Heterosexual Anal Sex Among Men and Women in Substance Abuse Treatment: Secondary Analysis of Two Gender-Specific HIV-Prevention Trials

Receptive anal sex has high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission risk, and heterosexual substance-abusing individuals report higher anal sex rates compared to their counterparts in the general population. This secondary analysis evaluated the effectiveness of two gender-specific, evidence-based HIV-prevention interventions (Real Men Are Safe, or REMAS, for men; Safer Sex Skill Building, or SSSB, for women) against an HIV education (HIV-Ed) control condition on decreasing unprotected heterosexual anal sex (HAS) among substance abuse treatment-seeking men (n = 171) and women (n = 105). Two variables, engagement in any HAS and engagement in unprotected HAS, were assessed at baseline and three months postintervention. Compared to the control group, women in the gender-specific intervention did not differ on rates of any HAS at follow-up but significantly decreased their rates of unprotected HAS. Men in both the gender-specific and the control interventions reported less HAS and unprotected HAS at three-month follow-up compared to baseline, with no treatment condition effect. The mechanism of action for SSSB compared to REMAS in decreasing unprotected HAS is unclear. More attention to HAS in HIV-prevention interventions for heterosexual men and women in substance abuse treatment is warranted.     

Subjective evaluations of alcohol-related consequences among college students: Experience with consequences matters

Objective: Research suggests college students rate some alcohol-related consequences less negatively than others, yet it is unclear how or when these differences in perception develop. The current study compared college students' subjective evaluations of alcohol-related consequences that they had and had not experienced in order to test the hypothesis that students become desensitized to the consequences they experience. Participants: Participants were 269 undergraduate students enrolled at a large, public, Midwestern university. Methods: Participants completed measures of drinking behaviors, consequences experienced, and subjective evaluations of consequences via an online survey. Results: Participants rated the consequences they had personally experienced more positively than those they had not experienced. Similarly, individuals who reported experiencing consequences rated them as significantly more positive than those who had not experienced the same consequences. Conclusions: Experience with consequences is associated with more positive evaluations of those consequences. Therefore, it may be important to consider individuals' experiences with, and evaluations of, alcohol-related consequences in college student drinking interventions.     

Contextual Factors Related to African American Adolescent Career Development

African American adolescents’ career development has gained increased attention in light of various barriers affecting their educational and career development goals. The author examined relationships among career decision self‐efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self‐concept of 104 African American high school students enrolled in Upward Bound programs. Participants responded to measures of career decision self‐efficacy, ethnic identity, and academic self‐concept. Results indicated that career decision self‐efficacy was significantly and positively correlated with ethnic identity and academic self‐concept. In addition, academic self‐concept was found to be a stronger predictor of career decision self‐efficacy than was ethnic identity. The results of this study may assist counselors, teachers, administrators, and parents to understand career decision self‐efficacy as it relates to ethnic identity, academic self‐concept, and demographic variables. This research supports the need for continued career‐related interventions within the schools designed to focus on factors related to ethnic minorities to help foster their career development.     

Critical reflections on emancipatory partnerships in transition research: discerning perspectives of New Zealand Students on the autism spectrum

Transition from school involves different perspectives. Those most silenced in the process are transitioning students with significant disability, and similarly, they are alienated from the conduct of research. In this empirical project, three young men with complex autism conditions in Aotearoa New Zealand reclaimed their position as experts on their own transitions, and moreover, their contributions to research on the subject. Over a six-month ethnography, unique methodological adaptions were used to access personal insights and capabilities through emancipatory partnerships. The research forged collaborations that have the potential to be mirrored in future practices applicable to a transition with dignity.     

Estimating the Number of Block Boundaries from Diagonal Blockwise Matrices Without Penalization

In computational biology, numerous recent studies have been dedicated to the analysis of the chromatin structure within the cell by two‐dimensional segmentation methods. Motivated by this application, we consider the problem of retrieving the diagonal blocks in a matrix of observations. The theoretical properties of the least squares estimators of both the boundaries and the number of blocks are investigated. More precisely, the contribution of the paper is to establish the consistency of these estimators. A surprising consequence of our results is that, contrary to the one‐dimensional case, a penalty is not needed for retrieving the true number of diagonal blocks. Finally, the results are illustrated on synthetic data.     

Pseudo maximum-likelihood estimation of the univariate GARCH (1,1) and asymptotic properties

One provides in this paper the pseudo-likelihood estimator (PMLE) and asymptotic theory for the GARCH (1,1) process. Strong consistency of the pseudo-maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE) is established by appealing to conditions given in Jeantheau (1998) concerning the existence of a stationary and ergodic solution to the multivariate GARCH (p, q) process. One proves the asymptotic normality of the PMLE by appealing to martingales' techniques.     

Examining the Relationship Between Level of Participation in Community Gardens and their Multiple Functions

Participation in community gardens improves health and well-being; however, few studies examine how often individuals need to participate to achieve these outcomes. This study examined the relationship between levels of participation in community gardens and health behaviors, psychological well-being, and perceptions of the community by surveying regular, occasional, and noncommunity garden participants in a disadvantage neighborhood (N = 115). Regular and occasional participates reported better mental health; occasional participants reported more vegetable intake, and regular participants reported more sense of community. Therefore, community practitioners may need to consider level of participation in gardening activities for some outcomes and not others.     

Engaging Youth in Municipal Government: Moving Toward a Youth-Centric Practice

Youth councils are one mechanism to engage youth in community governance; yet, there is scant research to guide practice. This study examined the extent to which youth are engaged in the origin, structure, and activities of municipal youth councils. Interviews were conducted with 24 adult stakeholders involved in the operations of youth councils. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results demonstrated that youth-centric practice builds upon theoretical frames of positive youth development, social justice, and civic engagement. Youth-centric practice consists of youth representation, leadership, initiative, and decision-making. Results can assist practitioners and policy makers in engaging youth in municipal government.     

Acting with the best of intentions… or not: A typology and model of impression management in leadership

Impression management (IM) is important for effective leadership. Followers accept influence from individuals who meet their perceptions of what it means to be a leader, and IM is an important way of impacting those perceptions. Yet, the extant literature on leader IM is fragmented. We unify the literature in this area by creating a multi-dimensional typology and multi-level model of IM in leadership. We examine the multi-dimensional nature of IM as a construct composed of information processing, communicative, and goal-directed components, thereby creating eight IM archetypes. Then, we examine how IM can be used to impact follower perceptions of the leader through the lenses of transformational/charismatic, authentic, and leader categorization theories. This research unites a currently fragmented area of research and sparks new questions about how leader behaviors can be used to influence followers toward multi-level leadership outcomes.