Adaptation to Retirement: Role Changes and Psychological Resources

In this review, the influence of social and work roles are incorporated into a model of retirement adjustment, along with two psychological moderators that may aid the retirement transition. These psychological resources, locus of control and retirement self-efficacy, are those behavioral predispositions that would lead one to engage in proactive strategies for mastering the role changes inherent in the retirement transition. The implications of social and work-related role changes and psychological resources for retirement planning and adjustment are discussed.     

Family strengths in long-term marriages

Considerable interest exists in identifying the characteristics of families that exhibit a high level of functioning. Since family strengths may be related to family stability, it is logical to examine long-term marriages for characteristics of strong and durable relationships. The present sample consists of 116 couples divided into two groups, higher family strengths and lower family sterngths, based on an empirical measure. Differences in the qualities of these families were identified. In most respects strengths found to be important in earlier studies of younger families also discriminated within long-term marriages. However, some variables may be more important in long-term marriages, including health, sexual relations, financial matters, and personality issues.     

A STRUCTURAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SYMPTOMATIC ADOPTED CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES*

Based on a mental health pilot project with 34 adoptive families, this paper examines the unique differences of adoptive families from other family systems. The paper defines the context of the adopted child's symptoms and the families' characteristics. The relationship between adoption and the family's structure and development are analyzed.     

Common Developmental Tasks in Forming Reconstituted Families*

Developmental tasks common to the formation of a reconstituted family are described, particularly the continued mourning of the old family; the formation of a solid marital relationship despite the difficulties presented by past failures and the presence of children; formation of sibling alliances across family lines. A treatment case is described which illustrates one family's process of achieving these developmental tasks.     

George Herbert Mead and Karl Marx: Exploring Consciousness and Community*

Current discussions within symbolic interaction point to a concern with (a) returning to Mead's original insights, (b) extending Meadian thought beyond the micro realm, and (c) linking Mead's ideas to constructive social action. These concerns complement an effort within contemporary Marxist literature to provide a systematic social psychology for understanding new forms of domination in capitalist society. In exploring the philosophical foundations of Mead and Marx, the authors identify fundamental similarities in their approaches to the relation between consciousness and community. The authors criticize the current attempts to synthesize Marx and Freud and call for a more thoroughly sociological approach. A Meadian reading of Marx, unlike the Marx-Freud synthesis, is consistent with sociological assumptions and points to the practical possibility of transformative social change through the interpersonal act.     

The self and mental health: self-salience and the emergence of internalizing and externalizing problems

How do schemas about self-salience--the importance of the self versus the collective in social relations--affect mental health? We propose that self-salience shapes the likelihood of experiencing internalizing or externalizing problems. Schemas that privilege others over the self increase the risk of internalizing symptoms, including depressive symptoms and anxiety, whereas those that privilege the self over others predispose individuals to externalizing behaviors of antisocial behavior and substance abuse. Furthermore, we propose that these schemas contribute to the gender differences that exist in these problems. We test these predictions with data from adolescents, the stage at which these problems and the gender differences in them arise. Results show that self-salience underlies both internalizing and externalizing problems. In addition, schemas about self-salience help explain the gender differences found in mental health problems.     

Gender Mainstreaming in Theory and Practice

This article utilizes the findings of a recently completed,eight-country research project to visit some key issues in thetheory and practice of gender mainstreaming. The research resultsindicate that gender mainstreaming is a diverse entity whenlooked at from a cross-national perspective but rather hollowwhen considered within the national setting. To the extent thatthere is a "common core" to gender mainstreaming in action acrosscountries, it lies in the tendency to apply the approach ina technocratic way and to be nonsystemic in compass. The argumentis advanced that this is at least in part attributable to particularitiesin the development of mainstreaming. The article suggests thatgender mainstreaming is underdeveloped as a concept and identifiesa need to elaborate further on some fundaments. In particular,the conceptualization of mainstreaming needs to be rethoughtwith special attention devoted to the understanding of the problematicof gender inequality that underlies it and the articulationof the relationship between gender mainstreaming and societalchange.