Non-heterosexual women's experiences of informal social support: A qualitative metasynthesis

ABSTRACT

This metasynthesis explores how non-heterosexual women experience informal social support. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify papers for inclusion, following which Noblit and Hare's (1988) meta-ethnographic approach was adopted to synthesize the findings of 16 papers. Four themes were derived: (a) disconnection from family life, (b) the benefits of cross-sexual orientation friendships, (c) negotiating (internalized) homophobia and seeking a space for authenticity, and (d) the intimacy of friendships between women. The impact of heterosexism on the women's experiences of social support is discussed, implications for health and social care are explored, and future research avenues are proposed.     

Schooling,marriage, and age at first birth in Madagascar

The low school attainment, early marriage, and low age at first birth of females are major policy concerns in less developed countries. This study jointly estimated the determinants of educational attainment, marriage age, and age at first birth among females aged 12–25 in Madagascar, explicitly accounting for the endogeneities that arose from modelling these related outcomes simultaneously. An additional year of schooling results in a delay to marriage of 1.5?years and marrying 1?year later delays age at first birth by 0.5?years. Parents’ education and wealth also have important effects on schooling, marriage, and age at first birth, with a woman's first birth being delayed by 0.75?years if her mother had 4 additional years of schooling. Overall, our results provide rigorous evidence for the critical role of education—both individual women's own and that of their parents—in delaying the marriage and fertility of young women.     

The Influence of Information Costs on Donor Decision Making

This article explores whether an individual's information costs influence the information‐gathering strategies that he or she turns to prior to donating to a nonprofit. The data for the study come from a telephone survey of residents in a large county in southern California (n = 1,002). The sample was selected using random‐digit‐dialing technology and a computer‐assisted telephone interviewing system. A series of binomial logit models revealed that information costs significantly influenced the information‐gathering strategies individuals turned to in order to learn about nonprofit performance prior to making a donation. Results also revealed that greater confidence in nonprofits did not lead individuals to forgo efforts to obtain information on nonprofit performance altogether. The findings from this study suggest that it is important for nonprofit administrators to recognize, and then take into account, that not all individuals will rely on the same information sources when seeking to learn about nonprofit performance.     

Uncertainty: the Curate's egg in financial economics

Economic theories of uncertainty are unpopular with financial experts. As sociologists, we rightly refuse predictions, but the uncertainties of money are constantly sifted and turned into semi‐denial by a financial economics set on somehow beating the future. Picking out ‘bits’ of the future as ‘risk’ and ‘parts’ as ‘information’ is attractive but socially dangerous, I argue, because money's promises are always uncertain. New studies of uncertainty are reversing sociology's neglect of the unavoidable inability to know the forces that will shape the financial future. ¹      

The effect of child support enforcement on abortion in the United States

Objectives: This project aims to answer a critically important question of public policy: Does effective child support enforcement lead to a change in the incidence of abortion across the United States? Methods: Using state-level data collected from 1978–2003 from a variety of sources, we employ fixed effects regression analysis to examine whether financial security as measured by five types of child support enforcement effectiveness impacts abortion outcomes. Results: We find that child support enforcement effectiveness decreases the incidence of abortion as measured by the abortion rate, but not the abortion ratio. Conclusions: Income transfer policies such as child support enforcement can affect certain fertility outcomes such as abortion rates across the states.     

Characteristics of precollege sexual violence victimization and associations with sexual violence revictimization during college

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence and characteristics of precollege sexual victimization (SV) experiences and associations with revictimization and recent substance use behaviors among a sample of college students who reported precollege SV. Participants: A sub-sample of 931 college students who reported precollege SV at baseline data collection for an ongoing multi-site clinical trial. Methods: Data were collected via electronic surveys between September 2015 and March 2017. Measures included precollege and during college SV, recent substance use, and alcohol-related harm reduction behaviors. Results: Precollege SV characteristics associated with revictimization included: Nonpenile penetration (aOR: 1.51, 95%CI: 1.04–2.19); pressured sex (aOR: 1.46, 95%CI: 1.06–2.01); and stranger assault (aOR: 2.03, 95%CI: 1.22–3.40). Past 30-day binge drinking was also associated with revictimization (aOR: 1.86, 95%CI: 1.36–2.54). Conclusions: The relationship between precollege SV and alcohol, especially binge drinking, may require a more integrated approach to preventing subsequent revictimization.     

Public Perception of "Who is a Volunteer": An Examination of the Net-Cost Approach from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

Our aim is to enhance the knowledge regarding how the public assess and rate volunteerism. We begin by first developing the model for understanding the potential use of the net-cost concept in eliciting the public's subjective perceptions on the extent to which certain activities are perceived as volunteerism. Four hypotheses relevant to the use of the net-cost concept are developed. We developed a questionnaire consisting of 50 case scenarios and applied it in Canada, India, Italy, Netherlands, and Georgia and Philadelphia in the United States, each with a sample of 450 adults or more. With one exception, our net-cost hypotheses are supported, suggesting that the public perception of volunteering is strongly linked with the costs and benefits that accrue to the individual from the volunteering activity, and that this result holds true across different cultures. Finally, we suggest directions for future research that can shed further light on the relationship between net cost and public good.     

Missing in Action: Strategic Human Resource Management in German Nonprofits

Human resource (HR) management is important for human service nonprofits because they rely on the quality of their employees for the provision of their services. Using a typology of nonprofit HR architecture developed by Ridder and McCandless (Nonprofit Volunt Sect Q 29(1):124–141, 2010), we attempt to unpack the black box between performance and HR practices. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with HR managers and young employees to investigate their perceptions of HR practices in their nonprofit organizations. Based on the findings, we extend the research on HR management in nonprofit organizations and caution that success or failure of implementing HR practices may be directly influenced by the external environment.     

The context of decision-making in cases of child neglect

This paper explores professional decision-making in cases of child neglect within the context of child protection practice in Britain. The literature on the nature of neglect is reviewed. Difficulties associated with decision-making are then examined within a framework that addresses the social, political and organizational context of child protection practice. It is argued that the current system, which focuses on incidents of abuse rather than the context of children's lives, provides inadequate protection for many children experiencing chronic neglect. Conclusions are drawn with regard to the development of practice that supports vulnerable parents while still remaining the child's welfare as paramount. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Perceived Payoff of Education: Do Generational Status and Racial Discrimination Matter?

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among racial discrimination, generational status, and perceptions of the economic value of education among Latina/o youth. Participants were 400 urban, low‐income, Latina/o students from a large Midwestern U.S. city who completed surveys in both 9th and 10th grades. Results revealed that more perceived racial discrimination was associated with more perceived economic limitations of education. When analyzed by generational status, more racial discrimination in 9th grade was significantly related to lower perceived economic value of education in 10th grade for third‐generation and later participants, but not for first‐ or second‐generation participants. The results provide evidence for the diverse experiences of racial discrimination and perceived economic value of education across generational groups.