IX. Children referred by the schools to the Worcester child guidance clinic 1

Abstract

The level of job rewards for social workers has been correlated with the quality of service to clients. A purposive quota sample of 127 Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers in Massachusetts employed in three settings completed the Job Role Quality Scale. Respondents found Decision Authority, Flexibility, and Impact (sense of helping others) most rewarding. Private practitioners reported a significantly higher level of reward than respondents in public and private agencies. Administrative interventions directed toward increasing job rewards and decreasing job concerns, may reduce social work staff turnover and enhance the quality of service to clients.     

Reports of childhood sexual abuse by adolescents and young adults: Stability over time

The consistency of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) reporting was explored in this study. Two‐hundred seventeen adolescents and young adults (ages 14–24) enrolled in urban health care clinics completed self‐report questionnaires assessing CSA and other problem behaviors at enrollment and at 7 months. Results indicated that the stability of CSA self‐report at two time points was poor (58% consistent nonreporters of CSA, 20% consistent reporters, 22% inconsistent reporters). Consistent and inconsistent reporters were differentiated on risk measures. Adolescents who endorsed more items from the CSA scale were five times more likely to be consistent reporters. In sum, adolescent CSA reporting was quite inconsistent over time. Using multi‐item scales and assessing CSA at two time points enhances accuracy of reporting.     

Dyadic Research in Marriage and Family Therapy: Methodological Considerations

With training that emphasizes relationship systems, marriage and family therapists are uniquely attuned to interpersonal dynamics, interdependence, and the influence of relationships on individuals’ perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. While recent statistical advances have contributed to a proliferation of resources designed to introduce researchers to dyadic data analysis, guidelines related to the methodological aspects of dyadic research design have received less attention. Given the potential advantages of dyadic designs for examining couple and family relational and therapeutic processes, the purpose of this article is to introduce marriage and family therapy researchers to dyadic research methodology. Using examples from our own research, we discuss methodological considerations and lessons learned related to sampling, measurement, data collection, and ethics. Recommendations for future dyadic research are provided. Video Abstract     

Are they lonely at the top? Social relationships and social support among Australian managers

This research tested the possibility that managers may be lonely at the top. A total of 572 Australian managers responded to a questionnaire-based survey. Results showed that social support was more frequently available from non-work relationships than from work relationships. The support available from work and non-work sources was also qualitatively different. Workplace relationships offered mainly distraction, whereas non-work sources also offered care, acceptance, and consolation. Within the workplace, co-workers were the primary source of support. Moreover, support for work stressors was received from within the workplace, or from a spouse or partner. However, support was seldom received from within the workplace for non-work stressors. Concerns about social relationships also contributed to most of the nominated stressful situations.     

Coital debut: The role of religiosity and sex attitudes in the add health survey

Recent reviews suggest that religiosity is associated with the delay of adolescent coital debut (Rostosky, Wilcox, Wright, & Randall, in press; Wilcox, Rostosky, Randall, & Wright, 2001). Few studies, however, have examined this association using longitudinal data to test theoretically driven models. We analyzed data from 3,691 adolescents (ages 15–21), testing the hypothesis that adolescent religiosity and sex attitudes (at Wave 1) predict later coital debut (at Wave 2) and that these predictive relationships vary by gender. Findings indicated that beyond demographic factors and number of romantic partners, religiosity reduced the likelihood of coital debut for both males and females. After accounting for the effects of religiosity, anticipation of negative emotions after coital debut (sex attitude factor 1) further reduced its likelihood for females and males. Finally, adolescent girls—but not boys—who anticipated positive emotions following sexual intercourse (sex attitude factor 2) were more likely to debut. While virginity pledge status was associated with coital debut for boys and girls, more conservative beliefs about sex appeared to mediate its effect. Finally, a significant interaction between race and religiosity indicated that African American adolescent males who had either signed a virginity pledge or were more religious were significantly more likely to debut than both White non‐Hispanic males and African American males who were less religious and/orwho had not signed a pledge. The implications of these results for adolescent pregnancy prevention programming are discussed.     

Solutions and Suggestions from across the Pond: An Interview with Hazel Woodward

In August 2009 Margaret Dull interviewed Hazel Woodward, university librarian and director of the University Press at Cranfield University (Cranfield, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom). Woodward shares her views on the challenges facing librarians regarding e-resources, their licensing, and management. She also shares how the collaborative work of libraries in the UK can offer solutions to similar challenges faced in America and abroad.     

A Weak Embrace: Popular and Scholarly Depictions of Single‐Parent Families, 1900 – 1998

The growth of single‐parent families constitutes one of the most dramatic and most studied social changes of the 20th century. Evolving attitudes toward these families have received less attention. This paper explores depictions of these families in representative samples of popular magazine (N = 474) and social science journal (N = 202) articles. Critical depictions of divorce plummeted between 1900 and 1998, a trend stemming not from any increase in favorable depictions but from the virtual disappearance of normative debate. Such de facto acceptance did not extend to nonmarital childbearing, however, depictions of which were almost as likely to be critical at the century’s end as at its beginning. These trends illustrate Americans’ ambivalent embrace of single‐parent families as a reality but not an ideal.