Adolescents Caught in Parental Loyalty Conflicts

A group of 220 13- to 16-year old Catholic high school boys were administered a questionnaire regarding their exposure to parental loyalty conflict behaviors, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment, depression, and rule-breaking behaviors. Results revealed high rates of exposure to parental loyalty conflict—especially in divorced families—as well as statistically significant associations with psychological maltreatment and depression. These data build on and extend earlier findings documenting the prevalence of children's involvement in parental conflict and the negative effects of that experience.     

Views on Parent–Child Connectedness Among English- and Spanish-Speaking Parents of High-Risk Youth

This study highlights findings from focus groups on parent–child connectedness conducted with English- and Spanish-speaking parents of high-risk youth in the southern United States. The primary aim of the study was to extend research on parent–child connectedness, a broad protective factor for adolescent risk behavior. In addition to describing strategies and obstacles for enhancing closeness between parents and children, parents in Spanish-speaking focus groups also raised issues related to immigration, acculturation, and bicultural stress. Findings provide valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to improve parent–child connectedness and reduce adolescent risk behavior, with special insight about Mexican-origin, Spanish-speaking families.     

Personal Network Correlates and Predictors of Homelessness for Injection Drug Users in Baltimore,Maryland

Injection drug users are at high risk for homelessness and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. This study sought to examine incidence rates and the social and economic antecedents of homelessness of impoverished inner-city injection drug users. Of the 569 participants, from a nontreatment sample who participated HW prevention study, intelViewed at baseline, 324 (57%) were reintelViewed 5.2 months late!: At baseline 48% of the participants reported that they had been homeless in the past 10 years. Of the 324, 18% reported that at both intelViews they had been homeless within the prior 6 months, 12% reported homelessness at baseline but not at follow-up, and 8% reported homelessness at follow-up but not at baseline. At baseline personal social support network characteristic of size of material aid and size of sex network was found to be associated with self-reports of homelessness. Baseline reports ofpresence of mother in personal network, size of material aid network, and network density were found to be associated with reports of homelessness at follow-up. These result suggest the need for alternative approaches to addressing issues of homelessness injection drug users.     

Use of APTIMA Combo 2: The Experience of a Child Advocacy Center

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends nucleic acid amplification testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea in sexually abused girls. No studies describe performance of APTIMA Combo 2 Assay with second target confirmation on the same testing platform. This nucleic acid amplification testing is evaluated within a large child advocacy center. Girls 3 to 18 years, 35% of whom reported consensual sexual activity, were prospectively tested by APTIMA Combo 2 on urine/vaginal swabs and by vaginal culture. A case of infection was defined as positive culture or positive urine or vaginal swab nucleic acid amplification testing with second target confirmation. Sensitivity of APTIMA Combo 2 on urine was found to be superior to vaginal culture and comparable to APTIMA Combo 2 on vaginal swabs for both infections. APTIMA Combo 2 on urine is less invasive, and its use may be preferred in this traumatized population.     

Volunteerism Among Social Work Students During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Abstract

This study examined volunteer activities and predictors of volunteerism among graduate and undergraduate social work students (N = 416) from four universities in the Gulf Coast area following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The convenience sample drawn from all social work students at these universities included 89% females, and 52% of the students were in a master's level program. Sixty-one percent of the respondents were African American and 31% were non-Hispanic white. The majority of students volunteered (97%) despite experiencing a range of hurricane-related stressors. Multivariate analyses yielded a regression model that best predicted heightened volunteerism, which included age, school site, previous volunteer experience, hurricane-related stressors, altruism, and increased commitment to social work values (R ² = .35). The strongest predictors of volunteerism were stressor, increased commitment to social work values, and altruism (betas = .30, .26, and .21 respectively). The findings are consistent with previous research on volunteering in times of disaster and with current thinking about posttraumatic growth .     

Being in two places at once: renegotiating traumatic experience through the surplus reality of psychodrama

This article continues the dialogue started by Skolnik 2018 about the synergistic union of social work and psychodrama group approaches. The theoretical and clinical alignment of psychodrama and sociometry with social work with groups will be described. A practice illustration from Mirmont Treatment Center will be presented and discussed to explore some of the dynamics of psychodrama and, in particular, the therapeutic value of surplus reality. Surplus reality is a creative tool used to provide a therapeutic corrective emotional experience. Integrating insights from neuroscience, this article advocates for psychodrama as a valuable modality for clinical social workers engaged in group work.     

Trends in Same‐gender Sexual Partnering, 1988–1998

Nationally representative data from the General Social Surveys indicate that from 1988 to 1998 there was an increasing likelihood that American men and women had had a same‐gender sexual partner during the previous year. Increases in same‐gender sexual partnering and decreases in exclusively opposite‐gender sexual partnering during the previous 5 years were also evident among women over the 1988–1998 period. Same‐gender sexual partnering was found to be associated with age, birth cohort, race, size of hometown at age 16, and mothers’ education. The increase in same‐gender sexual partnering over the 1988–1998 period persisted after controlling for these factors. Several possible explanations for the trend are discussed.     

Sampling Television Programs for Content Analysis of Sex on TV: How Many Episodes are Enough?

Content analysis is widely used to analyze sexual themes and messages on television. Although researchers generally use a sampling procedure to identify programs for analysis, there is currently no gold standard for the number of episodes needed to establish a valid, representative sample. This study sought to explore how many episodes of weekly television programs should be examined for an accurate assessment of sexual content present throughout the season. Various sampling strategies were used to select episodes from programs that ran in the 1998–1999 season, and results were compared with data collected from all episodes of these programs to test representativeness. Findings suggest that to provide a representative assessment of sexual content on television programs for behavior-level variables, a random sample of five episodes of weekly television programs is sufficient, while three episodes may be acceptable if variation is minimal. A random sample of seven episodes is needed for character-based analyses.     

State of the Context: Listening in Education

Educational listening research in the last 80 years covers a broad spectrum. Early research investigated the amount of time spent listening. Later studies identified students' comprehension of oral material. Aspects most often researched fall into the following categories: listening elicitation, listening benefits, and listening instruction. Because instructors must meet the needs of a variety of student listening and learning styles, a significant amount of listening research investigates listening and learning preferences. This research emphasizes the need to identify successful teaching strategies to help teachers elicit effective listening. Teachers have long believed that students who listen better are better students, and research seems to corroborate that effective listeners achieve academic success. Few schools offer listening instruction, and even in courses where listening is supposedly emphasized, only 7% of the time is devoted to listening. The impact of listening instruction is ambiguous despite anecdotal evidence suggesting that instruction improves listening. Listening instruction is especially scarce in primary and secondary schools notwithstanding the fact that listening is linked to both literacy and academic success. Further, little research has occurred in K–12 classrooms where there is greater opportunity to learn more about effective listening if researchers take the time to do so.