The Development of Theory and Treatment with Substance Abusing Female Juvenile Offenders

Little is known regarding the specific treatment needs of those female juvenile offenders with a history of substance abuse. While social scientists have advanced distinct theories regarding adolescent substance use and juvenile delinquency, minimal work has been conducted to integrate or link these two. In attempting to further explore their interrelationships, this article will review and incorporate the relevant theoretical and practice milestones in three areas: (1) substance abuse and women, (2) substance abuse and adolescents, and (3) substance abuse and juvenile delinquency, leading to the development of new theory and practice relevant to the female substance abusing juvenile offender population. The authors propose some practice considerations for current interventions with this population and discuss implications for future research and exploration.     

WORKING WITH MEN IN FAMILY THERAPY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY*

The results of this exploratory research provide a beginning formulation of a gender-sensitive approach to working with men in family therapy. A panel of 36 family therapists endorsed 131 interventions as appropriate and effective ways to work with men. The results suggest the importance of therapist awareness of gender issues and socialization in working with male clients. Interventions were highly endorsed in the areas of developing therapist perceptual and conceptual skills regarding gender, promoting mutual responsibility, and challenging stereo-typical behaviors and attitudes. Surprisingly few interventions pertaining to structuring treatment and encouraging affective expression in men had sufficient consensus to be included in the final results.     

OUTCOME RESEARCH ON FAMILY THERAPY TRAINING: A SUBSTANTIVE AND METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW2

This article examines developments in empirical research in family therapy training since Kniskern and Gurman's (1979) review. It assesses present knowledge concerning training outcomes in marital and family therapy, evaluates research methodologies, and makes recommendations for future rearch.     

Common Law in Action: the Prosecution of Felonies and Misdemeanors*

This paper draws attention to the common-law distinction between felonies and misdemeanors. It asks whether this distinction, when drawn on the level of formal criminal procedure, has its counterpart on the informal level, in the use of different criteria to decide whether and how to prosecute the defendant. Analysis of data from the District of Columbia indicates that the felony-misdemeanor distinction clearly conditions the role of both legally relevant and irrelevant factors, but not in the simple straightforward way initially hypothesized. The paper concludes with a discussion of the empirical and theoretical implications of the findings.     

Religious Homogamy and Marital Quality: Historical and Generational Patterns, 1980 – 1997

Despite significant social changes in the past 50 years, research continues to find a strong and enduring link between religious homogamy and marital quality. Yet, research has not explicitly examined whether this link has changed over time or over generations. To address historical and generational trends, I use national, longitudinal data collected between 1980 and 1997 that represents 3,211 respondents in the parental and offspring generations and 2 measures each of marital quality and religious homogamy. The findings show that the relationship between religious homogamy and marital quality weakened significantly between 1980 and 1997 from intragenerational change and generational replacement. The homogamy–marital quality link was weaker in both generations partly because of the increasing relative influence of gender, work, and family issues. Additionally, a decline in perceptions of religious authority has altered the religion–marital quality connection, though mostly among the younger generation. Even so, religiously homogamous couples still report higher marital quality.     

African American Stepfather–Stepchild Relationships,Marital Quality,and Mental Health

ABSTRACT

This study examined associations between stepfather–stepchild relationship quality, stepfathers’ depressive symptoms, and two aspects of marriage: marital quality and positive marital interactions. Marital quality was assessed in terms of commitment, trust, passionate and friendship-based love, and happiness. Marital interactions were assessed in terms of intimacy, shared activities, and verbal communication. Using data collected from 149 recently married African American stepfathers, structural equation modeling revealed that when stepfathers reported more positive relationships with their stepchildren, they also reported more positive marital quality and a higher frequency of positive marital interactions (relationship-solidifying activities), and that, in turn, was associated with stepfathers experiencing fewer depressive symptoms.     

North Central Sociological Association 2012 Ruth and John Useem Plenary Address. Political Renewal: Occupations,Springs, and Tea Parties

Novelty is paramount in the development of sociological theory—so much so that sometimes novelty is attributed even when it does not really exist. The study of social movements is hardly exempt from this problem and at times the craving for newness can become palpable. Despite that desire, however, some have concluded that things really have not changed much over a score of years—at least in terms of the implications for theory—but now, we think the time has finally come. Three recent mobilizations have provided us with something new into which we can sink our collective teeth. The Tea Party, the Arab Spring, and Occupy Wall Street represent changes in the motivations and tactics driving social and political change that can renew the study of protest and collective political influence. These three bursts of political behavior reveal important edges of social movement study even as they exhibit roots in the now classic ideas in the field.