Am I ‘Chinese’ or ‘Scottish’? children’s perceptions of the adaptive nature of Chinese Scottish children’s dual identities

Chinese Scottish children (children who are born and live in Scotland with Chinese parents) face challenges in establishing their identity. However, there is lack of research that investigates ethnic minority Chinese children’s identity and associated feelings about the dual social context in which they live. The study introduced a social identity vignettes task to examine Chinese Scottish and White Scottish children’s perceptions of Chinese ethnic identity and Scottish national identity of a Scottish born Chinese character within two contrasting socio-cultural contexts (Scottish vs. Chinese). This study examines whether children’s ethnic and national identity and feelings of positivity are adaptive and sensitive to social context. In addition it explored age-related changes in perceptions of ethnic and national identification in the vignettes. The sample comprised of 161 children (8, 11, and 14 years). The results found Chinese Scottish children and White Scottish children’s judgments of the characters’ ethnic identity changed with the cultural context. Both groups of children had a similar perception of vignette characters’ feeling of positivity. Both Chinese and White Scottish children judged that the character would feel more positive about him/herself in the Chinese context. There was no main effect of age.     

Police responses to diversity: A social representational study of rural British policing in a changing representational context

In the first decade of the 21st century, British policing faced two new challenges in how it responded to social diversity: As well as instituting reforms in response to a highly publicized report describing the British police as ‘institutionally racist’ (Macpherson, 1999 ), they faced challenges associated with rapid increases in numbers of immigrants into the UK. Studying social representations at such times of change allows access into processes, themes and value systems that may otherwise remain hidden. This paper uses social representations theory to explore interview accounts provided by regular police officers of interactions with members of minority groups. Empirically, we focus on an area of diversity policing that has received relatively little previous attention: Police work in a rural context that has recently played host to large numbers of migrant workers. Our analysis shows that interviews operate as a site of resistance in which respondents attempt to rework hegemonic representations of the police as prejudiced and to re‐present themselves and their work as able to respond appropriately to diversity. Fairness as a defining characteristic of good police practice is a central representational theme that links identity construction processes to police work with minority groups. Recent immigrant groups are represented as both needing and deserving help to assimilate into British culture: Their lack of acculturation and language difficulties provide additional challenges to police work and to how this is judged as ‘fair’. We discuss the broader origins and implications of police officers' understandings of fairness and the use of social representations theory to study representational fields within organizational settings. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clutching at Certainty: Thoughts on the Coercive Grip of Cult-Like Groups

This response to Richard Raubolt's article, Attack on the Self, attempts to understand the intense and enduring connection that often develops between charismatic leaders of cult-like groups and their followers in terms of their mutual need to regulate uncertainty. After describing the intersubjective regulation of uncertainty, a concept influenced by self psychology and intersubjectivity systems theory, a number of uncertainty regulating modes that emerged in the training program are examined including: 1) the denial of difference, 2) the denial of sameness, 3) alter ego relating, 4) the inflamation of passion, and 5) faith-keeping fantasies.     

Correlates of African American and Latino parents' messages to children about ethnicity and race: a comparative study of racial socialization

Recently, social scientists have become increasingly interested in the nature of communications from parents to children regarding ethnicity and race. Termed racial socialization, race-related messages to children may have important consequences for children's identity development and well-being. This study examined the frequency and correlates of two dimensions of racial socialization—messages about ethnic pride, history, and heritage (Cultural Socialization) and messages about discrimination and racial bias (Preparation for Bias)—among 273 urban African American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican parents. Parents reported more frequent Cultural Socialization than Preparation for Bias. There were no significant ethnic group differences in the frequency of Cultural Socialization. However, African American parents reported more frequent Preparation for Bias than did Dominican parents who, in turn, reported more frequent messages of this sort than did Puerto Rican parents. Ethnic identity was a stronger predictor of Cultural Socialization among Puerto Rican and Dominican parents than among their African American counterparts. In contrast, perceived discrimination experiences was a stronger predictor of Preparation for Bias among African American and Dominican parents than among Puerto Rican parents. Finally, race-related phenomenon accounted for more variance in both Cultural Socialization and Preparation for Bias among parents reporting on their behaviors with children 10–17 years old as compared to parents reporting on their behaviors with children 6–9 years old.     

高中会考等值方法的比较研究

本研究采用随机等组设计与铆测验相结合的方案。首先验证了两随机等组的平均数、方差和分布状态无显著差异,再用随机等组的等值分作为等值效标来检验其他等值方法的误差,然后比较了在铆测验设计中三种线性等值方法（在不同总体权重下）的误差值,以选出适合高中合考的等值方法及总体权重。经研究发现：会考等值宜采用Tucker观察分数线性等值方法,并宜选择总体权重W1＝1。     

Michael Balint's Group Approach: The Boston Balint Group

Michael Balint was a physician/psychoanalyst who trained in Hungary and emigrated to England in 1939 when Nazi Germany began to dominate Europe. At the Tavistock Clinic, he and his wife met with social workers and physicians around case discussion seminars. With his strong interest in medicine and his curiosity about the patient-physician relationship, he initiated research/training groups with interested physicians, which ultimately led to publication of the now-classic The Doctor, His Patient, and the Illness, a rich text that has become a virtual staple of family practice residencies, along with Balint Groups for training. Balint refrained from considering his groups psychotherapy in order to minimize resistance of his physician-students. But because the groups lasted sometimes for years and explored transference and countertransference in patient-physician relationships, he acknowledged that the result was personal growth of the participants. His techniques are described and an example of a Balint Group (Boston Group) are presented here.     

Reproductive Genetic Counseling to Asian-Pacific and Latin American Immigrants

Latin and Asian-Pacific immigrants are the fastest growing new-comer groups in the U.S. contributing to 85% of immigration totals. New immigrants experience multiple barriers to accessing genetic counseling resulting from cultural, linguistic, financial, and educational factors as well as having unique perceptions on health, illness, reproduction, and life as a whole. In addition, new immigrants lack familiarity with Western medical practices as well as genetic risk and available interventions. We provided perinatal genetic services to 2430 clients, mostly new immigrants of Latin and Asian-Pacific descent over a period of 6 years. Counseling aides sharing the clients' cultural backgrounds were employed. A study assessing the efficacy of cross-cultural education regarding advanced maternal age risk and amniocentesis was implemented and linked to a database containing demographic and clinical information. Practical observations relating to cultural beliefs in the two groups relevant to perinatal genetic counseling were made.     

Predictors of Psychosocial and Cognitive Adaptation in Children with Sickle Cell Syndromes

Examined the role of socioecological factors (family functioning and socioeconomic variables) in predicting behavioral and cognitive adaptation in children with sickle cell syndromes (SCD). Participants included 74 African American children and adolescents with SCD and their primary caretakers. Outcomes included internalizing and externalizing behavior symptoms, as rated by caretakers, as well as intellectual abilities and academic achievement, as assessed by individually administered standardized instruments. Family functioning consisted of both caretaker adjustment and family environment (i.e., family adaptability and cohesion). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that caretaker psychological adjustment predicted externalizing behaviors, while family environment (i.e., adaptability and cohesion) predicted neither behavioral nor cognitive functioning. Socioeconomic variables alone predicted intellectual abilities and academic achievement and also contributed to the prediction of child behavioral adaptation. Results are discussed in terms of relevant sociocultural issues and implications for family-level prevention and intervention.     

Establishing appropriate symptomatic control groups for the eating disorders

Two symptomatic control groups for the eating disorders were defined using high and low scores on the Dietary Restraint and Disinhibition scales of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire. Clinical subjects diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia nervosa were compared with these symptomatic control groups using measures of body weight, bulimic symptoms, and anorexic symptoms. In comparison to the high-Restraint/low-Disinhibition group, anorexic subjects scored higher on measures of eating disorder symptoms but not on Restraint and Disinhibition. The high-Restraint/high-Disinhibition group differed from bulimia nervosa subjects on measures of eating disorder symptoms but did not differ on Restraint and Disinhibition. The results suggested that a control group defined by high Restraint and low Disinhibition formed an appropriate control group for anorexia nervosa. For bulimia nervosa, the most appropriate control group was defined by high Restraint and high Disinhibition.     

A company-based lottery to reduce the personal driving of employees

A company-based lottery was used to reduce the number of nonessential miles employees drove their personal cars each day and thereby save gasoline. Employees were divided into an experimental and a contrast group. The experimental design involved two conditions: (a) a baseline in which no consequences were attached to driving behavior, and (b) a month-long lottery in which the experimentals were rewarded for decreasing their percentage of average miles driven per day relative to their initial baseline average. The experimentals received an ABA order of conditions while the contrast group remained in baseline. The lottery condition consisted of four weekly lotteries and one grand drawing held at the end of the month. During the lottery condition, the experimentals reduced their average daily mileage by 11.6% relative to their initial baseline (7.85 miles per employee per day) while the contrast employees increased their average mileage by 21.2%. Both groups exceeded their initial baseline averages in the return to baseline. The study was almost cost-effective because the experimentals' gas savings ($75) was within $4 of the cost of motivating them to reduce their mileage ($79).