The effects of teenage childbearing on adult soft skills development

Research examining impacts of teenage childbearing on economic and social outcomes have focused on completed schooling and labor force outcomes. In this paper, we examine outcomes that have remained largely unexplored, soft skills and personality. We use Add Health data to construct relevant controls for teenage mothers and explore a set of measures that proxy for what is usually deemed in economics as “non-cognitive” or “soft skill” traits. We find that teenage childbearing increases impulsivity, a trait that has been found to have negative effects on a large set of outcomes and has a negative effect on other personality traits perceived as positive, such as openness to experiences. Our results remain consistent through a set of robustness checks, and we interpret our findings to suggest that adolescence may be a sensitive period for the development of soft skills and that childbearing may interrupt this process.     

Prohibition,Regulation or Free Market: A Mapping of Colombian People’s Perspectives Regarding National Drug Policies

Colombian laypersons’ perspectives regarding actual and potential drug policies were examined. Adults (N = 395) aged 18–68 and living in Bogota were presented with 24 vignettes that were composed according to two within-subject orthogonal factor designs: (a) Demand for drugs in the country × Current government policy regarding soft and hard drugs (from “laissez faire” policy for all drugs to complete prohibition of all drugs) and (b) Information campaigns regarding the dangerousness of drugs × Current policy. Participants rated the level of acceptability of each policy. Seven different perspectives were identified that can be grouped into five broad views. The first one (50 % of participants) was called “radical constructionists” because participants considered that all policies were unacceptable. The second one (19 %) was called “cultural conservatives” because only one drug policy was considered fully acceptable: complete prohibition (although half of the members of this group were willing to allow soft drugs to be sold freely). The third one (14 %) was called “progressive prohibitionists” because the preferred policies in this group were either complete prohibition or complete regulation by the government. The fourth one (8 %) was called “free trade libertarians” because the dominant opinion was that the drug market should be free. The last one (5 %) was called “progressive advocates of legalization” because the preferred policy in this group was complete regulation of all substances. In most cases, the presence of information campaigns was highly valued. Methodological implications and implications for decision-makers are discussed.     

The Role of Self-Conscious Emotions in the Sexual Health of Gay and Bisexual Men: Psychometric Properties and Theoretical Validation of the Sexual Shame and Pride Scale

Researchers have theorized about the role of sexual shame as a mechanism through which sexual minority stress manifests into mental health difficulties, such as sexual compulsivity for gay and bisexual men (GBM), and about the resilience-promoting effects of sexual pride. However, no validated measures to date have directly tapped into these constructs rather than using proxies for them, such as internalized homonegativity. We developed the Sexual Shame and Pride Scale (SSPS) and conducted a psychometric evaluation of it using a sample of 260 highly sexually active GBM. The scale had the expected structure in factor analysis and showed evidence of internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Correlational analyses demonstrated the convergent validity of sexual shame and sexual pride with relevant constructs. Regression analyses demonstrated the predictive validity of sexual shame in relation to sexual compulsivity, accounting for unique variability even after adjusting for previously demonstrated etiological factors, and the predictive validity of both shame and pride, which interacted to consistently predict four sexual behavior outcomes. Findings suggest the SSPS is a psychometrically valid and reliable measure that may be useful in future empirical work and highlight preliminary evidence for the role of these constructs in the sexual health of GBM.     

The Global Compact for Safe,Orderly and Regular Migration: What's Next

The Director General of IOM reflects on the next steps to implement the Global Compact for Migration, IOM's new responsibility as Coordinator of the UN Migration Network, and the role that research can play in realizing the Compact's potential.     

The development of social pedagogy in Spain: The tension between social needs,political response and academic interests

The Spanish Civil War (1936—1939) interrupted the evolution and development of social pedagogy, which in Spain had reached similar levels as in other European countries. This was followed by a period when Spain was isolated from developments in social welfare and the changes that go along with the economic and social transformations of cities and give rise to community action, self-help and popular education programmes. The reinstatement of democracy and of new City Councils that are genuinely devoted to solve the problems of the population are the starting point for new social services, that is for social work and social pedagogy. Initially it was practical work that gave an answer to emerging demand, followed by theoretical analysis and efforts of conceptualisation. The professionals and later the universities lead the debate on methodology. The interest and involvement of the universities increased as the Diploma in Social Education was introduced as a new university degree.     

The importance of being mature: the effect of demographic maturation on global per capita GDP

Given that savings behaviour and worker productivity have strong life-cycle components and given that demographic profiles vary across countries, population age structure should be linked to differences in levels of economic development. In this paper, we measure the economic importance of age structure variation for the global economy. We find that demographic maturation has been associated with nearly half of the evolution of global per capita GDP since 1960. We also find that age structure differences can account for just over half of the variation in worldwide per capita GDP (i.e. the lack of sigma convergence) observed since 1960.

Social Entrepreneur: Same or Different from the Rest?

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - A social business responds to social problems usually ignored by institutions, mobilizing resources and generating...