A survey of social workers' attitudes and use of body and sex psychotherapies

Summary This article has indicated the use, and attitudes toward use, of newer, perhaps questionable, treatment modes by social workers and has considered some related problems. It suggests that it is imperative for the profession to begin exploring these problems and developing forums, instruments, and mechanisms whereby the issues can be addressed and policy formulated and implemented.The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of graduate social work students Ronald Bailey, Sally King, Colleen McGuigan, Barbara Sejnoski, and David Stout, on questionnaire construction and evaluation.     

Fertility of rural China: effects of local family planning and health programs

The rationing of births in China after the 1979 announcement of the one-child family policy has been held responsible for the rapid decrease in Chinese fertility, whereas other observers have noted that parallel fertility declines occurred with voluntary behavior in other East and Southeast Asian countries. This paper assesses the joint contribution of local family planning and health programs, individual characteristics of women, and the development of their communities, as explanatory variables for Chinese fertility in rural areas of three provinces in 1985. Given the explicit quantitative reproductive goals of the government, an ordered Probit model for cumulative fertility is estimated for women age 15–34 and 35–49.The authors appreciate the comments on and corrections of our paper by John Ermisch and the programming assistance of Paul McGuire. The financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation is acknowledged.     

Multivariate analysis and anthropological applications

A brief history of the use of statistical concepts in the field of anthropology is reviewed as is the history of the development of multivariate analysis. Those multivariate statistical techniques which are particularly of interest to anthropologists, that is, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis, are explained. They are related to multivariate analysis theory in general, are compared among themselves, and are further treated in light of their individual characteristics. Anthropological applications of multivariate analysis are cited, and it is concluded that joint cooperation between anthropologists and statisticians in multivariate research would be beneficial to both.     

An Experiment in Overseas Field Instruction

This paper reports on a study that examined the knowledge needed for practice in community mental health and the primary source for this knowledge. Differences were found in knowledge areas needed for practice in community mental health settings when contrasted with practice in more traditional mental health agencies. The most frequently indicated source of knowledge for social work roles in community mental health was on-the-job experience. Courses in social work schools were not a primary source of knowledge for the many nonclinical roles undertaken by social workers in community mental health.     

Divorce in Early America: Origins and Patterns in Three North Central States*

The recent increase in American divorce rates has aroused a great deal of media publicity, popular discussion, and social science research. Several recent works have begun to reexamine the origins, trends, and implications of divorce in American history. This paper presents systematic data concerning the extent of divorce in three North Central states for the 1810–60 period. The findings establish the incidence of mass divorce for a considerable period prior to official divorce statistics. Major patterns are analyzed and compared to late 19th-century data from the first governmental studies of divorce for the 1870–1900 decades. While some urban-rural differences are found, changing laws and norms played the principal role in the increase in divorce rates during the 1800s. The final part of the paper discusses the implications of these findings for understanding marital disruption in social-historical perspective.     

Birthing the pill at the University of Vermont (1970-1976)

The introduction of the birth control pill in 1960 precipitated 2 decades of intense social change in the United States, particularly in the area of sexuality. Colleges and universities were not immune to these changes. The author examines the struggles at 1 land-grant university to find common ground on this issue among students, faculty, administrators, and trustees between 1970 and 1976.     

Occupational pursuits of free women in early America: An examination of eighteenth-century newspapers

The revival of social and family history during the past two decades has resulted in major revisions of conventional explanations of the processes of social change. Scholarship concerning the status, roles, and contributions of early American women has been especially important in this respect. This paper is based on original findings from a systematic survey of the occupational pursuits of early American women (N=2,572) and a stratified sample (N=1,949), both derived from eighteenth-century newspaper advertisements. Our findings focus on the distribution of occupations available to women, important trends during the period, and factors contributing to changes in the occupational structure of early America.