African American, White and Latino Fathers’ Activities with their Sons and Daughters in Early Childhood

We examined the activities that low-income, ethnically diverse fathers of sons versus daughters engage in with their children in the preschool years. African American, Latino, and White fathers (N?=?426) from research sites across the United States, were interviewed about their caregiving, play, literacy, and visiting activities when their children were 2?years, 3?years, and preschool age. Fathers of boys engaged more frequently in physical play than fathers of girls, whereas fathers of girls engaged more frequently in literacy activities. Moreover, gendered patterns of father engagement were already evident at the 2-year assessment, suggesting that fathers channel their children toward gender-typed activities well before their children have a clear understanding of gender roles. Ethnic differences were also found in fathers’ activities with children, and child gender moderated ethnic patterns of behavior. For example, Black fathers of sons reported the highest levels of engagement in caregiving, play and visiting activities, and both Latino and African American fathers of sons engaged in more visiting activities compared to White fathers of sons. Fathers’ education and marital status were also associated with fathers’ activities. Married fathers and those with a high school diploma more frequently engaged in literacy activities than unmarried fathers without a diploma; moreover, although Latino fathers engaged less in caregiving activities than African American and White fathers, this difference attenuated after controlling for differences in fathers’ education. The activities children share with their fathers vary by child gender, race/ethnicity, and family circumstances and offer insight into early gendered experiences in the family.     

“When You Talk About Virginity It’s About Females”: Views on Virginity Among University of Ghana Students

This qualitative article examines views of students at the University of Ghana on the topic of virginity with specific focus on its gendered meaning and relative significance in modern times. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 30 purposively selected research participants with the aid of an interview guide. Through thematic analysis, the results indicated that the majority of the respondents believed that virginity has been stereotyped on women due to the patriarchal cultural systems and the significance of the hymen. It was also found that the participants constructed their perspectives on virginity based on religious obligations, repercussions of sex and sexual health. Reactions to virginity loss also differed on gender. Implications of this study include the need for public conscientization on the repercussions of sexual activities, direct parent–child discourse about sex and the need for counseling centers within social institutions to offer advice and support to the youth on the subject matter.     

It’s All About the Relationship: The Role of Attachment in Child-Parent Psychotherapy

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology -     

African American and Latina Adolescent Mothers’ and their Children’s Fathers’ Reports of Coparenting and Child Behavior Problems: Child Gender as a Moderator

Coparenting, the way that parents work together in their roles to parent children, has emerged as an important area for prevention and intervention. Though research indicates that low coparenting quality is associated with increased externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in children, the existing literature is not inclusive of families diverse in sociocultural identity and structure. We examined the link between coparenting and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and tested the moderating effect of child gender on the relationship between coparenting and child behavior problems in two-year-old children of African American and Latina adolescent mothers. One hundred and thirty five parents (69 mothers and 66 fathers) completed self-report measures of coparenting and child behavior problems when their children were two years old. While we did not find support for a direct association between coparenting quality and child behavior problems, child gender did moderate the association between mother’s report of coparenting quality and both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. High coparenting quality was associated with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems in girls and higher levels of externalizing behavior problems in boys. High quality coparenting was associated with lower levels of internalizing behavior problems in girls, but there was no difference for boys. Though the results for boys were mixed, our findings for girls suggest that high quality coparenting may be a protective factor for the development of both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Implications for future research are discussed.     

The Self Psychology of Heinz Kohut: What's It All About Theologically?

As a psychoanalytic thinker who offered by means of his self psychology a new paradigm of psychological development and functioning, Heinz Kohut was also a theologian manqué. With the help of the method of interpretation devised by Paul Tillich and David Tracy, Kohut's limit-concepts of tragic man, the self-object, and empathy, all set within his theory of narcissism, are elucidated as theological constructs. These are critiqued for adequacy from a Christian perspective. The conclusion is that Kohut's understanding of the human dilemma and of the way of salvation correlates well with Christianity, while his view of empathy as the means of salvation has created some confusion. Kohut has thus left an unfinished, profoundly important, agenda for theologians and clinicians.     

It’s Not You,It’s Me: An Exploration of Mentoring Experiences for Women in STEM

Although the number of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) continues to grow, men still represent a significant majority of those employed in these industries. Mentoring programs have been identified as a useful tool to alleviate this gap and therefore have been developed in an effort to attract and retain women in STEM. However, research suggests that women are still being mentored less often than their male colleagues. To understand this issue in depth, 36 women holding managerial positions in STEM organizations in the United States and Canada were interviewed and their experiences with mentoring were discussed. The results suggest that women do have access and indeed find potential mentors but they perceive significant barriers that prevent these initial meetings from developing into long-term mentoring relationships. Specifically, four Barriers to the Development of Mentorship (BDM) were identified including: Need for Fit, Demonstrating Capability, Commitment of the Mentor, and Trust in the Mentor. BDM might help researchers and practitioners understand why women are under-mentored and consequently underrepresented in STEM workplaces. Implications of these findings are discussed, such as how to improve formal mentoring programs to overcome BDM and better serve women in STEM.

     

A Review of: “Let's Talk About Taking Care of You:”

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how military wives’ coping mechanisms are related to their emotional connection with their deployed husbands. Conceptualizing the marital relationship as an attachment system, we explored how military wives adopted various coping mechanisms during their husbands’ deployment and identified two types of efforts toward independence: self-sufficient independence through emotional avoidance, and autonomous interdependence through emotional connection. These are consistent with those coping behaviors informed by secure and avoidant attachment styles. Clinical implications are offered based on the discussion of the results.     

Nobody's perfect: A qualitative examination of African American maternal caregivers’ and their adolescent girls’ perceptions of body image

Using semi-structured interviews, we explored African American maternal caregivers’ and their adolescent girls’ (N = 25 dyads) perceptions about the adolescent's body using Grounded Theory. Caregivers and adolescent girls (M_age = 13.42) were asked what the adolescent girls liked most/least about their bodies and how peers and media may affect adolescent girls’ perceptions. While some adolescent girls reported overall body satisfaction, others described features they would like to change. Belief in God, body acceptance, and appreciation for average/moderate features helped the adolescent girls maintain their positive body image. The body-related messages that adolescent girls received from caregivers and peers included compliments, pressure to lose weight, teasing, and advice. Adolescent girls also reported being either influenced by or skeptical of the images presented in the media. Programs that promote caregiver–adolescent communication about body perceptions and that build on the adolescent girls’ media skepticism may prove useful for their health-related attitudes and behaviors.     

Influence of African American elders’ age stereotypes on their cardiovascular response to stress

Abstract

Although it has been shown that White elders are vulnerable to the influence of age stereotypes, it was not known whether this effect applied to African American elders. In the present study, African American elders were randomly assigned to negative or positive implicit-age-stereotype groups. Compared to participants in the positive age-stereotype group, those in the negative age-stereotype group demonstrated significantly more elevated cardiovascular response to stress, as measured by blood pressure and heart rate following mental challenges. These results suggest that negative age stereotypes generate a susceptibility to stress among African American elders, whereas positive age may provide them with a defense against this stress.     

“Was It Good for You?”: Reply to Commentaries

In many ways, psychoanalysis revolutionized attitudes about sexuality. Yet by undertheorizing female erotic passion and downplaying the role of the clitoris, psychoanalysis perpetuated a long historical tradition of denying essential aspects of women's sexual experience. Psychoanalysis has at times contributed to women perceiving their own bodily erotic excitement as frightening, dangerous, and out of control. In this reply to the commentaries, the authors continue to explore the ways in which women and women's experience, especially their embodied sexual experience, are so often rendered invisible.     

Uplifting the Family: African American Parents’ Ideas of How to Integrate Religion into Family Health Programming

Religion has been reported as a strong cultural-historical and protective factor in the African American community, particularly for African American youth regarding risky behavior prevention. Despite the historical and scholarly evidence of its utility, the opportunities for using religion and the Black Church in supporting the mental, emotional, and physical health of Black youth have not been fulfilled. Furthermore, partnering with the community to conduct research and program development increases the likelihood of use and success. The purpose of this study was to partner with the community and learn and conceptualize how to integrate or use religion in a family health program. Seven focus groups were conducted with African American parents/guardians regarding how a family health program could use religion to enhance the mental and physical wellbeing of Black families. A community sample of parents and guardians conveyed religious/spiritual values that a program should adopt and teach to participants (particularly parents) and ways that a program could use religion and the Black Church to function and succeed. These values include respect, love, prayer, fellowship/community, physical health, Scripture, faith, and empathy/understanding. Participants further provided specifics regarding how such programming might be implemented and offered real world implications for the development of religious family health planning. Parents/guardians indicated that religious values and methods should be used together to bolster family health, prevent risky behavior in youth, and support community functioning.     

It’s Not You,It’s Me…No,Actually It’s You: Perceptions of What Makes a First Date Successful or Not

Early communication plays an important role in influencing the perceptions one has of an individual. The first form of in-person communication individuals often have with potential romantic partners is during the first date. This date tends to take on the form of a “dance” involving carefully orchestrated conversation and self-disclosures. What is said is certainly important, as are the behaviors exhibited by each member of the dyad. This study examined how individuals interpreted what potential romantic partners say and do during, or immediately following, the first date to get a sense of how they perceive these actions and words. Special attention was placed on the participants’ interpretations of whether or not their date was attracted to them. A survey was given to 390 participants, and many interesting differences were found between the genders. Certain behaviors, such as steering the conversation to the topic of sex signaled to men that their date was attracted to them. However, women looked for different behaviors to infer attraction on the part of their partner, such as mentioning future plans and kissing them goodbye. With a better understanding of how certain phrases and actions influence others, people can be more aware of the signals sent to others upon their pivotal initial encounters.     

‘You Could Call It Magic’: What Parents and Siblings Tell Preschoolers About Unobservable Entities

How can we explain children's understanding of the unseen world? Young children are generally able to distinguish between real unobservable entities and fantastical ones, but they attribute different characteristics to and show less confidence in their decisions about fantastical entities generally endorsed by adults, such as Santa Claus. One explanation for these conceptual differences is that the testimony children hear from others about unobservable entities varies in meaningful ways. Although this theory has some experimental support, its viability in actual conversation has yet to be investigated. Study 1 sought to examine this question in parent–child conversation and showed that parents provide similar types of content information when talking to children about both real entities and entities that they generally endorse. However, parents use different pragmatic cues when they communicate about endorsed entities than they do when talking about real ones. Study 2 showed that older siblings used discourse strategies similar to those used by parents when talking to young children about unobservable entities. These studies indicate that the types of cues children use to form their conceptions of unobservable entities are present in naturalistic conversations with others, supporting a role for testimony in children's early beliefs.     

African American clergy: what are their perceptions of pastoral care and pastoral counseling?

This qualitative study explores African American clergy’s perspectives on pastoral care and pastoral counseling. Interviews were conducted with 18 African American clergy of diverse ages, locales, and educational levels who were recruited from a southern state. Two major themes emerged from the data: (a) Shepherding the Flock and (b) Distinguishable Concepts with Different Meaning and Functions. Implications for social work practice and research are addressed.     

It’s About Time: The Role of Locomotion in Withdrawal Behavior

Introduction

Locomotion is defined as a self-regulatory orientation that involves committing personal resources to initiate and maintain goal-directed activities Kruglanski et al. (J Personal Social Psychol 79: 793, 2000). This article examines the relation between locomotion and withdrawal behaviors in organizational setting.

Materials and Methods

In the first study, police officers’ (N = 203) locomotion was negatively related to self-report measures of absenteeism and lateness. In the second study, bank employees’ (N = 297) locomotion was negatively related to withdrawal behaviors as evinced by organizational records including hours of absenteeism, lateness, and early departures. In the third study, a two-wave research design replicated the results of Study 2 by demonstrating that telecommunication employees’ (N = 69) locomotion measured at Time 1 was negatively related to their respective withdrawal behaviors 3 months later at Time 2.

Conclusion

Overall, these three studies support the notion that locomotion impacts a plurality of withdrawal behaviors in different organizational settings. Consequently, locomotion can be a pertinent and valuable psychometric tool for managers and human resources interested in improving organizational effectiveness.

     

An Intersectional Analysis of Television Narratives of African American Women with African American Men on “the Down Low”

The controversial phenomenon of “the down low” has created fear and suspicion of male sexual partners among many African American women. Being on the down low refers to men that lead seemingly heterosexual lives, yet secretly have sex with other men. Popular media have portrayed this topic more widely in more recent years and generally focus on African Americans. Two popular television shows, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Girlfriends, have dedicated episodes centering heterosexual African American women partnered with African American men on the down low. The popular television film, Cover, features an African American woman who learns her husband secretly has affairs with other men. Black feminist thought provides an intersectional frame for analyzing the content of these portrayals of Black women in relationships with men on the down low. The analysis demonstrates that the down low associates more affluent African Americans with socially deviant behavior and issues, such as hyper-sexuality and HIV/AIDS. Further, they show newer interpretations of African American women “in love and in trouble” and that African American men often have to disguise and remain silent about their sexuality to garner acceptance into their communities.     

“It Depends on What You Mean by Starting”: An Exploration of How Women Define Initiation of Aggression and Their Motives for Behaving Aggressively

This study explored women's use of aggression, focusing on how they define initiation of aggression and what motives they have for behaving aggressively. Twenty-five women who had used aggression during conflicts with their romantic partners were interviewed. Results indicated that, while the women reported initiating aggression in the majority of conflicts described (54%), they varied in how they defined initiation, with some believing that initiating aggression meant being angry, bringing up the conflict issue, or persistently asking the partner to engage verbally. Twelve categories of motives for the use of aggression were also identified. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, highlighting the ongoing need for an ecological perspective when studying women's use of aggression.     

Siblings’ Understanding of Teaching in Early and Middle Childhood:‘Watch Me and You’ll Know How to Do It’

This study examined siblings’ knowledge about the teaching concept during naturalistic teaching contexts, wherein children’s communicative interactions were used as a gateway to their social understanding (Turnbull, Carpendale, & Racine, 2009). Participants included 39 sibling dyads (older age group, M_age = 6;4; younger age group, M_age = 4;5) observed for six 90-min sessions at home. Teaching episodes were identified and coded for: a) initiation of teaching (i.e., assumes role or learner requests teaching), b) knowledge states (i.e., knowledge, lack of knowledge, questioning knowledge), c) transfer of knowledge (i.e., learning), and d) teaching strategies (e.g., direct instruction). Children who assumed the teaching role referenced knowledge and questioning knowledge, whereas learners requested teaching by referencing a lack of knowledge. Firstborn learners were more likely to reference knowledge versus second-born learners who referenced a lack of knowledge. Transfer of knowledge occurred when teachers referenced knowledge. When learners referenced knowledge states, teachers were more likely to use direct instruction, demonstration, and negative feedback. Results underscore the developmental significance of sibling teaching and demonstrate a novel approach to studying children’s social understanding in the teaching context (Turnbull et al., 2009).