Did Divorces Decline After the Oklahoma City Bombing?

The Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 was an act of terrorism that had many potential influences on the city and state, including influences on families. We analyzed divorce data from 1985 to 2000 for all 77 counties in Oklahoma to assess the divorce response to the Oklahoma City bombing. Our prediction was that divorce rates in Oklahoma would decrease in response to the bombing, a prediction derived from two different theoretical orientations, terror management theory and attachment theory. We test this prediction in the context of two relatively powerful quasi‐experimental designs, an interrupted time series design, and a nonequivalent control group design. We analyze the time series data with polynomial regression. Results suggested that there were lower observed divorce rates following the Oklahoma City bombing than the prevailing 10‐year cubic divorce trend would have predicted, with the effect dampening over time. We analyzed the nonequivalent control group design using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) linear model to compare counties in and around Oklahoma City to those farther away, and to compare metropolitan to nonmetropolitan counties in Oklahoma. In each case, divorces were lower in the predicted directions.     

Beyond the nature/society divide: Learning to think about a mountain

Sociological efforts to understand environment-society relationships fall primarily into four conceptual categories. The first three, involving analytical separation, analytical primacy, and balanced dualism, all draw distinctions between biophysical and social aspects of human experience, with subsequent analyses being based on thesea priori distinctions. The fourth or constructivist approach questions this naturalized dichotomy, calling attention instead to mutual contingency or conjoint constitution: What we take to be physical facts are likely to be strongly shaped by social construction processes, and at the same time, what we take to be strictly social will often have been shaped in part by taken-for-granted realities of the physical world. Technology offers important opportunities for tracing these interconnections, being an embodiment of both the physical and the social. The point is illustrated with a long-term historical analysis of a specific physiographic feature—a mountain—that has undergone little overtphysical change over the centuries, but has undergone repeated changes in its social meanings and uses. Few of the changes would have been possible in the absence of the mountain's physiographic characteristics; similarly, few would have occurred in the absence of changing sociocultural definitions and possibilities. The challenge for sociology is not just to recognize the importance of both the physical and the social factors, and certainly not to argue over the relative importance of the two, but to recognize the extent to which what we take to be physical and social factors can be conjointly constituted.The paper's subtitle is intended as a tribute to Aldo Leopold and to one of his most famous essays (1949).     

The increase in marital status differences in mortality up to the oldest age in seven European countries, 1990–99

We investigate mortality differentials by marital status among older age groups using a database of mortality rates by marital status at ages 40 and over for seven European countries with 1 billion person-years of exposure. The mortality advantage of married people, both men and women, continues to increase up to at least the age group 85–89, the oldest group we are able to consider. We find the largest absolute differences in mortality levels between marital status groups are at high ages, and that absolute differentials are: (i) greater for men than for women; (ii) similar in magnitude across countries; (iii) increase steadily with age; and (iv) are greatest at older age. We also find that the advantage enjoyed by married people increased over the 1990s in almost all cases. We note that results for groups such as older divorced women need to be interpreted with caution.     

Using the Therapeutic Relationship to Promote an Internal Locus of Control in Elderly Mental Health Clients

Seniors who feel powerless to effect change on their environment or who feel that their lives are controlled by external circumstances are said to have an external locus of control. This may adversely affect commitment to and participation in mental health treatment. This article presents the conce t of using the therapeutic relationship to encourage internal contro f' beliefs in elderly mental health clients, with the goal of promoting personal empowerment and improving the efficacy of therapy. Included is a review of litera- ture relevant to aging and locus of control. The develoament of an external locus of conbol is explained by the theories of self psychol- ogy and the social breakdown syndrome.     

One nationalism and two systems: the parallel regulations of Taiwan's marital immigration policies

By investigating the regulation differentials between Chinese spouses and foreign spouses in Taiwan's marital immigration program, this article shows how a restrictive border policy reflects the characteristics of Taiwan's contemporary nationalism. This article notes that the similarities in language, culture and ethnicity are not key elements in the construction of Taiwan's contemporary nationalism. Instead, the uncertain condition of sovereign identity constitutes the nationalist agenda in Taiwan. Taiwan's nationalism is accordingly contingent upon the discursive externality of a Chinese spouse. The discrimination against Chinese spouses is primarily politically motivated.     

A Comparison of Sexual Assault Cases with Child and Adult Victims

Researchers have suggested that sexual assault cases involving children are treated differently than cases involving adults; they have suggested that cases with child victims are more likely to be dismissed and are less likely to result in conviction or incarceration of the offender. The present study used data from Detroit Recorder's Court to compare the outcome of sexual assault cases involving children and adults. The results indicated that cases with child victims differed in important ways from cases with adult victims, and that these differences affected case outcomes. Cases with child victims were less likely than cases with adult victims to be aggravated sexual assaults. When these differences were taken into account, offenders convicted of assaulting children faced a higher risk of incarceration than did offenders convicted of assaulting adults.     

从“官吏分途”到“层级分流”:帝国逻辑下的中国官僚人事制度

魏晋南北朝以来的“官吏分途”是中国官僚体制的重大制度变迁,本文从这一角度出发,审视当代中国官员的空间流动状况,提出以“官吏相对谱系”为特点的“层级分流”模式。文章从周雪光的“帝国逻辑”分析框架出发,借用史学研究和社会科学理论来认识和解释人事制度安排与帝国治理逻辑之间的关系。文章认为,从“官吏分途”到“层级分流”,这一人事制度造成了官僚体制的二元结构及其迥然不同的职业生涯、激励设置和利益群体,为中国官僚体制的运作打上了鲜明烙印。本文充实和扩展了“帝国逻辑”的理论思路。     

Chilean Adaptation and Validation of the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale–Short Form

The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of a short version of the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale (FDAS–SF; Fisher, 1978) in the Chilean context. Participants were 260 individuals who were divorced or separated. The FDAS–SF included 22 of the original 100 items, and its factorial structure was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Instead of the 6 original subscales proposed by its author, the structure that showed the best fit to the data was composed of 5 subscales: self-worth, disentanglement from the ex-partner, anger, grief, and social trust. The social self-worth subscale was excluded. Reliability analyses revealed good internal consistency of the subscales and adequate convergent validity with depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction. Given the psychometric properties of this short version, it can be concluded that the FDAS–SF can be used in the Chilean context to evaluate the adjustment to divorce and separation.     

Women’s Decision to Divorce in Light of Failure in Marital Status and Dignity

In Iranian society, divorce, as an instability index of family, has been on the increase over the last decade. In particular, this separation is fraught with considerable difficulties for wives with children. The overall aim of this study is to investigate the nature of the process of deciding to separate by the divorced women despite having children. Resting on the grounded theory method, this study was conducted among 20 divorced women with children in the city of Tehran. The findings show that having a child is not a determining factor for the women to remain married; rather, what determines the separation of women with children is experiencing a status loss within their marital life, an experience that originates from losing her status after a woman has gotten married. Of course, women’s agency within the domain of family disintegration happens when they have the ability to overcome social fears and also have economic support. Through this course of events, although children are of enormous importance for the mothers, they are temporarily neglected while the mothers, for a short period, think primarily of saving themselves. Making their final decision to get separated leads to reactivating the role of their children; then, the mothers proceed to make the optimal decision.