Conditional methodology for individual case history data

Summary.  Key ecological studies involve the regular censusing of populations of wild animals, resulting in individual case history data which record when marked individuals are seen alive and/or found dead. We show how current conditional methods of analysing case history data may be biased. We then show how a correction can be applied, making use of results from a mark–recovery–recapture analysis. This allows a simple investigation of the effect of time-varying individual covariates such as weight that often contain missing values. The work is motivated and illustrated by the study of Soay sheep in the St Kilda archipelago.     

Mejor Sola Que Mal Acompañada: Strengths and Challenges of Mexican-Origin Mothers Parenting Alone

Marriage is often viewed as central to family stability and health, and problem-saturated discourses about single parenting have failed to address the advantages of parenting alone. Heuristic methodology was used to examine the meanings and experiences of Latinas parenting alone. This study reflects the lived experiences of 20 Mexican-origin women who participated in a 1- to 2-hour, in-depth, semistructured interview. Data are presented by three exemplary portraits and five core consistencies embedded in a composite depiction. Overall, although parenting alone was challenging, it was considered beneficial and preferable, especially when the child's father's influence was problematic or detrimental to the family's well-being. Chicana feminism and an intersectionality lens is used to interpret findings. Implications for research and intervention are also discussed.     

Short-Term Home Visiting for Parents

The purpose of this article is to review various aspects of home-visiting programs that have shown to be effective in recent literature to inform policy makers, practitioners, and other involved stakeholders of the current best practices or limitations and to discuss future recommendations based on the literature. Areas of review include intervention design, home-visitor qualifications to fit program design, ongoing staff training and supervision, cultural competency, family-centered approaches, and appropriate intensity and duration through frequent home visiting. Home visiting demonstrates many promising outcomes, as well as challenges, and home-visiting programs would benefit most from more research and more collaboration between programs, service providers, policy makers, and funding sources.     

The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Sexual Dysfunction in Jamaican Adults

This study examined the associations between early traumatic sexualization and later sexual dysfunction in a sample of 100 Jamaican adults while identifying the linkages between age, frequency of abuse, and gender on sexual functioning. Participants were selected via purposive and convenience sampling and divided equally into comparison and experimental groups based on sociodemographic characteristics. Results indicated that childhood sexual abuse is a likely factor in the development of sexual dysfunction in Jamaican adults, especially in the domains of Orgasm and Sexual Drive and Relationship. Gender, frequency, and age of abuse are also seen to impact specific areas of an individual's sexual functioning. Results are discussed in light of previous research for their implications in order to better understand sexuality in the Jamaican context.     

Growing Up at Centrepoint: Retrospective Accounts of Childhood Spent at an Intentional Community

A qualitative analysis of the accounts of 29 adults who grew up in a controversial New Zealand community identified positive and negative experiences and their psychological implications. In addition to highly publicized child sexual abuse that occurred at Centrepoint, children also experienced parental neglect, psychological manipulation, illegal drug use and stigma from the broader society. These factors created an adverse matrix that facilitated sexual abuse. Positive experiences included support for vulnerable families and children, recreational activities, and the opportunity to develop communication skills. While there may be positive experiences for children living in intentional communities such as this one, it is important to be aware of the potential for psychological harm to children in communities with powerful, shared systems of belief, skepticism about the broader society, and strong dynamics of dependence. These findings may have implications for other similar communities operating elsewhere in the world.