Going most of the way: “Technical virginity” among American adolescents

Reports from academic and media sources assert that many young people substitute non-vaginal sexual activities for vaginal intercourse in order to maintain what could be called “technical virginity.” Explanations for technical virginity, however, are based on weak empirical evidence and considerable speculation. Using a sample of 15–19-year-olds from Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth, we examine technical virginity and its motivations. The results suggest that religious adolescents are less likely than less-religious ones to opt for non-vaginal sex over total abstinence. Abstinence pledgers who are virgins are neither more nor less likely than nonpledgers who are virgins to substitute non-vaginal sex for intercourse. Moreover, religion and morality are actually the weakest motivators of sexual substitution among adolescents who have not had vaginal sex. Preserving technical virginity is instead more common among virgins who are driven by a desire to avoid potential life-altering consequences, like pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.     

US Social Work Students' Attitudes Shift Favorably Towards a Harm Reduction Approach to Alcohol and Other Drugs Practice: The Effectiveness of Consequence Analysis

Given the increasing numbers of people in need of treatment for problems associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) problems and the concomitant likelihood that social worker caseloads currently reflect this increase, a critical analysis of social work student attitudes towards different approaches to AOD treatment is warranted. Our study examined United States' social work students' (n = 100) attitudes towards treatment approaches to practice with people who misuse/abuse AOD and enlisted a Consequence Analysis (CA) intervention designed to shift attitudes towards considering a harm reduction approach. The Harm Reduction Acceptability Scale (HRAS), as well as a two-item response measure, measured pretest and posttest attitudes. Findings demonstrate that at pretest both intervention and comparison groups were willing to consider a goal of moderation (a proxy for the acceptability of a harm reduction approach and a client-centered perspective), and neutral on the effectiveness of an abstinence-oriented approach. At posttest, the intervention group became more flexible and open to the broader philosophical perspective of a harm reduction approach while the comparison group became less so. Consequence Analysis appears responsible for producing the observed changes in attitude towards harm reduction. Implications for international social work education and training are discussed.     

知堂“和淡”文风渊源初探

知堂＂和淡＂文风的渊源,最远可追溯到古希腊＂节制＂理念和儒家中庸之道,希腊神话、六朝散体文章、清儒笔记等也是促成知堂＂和淡＂之文风的主要方面。周作人在回归＂边缘化＂的传统中塑造了中国散文的新品格。     

Psychosocial Factors Related to Gambling Abstinence and Relapse in Members of Gamblers Anonymous

Problem gamblers account for almost one-third of the industry’s total revenue with the adverse effects of problem gambling including significant financial loss, legal and occupational difficulties, family problems, psychological distress and suicide. As such, it is important to understand the influential factors in gambling abstinence and relapse, which will assist in the development of relapse prevention methods in therapeutic treatment regimes. This paper reported the role of a set of seven predictors in distinguishing between abstinent and relapsed gamblers among 75 Gambling Anonymous (GA) members (55 males; 20 females; Mean age 45 years) in Southeast Queensland. The measures taken were meeting Attendance and Participation, Social Support, God Belief, Belief in a Higher Power, Working the 12-steps of Recovery, Gambling Urges and Erroneous Cognitions. Discriminant analysis revealed that the variables separating the two groups were significant, suggesting that GA members achieving abstinence could be distinguished from those who relapsed, with Attendance and Participation, and Social Support contributing the greatest influence on member’s ability to abstain from gambling. The findings suggested that GA member’s involvement in meetings, and support from family and friends had significant impact on their gambling abstinence. In contrast, increased gambling urges and erroneous cognitions increased the chance of relapse.     

Adolescent Sexual Debut: A Multi-System Perspective of Ethnic and Racial Differences

Data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to assess the association between family, self, proximate extra-familial, and distal extra-familial system factors and abstinence/virginity and age of first sexual intercourse by ethnicity and race (N = 1,854). Findings show how and in what circumstances measures associated with these four factors vary for Black, White, and Hispanic youth. Findings point to the robustness of class and gender for each ethnic-racial group on timing of sexual initiation and of delinquency and negative peer relations on abstinence among Black and White youth and of religious affiliation among Hispanic youth.     

Treatment Goal Selection for Female Pathological Gambling: A Comparison of Abstinence and Controlled Gambling

The current study was an exploratory investigation of the selection of controlled gambling as a goal of treatment for female pathological gambling. Specifically, it aimed to explore: 1) the popularity of controlled gambling as a goal of treatment; 2) the reasons pathological gamblers select abstinence and controlled gambling as goals of treatment; and 3) the characteristics of pathological gamblers attracted to abstinence and controlled gambling. The sample comprised 85 female pathological gamblers attending a cognitive-behavioural treatment program for pathological gambling. The selection of controlled gambling by one-third (34%) of the sample suggests that, at least in the Australian context, controlled gambling is a relatively popular goal of treatment for female pathological gamblers. In this study, the only differences between treatment-seeking female pathological gamblers selecting abstinence and controlled gambling were that those selecting controlled gambling were older and were less likely to endorse the belief that problematic gambling is a disease or affliction that can only be overcome by lifelong abstinence. Further research investigating the characteristics of pathological gamblers associated with controlled gambling as both a goal and outcome of treatment is required in order to ensure that treatment-seeking pathological gamblers can make an informed decision regarding their goal selection.     

The Paradoxes of Recovery Policy: Exploring the Impact of Austerity and Responsibilisation for the Citizenship Claims of People with Drug Problems

This article critically examines the implications accompanying the introduction and implementation of recovery‐based policy. The article draws upon research conducted in Lancashire, England, where commissioners have been at the forefront of recent developments in ‘whole system’ models of commissioning. Empirical data are drawn on to make a series of new arguments about the tensions and practice implications of the new recovery agenda. The article has three main objectives. First, it explores current shifts in England, in which drug service commissioning has moved from being centrally funded and directed, to locally determined. Second, it references the rise of the well‐informed user in the reconfigured landscape of recovery and the ways in which commissioning models may enhance or negate the contribution of user activists to local cultures of recovery. Third, it references the changing political context, in which austerity is being used to increase the pressure on provider services to demonstrate social value, utility and effectiveness. The article argues that there is a palpable need to re‐politicize drug debates and recognize the structural and demographic factors which frame problem drug use, as well as the social and cultural factors which support or negate their opportunities for recovery.     

王蒙季节系列小说标点符号用法特征分析

王蒙的季节系列小说表现了作者一贯的语言狂欢特征,其中标点符号的独特用法增强了小说语言的表现力,使小说语言更加口语化、更富有节奏感和画面美,创造了标点符号与小说语言完美结合的典范。在这些小说里,标点符号不仅是断句的标志,而且使语句更传神,有时甚至跃居于文字之上,形成一个又一个以某个标点符号为中心的语流。标点符号一方面贴切地帮助语句精确地表达意义,另一方面又给语言增添了立体感,某些章节由于标点符号的出色运用而获得了意外的成功,使无声的阅读有了朗诵的效果。小说中一排排惊叹号使得语言高潮迭起,激情澎湃,无数的问号造成一种凝重、深沉的气氛,表现出作品的理性色彩,若干省略号的独特用法使小说庞杂的内容得以删减,疯长的语言得到控制。与其说王蒙特殊的小说题材和语言风格决定了标点符号的运用特点,不如说是那些具有强调意义的标点符号遇上了一位善于制造语言强烈色彩和夸张效果的作家,王蒙使小说文字与标点符号相得益彰,标点不再游离于句子之外,标点符号不仅是语言形式上醒目的符号,也是内容与情感的重要载体。