Using a Student-Led Support Group to Reduce Stress and Burnout Among BSW Students

This study evaluates the efficacy of using a student-led support group to decrease levels of stress and reduce burnout among BSW students. The exploratory mixed-methods study used a 10-item Perceived Stress Scale measuring levels of stress, a single item measuring burnout, and narrative journal entries submitted by students. This was part of a larger study that also explored the efficacy of using a student-led group to increase students' knowledge of group work. Although limited in its scope, this research suggests that student-led group work increases the knowledge process and reduces level of burnout among social work students.     

Comparability of the 6-min walk test using different test configurations

The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a common component of fitness assessments of older adults; however, differing course configurations might affect 6MWT performance. It is unclear how comparable 2 different configurations are. To determine the comparability of 2 courses, 35 adults >65 years of age completed two 6MWT, once walking around a 20- by 5-yd outdoor rectangle and once on an indoor oval track (circumference 144.3 yd). Scores for the 2 tests were internally consistent (intraclass correlation coefficient = .95). The participants walked farther on the oval track than around the rectangle (639 +/- 19 vs. 582 +/- 16 yd; p < .0001), but responses to the rectangular configuration could be readily estimated using the equation 66.7 yd + 0.807 x (oval walking distance), R2 = .85. Thus, within-participant responses are similar across both 6MWT, but the course configuration affects the distance walked.     

"Macho men" and preventive health care: implications for older men in different social classes

The gender paradox in mortality--where men die earlier than women despite having more socioeconomic resources--may be partly explained by men's lower levels of preventive health care. Stereotypical notions of masculinity reduce preventive health care; however, the relationship between masculinity, socioeconomic status (SES), and preventive health care is unknown. Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the authors conduct a population-based assessment of masculinity beliefs and preventive health care, including whether these relationships vary by SES. The results show that men with strong masculinity beliefs are half as likely as men with more moderate masculinity beliefs to receive preventive care. Furthermore, in contrast to the well-established SES gradient in health, men with strong masculinity beliefs do not benefit from higher education and their probability of obtaining preventive health care decreases as their occupational status, wealth, and/or income increases. Masculinity may be a partial explanation for the paradox of men's lower life expectancy, despite their higher SES.     

Who Lacks Support and Why? An Examination of Mothers' Personal Safety Nets

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 12,140 person-waves) to identify characteristics associated with mothers' having or lacking "personal safety net" support from family and friends. We focus on characteristics that are likely to increase the importance of having support available but may also interfere with the maintenance of supportive ties: poverty, poor physical and mental health, and challenging child rearing responsibilities. By capitalizing on distinctions among these types of personal disadvantages and among types of personal safety nets (financial, housing, child care, and emotional), we help to explain why personal disadvantages are associated with weaker support. Our paper contributes to the literature emphasizing the importance of reciprocity in support relationships and introduces the idea that families that are more difficult to help will have less support available.     

Affective and Cognitive Correlates of Gambling Behavior in University Students

The purpose of the following study was to explore certain affective and cognitive components and their relationships to gambling behavior in an undergraduate population. Specifically, the aim was to predict gambling severity using depression scores on the BDI-II, the dependency and self-criticism subscales on the DEQ, emotional awareness scores on the LEAS, cognitive flexibility scores from the STROOP, and a creativity subtests from the TTCT. Participants were 200 undergraduate students and 3.5–7.5% of individuals reported some level of problematic gambling behavior. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-criticism and creative originality were significant predictors of gambling behavior, explaining 7.6% of the variance. Further analyses reveal a non-linear trend in the creative originality of those who gamble; only the at-risk gamblers were high in creativity whereas abstainers and problematic gamblers display similarly lower levels of creativity. Results are discussed in regards to Blaszczynski and Nower’s Addiction 97:487–499 (2002) subtypes of gambling vulnerability.     

Conceptualizing social-ecological drivers of change in urban forest patches

Urban Ecosystems - We introduce a conceptual model of the urban forest patch as a complex social-ecological system, incorporating cross-scale interactions. We developed this model through an...     

Educational Policy, Politics, and Mixed Heritage Students in the United States

This article describes local, state, and federal policies related to collecting, aggregating, and reporting data on student race and ethnicity in U.S. K-12 and postsecondary education. It traces data policy from the 1997 decision by the Office of Management and Budget to change from single-race reporting to a format that permits respondents to choose more than one race, to the October 2007 issuance of final guidance from the Department of Education. Taking a K-20 perspective, I consider how policies for data collection and reporting may affect educational and developmental outcomes for students, as well as local, state, and national education policy environments.     

Servant Leadership in the Public Sector: Employee Perspective

Public Organization Review - The purpose of this study is to explore how servant leadership affects public sector employee engagement, organisational ethical climate, and public sector reform, of...     

The Contours and Correlates of Informal Work in Rural Pennsylvania*

Abstract Social scientists have increasingly come to recognize the informal economy as a prominent and permanent structural feature of modern society. Rural sociologists have made a considerable contribution to this literature, demonstrating informal work to factor prominently in the livelihood strategies of rural Americans. Despite this scholarly attention significant gaps persist in our understanding of the informal economy. Drawing on data from a survey of family households in nonmetropolitan Pennsylvania, this paper examines the contours and correlates of informal work. The results make a strong case that participation in informal work is widespread and most often combined with formal work as a household livelihood strategy. While income is not found to be a significant correlate of informal work, it is found to influence the reasons cited for participation. Important correlates of informal work are identified and differences in the factors associated with informal work done to generate income (cash or in‐kind) versus savings are revealed.