Getting your partner to use condoms: Interviews with men and women at risk of HIV/STDs

Data from individual semistructured interviews with 90 young heterosexual couples were analyzed to identify strategies that men and women at risk of HIV/STDs would use to influence their partners to use condoms for the purpose of disease prevention. In addition, we explored whether participants thought influencing strategies would differ for pregnancy prevention. Content analysis of the interview data indicated that participants would use the following verbal strategies: persuading/suggesting, commanding/asserting, and threatening to withhold sex. Several participants, particularly those who had recently used condoms with their partners, reported that they would also use non‐verbal strategies involving condoms themselves (e.g., putting a condom on, buying or getting condoms, or presenting a condom to their partner). Many participants believed that they would use a different strategy for pregnancy prevention because it would be easier to convince a partner to use condoms for that purpose.     

Muscular performance following coitus∗

Amir, Menachem. Patterns in Forcible Rape. Forword by Marvin E. Wolfgang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971. 394 pages. Price $15.00.

Christenson, Cornelia V. Kinsey, a Biograghy. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana Univ. Press, 1971. xii + 241 pp. $6.95.

Gordon, David Cole. Self‐Love. Baltimore, Md: Penguin Books, 1972. 96 pages. $1.00 (paperback).

Harper, Robert A. and Walter Stokes. 45 Levels to Sexual Understanding and Enjoyment. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1972. 231 pages. $6.95.

O'Neill, George, Ph.D. and O'Neill, Nena, Open Marriage, A New Life Style for Couples. New York, N. Y.: M. Evans and Co. (distributed by Lippincott) 1972. 287 pages. $6.95

Parker, William. Homosexuality. A Selective Bibliography of Over 3,000 Items. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1971.

Weinberg, Martin S. and Alan P. Bell. Homosexuality. An Annotated Bibliography. New York, N. Y.: Harper and Row, 1972. 550 pages. $15.00.     

Autonomy and Visibility in Undergraduate Social Work Education

Autonomy and visibility are important issues for social work education. Although a specific accreditation standard on autonomy exists, research reveals limitations in autonomy can result in difficulty attaining or maintaining accreditation. In 1980, accredited undergraduate units identified themselves using more than 50 different titles. By 1990, this diversity had been reduced, and the more common title “Social Work Program” was used by more than one third of all units. What is unknown is whether these changes resulted in more freestanding programs or more programs within a host department and greater or less visibility and autonomy. To explore these issues, questionnaires were sent to all U.S. accredited baccalaureate social work programs. Results indicated that the majority of respondents perceived the established governance and administrative structures of their programs as either adequate or very adequate. However, nearly 25% of the respondents found the support staff arrangement unsatisfactory. Moreover, more than one third of respondents indicated a desire for greater autonomy and more than two thirds desired more visibility of their programs.     

The Efficacy of a Condensed Seeking Safety Intervention for Women in Residential Chemical Dependence Treatment at 30 Days Posttreatment

This study examined the efficacy of a condensed version of the Seeking Safety intervention in the reduction of trauma-related symptoms and improved drug abstinence rates among women in residential chemical dependence treatment. One hundred and four women were randomly assigned to treatment including a condensed (six session) Seeking Safety intervention or the standard chemical dependence intervention. The Seeking Safety participants reported lower sexual-abuse-related trauma symptoms at 30 days posttreatment as compared to participants who received only standard treatment. However, the condensed Seeking Safety intervention was not more advantageous in reducing overall trauma symptoms or relapse 30 days after treatment ended.     

Health Journalists and Three Levels of Public Information: Issue and Agenda Disparities?

This is a 2-phase study of the sources of information health journalists use and rely upon for writing health news stories. The 1st phase of the study includes both depth interviews and an online survey with 188 health journalists. Phase 2 of the study extends the findings from Phase 1, with particular attention paid to the roles of public health information officers at 3 government levels: local, state, and federal. Results from this study suggest that a monolithic, “1-size-fits-all” media relations model for public information officers is not adequate in the current health news environment. Findings explore differences in perceptions of the value of public information sources at 3 levels and suggest that some bureaucratic inefficiencies may interfere with more effective source/subsidy–provider relationships.     

Anticipating or Precipitating Crisis? Health Agencies May Not be Heeding Best Practice Advice in Avian Flu Press Releases

Precrisis information disseminated by public health information officers (PIOs) will play a critical role in preparing and safeguarding publics amidst a possible avian flu pandemic. This article analyzes avian flu press releases issued by leading health agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization, to reveal their purposes and the nature of organizational response constructed therein. Results of this analysis indicate important considerations for practitioners may not manifest in the press releases they issued: The threat was not localized; outlets for publics to contact for more information were not always present, and there was inconsistency in how avian flu was referenced. There was a steady increase in the volume of releases since 2004, and PIOs generally seemed to recognize the importance of partnerships and timeliness in pandemic preparedness. Examining the possible pandemic flu situation may yield a more thorough understanding of audience psychology and behavior during health crises as well as enhance the salience of crisis communication models for public health emergencies when public safety is of utmost concern.     

Cocaine-Exposed Toddler-Caregiver Dyads During Free Play at 24 Months

Some women continue to use cocaine during pregnancy, placing their fetus at risk for developmental problems. While gross problems are not evident after controlling for experimental flaws, subtle effects continue to be found. Social interactions of cocaine-exposed and nonexposed toddlers and their caregivers were assessed during a Free Play test to determine if psychobehavioral deficits were clinically observable. Risk factors were evaluated to assess whether the child’s socioemotional-behavioral behaviors were related to exposure and/or interactions with caregivers or the environment. Twenty-four-month-old cocaine-exposed and nonexposed toddlers were evaluated with the Child Behavior Check List while they played with their caregivers. Caregivers’ vocalizations were scored as contingent pairs if they occurred within 3 seconds of the child’s. The proportion of pairs was compared by group. Quality of caregivers’ vocalizations was rated as positive or negative based on approval, encouragement, and criticism. General linear model analyses indicate that cocaine-exposed children showed more dysfunctional behaviors than noncocaine-exposed children. Deficits increased when income and number of dependents were included. Caregivers in the drug group emitted fewer vocalizations during play before receiving a toy, indicating fewer opportunities for learning. No effect of quality of caregiver communication or gender by cocaine exposure interaction emerged. Cocaine exposure predicts poor developmental outcomes, but the toddler-caregiver relationship and reduced access to resources are additional risks that had previously been attributed to cocaine exposure. Early intervention services are needed to reduce the impact of low income, increase preschool readiness, and optimize functioning of these fragile families.     

An interprofessional internship model for training master’s level social work and counseling students in higher education settings

ABSTRACT

The mental health needs of college students are steadily on the rise, which compels mental health service providers and educators to explore innovative ways to provide more collaborative, supportive, and interdisciplinary service models of practice and professional training. Graduate programs in social work and counseling are at the crux of producing internship training programs to help accommodate the influx of students with persistent mental health concerns across a variety of needs and cultures. This article describes an interprofessional internship program structured and designed to meet the clinical training needs of master’s level students matriculating in social work and counseling who aspire to provide mental health services in higher education settings. The interprofessional internship training model proposes an innovative interdisciplinary approach to field education which may result in positive training outcomes and learning experiences for social work and counseling students. This paper discusses the model’s emphasis on individual and interdisciplinary group supervision, objectives of the internship experience, internship site criteria, and professional and personal benefits to pre-service social workers and counselors. Recommendations for training and limitations of the model are provided.