The Exploration of Role Induction as a Potential Method for Improving Men's Perceptions of Career Counseling

The authors explored the influence of role induction on men's perceptions of career counseling and attitudes toward seeking professional help. Two separate role inductions were presented to 268 male college students; the first discussed holistic career counseling, and the second integrated a discussion of male gender role socialization. Results demonstrated that participants who viewed the holistic role induction reported greater valuing of career counseling when compared with a control group. However, results indicated no difference in perceptions of career counseling between a holistic career counseling role induction and one that included socialized male perceptions of counseling.     

Gender-Specific Changes in Students' Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes at a Southeastern University between 1973 and 1988

Abstract

This study investigated the gender-specific, self-reported sexual behaviors and attitudes of never-married college students attending a southeastern university in 1973 and 1988. Data were collected by means of a mailed questionnaire that remained essentially unchanged for both years. The authors found that both men and women reported an increase in heterosexual relationships that included sexual intercourse and a decrease in nonsexual relationships with the other gender. The majority of the students perceived themselves as adequately informed about sexuality and satisfied with their relationships, although the proportion of men who reported being satisfied with their relationships declined over the 15 years. The students indicated that sexuality education should focus primarily on information about AIDS and on preparation for marriage.     

‘Such fine families’: photography and race in the work of Caroline Bond Day1

This article examines a collection of family photographs published in an unusual 1932 anthropological study of ‘Negro‐White families’. In the 1920s Caroline Bond Day, a woman of mixed ancestry herself, gathered family histories and photographs of over 300 ‘Negro‐White families’ for her graduate work at Harvard University under eugenicist Ernest Hooton. Day's subjects, recruited from her circles of friends and acquaintances, shared her goals of African American equality and uplift but were often suspicious of her chosen field. Anthropology has often been referred to as the handmaiden of colonialism and racism, and physical anthropology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was not generally supportive of African American civil rights movements prior to World War II. Nevertheless, about 350 families submitted family histories and photographs and filled out surveys. Some also allowed themselves to be measured with calipers. The published study included over four hundred photographs, which collectively provide a visual mediation between Day's political goals, her exclusive focus on mixed‐race families and her use of physical anthropology and blood‐quantum language. Day's work remains controversial, but continues to be used by scholars, activists and artists in part because of its unique focus and methods.     

Compensatory Weight Control Behaviors of Women in Emerging Adulthood: Associations Between Childhood Abuse Experiences and Adult Relationship Avoidance

Abstract

Objective: To examine correlates of compensatory weight control behaviors among women in transition between adolescence and adulthood. Participants: The authors recruited a sample of undergraduate women (N = 759) at a large northwestern university during the 2009–2010 academic year. Methods: Logistic regression was used to assess relations among childhood abuse, psychosocial functioning, adult dating relationship factors, and women's endorsement of compensatory weight control behaviors. Results: The final model reliably distinguished between participants who endorsed versus denied use of compensatory behaviors (χ²[5, N = 747] = 36.37, p < .001), with global psychosocial functioning and relationship avoidance accounting for the most variance. Conclusions: These findings illustrate the importance of considering childhood abuse histories and adult relationships while assessing young women's compensatory weight control behaviors.     

Queer Chicano Families: The Importance of Converging Literature on Queer Families,Chicano Families,and Chicano Queers

Despite growing literature on Latino families and Latino queer identities, there has been relatively little empirical research on Latino same‐sex families. Likewise, emerging empirical research on gay and lesbian couples tends to focus on the experiences of middle‐class, well‐educated, White couples. I argue that combining theoretical and empirical works on sexuality, Chicano studies, and queer studies can assuage this lack of diversity in each body of literature. This work first examines current literature on Latino families, with a focus on Latino familism. This is followed by a brief examination of current literature on queer Chicanos. Lastly, it will discuss queer families and the lack of current literature on Latino same‐sex couples, in order to present a course of action for further research on the intersectional social location of queer Chicano families.     

Deciding Not to Un–Do the “I Do:” Therapy Experiences of Women Who Consider Divorce But Decide to Remain Married

This study explores women's experience of marital therapy while they navigated decision making around divorce. A qualitative method was used to gain a deeper understanding of the participants' therapy and relationship decision‐making experiences. How are women's decisions whether or not to exit their marriage affected by therapy? The researchers interviewed 15 women who had considered initiating divorce before they turned 40 and had attended at least five marital therapy sessions but ultimately decided not to divorce. In general, participants reported that the therapy was helpful to them, their decision‐making process and their marriages. Five main themes emerged from the interviews: Women Initiated Therapy, Therapist Was Experienced as Unbiased, Therapy was Helpful, Importance of Extra‐therapeutic Factors, and Gradual Process.     

Gender and Casual Sexual Activity From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: Social and Life Course Correlates

The prevalence of casual sexual activity among teens and emerging adults has led to much public attention. Yet limited research has investigated whether the number of casual sexual partners per year changes as heterosexual men and women transition from adolescence into emerging adulthood. We considered the influence of social context and life course factors on the number of casual sex partners. We examined four waves of interviews from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) and used negative binomial growth curve models to investigate patterns of change in the number of casual sex partners (N = 1,196) ages 15 to 22. Men and women both reported increases in the number of casual sex partners over time and did not differ from each other in the rate of change over time. In all, 40% of respondents reported a recent casual sex partner at age 22. Number of prior dating relationships, education status, substance use, and perceptions of peer sexual behavior significantly influenced the number of casual sex partners. Emerging adults who did not complete high school, compared to those enrolled in four-year degree programs, reported significantly more partners. The findings contribute to research on intimate relationships and provide insights for programs targeting emerging adults.