Magazine Coverage of Child Sexual Abuse, 1992–2004

This article analyzes trends in the coverage of child sexual abuse in popular magazines since the early 1990s. The article employs systematic analysis to identify and analyze articles in four popular magazines. Articles are analyzed by subject, length, and publication. The results affirm established theories of newsworthiness related to the coverage of specific stories over time. However, interest in the subject waned in the past 10 years, with the brief and dramatic exception of coverage connected to the Catholic Church in 2002. The findings demonstrate systematic differences between the slants of the four magazines studied. The findings also suggest that child abuse professionals could improve the quality of coverage by agreeing to interviews in connection with articles about childhood sexual abuse.     

Prevalence of classes of risk behaviors for HIV infection in a randomly selected Australian population

A random, geographically stratified sample of over 2,600 individuals aged 16 and over was interviewed in all states and territories of Australia to determine the prevalence of classes of behaviors which are associated with HIV infection. Returns from the anonymous risk behavior questionnaire (60.2% return rate) suggested that the prevalence of both male and female homosexual behavior, and contact with prostitutes, was substantially lower than that estimated by Kinsey et al. (1948, 1953). Data suggest that prevalence of classes of behaviors which place Australian individuals at risk of HIV infection may be lower than American estimates. However, the proliferation of HIV into the Australian homosexual community may be more extensive than previously assumed. The implications of these data for HIV preventive education programs and their targeting are discussed.     

Family policy and couples’ labour supply: an empirical assessment

This paper empirically examines the effect on couples’ labour supply of a universal at-birth cash benefit and a government subsidy equal to 50% of child care expenditure for working parents. The method is first to simulate the effects on labour supply over the adult lifecycle using a calibrated dynamic utility maximisation model of a representative couple, using data drawn from waves of a longitudinal survey for Australia. Then using the same data, the effect of family benefits and the child care subsidy on couples’ hours worked is econometrically estimated. The 50% child care subsidy was found to increase the average couple’s labour supply by the equivalent of 0.75 to 1 h per week whilst children are of pre-school age, and less on average over the couple’s working lifetime. The cash benefit changes were found to have a negligible effect on labour supply.     

A National Survey on Depression,Internalized Homophobia,College Religiosity,and Climate of Acceptance on College Campuses for Sexual Minority Adults

ABSTRACT

Sexual minority persons have an increased risk for negative mental health outcomes in adulthood. This seems to largely be due to experiences of stigma in social settings. This study sought to understand the relationship between attending a religiously conservative college, internalized homophobia (a measure of sexual stigma), and depressive symptoms for sexual minority adults. Sexual minority adult participants (n = 384) from across the U.S. were recruited and completed a Web-based, anonymous survey. A mediation model predicting depression through college religious conservatism, college acceptance of sexual minority identities, and internalized homophobia was tested using path analysis. Results revealed an indirect effect of increased religious conservatism of a college predicted higher depression through lower college acceptance and higher internalized homophobia. Implications for the mental health of sexual minority adults and future research are examined.     

The demographic assessment of family planning programs: a bibliographic essay

Over the past 15-20 years a substantial literature has accumulated in the area of determining the effect of family planning programs upon fertility, and a selected bibliography is provided. The development of modern contraceptive techniques coincided with the development of large national programs designed to reduce the fertility of the general population, and literature is presented on each of the several evaluation methods that have been used to examine program-induced changes in 1 or more fertility measures. 2 methods deal with data on individuals - births averted among acceptors and individual matching; the latter compares the fertility experience of acceptors and matched non-acceptors. A different class of methods is aggregated methods. Either areas and areal variables are the focus of the analysis proceeds with measures on general subgroups identified by such factors as residence, age, or marital status. The aggregate methods are multiple regression, program experiemnts, matching of areas, correspondence between program activity and fertility change, decomposition, and simulation. The disparity in methods has conspired with large differences in programs, data sets, and investigator interests to produce serious problems of non-comparability in results.     

Freedom and struggling openly in psychotherapy: A qualitative inquiry with LGBQ young adults from religious families

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) young people from religious families are at increased risk of family rejection, poor mental health outcomes, and are overrepresented in mental health services. This article describes a two‐part qualitative study aimed at exploring the experiences of LGBQ young adults from religious families in psychotherapy, identifying positive and negative psychotherapy experiences, and understanding the influence of family and religion on the psychotherapy experience. Data were collected through a web‐based survey (n = 77) and interviews (n = 7) with LGBQ young adults (ages 18–25) from religious families. The study followed an interpretative phenomenological approach. Integrated results found often invisible, relational therapy processes, and religious discourses as significant to LGBQ young people who seek psychotherapy. Implications for future research, effective systemic family therapy practices with LGBQ young people from religious families, and a critique on ethical and legal limits of confidentiality with policy implications are outlined.     

Making the Most of Small Effects

The idea that classroom social ecologies are shaped by the aggregate effects of peers' prior care experiences is provocative, even though the evidence is weak that this explains the small and diminishing effect of childcare experience in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study. Small effects may indeed be small effects, but students of early development should attend to the potential importance of group-level influences on social and cognitive growth.     

The Family Unpredictability Scale: Reliability and Validity

We developed the Family Unpredictability Scale (FUS) to better understand the factors that underlie the presence and consequences of family dysfunction. Familial unpredictability is defined as a lack of consistency in family behaviors and regulatory systems. Family researchers and therapists generated and evaluated items, which were self‐administered by married parents who had children aged 2 to 18 (N= 314 ). Principal‐components analysis yielded four subscales (discipline, nurturance, meals, and money; 22 items total) that were internally consistent; confirmatory factor analysis based on a separate subsample yielded an adequate preliminary representation of this factor structure. The FUS related significantly to known measures of family and individual functioning but not to social desirability. The present study provides preliminary reliability, construct validity, and concurrent validity for this new multidimensional, self‐report assessment of family unpredictability. Research and clinical implications are discussed.