Examining Patterns of Political, Social Service, and Collaborative Involvement of Religious Congregations: A Latent Class and Transition Analysis

This investigation examines typologies of congregations based on patterns of congregational political and social service activities and collaborative partners. Based on a latent class analysis of a national random sample of 2,153 congregations, results indicated four distinct types of congregations with unique patterns of political, social service, and collaborative partnerships labeled: (a) Active, (b) Not Active, (c) Social Service Not Political, and (d) Political Not Social Service. Moreover, congregational characteristics such as religious tradition and clergy characteristics predicted membership in certain types. A latent transition analysis using an additional 262 congregations revealed distinct patterns of how congregations changed types across a nine year period. Results showed both congregational continuity (e.g., Not Active congregations remained Not Active) and change (e.g., Active congregations were likely to change type membership). This study advances congregational research by examining congregational types, what predicts certain types, and how congregations change types across time. Implications for future research and partnership with religious congregations also are discussed.     

Faith-Related Agencies and Their Implications for Aging Services

SUMMARY

The historical development of the faith-related organization is examined in light of the terminology used to describe these nonprofit groups, beginning with sectarian, moving to religious affiliate, and more recently using the term faith-related as a subcategory of being faith-based. Historical and contemporary research on faith-related organizations is reviewed, including a distinction between these studies and the increasing amount of research on religious congregations. Research findings are examined in the context of a complex political environment beginning with the Reagan/Bush Administrations, continuing into the Charitable Choice provisions introduced under the Clinton Administration, and moving to the Bush Administration's faith-based and community initiative. Implications of this initiative for the delivery of elder services are explored, particularly in light of the long-standing relationship the aging network has had with local faith groups.     

心理健康服务人员胜任特征与服务满意度的关系*

为考察心理健康服务人员胜任特征与服务双方满意度的关系,对分布于不同机构的心理健康服务人员及其来访者进行问卷调查。结果表明:心理健康服务人员胜任特征总分与自身服务满意度、来访者满意度均呈正相关,与自身服务满意度相关达到显著水平。胜任特征高分组心理健康服务人员自身服务满意度显著高于低分组自身服务满意度。与心理健康服务人员自身服务满意度显著相关的胜任特征条目,多数与知识、技能有关;与来访者满意度显著相关的胜任特征条目,均为来访者能感受到的与咨询关系建立有关的条目。     

Campus Responses to Dating Violence and Sexual Assault: Information from University Representatives

Universities have an obligation to provide student victims with services that are easily accessible. This study focused on the provision of sexual assault and dating violence services of large, public 4-year institutions, as reported by university representatives. The sample included security officers from 45 universities who completed phone interviews between February and May 2013. Phone interviews consisted of 15 open-ended questions. The findings point to highly variable practices and services offered across campuses. The services most frequently reported by university representatives include counseling and police services. The findings also suggest that public 4-year institutions not only offer varied levels of services, but such services might not be readily available to student victims. Although many representatives identified underserved groups and suggestions for improvement, a sizable portion did not acknowledge any. Further, university representatives did not distinguish between services provided for dating violence and sexual assault.     

Quality Improvement as a Tool for Translating Evidence Based Interventions Into Practice: What the Youth Violence Prevention Community can Learn from Healthcare

Health care has been working for the past 2 decades to improve the translation of evidence based practice (EBPs) into care. The strategies used to facilitate this, and lessons learned, can provide useful models for similar work taking place in youth violence prevention. This article discusses the history of evidence translation in health care, reviews key strategies used to support translation of evidence based practice into care, and suggests lessons learned that may be useful to similar efforts in youth violence prevention and intervention services.     

Long-Term Follow-Up of an Occupation-Based Group Addressing Occupational Performance and Satisfaction in University Freshmen

The long-term impact of a 5-week, occupation-based intervention to address the life transition of university students into young adulthood is presented here. Study participants showed statistically significant gains from baseline to long-term follow-up in both occupational performance and performance satisfaction. In post hoc analyses, occupational performance maintained a level of significance. During a time of rapid change, occupation-based interventions have the potential to provide transitioning university freshmen students the skills that they need for a successful transition into a university. Changes in the structure, timing, and focus of the intervention and studies using more diverse and larger samples are warranted.     

“西部计划”志愿者服务满意度的调查研究

研究采用自编问卷对服务期满的西部志愿者就其服务的满意度进行调查。结果发现:服务初衷实现程度、服务影响力评价、服务满意度、服务态度、社会支持方面的得分性别差异不显著;政治面貌为中共党员的志愿者在服务态度和服务满意度方面得分均显著高于政治面貌为团员的志愿者;来自西部地区的志愿者在自我评价的服务初衷实现程度上的得分显著低于来自东部和中部地区的志愿者,东部和中部地区的志愿者之间则无显著差异,这种差异或源于西部地区志愿者感受到的社会支持(主观支持)低于中、东部志愿者。     

群体断层强度测量指标的构建与检验：一个整合的视角

群体断层概念近些年来在理论和实证研究方面都取得了重要的进展, 但有关断层强度的测量却始终呈现出滞后的态势。已有的文献表明只有FLS, Fau和PMD三个指标对群体断层强度进行了系统而完整的测量, 且三个指标都表现出相当的稳健性。尽管如此, 三大指标却都没有能够反映断层宽度这个重要维度。本研究在以往文献的基础上构建了整合群体断层强度测量指标, 很好地解决了这一问题。整合群体断层强度指标具体表现为亚群体内部一致性、亚群体间差异性和断层宽度的乘积。我们从以往研究中提炼了10个准则对新构建的指标进行了检验, 结果显示, 整合群体断层强度指标要显著优于以往的测度, 10个准则全部能够很好地拟合。本研究最后讨论了基于主观感知的断层强度的测量问题, 并提出了采用回归系数作为衡量亚群体间距离的PMD改进算法。