The impact of socially conveyed norms on the reporting of sexual behavior and attitudes by men and women

This study explored the impact of verbally-conveyed social norms on college students’ reports of sexual behavior and attitudes. Some participants overheard a staged conversation that enforced conservative or permissive social norms. Men and women in the permissive condition were more likely to report extradyadic involvement than those in the conservative condition. Men in the conservative condition reported an older age at first intercourse and fewer lifetime and one-time only sexual partners than did men who did not overhear a conversation. Men’s and women’s reports of sexual attitudes were unaffected by the manipulation. That a transient social norm had an impact on reports of sexual behavior lends support to the notion that some apparent sex differences in sexual behavior are at least partially reporting differences due to the influence of differential social norms. Sexual attitudes were less influenced by the social context, suggesting that attitudinal sex differences may be more robust.     

Marital Satisfaction and Child Adjustment: Direct and Mediated Pathways

We explored whether there is a direct association between marital satisfaction and children's psychological adjustment. We also investigated a competing model to assess whether marital satisfaction is indirectly related to child outcomes through its associations with parents' depression and involvement in childrearing. Analyses of data from 1,101 participants in the National Survey of Families and Households indicated that mothers' and fathers' reports of marital satisfaction were significantly associated with child symptomatology. Moreover, mothers who experienced marital dissatisfaction were less involved with their children, which in turn was associated with greater child psychological distress. This mediated pathway was not significant for fathers.     

A Prospective Longitudinal Study of High School Dropouts Examining Multiple Predictors Across Development

Prior studies report a variety of demographic, school, individual, and family characteristics that are related to high school drop out. This study utilizes data from a 19-year prospective longitudinal study of “at-risk” children to explore multiple predictors of high school dropouts across development. The proposed model of dropping out emphasizes the importance of the early home environment and the quality of early caregiving influencing subsequent development. The results of this study demonstrate the association of the early home environment, the quality of early caregiving, socioeconomic status, IQ, behavior problems, academic achievement, peer relations, and parent involvement with dropping out of high school at age 19. These results are consistent with the view of dropping out as a dynamic developmental process that begins before children enter elementary school. Psychosocial variables prior to school entry predicted dropping out with power equal to later IQ and school achievement test scores. In our efforts to better understand processes influencing dropping out prior to high school graduation, early developmental features warrant further emphasis.     

Public and private schoolteachers' differences in terms of job attitudes in Albania

In the present study, the attitudinal differences between public and private schoolteachers in Albania were investigated. Since the type of the organization varies, one would expect different climates for the emergence of job attitudes--mainly job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment, the most frequently studied job attitudes in the industrial and organizational psychology literature. It was hypothesized that the private schoolteachers would be more satisfied than public schoolteachers, especially due to high levels of payment and other desirable conditions. However, the public schoolteachers will be more involved than the private schoolteachers since they have to justify their continued work under the undesirable conditions. The commitment level of the private schoolteachers will be higher than the public schoolteachers since there is usually high correlation between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Data were gathered from a total of 429 teachers working in public (n = 254) and private (n = 175) schools in Albania, in high and middle schools. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance with age as a covariate. The results indicated that the private schoolteachers were more satisfied, as expected, revealed a weaker job involvement and were more committed to their school than their colleagues in the public sector. The results were found to be in line with previous studies conducted in the west. However, this study is believed to have a potential contribution to the literature in general, and to the Albanian local literature in particular. To the knowledge of the authors, there has been no similar study in Albania. Discussion is provided along with the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.     

Differences in Mothers' and Fathers' Readiness for Change in Parent Training

We investigated readiness for change (RFC), a construct that may contribute to the discrepancies between fathers' and mothers’ rates of participation in behavioral parent training. One hundred and twenty fathers and mothers of 2- to 7-year-old children with conduct problems completed standardized measures of RFC, child behavior problems, and parent stress as part of an intake to a parent-child interaction therapy clinic. Fathers reported less readiness for change, less confidence in their ability to make changes, were more defensive about the need to change, and saw treatment as less important than mothers. Results suggest that if clinicians match parent training interventions to mothers’ readiness, fathers may be left behind.     

Whose voice are we hearing,really?

This article, written from the position of someone who has lived experience of therapy for ‘psychosis’ and an interest in participation, explores the degree to which qualitative research truly conveys the voice and perspective of research participants. By exploring five papers focused on diverse experiences of psychotherapy, from the perspective of clients and therapists, it draws out some of the tensions inherent in making interpretations and connections within research papers and the impact this may have on the quality of any conclusions drawn. Finally, it makes some suggestions for ways of meaningfully involving research participants in the process and argues for an ongoing dialogue to prevent our own assumptions and theoretical frameworks from obscuring the importance of this involvement to improve the quality of future research.     

ROLE OF FIRST‐YEAR MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT AND PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT IN BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN

Drawing on economic models of child development and attachment relationship perspectives, this study examined the effect of maternal employment in the first year after childbirth on subsequent behavioral and cognitive development in low‐income children. Analyses of data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 411) revealed that despite the accompanying family income gains, maternal employment in the first year after childbirth adversely affected caregiver‐reported internalizing and externalizing behavior problems of Hispanic, Black, and White children at ages 3 and 5 years. This study also examined how paternal participation in childcare might affect children's outcomes. Results indicate that greater paternal participation eased the adverse impacts of maternal employment on internalizing behavior problems. There was no evidence that maternal employment was associated with children's memory cognitive functioning or that paternal involvement moderated children's cognitive development. These findings suggest that when early intervention programs are designed to assist low‐income families, enhancing supports (e.g., paternal involvement or parental leave) for working mothers during their child's first year may be valuable for young children's healthy development.     

家长教育期望对学业倦怠的影响:家长投入的中介及家庭功能的调节

本研究以北京市2921名中小学生及其家长为调查对象,考察了家长教育期望对其子女学业倦怠的影响,以及家长投入的中介作用和家庭功能的调节作用。结果发现：（1）在控制年级、性别后,家长教育期望依然负向预测子女的学业倦怠;（2）家长投入在家长教育期望与学业倦怠之间起部分中介作用,即教育期望能够通过提升家长投入,进而降低子女的学业倦怠水平;（3）家庭功能在家长投入与学业倦怠的关系中起到调节作用,只有家庭功能良好时,家长投入才能显著降低子女的学业倦怠水平。这一结果对于家长如何科学有效地促进子女的学业发展具有启示意义。