Elective single mothers and their children: The missing fathers

Elective single mothers are adult, unmarried women who intentionally become mothers. This study utilized longitudinal data about 17 Caucasian, elective single mothers and their children to identify fathers' roles in these families, and to understand children's views of their fathers. These single mothers and their children resided for the first six years of the children's lives in father-absent households. By age six, most of the children had ghost fathers, whom they had never met or knew little about. The data suggest that the father often becomes a family secret, and that children may blame themselves for their fathers' absence.     

Federalism and aging policy in the 1980s: implications for changing interest group roles in the 1990s

Shifts in the American political landscape during the 1980s had impacts on aging policy and on the behavior of aging interest groups through that decade. But perhaps even more important are the likely effects of those changes on aging policy and on the roles of age-related groups in the 1990s--and probably beyond. First, some of the major policy trends of the 1980s are sketched out, especially the renewed emphasis on federalism. Then, an assessment of their effects on aging policy and aging interest groups is provided. Next, a rationale for focusing on state-level policy and a discussion of current aging interest-group mobilization at the state level are presented. Last, the prospects for aging interest-group influence in the 1990s--a period in which the prior decade's emphasis on dual federalism is likely to continue--is addressed.     

The Australian model of immigration and multiculturalism: is it applicable to Europe?

"The aim of this article is to examine the experience of Australia with regard to immigration and ethnic diversity since 1945, and to discuss the relevance of this experience for Western Europe." The author finds that "since 1945, over 5 million settlers have come from many different countries, leading to a situation of great cultural diversity.... Over the last twenty years, a policy of multiculturalism has emerged, giving rise to several special institutions. This has had profound effects both on social policy and on concepts of national identity. The relevance of the Australian model for Western Europe is discussed."     

Utilizing a game for both needs assessment and learning in adolescent sexuality education

A fact-gathering, experimental game proved to be an effective instrument in the needs assessment phase of an adolescent sexuality educational program aimed at low-income females. The game ("Family Few"), which covered the topics of menstruation and reproduction, was played by 35 Black, Hispanic, and white females aged 13-16 years recruited from medical and psychiatric clinics in Miami, Florida. The goals of the game were to elicit terminology used by participants, identify and correct misconceptions and misinformation, and determine if learning could occur. Although 57% of participants reported prior exposure to formal sex education, misinformation about the need for activity curtailment during menstruation and the importance of early pregnancy detection was widespread. Group members believed they needed to restrict activities involving physical exercise, sexual relations, water, and cold during menses and were not likely to seek medical or family consultation regarding a missed period until the end of the 1st trimester of pregnancy. Also evident was a need for accurate information on the side effects, risk factors, benefits, and effectiveness of contraceptive methods. The group responses enabled the sex educators to prepare a culturally responsive, developmentally oriented curriculum for further work with disadvantaged female adolescents. The group process was ranked highly on the Likert Scale by these teenagers as an enjoyable, useful means of information dissemination and problem solving.     

International factors in the formation of refugee movements

The authors construct a theoretical framework for analyzing factors influencing international refugee movements. "On the basis of detailed case studies by the authors of the principal refugee flows generated in Asia, Africa, and Latin America from approximately 1960 to the present, it was found that international factors often intrude both directly and indirectly on the major types of social conflict that trigger refugee flows, and tend to exacerbate their effects. Refugees are also produced by conflicts that are manifestly international, but which are themselves often related to internal social conflict among the antagonists."     

Pivotal partings: Forced termination with a sexually abused boy

The termination phase of therapy is an integral part of the treatment process engendering its own unique set of dynamics. However, the potential eruption of new material dislodged by the trauma of the impending loss may in some cases require a reassessment of discharge goals and consequent alteration of treatment modality. The likelihood of new material surfacing at this critical juncture is perhaps highest among the caseloads of therapist trainees, wherein the termination date is forced by the time-limited nature of the learning contract. In the following article, supervisor and trainee detail the process of therapeutic shift from a dynamic to a crisis-oriented modality in the case of a young boy whose central trauma emerged during termination.