The transition of Israeli men to fatherhood: a comparison between new fathers of pre-term/full-term infants

The study compared a group of 62 new Israeli fathers of pre‐term infants with a comparison group of 58 new fathers of full‐term infants with respect to parental stress, depression symptoms, mastery, self‐esteem and involvement with the child. Findings indicated that fathers of pre‐term infants had significantly greater stress and depression scores and lower involvement rate with the child compared with fathers of the matching group. No differences were found with respect to the fathers' mastery and self‐esteem. New fathers of full‐term infants, aged 30 years and more, had significantly higher self‐esteem compared with fathers aged less than 30 years. Findings are discussed with respect to practice in neonatal units.     

IMMIGRATION AND RURAL AMERICA

Immigration is changing the face of rural America. Stable, year-round employment in the food-processing industry is the most significant factor attracting immigrants into the rural Midwest. Much has been published documenting social and economic changes in rural communities following surges in immigration in rural meat-processing communities. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine immigrants’ perceptions of work and residence in rural America. To this end, personal interviews were conducted with 43 immigrants residing in three Nebraska meatpacking communities. Participants described routes of immigration and motivations for international movement, work in the packing plants, and rural residence. Work for future investigators and the role of policy and social service professionals are presented.     

Gambling attitudes and participation: A midwestern survey

In the last few years there has been a tremendous expansion of legalized gambling in the midwest. Multiple forms of gambling are now easily accessible. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of gambling in a midwestern state and to assess differences in gambling attitudes and behavior between men and women, in various income groups, living in rural and urban areas. In addition, because of the rapid increase in gambling in this region, respondents were also asked their opinions about legalized gambling. Results indicated that gambling was pervasive in all segments of this midwestern sample; however, men spent more than women and urban residents wagered more than rural residents. The poor spent a greater proportion of their income on gambling than those with middle incomes. Both the gamblers, and many of the non-gamblers, would like to see more gambling opportunities in their communities as most view gambling as a benign recreational activity. One in every ten that gambled, however, did report family problems related to gambling.     

The foster care crisis: What caused caseloads to grow

Foster care caseloads more than doubled from 1985 to 2000. This article provides the first comprehensive study of this growth by relating state-level foster care caseloads to state-specific characteristics and policies. We present evidence that increases in female incarcerations and reductions in cash welfare benefits played dominant roles in explaining the growth in foster care caseloads over this period. Our results highlight the need for child welfare policies designed specifically for the children of incarcerated parents and parents who are facing less generous welfare programs.     

Fairy Godmothers and Guardian Angels: A Qualitative Study of the Gay Mentorship Relationship

We conducted a qualitative study to explore the benefits of one gay male community resource, gay mentorship, particularly regarding sexual identity development. Findings indicate that gay mentorship is most involved in gay identity integration, and aided in supporting gay identity development, connecting men to gay-related resources, helping men to feel part of a gay community, improving management of gay-related stressors and role-modeling a positive gay identity. We found that gay mentorship was not associated with gay identity formation. Our research does suggest that gay mentorship fosters psychosocial benefits in gay men, and should therefore be fully explored in future studies.