PATHOLOGICAL INTERNET COMMUNITIES: A NEW DIRECTION FOR SEXUAL DEVIANCE RESEARCH IN A POST MODERN ERA

This article explores the impact of the Internet and related technologies on the nature of deviant behavior, deviant communities, and the future of deviance research. The idea that pathological communities, once largely suppressed by time, space, and societal restraints, can now create and use virtual communities is focal. Those new communities may expand their numbers and/or pathology, while reinforcing their rationales for rule violations. Investigation of these new virtual communities is especially complex for both conceptual and methodological reasons: identity is hard to ascertain in cyber-settings; nationality, ethnicity and other background traits and standard (e.g., random) sampling methods are not feasible. Nonetheless, the impact of communications technology on the creation and expansion of pathologically deviant communities requires exploration to determine whether, for example, immersion and social support lead to satiation-catharsis, more aggressive real-time behavior, and/or increases in the depth and number of pathological sexual preferences.     

Policy agendas and immigration in Australia 1996 –2012

Immigration in Australia is inherently a controversial topic. Events such as the MV Tampa affair cause increased media and legislative attention but increased legislative attention in the policy area do not always follow such dramatic events. We analyse media and legislative attention in the area of immigration and show increased activity in parliament around both dramatic events discussed in the media and also over more technical issues. Increased attention within parliament sometimes occurs outside of the gaze of the media.     

The future of hunting: an age-period-cohort analysis of deer hunter decline

This paper employs a cohort analysis to examine the recent decline in the number of deer hunters in the State of Wisconsin and considers the implications of hunter decline for wildlife management and conservation. North American natural resource management strategies currently depend on hunters and anglers to fund habitat conservation, wildlife management, and land protection through license fees and special taxes on hunting equipment. However, hunter participation is declining across the United States, challenging the long-term viability of this approach. We undertake an age-period-cohort (APC) approach to analyze hunter participation rates and introduce an APC method to project the future number of hunters in Wisconsin. We find that if the recent patterns continue, the number of Wisconsin male deer hunters will decline by more than 10 % (55,304 hunters) in the next 10 years and an additional 18 % (88,552 hunters) between 2020 and 2030.     

CAN A HIGH SENSE OF CONTROL AND JOHN HENRYISM BE BAD FOR MENTAL HEALTH?

Social stratification profoundly affects mental health. Specifically, substantial empirical evidence finds that higher status promotes mental health via a higher sense of control and a propensity to cope actively with problems. An unresolved issue, though, is whether the effects of sense of control and active coping on mental health are uniformly beneficial across levels of socioeconomic status. Perceived control and John Henryism, an active coping style, may undermine mental health, especially for lower-status persons, who lack resources. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey for African Americans, Hispanics, and whites, we find that both sense of control and John Henryism tend to be monotonically related to positive mental health regardless of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity.     

Statistical considerations for crowdsourced perceptual ratings of human speech productions

Crowdsourcing has become a major tool for scholarly research since its introduction to the academic sphere in 2008. However, unlike in traditional laboratory settings, it is nearly impossible to control the conditions under which workers on crowdsourcing platforms complete tasks. In the study of communication disorders, crowdsourcing has provided a novel solution to the collection of perceptual ratings of human speech production. Such ratings allow researchers to gauge whether a treatment yields meaningful change in how human listeners' perceive disordered speech. This paper will explore some statistical considerations of crowdsourced data with specific focus on collecting perceptual ratings of human speech productions. Random effects models are applied to crowdsourced perceptual ratings collected in both a continuous and binary fashion. A simulation study is conducted to test the reliability of the proposed models under differing numbers of workers and tasks. Finally, this methodology is applied to a data set from the study of communication disorders.     

Eating disorders and academic performance among college students

Abstract

Objective: There is a paucity of research exploring eating disorders (EDs) and academic performance (AP). This study aimed to understand the effect of ED treatment on AP, hypothesizing that students receiving treatment for EDs would have a higher GPA. Participants: The Spring 2010 – Spring 2011 National College Health Assessment data (N?=?231,586) was utilized. Methods: Ordinal logistic regressions, controlling for key confounders, analyzed the association between those diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia and GPA. Results: Students diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia and treated with medication and psychotherapy were respectively 1.49 (1.24, 1.80; p?<?.0001) or 1.35 (1.13, 1.61; p?=?.0009) times more likely to have a higher GPA (p?<?.0001) compared to students without EDs. Conclusion: Findings expand the literature on EDs and AP among college students. Additional research is needed to determine whether the combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective way to improve AP among students with EDs.     

Social Competence in Children At Risk Due to Prenatal Cocaine Exposure: Continuity Over Time and Associations with Cognitive and Language Abilities

The continuity of social competence between 36 months and first grade was examined in a sample of children at risk due to prenatal exposure to cocaine (N = 92). Parent report data on social competence were collected at 36 months of age and both parent and teacher report data were collected when children were in first grade. Regression analyses indicated that 36-month social competence significantly predicted first-grade parent ratings of social competence, even after controlling for cognitive ability. Thirty-six month social competence also predicted first-grade teacher ratings of competence, but these relations were mediated by child gender and cognitive ability. Early social competence was also a significant predictor of first-grade language ability, after controlling for 36-month language. These findings emphasize the importance of early social competence for later development.     

Exploratory Analysis of Factors Associated with Participation in Self-Directed and Traditional Marriage and Relationship Education

Although self-directed marriage and relationship education (MRE) has the potential to reach a larger or different audience than traditional MRE, little has been done to examine the characteristics of self-directed MRE participants. This study examined whether various individual, couple, family, and sociocultural context variables predicted participation in both self-directed and traditional MRE programs. A series of logistic regressions were conducted on a cross-sectional data set. Different factors predicted participation for each intervention. For self-directed programs, factors predictive of involvement included older age, religiosity, higher education, being more self-regulated, having a neurotic partner, more open relationship boundaries, a history of divorce, more relationship problems, and more family-of-origin problems. A wider range of factors predicted participation in traditional programs. Some factors increasing odds for participation in one intervention decreased odds in the other. Implications for MRE are discussed. This study provides evidence that some higher risk couples may choose self-directed MRE over more traditional programs.     

An Analysis of Specific Life Satisfaction Domains and Disordered Eating among College Students

Research has revealed that overall life satisfaction (LS) is negatively related to disordered eating. This study examined whether specific LS domains (e.g., family, friends, etc.) were more strongly associated with eating behaviors/weight perceptions (e.g., exercising to lose weight, using laxatives to lose weight, etc.) in 723 randomly selected college students analyzed separately by gender. Data were analyzed using logistic and multiple regression procedures. Results supported the hypotheses in the expected directions. College students’ weight perceptions had the strongest relationships with Satisfaction with Self and Satisfaction with Physical Appearance, and these relationships were stronger among females than males. Worrying about weight, self-described weight, and binge eating were significantly correlated with all LS domains (p < .05). Results suggest potential contributions of differentiating among the domains of LS in efforts to understand disordered eating among males and female college students. Implications for practice are discussed briefly.