Klein,Claymation, and Reparation

Armed with clay and a camera, Nathalie Djurberg propels the viewer into a visceral and primitive world of human destructiveness and desire. It's the Mother hones in on the effects of unchecked infantile probing, prodding, and invasion on the maternal body. Melanie Klein's ideas are germane in considering this work, in particular the idea of the depressive position struggle (in this case for both the viewer and the artist) around reparation for what is wrought by destructive impulses.     

Racial Disparity Under Sentencing Guidelines: A Survey of Recent Research and Emerging Perspectives

Recent concerns over racial disparities in sentencing have led to dramatic reform in criminal sentencing, including the widespread promulgation of sentencing guidelines that are designed to constrain judicial discretion and create greater fairness, transparency, and equality in punishment. Although there is broad consensus that guidelines have increased uniformity in sentencing, contemporary research continues to identify important racial and ethnic disparities in criminal punishment. This essay reviews recent empirical research on racial and ethnic disparities under guidelines, highlighting recent advancements in the field and identifying important directions for future research.     

Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours,Child Gender,and Behavior in Middle Childhood

This study examined the association between typical parental work hours (including nonemployed parents) and children's behavior in two‐parent heterosexual families. Child behavior was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 5, 8, and 10 in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (N = 4,201 child‐year observations). Compared to those whose fathers worked fewer hours per week, children whose fathers worked 55 hours or more per week had significantly higher levels of externalizing behavior. This association was not explained by father–child time during the week, poorer family functioning, or overreactive parenting practice. Further, when stratifying the analysis by child gender, this association appeared to exist only in boys. Mothers' work hours were unrelated to children's behavioral problems. The role of parent and child gender in the relationships between parental work hours and children's behavioral problems, together with mediating factors, warrants further investigation.     

Death Rites as Birthrights in Atlantic New Orleans: Kinship and Race in the Case of María Teresa v. Perine Dauphine

In 1789, a New Orleans free woman of colour named María Teresa initiated legal proceedings against Pelagia ‘Perine’ Dauphine dit Demasillier, another free woman of colour living in the city. More than a question of inheritance, the case of María Tereza, grifa libre v. Perine Demasillier, mulata libre was a dispute between two women over the meanings of and obligations to family in late eighteenth-century New Orleans. Their legal battle exemplified ways free women of colour constructed kinship beyond biological ties, gradations of race and bonded status even while seeking redress from institutions with imperial definitions of the same.     

Can Marriage and Relationship Education Be an Effective Policy Tool to Help Low-Income Couples Form and Sustain Healthy Marriages and Relationships? A Review of Lessons Learned

This review summarizes and synthesizes what researchers and practitioners have learned about the potential of public policy support for marriage and relationship education (MRE) to help lower income individuals and couples form and sustain healthy marriages and relationships. In short, this review documents modest, early evidence that low-income couples participate in well-designed MRE programs when they are offered, enjoy the educational experience, and report that the program is helpful. Practitioners have been going through a fast and steep learning process to figure out how best to recruit and maintain participation and adapt curricula to meet unique needs and situations. The evidence from the early outcome studies provides some support for the notion that MRE programs can have positive, modest effects on low-income couples' relationships, at least in the short run. However, much more research is needed to answer this question more definitively. Fortunately, more high-quality evaluation research will be coming over the next few years.     

Over- and Under-Perceiving Social Support from One’s Partner and Relationship Quality Over Time

Abstract

Using dyadic data from a national longitudinal survey in Germany (N?=?3,674 couples), we tested associations between congruence/discrepancy in partners’ reports of providing and receiving social support (i.e., whether a recipient reports more or less than the provider) and relationship quality. All participants reported how much social support they provided to, and received from, their partner. Latent Congruence Modeling was used to enhance the reliability of difference scores between one partner’s reported provision and the other's reported receipt. In most instances, perceiving more support than one’s partner reported giving (over-perception) and extensive support reported jointly by providers and recipients were positively associated with recipients’ and providers’ relationship quality. Conceptual, methodological, and possible clinical issues are discussed.     

Factors That Differentiate Distressed and Nondistressed Marriages in Army Soldiers

Data from U.S. Army soldiers (N = 697) were analyzed to determine the factors that differentiate distressed from nondistressed relationships. Results show that most soldiers had relationship satisfaction scores that categorized them as nondistressed. In addition, soldiers in dual-military marriages had relationship satisfaction scores similar to those of soldiers in military-civilian marriages. Finally, several variables including rank, relocation status, relationship length, and relationship status differentiated distressed from nondistressed relationships. Implications for intervention programming and future research directions are discussed.     

Understanding the Decision to Marry Versus Cohabit: The Role of Interpersonal Dedication and Constraints and the Impact on Life Satisfaction

The current study explored men's and women's reasons for choosing to marry rather than to cohabit using a national data set (n = 786) of adults who were currently married or had been married previously. Using commitment theory participant's open-ended reasons for choosing to marry were coded into categories of either interpersonal dedication or constraint commitment. A variety of demographic, attitudinal, and relationship history variables were then used to predict commitment type. The influence of commitment type during the decision to marry on life satisfaction was also explored. Results indicate that current marital status (being married vs. being divorced or separated) and cohabiting before marriage were the strongest predictors of interpersonal dedication reasons for marriage for both men and women. Level of conventionality and parents' marital status also emerged as significant predictors of constraint commitment. Finally, marrying for reasons related to interpersonal dedication significantly predicted higher life satisfaction for men but not for women.     

The effects of a sensitization technique on stereotyping behavior

In order to fulfill the inherent obligation of social work educators to teach about racial and ethnic diversity and to reduce the incidence of prejudice and stereotyping, it is helpful to increase students' and practitioners' sensitivity and awareness of their own and others' biases. Strategies and techniques to accomplish this task are greatly needed. Group discussion triggered by an active learning technique is an effective way of addressing this need. Such a technique was successfully implemented in two sections of a first semester graduate social work class. This article describes that technique and its effectiveness.