Family, Neighborhood, and Peer Characteristics as Predictors of Child Adjustment: A Longitudinal Analysis of Additive and Mediation Models

The purpose of this study was to test direct, additive, and mediation models involving family, neighborhood, and peer factors in relation to emerging antisocial behavior and social skills. Neighborhood danger, maternal depressive symptoms, and supportive parenting were assessed in early childhood. Peer group acceptance was measured in middle childhood, and data on antisocial behavior and social skills were collected when boys were 11 and 12 years old. Results were consistent with an additive effects model of child antisocial behavior. In contrast, peer relationships were stronger predictors of social skills than were family factors. Support for mediation was found in models involving neighborhood danger and supportive parenting. However, only peer group acceptance predicted change in antisocial and prosocial behavior. Implications for family and peer relations as socialization contexts are discussed.     

Crisis communications preparedness among U.S. organizations: Activities and assessments by public relations practitioners

A survey of U.S. public relations practitioners (n = 126) found that three-quarters of their employer organizations had a written crisis communications plan and that organizations, as a whole, were reasonably prepared to engage in crisis communications. Preparedness was measured based on the presence of a crisis plan as well as indices related to tactics, training, the maintenance of contact lists, and media monitoring. Preparedness was found to be positively correlated to organization size, the level of autonomy, and delegation of authority within the organization, and the process orientation of the organization, but not organization type nor involvement in international versus domestic-only operations. Practitioners from organizations with plans had lower assessments of their relationships with publics, but greater confidence in their ability to respond.     

Multiple Segment Factorial Vignette Designs

The multiple segment factorial vignette design (MSFV) combines elements of experimental designs and probability sampling with the inductive, exploratory approach of qualitative research. MSFVs allow researchers to investigate topics that may be hard to study because of ethical or logistical concerns. Participants are presented with short stories about hypothetical characters. These stories comprise 2 – 5 segments in which randomly assigned dimensions are introduced sequentially. Researchers control the occurrence and timing of when dimensions are presented. Respondents are asked questions after each segment. MSFVs may include written, oral, and visual stimuli. These efficient designs elicit quantitative data about causal relations and qualitative data within complex, multidimensional contexts. We discuss how to develop MSFV and suggest ways to avoid problems.     

The Substitution Hypothesis: The Impact of Premarital Liaisons and Human Capital on Marital Timing

Nonmarital romantic and sexual relationships occur concurrently with the human capital acquisition process and contribute to delaying or forgoing marriage. Event history analysis is used to model the marital hazard rate of 341 White women born between 1960 and 1963 in a Western metropolitan area. In addition to family background, adolescent characteristics, and employment and educational histories, the structure of the women's premarital liaisons is shown to play an important role in the timing of first marriage. The greater a woman's involvement in nonmarital romantic and sexual activity, the less likely she is to be married by age 27–30. Human capital characteristics and the dynamics of relationship histories operate independently to explain marital timing. This supports the theory that women substitute premarital liaisons for marriage early in the adult life course. However, there is no evidence that highly educated women, or those who are students, are more or less likely to do so than others.     

Women's Morality: A Test of Carol Gilligan's Theory

The purpose of this paper is to analyze male and female perspectives of morality, using Carol Gilligan's theory of gender differences. The hermeneutic–dialectic mode of inquiry was used to understand the process and outcome of the participants' perspectives. Three discourses were utilized to examine the notion of morality of the women participants, the men participants, and a final discourse in which both sexes were brought together. The women demonstrated few personal boundaries in their understanding of morality whereas the men's approach remained abstract and detached. The majority of both group members, however, showed potential to understand the social realm of the others' dominant approach to morality, but no consensus was reached. The gender distinct moral language continued to persist throughout the final discourse and the subjective versus intellectual approach remained more comfortable for each respective group. The findings are consistent with Gilligan's theory and the causes are understood from both a psychological and sociological viewpoint.     

Single Mothers “Do” Family

This paper explores how single mothers both incorporate others into family life (e.g., when they ask others to care for their children) and simultaneously “do families” in a manner that holds out a vision of a “traditional” family structure. Drawing on research with White, rural single mothers, the author explores the manner in which these women both endorse their children’s attachment to other caregivers and maintain boundaries around issues of discipline and attachment vis‐à‐vis these others. The author demonstrates that single mothers are willing to share this protected realm of family life with a new man (a fiancé or cohabiting boyfriend) as they pursue the goal of what has been called the “Standard North American Family.”     

Online organization–public relationships: An experience-centered approach

This paper advocates an experience-centered approach to public relations websites. A conceptual framework of the public relations website experience is proposed. The framework is grounded in communication and reader-response theory, and integrates organization–public relationship research as well as website usability findings. A new research protocol, website experience analysis, is derived from the conceptual framework. Applications of website experience analysis in public relations scholarship and practice are discussed.     

The Effects of Parent‐Adolescent Relationships and Parental Separation on Adolescent Well‐Being

This article uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to investigate the short‐term effects of parental separation on adolescent delinquency and depression. Findings indicate that parent‐adolescent relationships prior to marital dissolution moderate the effects of parental separation on adolescent delinquency. The higher adolescents' satisfaction with their relationship with the same‐sex parent prior to residential separation the greater their increases in delinquent behavior when they are separated from this parent at Wave 2. These results highlight the importance of interpersonal relationships within the family prior to parental separation. Opposite‐sex parents constitute a significant influence on adolescents' depression regardless of family structure. These findings suggest that research on parental influences on children's well‐being needs to pay more attention to gender‐specific effects.     

NGOs and the Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Understanding Large-Scale Interorganizational Systems

Relief efforts resulting from the $5 billion Priority Reconstruction Program, launched as part of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, attracted nearly 500 nonprofit organizations to the small, newly independent nation of Bosnia. Donor resources and recipient needs changed over time forcing constant adjustment in this environment, at times resulting in service overlap, inefficiency, and waste. However, the inter-relatedness of tasks in this war-torn country continually reminded players of the need for cooperative, coordinated action. Within a short time, intricate webs of interorganizational relationships emerged among donors, NGO implementers, and host nation players, at both ground and global levels. The research reported here is based on extensive interview material with a diverse range of informants.     

Occupational Self‐Direction,Values, and Egalitarian Relationships: A Study of Dual‐Earner Couples

This study examines the associations between husbands' and wives' experiences at work and their attitudes about and behaviors in marriage, using a framework informed by the ideas of Kohn (1969, 1977) . Specifically, it was hypothesized that experiences of self‐direction at work would be associated with greater endorsement of values associated with self‐direction. Further, it was predicted that those who value self‐direction more would both prefer and adopt more egalitarian arrangements in their marriages. These hypotheses were tested with a sample of 167 dual‐earner couples. Results supported the hypotheses and suggested that values mediate the relationships between occupational self‐direction and both attitudes about marital roles and the division of household labor. The pattern of results suggests that this framework is a useful perspective for examining the construct of marital equality.