When Does Parents’ Differential Treatment Have Negative Implications for Siblings?

We compared the extent of parents' differential treatment (PDT) and girls' and boys' perceptions of parents' fairness in middle childhood and adolescence as a function of the gender constellation of the sibling dyad. Further, we examined links between PDT in three domains, parental warmth, parents' temporal involvement, and the allocation of household tasks, and both siblings' self esteem and positivity in the sibling relationship. Participants were mothers, fathers and both first- and secondborn siblings from 385 families. To collect information on siblings' family experiences and well-being, family members were interviewed individually in their homes. During the subsequent 2–3 weeks, 7 evening telephone interviews also were conducted; these focused on siblings' daily activities. Analyses revealed different patterns of PDT for siblings as a function of age and gender constellation, stronger links with self esteem and sibling positivity for perceptions of fairness than for PDT, and different patterns of association with self esteem and sibling relations across domains of PDT. We emphasize the importance of studying the processes through which PDT experiences have implications for siblings.     

Politics and Esthetics

This essay examines the intersection and history of esthetics and politics. Esthetics now provides specific forms or categories of understanding for politics and public life; in the language of social movements, esthetics often supplies the ‘frames’ by which we perceive the world. I discuss the sociological literature on esthetics, and explore some of its connections to politics broadly conceived. I argue that an adequate sociological approach to esthetic politics must explore the history, characteristics, and intersection of the esthetic sphere and popular culture, for these two realms have influenced political ideas and practices.     

Seasonality of children's residential mobility: A research note

Parents are often advised to schedule changes of residence for the summer so that children do not change schools during the regular school year. But very little research has been done on seasonality of children's moves and whether families that move off season differ from those that move in the summer. The child supplement to the 1988 National Health Interview Survey offers an opportunity to examine the degree of seasonality of children's mobility and to analyze characteristics that increase or decrease the probability of moving during the summer months. We find that many variables included in studies of differential mobility exhibit seasonal effects, but in a multivariate model age of child (beyond 7 or 8 years old), long-distance moves, a highly educated mother, and race that is not Black most strongly raise the odds of moving in the summer.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Demographic Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, 21–23 October 1993.     

Household structure and child nutrition: A reinterpretation of income and mother's education

Two frequently used predictors of child malnutrition are family income and mother's education. Despite their common sense rationale, they pose difficult and perhaps intractable problems of measurement and conceptualization. This paper proposes to substitute the concepts of family and maternal differentiation for these traditionally used indicators. Differentiation is defined as the capacity of the individual or group to process a diversity of information categories. Using data from a recent survey of households in Panama, indicators of this concept were constructed at the family and at the maternal levels using principal component analysis. These are shown to predict a range of indicators of childrens' nutritional status when appropriate control variables are included in the regression analysis. The same analysis was then repeated with income and mother's education replacing the differentiation measures. The results support our claim that the differentiation indicators are superior, and we argue that an even more important reason for using them is that they open the door to a long-term research program that is theoretically consistent and potentially cumulative.     

A Standard of Care for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct by School Employees

ABSTRACT

This article describes the development of a standard of care for the prevention of adult to student sexual abuse in pre K-12 schools. Standard of care is not a phrase often used in educational practice, and yet, it is a legal concept that may be useful for school administrators. A sample of administrators, child sexual abuse specialists, and attorneys with experience in school employee sexual misconduct responded to 101 items that the literature indicates should be included in a standard of care. There was agreement on 94 of these items by sample participants. Categories of the standard of care were policies, hiring process, hiring screening, hiring interview, training, and reporting. Where there was disagreement by role of respondent, attorneys, child sexual abuse specialists, or both rated the item as more important for inclusion than did administrators.     

Does Preterm Birth Affect Psychosexual Development? A Preliminary Exploration

Abstract

Infants born prematurely may lack full term exposure to the prenatal milieu responsible for late-term sexual differentiation, with possible consequences on psychosexual development. This study assessed gender identity, sexual orientation, and adult sexual responses in men and women born either preterm or full term. An online survey was administered to 106 biological males (36 preterm) and 195 biological females (64 preterm). Preterm women identified less exclusively as heterosexual and preterm men reported higher sex interest and shorter orgasmic latency. Preterm birth may interfere with typical prenatal sexual differentiation, with potential effects on sexual orientation and adult sexual responsivity.     

Using environmental imperatives to reduce meat consumption: perspectives from New Zealand

Sustainable food consumption is an important issue globally, that will intensify if current projections of population growth, urbanisation and the growing ‘middle-classes’ in developing countries continues. Reducing meat consumption is one approach that can help with food sustainability and security, while helping to address the problematic environmental outcomes associated with agricultural production – assuming that a reduction in meat consumption will at some point be reflected in production practices. Currently, sensory perception, health, convenience and price are more immediately influential than environmental concerns in determining meat consumption practices. Moreover, consumer culture under neoliberalism and the context of New Zealand as an agricultural nation are significant underpinning factors in lifestyle practices including food choice. In this paper, I share the perspectives of New Zealanders on meat (and meat-like) consumption and production practices in order to find out (a) what factors are prominent influences in meat consumption and (b) how these factors might be utilised to reduce meat consumption by applying them to meat-less/reduced foods. I argue that these environmental factors need to be promoted alongside known influential determinants of purchase decisions in order to make the idea of reduced-meat consumption a more attractive option for consumers.     

Understanding implementation of best practices for working with the older homeless through the lens of self-determination theory

Five in-depth, semistructured interviews on what constitutes best practices were conducted with key professionals experienced in serving the homeless population. A practice model emerged from the interviews wherein client self-determination was considered a keystone. Self-determination theory was then used as a framework for understanding the best practices that emerged, and the relationship between client self-determination and positive outcomes. Implications are discussed for the older homeless, highlighting that although general best practices are applicable for this subgroup, the unique factors of an aging homeless population must be incorporated into best practice discussions.