Childlessness and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife and Old Age: An Examination of Parental Status Effects Across a Range of Outcomes

The study explores and distinguishes links between parental status (childless persons, parents with residential children, and empty nest parents) and a range of psychological well-being outcomes in midlife and old age. Data are from the first wave of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation (NorLAG) study (n = 5,189). We separate outcomes into cognitive (life satisfaction and self-esteem) and affective (positive and negative affect, depression, loneliness) components. Parental status has a net effect on cognitive well-being among women, as childless women report significantly lower life satisfaction and self-esteem than both mothers with residential children and empty nest mothers. However, motherhood is inconsequential for affective well-being. Among men, parental status is unrelated to any of the well-being aspects. Parental status effects are not modified by age, marital status, and education. The results demonstrate the importance of investigating the effect of parental status and other objective circumstances on a range of psychological well-being outcomes. Furthermore, the results reviewed and presented indicate somewhat more positive effects of parenthood in the Nordic countries than in the US, highlighting the role of social policies in shaping the impact of parental status on well-being.     

Top Ten Challenges for Understanding Gender and Aggression in Children: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

This essay identifies ten significant methodological challenges for understanding aggression and gender. In light of the recent explosion of research on indirect/relational/social aggression, it seems important to clarify gaps in our current understanding and to identify promising methods by which better answers might be found. The discussion begins with basic issues of definitions, contexts and subtypes, moves on to points concerning sampling and measures, and addresses whether current evidence warrants deciding that girls are as aggressive as boys. We conclude that although research has shown that the majority of girls' aggression takes indirect/relational/social forms, it is premature to conclude that boys do not also engage in these behaviors. We caution against assuming that physical and indirect/relational/social aggression are comparable in their developmental origins and consequences, and urge researchers to consider that fully understanding indirect/relational/social aggression might require different conceptual frameworks and research methods.     

Developing a Vision for the Common Core Classroom: What Does Elementary Social Studies Look Like?

In each edition of their book Doing History: Investigating with Children in Elementary and Middle Schools, Levstik and Barton (2011) encourage us to take a mental journey to imagine classrooms where students regularly “do history” (xi). The social studies experiences that many educators envision for elementary classrooms include teaching students to frame questions, read for information, and organize primary and secondary sources to share their knowledge with classmates. NCSS provides an infrastructure for social studies goals in which knowledge, skills and attitudes are developed in meaningful social studies lessons. When viewed through the lens of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (CCSS ELA), we recognize the fundamental nature of aligning social studies standards with literacy strategies for elementary teaching and learning. The purpose of this article is to examine the usefulness of CCSS ELA for teaching elementary social studies. The authors share a vision for the “common core classroom” that includes a range of literacy strategies for teaching standards-based social studies.     

CONCEPTUAL MODELING AS A TOOLBOX FOR GROUNDED THEORISTS

Conceptual modeling is proposed as a set of analytic procedures that further the grounded theory approach to theory-discovery and development. The compatibility between grounded theory and conceptual modeling is discussed, and data from a short ethnographic study of a hair salon are used to illustrate the roles of conceptual modeling in the early stages of theory discovery. The major focus of conceptual modeling is on three simultaneous, explicit, continuing respecification dialogues: the nature and dimensionalization of concepts, the relative importance of concepts, and the nature of relationships among concepts. We argue that this focus facilitates the discovery and development of conceptually dense theories.     

Unit training to increase support for military personnel with mental health problems

The present study examined the effectiveness of training designed to increase support toward military personnel with mental health problems. Soldiers from two Battalions (N?=?349) were randomly assigned by squad to receive the training (n?=?179) or to a survey-only control group (n?=?170). Soldiers completed survey assessments at baseline and three months later. Soldiers also completed an implicit association test assessing attitudes toward mental health treatment at the three-month follow-up. Results revealed that soldiers in the training condition reported an increase in supportive behaviours toward soldiers with mental health problems three months following the training, whereas there was no increase in soldiers assigned to the control group. Soldiers in the training condition were also marginally more likely to increase their own treatment seeking in the three months following the training. Discussion focuses on the importance of unit member support for military personnel with mental health problems and the implications for employees in other occupations characterised by the expectation for resilience.     

African-American Perspectives on 9-11*

Abstract

In the past few years, terrorism has introduced most Americans to trauma on their own soil. However, African-Americans have lived through trauma and terrorism within the U.S. for centuries. African-Americans have very different perceptions of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Historical data reveal that African-Americans have endured various forms of domestic terrorism for hundreds of years. Based on a national survey, most African-Americans have very different perceptions of 9/11 than European-Americans. The authors propose there is a great deal to be learned from African-Americans regarding how to manage terrorism. But, to cull the valuable lessons from African-Americans’ experience of terrorism, there has to be respect for African -American experiences.     

Changing the structure of medical discourse: implications of cross-national comparisons

In the discourse of medical encounters, social problems arise frequently. Such problems typically derive from work and economic insecurity, family life and gender roles, aging, and conditions that foster substance use or other self-destructive behavior. The structure of medical discourse tends to marginalize the social issues that generate personal troubles in everyday life. Long-range strategies to alter medical discourse aim toward basic modifications of power and finance in the larger society of which medicine is a part; such strategies seek to change the contextual issues that create personal troubles on the individual level. As shown by the examples of the Soviet Union, eastern Europe, and China, social revolution does not necessarily resolve the micro-level contradictions of the doctor-patient relationship. In contrast, the Cuban revolution apparently has succeeded in transforming both the context and the structure of medical encounters. Short-range strategies in countries such as the United States involve more direct ways in which patients and doctors can alter their communication. These alterations involve reducing devices of language that maintain professional dominance, avoiding the medicalization of nonmedical problems, attempting not to marginalize contextual issues, and encouraging active attempts to change social conditions that generate personal troubles.