The factors of female taxi drivers’ speeding offenses in Taiwan

Females choosing taxi driving as a career is rare, therefore, investigating such samples is often difficult. Speeding is one of the most common driving violations, however, there has been no research looking into female taxi drivers’ speeding issue. This study explores the factors of female taxi drivers’ speeding offenses in Taiwan. Data is based on a national survey and includes 235 professional female taxi drivers. The results indicate that female taxi drivers work approximately 27.37 days per month, at a mean of 9.76 h per day. Of the female taxi drivers represented in this study, 22.8% reported at least one speeding offense over a one-year period. The results of a logistic regression model reveal that the determinant factors associated with female taxi drivers’ speeding offenses are significantly related to age, educational level and mileage driven. However, job experience, business operating style, and vehicle engine size are not associated with committing speeding offenses. Practical implications for traffic safety of female taxi drivers are also discussed.     

Neighbourhood,school and family determinants of children's aspirations in primary school

Aspirations can be important for young children as well as adolescents. However, there is little research on the determinants of aspirations in young children. We carried out this study to investigate the early contextual (neighbourhood, school and family) determinants of occupational aspirations in primary school children. Our sample comprised children from the Millennium Cohort Study who lived in England in the beginning of our study period (n = 10,086; 5,126 boys). Occupational aspirations were measured at age 7 years, while their contextual determinants were measured in the previous data sweeps, at ages 3 and 5 years. We fitted structural equation models to test the role of family and neighbourhood socio-economic status (SES) and child ethnicity in predicting aspirations both directly and via their associations with parental involvement, household chaos, school-level achievement and child cognitive ability. We found that the only significant determinants of aspirations at age 7 years were family SES and ethnicity, and only in boys. Family SES and ethnicity were also related to parental involvement, household chaos, cognitive ability and school-level achievement, but none of these factors predicted aspirations. Supplementary analysis showed that family SES was a particularly powerful determinant of the aspirations of white compared to non-white boys.     

Personal and social aspects of professional identity.: An extension of Marcia's identity status model applied to a sample of university students

The study proposed an extension of Marcia's identity status model based on validation of the Professional Identity Status Questionnaire (PISQ-5d), a scale able to measure both intra-individual and intergroup processes connected with the development of a professional identity in university students. The aims were to prove the construct validity of the PISQ-5d, to determine the appropriate number of identity statuses, and to assess the concurrent validity of the identity statuses considering both job-related and academic factors. In this study, 477 university students completed a questionnaire with the PISQ-5d scale; 220 also completed the measures of work values; and 168 completed the measures of student self-esteem and self-efficacy, academic motivation, and grades. Results confirmed the expected five-dimensional structure of the PISQ-5d and the scale's effectiveness at differentiating five types of identity status. Relationship between professional identity status and job-related and academic factors showed that the students with achievement or foreclosure identities had higher scores on measures of academic self-esteem and intrinsic work value and had lower scores for intention to leave university. Implications in terms of considering the PISQ-5d scale a useful tool for the evaluation of professional identity construction processes in university students will be discussed.     

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.     

Perceptions of Boundary Ambiguity in the Process of Leaving an Abusive Partner

The process of leaving an abusive partner has been theorized using the Stages of Change Model. Although useful, this model does not account for changes in relational boundaries unique to the process of leaving. Using family stress and feminist perspectives, this study sought to integrate boundary ambiguity into the Stages of Change Model. Boundary ambiguity is defined as a perception of uncertainty as to who is in or out of a family system (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). Twenty‐five mothers who had temporarily or permanently left their abusers were interviewed. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory methods. Results identify types, indicators of, and mothers' responses to boundary ambiguity throughout the five stages of change. Most mothers and abusers fluctuated between physical and psychological presence and absence over multiple separations. The integration of boundary ambiguity into the Stages of Change Model highlights the process of leaving an abusive partner as systemic, fluid, and nonlinear.     

Subjective Social Status and Well-Being: The Role of Referent Abstraction

Subjective social status (SSS) has been shown to predict well-being and mental health, above and beyond objective social status (OSS). However, little is known about the factors that moderate this relationship. Two studies explored whether the link between SSS and well-being varied depending upon the referent used for comparison in SSS judgments. Participants judged their well-being and SSS in comparison to referents that varied in abstraction. A confirmatory factor analysis on SSS judgments yielded two factors: (a) SSS perceptions toward global referents and (b) SSS perceptions toward local referents. SSS relative to a global referent was a better predictor of depression (Studies 1 and 2), life satisfaction (Studies 1 and 2), and self-esteem (Study 2) than SSS relative to a local referent. These findings have theoretical implications for understanding how people differentiate between local vs. global referents and practical implications for status-related health disparities.     

Changes in Income Predict Change in Social Trust: A Longitudinal Analysis

Social trust is a psychological variable important to politics, the community, and health. Theorists have predicted that socioeconomic status determines social trust, but also that social trust determines socioeconomic status. The current study tested the viability of both causal directions using longitudinal data from representative samples of the United States and the United Kingdom. Results demonstrated that a model where increases in socioeconomic status (measured by income) predict increases in social trust is more viable than a model where increases in social trust predict increases in socioeconomic status.     

Views of a good life and allostatic load: Physiological correlates of theories of a good life depend on the socioeconomic context

This research examines the relationship between one’s theory of a good life and allostatic load, a marker of cumulative biological risk, and how this relationship differs by socioeconomic status. Among adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher, those who saw individual characteristics (e.g. personal happiness, effort) as part of a good life had lower levels of allostatic load than those who did not. In contrast, among adults with less than a bachelor’s degree, those who saw supportive relationships as part of a good life had lower levels of allostatic load than those who did not. These findings extend past research on socioeconomic differences in the emphasis on individual or relational factors and suggest that one’s theory of a good life has health implications.