Risk-taking, attitudes toward aggression, and aggressive behavior among rural middle school youth

This study examined the relationship between risk-taking, general acceptance of aggression (GAA), verbal harassment (VH), and aggressive behavior (AB) in the last 30 days among 1440 seventh- and eighth-grade rural middle school youth. Higher levels of risk-taking predicted higher GAA and VH. Significant interactions for AB indicated that, excepting Black youth, higher risk-taking was related to higher levels of violent behavior. Among Black youth the highest levels of AB occurred at moderate levels of risk-taking. Level of risk-taking is an important risk factor that should be taken into account in the study of attitudes toward aggression and aggressive behavior among rural youth.     

Leveraging identities: the strategic manipulation of social hierarchies for political gain

Much scholarship on boundary-making focuses on dyadic relationships between “us” and “them.” Yet the presence of multiple categories within societies allows for complex interactions among more than two potentially relevant groups. To capture this phenomenon and its dynamics better, we develop the concept of leveraging: the strategic manipulation of social distance among three or more constructed groups for political gain. The use of one group as a lever against another may involve stigmatizing or elevating categories of people along boundaries of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, class, sexual orientation, or other salient social markers. We theorize these processes and identify the motivations of the initiators of leveraging as well as the range of possible responses to it. We use a pair of empirical case studies drawn from contemporary Europe and additional examples from other settings to demonstrate the relevance of the concept. Conceptualizing leveraging both improves our scholarly understanding of group-making processes and offers political actors tools for interpreting and responding to a common set of strategic practices.

     

The Persistence of Racial Disadvantage: The Socioeconomic Attainments of Single-Race and Multi-Race Native Americans

Using data from the 2000 U.S. Census, we investigate the schooling and earnings of single-race and multi-race Native Americans. Our analysis distinguishes between Single-Race Native Americans, biracial White Native Americans, biracial Hispanic-White Native Americans, and biracial Black Native Americans. Further differentiating by gender, the results indicate significant variation in socioeconomic attainments across these different Native American groups although almost all of them are in some way disadvantaged relative to non-Hispanic, non-Native American whites. The most disadvantaged group tends to be Single-Race Native Americans who have the lowest levels of schooling as well as lower earnings relative to non-Hispanic, non-Native American whites who are comparable in terms of schooling, age, and other basic demographic characteristics. The results demonstrate notable differentials by the racial/ethnic type of Native American group as well as by gender. In the case of men, all of the Native American groups have clear socioeconomic disadvantages. One contrast is that migration slightly increases the earnings of men but it slightly decreases the earnings of women. We interpret these findings as underscoring how measured socioeconomic differentials between demographic groups are significantly affected by the categorization of race/ethnicity in surveys and by how persons choose to be enumerated in terms of those categories.     

Predictors of Frequency of Sexual Health Communication: Perceptions from Early Adolescent Youth in Rural Arkansas

Parent–child communication about sex-related themes can shape adolescents’ attitudes and beliefs, and have the potential to contribute to their decision either to engage in or abstain from sexual activity. Despite the burgeoning literature in this area, few studies have examined the issue as it pertains specifically to rural early adolescent youth. The current investigation addresses this gap by examining whether familial, situational, and sociodemographic factors were associated with youth’ perceptions of frequency of communication with parents about multiple sex-related topics among a rural population (N?=?252). Multiple regression results suggest that being a female, being a youth of color, level of closeness with father and spending enough time with one’s father predicted increased frequency of sex-related communication between parent and child. Our findings show that situational and sociodemographic differences play a significant role in predicting frequency levels of sex communication. Intervention efforts aimed at rural early adolescent youth should be planned with such differences in mind.     

Exploring U.S. Social Work Students’ Sexual Attitudes and Abortion Viewpoints

Social workers frequently engage with sexual and reproductive health topics, yet a notable paucity of social work research exists regarding abortion. Informed by overlapping theoretical frameworks of human rights and reproductive justice, this study examined a large, nationwide survey of social work students in the United States (N = 504). Linear regressions indicated that students’ endorsements of permissive sexual attitudes and support for birth control are inversely associated with holding anti-choice abortion views. Moreover, distinct relationships were found among sociodemographic characteristics and abortion attitudes and knowledge, suggesting that social work education efforts regarding contentious reproductive and sexual health topics should also focus on nuances of cultural competence and diversity, as well as general human rights principles and professional ethics.     

“Knowing Your Status and Knowing Your Partner’s Status Is Really Where It Starts”: A Qualitative Exploration of the Process by Which a Sexual Partner’s HIV Status Can Influence Sexual Decision Making

Gay and bisexual men are at disproportionate risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. While prevention efforts often emphasize consistent condom use, there is growing evidence that men are using seroadaptive safer-sex strategies, such as serosorting and seropositioning. This qualitative analysis of 204 HIV-negative and HIV-positive gay and bisexual men explored the ways that a sexual partner’s HIV status can influence safer-sex strategies and sexual decisions. The majority of the respondents reported that they were influenced by their partners’ HIV status. Those respondents who reported no influence discussed adhering to safer-sex rules that were not dependent on partner status and a lack of concern about HIV. Conversely, respondents who reported influence identified three primary areas of influence: psychological impacts, partner preference and selection, and specific behavioral intentions and strategies. A conceptual model explicating a potential process by which respondents use partner serostatus information in shaping sexual decisions is presented.     

Does the Modernization of Environmental Enforcement Reduce Toxic Releases? An Examination of Self-policing,Criminal Prosecutions,and Toxic Releases in the United States, 1988–2014

According to modernization theory, enforcement schemes that rely on end-of-the-pipe regulation are not as effective at achieving improved environmental performance as market-based approaches that encourage pollution prevention. Consistent with that observation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency transitioned to the use of self-policing to encourage pollution prevention. Other studies note that environmental compliance is significantly affected by traditional “command-and-control” strategies. Using Prais Winston regression we examine these contrasting views by estimating the relationship between toxic releases, self-policing, and criminal prosecutions from 1988 through 2014. Initial correlations suggest that (1) self-policing is not associated with toxic releases but that (2) criminal prosecutions may reduce toxic releases through general deterrence signals. Subsequent analyses controlling for gross domestic product revealed that neither self-policing nor criminal enforcement correlate with toxic releases but that gross domestic product was the strongest predictor of emissions. The implications of these findings for the control of toxic emissions are discussed.     

Three Psychotherapies for Suicidal Adolescents: Overview of Conceptual Frameworks and Intervention Techniques

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth, and as many as one in five youth report having had at least one serious thought of suicide in the past year. Despite the enormous emotional pain and suffering associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, up to 40 % of suicidal youth never receive treatment. Given that social workers are employed in multiple settings where suicidal children and adolescents are encountered (e.g. schools, homeless shelters, emergency departments, outpatient mental health agencies, private practice), they play a critical role in the identification and treatment of suicidal youth. In the past decade, evidence has emerged that attachment-based family therapy, integrated cognitive behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy can reduce suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempt in youth. The purpose of this article is to review the theoretical assumptions, conceptual frameworks and key intervention techniques for these three interventions so that clinicians can integrate these approaches into their practice with suicidal youth and families. Implications for practice are integrated throughout the review.     

Underdispersion models: Models that are “under the radar”

The Poisson distribution is a benchmark for modeling count data. Its equidispersion constraint, however, does not accurately represent real data. Most real datasets express overdispersion; hence attention in the statistics community focuses on associated issues. More examples are surfacing, however, that display underdispersion, warranting the need to highlight this phenomenon and bring more attention to those models that can better describe such data structures. This work addresses various sources of data underdispersion and surveys several distributions that can model underdispersed data, comparing their performance on applied datasets.