Match or mismatch? The employment of immigrant engineers in Canada's labor force

Using major field of study and labor force data from the 1996 Canadian census, this paper assesses variations in the correspondence between training in engineering fields and employment patterns. Following a review of the issues associated with under-valuation of credentials, comparisons are made between Canadian born men age 30–54 and permanent residents who immigrated at children and those who immigrated at age 28 or later with respect to labor force participation, employment, and occupational location. Permanent residents who immigrated as adults are assumed to be foreign trained. Compared to the Canadian born and to those immigrating as children, this group is the least likely to be in the labor force or employed. When employed, they are less likely to have either manager, engineering or technical occupations, and most likely to be employed in other occupations. This slippage between training and occupational location is the greatest for those permanent residents with only Bachelors degrees. In part, these aggregate findings reflect recency of arrival of those immigrating as adults. For this group, mis-match is strongest within the first few years of arriving in Canada. Men with engineering training who have been in Canada 15 years or more and/or who have Masters and Ph.D. degrees have employment patterns and occupational profiles that more closely correspond to those of their Canadian-born counterparts or those arriving as children.     

The Association Between School Stress,Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents: Life Satisfaction as a Potential Mediator

The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships between school-related stress (school performance, teacher interaction), life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mediating role of life satisfaction on the association between school-related stress and depressive symptoms. A total of 1,239 adolescents (13–18 years of age) from public elementary and secondary schools in mid-Norway participated in the school-based survey. The data were analysed using structural equations modelling. The present study showed that stress of school performance was significantly and positively related to depressive symptoms and significantly and inversely related to life satisfaction. At the bivariate levels, stress of teacher interaction was associated with more depressive symptoms and reduced life satisfaction. However, these associations were non-significant in the multivariate analyses, controlled for stress of school performance. A significant inverse association was found between life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Further, life satisfaction partly mediated the association between stress of school performance and depressive symptoms. The results reflect the complexity of the interaction between adolescents’ experience of school performance stress and mental health, and the role of life satisfaction as a potentially relevant mediator of this association.     

Getting is Giving: Time Banking as Formalized Generalized Exchange

This article applies principles of the social exchange framework of social psychology to the social phenomenon of time banking. A “time bank” is an organization that facilitates the giving and receiving of services among its members by allowing them to provide a service, such as an hour of tutoring, in exchange for a “time credit,” which can then be redeemed for receipt of a service, such as an hour of yard work. Empirical research on time banking has focused on its ability to build community and its place within the sharing economy as a form of “connected consumption.” We build on these lines of thought by examining the practice of time banking as a formalized version of generalized exchange. Generalized exchange is a prosocial type of social exchange in which benefits are repaid indirectly, sometimes referred to as “paying it forward.” We discuss how two of time banking's most commonly cited benefits, building social capital and empowering members, can be better understood through this lens of generalized exchange. We then identify two specific motivational issues that time banks face and use a social exchange perspective to propose a possible solution under a framework we refer to as getting is giving.     

Intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children: a qualitative research among cohabiting and married children in Italy

The objective of this article is to compare the patterns of intergenerational solidarity between adult children who cohabit or are married and their own parents or their partner's parents through the analysis of 50 in-depth interviews. The research did not reveal any different behavioural patterns between cohabiting and married couples. Financial support provided by own parents or partner's parents and the presence of small children constituted positive factors which intensified the frequency of contacts and improved the quality of the relationship. In the event of illness of a parent, both the married and cohabiting couples provided assistance, especially when the illness was not disabling and there were no other kin relatives. When this was not possible, a private caregiver was hired or close family members provided assistance. Only those respondents who cohabited with a partner awaiting divorce were less willing to maintain contacts with their partner's parents. The presence of a family formed by previously married partners and the old age of the parents of the latter compromised the quality of the relationship and the willingness to provide assistance.     

Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is not 'evidence-based': comments in response to Becker-Weidman and Hughes

A recent paper claimed that Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), a mental-health intervention for children, was an evidence-based treatment (EBT). We discuss the meaning of the EBT term and the accuracy of this claim, and conclude that DDP does not meet the criteria that would allow it to be called evidence-based. We note other problems with this research report and suggest ways in which the authors could provide better support for their claim and make it easier for others to attempt independent replications.     

Families with Children with Disabilities - Inequalities and the Social Model

This article suggests that families with children with disabilities experience a range of inequalities that families with children without disabilities do not suffer. It draws on a recent qualitative study to illustrate the way in which it is not just disabled people, but in the case of disabled children, whole families that suffer from unequal opportunities and outcomes. We draw on the social model of disability to show that the lives of these families are often characterised by financial hardship, stress and anxiety as a result of social barriers, prejudices and poorly conceived service provision. The social model of disability is usually drawn upon to illustrate the way in which social organisation disables people with impairments. In this instance, we illustrate the way in which social organisation disables not just the family member who has an impairment but the whole family unit. By applying this model of disability, new ways of creating practices and policies for these families can be developed which incorporate their views into the heart of the policy-making process.     

Child Well‐Being Scales (CWBS) in the assessment of families and children in home‐care intervention: an empirical study

This paper reports research carried out in Italy designed to investigate the usability of Child Well‐Being Scale (CWBS) for the outcome evaluation of home‐care interventions for vulnerable families and children in need. Using a pre‐ and post‐test design, the study traces the changes in 18 vulnerable families and 23 children in need included in a programme of home‐care intervention over a period of 11 months. All the families and children were assessed twice: at intake and at the end of the intervention (after 6 months). Furthermore, 10 families and 11 children had a longer intervention and were assessed three times. Moreover, two focus groups involving 13 home‐care workers and 11 face‐to‐face interviews were used to collect practitioners' points of views on CWBS. The results generally support the idea that families' and children's situation improved over time, as shown by an improvement in almost all of the considered dimensions after 6 months and after 11 months. Specifically, the families improved more on household adequacy in the long term while children on the child performance dimension improved in the short term. Practitioners reported that CWBS was an aid to multi‐professional decision‐making, as the systematic evaluation of the subscales was a practical base upon which to activate shared decision‐making during the casework.     

Sustainable caregiving? Demands upon and resources of female carers of adults with intellectual disability

Female carers of adults with an intellectual disability are increasing in our communities as those with intellectual disability live into middle and old age. Twenty-seven carers between the ages of 45 and 85 years responded to questionnaires about demands, resources, and their health. Almost all were in the clinical range on the measure of psychological functioning. Demands contributed significantly to poorer functioning; however, other measures did not. The women in this study appeared to underreport the level of difficulties they experienced. The caregiving role undertaken by these women does not appear to be sustainable under their current circumstances.     

Everybody's Doin' It (Right?): Neighborhood Norms and Sexual Activity in Adolescence

A neighborhood’s normative climate is linked to, but conceptually distinct from, its structural characteristics such as poverty and racial/ethnic composition. Given the deleterious consequences of early sexual activity for adolescent health and well-being, it is important to assess normative influences on youth behaviors such as sexual debut, number of sex partners, and involvement in casual sexual experiences. The current study moves beyond prior research by constructing a measure of normative climate that more fully captures neighborhood norms, and analyzing the influence of normative climate on behavior in a longitudinal framework. Using recently geo-coded data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), we analyze the effect of normative climate on adolescents’ sexual behaviors. Results indicate that variation in neighborhood normative climates increases adolescents’ odds of sexual debut and casual sex, and is associated with their number of sex partners, even after accounting for neighborhood structural disadvantage and demographic risk factors.     

The Characteristics of Romantic Relationships Associated with Teen Dating Violence

Studies of teen dating violence have focused heavily on family and peer influences, but little research has been conducted on the relationship contexts within which violence occurs. The present study explores specific features of adolescent romantic relationships associated with the perpetration of physical violence. Relying on personal interviews with a sample of 956 adolescents, results indicate that respondents who self-report violence perpetration are significantly more likely than their non-violent counterparts to report higher levels of other problematic relationship dynamics and behaviors such as jealousy, verbal conflict, and cheating. However, we find no significant differences in levels of love, intimate self-disclosure, or perceived partner caring, and violent relationships are, on average, characterized by longer duration, more frequent contact, sexual intimacy and higher scores on the provision and receipt of instrumental support. Finally, violence is associated with the perception of a relatively less favorable power balance, particularly among male respondents. These findings complicate traditional views of the dynamics within violent relationships, add to our understanding of risk factors, and may also shed light on why some adolescents remain in physically abusive relationships.