Stepfamily Education: A Case Study

Stepfamily education programs are becoming increasingly common. While research on these programs is also increasing, the extant literature tends to be quantitative and cross-sectional. To more fully understand the stepfamily education experience, this case study focuses on the perceptions, feelings, and reports of one participating couple in the Smart Steps program. The nuances and complexities of this single case highlight the sequentiality and reasons for seeking out and participating in stepfamily education. A holistic portrayal of the perceived benefits of attending is also provided, including improvements with spouse, ex-spouse, and children.     

Growing Suburbs,Relocating Churches: The Suburbanization of Protestant Churches in the Chicago Region, 1925–1990

This study examines the locations of Protestant churches in the Chicago region between 1925 and 1990 based on data from the Church Federation of Greater Chicago. The analysis adds two insights to existing explanations of white flight and the corresponding suburbanization of churches: suburbanization patterns were not the same across Protestant groups and churches moving to the suburbs were adding to churches already present in those communities. As the percentage of suburban Protestant churches in the Chicago region started increasing after 1925, the new suburban locations were influenced by settlement patterns in the Chicago region—first along railroad lines and then in between with new sites easier to access by automobile—in addition to racial changes in Chicago neighborhoods and the ethnic composition of denominations. Suggestions for further research include examining the suburbanization of religious groups in more metropolitan regions (particularly beyond the North), comparing the discussions about moving to the suburbs across denominations and congregations, and considering how religious congregations have helped shape suburban communities.     

Attitude similarity and familiarity and their links to mental health: An examination of potential interpersonal mediators

Similarity and familiarity with partner’s attitudes are linked to positive relationship outcomes, while interpersonal variables have been linked to mental health. Using multilevel models (MLMs), we modeled the associations between these attitudinal variables and mental health outcomes in 74 married couples. We found that higher levels of attitude similarity in couples were linked to lower depression, while higher levels of attitude familiarity in couples were associated with greater satisfaction with life. Mediational analyses indicated marital satisfaction and interpersonal stress mediated the link between attitude similarity and depression. Marital satisfaction also mediated the link between familiarity and satisfaction with life. This study is the first linking attitude familiarity to mental health and provides evidence that familiarity and similarity have mental health effects partly due to their interpersonal consequences.     

“The right thing to do?” Transformation in South African sport

In this paper I attempt to unpack the current public debate on racial transformation in South African sport, particularly with regard to the demographic make-up of its national cricket and rugby sides. I ask whether the alleged moral imperative to undertake such transformation is, in fact, a moral imperative at all. I discuss five possible such imperatives: (1) the need to compensate non-white South Africans for the injustices in sport's racist history, (2) the imperative to return the make-up of our national sides to what they would have been in the absence of that history, (3) the requirement that national sides be representative of the country, (4) the need to eliminate ongoing racial bias in selection, and (5) the obligation to provide all South Africans, regardless of their race, the opportunity to compete as equals for places in the national side. I argue that the first three, drawn from talk of “rectifying the injustices of the past”, “achieving demographic proportionality between the sides and the country”, “representivity”, and “transformation” itself, are not compelling. The remaining two are of great moral import, but, I argue, they have little to do with the sorts of phrases just mentioned, and which are frequently used in the debate.     

Racial prejudice predicts opposition to Obama and his health care reform plan

The present study examines the relationship between racial prejudice and reactions to President Barack Obama and his policies. Before the 2008 election, participants’ levels of implicit and explicit anti-Black prejudice were measured. Over the following days and months, voting behavior, attitudes toward Obama, and attitudes toward Obama’s health care reform plan were assessed. Controlling for explicit prejudice, implicit prejudice predicted a reluctance to vote for Obama, opposition to his health care reform plan, and endorsement of specific concerns about the plan. In an experiment, the association between implicit prejudice and opposition to health care reform replicated when the plan was attributed to Obama, but not to Bill Clinton—suggesting that individuals high in anti-Black prejudice tended to oppose Obama at least in part because they dislike him as a Black person. In sum, our data support the notion that racial prejudice is one factor driving opposition to Obama and his policies.