Maternal depression and risk for antisocial behaviour in children

Maternal depression has consistently been found to be associated with child problem behaviours. In the current study, we examine the possibility of whether the association between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour may be due to confounding. Data from waves 2, 5 and 7 of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten Cohort were analysed. Our analysis revealed a significant association between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour prior to matching. After successfully matching the mothers on 29 key covariates, one of the cross‐sectional associations and the longitudinal association between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour was no longer statistically significant. However, two cross‐sectional associations between maternal depression and child antisocial behaviour remained statistically significant. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the importance of the timing of maternal depression within different developmental time periods.     

Marriage,Money, and African American Mothers’ Self‐Esteem

This study examined the effects of marital status and family income on the self‐esteem of 292 African American mothers. Counter to previous studies with European American mothers, family income moderated the effects of marital status. Those mothers with higher family income had higher self‐esteem, regardless of their marital status. For those with less family income, married mothers had much higher self‐esteem than unmarried mothers. Low‐income married mothers had the same levels of self‐esteem as high income mothers. It was concluded that financial resources can buffer the effects of being single, and being married can buffer the effects of being low income. Policy initiatives that focus on reducing the financial hardship on single mothers and increasing the marriage rate among lower income parents were also discussed.     

Cultural mediation through vernacularization: framing rights claims through the day‐off campaign for migrant domestic workers in Singapore

Scholarship on civil society in Singapore has tended to emphasize the structural and institutional constraints on civil society space. Conversely, little attention is paid to the broader cultural and discursive realms in which civil society and state actors operate. This article seeks to address this gap by analysing the day‐off campaign for migrant domestic workers in Singapore. We demonstrate that by employing the cultural mediation strategy of vernacularization, civil society was able to frame migrant rights claims in a manner that resonated with the institutional logics and cultural repertoire of Singapore society. Civil society actors gained headway by adapting the discourse on migrant rights to Singapore's socio‐cultural and political context in three ways: by reframing rights claims into a moral appeal; by appealing to the cost‐benefit logics of Singaporean employers of migrant domestic workers; and by situating the provision of migrant labour protections as a relative market position.     

Time and Money: A New Look at Poverty and the Barriers to Physical Activity in Canada

The relationship between time, money, and regular participation in physical activities, especially at the intensities and durations required to improve one’s health, is an important public health and social policy issue. The objective of this research is to develop a better understanding of the extent to which income poverty and time poverty act as barriers to regular participation in moderate or higher intensity physical activities. This study uses Canadian time use data collected in 2005 in order to measure income poverty, time poverty, and active living. Objective measures of physical activity engagement (participation rates, daily occurrences, and daily time budgets) are used to explore differences between the rich and poor categories of both income and time wealth. The income and time wealth categories are corroborated using subjective assessments of stress and perceived barriers to regular participation in sports. The results illustrate the multidimensional nature of poverty, but from a public health and social policy perspective, time poverty may be more important than income poverty as a barrier to regular physical activity engagement.     

How Does Web Site Interactivity Affect Our Perceptions of an Organization?

This study investigates the effects of different levels of Web site interactivity on individuals' perceptions of an organization's reputation. The underlying theoretical mechanism for this relationship was explored by statistically investigating the mediating role of 3 variables—perceived customization, involvement, and liking—using bootstrapping analysis. Results indicate that the level of Web site interactivity positively influenced participants' perceptions of the organization's reputation, with liking and involvement fully mediating this relationship. These findings demonstrate the theoretical complexity of interactivity—it can at once attract users peripherally with likeable aesthetics and engage them centrally with features that involve them. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

A Concept Mapping Study on Social Inclusion in Hong Kong

A focus group study involving concept mapping was conducted in September 2012 to investigate how the concept of social inclusion was understood by Hong Kong residents. It was a replication of an earlier UK study. Seven groups involving 61 participants (38 females; 23 males) were interviewed, including non-professional workers at a Non-government Organisation service, senior centre users, a mixed group of community residents, people with severe mental illness, professional social service providers, communication studies students, and social work students. Data analysis using Nvivo 10 and systematic thematic analysis identified six major themes including: (1) material resources and wealth, (2) work, (3) social (dis)harmony and diversity, (4) discrimination, (5) communication, and (6) participation in activities. An overall final model of Social Inclusion for Hong Kong based on concept maps for all seven groups is presented. The results will inform the conceptualisation and development of a Chinese-language measure of social inclusion (SCOPE-C) based on translation and cultural adaption of the Social and Community Opportunities Profile (SCOPE) developed in UK.     

Covering Clinton (2010–2015): meaning-making strategies in US magazine covers

With a trailblazing political career, Hillary Clinton has been the focus of media attention for decades. This study examines 21 US magazine covers of the former First Lady and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate from 2010 through 2015—prior to her official bid for presidency—to investigate what these depictions of Clinton say about her and the relationship between gender, power, and politics. Based on a visual discourse analysis, we found that Clinton is presented as power-hungry, emasculating, and a surreptitious politician, with these magazine covers both overtly and subtly warning citizens about her authenticity and ambition. Such coverage reinforces misogynistic representations that disadvantage female politicians.     

HIV Risk Behaviors in the U.S. Transgender Population: Prevalence and Predictors in a Large Internet Sample

To study the influence of gender on HIV risk, a sample of the U.S. transgender population (N = 1,229) was recruited via the Internet. HIV risk and prevalence were lower than reported in prior studies of localized, urban samples but higher than the overall U.S. population. Findings suggest that gender nonconformity alone does not itself result in markedly higher HIV risk. Sex with nontransgender men emerged as the strongest independent predictor of unsafe sex for both male-to-female (MtF) and female-to-male (FtM) participants. These sexual relationships constitute a process that may either affirm or problematize gender identity and sexual orientation, with different emphases for MtFs and FtMs, respectively.     

Social Inclusion and Health Conditions Among Chinese Immigrants in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom: An Exploratory Study

Whether and how immigrants are included in the host society has become a hot topic in the context of globalization. How inclusive a society is for immigrants can be answered by comparing the inclusion of immigrants to near-culture host society and those to a different-culture society. This paper reports the social inclusion and their correlation with health conditions among Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Two non-probability sample surveys were conducted using the Social and Communities Opportunities Profile and its Chinese version as survey instruments. Altogether 56 new arrivals in Hong Kong and 51 immigrants in UK were recruited through NGOs to participate in face-to-face individual interviews. Both Hong Kong and UK participants reported high overall social inclusion. The two sub-samples shared many similarities in the perceived opportunities and satisfaction of opportunities in various social domains. There was evidence that immigrants in a host society with similar language demonstrated higher perceived satisfaction with opportunities in contact with friends and family, as well as higher perceived opportunities for community involvement than immigrants in a society with a different language. However, overall social inclusion appeared to be independent of one’s health conditions.