Rural Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage

This study explored rural perspectives on same-sex marriage with a nonprobability sample (N = 156) of adult respondents recruited in a largely rural state in the upper Midwest. A new 6-item instrument with strong internal consistency (α =.943) found that support for same-sex marriage was widespread without significant differences based on relationship status, education level, rural residence, or biological sex. Sexual orientation predicted support for traditional family values and same-sex marriage which were inversely associated. Findings suggest that the presumption of rural bias and hostility toward alternative sexualities has mitigated in the upper Midwest. Social work practitioners should infer from this study that there is more to rural culture than remoteness, isolation, poverty, stigma, and conservative religious values. The malleability of rural culture may be an unrecognized strength that may provide encouragement to rural social workers advocating for and serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals.     

Longitudinal predictors of reading achievement among at-risk children

Early exposure to multiple risk factors is related to an elevated risk for academic difficulty. Thus, it is important to promote academic resilience as early as possible and to identify factors that support resilience. Given the positive relation between early literacy skills and later academic outcomes, examining resilience in reading is important. This study examined, first, whether the reading gap widens or narrows for below-average and above-average, at-risk children during the first four years of school; and, second, what protective factors predict reading achievement over time from kindergarten through the end of third grade. Results indicated that as a group, low-achieving children made smaller gains in reading than high-achieving children over the first four years of school. In addition, participation in center-based prekindergarten care, plus more access to books in the home, better interpersonal skills, and fewer poor physical conditions immediately surrounding elementary schools served as protective factors for at-risk children's early literacy development.     

An examination of sexual strategies used by urban southern and rural Midwestern university women

The purposes of this study were (a) to determine whether women's use of persuasion, non‐physical coercion, and physical force strategies to obtain sex from a man varied between U.S. women from an urban Southern and rural Midwestern university and (b) to determine if sexual behavior history and early courtship behavior affected the use of these strategies (or not using any strategy). Women from the Midwest and the South did not differ in their use of sexual strategies. There were, however, other variables that accounted for differences in women's use of sexual strategies. Women who used persuasion strategies had fewer lifetime sexual partners than women who used any other strategy. Women who used physical force strategies reported a lower age at first intercourse and more early courtship behaviors than all others. Overall, the results indicated that sexual strategies are related to sexual behavior history and early courtship behaviors rather than cultural setting or demographics.     

Comments

In this paper we compare Bartlett-corrected, bootstrap, and fast double bootstrap tests on maximum likelihood estimates of cointegration parameters. The key result is that both the bootstrap and the Bartlett-corrected tests must be based on the unrestricted estimates of the cointegrating vectors: procedures based on the restricted estimates have almost no power. The small sample size bias of the asymptotic test appears so severe as to advise strongly against its use with the sample sizes commonly available; the fast double bootstrap test minimizes size bias, while the Bartlett-corrected test is somehow more powerful.     

The impact of seating and positioning on the development of repetitive strain injuries of the upper extremity in wheelchair athletes

The population of people who use wheelchairs has been increasing due to technological advances. With this increase, there has also been an increase in participation in wheelchair sports. The incidence of upper extremity injury in wheelchair users has been reported to be between 31 and 73% [2,13,23,26,29]. Wheelchair athletes may be at an increased risk for upper extremity injury due to increased upper extremity use with sport. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether proper seating and positioning have an impact on the prevention of repetitive strain injuries (RSI) of the soft tissues, including peripheral nerve entrapments and muscle injury, of the upper extremity in wheelchair athletes. A review of current research on wheelchair propulsion and RSI revealed several hazards for wheelchair athletes to develop RSI's. These include duration of impairment, muscle imbalance, awkward positioning, inadequate rest breaks, repetition of muscle use in daily activities and in sport participation, the degree of force needed for propulsion, and fatigue. Current research does not provide conclusive information on optimal seating. Suggestions of preventative measures are given including suggestions with regard to positioning in the wheelchair.     

INTERVENTION STRATEGIES: PREDICTING FAMILY THERAPY OUTCOME*

A pre-defined list of family therapy intervention strategies was used to predict post-therapy perceived life happiness and marital happiness among husbands and wives. Clients presented with both child and marriage-focused problems. The data were analyzed separately for husbands and wives. In general, favorable outcome for husbands was associated with active restructuring operations on the part of the therapist. Prediction of outcome for wives was less clear. However, wives did appear to respond favorably to less active interventions such as actualizing transactional patterns and reframing.     

IS BOWEN THEORY VALID? A REVIEW OF BASIC RESEARCH

In the last 15 years, a substantial number of studies have tested the theoretical validity of Bowen family systems theory. A review of this basic research provided empirical support for the relationship between differentiation and chronic anxiety, marital satisfaction, and psychological distress. Bowen's assumption that couples with the same level of differentiation marry was not supported. His specific theories of sibling position and triangulation also received little empirical support. Research on multigenerational transmission has generally ignored Bowen's theoretical perspective, and more research needs to test Bowen's claim that his theory is universal. In addition, researchers still need to examine the effect of differentiation on child functioning, physical health problems, and adaptability.     

The last mile of the way: understanding caregiving in African American families at the end-of-life

This research is based on in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups with 88 African American family caregivers from various regions of the United States during a stressful time in their family development--caregiving at the end-of-life--and the grieving during the aftermath. The study employed a stratified purposeful sampling strategy. Subjects were African Americans from the Northern, Southern, and Midwestern United States. Formal care is complicated by the distrust that many African Americans hold toward the health care system, which has resulted from years of exclusion, racism and discrimination. The findings highlight the importance of hearing from African American families to gain an understanding of what services, including family therapy and other psychotherapy, they will need during this process.     

A nursing tool for adherence and recovery in psychosis: a pilot study

Clients with psychotic disorders are at great risk for relapse and rehospitalization. This risk is magnified by poor adherence to medications, as well as refusal to accept optimal treatment planning, including more beneficial atypical medications. Adherence can be even more compromised because of clients' poor insight into these illnesses and their inability to recognize the potential for recovery that exists when taking medications as prescribed. This poor insight makes effective collaboration in treatment more difficult and is an exceptionally troubling impediment to successful treatment. Currently, there are few effective strategies to improve insight into psychosis. We have developed the Levels of Recovery from Psychotic Disorders Scale (LORS) as a teaching tool. It is designed to identify strengths and weaknesses in insight in order to provide the basis for an intervention to enhance and promote change. This article reviews the relevant literature on adherence and insight in this population of clients with psychotic disorders. It also reviews a pilot study comparing the LORS to the BASIS-32. The findings provide the basis for future studies using the LORS to enhance insight, adherence, and recovery.