Buying Insurance for Disaster-Type Risks: Experimental Evidence

This paper presents a series of experiments that confront subjects with low probability, high loss situations. A rich parameter set is examined and we find subjects respond to low probability, high loss risks in predictable ways. As loss events become more likely, or loss amounts get larger, or the cost of insurance falls, subjects are more likely to buy indemnifying insurance, even for the class of low probability risks that usually presents problems for standard expected utility theory. A novel application of Cameron's method to estimate willingness to pay from dichotomous choice responses allows us to estimate willingness to pay for insurance. We do not observe the bimodal distribution of bids found in other studies of similar risk situations.     

Marital Status,Gender, and Parents’ Psychological Well‐Being*

This study analyzes the associations between marital status, gender, and depressive symptoms among parents. The regression results indicate that married parents report fewer traditional depressive symptoms and lower rates of alcohol abuse than do single parents. Mothers and fathers also appear to be more likely to exhibit different depressive symptoms: Mothers are more likely than fathers to report traditional depressive symptoms and fathers are more likely to report the abuse of alcohol. Finally, we find evidence that indicators of parenting burdens such as economic strain, household labor, childcare, social support, and religious involvement mediate and moderate these relationships.     

Sudanese and Somali Refugees in Canada: Social Support Needs and Preferences

The aim of the study was to identify the unique support needs and preferences of African refugees in Canada. In‐depth interviews were conducted with Sudanese and Somali refugees (n=68) living in two cities in central and western Canada. Refugees were interviewed individually to identify their support needs, current sources of support, available support programmes, barriers to access to support resources, and preferred support interventions. These refugees reported major support needs, depleted social networks, and barriers to accessing services and supports. They identified distinct preferences for support from peers from the same country of origin and professionals. Participants wanted group‐level support supplemented by one‐to‐one support. Transportation, child care, meals, and peers matched by language and gender were recommended to enhance accessibility to support programmes. These findings can inform the design of support intervention research and enhance the relevance and supportiveness of services and programmes for recent refugees.     

To Join or Not to Join: Gay-Straight Student Alliances and the High School Experiences of Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,and Transgender Youths

This retrospective study investigates 79 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students’ experiences attending high schools with gay-straight student alliances (GSAs). Responses to two, open-ended survey questions were analyzed thematically to identify reasons that underlie GSA non-membership and to model facets of GSAs that may impact the GSA-related experiences of LGBT youths. Three frames of reference for understanding GSA non-membership and perceptions of GSAs emerged. Implications for predicting GSA membership and identifying protective mechanisms of GSAs are outlined. Suggestions to help GSA leaders and advisors enhance specific aspects of GSAs that appear to be associated with positive perceptions of GSAs are also provided.     

Mental Health Difficulties and the Support Needs of Social Work Students: Dilemmas,Tensions and Contradictions

There are a growing number of students in higher education who experience mental health difficulties and have support needs. The behaviour of small numbers of students on social work programmes indicates also a need to examine the mental health difficulties and needs of social work students. There is only limited factual information on this topic. It is rarely discussed or written about. There is a danger of discriminating against those experiencing such difficulties, especially black or female students. Yet, at the same time, undertaking a social work programme is a demanding experience, as is doing social work itself. Furthermore, on courses leading to a professional qualification, such as social work, there is an obligation to protect the rights of, and assess possible risks to users, as well as to support students. Programmes should give particular attention both to the mental health difficulties and support needs of social work students at selection, during the programme itself and upon conclusion of the programme at a wide range of levels, both within the higher education system and outside that system.     

Language Generativity,Response Generalization,and Derived Relational Responding

Language generativity can be described as the ability to produce sentences never before said, and to understand sentences never before heard. One process often cited as underlying language generativity is response generalization. However, though the latter seems to promise a technical understanding of the former at a process level, an investigation of definitions and approaches to the term “response generalization” that appear in the literature suggests that it does not do so. We argue that a more promising candidate for the role of key process underlying language generativity is derived relational responding. We introduce the latter concept and describe empirical research showing its connection with language. We subsequently present a relational frame theory (RFT) conceptualization of derived relations as contextually controlled generalized relational responding. We then review a series of recent studies on derived manding in developmentally delayed children and adults that arguably demonstrate the applied utility of a derived relations-based approach with respect to the phenomenon of generative language.     

Observers’ Reporting of Sexual Harassment: The Influence of Harassment Type,Organizational Culture,and Political Orientation

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence observers’ reporting of sexual harassment. Participants (N = 183) voluntarily took part in a 2 (harassment type: hostile environment, quid pro quo) × 2 (organizational culture: compliant, proactive) experiment. Results indicate that participants were more likely to respond assertively when observing quid pro quo harassment. Participant political orientation moderated the effects of both harassment type and culture. Persons with a more liberal political persuasion intended to respond assertively in situations where help might not otherwise be rendered (i.e., in compliant organizations and in hostile environment harassment). Contributions and implications are discussed.