Social Status as a Predictor of Race and Gender Stereotypes in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

We examined race and gender stereotypes in fourth‐, sixth‐ and eighth‐grade White and Black children. The participants reported their perceptions of the competence of Black, White, female and male children in academic domains, sports and music. In general, low‐status groups (girls and Black children) did not endorse stereotypes that reflected negatively on their own group but were likely to report stereotypes that favored their social group. High‐status groups (boys and Whites) endorsed most traditional stereotypes, whether negative or positive, for their social group. Where age differences appeared, older children were more likely than younger children to report traditional stereotypes and status effects were more pronounced. The results are discussed in terms of group enhancement and relationships between social stereotypes and self‐views.     

Psychosocial Interventions for Maltreated and Violence-Exposed Children

Child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse as well as child neglect and domestic violence, community violence, and Childhood Traumatic Grief may result in significant and long-lasting emotional and behavioral difficulties. This article reviews randomized controlled studies that have assessed child mental health outcomes for maltreated and violence-exposed children. Key points of this review include the following: (1) maltreated and violence-exposed children typically experience more than one of these types of traumas; (2) effective psychosocial treatments are available to address Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems in these children; (3) it is likely that treatments which effectively reduce mental health symptoms in children exposed to one type of child maltreatment or violence exposure will also be effective for other or multiple types; and (4) mental health outcomes are not the only important outcomes to address in future treatment or intervention efforts. These future directions for treatment intervention research are addressed.     

Delineating state groups through cluster analysis

This discussion is extracted from a larger research project in which an attempt is made to remedy the conceptual difficulties surrounding the “middle state” in international relations by defining the middle state vis-à-vis other types of states and without reference to any single dominant ontological framework. In this section of that project, the statistical technique of cluster analysis is used to demonstrate that the international state system contains three delineable state groups (labeled great, middle and small states). This article also demonstrates the use and usefulness of the cluster technique in international relations research.     

Regulation by disclosure: the case of internal control

In this paper we explore the use of disclosure as a regulatory tool, using as an illustration the current UK requirements regarding the disclosure of information about internal control. After discussing the broad concept of regulation by disclosure, we trace the evolution of concepts of internal control and its reporting, describing the background to the Turnbull guidance for directors on internal control reporting, the basis of current UK requirements. We then examine recent examples of internal control disclosures, identifying the range of ways in which they address the disclosure requirements and considering the possible impact of the disclosure requirements on corporate behaviour and on the audiences for disclosure. We conclude with some reflections on the disclosure life cycle. The paper contributes to the literature on disclosure by specifically considering the role of disclosure as a regulatory tool and by examining the nature of specific disclosures in an area of continuing interest, that of internal control.     

An Assertiveness Training Program for Indecisive Students Attending an Italian University

Indecisive students often present with social skills problems, which may make academic and vocational decision‐making tasks difficult and complex for them. Moreover, choices regarding one's future require the ability to gather information, to search for help and support, to stave off intrusiveness and pressures, and to communicate one's decisions. Social competencies, particularly, play a significant role in vocational guidance activities. This article presents a training program devised to augment assertive competencies in indecisive students choosing a university course of study. Intended aims and the analyses to assess the efficacy of the intervention through self‐evaluation and role‐play assessment are described.     

Fertility Changes Among Immigrants: Generations,Neighborhoods, and Personal Characteristics*

Objective. To understand how adaptation/assimilation, disruption, and diffusion interact to produce changes in fertility levels among successive generations of Mexicans and Central Americans in the United States. Method. Using restricted access data that link individual data (CPS) to neighborhood data (census tracts), we examine the role of generation, personal characteristics, and neighborhood characteristics in determining children ever born (CEB). Results. There are significant differences in fertility across generations and, to a lesser extent, between women who live in ethnic enclaves and those who do not. Once personal characteristics are considered, the independent effect of generation on fertility is nearly eliminated. Personal characteristics dominate neighborhood characteristics in their ability to predict fertility. The most consistent predictor of CEB at the neighborhood level is the percentage of Hispanic adults. Conclusions. Personal characteristics dominate fertility change across generation, and were it not for increases in educational attainment, fertility might be higher in successive generations rather than lower or unchanged.     

THE HEALTHY LIVING CENTER

Through collaboration with the Toy Industry Foundation, Homes for the Homeless launched the Healthy Living Center project in May 2003. The Healthy Living Center attempts to promote positive youth development in a recreational setting that incorporates informal education. Three primary goals guide the creation and implementation of Healthy Living Center components; first, to expose children to creative, social play, giving them a framework for positive socialization that can often be elusive for homeless children as a result of frequent transitions and instability; next, to give children the opportunity to develop their own talents, skills, and creativity, thus enhancing the child's cognitive skills, as well as his or her self‐concept and sense of self‐worth; and finally, to provide a positive, youth‐centered framework for a child's self‐development. This framework gives children vital tools for long‐term success, giving them practice in forming and maintaining positive social relationships and helping them to fully discover and take advantage of their own personal strengths and potential.     

Experiencing Hate Speech: Perceptions and Responses to Anti-Semitism and Antigay Speech

This study examines how people experience hate speech. Specifically, it assesses people's perceptions regarding both the antecedents and outcomes of such expression targeted at Jews and homosexuals. One hundred twenty university students read (and in some cases also supplied) real-life epithets aimed at their social identity and then provided an assessment of their (a) perceived short- and long-term consequences, (b) understanding of the motive behind the message, (c) response to the sender, and (d) response to the message in terms of soliciting social support. A content analysis of the accounts produced the following patterns: (a) short- and long-term consequences mirrored a three-stage sequence found within other traumatic experiences; (b) respondents described motives as enduring, not situational, states; (c) the most common response strategies were passive; and (d) participants often sought support. The discussion focuses on implications for interventions that may mitigate negative consequences of hate speech.     

Sports in School: Source of Amity or Antipathy?

Objectives . Previous research looks at the impact of school sports on participants' delinquency, but not at the impact on delinquency in schools; further, it does not control for school size or for unobserved school-level variables. This research fills that gap. It uses social capital theory to frame the impact of sports programs on both participants and nonparticipants. Social capital theory predicts that group cohesion will increase cooperative, pro-social behavior among those in the group; however, it can also increase uncooperative, antisocial behavior among those not in the group—particularly when in-group membership is seen as desirable. Social capital theory also predicts that larger schools will have more disturbances, but subgroups in large schools will reduce these adverse effects. Methods . The hypotheses were tested by looking at the relation between disturbances and interscholastic sports programs in Montgomery County, Maryland high schools. Using three years of data on each high school in the county, the study regresses disturbances on sports participation, holding constant demographic variables, school size, and a dummy variable for each school. Results . Larger schools have more disturbances, but bigger interscholastic sports programs mitigate these effects. Conclusions . The policy implications suggest that to foster cooperative behavior in high schools, it might be wise to limit school size, or to foster participation in varsity sports as school size increases.     

Personal Identity and Civic Responsibility: "Rising to the Occasion" Narratives and Generativity in Community Action Student Interns

Twenty–two students in a community action certificate program supplied "rising to the occasion" narratives during summer–long internships. They also filled out measures of generativity. Twenty–one students in an international studies certificate program that also included a summer internship served as a comparison group. Both groups reported equal personal growth from rising to the occasion experiences and no differences on measures of optimism, self–esteem or generativity. However, the community action students linked their personal growth experiences to future community service; a regression analysis also revealed that the best predictor of their stress–related growth was their level of generative concern. No comparable links emerged for the comparison group. Implications for cultivating connections between personal identity and civic responsibility through service–learning are discussed.