PREDICTORS OF WOMEN'S RETURN TO VIOLENT PARTNERS

The study aimed to prospectively assess the variables which predict women's intention to return and actual return to violent partners. A questionnaire was developed and administered to 78 women who were taking refuge in a women's shelter after leaving a violent partner. After a two month period it was determined whether or not the women had returned to their partner. Intention to return was significantly predicted by the frequency and severity of violence, the age of the woman's youngest child, her belief the partner had changed, subjective norms and external locus of control. Actual return was predicted by the intention to return to partner, number of times a women had previously left her partner, commitment to relationship, subjective norms and allocation of responsibility for violence. It was argued that therapeutic interventions that address the attitudinal predictors of intention to return or actual return could aid some women and their children to remain away from a violent living situation.     

The Psychological Impact of Work Re-entry Training for Female Unemployed Sole Parents

This study examined the psychological effects of short ‘re-entry to the workforce’ courses on the population of female sole parents, neglected in previous unemployment research. The data for the study were obtained from 118 female sole parents participating in the course, who were compared with a waiting list control group at the beginning and end of the course, and at a follow-up four weeks after the course had ended. Results indicated that the course produced decreases in depressive affect, negative mood and minor psychiatric symptomology. On all psychological measures, increases in well-being were shown to be maintained several weeks after the course had ended. It was concluded that the course offered significant and enduring psychological benefits to participants.     

Collective identities,women's power resources,and the making of welfare states

Theory and Society -     

Motives for and barriers to physical activity among older adults with mobility limitations

The purpose of this study was to investigate what older adults with severe, moderate, or no mobility limitation consider motives for and barriers to engaging in physical exercise. Community-dwelling adults (N=645) age 75-81 years completed a questionnaire about their motives for and barriers to physical exercise and answered interview questions on mobility limitation. Those with severely limited mobility more often reported poor health, fear and negative experiences, lack of company, and an unsuitable environment as barriers to exercise than did those with no mobility limitation. They also accentuated disease management as a motive for exercise, whereas those with no or moderate mobility limitation emphasized health promotion and positive experiences related to exercise. Information about differences in motives for and barriers to exercise among people with and without mobility limitation helps tailor support systems that support engagement in physical activity among older adults.     

Socio-Economic Status and Changing Work Attitudes in High School Students

Two samples of South Australian high school students were surveyed, one in 1980 and one in 1986. The 1986 students displayed greater optimism about their prospects of obtaining satisfactory employment despite the fact that official statistics show that the rate of youth unemployment did not decline between 1980 and 1986. The increased optimism, along with a greater willingness to stay longer at secondary school, to undertake tertiary study and to upgrade qualifications was apparent mainly in the students of low socio-economic status and represented a shift in their work attitudes towards those displayed by the students of higher socio-economic status. It is suggested that the students of low socio-economic status had become aware of the importance of qualifications in securing satisfactory employment and their increased optimism was realistically based on a determination to acquire those qualifications.     

Socio-economic resources and first-union formation in Finland, cohorts born 1969-81

Social scientists generally agree that better individual economic prospects enhance the probability of marriage for men, whereas there are conflicting views with regard to women. Moreover, it is argued that cohabitation does not require as strong an economic foundation as marriage. The aim of this study, which was based on Finnish register data, was to find out how the socio-economic resources of young adults affect first-union formation, and whether the effects vary by sex or union type. The results show that high education, labour-force participation, and high income seem to promote union formation. The findings are similar for women and men, which is plausible given the comparatively gender-egalitarian societal context. Similar factors encourage entry into both union types, although the union-promoting effects of university-level education and stable employment are stronger in the marriage models, suggesting that long-term prospects are more important when marriage is contemplated.