Longitudinal associations between gender-typed skills and interests and their links to occupational outcomes

Although gender-based occupational segregation has declined in past decades, the world of work remains segregated by gender. Grounded in research showing that individuals tend to choose jobs that match their interests and skills, this study examined the longitudinal associations between gendered activity interests and skills from middle childhood through adolescence and tested gendered interests and skills, measured in adolescence, as predictors of occupational outcomes in young adulthood. Data were collected from 402 participants at four time points—when they averaged 10, 12, 16, and 25 years old. Results revealed that the longitudinal linkages between male-typed interests and skills were bidirectional, that both male-typed interests and skills in adolescence predicted working in male-typed occupations in young adulthood, and that skills, but not interests, predicted income. In contrast, female-typed interests predicted female-typed skills, but not the reverse, adolescent female-typed skills (but not interests) predicted working in female-typed occupations in young adulthood, and there were no links between female-typed interests or skills and income. Discussion focuses on the differential meanings and developmental implications of male- versus female-typed interests and skills.     

Longitudinal Associations among Parental Acceptance,Familism Values,and Sibling Intimacy in Mexican‐Origin Families

Prospective associations among parent – adolescent acceptance and familism values in early and middle adolescence and sibling intimacy in late adolescence and young adulthood were assessed in 246 Mexican‐origin families. Older sibling gender and sibling gender constellation were investigated as moderators of these associations. Sibling intimacy was stable over time and younger siblings with older sisters reported higher levels of sibling intimacy than those with older brothers. As predicted, stronger familism values were associated with greater sibling intimacy, but this link was evident only for older sisters and for girl‐girl dyads. The links from mother‐ and father‐acceptance to sibling intimacy also depended on the gender constellation of the sibling dyad: Higher levels of maternal warmth were associated with greater sibling intimacy for older sisters and girl‐girl sibling pairs but higher levels of paternal warmth were linked to greater sibling intimacy only for older siblings in mixed‐gender sibling dyads. Findings are consistent with prior research on the role of gender in family relationships but extend this work to encompass the effects of both parents' and siblings' gender, as well as the role of sociocultural values in parents' socialization influences.     

The Effectiveness of the Within Our Reach Relationship Education Program for Couples: Findings from a Federal Randomized Trial

This study examined the effectiveness of a couple‐based relationship education program, Within Our Reach. Secondary data (n = 3,609) were analyzed from the federal Supporting Healthy Marriage project. Couples were randomly assigned to receive Within Our Reach and associated services or to a no‐treatment (treatment‐as‐usual) control group. Those assigned to Within Our Reach reported better couple and individual outcomes on 8 of 12 outcomes measured (M ES = .15) at the 12‐month follow‐up and 6 of 10 outcomes measured at the 30‐month follow‐up (M ES = .14), including higher relationship happiness, more warmth and support, more positive communication, less negative behavior and emotion, less psychological abuse, less physical assault (for men), lower psychological distress (for women), and less infidelity. They were also less likely to report that their marriage was in trouble. These effects were generally small in size and many were replicated across the two follow‐ups. There were no significant differences between those assigned to Within Our Reach versus control on cooperative parenting, severe psychological assault, or percent married. Implications for future research, programming, and policy are discussed.     

Middle School as a Developmental Niche for Civic Engagement

The present study investigated how school climate, school connectedness and academic efficacy beliefs inform emergent civic engagement behaviors among middle school youth of color. These associations were examined both concurrently and longitudinally using a developmentally appropriate measure of civic engagement. Data were drawn from two subsamples of a larger study of social/emotional development in middle school (cross‐sectional sample n = 324; longitudinal sample n = 232), M = 12 years old, 46 % female, 53 % male. Forty‐two percent (42.2 %) of the sample self‐identified as African American, 19.8 % as Multiracial or Mixed, 19.4 % as Latino, 11.6 % as Asian American or Pacific Islander, 11.6 % identified as Other, and 5.2 % as Native American. The study tested and found support for a latent mediation model in which more positive perceptions of school climate were positively related to school connectedness, and this in turn, was positively associated with civic engagement; school climate was also positively associated with academic‐self‐efficacy beliefs, but such beliefs did not mediate the climate‐civic engagement association. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Sleep variability and fatigue in adolescents: Associations with school‐related features

This study aims to evaluate the influences of sleep duration and sleep variability (SleepV), upon adolescents' school‐related situations. The Health Behaviour in School‐Aged Children (HBSC) survey is based on a self‐completed questionnaire. The participants were 3164 pupils (53.7% girls), attending the 8th and 10th grades, 14.9 years old, and were inquired about subjective sleep duration during the week and weekends, SleepV, fatigue, difficulties in sleep initiation, school achievement, feelings towards schools, pressure with school work and skipping classes. Multiple regression models used, as dependent variables: (a) school achievement, (b) disliking school, (c) pressure with school work and (d) skipping classes, using as independent variables, each of the remaining school‐related variables, fatigue, total sleep duration and difficulties in sleep initiation. The average sleep duration in the week and during weekdays was lower than recommended for these age groups, and almost half of students had high SleepV between weekdays and weekends. A logistic model revealed that the absence of SleepV was associated with lower perception of school work pressure, less frequent skipping classes, more infrequent fatigue and more infrequent difficulties in sleep initiation. Poor sleep quality, SleepV and insufficient sleep duration affected negatively school‐related variables.     

Speech pathology student clinician attitudes and beliefs towards people who stutter: A mixed-method pilot study

PurposeStuttering is a disorder of fluency that extends beyond its physical nature and has social, emotional and vocational impacts. Research shows that individuals often exhibit negative attitudes towards people who stutter; however, there is limited research on the attitudes and beliefs of speech pathology students towards people who stutter in Australia. Existing research is predominantly quantitative; whereas this mixed-method study placed an emphasis on the qualitative component. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and beliefs of final year Australian speech pathology students towards people who stutter.MethodsThis mixed-method study applied the Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes – Stuttering (POSHA-S) and semi-structured interviews to gather data from final year speech pathology students from a major university in Australia.Principal resultsThe overall qualitative findings identified that final year Australian speech pathology students exhibit positive attitudes towards people who stutter. The results also illustrated the role of education in influencing attitudes of students as well as increasing their confidence to work with people who stutter.Major conclusionThis research revealed that Australian final year speech pathology students exhibit positive attitudes towards people who stutter. They displayed an understanding that people who stutter may have acquired traits such as shyness as a response to their personal situation and environment, rather than those traits being endemic to them. Results also suggested that education can play a role in creating confident student clinicians in their transition to practice, and positively influence their attitudes and beliefs.     

The effectiveness of road safety interventions using three different messages: Emotional,factual or a combination of both messages

The present study is an evaluation of a road safety intervention programme dealing with alcohol in traffic. The intervention was based on a programme developed by the Swedish Road Administration using three different messages. The aim of the study was to evaluate which message (emotional, factual or a combination of both messages) had the largest effect on the variables included in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Of the 930 Senior High School Students who took part in the study 265 received an emotional message, 251 received a factual message, 254 received a combination of both messages and 160 were assigned to a control group who did not receive any message. Two scenarios were used describing situations where the participants would receive a lift from someone who had drunk two ‘strong’ beers and was either someone they did not know very well or their best friend. The results showed that the intervention combining the emotional and the factual message had the largest effect on the variables included in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Attitude was affected the most by the interventions while further activities need to be taken in order to better target perceived behavioural control and especially subjective norm and thereby also intention.     

God's Own Story? German Theology and Its Nineteenth‐Century Readers

This review essay discusses two recent monographs on nineteenth‐century German theology and its transnational reception. The books under review assess attempts by German theologians to present their discipline as a science, which required them to present its subject matter as at once purely historical and of absolute significance for humanity. The result was an attractive but inherently unstable discipline, which oscillated between idealist and critical objectives and historical and systematic modes of argument. Its reception in the United States demonstrates both its multifaceted character, which appealed to theologians from a range of traditions, and also the way in which engagement with Germany offered theologians a means of modernizing and sometimes challenging the doctrinal assumptions and scholarly methods of those traditions.     

Modeling relationships between physical fitness,executive functioning,and academic achievement in primary school children

ObjectivesThe relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in children has received much attention, however, whether executive functioning plays a mediating role in this relationship is unclear. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the relationships between physical fitness, executive functioning, and academic achievement, more specifically to test whether the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement is direct or indirect, via executive functioning.DesignCross-sectional.MethodThis study examined 263 children (145 boys, 118 girls), aged 7–12 years, who performed tests on physical fitness, executive functioning, and academic achievement.ResultsIn a structural equation model linking physical fitness to executive functioning and academic achievement there was a significant relationship between physical fitness and executive functioning (r = .43, R² = .19) and academic achievement (r = .33, R² = .11). Adding a relationship from executive functioning to academic achievement resulted in a non-significant direct link between physical fitness and academic achievement (r = −.08, R² = .006). However, a significant indirect relation through executive functioning persisted. The indirect relation between fitness and academic achievement (r = .41), was stronger than both the direct and total relation (r = .33).ConclusionExecutive functioning thus served as a mediator in the relation between physical fitness and academic achievement. This highlights the importance of including executive functioning when studying the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in children.