Development and Validation of HIV-Related Dyadic Measures for Men Who Have Sex with Men

The aim of this study is to investigate how child sexual abuse is terminated. This study attempts to gain insight into how people exposed to incest narrate the termination of the incest relationship. Seven women and one man were recruited from the Incest Support Centre and from snowballing for a 1–2-hour-long in-depth interview using a narrative approach. The subjects' narratives varied according to how they perceived their own role in the termination process, their relationship with the offender, and how well they remembered the stage of termination. A common feature of the narratives was that the feeling of being a victim lasted after the abuse stopped. In this respect, the lack of support from family, friends, and healthcare personnel and the psychological power exercised by the offender were important issues in the narratives. It is suggested that the termination process is affected by the victims' ability to regulate influence and mentalization. Furthermore, a transfer of cultural meanings from the social environment to the individual must have taken place. Future research should focus on the significance of the termination process in terms of psychological functioning and the construction of self and identity.     

Immigrant Integration Through Mediating Social Institutions: Issues and Strategies

With nearly 40 million foreign-born residents, the United States is the country with the largest immigrant population in the world (Nwosu, Batalova, & Auclair, 2014). This amounts to 13% of the current US population and has fueled debates about the role of immigrants in American society and about what it means to be American (Batalova & Lee, 2012; Hing, 2004). The issue of immigrant integration is at the center of this debate and is also the focus of this study, which examines immigrant integration in two U.S. cities: San Francisco, California and Chicago, Illinois. This study is part of a larger 2007 multi-country study of immigrant integration practices conducted by CeiMigra, a migration research institute based in Valencia, Spain. This study analyzes data collected in the two U.S. study sites, which consists of 19 extensive qualitative interviews with politicians, policy makers, labor leaders, and nongovernment (NGO) and migrant association leaders regarding issues that affect and strategies that facilitate immigrant integration. The interviewees identified two primary points of integration: the economy and local communities. Common barriers affecting both documented and undocumented immigrants were identified, as well as local strategies that promote integration into the economy and the community. Study participants noted the burden on local communities to address immigrant incorporation and called for stronger and more systematic integration programs and policies at the federal level.     

Unemployment and economic security for young adults in Finland,Norway and Sweden: From unemployment protection to poverty relief

In this study, we investigated if there has been a displacement in the type and coverage of welfare services available for young unemployed adults in Finland, Norway and Sweden over the last two decades. This question is important because a number of studies have argued that the generous unemployment benefits and extensive labour market intervention found in the Nordic welfare states shield young people from the most severe consequences of economic inactivity. In this article, we instead show that during this period, less generous means‐tested unemployment and social assistance benefits have become the most important form of income protection for young people. In evidence, earnings‐related unemployment benefits now cover only 10 per cent of unemployed Swedes and Finns and 45 per cent of unemployed Norwegians aged 24 years or younger. This development marks a significant change in our understanding of unemployment protection for young people in Nordic countries.     

Welfare risks in early adulthood: A longitudinal analysis of social assistance transitions in Norway

Lorentzen T, Dahl E, Harsløf I. Welfare risks in early adulthood: a longitudinal analysis of social assistance transitions in Norway This study assessed the significance of critical life events and socio‐economic background in relation to the likelihood of young Norwegians receiving social assistance, asking how each of these factors contributes both independently and interactively. The data set was derived from a nationwide, longitudinal register and includes the entire 18‐year‐old cohort in 1993. A discrete‐time proportional hazard rate analysis controlling for unobserved heterogeneity was applied. The results indicate that both socio‐economic background and indicators of critical life events have strong independent effects on the likelihood of receiving social assistance. Significant interaction effects between socio‐economic background and certain indicators of critical life events were detected. However, contrary to our expectations, under certain circumstances, coming from a group with low socio‐economic status does not seem to ameliorate the effect of being exposed to critical life events.     

Investing in Leaving: The Greek Case of International Migration of Professionals

In the last twenty years, the ‘international migration of professionals’ from Greece has increased. This paper is based on an extensive survey of Greek professionals who work or have worked in another country. It is the first ever research on the topic in Greece and the first one in the international literature to include participants who are currently abroad or have repatriated. The aim of the paper is threefold. First, it presents the main characteristics of this phenomenon. Second, to explain why Greece, alongside other peripheral countries, suffers from migration of its professionals: in contrast to a dominant view insisting on an allegedly abundant supply of highly skilled labour, it is argued that the phenomenon is primarily due to their low demand in the Greek labour market. Third, to argue that such migration can have positive implications for a country, not only when these people return but also when they stay abroad.     

The Micropolitics of Victim–Offender Mediation

Victim–offender mediation is one of the most widely used practices of restorative justice encounter in the United States. We report findings from research on a victim–offender mediation program sponsored by an American juvenile court. Our specific concern is with power relations at the micro level of the mediation session. Restorative justice has been alternately criticized for controlling its participants too much and for controlling them too little. Some critics point to the silencing of participants, especially those of low social status like youth. Others point to the failure of restorative justice participants to effectively challenge attitudes conducive to crime. We consider the extent to which lay participants were silenced and/or challenged during mediation sessions. Our data suggest that power is diffuse in restorative justice encounters with juvenile offenders and that it is creatively deployed to achieve a variety of purposes. Consistent with restorative justice theories, which consider crime causation broadly, attitudes conducive to crime were not systematically addressed. The analysis underscores the complexity of both restorative justice and its evaluation.