Changes in world inequality in length of life: 1970–2000

Previous research has revealed much global convergence over the past several decades in life expectancy at birth and in infant mortality, which are closely linked. But trends in the variance of length of life, and in the variance of length of adult life in particular, are less well understood. I examine life-span inequality in a comprehensive panel of 180 countries observed in 1970 and 2000. Convergence in infant mortality has unambiguously reduced world inequality in total length of life starting from birth, but world inequality in length of adult life has remained largely unchanged. Underlying both of these observations is a growing share of total inequality attributable to between-country variation. Especially among developed countries, the absolute level of between-country inequality has risen over time. The sources of widening inequality in length of life between countries remain unclear, but signs point away from changes in income, leaving patterns of knowledge diffusion as a likely candidate.     

Student Constructions of Resilience: Understanding the Role of Childhood Adversity

Resilience is a desirable attribute for social work and human services (SWHS) graduates. A history of childhood adversity may have led students to develop resilience, which is transferable to SWHS practice. Limited research has been conducted with students as to how resilience is formed and conceptualised. This survey of 265 SWHS students is the first Australian research to survey students about their conceptualisation of resilience and childhood adversity. Within the study, students resoundingly viewed resilience as a process that occurred often due to childhood adversity but also from the protective factors of family. Students' experience of childhood adversity allowed them to develop independence and determination, which led to the development of resilience giving them greater ability to cope with the stresses of SWHS courses. Exploration of students' conceptualisation of resilience and its formation provides an insider voice as to how we can assist emerging practitioners in their development of resilience for future practice.     

Partnered fathers bringing up their mixed-/multi-race children: an exploratory comparison of racial projects in Britain and New Zealand

This article explores how fathers in couple relationships where their partner is from a different racial background understand bringing up their children. Drawing on a small-scale, in-depth comparison of fathers’ accounts in Britain and New Zealand, and using the analytic concept of racial projects, fathers’ activities towards and hopes for their children’s identity and affiliation are revealed as keyed into historically situated social and political forces. Particular national racial projects and histories of coloniser and colonised are (re)created and reflected in the various typifications (ideal orientations) informing the fathers’ racial projects. These might be concerned with mixed, single or transcendent senses of belonging, in individual or collective ways, each of which was in various forms of dialogue with race.     

College teaching on sacred ground: Judeo-Christian influences on Black women faculty pedagogy

This study examines the perceptions and ideals of Black women faculty in the US who self-identify as possessing strong faith commitments within a Judeo-Christian denomination. The study considers the influence religio-spirituality has on their perceptions of pedagogy and student engagement. There are four major findings that emerged in this study, organized within two veins: (1) Religio-spiritual educator ideal as a guide for ways of being and teaching in the academy; and (2) Religio-spirituality’s relationship to equity and emancipation. This study is significant in that it identifies a largely under-theorized religio-spiritual frame employed by many Black women faculty in the US, and contributes to the literature in its exploration of the ways Judeo-Christian Black women faculty can serve as important resources and change agents in US higher education.     

Reactions to Participating in Intimate Partner Violence and Minority Stress Research: A Mixed Methodological Study of Self-Identified Lesbian and Gay Emerging Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine lesbian and gay (LG) young adults’ reactions to participating in intimate partner violence (IPV) and minority stress research using a mixed methodological design. Participants were 277 U.S. college students currently involved in same-sex relationships and self-identified cisgender LG who completed an online questionnaire that included closed- and open-ended questions. Results suggested that IPV research was well tolerated by the vast majority of participants; close to one in 10 participants reported being upset by the study questions, yet 75% of upset individuals reported some level of personal benefit. Reasons for upset as identified in the open-ended responses included thinking about personal experiences with IPV, as the perpetrator or friend of a victim, as well as thinking about the uncertainty of their future with their current partner. The correlates of emotional reactions and personal benefits to research participation were also examined, and these varied among gay men and lesbian women. Implications of these findings underscore the importance of accurate reflection of risk and benefits in informed consent documents as well as systematic evaluation of sexual minority participants’ reactions to research participation in an effort to conduct ethically sound sexual science research.     

Experiences With Parents and Youth Physical Health Symptoms and Cortisol: A Daily Diary Investigation

Using daily diary data, this study examined the associations between positive and negative parent–youth experiences and youth cortisol and physical health symptoms among a sample of adolescents (N = 132, mean age = 13.39). On days when girls reported more negative experiences than usual, they exhibited more physical health symptoms and flatter evening cortisol slopes than usual. Negative experiences with mothers were associated with higher dinner and bedtime youth cortisol levels (between‐person). Daily positive experiences with fathers were linked with lower dinner cortisol levels. Youth with high levels of negative experiences, on average, were less sensitive to daily variation in negative experiences than youth who experienced lower parental negativity. We discuss the benefits of a daily diary approach.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Brain Development: A Discussion of Associated Structural Changes and Negative Psychological Outcomes

The effects of traumatic exposure have been researched for many years and studies have shown that the parts of the brain affected by sexually traumatic experiences in childhood are also linked to many physical and psychological problems, such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, somatic complaints and suicide. Neuroimaging studies have provided a breadth of evidence that childhood sexual abuse is related to structural changes in the brain. Taken together, childhood sexual abuse affects brain development, leading to differences in brain anatomy and functioning that have lifelong consequences for mental health. Several limitations of neuroimaging research on childhood sexual abuse are discussed, including a lack of refined and sensitive neuroimaging measures and problems interpreting results of structural imaged subjects with associated psychiatric conditions. Future, large‐scale studies are warranted to examine the type and severity of the sexual abuse and how each of the levels of childhood sexual abuse contributes to structural and functional changes. Furthermore, future studies are needed to control for comorbid psychiatric conditions in order to disentangle the effects of childhood sexual abuse from psychiatric conditions that damage brain development. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

‘Childhood sexual abuse affects brain development, leading to differences in brain anatomy and functioning that have lifelong consequences for mental health’

Key Practitioner Messages

• Childhood sexual abuse is linked to observable structural changes in the brain.
• These structural changes in the brain are associated with a myriad number of negative psychological effects.
• Research is limited in elucidating the role of childhood sexual abuse on brain development, as the bulk of the research has focused only broadly on child maltreatment.

     

Labor,Agency, and State‐building in Trinidad and Tobago: Toward a Postcolonial Sociological Approach to Development

Existing development theories predict that factors such as natural resource wealth and the legacies of European colonizers inhibit development. However, the case of Trinidad and Tobago challenges these theories, as a resource‐rich former colony that has achieved high levels of development. This article examines what accounts for Trinidad and Tobago's development trajectory. Advancing a novel analytical approach – a postcolonial sociological approach – this study emphasizes what existing theories miss, namely, the role of organized labor in enabling Trinidad and Tobago to escape the development trap. The findings suggest that development studies attend to how colonial labor legacies shape post‐colonial development.