Another Look at Classic Strain Theory: Poverty Status, Perceived Blocked Opportunity, and Gang Membership as Predictors of Adolescent Violent Behavior

An extensive amount of criminological research has focused on the relationship between the inability of adolescents to achieve financial success or middle-class status through legitimate channels and their subsequent involvement in delinquency. This genre of research is commonly recognized as structural-strain theory. As the efficacy of this theory has periodically been questioned, this study addresses some of the methodological and theoretical issues associated with structural-strain theory. Using a sample of 8,338 adolescents from a southern state, we use a structural equations model to test a hypothesized sequence ultimately leading to delinquent behavior. We believe that this method is more appropriate than more traditional methods (e.g., multiple regression) for investigating some of the linkages specified in previous strain models. Our results support structural-strain theory, though the hypothesized model has more predictive power among European American than African American youth. Explanations are given for these differential findings, and recommendations for future studies are suggested.     

Deindustrialization, Female-Headed Families, and Black and White Juvenile Homicide Rates, 1970-1990

Recent research in urban sociology posits that the proliferation of female-headed families in American cities is a result of declining economic prospects due to profound changes in the structure of the urban economy. Meanwhile, macro-level theory and research in criminology suggest that an association exists between family structure and rates of lethal violence among juveniles. Given these two streams of sociological thought, there is good reason to expect that increases in juvenile homicide rates since 1970 may be due, in part, to changes in the structure of the economy and the family during the 1970 to 1990 period. However, the nexus between deindustrialization, female-headed families, and juvenile homicide has received little attention in extant research. The objective of the current study is to remedy this gap in the literature by bringing together ideas about deindustrialization and female headship in an attempt to explain city-level changes in Black and White juvenile homicide rates between 1970 and 1990. In particular, the research investigates the hypothesis that a decline in the manufacturing base of cities increased rates of female headship and thereby indirectly raised homicide rates. Race differences in the hypothesized structural relationships also are examined.     

Building a worldwide evaluation community: past, present, and future

This article describes recent efforts to build a worldwide evaluation community. It notes events that led to an almost 200 percent growth in the number of regional and national evaluation organizations in slightly more than one year. Profiles are provided on the present status of many national and regional evaluation organizations that participated in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-sponsored international evaluation meeting in Barbados, West Indies. Afterwards, the authors engage in a scenario planning exercise to picture alternatives of what the future of international evaluation might look like.     

Analytical representation of probabilities under the IAC condition

This paper extends the work of Gehrlein and Fishburn (1976) and Gehrlein (1982) by providing a general theorem relating to the analytical representation of the probability of an event in a given space of profiles. It applies to any event characterized by a set of linear inequalities regardless of whether the coefficients defining the inequalities are integer or fractional coefficients. An algorithm for the probability calculation is also suggested. This suggested methodology is used to provide a complete characterization of the vulnerability properties of the four scoring rules studied in Lepelley and Mbih (1994) to manipulation by coalitions in a 3-alternative n-agent society. Received: 21 October 1997/Accepted 19 November 1998     

Modeling the Effects of Expressed Emotion,Psychiatric Symptomology,and Marital Quality Levels on Male and Female Verbal Aggression

Previous research has linked expressed emotion (EE) levels and psychiatric symptomology, whereas other empirical efforts have examined the relationship between EE and marital relationship variables. Still other research has linked psychological conditions with acts of aggression, and the impact of marital issues within this domain of inquiry also has been explored. The study presented here examined the combined effects of EE, marital quality, and psychiatric symptomology on displays of verbal aggression by both relationship partners. Both husbands' and wives' reports of marital quality were predictive of both husbands' and wives' verbal aggression levels; here, reports of lower marital quality were associated with higher levels of verbal aggression. Additionally, husbands' and wives' reports of psychological symptomology in self and partner were important paths to marital quality, as were husbands' and wives' reports of EE levels. Further, some evidence was generated that supports the mediating role of marital quality with regard to EE and psychological symptomology. However, the overall fit indices of the models tested in this empirical effort were modest. Limitations that concern the instruments utilized in the present study are discussed in this regard.     

General assistance among U.S. cities: A test of alternative hypotheses

Using 1980 census data, this study seeks to explain variations in race‐specific measures of general assistance among 109 U.S. cities. Four hypotheses (derived from developmental, conflict, and human ecological theories) are developed as potential explanations of welfare recipiency rates and payment levels. Three control variables (southness, population size, and education) are included in the analysis. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis reveals that for blacks, poverty, level of manufacturing employment (1970–1980), and southness are significant predictors of recipiency rates; whereas per capita revenue, segregation, southness, and population size are significant predictors of mean payment. For whites, poverty, percent white, and southness are significant predictors of welfare rates; whereas per capita revenue, percent white, segregation, and southness are significant predictors of mean payment. The analysis provides partial support for the need hypothesis in explaining General Assistance recipiency with respect to both races. It also provides moderate support for the segregation hypothesis and weak support for the functional transformation hypothesis in explaining General Assistance recipiency for blacks.     

Knowledge and Attitudes of University Health Service Clients about Genital Herpes: Implications for Patient Education and Counseling

Abstract

Genital herpes virus infection is an important target for health education efforts because of its apparently rising incidence in the college student population and because it can have potentially serious psychological as well as medical consequences. In order to better understand the health education and counseling needs of students, the present study surveyed knowledge and attitudes about genital herpes of 190 university students using a gynecology clinic and of 161 students using a general medical clinic. The students were found to have a high degree of familiarity with the disease, its cause, and mode of transmission, but tended to view the consequences of the disease as more severe than is actually warranted by the common medical complications. There was some degree of misinformation about prevention and treatment of the disease and some negative attitudes about patients suffering from it, but the survey respondents endorsed a high level of responsible behavior with regard to the disease and expressed some optimism about the possibility of adapting to it. These findings suggest specific misconceptions about genital herpes that might be amenable to a mass education approach. They also suggest the need for a counseling program that centers around reasonable reassurance and appropriately positive psychological and medical management for newly diagnosed patients.     

The Placement History Chart: A Tool for Understanding the Longitudinal Pattern of Foster Children's Placements

Despite growing concerns about foster placement instability, little information is available regarding the longitudinal patterns of placement histories among foster children. The purpose of the present study was to develop a charting system using child welfare records to facilitate a better understanding of longitudinal patterns of placement history for 117 foster children. The resulting Placement History Chart included all placements that occurred during the observed time period and accounted for various dimensions: number, length, type, and sequence of placements; timing of transitions; and total time in out-of-home care. The Placement History Chart is an effective tool for placing foster care experiences within a broader developmental context. As such, the Placement History Chart can be a valuable research tool for understanding various dimensions and variations of placement transitions among foster children by capturing sequences and cumulative risks over time. Furthermore, this chart can facilitate the development of intervention programs that are developmentally sensitive and effectively address particularly vulnerable subpopulations of foster children.