The Rights and Responsibilities of Gay and Lesbian Parents: Legal Developments, Psychological Research, and Policy Implications

With the growing number of same-sex unions, the legal system must determine the rights and responsibilities of gay parents who decide to end a relationship. In 2005, the California Supreme Court found that a child's lesbian caregiver was a legal "parent" despite having no biological or adoptive relationship, while the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2004 concluded the opposite. Psychologists can inform this debate by presenting research demonstrating that (a) children benefit from contact with two parents, and (b) children's well-being is unaffected by their parents' sexual orientation. Psychologists can further assist the legal system by conducting future research. In order for psychologists to impact laws and policies, legal actors must utilize this expertise .     

LIFE ON THE LINE: THE THERAPEUTIC POTENTIALS OF COMPUTER MEDIATED CONVERSATION

In what ways are computer networking practices comparable to face-to-face therapy? With the exponential increase in computer-mediated communication and the increasing numbers of people joining topically based computer networks, the potential for grass-roots therapeutic (or antitherapeutic) interchange is greatly augmented. Here we report the results of research into exchanges on an electronic bulletin board devoted to the topic of suicide. Over an 11-month period participants offered each other valuable resources in terms of validation of experience, sympathy, acceptance, and encouragement. They also asked provocative questions and furnished broad-ranging advice. Hostile entires were rare. However, there were few communiqués that parallel the changeinducing practices more frequent within many therapeutic settings. In effect, on-line dialogues seemed more sustaining than transforming. Further limits and potentials of on-line communication are explored.     

Yes We Did! Basking in Reflected Glory and Cutting Off Reflected Failure in the 2008 Presidential Election

In two studies, the tendency to Bask in Reflected Glory (BIRG) or Cut Off Reflected Failure (CORF) was examined in the context of the 2008 presidential election. Experiment 1, a field study, found that yard or window signs endorsing successful Democratic candidate Barack Obama were displayed longer than signs endorsing his opponent. Experiment 2 utilized a survey methodology to explore moderators of the BIRG effect implied by prior research. Self-esteem was shown to moderate CORF, such that individuals with lower self-esteem distanced themselves from the unsuccessful presidential candidate. Other moderators consistent with the cognitive consistency basis of BIRG, strength of identification and self-serving attributions, were not. Reasons for these findings are discussed, and future directions for research on BIRG are proposed.     

Open-ended and Open-door Treatment Groups for Young People with Mental Illness

The concept of open-ended groups is expanded to include an open-door model (OEOD) wherein members with severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia disorders and bi-polar, can join, leave, and re-enter groups as their life circumstances dictate their availability and willingness for treatment. This model is grounded on the work of Schopler and Galinsky's (1984/2006) and Galinsky and Schopler's (1989) theses on the value and processes of open-ended groups and includes perspectives on mutual aid and group development. Groupwork with the OEOD format is illustrated with examples taken from a group of 79 participants diagnosed with first-episode schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorders, 40 of who had co-occurring substance abuse. Of the 79 participants in the OEOD group program, 70 (89%) remained in treatment for the maximum of 3 years. The over-all value of group treatment for this population is reviewed along with the small number of available publications on open-ended and open-door-type groups.     

Teenagers' household and caring work: the relevance of 'secondary activities' in Australian time use surveys

Time use studies are routinely used to comment on the distribution of labour between adults. More recently considerations of concurrent (or secondary) activities have been used to highlight the full social extent of childcare, and to show that mothers work disproportionately long hours. This paper addresses a blind spot in such studies: the domestic usefulness – or otherwise – of teenage children. It examines how measurements of secondary activities in Australian time use surveys contribute to understanding of the division of household, caring and total productive work between parents and teenagers. In this way the paper addresses a recent call by youth studies scholars to ‘bring the family back into focus‘. We found that secondary activities accentuate already inequitable division of labour between mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. However, the results were not uniform, and show that a minority of teenagers shoulder substantial domestic responsibilities. The paper concludes by arguing that teenagers need to be included, conceptually as well as practically, in considerations of sustainable and equitable divisions of household and caring work.