Family structure,maternal employment,and change in children's externalizing problem behaviour: Differences by age and self-regulation

This study used a latent difference score growth model to investigate how changes in family structure (biological father and stepfather residence) and maternal employment are associated with American children's externalizing problem behaviours (EPB) from ages 4–10 and whether these associations vary by children's level of self-regulation. For all 4-year-old children, living with a biological father at age 4 was associated with reductions in EPB at ages 4–6 and later years, with no variation by child self-regulation. Living with a stepfather at age 4 was associated with higher levels of EPB at age 4; however, for less-regulated children, stepfather residence at ages 4 and 8 was associated with reductions in EPB between ages 4–6 and 8–10, respectively. Greater employment hours were associated with increased EPB in the next 2 years for less-regulated children of all ages; however, except for the age 4–6 transition, there was a lagged association that reduced behaviour problems after 2 years and outweighed short-term increases.     

Functions of the Black Church in a Global Society: A Du Boisian Approach

Globalization's impact on local communities is a topic that religious congregations should address as a means of moral and socioeconomic well-being. This is especially important for the Black Church if it hopes to continue supporting the socioeconomic outcomes of its congregants and community members, as it has in the past. Using Du Boisian assessments of the functions of the Black Church, this study assessed how today's congregations can serve similar functions as the congregations that Du Bois studied, while exploring contemporary concerns. With an explanatory sequential research design, this study surveyed Philadelphia-based congregations (N = 108) to assess their understanding of and engagement with the impact of globalization on future generations, paired with subsequent interviews (N = 15) for deeper analysis. The survey included clergy members and youth leaders of various races and religious traditions. With an eye toward equity and considering Philadelphia's diverse demographics, the in-depth semistructured interviews centered on Black churches in Philadelphia. The core findings highlight that clergy members in Philadelphia recognize the importance of prioritizing global issues as a means of social betterment and that a special lens toward race should be considered when looking to solve socioeconomic global issues.     

Spiritual development in church schools—a survey of Welsh head teachers’ perceptions

A questionnaire to assess views about spiritual development was completed by 112 of the 174 head teachers of church primary schools in Wales. The findings indicated that despite the seemingly ambiguous nature of the term ‘spiritual development’, head teachers had clear views about its meaning. While most head teachers emphasised the need for pupils to engage in their own personal spiritual search, their views differed in the extent to which they felt that promoting spiritual development meant encouraging pupils to adopt Christian beliefs. While the age and sex of head teachers was found to have no significant impact on their views; and the location and category of the school for which head teachers were responsible had only a limited impact on their view, the language of the school and the religiosity of the head teacher had a considerable impact on views regarding these matters.     

Online disinhibition: heightened potential for professional conduct issues among clergy in the Church of England?

This article identifies the potential of online social networking encounters to heighten the risk of professional conduct issues among clergy in the Church of England. It first considers the difficulties in establishing what constitutes inappropriate conduct for clergy working in complex twenty-first century contexts, and then goes on to suggest that the online disinhibition effect might form a significant factor in problematic online encounters, drawing on the work of psychologist John Suler, and other previous research. It then considers the question of how online identity might mesh or jar with embodied identity for clergy, and concludes that awareness of the online disinhibition effect coupled with conscious integration of online involvements into their broader support networks, rather than compartmentalising them, form useful ways for clergy to undermine toxic online disinhibition.     

The Judas Within: A Look at the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Catholic Church

Drawing from normal accident theory, high reliability theory, and systems theory, we analyze the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that is promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to the sexual abuses of minors by clergy members. Although the Charter is a step in the right direction, there remain some areas that require immediate attention. In spite of the goodwill processes, the safety of minors must remain the concerted efforts and responsibilities of individuals at all the various levels if the Catholic Church is to prevent further cases of abuse from happening.     

Approaching the rasa-lila of ‘great men': interlinking Western ‘intuitive’ theologies with traditions of Bengal in the Brahmo Samaj

Abstract

Among contemporary sociologists who critically analyze the specific structure and dynamics of current or ‘late-modern’ societies, it is very common to refer to processes of increasing individualization as an explanation for larger social trends. Presuming a Protestant Christian genealogy for processes of individualization they tend to underemphasize the extent to which modern constellations are indebted in various ways to imperialism and the colonial encounter. To approach the complicated issue of encounter and mutual interferences, first an understanding of the categories involved in the interaction from within the traditions of the colonized is necessary. Only then will we be able to determine the way in which concepts of the colonizers were interpreted, understood, and appropriated. This essay aims to show that links were drawn between the global discourse on an experiential approach to religion, emphasizing the ‘Self,' and regional Vaishnava bhakti traditions of Bengal in the Bharatbarsiya Brahmo Samaj. This phase of increasing religious individualization with its focus on reliance on the ‘Self’ also contributed to preparing the ground for nationalistic readings of Indian traditions.     

Explicit and implicit caregiving interests in expectant fathers: Do endogenous and exogenous oxytocin and vasopressin matter?

Caregiving interest in men (N = 46) during the third trimester of their partner's pregnancy was examined. The study included both explicit and implicit measures of caregiving interest, assessments of basal urinary concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin, and exogenous (intranasal) application of these hormones. Compared to control men (N = 20), fathers-to-be reported more interest in direct care for children. In an immersive virtual environment, fathers-to-be, in comparison to control men, stood closer to and tended to spend more time looking at the baby-related avatars, and stood further away and tended to spend less time looking at non-baby-related avatars. Basal oxytocin and vasopressin were not related to caregiving interest in fathers-to-be, and were not different from control men. When vasopressin was administered, fathers-to-be invested more time watching the baby-related avatars compared to control men. No effects were found of exogenous oxytocin on the behavior of fathers-to-be and control men in the immersive virtual environment. These results point in the direction of an adjustment of fathers-to-be for fatherhood, both consciously and unconsciously, and support the possible role of vasopressin in human behavior in the transition to fatherhood.     

Examining antecedents of infant attachment security with mothers and fathers: An ecological systems perspective

Taking an ecological systems perspective, early parent–child relationships can be affected by interactions between systems where some are more proximally linked to the child than others. Socioeconomic status, a distal factor, is associated with social functioning during childhood, but research on its association with functioning during infancy, particularly attachment, is scant and inconsistent. Moreover, it is not clear how distal factors affect infant functioning. Other systems such as marital adjustment and parenting may moderate or mediate relations between distal factors and infant attachment. The current longitudinal study (n = 135) examined the role of various systems – parental resources, marital functioning, parental sensitivity and involvement – in early infancy (3-, 5-, 7-months) on infant–mother (12-months) and infant–father (14-months) attachment security. Findings supported moderating processes but in different ways for infant–mother versus infant–father dyads. Implications for future studies and interventions are discussed.