Using a Lag Reinforcement Schedule to Increase Phonemic Variability in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Shaping functional vocal language is difficult when an individual has not yet acquired an echoic repertoire and does not emit sufficient phonemes (i.e., speech sounds) for shaping. Few studies have evaluated interventions to increase the frequency and breadth of phonemes. The current study extended Esch, Esch, and Love (2009) by evaluating the effects of a Lag 1 reinforcement schedule on vocal variability and limiting the definition of variability to responses that incorporated a novel phoneme. For 2 of the 3 participants, the cumulative number of novel phonemes, the percentage of trials with variability, and the number of different phonemes emitted per session increased during the Lag 1 intervention phase.     

If They Grow up: Exploring the Neighborhood Context of Adolescent and Young Adult Survival Expectations

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines individual and neighborhood predictors of adolescent and young adult survival expectations—their confidence of surviving to age 35. Analyses revealed that within‐person increases in depression and violent perpetration decreased the odds of expecting to survive. Individuals who rated themselves in good health and received routine physical care had greater survival expectations. Consistent with documented health disparities, Black and Hispanic youth had lower survival expectations than did their White peers. Neighborhood poverty was linked to diminished survival expectations both within and between persons, with the between‐person association remaining significant controlling for mental and physical health, exposure to violence, own violence, and a wide range of sociodemographic factors.     

Reasons for (Non)engagement in Infidelity

This investigation examined reasons for (un)faithfulness. Driven by interdependence theory, data from 220 undergraduates at a southwestern U.S. university indicate that men have more relational alternatives than women and individuals’ relational investments tied to relational stage as well as length of relationship. Significant predictors of infidelity among men and women are quality of alternatives, believing that sex occurs early in a relationship, and having been cheated on (applied to men only). Quality of alternatives predicted cheating among seriously dating individuals, whereas marrieds reported the strongest predictor of cheating as being cheated on. Fear of sanctions related to cheating but not to commitment. Legal sanctions motivated monogamy for men but not women. Participants reported over 500 reasons to remain faithful and over 1,000 reasons to cheat.     

Pornography Use and Attitudes: An Examination of Relational and Sexual Openness Variables Between and Within Gender

The purpose of this investigation was to examine male and female pornography users' and nonusers' attitudes regarding sexual openness and inhibition as well as relational variables both between and within gender. Participants included 846 individuals, 355 men and 491 women, with 239 of the men and 117 of the women being pornography consumers. Results indicate that men are more sexual seeking and less relationally oriented than women. However, men are more sexually conservative than women. When comparing groups by pornography usage, both male and female pornography users are more sexually open and uninhibited and less relationally oriented than nonusers. Interestingly, when comparing female pornography users to male nonusers, pornography-using women are more sexually open and uninhibited than nonusing men and are less sexually conservative than nonusing men. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Sex drugs, peer connections, and HIV: Use and risk among African American, Latino, and Multiracial young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in Los Angeles and New York

African American and Latino young men who have sex with men are at high risk for HIV infection. We administered brief intercept surveys (N=416) at 18 Black and Latino gay pride events in Los Angeles and New York in 2006 and 2007. Ordinal logistic regressions were used to model the effects of substance use during sex, peer connectedness, relationship status, and homelessness on condom use. Alcohol use, crystal use, homelessness, and having a primary relationship partner were negatively associated with condom use, while peer connectedness and marijuana use during sex were positively associated with condom use. Implications for service providers and future research are discussed.     

Expressions of love, sex, and hurt in popular songs: a content analysis of all-time greatest hits

This research analyzed the 100 most popular songs (1958–1998) for artist characteristics and expression of love. In the 1990s women and black artists recorded more hits than in earlier periods. Over time, references to love in lyrics performed by women artists decreased. References to sex in lyrics peaked during 1976–1984 when women used sexual references five times more than men; however, during 1991–1998, men used more sexual references. Later songs and songs performed by white, female artists expressed greater selfishness. The quality of love expressed in lyrics remained the same. Results are discussed relative to cultural change.     

Dare to Care: Exploring the Relationships between Socio-Moral Climate,Perceived Stress,and Work Engagement in a Social Service Agency

Abstract

Human service professionals working in an interpersonal violence social service agency are at increased risk of experiencing emotional burnout, compassion fatigue, and high levels of stress, which may reduce work engagement, increase turnover, and ultimately negatively affect client outcomes. However, a positive organizational climate has the potential to buffer the negative effects of perceived stress on work engagement. Socio-moral climate is a behavioral-based organizational construct that assumes that workplace practices and procedures can impact employees’ attitudes and behaviors. This exploratory study (N?=?41) investigates the relationships between perceived stress, work engagement, and socio-moral climate in a social service agency serving survivors of interpersonal violence, comparing employees with direct interactions with clients in a shelter to those with indirect contact at a different location. Results of moderation analyses show that socio-moral climate significantly predicts higher work engagement, while perceived stress is negatively associated with work engagement; however, the interaction effect was not significant and there were no differences in perceived stress between both employees. Further research should continue to investigate the role of socio-moral climate on employee work engagement in social service agencies, which could improve the quality of services for their clients.     

Child well-being before and after the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns in three Australian states

This paper reports on changes in the social-emotional well-being of 6- to 12-year-old children tested before the COVID-19 pandemic and during 2020 and 2021. Well-being was assessed using a video game that empowers children to report their own well-being, including school attachment, social and emotional well-being, behavioural conformity and family support. We compared well-being over time for two groups of children in government schools in Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. The treatment group of 580 children were tested in 2019 (Time 1) and a second time in mid-late 2020 and early 2021 (Time 2). The comparison group of 841 children were tested twice before the pandemic. Results showed that children in the treatment group reported significantly lower family support at Time 2 than those in the comparison group. This reduction in perceived family support was stronger for girls. In addition, children in the treatment group who reported lower levels of family support at Time 1 reported a steeper decline in family support by Time 2. Finally, boys in the treatment group reported significantly better behavioural conformity and emotional well-being relative to girls over time. Results highlight the varied impacts of the pandemic lockdowns and the need to provide continued support to vulnerable families.     

Layered Sites of Environmental Justice: Considering the Case of Prisons*

A growing body of scholarship highlights the merits of fusing green criminology and environmental justice frameworks to better understand intersections among carceral systems, race- and class-based stratification, and environmental harm. This paper explores how correctional institutions (CIs) with known histories of federal environmental law violations compare against other previously established environmentally harmful facilities and land uses. In this article, we ask: are prisons and other CIs that have violated federal environmental laws located proximate to areas where there is evidence of existing high-pollution facilities? Relatedly, are CIs that have established noncompliant histories with federal environmental laws located in similarly marginalized and disadvantaged communities compared to other traditionally defined sites of environmental injustice and harm? To answer these questions, we utilize data from the EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database. Our findings provide evidence that, within our sample of facilities that have recorded noncompliance with federal environmental laws, CIs are significantly more likely to be located proximate to Superfund sites than most of the other facility types/land uses and more likely to be located in communities with racially minoritized populations. Our findings have important implications for further research on carceral systems and environmental justice.