The Role of Parents and Peers in Early Adolescent Substance Use: An Examination of Mediating and Moderating Effects

We examined several models representing the relations among parenting practices, family structure, peer pressure, and drug use in a sample of 443 seventh graders. The setting was an urban school system serving a high percentage of African American students from low-income families. Analyses using structural equation modeling supported a mediation model in which both peer pressure and parenting practices had direct effects on drug use, with peer pressure mediating the influence of parenting. Within this model, family structure had a significant direct effect on parenting, however, contrary to hypotheses, children from two-parent families were more likely to report that they received adequate parenting than were children from single-parent extended families. Several gender differences were also found. Peer pressure was more highly related to drug use for girls than for boys, and the relation between parenting and peer pressure was stronger for boys. Examination of a model that included moderator effects revealed that the relation between peer pressure and drug use increased as a function of poor parenting. Results of our study underscore the importance of drug prevention efforts focused on parenting practices.     

National, Ethnic or Civic? Contesting Paradigms of Memory, Identity and Culture in Israel

Zionist national identity in Israel is today challenged by two mutuallyantagonistic alternatives: a liberal, secular, Post-Zionist civic identity, on the one hand, and ethnic, religious, Neo-Zionist nationalistic identity, on the other. The other, Zionist, hegemony contains an unsolvable tension between the national and the democratic facets of the state. The Post-Zionist trend seeks a relief of this tension by bracketing the nationalcharacter of the state, i.e., by separation of state and cultural community/ies; the Neo-Zionist trend seeks a relief of the same tension by bracketing the democratic nature of the state, i.e., by consolidating the Jewish ethno-national character of the state. The focus of the study is upon two dimensions of this unfolding cultural-political strife: the conflicting perceptions of time and space, and the ways they affect the perceptions of the boundaries of the collectivity, either in an inclusionary manner (the ``post') or in an exclusionary manner (the ``neo').     

All on the Same Side: Reflections on the Dialogue Between Science and Religion

The 'war' between religion and science is winding down, creating new opportunities for fruitful dialogue. The foundations of indirect religion-science dialogue, where the perspectives of the two disciplines illuminate some third subject, are not well established. A detailed comparison of the Roman Catholic bishops' dialogues and a similar program within the American Association for the Advancement of Science illustrates the variety in formalscience-religion interactions and reveals much about the promise, achievements, and limitations of different approaches. Success depends in large part on controlling the diversity of the dialogue group, choosing topics carefully, and adopting positive and cooperative attitudes.     

学前儿童在游戏中社交和认知类型发展的研究──中美跨文化比较

采用时间取样观察法,以录像对中美１５０名学前儿童在游戏中的社交和认知类型进行比较研究,结果表明：①学前儿童社会交往发展水平、认知发展水平、游戏难度随年龄的增长而提高;②学前儿童较高水平的认知游戏行为与较高水平的社会技能的发展相关联,社交水平与认知水平的发展相互影响;③中美学前儿童社交和认知能力发展进程具有一致性,游戏行为发展模式具有一致性;④中美学前儿童游戏的方式和内容、社交和认知水平存在显著差异,表明不同文化背景的制约性。     

The supposed shame of aging female bodies and the saving grace of transience

Where does the supposed shame of older women's bodies come from? In this essay, I suggest that such shame is not a natural response to aging; rather, it is a culturally conditioned reaction to the patriarchal fantasy of female physical perfection. While certain norms and narratives within Christianity tacitly encourage women to pursue this fantasy, there are also resources within this tradition that can help us challenge the stigma assigned to older female flesh and affirm the goodness of bodies that have lived a long time. Simultaneously, aging itself can provide a lens for fruitfully rethinking some central Christian ideas.     

“Get Off My Property”: A Personal Narrative Addressing Violence Against African Americans by Law Enforcement Post–Hurricane Katrina

Thousands of African American New Orleanians were displaced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It appeared that every African American suddenly became a suspect, “fair game” to be hunted, especially by the police. This autoethnography chronicles the author's personal background, experiences, and resulting emotions of her father's encounter with law enforcement post–Hurricane Katrina. Law enforcement–initiated interventions are explored. The article concludes with recommendations for members of the counseling profession and law enforcement. Miles de personas afroamericanas de Nueva Orleans perdieron sus hogares como consecuencia del huracán Katrina. Y de repente, cada persona afroamericana pareció convertirse en sospechosa, “presa legítima” para la caza, especialmente por parte de la policía. Esta autoetnografía documenta los orígenes personales y experiencias de la autora, así como las emociones resultantes de la interacción de su padre con las fuerzas policiales tras el huracán Katrina. Se exploran las intervenciones iniciadas por las fuerzas policiales. El artículo concluye con una serie de recomendaciones para los profesionales de la consejería y las fuerzas policiales.     

Paternal Caregivers’ Parenting Practices and Psychological Functioning among African American Youth Living in Urban Public Housing

Structural factors associated with public housing contribute to living environments that expose families to adverse life events that may in turn directly impact parenting and youth outcomes. However, despite the growth in research on fathers, research on families in public housing has practically excluded fathers and the role fathers play in the well‐being of their adolescents. Using a sample of 660 African American adolescents recruited from public housing, we examined the relationship between paternal caregivers’ (i.e., fathers’ and father figures’) parenting practices and adolescents’ depressive symptoms, attitudes toward deviance, and self‐efficacy. Using a latent profile analysis (LPA), we confirmed a four‐class model of paternal parenting practices ranging from high to low levels of monitoring and encouragement. Results from a one‐way ANOVA indicated that paternal caregivers with high (compared to moderate) levels of encouragement and monitoring were associated with youth who reported less depressive symptoms, higher levels of self‐efficacy, and less favorable attitudes toward deviance. Discriminant analysis results indicated that approximately half of the sample were correctly classified into two paternal caregiver classes. The findings provide evidence that some of these caregivers engage in parenting practices that support youths’ psychological functioning. More research is needed to determine what accounts for the variability in levels of paternal encouragement and supervision, including environmental influences, particularly for paternal caregivers exhibiting moderate‐to‐low levels of paternal encouragement and monitoring.     

Marital Expectations in Strong African American Marriages

The current exploratory study utilized a family strengths framework to identify marital expectations in 39 strong African American heterosexual marriages. Couples reflected on their marital expectations over their 10 or more years of marriage. Three themes emerged through qualitative analysis and the participants' own words were used in the presentation of the themes. African Americans indicated that there was growth in marital expectations over time, with marital expectations often beginning with unrealistic expectations that grew into more realistic expectations as their marriages progressed. Participants also indicated that core expectations in strong African American marriages included open communication, congruent values, and positive treatment of spouse. Finally, participants explained there is an “I” in marriage as they discussed the importance of autonomy within their marital relationships. Results are discussed in association with existing research and theory.     

Fear and its vicissitudes

Abstract

The USA has been a changed society since 9/11: the Zeitgeist either has a background of low-level angst, or when an attack occurs or a threat is sounded, the fear peaks and comes to the foreground for a time. Perhaps nothing demonstrates the degree to which fear permeates contemporary culture more than the continual presence of the measures the USA takes to be safe: airport security, the Patriot Act, the mining of formerly private information by the government, to name but a few. Can we account for the pervasive nature of fear solely by the devastating and deadly attacks 15 years ago, unspeakably horrifying though they were? This paper will explore this omnipresent fear in contemporary American culture from a psychoanalytic perspective, and in so doing hopes to shed light on the nature of that fear, why it is so persistent despite 15 years without any sequels, and what the consequences of that fear are for the American way of life. The discussion will be rounded out by linking this pervasive fear to the violence that is endemic to our age.