Reviews

Abstract

Trina Boukin Nolen reviews Dancing with Digital Natives, Stephanie Rosenblatt reviews The Embedded Librarian and Sarah D. Tusa reviews Collection Development in the Digital Age.     

A Reluctance to be Defined 'Disabled'. How Can the Social Model of Disability Enhance Understanding of Anorexia?

Most people would not ordinarily regard anorexia as a disability, exposing the narrow social understanding of the latter term, although for certain bureaucratic purposes, like claiming Disability Living Allowance, anorexia is demarcated thus. The oppression faced by people labelled 'anorexic' mirrors that which theorists suggest disadvantages disabled people, a similarity examined below using the social model of disability as a tool of enquiry. In addition, the reasons against and for defining anorexia as a disability, and arguments for incorporating the experiences of people labelled 'anorexic' into the Disability Movement will be discussed. This paper is based on the comments of nine interviewees, medically or self-defined as 'anorexic', whose words clarify and make theoretical discussion more engaging. It is anticipated that exploring anorexia in a new light will improve understanding of the condition and will also be beneficial to Disability Studies.     

Perceived Racial Discrimination and Self-Esteem in African American Youth: Racial Socialization as a Protective Factor

Racial socialization was examined as a protective factor that might buffer African American youth from the negative effects of perceived racial discrimination. Two types of racial socialization were examined: messages about race pride and preparation for bias. One hundred twenty-eight eighth-grade African American students participated in the study. As anticipated, both types of socialization moderated the relationship between discrimination and self-esteem. The negative relationship between perceived discrimination and self-esteem was mitigated for youth who reported more messages about race pride and a moderate amount of preparation for bias from their parents. In contrast, low race pride socialization and both high and low preparation for bias were associated with a negative relationship between perceived discrimination and self-esteem.     

The Politics of Reproductive Health in Peru: Gender and Social Policy in the Global South

This article analyzes the politics of reproductive health policy-makingin Peru in the context of healthcare reform initiatives undertakensince the early 1990s. In Latin America, women's body politicsare emerging within a complex architecture of institutionalizedsocial stratification and religious lobbies. The case of Peruis approached from a gendered, specifically South-World analysis,revealing the deep embedding of a vast constellation of reproductivehealthcare issues within the nascent social welfare policy-makingprocess. Through limited national public health insurance schemes,a new social policy model, based on a targeted poverty-reductionparadigm, is now partially addressing the reproductive healthneeds of the majority of Peruvian women. Policy implementation,however, is highly contested, fragile, and has been subjectto setbacks and deadly abuses. The article shows that, in addressingdeveloping countries such as Peru, the role of internationalactors and the impact of unconsolidated democratic institutionsare two key variables in the comparative analysis of socialpolicy regime formation.     

White Matters: When,Where, and How?

The author reflects on the qualitative research process as both a first‐time researcher and as a white woman doing research on African American men. This includes reflections on the assumption that the primary motivation for the researcher is romantically motivated, a discussion of racist sexism, and the nature of qualitative evidence, in particular that collected in a cross‐race researcher‐participant relationship. The research process and experience reinforces the importance of considering the context of the research when thinking about insider‐outsider positionality.     

Contemporary Political Communications: Audiences, Politicians and the Media in International Research

Research into political communication has grown rapidly in the past three decades, shifting from specific, quantitative and utilitarian studies to include a broad variety of research questions, methods and theoretical frameworks. Interdisciplinary work in political communication takes audiences, political actors (such as governments and politicians), and media content and media institutions as central foci. Research has traditionally focused on election campaign-specific studies within national contexts. Emerging research, however, is now addressing broader questions about media texts and organisations and also about representations and power. This research is working to trace technological changes and developments in an era of globalised media and political communication and developing new, complex conceptions of audience agency and reception.     

The impact of child and parental age on protective factors against child maltreatment

Although young age for both the parent and child is implicated in incidences of maltreatment, little is known about the association between parent or child age and protective factors related to child maltreatment prevention. With a sample of parents receiving child maltreatment prevention services in Kansas ( N  = 1993), we used regression analyses to examine whether the interaction of child and parent age influences family‐level protective factors over time. We found mixed support for each hypothesis, indicating that the age of parents and children differentially impacts family‐level protective factors. Implications for the Strengthening Families approach and child maltreatment prevention are discussed.     

Group work in mindfulness-based interventions with youth: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

Almost all mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are delivered in group format. Given the benefits of group work for children/youth, the authors wondered how researchers studying MBIs discussed and analyzed the group-work component of the MBI. The authors conducted a scoping study with the aims of analyzing relevant research regardless of design to explore the range of research activity, to summarize findings, and to identify gaps in knowledge. Our research questions asked, (1) How is group work described and discussed in the research literature that explores MBIs with children and youth? (2) When group work is discussed, what factors are the focus of discussion? and (3) Is group work considered an important aspect in the delivery of MBIs? Ultimately, the authors identified 94 articles that met their inclusion criteria. The researchers that discussed group work identified rationales for the group delivery, benefits of group work, the need for a cohesive and safe environment for learning, the relevant role of the group facilitator, cultural implications, and challenges associated with group delivery. Engagement of youth in an MBI and the importance of the group process were identified as main issues. The authors concluded that all of the factors contributing to change as a result of having participated in an MBI need to be better understood, and that group work should be given more attention in the delivery and study of MBIs. Thus, the facilitation of an MBI can be better understood as can the mechanisms of change.