International adoption and the formation of new family attachments

Clinical studies of children in international adoption reveal unique patterns of psychological adjustment to permanent family care. Pre‐adoption history often includes early object loss, medical and nutritional deprivation, multiple care‐giving disruptions, and the lack of primary care‐giving relationships. These factors and the age at the time of adoption are risks to positive emotional and cognitive development. Adoptive parents may be unprepared for the resulting developmental problems. Most significantly, parents and children are often at different points in readiness to establish an attachment relationship. The parents are eager to claim their child, but the child is unready to respond because of emotional fragility and lack of previous attachment experiences. Two clinical vignettes illustrate the importance of a developmental and medical framework in assessing the unique needs of these survivor children, as well as the necessity of an empathic therapeutic holding environment that can sustain the emerging family attachments under stress. The psychological impact of cross‐cultural adoption and traumatic early beginnings reverberates across time but with empathic parental care and treatment recovery can be significant.     

The Eating Disorders NOS Diagnostic Profile Among College Women

Abstract

The authors examined a proposed profile of eating-related behaviors, associated features, developmental issues, and help-seeking behavior among college women, using an eating disorder response program. The most common symptom scenario was a pattern of regular binge eating, together with daily exercise and occasional purging. The most common associated features were distressing or dysfunctional overconcern about body image and self-esteem, usually with day-to-day stress and intermittent depression. The women who fit this pattern also presented developmental issues of perfectionism, conflictual relationships with parents, and struggles for independence; and they tended to be ambivalent about seeking services. Implications for practice, including the need to develop a framework for eating disorder responses on campus that includes preventive programs and developmental interventions to target emerging and moderate concerns are discussed; limitations and the preliminary nature of the findings are explicated.     

Poly-victimization and resilience portfolios: Trends in violence research that can enhance the understanding and prevention of elder abuse

ABSTRACT

This literature review assesses the current state of knowledge about elder abuse and mistreatment, focusing on the lack of incorporation of all forms of elder victimization and the benefits of a poly-victimization framework. This review also includes existing knowledge on risk factors and calls for a greater focus on protective factors and a greater inclusion on family and community factors. Future research, prevention, and intervention would benefit from considering the true burden of elder victimization and a greater implementation of strengths-based approaches to programs.     

Decisions to Outsource Information Systems Functions: Testing a Strategy-Theoretic Discrepancy Model

In recent years, the decision to outsource information systems (IS) functions has become a viable strategic alternative in managing the increasingly complex IS functions. In this study, the IS outsourcing phenomenon is conceptualized as a strategic decision in the organization. Drawing on resource-based theories, resource dependence theories, and other theories of strategic management, a discrepancy model of this decision is developed. Relationships between a number of strategy-theoretic factors and the IS outsourcing decision are hypothesized. These factors include IS resource performance discrepancies manifested in the form of gaps in information quality, IS support quality, IS cost effectiveness and financial performance, as well as the strategic orientation of the firm. Results of the study indicate that, while cost consideration and the firm's financial performance are not associated with the IS outsourcing decision, difficulties in providing good information outputs and IS support services are associated with the decision. Overall, the findings suggest that the current trend toward outsourcing represents a continuing evolution of the IS function as it attempts to fulfill its traditional mission of providing high quality information resource to the firm. When the performance of the delivered resource begins to slip in the current environment of rising expectation and technological complexity, outsourcing may become a strategic response of necessity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for practicing managers and suggestions for future research.