Narratives of fathering young children in Britain: linking quantitative and qualitative analyses

The paper examines how in Britain the time fathers and couples spend in employment shifts in the first years of children’s lives, the conditions under which this happens and how fathers feel about and experience time with their families and time in paid work. In order to achieve these aims new longitudinal analysis of the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) is carried out together with secondary analysis of narrative case studies drawn from a qualitative study of Fatherhood across the Generations. By linking these datasets the paper examines the potential for corroboration and complementarity between different types of data. Further, it seeks to show how qualitative cases corroborate, elaborate and expand on the main employment trajectories in the MCS population of fathers and how these extend understandings of fathers’ experience of time within families.     

Child Abuse and Sudden Infant Death

In times past, parents were usually blamed when an infant died suddenly and unexpectedly. A more caring attitude evolved with the adoption of the term ‘cot death’ or ‘sudden infant death syndrome’ (SIDS). Recent research looking at the factors responsible for SIDS has focused on aspects of child care and parental behaviour. Epidemiological studies confirm that several risk factors associated with child maltreatment are also to be found in many families who experience a sudden infant death. Social deprivation and other well-known associated features linked to maltreatment are correlated with sudden death in infancy. It is suggested that both physical abuse (suffocation is the most usual mechanism proposed) and neglect (failure to thrive, failure to recognize and treat illness) are important mechanisms. Infanticide (filicide) has existed widely over past centuries and its continuation in modern times is reflected in the highest murder rates of all age groups in infancy. However, much fatal abuse and neglect remains hidden, as demonstrated from the results of detailed fatality reviews. The evidence linking child abuse and neglect with sudden unexpected death in infancy is reviewed.     

Differences in sexual guilt and desire in East asian and euro-canadian men

Differences in sexual desire between individuals of East Asian and European descent are well-documented, with East Asian individuals reporting lower sexual desire. The mechanisms that underlie this disparity have received little empirical attention. Recent research has found that sex guilt, "a generalized expectancy for self-mediated punishment for violating or for anticipating violating standards of proper sexual conduct" (Mosher & Cross, 1971 , p. 27), mediates the relationship between culture and sexual desire in East Asian and Euro-Canadian women. The goal of this study was to explore this role of sex guilt in men. Male Euro-Canadian (n?=?38) and East Asian (n?=?45) university students completed online questionnaires. The East Asian men reported significantly lower sexual desire and significantly higher sex guilt. Sex guilt was a significant mediator of the relationship between ethnicity and sexual desire, as well as a significant mediator between mainstream acculturation and sexual desire. Among the East Asian men, mainstream acculturation was significantly and negatively correlated with sex guilt such that increasing mainstream acculturation was associated with less sex guilt. The diagnostic and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

School Readiness among Children of Immigrants in the US: Evidence from a Large National Birth Cohort Study

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (n ≈ 6,800), we examined the factors explaining variation in school readiness in a large and nationally representative sample of children in immigrant and non-immigrant families. In OLS regression models with rich controls to account for selection, we found that language background was a key factor in explaining children of immigrants' expressive language and early reading at kindergarten, whereas both socioeconomic status and language background helped explain their performance in math.     

Furniture dimensions and postural overload for schoolchildren's head, upper back and upper limbs

The aim of this study was to evaluate how the fixed furniture dimensions match with students' anthropometry and to describe head, upper back and upper limbs postures and movements. Evaluation was performed in 48 students from a Brazilian state school. Furniture dimensions were measured with metric tape, movements and postures by inclinometers (Logger Tecknologi, ?karp, Sweden). Seat height was high for 21% and low for 36% of the students; seat length was short for 45% and long for 9% and table height was high for 53% and low for 28%. Regression analysis showed that seat/popliteal height quotient is explained by 90th percentile of upper back inclination (β=0.410) and 90th percentile of right upper arm elevation (β=-0.293). For seat/thigh length quotient the significant variables were 90th percentile of upper back velocity (β=-0.282) and 90th percentile of right upper arm elevation (β=0.410). This study showed a relationship between furniture mismatch and postural overload. When the seat height is low students increase upper back left inclination and right upper arm elevation; when the seat is short students decrease the upper back flexion velocity and increase right upper arm elevation.     

On the learning journey: what helps and hinders the development of social work students’ core pre-placement skills?

The development and assessment of core skills, including communication skills, are essential prerequisites before social work students are judged ready for practice placement. This paper presents qualitative data from the first year of a three-year study of an undergraduate module taught jointly to undergraduate and postgraduate students on two qualifying programmes at a university in England. The study considers the impact of video recording in a ‘skills laboratory’ on social work students’ skills development, and compares this with other feedback mechanisms at the pre-placement ‘Readiness for Direct Practice’ threshold for the different student groups. Responses from 88 students to two questions on factors they identified as the most helpful/least useful for core skills development were collected, using the same questionnaire at three stages of the module. These were analysed using a grounded theory approach. A separate, quantitative analysis showed that assessment outcomes for undergraduate and postgraduate students were not statistically different. In contrast, this qualitative analysis showed that while there was common value for students from self-observation using video, there were key differences in learning preferences between undergraduates and postgraduates in relation to feedback. While undergraduates valued peer support in group work, postgraduates preferred feedback from authoritative, independent and credible sources.     

Charlotte Attitudes Towards Sleep (CATS) Scale: A validated measurement tool for college students

Objective: Using a 4-phase study design, the present study developed and tested the Charlotte Attitudes Towards Sleep (CATS) Scale, a measurement tool for assessing sleep attitudes in college students. Participants: Participants were 706 undergraduate students recruited at a southeastern university and on a national recruitment Web site between October 2013 and April 2015. Methods: All participants completed the CATS Scale. Participants then completed either a measure of social desirability, faulty sleep beliefs, or measures of sleep and sleep hygiene. Phase 3 participants (N = 168) completed the CATS Scale 2 weeks later to examine test-retest reliability. Results: Analyses indicated that the scale was content valid, internally consistent, and independent of social desirability, yielded acceptable temporal stability, and demonstrated concurrent validity in relation to sleep behaviors and outcomes. Conclusions: The CATS Scale is a theoretically driven instrument with promising psychometric properties that may prove beneficial for future research and application efforts among college students.