Relationship Help-Seeking: A Review of the Efficacy and Reach

ABSTRACT

Formal and informal relationship help-seeking is becoming increasingly common. This article discusses seven forms of relationship help-seeking: couple therapy, couple relationship education, self-help books, internet resources, other media sources, talking with clergy, and talking with friends and family. The purpose of this literature review is to organize the relationship help-seeking research, bring to light some of the less accessible research, and offer recommendations to researchers and practitioners regarding the efficacy and reach of relationship help-seeking. In addition, differences in relationship help-seeking based on gender are explored and current relationship help-seeking trends are discussed.     

Examining Parental Monitoring as a Pathway From Community Violence Exposure to Drug Use,Risky Sex,and Recidivism Among Detained Youth

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether parental monitoring mediated the relationship between community violence exposure and a spectrum of behaviors such as recidivism, risky sex, and drug use among youth with a history of being detained. It also explored whether risk pathways differed by gender. Adolescents (n = 550) who were detained or previously detained were recruited from eight regional detention facilities in Georgia. Audio computer-assisted self-interviewing technology was used to assess demographic factors (i.e., age, race, and socioeconomic status), risky sex, drug use, and recidivism prior to being detained. Major findings indicated direct relationships between community violence exposures and risky sex and drug use in the 2 months prior to being detained. Findings also indicated that parental monitoring mediated these relationships for both adolescent males and females. These findings document that parental monitoring is an important element even for troubled youth across a broad spectrum of risk factors. Consequently, it is recommended that intervention programs examine the differential effects of monitoring behaviors by a variety of groups such as parental figures, teachers, and peer mentors.     

Fatherhood, cohabitation, and marriage

In “Fatherhood, Cohabitation, and Marriage,” Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services, summarizes the importance of fathers to child well-being. He explains that “fatherlessness is a significant risk factor for poor developmental outcomes for children.” This connection has led some observers to view cohabitation as a substitute or at least an alternative to marriage. Horn argues, however, that marriage is the best option for children and that cohabitation is a weak family structure compared with marriage. Children in households with married parents do better on almost every measure of child well-being, even after controlling for income.     

Book Review: Constructing World Culture: International Nongovernmental Organizations Since 1875 by John Boli and George M. Thomas (eds.). Stanford University Press,Stanford, 1999

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

The Ties that Bind: Support from Birth Families and Substitute Families for Young People Leaving Care

This paper draws on findings from a study of outcomes for youngpeople leaving care funded by the Department for Education andSkills. It explores the informal support networks availableto a sample of 106 young people over a period of 12–15months after leaving care. It examines patterns of contact withbirth families and caregivers, the support that emanated fromthese links and the strategies of leaving care professionalsto strengthen these connections. It also considers the new familiescreated by many young people through relationships with partnersand the onset of parenthood and discusses the continuing supportneeds of young parents. The paper situates the needs and experiencesof care leavers in a wider youth transitions framework and highlightsthe need for continuing professional attention to be given tostrengthening family links as one strategy for helping careleavers to negotiate the transition to adulthood.     

Letters to the editor

The western roots of modern same‐sex relationships

Same‐Sex Desire and Love in GrecoRoman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West, Edited by Beert C. Verstraete &; Vernon Provencal. New York: Huntington Park Press, 2006, 491 pages. Cloth, $69.95; Paper, $49.95.

Students go to “sex camp” and write back love letters

Sex Camp, By Brian McNaught. Bloomington, IN: Author House, 2005, 446 Pages. Cloth, $31.50; Paper, $21.75; Electronic, $5.95.

Complexity of sexuality: shifting to a focus on sexuality in close relationships

The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships, Edited by John H. Harvey, Amy Wenzel, &; Susan Sprecher. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004, 668 pages. Cloth, $125.00; Paper $65.00.     

Immigration and the Transformation of American Unionism

Does immigration hamper union organizing in the United States? The prevailing literature strongly suggests that it does and for two reasons: first, immigrants increase the labor pool and diminish union influence over the labor market. And second, immigrants may be harder to organize than native workers. In this dominant view, unions are well served to restrict immigration and have always done so. But how, then, to explain the fact that American labor has long been deeply divided over the response to immigration? Drawing on new archival research and interviews, this paper uncovers a neglected side of American labor history in which many union leaders have extended solidarity to immigrants and sought to organize them. Moreover, analysis of time series data on immigration and union density corroborates the implicit theory of this alternate account of labor history: immigration has, in fact, no statistically significant effect – either positive or negative – on union density over time. Depending on specific conditions and strategies, unions can and have been successful in organizing during periods of high immigration.