Leniency Bias in Evaluating Clinical Social Work Student Interns

Leniency bias, or the tendency to evaluate individuals more favorably than is warranted, can prevent accurate evaluation and constructive supervision. This study tested leniency bias among field instructors of 90 clinical social work interns by comparing face-to-face and anonymous field instructors’ ratings of students’ knowledge, values, and skills. We also compared students’ own ratings to field instructors’ assessments. Results indicated little variance and consistently high ratings when field instructors evaluated face-to-face. There was greater variance and lower mean ratings when supervisors evaluated anonymously. Students’ self-assessments were the most critical and best matched the anonymous evaluations; whereas, the anonymous and face-to-face field instructor evaluations significantly differed on most items. These findings suggest the need for evaluation training for field instructors and the use of multiple assessment methods.     

Negotiating Interactions in State�CVoluntary Sector Relationships: Competitive and Collaborative Agency in an Experiential Workshop

This article examines an experiential student workshop focused on state?Cvoluntary sector relationships in the UK, which formed part of a postgraduate voluntary sector studies programme. The different group behaviours observed were instructive in illustrating how students, all working in third sector or related public agencies, perceive and have assimilated demands and practices of the external environment. These insights also highlight the value of experiential learning in higher education both for student reflection and research. The article adopts an interdisciplinary approach to examine some consequences of ideologies and behaviours associated with managerial culture permeating actions in this interactive setting. It combines critical discussion of non-profit organizations with group relations and learning theories, offering a different perspective through which to explore patterns embedded in inter-agency relationships. Consideration of ways that these patterns might be changed to improve the service environment in the voluntary sector has wider implications for research in this field.     

The role of education in explaining and forecasting trends in functional limitations among older Americans*

Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we document the importance of education in accounting for declines in functional limitations among older Americans from 1984 to 1993. Of the eight demographic and socioeconomic variables considered, education is most important in accounting for recent trends. The relationship between educational attainment and functioning has not changed measurably, but educational attainment has increased greatly during this period. Our analysis suggests, all else being equal, that future changes in education will continue to contribute to improvements in functioning, although at a reduced rate.     

A portrait of the nest-leaving process in early adulthood

This paper provides an in-depth portrait of the nest-leaving process in early adulthood as it emerged in the 1980s. Event histories are used to describe transitions in and out of the parental home during the years from age 15 through age 23. We focus on the role of the “new” forms of living arrangements in the leaving-home process, namely nonfamily living and cohabitation. The results show that the transition to full residential independence is more gradual, with more intermediate steps, than previous studies suggested. Cohabitation is rare as a route out of the parental home, and both nonfamily living and cohabitation lead to much higher return rates than does marriage.     

Living Arrangements of the Elderly in Fiji,Korea, Malaysia,and the Philippines

Using logit techniques and data from surveys of the elderly conducted in 1984 under the auspices of the World Health Organization, this article investigates socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic determinants of living arrangements of the elderly. Having a spouse or children with whom to live has important effects on living arrangements. The results provide only weak support, however, for hypotheses based on modernization theory and point to the need for detailed data on transitions in living arrangements and for information about the younger generation as well as the older generation, both of which are involved in deciding who lives with whom.     

The Effect of Depressive Symptoms on the Association between Functional Status and Social Participation

The aim of the current study was to examine the interactive effects of depressive symptoms and lower extremity functioning on social participation for a group of moderately to severely disabled older women. The study used a cross-sectional community based sample, enrolled in the Women’s Health and Aging Study I, randomly selected from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enrollment files for women living in the Baltimore, Maryland area. The participants were women aged 65 or older who completed the in-person interview (n = 999). After adjusting for demographics and risk factors, each unit increase in the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score was associated with a 0.31 point increase in satisfaction with social participation for the non-depressed group, and 2.04 points for the depressed group. Depressive symptoms and lower extremity functioning interact to affect satisfaction with social participation. Among women with high depressive symptoms the gradient of association with social participation increased sharply with better lower extremity function compared with non-depressed women, where the gradient of association was moderate. The findings suggest the potential value of programs that focus on improving lower extremity function among older high risk groups.     

Normative, Gain and Hedonic Goal Frames Guiding Environmental Behavior

This article discusses new developments about goal-dependent framing and multiple goal frames (sometimes also called "multiple motives"), which are highly relevant for understanding environmental behavior. We introduce goal-framing theory, which postulates that goals "frame" the way people process information and act upon it. Three goal frames are distinguished: a hedonic, gain, and normative goal frame. In general, multiple goals are active at any given time, which may (or may not) be compatible; that is, the strength of the focal goal may be influenced by other goals that are in the background. Based on an extensive review of studies in environmental psychology, we suggest those conditions under which each goal frame may be dominant in influencing environmental behavior. In the environmental context, normative goal frames imply acting pro-environmentally, while gain and hedonic goal frames often result in not acting in an environmentally sound manner. Next, we argue that pro-environmental behavior may be promoted by strengthening normative goals or by making gain and hedonic goals less incompatible with normative goals. Finally, based on goal-framing theory, we suggest questions to be addressed in future research.     

Current reproductive technologies: increased access and choice?

This article discusses key issues related to current reproductive technologies including contextual and personal barriers to use, complexity of decision making, limited access to technologies for poor women and women of color, and the politics and social controversy surrounding this area. New reproductive technologies have to be put to the same test as any other product--can and will women use them correctly? We need to not only know about the technology itself; we also need to know about the individuals who intend to use the technology and about contextual factors that influence use. Accordingly, the articles in this issue focus on the multiple determinants that influence acceptability of reproductive technologies and the policy, political, and legal implications associated with their use.