Criticism and outstanding leadership: An evaluation of leader reactions and critical outcomes

Outstanding political leaders are frequently called upon to make high-stakes decisions. Because of the controversial and highly visible nature of these issues, they often face intense criticism. Leaders' responses to criticisms not only affect follower reactions, but also the successful resolution of the contested issue. The present study examines leader and follower reactions to different types of criticisms. A historiometric approach was used to examine biographies containing criticisms of 120 world leaders and to explore leader behaviors in response to criticisms. Specifically, leader response strategies and their success in terms of follower reactions and resolution of the criticism were examined. The results indicated that collaborative or confrontational leader response strategies proved most effective in terms of the leader's ability to continue forward with a particular agenda item and to gather support of those around him or her. Conversely, avoidant, diverting attention, and persuasive response strategies proved less effective.     

Happily Ever After? The Journey From Foster Care to Adoption

Providing the foster child with a forever family through adoption is often seen as a happy ending to the long and painful journey through foster care. This qualitative study explores this complex journey from foster care to adoption from the perspective of 30 young adults aged 18 to 25 who were adopted from the foster care system after the age of 8. The results indicate that the foster and adoption experience for these youth cannot be compartmentalized when trying to understand the impact adoption has had on their overall sense of self. Implications for future research to explore the emerging concept of foster/adoptive identity for older youth adopted through the foster care system are provided.     

Marketing Theory Matters

There have been concerns about the slow pace of theory development inside and outside of marketing for a number of years. Rarely have some of the possible reasons for this lack of development been considered, or an assessment of the ways in which a more theoretically driven focus might emerge been discussed. This paper addresses these gaps in the current debate. Potential difficulties have emerged as a result of a lack of theorists, lack of theory courses, business school strategies and misguided perceptions of practitioner-oriented research amongst other things. Suggestions for future action to drive a more theoretically driven marketing are proposed.     

Contraceptive Method Choice Among Youth in the United States: The Importance of Relationship Context

We examine the relationship characteristics associated with contraceptive method choice within young people’s nonmarital sexual relationships, using data from retrospective relationship histories available in the third wave (2001–2002) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Data-reduction techniques produce a detailed multidimensional characterization of relationship commitment for nonmarital sexual relationships. We then use multilevel analysis to estimate associations between two key relationship characteristics—relationship commitment and couple heterogamy—and the type of contraceptive method used at last sexual intercourse within each relationship. Results indicate that for a given individual, contraceptive method choice varies across relationships as a function of these characteristics, even after we account for important individual and family characteristics and prior relationship experiences.     

Discursive Struggles Animating Individuals’ Talk About Their Parents’ Coming Out as Lesbian or Gay

The goal in the present study was to understand the discourses that animate children’s talk about having a parent come out and how these discourses interplay to create meaning. Data were gathered through 20 in-depth interviews with adults who remembered a parent coming out to them as lesbian or gay. One discursive struggle animated the participants’ talk about their parents’ coming out: the discourse of lesbian and gay identity as wrong vs. the discourse of lesbian and gay identity as acceptable. Analysis of participants’ talk about their familial identities revealed a range of avenues for resisting the negative discourses regarding lesbian and gay identities. The findings highlight discursive power in participants’ talk about their familial identities and how participants organize the conflicting messages they receive in their culture and in relationships regarding family identities.     

Examining the role of parental factors on depression among Urban African American youth living in public housing

This study examined the potential risk and protective parental factors associated with depression among African American youth living in public housing. Utilizing a community-based participatory research approach, 239 African-American youth surveys were collected during 2013–2014 in two urban public housing developments with low socioeconomic profiles. Over half (52.3%) of the sample was in high school and female (58%). 65.3% reported living with their mother while 38% reported being employed. Bivariate analysis revealed significant correlations between depression and maternal substance abuse, paternal monitoring, parent-child relationship, and family time. Results from the regression analyses indicated that higher depression scores were significantly associated with youth who reported poor parent-child relationships, low levels of paternal supervision and high levels of maternal drug abuse. These findings provide support for claims about the importance of parent-child relationship and paternal monitoring as a protective factor for depressive symptoms, particularly during adolescence. Moreover, findings suggest that interventions which are targeted towards urban African American youth should address parental factors as a pathway to decrease depression among this population.     

Work and non-work factors as perceived causes of symptoms of psychological strain

Two studies are reported in which the respondents were asked to attribute causes to their experienced symptoms of stress as measured by the General Health Questionnaire. The results show that most respondents can do this, that there are differences in attributions by symptoms, and that the pattern of attributions is similar for two different occupational groups, even though the level of symptomology is higher for nurses than for laboratory workers. It is argued that this simple addition to symptom questionnaires might have useful diagnostic value, but that further research with different populations and other symptoms is desirable.