Parental Influence on Friendships Between Native and Immigrant Adolescents

Parental influence on friendships between native (N = 5,683) and immigrant (N = 3,371) adolescents (aged ± 15) was investigated with the CILS4EU data of pupils in German and Dutch school classes (N = 446) and parents. The researchers examined whether parents affect friendships across group boundaries by shaping the structural opportunities to establish out‐group friends and their children's out‐group attitudes. The results show that if parents have more out‐group friends and if they consider it less important to maintain in‐group traditions, their children have more out‐group friends. Part of this relationship is mediated by children's out‐group attitudes. Some evidence is found that the opportunity structure mediates the relationship between parental characteristics and adolescent out‐group friendship.     

Vicarious trauma: an exploratory study of the impact of providing sexual abuse treatment on clinicians' trust and intimacy

This study examined vicarious trauma effects in male and female clinicians who treat sexual abuse survivors (n = 111) and sexual offenders (n = 272). The national survey was conducted using a random sample of clinical members of two professional organizations. Analyses tested the relationships between demographic variables, maltreatment history, client population served, and cognitions about trust of and intimacy with others, using the Trauma Stress Institute Belief Scale (TSIBS-R-L, Pearlman 2003), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ, Bernstein & Fink, 1998), and author-generated questions. Respondents reported high rates of multiple forms of childhood maltreatment; however there was no relationship between history of child sexual abuse and vicarious trauma effects. Scores for self-reported disruption in cognitions about intimacy with others exceeded norms for mental health professionals. Sequential regression analyses were used to examine theoretically-derived variables. Implications for practice and research are detailed.     

Acquisition of cross-ethnic friends by recent immigrants in Canada: a longitudinal approach

This paper examines the development of inter-ethnic friendships between immigrants and Canadians. It uses longitudinal data from three waves of the Canadian LSIC survey, in which newly arrived immigrants were followed during the first 4 years of settlement. It is found that pre-migration characteristics play an important role in the development of inter-ethnic friendships: immigrants who arrive at a younger age and for economic reasons, as well as those who are highly educated and have a cross-ethnic partner at the moment of arrival, establish more inter-ethnic friendships over time. In addition, post-migration characteristics affect the formation of inter-ethnic friendships. Such friendships are more common among immigrants who embrace Canadian traditions and acquire the host-country language, as well as among those who work in international settings and inhabit ethnically mixed neighborhoods. The effects of pre-migration characteristics are partially mediated by post-migration characteristics. Our findings point out that economic, cultural, and spatial integration are all conducive to inter-ethnic friendships.     

Gambling in the Netherlands: Developments,participation, and compulsive gambling

An inventory was made of the developments in what the gambling market had to offer and the extent of public participation in games of chance in The Netherlands for the period 1945–1988. Both these aspects show a sharp rise in the post-war years, but the more negative effects of gambling are also becoming clearer. Since the beginning of the 1980's, assistance organizations have received increasing requests for help and advice on gambling problems. Roughly half of those seeking help are younger than 25 years, presenting the compulsive use of slot-machines as their main problem.Acknowledgments: This article is a revision of an article that has been published before in the Dutch journal Tijdschrift voor Alcohol en Drugs en andere psychotrope stoffen. Vol. 14, no 5–6. pp 162–173. The article has been reproduced in English by courtesy of the publisher.     

Process evaluation of a diversity training program: the value of a mixed method strategy

Patients’ health and health needs are influenced by categories of difference like sex, gender, ethnic origin and socioeconomic status (SES). To enhance awareness of this diversity among patients and to provide holistic care for them, health professionals should first be aware of the relation between dimensions of diversity and patients’ health and health demands. This paper presents a formative process evaluation of a diversity sensitivity training programme for healthcare professionals. The training was implemented in three healthcare settings (mental healthcare, nursing home and hospital care). Mixed methods were used to monitor the implementation of the training and its effects after three years. Findings demonstrate that the training stimulated participants’ awareness, knowledge and critical attitudes towards diversity. Their motivation and willingness to take action regarding diversity was also enhanced. Yet these developments were less apparent among nursing home participants who felt less satisfied and did not develop a critical perspective on this issue. Qualitative data were helpful to explain differences between the settings. By means of the combination of quantitative and qualitative data, we can conclude that individual learning was not enough to guarantee a sensitive approach to diversity at the organizational level.     

Irreconcilable differences? Ethnic intermarriage and divorce in the Netherlands, 1995-2008

This study uses population data of the Netherlands (municipality registers) between 1995 and 2008 to describe and explain the occurrence of divorce among recently newlywed interethnic and mono-ethnic couples (N = 116,745). In line with homogamy theory, divorce risks are higher for interethnic couples, in particular if the spouses were born and raised in countries that are culturally distant from each other. In addition, the effect of cultural distance is smaller for second generation immigrants than for first generation immigrants. There is no evidence for a higher risk of divorce among Black-White marriages. In line with convergence theory, results show that the higher the divorce propensity in the wife’s origin country, the higher the divorce risk of a couple is.     

Changes in immigrants’ social integration during the stay in the host country: The case of non-western immigrants in the Netherlands

Previous studies on social integration of immigrants were predominantly of static nature. This article provides a dynamic account by distinguishing differences in social integration that develop shortly after immigrants’ arrival in the host country from changes with length of stay. We examine contacts in leisure time between natives and non-western immigrants in the Netherlands. Theories from research on ethnic intermarriage are applied to these more common forms of contact. We use pooled cross-sectional survey data from 1988–2002. The results show that on average social integration increases with length of stay. Ethnicity, migration motive and home country education account for differences in integration that develop shortly after arrival and are maintained or even increased with length of stay, while the size of the immigrant group matters mainly at entry and then loses its influence over time. Age at migration exclusively explains differences in social integration that develop with length of stay.