Conceptualizing Adoptive Parent Support Groups: A Mixed-Method Process

Indubitably, the process of adopting a young person, no matter the context, can be challenging. To assist adoptive parents in coping with these challenges, entities (e.g., social service/adoption agencies, etc.) have historically fostered the development of support groups. Despite the intent of these efforts, many adoptive parent support groups utilize frameworks that are not congruent with meeting the needs of group participants. This paper examines the process for using Concept Mapping to conceptualize effective support groups based on the perspectives of adoptive parents in one southeastern state.     

Time and support do not heal all wounds: Mental health correlates of past bullying among college students

Abstract

Objective: We examined whether perceptions of being bullied during middle and high school were associated with depressive, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during college. We also examined whether perceived social support (PSS) mediated the association between bullying and symptoms, and explored whether parental, peer, or other sources of support was most beneficial. Participants: Undergraduates (N?=?270) from an urban commuter college in the Northeast participated during Spring 2013 or Fall 2015. Methods: Psychometrically sound self-report measures were used to assess symptoms and perceptions of bullying and social support. Results: As hypothesized, bullying was associated with more symptoms, and PSS significantly mediated the associations between bullying and symptoms of PTSD and depression. Conclusion: The college years provide another opportunity to address the effects of middle and high school bullying. Receiving current support for past bullying is beneficial but is not enough, college counseling services are needed to reduce symptoms.     

Explaining microfinance's resilience: the case of microfinance in Australia

ABSTRACT

Microfinance has been unsuccessfully deployed as a poverty reduction strategy in the Global South. However, despite advocates acknowledging this shortcoming, the sector continues to grow. Moreover, over the past decade it has expanded its geographic scope, targeting poor communities in the Global North under the banner of financial inclusion. This article investigates the growth of the Australian sector. Analyzing the impacts of reforms to Australia's social security system alongside the political economy of the microfinance industry, it argues the debtfare state in Australia has provided fertile ground for microfinance's expansion. Documenting the advocacy strategies and tools to target vulnerable communities used by microfinance organizations and corporate partners, it charts how government support and subsidies have created a favourable regulatory environment, driving the sector's growth. This has benefitted these coalitions while displacing other forms of social security, despite the lack of robust evidence demonstrating microfinance's benefits for the poor.     

Controlling Anger and Happiness at Work: An Examination of Gender Differences

This article examines gender differences in the emotion management of men and women in the workplace. The belief in American culture that women are more emotional than men has limited women's opportunities in many types of work. Because emotional expression is often tightly controlled in the workplace, examining emotion management performed at work presents an opportunity to evaluate gender differences in response to similar working conditions. Previous research suggests that men and women do not differ in their experiences of emotion and the expression of emotion is linked to status positions. An analysis of survey data collected from workers in a diverse group of occupations illustrates that women express anger less and happiness more than men in the workplace. Job and status characteristics explain the association between gender and anger management at work but were unrelated to the management of happiness expressions in the workplace.     

Grounding Childhood (Trans)National Identities in the Everyday

This paper engages with the lived and experiential aspects of (trans)national identities in childhood, through the exploration of an ethnographic biography of a Greek‐Albanian boy in Athens. Through a grounded ethnographic approach, we examine the ways in which he experiences and negotiates his (trans)national identity. Our analysis demonstrates the everyday subtle and sophisticated understanding of the complexities and contradictions of national identities, and the child's own positioning within that. In conclusion, we suggest that interdisciplinary approaches should be assumed in the study of (trans)national identities in childhood, and ones that are grounded in children's own meaning making of their experiences of such identities.     

Followership theory: A review and research agenda

While theory and research on leaders and leadership abound, followers and followership theory have been given short shrift. It is accepted wisdom that there is no leadership without followers, yet followers are very often left out of the leadership research equation. Fortunately this problem is being addressed in recent research, with more attention being paid to the role of followership in the leadership process. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic review of the followership literature, and from this review, introduce a broad theory of followership into leadership research. Based on our review, we identify two theoretical frameworks for the study of followership, one from a role-based approach (“reversing the lens”) and one from a constructionist approach (“the leadership process”). These frameworks are used to outline directions for future research. We conclude with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues in the study of followership theory.