Conceptualising Male Violence against Female Partners: Political Implications of Therapeutic Responses

This paper examines some political implications of particular therapeutic/non-legal responses to male violence against female partners. In particular, a critique of the conceptualisation of violence as a problem of conflict is made. It is emphasised that male violence is a crime and that divergent responses are at risk of losing political impact and may well result in further oppression of women.     

Condom Use in Heavy Drinking College Students: The Importance of Always Using Condoms

Abstract

Objective: The authors examined whether alcohol use decreased condom use. Participants: The subjects were heavy-drinking students on 5 different college campuses. Methods: A face-to-face interview, administered between November of 2004 and February of 2007, gathered information about condom use, alcohol use, and other behaviors. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess predictors of condom use. Results: Of the 1715 participants, 64% reported that they did not always use condoms. Male students who drank heavily were less likely to always use condoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.61). Participants with more sexual partners used condoms less when drinking (AOR 1.93 for men, 1.45 for women). Conclusions: Many students do not use condoms consistently, especially those who drink heavily or have multiple sexual partners. Clinicians at student health need to encourage all students to use condoms every time they have intercourse.     

Student Bodies,Past and Present

Abstract

This article examines how the field of college health has evolved over time to address the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The central argument is that college and university health programs developed in conjunction with shifting standards of medical care and public health practices in the United States. The author reviews the role of college health programs as public health agencies for campus communities, and describes contemporary public health challenges facing college campuses. She shows how the history of college health is intertwined with the history of diversity in higher education. In particular, the author outlines how the growth of health services made higher education accessible to women, racial minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities.     

Parenting a Child With an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Public Perceptions and Parental Conceptualizations

In the middle part of the 20th century, parents were frequently blamed for causing autism. Although this idea is no longer prevalent in professional circles, this qualitative study indicates that parents still experience blame from community members and extended family. Eleven parents of children with autism participated in two focus groups. This qualitative study examined themes of parent blame as well as parents' own conceptualizations of autism. Results indicate that parents experienced blame for their children's autism-related behavior from the public and extended family, but most parents viewed the child with autism in positive ways.     

COSMOPOLITAN CODIFICATIONS: ELITES,EXPATRIATES, AND DIFFERENCE IN KATHMANDU,NEPAL

Globalization has been the site of many renegotiations of identity, both at the supra- and subnational levels. Yet, there is an interstitial zone of communication between the global and the local in which distinct processes of boundary-making and translation take place. This essay examines mediators of internationalization, elite nationals and expatriate employees, as they negotiate the form that difference can take in the global marketplace. The contentious politics of Nepalese nationalism as well as South Asian colonial delineations of difference provide precedents for the current social practices of a cosmopolitan population that establishes a hierarchy of difference while also excusing themselves from demarcation and restricting the purview of the concept of culture. The result is a zone made safe for the operation of neoliberal business (a practice seen to be without history or geography) with alterity only allowed in narrowly commodifiable settings.     

Are there differences in gender,race, and age regarding body dissatisfaction?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine any differences that may exist among demographic variables such as gender, age, and race in regard to internalization of society and media messages leading to body dissatisfaction that may lead to disordered eating behaviors such as preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint. A total of 324 participants completed the demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire for women, the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Revised-Male-Version for men, and Rotter’s Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control Scale. The results of this study found, as predicted, that Caucasians reported higher internalization, higher body dissatisfaction, and higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than African Americans. This study showed no differences regarding men’s and women’s internalization or body dissatisfaction but did reveal that women reported higher preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint than men. Regarding age, this study found that age did not predict internalization, body dissatisfaction, or preoccupation with weight, dieting, and eating restraint.     

Negative public attitudes towards gambling: findings from the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey using a new attitude scale

A new 14-item scale of general attitudes towards gambling (the Attitudes Towards Gambling Scale: ATGS) was developed for use in the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey. The development of the scale is described. Based on the responses of a representative sample of 8880 people of 16 years of age or more, evidence is presented of good internal reliability and statistically significant associations with a range of socio-demographic, own and family gambling and lifestyle variables. Overall, and in all sub-groups except the heaviest gamblers, attitudes were found to be negative: more people believed that gambling is foolish and dangerous, and of greater harm than benefit to families, communities and society as a whole, than the reverse. The majority, however, were against prohibition of gambling. Public opinion appears to be out of line with the view of gambling in Britain that lay behind the 2005 Gambling Act. It will be of interest to see whether attitudes change in the forthcoming years. The ATGS is a suitable measure for use in future surveys in the UK and in other English speaking countries.     

Anger and Positive Reactivity in Infancy: Effects on Maternal Report of Surgency and Attention Focusing in Early Childhood

We examined two aspects of temperamental approach in early infancy, positive reactivity and anger, and their unique and combined influences on maternal reports of child surgency and attention focusing at 4 years of age. One hundred and fourteen infants were observed for their positive reactions to novel stimuli at 4 months, and their anger expressions during arm restraint at 9 months. Child surgency and attention focusing at age 4 years were assessed by maternal report. Infants who expressed more anger to restraint were rated higher in surgency during early childhood relative to infants who expressed less anger. The effects of positive reactivity to novelty on attention focusing were moderated by anger to restraint. These findings suggest that infant temperamental approach tendencies are multifaceted and have both unique and combined influences on later maternal report of attention and social behavior.     

Increased Family Involvement in School Predicts Improved Child–Teacher Relationships and Feelings About School for Low-Income Children

ABSTRACT

Family involvement in school, children's relationships with their teachers, and children's feelings about school were examined longitudinally from kindergarten through fifth grade for an ethnically diverse, low-income sample (N = 329). Within-families analyses indicated that changes in family involvement in school were directly associated with changes in children's relationships with their teachers and indirectly associated with changes in children's feelings about school, with student–teacher relationships mediating this latter association. Increases in family involvement in school predicted improvements in student–teacher relationships, and, in turn, these improvements in student–teacher relationships predicted improvements in children's perceptions of competency in literacy and mathematics as well as improvements in children's attitudes toward school, more generally. These results are consistent with systems theories of child development and help answer why family educational involvement matters for low-income children. This research was supported by a grant to the authors from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (5R03HD052858-02). Principal investigators of the School Transitions Study were Deborah Stipek, Heather Weiss, Penny Hauser-Cram, Walter Secada, and Jennifer Greene, who were supported in part by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Foundation for Child Development, and the William T. Grant Foundation.