Defining and Estimating Risk and Protection: An Illustration from the School Success Profile

This article links a risk and protection conceptual framework with definitions of risk and protection from epidemiology. It describes methods for estimating and modeling risk and protection that yield readily interpretable results using contingency tables and logistic regression. Data from a national sample of adolescents illustrate key concepts, providing implications for research and practice.     

Community Practice in the Bulldozer’s Shadow: The History and Legacy of Social Work in Urban Renewal

Social work has a long history of involvement in urban development policy, dating to the settlement house movement. This article explores a neglected part of this history by analyzing the role of social work in urban renewal programs. The functions of social work in urban renewal—including relocating families displaced by slum clearance and community organizing to foster resident input in planning—reflect enduring tensions in practice between social justice and social control. Implications for current practice are explored as the profession continues to define its part in urban redevelopment policies.     

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND PROTECTION: A TYPOLOGY WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Social environmental assessments can play a critical role in prevention planning in schools. The purpose of this study was to describe the importance of conducting social environmental assessments, demonstrate that complex social environmental data can be simplified into a useful and valid typology, and illustrate how the typology can guide prevention planning in schools. Data collected from 532 3(rd) through 5(th) graders using the Elementary School Success Profile were analyzed in the study. A latent profile analysis based on eight child-report social environmental dimensions identified five patterns of social environmental risk and protection. The classes were labeled High Protection, Moderate Protection, Moderate Protection/Peer Risk, Little Protection/Family Risk, and No Protection//School Risk. Class membership was significantly associated with measures of well-being, social behavior and academic performance. The article illustrates how the typology can be used to guide decisions about who to target in school-based preventions, which features of the social environment to target, and how much change to seek. Information is provided about online resources for selecting prevention strategies once these decisions are made.     

Sense of School Coherence, Perceptions of Danger at School, and Teacher Support Among Youth at Risk of School Failure

Using a sample of middle and high school students who had been identified by school personnel as at risk of school failure, this investigation examines two competing models about the effects of students' perceptions of danger at school and teacher support on their sense of school coherence. From the compensatory model, it is assumed that risk and protective factors combine additively to influence outcomes. From the immunity model, it is assumed that protective factors buffer or moderate the negative effects of risk factors on outcomes. Support is found for the compensatory or additive model, with perceptions of school danger negatively influencing students' sense of school coherence and teacher support positively influencing variation in the criterion variable. Implications for theory, practice, and further research are discussed.     

Parenting Together: Evaluation of a Parenting Program for Never-Married Parents

The number of children raised by never-married parents has increased in recent years. Although these children are at risk for the same types of negative outcomes after relationship dissolution as children of divorced parents, few resources exist for never-married parents who are facing coparenting challenges. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Parenting Together, a 9-hr (3 session) coparenting course designed exclusively for never-married parents. Results indicated positive changes in participant knowledge, coparenting attitude, child triangulation behavior, and coparenting teamwork behavior. Additionally, changes in coparenting attitude predicted both decreased child triangulation and increased coparenting teamwork behavior.     

Gender attitudes,sexual meanings,and interactional patterns in heterosexual encounters among college students in the Netherlands

This study examines the utility of internet banner ads for recruiting rural MSM and identifies correlates of internet HIV risk survey initiation and completion. Banner ads were shown on a popular internet dating site for one month and resulted in 1,045 rural MSM, from 49 States, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, and 5 from other countries initiating the questionnaire. Logistic regression indicated that progression beyond screening questions was negatively related to “expecting pay, but not being paid” and positively related to “using chat rooms to find friends” and identifying as gay. Linear regression indicated that the absolute number of responses by consenting participants was positively correlated with reimbursement, number of sexual partners, motivated by money, and having been HIV tested. Overall, this sample represents one of the largest rural MSM samples; survey completion was high and strengthened by reimbursement and possibly by awareness of HIV risk. Generalizability was limited by low participation of minority and non‐gay identified MSM.     

Teaching Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders to Mand for the Removal of Stimuli That Prevent Access to Preferred Items

Mand training is often a primary focus in early language instruction and typically includes mands that are positively reinforced. However, mands maintained by negative reinforcement are also important skills to teach. These include mands to escape aversive demands or unwanted items. Another type of negatively reinforced mand important to teach involves the removal of a stimulus that prevents access to a preferred activity. We taught 5 participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders to mand for the removal of a stimulus in order to access a preferred item that had been blocked. An evaluation was conducted to determine if participants responded differentially when the establishing operations for the preferred item were present versus absent. All participants learned to mand for the removal of the stimulus exclusively under conditions when the establishing operation was present.     

Prevalence and Predictors of Social Work Student Food Insecurity

ABSTRACT

Food security is an essential component of material wellness and social justice. This study draws on a 2013 survey of 496 students within a school of social work in a Pacific Northwestern U.S. public university to (a) provide the first estimate of the prevalence of food insecurity among social work students and (b) investigate coping strategies used and resources accessed by students. It was determined that 43% of students had experienced food insecurity in the preceding year. In addition, students in the BSW program, students of color, females, and first-generation college students were more likely to be food-insecure. Based on these findings, the article describes strategies for addressing the material and self-care needs of social work students and practitioners.     

Women’s microfinance participation and HIV literacy in Bangladesh: results from a nationally representative study

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the association between microfinance participation and HIV literacy within a nationally representative sample of 3,614 married women aged 15–49 years from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2011. Using logistic regression, we assessed the relationship between microfinance participation and HIV literacy. Controlling for demographic factors such as wealth, age, and education, we found that microfinance participants were 30% more likely to be HIV literate, in comparison with women who did not participate in microfinance. These results suggest that microfinance is a cost-effective way to enhance HIV literacy for poor, less educated women in rural areas of Bangladesh.     

浅析情景模拟法在大学英语阅读教学中的应用

在大学英语阅读教学中实施情景模拟法的关键在于教师对此方法精神的领会和运用。这种方法不仅能培养学生在仿真的实践中运用语言的能力,而且可以提高学生在应试中处理有关阅读题目的能力。情景模拟法在大学英语阅读教学中将会得到广泛应用。