All Creatures Great and Small: New Perspectives on Psychology and Human–Animal Interactions

Relations between humans and nonhuman animals are morally significant, intense, enduring, and pervasive. Presented here are current perspectives on social and psychological aspects of human–animal interactions. The articles in this issue focus on three broad themes—attitudes toward the use of other species, the effects of relationships with companion animals on human health and well-being, and the ethical and policy implications of our interactions with other species. The article represent a mix of theory, qualitative and quantitative empirical approaches, review, and policy recommendations on a topic that has historically been neglected by social scientists.     

Academic and Behavioral Outcomes Among the Children of Young Mothers

In this article, we use newly available data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate the effects of early motherhood on academic and behavioral outcomes for children born to early child bearers. We find that early motherhood's strong negative correlation with children's test scores and positive correlation with children's grade repetition is almost entirely explained by prebirth individual and family background factors of teen mothers themselves. However, early childbearing is associated indirectly with reduced children's test scores through its linkage to family size (and thus to child birth order). We find a different pattern in predicting fighting, truancy, early sexual activity, and other problem behaviors among adolescent and young adult offspring. For these behaviors, maternal age at first birth remains an important risk factor even after controlling for a wide range of background factors and maternal characteristics. These results highlight the diverse pathways through which teen parenting might influence subsequent child well‐being and social performance.     

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS AND THE CLERGY: A NEED FOR CLINICAL COLLABORATION, TRAINING, AND RESEARCH

This article calls for greater collaboration between clergy and marriage and family therapists. It spells out the reasons for potenial collaboration and suggests some specific ways it can occur. Marriage and family therapists acknowledge the highest rates of religious involvement of any metntal health profession, placing them in a unique position to be involved in the continuing education of clergy. There is a clear need for research to understand how marriage and family therapists and clergy can more effectively work together. The dearth of research, training, and collaboration between the two vocations is all the more unfortunate given the clear evidence of the importance of religion in the personal lives of the clients we serve.     

Random Drug Testing and Religion*

Research recently has begun to examine the link between religion and social control. It has been noted that religion, in particular Protestant conservatism, does play a role in shaping public opinion, and as a result, public policy on crime, crime control, and justice. The present research examines the issue of public support for random drug testing by focusing on the role of religion, specifically religious affiliation, in shaping public opinion. Analysis of survey data from a city in the Southwest identifies two separate dimensions of public support for random drug testing–a utilitarian dimension that is grounded in safety concerns, along with a normative dimension that reflects conservative moral beliefs, including a concern with the “evil” of drugs. Evidence from the data also indicates that conservative Protestants, compared to liberal-moderate Protestants, Catholics, and those with no affiliation, display higher levels of normative-based support for random drug testing. Researchers are encouraged to further explore the role of religion in shaping public support for the development of drug policies and other more general social control policies.     

Race and Ethnic Self-Identification Influences on Physical and Mental Health Statuses Among Blacks

We examine if commonly used distress measures, rates of psychiatric disorders, and chronic health conditions are affected by alternate measures of race-ethnicity for African Americans and Caribbean blacks. We examined two alternative self-identification measures to investigate if their influence might differ. A study on national household probability sample of non-institutionalized African Americans (n = 3,570) and blacks from Caribbean countries, who now live in the United States (n = 1,621), was conducted between February 2001 and June 2003, using a slightly modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The method used to measure black race and ethnicity has influence on physical and mental health outcomes. The distributions of depressive symptoms are not affected, while the distributions of DSM IV disorders and chronic health conditions vary by race and ethnic self-identifications among the African American and Caribbean black populations. There are serious implications of using alternate measures of race-ethnicity on the distribution of physical and mental health morbidity among African Americans and Caribbean blacks. The conceptualization and assessment of race-ethnicity should be carefully considered when studying mental and physical health statuses and service needs in the American black population.     

Three Poems

Within Southern Appalachia there are distinct, historic patterns of exploitation. These patterns have helped to give shape to certain cultural tendencies that are strikingly similar to the clinical manifestations of groups who have experienced traumatic stress. Once normative adaptations to the well documented crises that come with unemployment, over the generations they became ingrained in the culture. The resulting cultural traits-an enduring sense of resignation, deep depression, and disrupted relationships represent the presence of a culturally transmitted traumatic stress syndrome that is induced by exploitation.     

Index to Volume 29

This article measures the efficacy of two approaches to teaching students to assess clients for substance abuse: an alcohol and other drug (AOD) minor program and integration of AOD content into core courses. A quasi-experimental design involved nonrandom assignment to an AOD minors program or to a nonminors curriculum. Both groups reported on their usual AOD assessment and on AOD assessment in their first interview with their most recent client. Self-report outcomes, examined in relation to the number of courses with integrated AOD content taken, suggest that these courses lead to significantly more self-reported assessment for substance abuse.