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.     

Teen empowerment: youth, police, and neighbors in partnership

The Center for Teen Empowerment has used a particular model of building relationships to empower youth and adults as agents of positive social and institutional change. The Teen Empowerment Model is the product of over twenty-five years of thoughtful experience in changing the values, beliefs, and behaviors of youth and adults; making institutions more effective; and developing mechanisms for people of all ages to work together productively toward achieving their goals. The comprehensive methodology for working with groups is described in this chapter, using as an example work that the center has done bringing youth and police together.     

Promoting children's ethical development through social and emotional learning

In today's climate of increased emphasis on measuring achievement through high-stakes testing, academic subjects are too often divorced from the social context in which they are taught. We know that learning is a social process. In fact, many educators and other youth development practitioners recognize that social, emotional, and ethical development cannot be ignored in the name of better academic preparation, especially in the face of data showing that students are more disengaged than ever before. Social and emotional learning (SEL) offers educators and other youth development personnel a framework for addressing students' social and emotional needs in systematic way. SEL is the process of acquiring the skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations effectively. Research has shown that SEL has an impact on every aspect of children's development: their health, ethical development, citizenship, academic learning, and motivation to achieve. This chapter profiles one school in Illinois that has been implementing SEL programming for a number of years. The authors provide evidence of the impact of SEL on school climate, student behavior, and attitudes. Ultimately the authors see this as fostering the kind of understanding of the larger world that leads young people to make ethical choices. They propose that the lessons learned are applicable to a wide variety of settings, including other schools, after-school programs, and summer camps.