As Good as it Gets? A Life Course Perspective on Marital Quality

Marital relationships, like individuals, follow a developmental trajectory over time with ups and downs and gains and losses. We work from a life course perspective and use growth curve analysis to look at trajectories of change in marital quality over time. Although the tendency is for marital quality to decline over time, some groups begin with much higher levels of marital quality than others. Moreover, a number of life course and contextual factors can accelerate or slow this path of change. Our findings point to the importance of considering the multi-dimensionality of time (e.g., age, marital duration, the passage of years) as well as family transitions (e.g., having children, emptying or refilling the nest) in creating the meanings and experiences of marriage over time.     

Multiple forms of violence and other criminal activities as an indicator of severe child maltreatment

Child protection practice still appears to view child maltreatment as an event largely isolated from other family violence and criminal activities. Research undertaken by the authors suggests that children who have been subjected to the more severe forms of abuse are likely to have come from families who engage in several forms of criminal activity, inside and outside the family, which is often severe in nature. The child who has been maltreated may also become a participant in these activities. The authors recommend that these factors should be investigated in families who have maltreated a child, as the presence or absence of several forms of concurrent violence and other criminal activity may provide an important clue about the welfare of the child. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mental health support needs of people with a learning difficulty: a medical or a social model?

People with learning difficulties, like all disabled people, face social oppression. Much recent policy and practice are underpinned by at least some understanding of this oppression, and the social model of disability has been influential in discussions of services and supports for people with learning difficulties. However, in the area of mental health, the picture is somewhat different. This paper argues that the medical model has predominated in discussions of mental health support for people with learning difficulties, and that a social model approach could have much to offer. The paper draws on an ongoing action research study in which service providers, families and young people with learning difficulties are working together to articulate what is needed, in order to find routes to improve the support offered to young people with learning difficulties and mental health support needs.     

Inequality and Educational Investment in Thai Children*

Abstract In this paper we examine differences in upper secondary school attendance among subgroups of the population in Thailand. We ascertain where inequalities continue to exist and where they have been mediated. We analyze data from samples of the 1990 and 2000 Thai censuses. We find that the gender gap favoring boys has closed at the national level and that girls now transition to upper secondary school more often than do boys. Inequalities still exist according to socioeconomic background of families. Rural‐urban differences have narrowed considerably since 1990, but they continue to be observed, particularly in certain parts of the country. Similarly, differences between Muslims and others appear to have lessened over the last decade, but Muslims continue to be disadvantaged compared to others, particularly in the South.     

Different worlds of motoring: choice, constraint and risk in household consumption

The article shows how the old economic variable of income can be related to spatial location and used to reinforce recent revisionism in sociology which questions the automatic link between consumption and identity. The diversity of motoring experience is demonstrated through a case study of motoring in inner and outer London which draws on a variety of resources, including interviews from two London boroughs, survey evidence on household expenditure and other official statistics. The analysis shows how income and space variably define household motoring experience as one of choice or constraint and risk. The end result is a cultural economy analysis that shows how motoring sustains multiple, overlapping identities in different worlds of enabling and enforced consumption which connect with production.     

When and How Does Ethnicity Matter? A Cross-National Study of Social Work Responses to Ethnicity in Child Protection Cases

It is an established part of the conventional wisdom of socialwork theory and practice that attention to ethnic differenceis at the core of best practice. This principle is endorsedin welfare legislation or in the training and education of socialworkers in most European countries. Little empirical evidenceexists, however, to demonstrate that this principle guides practitionerdecision making, or to verify the claim that it benefits ethnicminority clients. At a cross-national level, no robust evidenceexists to illustrate similarities or differences in social workresponse to ethnicity. This article reports on aspects of astudy that examines these concerns within the context of childprotection. It demonstrates, perhaps surprisingly given nationalvariations in legislation and professional practice, that overall,country by country, the child’s ethnic affiliation evokeslittle significant response by social workers, confirming alargely universalist approach. However, through a detailed focuson the qualitative data, this paper considers the nature ofthe references to ethnicity that are made by social workersin terms of how they confirm or refute the dominant approachto multiculturalism within social work.     

ROW AND COLUMAN DESIGNS WITH CONTIGUOUS REPLICATES

A method is given for constructing row and column designs for situations where replicates are contiguous. Designs of this type are needed in cotton variety trials. A table of generating arrays is given from which a series of resolvable designs can be constructed; these designs are called latinized α-designs. Some results from cotton variety trials are presented.     

Hardiness and the relationship between stressors and outcomes

Using a sample of 468 participants, from two organizations, this study examined direct and moderating relationships between hardiness (a composite of challenge, control, and commitment), life and work stressors, and a variety of health-related outcomes. The results indicated that hardiness did not moderate the relationship between stressors and outcomes as reported by others (e.g. Kobasa 1982a). However, hardiness did have significant direct effects on emotional and psychological factors thought to be related to personal well-being and work performance. Hardy individuals reported higher levels of job satisfaction and fewer tensions at work dun did the less hardy. In general, hardy individuals experienced a higher quality of life and a more positive affect while being more energized and less negative about life. Hardy individuals also reported fewer somatic complaints and tended to be less depressed and anxious than individuals low in hardiness. In addition, hardiness was negatively related to all four measures of life and work stress implying that hardiness may not be independent of life demands.     

Career and Lifestyle Expectations of Rural Eighth-Grade Students: A Second Look

Gender differences in rural eighth-grade students' curricular, career, and lifestyle expectations were examined. Girls expect to take more math classes in high school, select careers that require a college education, and plan to go to college more frequently than do boys. Boys and girls do not differ in their interest in various careers, although girls prefer occupations that involve people, whereas boys prefer occupations that involve things. Girls plan to work for as many years of their lives as do boys; however, girls are more likely to expect to work part-time, whereas boys expect to work full-time. Counseling implications are offered.