The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ownership Society</Emphasis> and Women: Exploring Female Householders’ Ability to Accumulate Assets

Wealth indicators have not been widely examined in studies of women’s economic well-being and little attention has been paid to assets within female-headed households, specifically. Using SIPP data this study examined factors associated with asset accumulation of female householders. Differences between households with and without children and with and without other adults present in the household were emphasized. Findings indicated the presence of children consistently reduced the likelihood of owning assets but had little impact on equity values when women owned assets. The effect of multiple adults within the household varied depending on the asset held.     

Educating Students on International Social Work Issues in U.S. Social Work Programs: How Is It Done?

Although social work education standards call for graduates to be able to practice in a global environment, it is unknown how schools are working to accomplish that as well as what supports they have and what the aims of this education are. A survey of all U.S. BSW and MSW program directors found they have multiple goals for introducing international perspectives in social work education and are using a number of methods in the implicit and explicit curriculum, including speakers, study abroad, international internships, and infusion of material in courses and stand-alone courses. Respondents indicated more supports are available at the institutional level than in their program alone. These results have a variety of implications for social work education including how to further integrate this material into courses and increase the number of students who learn this critical material.     

The Evolutionary Explanation of Man–Boy Eroticism: Comment on Rind (2015)

Objectives: The paper comments on Bruce Rind's (this volume, 2013) attempts to explain the origins of erotic attraction and relationships between boys and men in the process of natural selection in the course of human evolution. Methods: Cross-species, historical and cross-cultural evidence are used. Conclusions: For most individuals, man-boy eroticism could be a facultative trait, not an obligatory trait. Its evolutionary origins and its social functions cannot be ascertained with certainty at this time, but may have to do with the promotion of male solidarity in the face of conflict between men and women in gender-stratified societies.     

A Comparative Cancer Risk Evaluation of MTBE and Other Compounds (Including Naturally Occurring Compounds) in Drinking Water in New Hampshire

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was added to gasoline in New Hampshire (NH) between 1995 and 2006 to comply with the oxygenate requirements of the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act. Leaking tanks and spills released MTBE into groundwater, and as a result, MTBE has been detected in drinking water in NH. We conducted a comparative cancer risk assessment and a margin-of-safety (MOS) analysis for several constituents, including MTBE, detected in NH drinking water. Using standard risk assessment methods, we calculated cancer risks from exposure to 12 detected volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including MTBE, and to four naturally occurring compounds (i.e., arsenic, radium-226, radium-228, and radon-222) detected in NH public water supplies. We evaluated exposures to a hypothetical resident ingesting the water, dermally contacting the water while showering, and inhaling compounds volatilizing from water in the home. We then compared risk estimates for MTBE to those of the other 15 compounds. From our analysis, we concluded that the high-end cancer risk from exposure to MTBE in drinking water is lower than the risks from all the other VOCs evaluated and several thousand times lower than the risks from exposure to naturally occurring constituents, including arsenic, radium, and radon. We also conducted an MOS analysis in which we compared toxicological points of departure to the NH maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 13 µg/L. All of the MOSs were greater than or equal to 160,000, indicating a large margin of safety and demonstrating the health-protectiveness of the NH MCL for MTBE.     

Using Relational Theory to Treat Adolescent Girls Victimized by Social Aggression

While much has been written on social aggression in adolescent girls, less has been written on the clinical treatment for victims of such bullying. This paper will look at social aggression in girls from relational and psychodynamic perspectives. Further, the interplay of trauma dynamics which are integral to the social aggression paradigm will be reviewed. Using a clinical example, the author will show how victim/victimizer/bystander roles inherent in trauma dynamics were enacted in the clinical dyad. Enactments were discussed in the treatment process leading to a new and different outcome. Implications for practice with girls who experience social aggression will be discussed.     

The construction of a model of the process of couples' forgiveness in emotion-focused therapy for couples

This study explored how forgiveness unfolds in the context of emotion-focused couples therapy (EFT-C) in eight cases of women betrayed by their partners. Forgiveness was defined as a process involving the reduction in negative feelings and the giving out of undeserved compassion. This was measured by changes in the pre- and posttreatment scores on the Enright Forgiveness Inventory, the Unfinished Business Resolution Scale, and a single item directly asking respondents to indicate their degree of forgiveness. A task analysis was performed to rigorously track the steps leading to forgiveness using videotapes of therapy sessions for eight couples. The performance of the four couples who forgave were compared with each other and then contrasted with the performance of another four couples who did not reach forgiveness at the end of therapy. Based on these observations, a model of the process of forgiveness in EFT-C and a process rating system were developed.     

Elucidating transgender students’ experiences of microaggressions in social work programs: next steps for creating inclusive educational contexts

Social work education globally expresses an unwavering commitment to promoting social justice and the amelioration of oppression. Nevertheless, mounting research suggests that social work programs (SWPs) may inadvertently perpetuate microaggressions toward individuals who are transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC). This qualitative study elucidates experiences of TGNC social work students in North America. Grounded theory analysis revealed six key themes related to students’ experiences of microaggressions within their SWPs: (1) structural oppression, (2) cisgender bias, (3) faculty knowledge gaps, (4) visible discomfort, (5) pervasive nature of transphobia, and (6) social exclusion. Despite the existence of educational and professional policies aimed at fostering transgender inclusive social work education and practice, results from this study underscore the need to take a closer look at the ways in which knowledge gaps, implicit cisgender biases, and existing practices and policies within SWPs inadvertently privilege the experiences of cisgender students and marginalize TGNC students. Key findings from the current study can be used to inform the implementation of transgender affirmative changes, contributing to efforts to eradicate transphobic bias within SWPs.