Caregiver Emotional Expressiveness,Child Emotion Regulation,and Child Behavior Problems among Head Start Families

The present study examined the relationships between caregivers' self‐reported positive and negative emotional expressiveness, observer assessments of children's emotion regulation, and teachers' reports of children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 97 primarily African American and Hispanic Head Start families. Results indicated that higher caregiver negativity and lower child emotion regulation independently predicted more internalizing behavior problems in children. Additionally, children's externalizing behavior problems were negatively predicted by caregivers' self‐reports of positive emotional expressiveness. Importantly, results also suggested that caregivers' emotional expressiveness and children's behavioral problems may be non‐linearly related, and that child gender may play an important moderating role. These results emphasize the importance of family emotional climate and child emotion regulation in the behavioral development of preschool‐age children, and highlight the need for improved theoretical and practical understanding of socioemotional development in diverse populations.     

Evidence-based treatments for trauma among culturally diverse foster care youth: Treatment retention and outcomes

This study describes the implementation of three evidence-based treatments addressing traumatic stress symptoms within a wraparound foster care program in Illinois. Child–Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) were implemented with a racially diverse sample of youth ages 3–18 at six agencies. Culturally sensitive adaptations were made to treatment approaches to improve client retention and outcomes. Data analyses revealed no racial differences in retention in the program and no differences in outcomes between minority youth exposed to the intervention and other participants. All three evidence-based treatments were effective in reducing symptoms and improving functioning among minority youth. Implementation issues, including challenges and culturally competent accommodations, are discussed.     

THE "ALIENATED" PARTNER: RESPONSES TO TRADITIONAL THERAPIES FOR ADULT SEX ABUSE SURVIVORS

Childhood sexual abuse affects both survivors and partners; however, the common therapy modalities for survivors (individual and individual group therapy exclude their partners. In-depth interviews with the husbands of survivors were used to examine partner issues around the survivor's therapy. Several thems, both positive and negative, emerged from the qualitative analysis of the in-depth interviews. The authors suggest that therapists should consider integration conjoint couple therapy as an adjunct to, not a replacement for the traditional modalities of individual and individual group therapy for adult survivors.     

Gendered Organizations: Progress and Prospects

In this paper, we explore the context for the emergence of a theory of gendered organizations and define the basic features of the approach, noting the explosion of scholarship in the area and the now firmly established trend toward understanding gender, race, class, and sexuality as aspects of social structures. We focus on three of the most important emerging areas in research on gendered organizations: the study of intersectionality, the increasing emphasis on the importance of organizational context, and the exploration of mechanisms for organizational change. We conclude by briefly noting prospects for the further development of research on gendered organizations.     

“Who Would Find You?”: A Question for Working with Suicidal Children and Adolescents

This paper discusses the rationale, employment, and benefits of a particular question, “Who would find you?”, within the assessment of suicidal youngsters. The question helps identify salient interpersonal conflicts and supports in the young person's life, and indicates the direction for reparative and preventive interventions. For the young person, the question has the potential to release emotions, increase cognitive awareness of the reality of suicide, and generate a sense of hope. For the practitioner, it can increase skill and build confidence in the carrying out of a daunting clinical task.     

Who Lives Near Coke Plants and Oil Refineries? An Exploration of the Environmental Inequity Hypothesis

Facility-specific information on pollution was obtained for 36 coke plants and 46 oil refineries in the United States and matched with information on populations surrounding these 82 facilities. These data were analyzed to determine whether environmental inequities were present, whether they were more economic or racial in nature, and whether the racial composition of nearby communities has changed significantly since plants began operations.The Census tracts near coke plants have a disproportionate share of poor and nonwhite residents. Multivariate analyses suggest that existing inequities are primarily economic in nature. The findings for oil refineries are not strongly supportive of the environmental inequity hypothesis. Rank ordering of facilities by race, poverty, and pollution produces limited (although not consistent) evidence that the more risky facilities tend to be operating in communities with above-median proportions of nonwhite residents (near coke plants) and Hispanic residents (near oil refineries). Over time, the racial makeup of many communities near facilities has changed significantly, particularly in the case of coke plants sited in the early 1900s. Further risk-oriented studies of multiple manufacturing facilities in various industrial sectors of the economy are recommended.The authors are all affiliated with the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis     

HOMOPHOBIA AND HOMOSOCIALITY:

Past research on the subject of homophobia consists of theoretical generalizationl, on its origin or empirical correlations of a multitude of attitudinal and demgraphic variables, with very little synthesis of the two. The present study relates homophobia to the maintenance of powerful sex-segregated institutions. It does so by operationalizing, for the first time, the concept of homosociality, which refers to social preference for members of one's own gender, but does not necessarily imply erotic attraction. This concept is tested for its relationship with homophobia in a survey of a large adult sample. Traditional explanations of homophobia (which center around religious and sex-role conservatism) are similarly explored. All proposed hypotheses find support.     

Socioeconomic resources,gender traditionalism,and wife abuse in urban Russian couples

Until recently, Soviet data restrictions led to limited knowledge about wife abuse in Russia. This study adds to emerging research on Russian domestic violence by testing hypotheses derived from resource theory on the effects on wife abuse of husband's absolute resources versus spouses’ relative resources. Analysis of data from the 1996 National Survey of Russian Marriages (N= 664) shows support only for the influence of husband's absolute socioeconomic resources (education, employment status, and occupational rank). As in U.S. studies, intergenerational patterns of wife abuse and husband's alcohol use have notable effects on wife abuse. The findings suggest that although resource theory may partly explain wife abuse in urban Russia, spouses’ relative resources and husband's gender traditionalism currently have little influence.