Ability of respondents to recall sexual behavior recorded during this period was assessed at 1, 2, and 3 months after diary completion using recall interviews (25 interviewed at each interval). For vaginal intercourse, total recall error was significantly greater at 3 months than at 1 month post‐diary. For all other variables assessed, the 2‐ and 3‐month time intervals did not produce significant increases in total recall error. Higher frequency of vaginal intercourse, orgasm, and alcohol use prior to sexual activity were associated with total recall error for some but not all behaviors and outcomes. The results provide a partial validation of the diary‐interview recall model as a method for studying recall error.     

Religious Identification as a Moderator of Evolved Sexual Strategies of Men and Women

Buss and Schmitt (1993) found empirical support for their Sexual Strategies Theory hypothesis of evolved sex differences in mating attitudes. This study hypothesized that religiosity would moderate those sex differences. Specifically, it was predicted that men high and low in religiosity would differ in mating attitudes, but it was expected that there would be fewer differences between women high and low in religiosity because of evolved preferences for longer term, more committed relationships. In Study 1, 219 college students completed questionnaires that included a single-item indicator of religiosity and short-term and long-term mating desires. Religiosity moderated sex differences in some mating preferences. In Study 2, 234 college student participants (mean age, 19.1 years) completed measures from Study 1 plus a measure of three types of religiosity: intrinsic (religion as a valuable end in itself), extrinsic (religion as a means to an end), and quest (religion as a means of questioning and doubting; Revised Religious Life Inventory—Hills, Francis, &; Robbins, 2005 Hills , P. , Francis , L. J. , &; Robbins , M. (2005). The development of the Revised Religious Life Inventory (RLI–R) by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Personality and Individual Differences , 38, 1389–1399.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Intrinsic religiosity, but not extrinsic or quest, moderated sex differences in mating attitudes, especially attitudes regarding number of sexual partners in the short term. These results provide evidence that intrinsic religiosity is an individual difference variable that qualifies the differences in mating strategies hypothesized in Sexual Strategies Theory.     

Studying Another Culture through Children’s Games

Abstract

Laurel Holliday, ed. Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries. New York: Pocket Books, 409 pp. Hardback, $20.00. ISBN 0–671–52054–7. Paperback, $12.95. ISBN 0–671–52055–5. 1995. Reviewed by Samuel Totten.

Maita Floyd. Stolen Years, In My Little Corner of the World. Phoenix, Arizona: Eskualdun Publishers. $12.95. 1996. Reviewed by Carol Danks.

Julie Hamston and Kath Murdoch. Integrating Socially: Planning Integrated Units of Work for Social Education. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1996. 169 pages. Soft cover. ISBN 0–435–08899–8. Reviewed by John Douglas Hoge.     

Child Sexual Abuse,Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,and Substance Use: Predictors of Revictimization in Adult Sexual Assault Survivors

This study examined the unique effects of child sexual abuse simultaneously with post-traumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, problem drinking, and illicit drug use in relation to sexual revictimization in a community sample of female adult sexual assault victims. Participants (N?=?555) completed two surveys a year apart. Child sexual abuse predicted more post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in adult sexual assault victims. Post-traumatic stress disorder numbing symptoms directly predicted revictimization, whereas other post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal) were related to problem drinking, which in turn predicted revictimization. Thus, numbing symptoms and problem drinking may be independent risk factors for sexual revictimization in adult sexual assault victims, particularly for women with a history of childhood sexual abuse.     

Savings for Survivors: An Individual Development Account Program for Survivors of Intimate-Partner Violence

ABSTRACT

Survivors of domestic violence often remain in abusive relationships due to limited economic resources, economic dependence on an abusive partner, and economic abuse. Viewing women who have experienced domestic violence as “survivors” suggests that when provided access to appropriate resources, they will seek help and utilize such resources allowing them to increase their stability and potentially escape an abusive partner. Assets have been shown to have a variety of positive associations with a wide range of economic, social, and psychological outcomes. Economic initiatives, such as financial education and individual development accounts (IDAs), aimed toward survivors of domestic violence are on the rise. However, to date, there are few studies. Data on IDA activity, including savings rates, withdrawals, and asset purchases, for 125 women who participated in an IDA matched-savings program for survivors of intimate-partner violence were examined. Approximately 2/3 of women reached their savings goal and 76% made at least 1 matched-savings withdrawal and asset purchase. Results suggest survivors can be successful savers and purchase assets that may contribute to their economic stability. Implications are discussed, including the need for long-term studies to examine how participation in a matched-savings program affects women's well-being, safety, and future experiences of intimate-partner violence.     

The Differential Wage Impact of the Immigration Reform and Control Act on Latino Ethnic Subgroups*

Objective. This article tests whether employer sanctions for hiring undocumented workers, a provision of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), adversely affected the hourly earnings of Latino workers. Methods. Using the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group Files from 1983–1990, a natural experiment framework is developed to assess the differential wage impact of employer sanctions on Latino ethnic subgroups. Results. Estimates of wage changes indicate that workers of Mexican descent saw a sizeable pre‐post IRCA decline in their hourly earnings relative to Cuban or Puerto Rican workers. Moreover, this change in wages is not observed among non‐Latino white workers. Controlling for the level of enforcement explains part of this decline immediately following the passage of IRCA, and enforcement efforts continue to be a significant factor several years later. Conclusions. The majority of evidence is consistent with the contention that employer sanctions adversely affected the earnings of Mexican workers.     

The Sociology of the Future: Tracing Stories of Technology and Time

The sociology of the future is an emerging field of inquiry that works to understand future consciousness drawing from a mix of Science & Technology Studies and the practice of foresight. Through an exploration of the theories, methodologies, and quagmires of anticipation employed in the study of nanotechnology, this piece introduces the sociology of the future and suggests some ways the field is taking definition. Exploring the future tense provides a means of taking responsibility for what is to come; yet, the movement of the social sciences into the tricky terrain of the future presents tensions. Understanding plausibility, how different communities use anticipatory knowledge, and the performative role of expectations in innovation remain areas of research rich with dilemmas and delights. As social scientists begin to weave their own accounts of futures, they should pay attention to the politics of such rendering.     

Relationship Risks in Context: A Cumulative Risk Approach to Understanding Relationship Satisfaction

Risks associated with less satisfying intimate relationships often co‐occur within individuals, raising questions about approaches that consider only their independent impact. Utilizing the cumulative risk model, which acknowledges the natural covariation of risk factors, this study examined individuals in intimate relationships using the Florida Family Formation Survey (n = 2,876) and a replication sample (n = 1,048). Analyses confirmed that not only was relationship satisfaction lower among those with more risks, but the cumulative risk score was predictive above and beyond the individual risk factors. Furthermore, experiencing multiple risks exacerbated the negative associations between individual risks and relationship satisfaction, suggesting that the operation of a risk factor in a relationship is moderated by the presence or absence of other risks.