“I Need to Do This on My Own” Resilience and Self-Reliance in Urban At-Risk Youths

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study investigates urban at-risk youths’ perspectives on their multiproblem situations and explores their needs for support. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 at-risk youths with varied (externalizing) problems and risk factors. The data analysis was carried out using an inductive thematic approach. Four main themes emerged: desistance from delinquent behavior, need for self-reliance, negative experiences in social relationships and need for support. The participants indicated a strong need to be(come) self-reliant, which was visible in their statements on independence, coping with problems and reluctance to seek or accept help, also regarding desistance from crime. For some, this need for self-reliance seemed to be accompanied by distrust of others, which appeared related to previous negative experiences in social interactions. The participants seemed more open to support coming from someone with similar characteristics or experiences. The findings suggest that in helping at-risk youths, a delicate balance should be sought between stimulating autonomy and providing the necessary resources for support. A focus on strengthening factors that foster resilience is recommended. Future research could investigate the possible benefits of perceived similarity between youths and their care providers.     

Naïve chicks do not prefer objects with stable body orientation,though they may prefer behavioural variability

Animal Cognition - Domestic chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) have been widely used as a model to study the motion cues that allow visually naïve organisms to detect animate agents shortly...     

Righting behaviour in the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis): relations between behavioural and morphological lateralization

Animal Cognition - Lateralization represents a key property of many behavioural traits, with the right and left sides of the brain providing different and integrative functions. Common ecological...     

Feminism and the Decade of Behavior

This Psychology of Women Quarterly special issue argues that the goals of the Decade of Behavior to foster a healthier, safer, better educated, more prosperous, and more democratic nation cannot be achieved without contributions from feminist psychology. Its individual articles reflect feminist perspectives and provide examples of how feminist perspectives can inform behavioral and social research within Decade domains. In this overview, we outline the challenges that gender poses to achieving Decade goals, and discuss four cross-cutting feminist principles for research to address those challenges: Inclusiveness and Diversity, Context, Power and Privilege, and Activism. We discuss specific limitations of traditional research, and emphasize the need for new models that view the world in more complex, context-based ways. We underscore the importance of generating new, diversity-mindful research questions and of developing and accepting new methods to answer them. We discuss policy implications, stressing the need for activism. We hope this work will encourage the expansion of feminist scholarship in the new millennium and be helpful to researchers, educators, and policymakers in working to achieve the goals of the Decade of Behavior.     

Persons and Affordances

Abstract

Interdisciplinary interest in affordances is increasing. This paper is a philosophical contribution. The question is: Do persons offer affordances? Analysis of the concepts ‘person’ and ‘affordance’ supports an affirmative answer. On a widely accepted understanding of what persons are, persons exhibit many of the features typical of socionormative affordances. However, to understand persons as offering affordances requires, on the face of it, stretching traditional understandings of the concept of affordance: persons, in contrast to the organisms that partially constitute persons, do not seem to be available to perception. This and similar worries are responded to.