Sex after divorce: older adult women’s reflections

People who divorce experience a number of negative impacts, and yet divorce also offers opportunities for growth and transformation. This qualitative study of older adult women offers the possibility that divorce may be sexually empowering, especially for women, based on in-depth interviewing of women who had gone through one or more divorces. Detailed examples of the experiences of fourteen women with divorce and sexual expression are offered, focusing on in which situations divorce might be empowering and how it could contribute to sexual exploration and satisfaction. Overall, for the fourteen women in the study who had experienced divorce, the quality of sex in the marriage impacted the quality of sexual expression after the divorce. Also, these findings supported the idea of transformational learning through divorce, and expand divorce-stress-adjustment and transformational learning perspectives to apply more specifically to sexual expression. Understanding possible impacts of divorce over the lifespan, including strengths-based aspects, is important for social workers as the population they serve ages.     

The experience of gender dysphoria for pre‐pubescent children and their families: a review of the literature

In recent years, the experience of gender dysphoria has gained public prominence through an explosion of sensationalized interest in the popular media. However, childhood gender dysphoria remains poorly understood and both parents and children often find themselves having to educate professionals around them. This not only creates a sense of disconnect between family and professionals, but also means that social workers can often be unaware of the myriad of competing perspectives that seek to explain gender variance. This review of the literature seeks to provide interested social workers with an overview of gender dysphoria, current research in the field and theoretical paradigms, with a view to promoting understanding and better practice with families in this little understood field.     

Reporting Rape in a National Sample of College Women

Abstract

Background: Studies indicate that a small percentage of rapes are reported to law enforcement officials. Research also suggests that rapes perpetrated by a stranger are more likely to be reported and that rapes involving drugs and/or alcohol are less likely to be reported. College women represent a unique and understudied population with regard to reporting rape. Methods: In the current study, the authors interviewed a national sample of 2,000 college women about rape experiences in 2006. Results: Only 11.5% of college women in the sample reported their most recent/only rape experience to authorities, with only 2.7% of rapes involving drugs and/or alcohol reported. Minority status (ie, nonwhite race) was associated with lower likelihood of reporting, whereas sustaining injuries during the rape was associated with increased likelihood of reporting. Discussion: Reporting, particularly for rapes involving drugs and alcohol, is low among college women. Implications for policy are discussed.     

Physical Activity,Exercise, and Sedentary Behavior in College Students

Abstract

Objective: This article examines students’ perceptions of individual and institutional responsibility for sexual health so that institutions can better provide for the needs of their students to increase academic success and healthy relationship outcomes. Participants: Students from 2- and 4-year colleges in 1 state (N = 78). Methods: From May through November 2010, the authors used go-along interviews to examine students’ perceptions of resources for sexual health on their campuses. Results: Participants believed that it is the college's responsibility to provide resources and the responsibility of students to access resources. Participants at 2-year schools wanted referrals to resources, whereas participants at 4-year schools expected resources to be available and emphasized the importance of a supportive community. Conclusions: Students at 2- and 4-year colleges have different expectations of their institutions; by making resources and referrals for sexual health available, colleges can better serve their students, which will result in improved health outcomes.     

Correlates of AUDIT Risk Status for Male and Female College Students

Abstract

Objective: The current study identified gender-specific correlates of hazardous drinker status as defined by the AUDIT. Participants: A total of 462 college student volunteers completed the study in 2006. The sample was predominantly Caucasian (75%) and female (55%). Methods: Participants completed a survey assessing demographics, alcohol use patterns, and health indices. Scores of 8 or more on the AUDIT defined the at-risk subsample. Logistic regression models determined which variables predicted AUDIT risk status for men and women. Results: The at-risk participants reported higher alcohol use and related problems, elevated sleep problems and lower health ratings. High typical blood alcohol concentration (BAC), lifetime drug use, and psychosocial problems predicted risk status for males. Binge frequency and psychosocial problems predicted risk status for females. Conclusions: Different behavioral profiles emerged for men and women identified as hazardous drinkers on the AUDIT. The efficacy of brief alcohol interventions could be enhanced by addressing these behavioral correlates.     

Echoic and Self-Echoic Responses in Children

Eleven typically developing children were assessed on the accuracy of prompted self-echoic responses following a 5-s delay from their initial echoic response, replicating procedures in Esch, Esch, McCart, and Petursdottir (2010) that compared discrepancies between echoic and self-echoic scores of autistic and typically developing children following a 2-s delay. We compared the two studies in terms of age, level tested, and echoic/self-echoic discrepancy scores. Age and test level differences were found to be statistically significant. Results are discussed in terms of discrepant self-echoic performance and self-echoic rehearsal as it relates to participant age, test level, motivating variables, and the development of complex behavior.     

Righteous Dopefiend and AIDS,Sex, and Culture: Global Politics and Survival in Southern Africa

This essay offers a comparative reading of two ethnographies, Ida Susser's AIDS, Sex, and Culture: Global Politics and Survival in Southern Africa (2009 Susser, I. 2009. AIDS, Sex, and Culture: Global Politics and Survival in Southern Africa, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), a multisited text focused on community responses to dynamics of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Southern Africa, and Philippe Bourgois and Jeff Schonberg's Righteous Dopefiend (2009 Bourgois, P. and Schonberg, J. 2009. Righteous Dopefiends, Berkeley: University of California Press.  [Google Scholar]), a photo-ethnographic exploration of lumpen subjectivity within an encampment of homeless drug addicts in San Francisco. Pointing out these texts' common focus on circumstances of the precarious and marginal poor under conditions of neoliberalization, social conditions shaping dynamics of HIV prevention, and poor people's negotiations of affliction and structural violence, this essay highlights the theoretical and practical effects of these books' divergent methodologies, scopes of analysis, and differing degrees of emphasis on subjective experience as well as women's experiences. It also considers a key commonality across these texts: their attention to the role of historical experience and political-economic context in shaping responses to affliction and structural violence.     

Food Landscapes: Cooking,Community Service and Art-Making with Teens

ABSTRACT

In this article, we describe Food Landscapes, an interdisciplinary program involving youth who live in an urban community identified as a food desert. Food Landscapes combined socially engaged art-making, cooking, community engagement, and community service to open dialogue with youth about food justice and equity, the meaning of community, and the formation of meaningful relationships between youth and community members who have disabilities. We describe the program and discuss the theory and model bases for the program and lessons learned during program implementation.