The school-police partnership. Identifying at-risk youth through a truant recovery program

A substantial amount of research has established that truancy is a consistent at-risk indicator of future criminality. This article studies the experiences of 178 juveniles targeted by the Truant Recovery Program, a collaborative and nonpunitive school-law enforcement effort, and considers questions regarding its impact through examination of juvenile justice and school information in the years before and after the truancy sweep. In particular, the article suggests that intensive cooperative efforts between school and police may be effective in identifying troubled youth and raises questions about appropriate school and justice system responses for children who demonstrate at-risk behavior.     

Older women and the internet

This study was designed to explore the effects that training had on older adults' willingness to use the Internet to manage their health care. The most interesting result was that out of 70 self-volunteers, 58 were women. Results show that highly educated women who either own a computer or have access to one, and have low levels of anxiety toward computers, with strong feelings of self-efficacy toward computers and the Internet, and an internal locus of control, are more willing than men to use the Internet to find medical information to manage a chronic health problem.     

Reviewing portfolio strategy

In our work on corporate-level strategy we have often claimed that many, if not most, large corporations are over-diversified. This, we claim, accounts for the popularity of MBOs, LBOs, spinoffs, demergers, unbundling and many other ways of reducing diversification. This article explains, in the form of a letter to a fictitious chief executive, why some forms of diversification lead to value destruction while other forms lead to value creation.     

Secondary victimization of rape victims: insights from mental health professionals who treat survivors of violence

Rape victims may turn to the legal, medical, and mental health systems for assistance, but there is a growing body of literature indicating that many survivors are denied help by these agencies. What help victims do receive often leaves them feeling revictimized. These negative experiences have been termed "the second rape" or "secondary victimization." If indeed secondary victimization occurs, then these issues may be raised in rape survivors' mental health treatment. In the current study, probability sampling was used to survey a representative sample of licensed mental health professionals about the extent to which they believe rape victims are "re-raped" in their interactions with social system personnel. Most therapists believed that some community professionals engage in harmful behaviors that are detrimental to rape survivors' psychological well-being. Implications for future research on secondary victimization are discussed.     

U.S. firms and black labor in South Africa: Creating a structure for change

Some have argued that U.S. firms should disinvest from South Africa as a means of putting pressure on the South African government to end apartheid. This argument, however, may ignore a dynamic of change in South Africa in which U.S. firms have played and are playing a large role: South African industrial relations have undergone significant evolution since 1979, the year in which major changes were introduced in that country’s labor legislation. Partly a result of these changes, black trade union membership has increased by 800 percent since 1979. By virtue of its unique exposure to varied constituencies, the multinational subsidiary in both home and host countries can be viewed as an agent of sociopolitical change in South Africa. The author wishes to thank Professors Herbert R. Northrup and Richard L. Rowan for helpful discussion.     

The effectiveness of family interventions for physical disorders

This article reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of family interventions in the prevention and treatment of physical disorders. Pathways by which families influence physical health and a typology of family interventions are described. Family intervention studies, particularly randomized clinical trials, are reviewed in four clinical areas: family caregiving of elders, childhood chronic illness, spouse involvement in chronic adult illnesses, and health promotion/disease prevention. Implications for family clinicians and recommendations for future research are presented.     

Abuse during and before pregnancy: prevalence and cultural correlates

This study examined the prevalence of abuse during pregnancy and the influence of cultural norms and acculturation on abuse in 1,004 Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, Central American, African American and Anglo American women. Women were recruited from consecutive delivery logs in general community hospitals in Florida and Massachusetts. The Index of Spouse Abuse and the Abuse Assessment Screen ascertained history of adult physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, abuse during pregnancy, and childhood sexual abuse. An Interview Protocol assessed cultural attitudes, acculturation, and demographic information. Hispanic American women, as a whole, did not differ significantly from Anglo American women in their prevalence of abuse during pregnancy, after controlling for sociodemographic variables. However, Cuban American and Central American partners were significantly less likely to abuse their pregnant partners than were other groups even after adjustment. Women who spoke only Spanish (less acculturated) were less likely to report physical abuse from their partners both before and during pregnancy. Cultural norms, such as a partner's belief in wife/mother role supremacy and cultural group acceptability of men hitting women, were significantly positively related to both physical and emotional abuse. Other risk factors for abuse were the abuser not being the biological father of the baby, low income and little education, and being unmarried.     

Starting where the people are: Lessons on community development from a remote Aboriginal Australian setting

This paper analyses a government health department's attemptto implement a community development strategy in a remote AboriginalAustralian community after identifying deficiencies in one ofits health programmes. The reluctance of non-Aboriginal departmentalclinic staff to share control of health decisions with Aboriginalparticipants, together with the deeply embedded power inequalities,undermined the development process and the achievement of projectobjectives. After lengthy critical reflection and supportedby the project team and other community agencies, a group ofcommunity members addressed the priority issue they identifiedwith a community-owned strategy in opposition to health professionals.This study raises questions about the capacity of governmentdepartments to practise community development, particularlygiven the unequal power relations, and their reluctance to sharepower between such departments and marginalized, disadvantagedcommunities.     

The role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to relationship stress

Two studies examined the role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and in responses to relationship stress. Using a longitudinal design, Study 1 found that higher trait mindfulness predicted higher relationship satisfaction and greater capacities to respond constructively to relationship stress. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings. Mindfulness was again shown to relate to relationship satisfaction; then, using a conflict discussion paradigm, trait mindfulness was found to predict lower emotional stress responses and positive pre- and postconflict change in perception of the relationship. State mindfulness was related to better communication quality during the discussion. Both studies indicated that mindfulness may play an influential role in romantic relationship well-being. Discussion highlights future research directions for this new area of inquiry.     

Virtual World Interview Skills Training for Students Studying Health Professions

This study examined the effectiveness of a health professional virtual world interview skills trainer (IST), in comparison to classroom training via interview role-plays with peers. Students of psychology, physiotherapy, and general health science learned interviewing skills through role-play and virtual world training. Students were randomly allocated to a role-play-first, or IST-first condition. Interviewing self-efficacy was measured at baseline and after each of the learning experiences. In total, 72 students completed all surveys. Students’ reported an increase in interviewing self-efficacy significantly after the IST experience than after role-play.