Partings and impartings: Toward a nonmedical approach to interruptions and terminations

It is the thesis of this paper that therapy offers a sequence of opportunities for the patient to experience a comfortable oscillation between togetherness and parting: thepetit partings within each hour, those moments of silence or withdrawal, partings at the end of hours, vacations, spontaneous interruptions (when allowed), and, ultimately, termination. A nonauthoritarian method particularly respecting and fostering the patient's self-determination is proposed.     

The identity transformation of biological parents in lesbian/gay stepfamilies

This paper investigates the identity transformation of lesbian and gay biological parents in homosexual stepfamilies. I explore previous models typically used to describe gay and lesbian identity formation, arguing that these models provide little understanding of the experiences of those who have been previously married and have children. Lesbians and gays who leave heterosexual unions and form homosexual stepfamily units undergo a series of transformations. The results show that the transition is relatively positive and less internally stigmatizing and stressful than that experienced by younger, childless lesbians and gays.     

A limit theorem on the dual core of a distributive social system

I consider abstract social systems where the distribution of wealth is an object of common concern. I study, in particular, the systems where liberal distributive social contracts consist of the Pareto-efficient distributions that are unanimously preferred to the initial distribution. I define a Dual Distributive Core from a process of decentralized auction on the budget shares of Lindahl associated with net transfers, operated by coalitions aiming at increasing the value of the public good for their members while maintaining their utility levels. I establish that the dual distributive core converges, as the number of distributive agents becomes large relative to the number of agent types, to a typically finite number of distributive liberal social contracts, which correspond to the Lindahl equilibria that are unanimously preferred to the initial distribution. This process of decentralized auction provides a theoretical foundation for contractual policies of redistribution. The comparison with the usual notion of core with public goods (Foley 1970) yields the following results in this context: the Foley-core is a subset, generally proper, of the set of liberal distributive social contracts; it does not contain, in general, distributive Lindahl equilibria.     

The role of teacher relationships in the lives of students

This chapter examines positive teacher-student relationships, as seen through a variety of psychological models and provides recommendations for schools and teachers.     

The critical ingredient: caring youth-staff relationships in after-school settings

After-school settings are interpersonal in nature, and the quality of the relationships that are forged can directly influence youths' attendance decisions and the developmental benefits they derive. Programs should more effectively capitalize on this potential for caring adult-staff relationships.     

Strategic management of public and non-market corporations

The author has developed a strategic framework for the management of ‘non-market corporations’ which he thinks better meets their peculiarities and specific needs by framing them in a relatively tight and rigorous socio-economic system relating to their internal logic. He believes that the proposed approach should provide the basis for a more constructive relationship between such corporations and the community at large and for better levels of performance     

Social skills and responses in simulated contraceptive problem situations

A behavioral‐analytic assessment strategy (Goldfried & D'Zurilla, 1969) was used to construct contraceptive problem situations representative of social interaction tasks which were postulated by Byrne (1983) as antecedent to the use of birth control. This study tested the hypothesis that differences in social skills (of rights assertion and expression of positive thoughts and feelings) are related to the effectiveness of participants' role‐play responses in contraceptive problem situations. A sample of 87 students (45 females and 42 males), all active daters, served as anonymous participants. Partial correlation procedures, in which variance due to knowledge of birth control was controlled, revealed that the positive self‐expression skill related to effectiveness for both sexes in initiating conversations about contraception topics. The rights assertion skill related to ability for both sexes to inquire about and request contraceptive materials from a druggist. Although both types of social skills were expected to relate to effectiveness in discussing birth control issues with a dating partner, results were less consistent for these situations. Both conceptual and methodological limitations are discussed as well as implications for the application of social skills training in human sexuality programs.