Demographic Comparison of American Individuals in Polyamorous and Monogamous Relationships

Research on polyamorous relationships has increased substantially over the past decade. This work has documented how polyamory is practiced and why individuals might pursue such arrangements. However, there is a lack of a systematic investigation of who is in polyamorous relationships and how they might differ from individuals in monogamous relationships. The present study is one of the first to address this by comparing the demographic backgrounds of individuals in polyamorous (N = 2,428) and monogamous (N = 539) relationships in the United States. Compared to participants in monogamous relationships, those in polyamorous relationships were more likely to report minority sexual identities. Despite similar age distributions, individuals in polyamorous relationships were more likely to report being in a civil union, being divorced, and earning less than $40,000 per year compared to individuals in monogamous relationships. People in polyamorous relationships were also more likely to select “other” options for most demographic characteristics, suggesting that they tend to choose less traditional response options in general. The current research highlights several demographic differences that need to be considered and potentially controlled for in future comparisons of polyamorous and monogamous relationships.     

Social inequalities in intimate partner violence: a study of women in Kenya

This study examines social inequalities in intimate partner violence (IPV) among women of reproductive age in Kenya. A sample comprising 3,696 women was retrieved from the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey of 2003. The study design was cross-sectional. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that while high education among women reduced the risk of IPV exposure, both being employed and having a higher education/occupational status than her partner increased a woman's vulnerability to IPV. Age differences between the partners, illiteracy, and lack of autonomy and access to information increased the likelihood of IPV. Finally, being in polygamous relationships was associated with IPV exposure. The findings indicate demographic, social, and structural differences in exposure to IPV with important implications for interventions.     

Risk level assessment and occupational health insurance expenditure: a gender imbalance

It is tested whether occupational risk explains differences in reimbursements from occupational-injury insurance schemes in relation to socioeconomic differences in all municipalities in Stockholm county, Sweden. An occupational risk level is formed, which considered the proportions of workers in various industrial sectors and the probability of a worker being injured in each. A regression analysis is performed, treating socioeconomic condition and risk level as predictors of reimbursement. After controlling for variation in socioeconomic factors, occupational-risk level explains the pattern of payments to men but not to women. From a gender perspective, it can be concluded that women, as a group, are not compensated for their occupational risks to the same extent as men.     

Problem Gambling Associated with Violent and Criminal Behaviour: A Danish Population-Based Survey and Register Study

This study compares the number of criminal charges among problem gamblers (N = 384) and non-problem gamblers including non-gamblers (N = 18,241) and examines whether problem gambling is more strongly associated with income-generating crimes like theft, fraud and forgery than other types of crimes such as violent crimes. A cohort study was carried out, based on data from the Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys in 2005 and 2010, which were linked at the individual level with data from The Danish National Criminal Register. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between problem gambling and charges for different categories of crime. We found that problem gamblers had significantly higher odds of being charged than non-problem gamblers (adjusted odds ratio 1.5; 95 % confidence interval 1.1–1.9). The odds ratio for economic crime charges was 2.6 (1.5–4.5), for violence charges 2.2 (1.1–4.5), and for drug charges 3.7 (1.7–8.0). For road traffic charges the odds ratio was 1.3 (1.0–1.8). Hence, there was a strong association between problem gambling and being charged except for road traffic charges; however the association was not stronger for economic charges than for violence and drug charges.     

Democratic Participation in Voluntary Associations: A Multilevel Analysis of Sports Clubs in Europe

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Non-profit associations are usually democratically organized, and this feature plays a legitimizing role for the public...     

Changes in local voluntary associations in Denmark

This article analyses the changes in the voluntary sector in Denmark at the local level, and compares associations in the ‘cultural field’ with those in the ‘social field’. The analyses, which are primarily based on research conducted in 1993, show that the voluntary sector changed significantly during the 1980s and the 1990s. First, over a third of the associations were established after 1979, and this has resulted in changes in the overall composition of the sector. Traditional value-oriented associations and associations that work for others have declined in relative terms, while narrow-interest associations that work for the members themselves are increasing. Second, the number of associations that are based and operate in a clearly-defined local area has declined. Third, despite professionalisation in some types of associations, more people than ever before are engaged in voluntary work in associations. Fourth, while public subsidies to the voluntary associations have increased, this has not changed the fundamental ‘political autonomy’ of the associations. Fifth, even though there are great differences in the political context of which the ‘cultural field’ associations and ‘social field’ associations are part, the associations in the two fields have many common features.     

Maternal Disrupted Communication During Face‐to‐Face Interaction at 4 months: Relation to Maternal and Infant Cortisol Among at‐Risk Families

The study evaluated the association between maternal disrupted communication and the reactivity and regulation of the psychobiology of the stress response in infancy. Mothers and infants were recruited via the National Health Service from the 20% most economically impoverished data zones in a suburban region of Scotland. Mothers (N = 63; M age = 25.9) and their 4‐month‐old infants (35 boys, 28 girls) were videotaped interacting for 8 min, including a still‐face procedure as a stress inducer and a 5‐min coded recovery period. Saliva samples were collected from the dyads prior to, during, and after the still‐face procedure and later assayed for cortisol. Level of disruption in maternal communication with the infant was coded from the 5‐min videotaped interaction during the recovery period which followed the still‐face procedure. Severely disrupted maternal communication was associated with lower levels of maternal cortisol and a greater divergence between mothers' and infants' cortisol levels. Results point to low maternal cortisol as a possible mechanism contributing to the mother's difficulty in sensitively attuning to her infant's cues, which in turn has implications for the infant's reactivity to and recovery from a mild stressor in early infancy.     

When Cooperation is the Norm of Appropriateness: How Does CEO Cooperative Behaviour Affect Organizational Performance?

The current study has tested the prediction that CEO cooperative behaviour has an impact upon organizational performance. This is a fundamental organizational issue that is in clear need of illumination through studies of practice. We pursued the issue through a study of leadership in organizations located in the Norwegian socio‐cultural context in which cooperation has been, and still is, a norm of appropriateness. The study provided empirical evidence of a positive relationship between CEO cooperative behaviour and organizational performance. This relationship appeared to be stronger in organizational contexts in which CEOs are perceived to have legitimacy and managerial discretion, and it appeared to be weaker in organizations in which individual performance pay is the rule. Since some organizational characteristics have the potential to enhance the impact of CEO cooperative behaviour while other characteristics might inhibit this impact, leaders have to consider carefully how to develop and maintain individual and organizational capabilities that are needed to act appropriately.