An Effigy for the Enslaved: Jonkonnu in Jamaica and Belisario's Sketches of Character

In 1838, less than one year before the enslaved of Jamaica were fully emancipated, Isaac Mendes Belisario completed his Sketches of Character, a set of lithographs that today constitutes one of the first visual representations of the Jamaican Jonkonnu performance from the pre-emancipation period. This essay considers the links between Jonkonnu and similar performances from the African continent, asking what Jonkonnu meant to the largest group of African-born slaves at the time Belisario finished his Sketches of Character. Ultimately, Jonkonnu is best understood as a mortuary ritual that both mourns the moment of enslavement and provides for the possibility of social resurrection within a new social order.     

The New Slave Narrative and the Illegibility of Modern Slavery

This paper argues that the first-person narratives of human trafficking that have been published since 1991 should be considered as the reemergence of the slave narrative. The paper outlines the contours of the slave narrative's revival, suggesting that the genre found fertile ground in the 1990s and 2000s through a confluence of diverse cultural forces – reinvigorated abolitionist advocacy, heightened public fluency in the discourses of slavery and rights, an expanded media terrain that encourages first-person testimony and post-9/11 cultural anxieties. This environment promoted the development of survivor testimony that would act as ‘flesh and blood' examples of the largely hidden and illegible human rights violation of modern slavery. Slave narrators face a crisis of legibility resulting from public scepticism regarding modern slavery, but what emerges from the public requirements for evidence is a generic tendency against the voyeuristic demands for the bodily detail and towards narrative strategies of displacement that direct attention towards external authorities and experiences. These strategies allow survivors to maintain control over their exposure in their life narratives, and thereby revise and interrogate the spectacular expectations promoted by many human rights projects.     

Constellations of Maternal and Paternal Parenting Styles in Adolescence: Congruity and Well-Being

ABSTRACT

The current study examined patterns of maternal and paternal parenting styles in adolescence and the variations in adolescent well-being as a function of parenting style combinations. Participants included 272 students in grades 9 and 11 from a public high school in a large city in the northeastern United States. Participants completed measures of perceived maternal and paternal parenting styles and indices of psychological well-being. Distinct patterns of maternal and paternal style constellations were established. The most common constellation found was the combination of a neglectful mother and a neglectful father. Participants with either both parents authoritative or only mother authoritative reported higher well-being than participants with no authoritative parent. Participants with no permissive parent or with a permissive mother scored lower on self-esteem than participants with only a permissive father. Finally, participants with either parent neglectful or both parents neglectful scored lower on self-esteem than participants without a neglectful parent. The current study illustrates the need to examine constellations of maternal and paternal parenting in studies assessing the familial variables contributing to adolescent well-being.     

Factors predicting student intervention when witnessing anti-LGBTQ harassment: The influence of peers,teachers, and climate

Bullying and harassment are systemic problems in schools, especially for sexual minority youth. Previous research suggests the importance of addressing student intervention in cases of bullying, but little is known about how to encourage this kind of intervention, particularly in response to anti-LGBTQ bullying. The present study used data collected through a participatory action research project to examine three factors' impact on students' intentions to intervene: hearing homophobic language, seeing teachers intervene, and seeing other students intervene. In the final model, seeing other students intervene (β = .19, p < .001) had a more significant positive effect on a students' own likelihood to intervene than seeing teachers intervene (β = .07, p < .05). In multivariate analysis, frequency of hearing homophobic language did not impact student's likelihood to intervene. Findings suggest the importance of youth leadership in multi-level anti-bullying programs.     

Perceived Discrimination and Its Associations With Mental Health and Substance Use Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Abstract

Objectives: Racial discrimination experiences can negatively affect health. This study examined perceived discrimination and its relationship with mental health and substance use among Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) undergraduate and graduate students. Participants: A total of 113 API students aged 18–35 completed the study during February–June, 2011. Methods: The authors conducted a cross-sectional, anonymous survey online. Dependent variables included mental health (depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms) and substance use (alcohol problems, use of tobacco, marijuana or hashish, and other illegal drugs). Results: Students’ perceived discrimination were significantly, positively associated with depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms, but not with substance use. Ethnic identity moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and somatic symptoms, but not depressive or anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: These findings suggested the negative effect of racial discrimination on API students’ mental health. The buffering effect of ethnic identity may increase resilience in these students when they face racial discrimination.     

The lived experience of students with an invisible disability at a Canadian university

University institutions are required by law to make their services accessible to students with disabilities. Canadian universities have gone a long way to eliminate the physical obstacles that present barriers for students. Many students with disabilities have invisible disabilities that require different types of adjustments. Although some researchers have evaluated the needs of students with disabilities in higher education, the unique needs of students with invisible disabilities have received less attention. The best means of assessing these needs is through direct consultation with students with disabilities. Thus, in-depth interviews were conducted with university students with dyslexia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and mental illness. Themes were developed that related to the nature of the disability, the accessibility of the university context, the social and organizational barriers, and recommendations for change. This research lends insight into how individuals with invisible disabilities believe that they are perceived within the university context.     

Teaching Note—Creating an Integrative Research Learning Environment for BSW and MSW Students

ABSTRACT

Research courses are often the least popular among BSW and MSW students because the connection between social work practice and research is not always evident. This teaching note introduces the structure of the Social Work integrative Research Lab (SWiRL), which was implemented in a social work program without a doctoral program at a large public university. SWiRL offers students opportunities to engage meaningfully in a variety of social work research projects using a framework of nested mentoring. Students gain hands-on research experience while they develop confidence, leadership, and mentoring skills within this structure. The authors discuss recommendations for other social work programs that do not have doctoral education or an established research environment.     

What Does Parental Divorce or Marital Separation Mean for Adolescents? A Scoping Review of North American Literature

Parental divorce in North America and the resulting changes to the traditional family unit as seen in current academic literature are troubling. These changes are especially worrisome as they relate to adolescent life and development. This scoping review examines the past 11 years of North American English language literature concerning adolescents who have experienced parental divorce. Literature was taken from health-related databases using the search terms adolescent and divorce. The resulting articles were analyzed and pared down to 53 papers that adhered to predetermined criteria. Analysis revealed trends in how the studies are conducted as well as seven themes throughout the literature. The authors suggest future research directions based on the trends, themes, and found knowledge gaps in the recent literature.