Single Parenting in the African American Community: Implications for Public Policy and Practice

The percentage of female-headed African American families has increased significantly since the 1960s. It is now estimated that over half of all African American children will grow up in a female-headed household. This article examines factors related to the formation of these households as well as the challenges associated with these households. Policies and programs that have been implemented to treat these families are examined.     

Gender differences in faculty attrition in the USA

In this study, we examined possible gender differences in reasons for faculty attrition during the last 20 years at a small women's liberal arts college. The attrition rate was calculated from archival data collected through old college directories. As in earlier studies, the attrition rate was higher for women (31%) than for men (18.5%). Reasons for leaving the college were assessed in an online survey completed by 45 out of 66 tenure-track or tenured professors who left (excluding retirees). Work–family conflict was the most frequently cited reason for leaving, with disproportionately more women than men giving this reason. Open-ended responses revealed that work–family conflict typically referred to the difficulty of coordinating two careers. Female faculty who left were also significantly more dissatisfied than males with the support for balancing work and family life at the college. The need for colleges to create spousal policies to help faculty coordinate dual careers was discussed.     

A Theoretical Comparison of Relational Maintenance and Closeness as Mediators of Family Communication Patterns in Parent-Child Relationships

This investigation sought to elaborate Koerner and Fitzpatrick’s theory of family communication by testing two theoretical models of family communication patterns (FCP), child-to-parent inclusion of the other in the self (IOS), and relational maintenance. Participants included 374 young adults recruited from two universities in different regions of the United States. Results best supported a model positioning maintenance as a mediator of the association between FCP and IOS, as compared to an alternative model with IOS as a mediator of the association between FCP and maintenance. These findings extend Koerner and Fitzpatrick’s theory by highlighting communication as the means by which overarching family schemas influence relationship-specific schemas; additionally, they commend the self-expansion model as a useful theoretical approach to relational maintenance behavior in family contexts.     

The Relationship Between Online Sexual Compulsivity,Dissociation, and Past Child Abuse Among Men Who Have Sex with Men

The objective of this study was to measure the relationships between online sexual compulsivity, three dimensions of dissociation (absorption, depersonalization, and amnesia), and past child abuse among men who have sex with men (MSM). A total of 517 MSM, recruited from Internet chat rooms, completed the survey. Results indicated that past child abuse was significantly related to dissociation but not online sexual compulsivity. It was also found that the amount of time MSM spent online in a one-week period, in general and specifically engaged in sexual activity, was significantly related to online sexual compulsivity and three dimensions of dissociation. Online sexual compulsivity was a significant predictor of absorption, depersonalization, and amnesia. Implications for clinicians and future research are presented.     

Predictors of Heterosexual Siblings’ Acceptance of Their Lesbian Sister or Gay Brother

Research has shown that lesbian and gay (LG) individuals are coming out not only to their parents, but also to their siblings. Eighty percent of individuals in the United States are raised with one or more siblings; however, researchers have frequently underestimated the importance of the sibling bond. This study examined potential correlates of heterosexual siblings’ acceptance of their LG sister or brother using an online survey format (N = 189). In addition, psychometric properties for the Acceptance of Sibling Sexual Orientation Scale are provided. Results revealed that greater sibling relationship quality in adulthood, more contact with LG individuals, greater knowledge of LG communities, more support for LG civil rights, and various demographics (being female, having higher educational levels, not having an orthodox/fundamentalist religious orientation, less church attendance, and more liberal political ideology) are related to heterosexual siblings’ acceptance of their LG sister or brother. However, when these variables were examined together in a regression model, only sibling relationship in adulthood, contact with LG individuals, support for LG civil rights, and religious attendance were significant unique predictors of acceptance.     

A Qualitative Study of Middle Eastern/Arab American Sexual Minority Identity Development

The development of one's sexual minority identity is often stunted by a heterosexist society. For individuals with multiple minority oppressions, this process becomes even more complicated. As such, there has been a call among researchers for more empirical research on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) individuals from racial/ethnic minority groups. This study uses qualitative methods to fill gaps in the literature related to identity development among same-gender attracted Middle Eastern/Arab individuals living in the United States. From 12 interviews, 13 themes associated with intersectionality, race/ethnicity, sexual identity development, discrimination, stigma, oppression, and invisibility. Themes, subthemes, and their implications are discussed.     

Does generosity beget generosity? The relationships between transfer receipt and formal and informal volunteering

This paper examines whether receipt of public or private assistance is associated with recipients’ own generosity in the form of formal and informal volunteering. Using matched data from the 2007–2011 American Time Use Survey and the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, this paper finds that receipt of private assistance from friends and relatives is negatively associated with the time women spend caring for non-household adults and the time men spend caring for non-household children. Receipt of public assistance is found to be negatively associated with men’s care of non-household adults. No associations are found between either type of assistance and time spent volunteering for a formal organization.     

Two Teacher Educators Go to the Source: Teaching an Interdisciplinary Class in an Urban Charter High School

The authors of this article are two teacher educators who worked collaboratively to co-teach an interdisciplinary English and US history class to eleventh-grade students in an urban high school. They wanted to ensure the methods they were teaching preservice teachers were current and effective. The article discusses the foundational beliefs that influenced their teaching, the interdisciplinary curriculum they taught, some of the challenges they encountered, and a brief snapshot of the students' views of the curriculum. The authors discuss that putting their beliefs into practice outweighed the challenges they encountered—a culturally relevant, authentic, interdisciplinary curriculum can be effective in an urban classroom. The experience also assisted them in teaching their English and social studies methods classes.     

Illegal Aliens,Criminals, and Hypersexual Spitfires: Latin@ Youth and Pedagogies of Citizenship in Media Texts

This article aims to broaden the ways we conceptualize citizenship and implement citizenship education in social studies. To do so, the authors explore media texts as a curricular and pedagogical site for teaching lessons about citizenship. Specifically, the authors investigate how media drafts the boundaries of citizenship for Latin@ youth, and influences how young people come to understand who is and who is not perceived as a citizen entitled to rights and freedoms. Media texts, like formal social studies curricula, are powerful and enduring educators that shape how students know the world and imagine their place in it. Therefore, this article addresses how social studies teachers can integrate media texts into the classroom to explore representations of Latin@s and the impact that media has on our citizenship identities and experiences.     

A Streetcar Named “Derousal”? A Psychophysiological Examination of the Desire–Arousal Distinction in Sexually Functional and Dysfunctional Women

Research indicates that desire and arousal problems are highly interrelated in women. Therefore, hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) and female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) were removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), and a new diagnostic category, female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD), was created to include both arousal and desire difficulties. However, no research has tried to distinguish these problems based on psychosocial-physiological patterns to identify whether unique profiles exist. This study compared psychosocial-physiological patterns in a community sample of 84 women meeting DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000 American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) criteria for HSDD (n = 22), FSAD (n = 18), both disorders (FSAD/HSDD; n = 25), and healthy controls (n = 19). Women completed self-report measures and watched neutral and erotic films while genital arousal (GA) and subjective arousal (SA) were measured. Results indicated that GA increased equally for all groups during the erotic condition, whereas women with HSDD and FSAD/HSDD reported less SA than controls or FSAD women. Women in the clinical groups also showed lower concordance and greater impairment on psychosocial variables as compared to controls, with women with FSAD/HSDD showing lowest functioning. Results have important implications for the classification and treatment of these difficulties.