A systematic literature review of the etiology of borderline personality disorder from an ecological systems PERSPECTIVE

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most common, complex, costly, and severely impairing personality disorders, affecting an estimated 2% to 9% of the general population and 40% to 44% of the inpatient psychiatric population. A review of the literature was conducted using a systematic methodology. By incorporating an ecological systems perspective, a holistic and comprehensive critique of the literature surrounding the etiology of BPD is presented. The findings reveal that the etiology of BPD is a complex integration of psychological, biological, and social factors. More specifically, however, this review found that: (1) the etiology of BPD is complex and has many factors, (2) the dominant discourse about the etiology of BPD is based primarily in the psychological and biological literature, and (3) the examination of BPD etiology has focused solely on the individual and microsystems levels, neglecting to consider systemic factors such as the impact of discriminatory health and mental healthcare practices. Findings and future directions are explored through the ecological systems theory lens.     

Televisual pregnancy beauty

Theorizing the contours of televisual pregnancy beauty, this essay demonstrates how televisual stylistics construct and communicate a political ideology of pregnancy. When the crime dramas Bones and In Plain Sight incorporated their star actors’ pregnancies, they produced different televisually styled portrayals of pregnancy; these medium-specific portrayals play an important role in how pregnancy itself is culturally conceptualized. Although pregnancy beauty, the commodification and sexual objectification of the pregnant and postpartum body, has been analyzed in ways that link it to post-industrial, neoliberal, capitalist, and patriarchal forces, this analysis demonstrates how televisual style sets the scene for this broader discourse. Specifically, I contend that the costuming, blocking and staging, cinematography, and editing determine how the pregnant body appears, and this then communicates a clear ideology to viewing audiences. Through these two case studies, I analyze contrasting televisual styles and argue that while Bones’ style disciplines the pregnant body and In Plain Sight’s style welcomes the pregnant body, both styles enact a televisual pregnancy beauty that commodifies pregnancy.     

Using Experiential Learning to Help Students Understand the Impact of Food Insecurity

Experiential learning theory suggests that students increase their understanding when given the opportunity to experience a particular situation in addition to learning about it intellectually. This theory was used to construct an assignment to assist social work master’s students in better understanding food insecurity and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Through coding previously collected reactions to the assignment, the researchers discovered multiple reoccurring themes: increased understanding of SNAP, feelings about the program, realizations regarding individual privilege, client stigma, the social experience of eating, and empathy for those who experience food insecurity. Through this exercise, students increased their knowledge of the program and also gained a better understanding of how food insecurity personally affects individuals and families.     

The female aging body: A systematic review of female perspectives on aging,health, and body image

While most body image research has focused on young female populations, evidence has shown that as few as 12% of older women are satisfied with their body size. Recent studies have also highlighted how anti-aging discourses are promoting unrealistic body norms, which have shown to contribute to poor body image and altered health behaviors. A systematic review of empirical studies focused on older women’s perspectives of health, body image, and the aging body is presented. Findings support that body image is a persistent, lifelong issue for women and should be considered when implementing healthy aging policies and practices.     

Life Balance and Work Addiction Among NCAA Administrators and Coaches

Intercollegiate athletics represent an industry prone to challenges of work addiction and life balance. Work addiction and life balance domains in male and female intercollegiate athletic coaches and administrators (N = 245) were examined using multiple regression analysis. Higher levels of stress/anxiety, sleep disturbance, and career satisfaction and lower levels of quality of relationships and friendships were the strongest predictors of work addiction. Counseling focused on reducing the negative aspects of work addiction, while maintaining job performance, may benefit this population.     

An audit of received international business corruption literature for logic,consistency, completeness of coverage

This analysis of International Business (IB) corruption literature identifies gaps and inconsistencies in how corruption is perceived or deliberated in top academic journals. The reviewed articles tend to focus on one of the three key themes of IB corruption (Contributing factors, Consequences, and Combating) and are categorised into the six sub-domains of the IB framework. The content of the articles is categorised into the respective themes and discussed in relation to underpinning theories and key constructs. The process is intended to be less a synthesis of the literature than an audit revealing that IB corruption research is weakened by tendencies to: 1) Be siloed within its subtheme and to not cross-tie to work in other key themes—this issue is very severe in the Combating theme; 2) Have a short-term focus that disregards the cumulative effects of total graft, and; 3) Asymmetrically focus (predominantly) on the supply side of corruption. These finding suggest several avenues for further research.     

Child labour measurement: Whom should we ask?

Funding decisions to support vulnerable children are tied to child labour statistics, hence the importance of an accurate measurement. The author analyses whether the type of respondent plays an important role in explaining variations in child labour statistics. Using data from two sites in Tanzania, the analysis shows that “whom we ask” matters considerably when estimating the prevalence of child labour. The results suggest that prevalence increases by approximately 35 to 65 per cent when using child self‐reports rather than proxy reports. This bias affects 14 to 31 per cent of the sample, depending on the indicator. Discrepancies decrease as the child ages and increase if proxy attitudes demonstrate opposition to child labour.     

Mothers' and Fathers' Well‐Being in Parenting Across the Arch of Child Development

Limited research on parental well‐being by child age suggests that parents are better off with very young children despite intense time demands of caring for them. This study uses the American Time Use Survey Well‐Being Module (N = 18,124) to assess how parents feel in activities with children of different ages. Results show that parents are worse off with adolescent children relative to young children. Parents report the lowest levels of happiness with adolescents relative to younger children, and mothers report more stress and less meaning with adolescents. Controlling for contextual features of parenting including activity type, solo parenting, and restorative time does not fully account for the adolescent disadvantage in fathers' happiness or mothers' stress. This study highlights adolescence as a particularly difficult stage for parental well‐being and shows that mothers shoulder stress that fathers do not, even after accounting for differences in the context of their parenting activities.     

Do the Constructs of the FACES IV Change Based on Definitions of “Family?” A Measurement Invariance Test

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale (FACES) IV does not provide instructions about which family members respondents should think about while answering questions. This study examined which family members respondents thought about while completing the FACES IV, and if this changed measurement invariance and population heterogeneity of the measure. Using a sample of n = 511 individuals, a latent class analysis showed three distinct classes: Nuclear Family, Family of Origin, and All of the Above. The FACES IV demonstrated measurement invariance across classes on the majority of subscales; however, population heterogeneity tests suggested that the means and variances of the subscales varied across classes. The findings suggest further examination of how the measure functions with unique family constellations is warranted.     

‘All Those Stories,All Those Stories’: How Do Bosnian Former Child Refugees Maintain Connections to Bosnia and Community Groups in Australia?

Abstract

This article draws on oral histories from my PhD research to explore how six teenagers, now adults, remember their arrivals in Australia as child refugees from Bosnia. It examines their relationships with other people from Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia, including community groups, and how these relationships have changed over time. In examining these narratives, issues of intergenerational differences are highlighted, with interviewees positioning their experiences in relation to both their parents and their second-generation peers. Finally, it explores how former refugees maintain their relationships with family and friends in Bosnia, suggesting that these transnational connections provide them with as much familiarity and comfort as they do feelings of alienation.