Battered women's coping strategies and psychological distress: differences by immigration status

People are rarely passive, and battered women are no exception. This study investigated the types of coping strategies women of Japanese descent (both Japan-born and U.S.-born) chose and their perceived effectiveness in dealing with their partners' violence. Japan-born respondents were significantly less likely to use active strategies and perceived them to be less effective than did U.S.-born respondents. For the Japan-born, the more effective they perceived active strategies, the higher their psychological distress, whereas the more effective they perceived passive strategies, the lower their psychological distress. In contrast, for the U.S.-born, the higher the perceived effectiveness of active strategies, the lower their psychological distress, and the perceived effectiveness of passive strategies had little effect on their psychological distress. The complex relationship between individuals' country of birth, the choice and perceived effectiveness of coping strategies, and psychological distress calls for increased attention to the role of culture in studies of coping and domestic violence.     

Prevalence of transitional objects in young children in Tokyo and New York

This study compared the prevalence of children's transitional object attachment in the two groups of young children in Tokyo and New York. The subjects (mothers of a child who was between two and four years of age) were 50 Caucasian women who resided in New York and 50 Japanese women who resided in Tokyo. Families of all subjects were within middle and upper socioeconomic status. There was a higher prevalence of transitional object attachment in American children (62%) than in Japanese children (38%). Japanese children more often slept in the same bed or same room with mothers than American children. The two groups did not differ regarding the hours of mother's availability. The results lend support to Gaddini and Gaddini's suggestion that children whose mothers are continuously available, especially at night, are not likely to develop attachment to transitional objects. The results from this survey research were discussed in terms of significance of transitional object attachment on child development. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Vocational Behavior of the Japanese in Late Adulthood: Focusing on Those in the Retirement Process

This paper introduces some findings about the vocational behavior of the late adult Japanese who are in a process of transition. The first part of the paper emphasizes the need for research on Japanese vocational behavior in late adulthood from a developmental–contextual frame of reference. In the second part, discussion is focused on circumstances of late adult workers in Japan who have been affected most by the current socioeconomic changes and who have been caught in the middle of changes in employment management systems and policies. A brief summary of the findings from two ongoing research projects which emphasize the need for psychological–interventional assistance in order for retiring persons to maintain their well-being in a period of personal and social transition is presented.     

Event-related brain indices of Japanese scrambling

This study examined the processing of Japanese wh-questions with preposed (scrambled) vs. in-situ (canonical SOV word order) wh-objects, and of yes/no-questions with scrambled vs. in-situ demonstrative objects. Questions with scrambled objects elicited bilateral slow anterior negative potentials between filler and gap. Scrambled demonstratives elicited P600 effects following the filler and (L)AN/P600 effects at the gap, while scrambled wh-words elicited primarily (L)AN effects at the gap. This replicated effects in response to filler-gap dependencies created by wh-movement in other languages, supporting the existence of universal parsing operations for all types of filler-gap dependencies. We suggest that these results are most generally compatible with notions of canonicity in sentence processing.     

Effect of static visual acuity on dynamic visual acuity: a pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate whether dynamic visual acuity changes with or without refractive correction. 42 healthy enrolled subjects with normal vision were divided into two age-matched groups. In Group A, dynamic visual acuity was measured first with the refractive error fully corrected and then without. In Group B, dynamic visual acuity measurements were taken in the reverse order of that performed by Group A. The measurements were binocularly performed five times using free-head viewing after dynamic visual acuity values were stable. Significant changes in dynamic visual acuity (static visual acuity 20/20 vs 12/20) were observed in both Group A (171.6 +/- 36.0 deg./sec. vs 151.8 +/- 39.6 deg./sec., Wilcoxon test, p < .001) and Group B (169.8 +/- 30.0 deg./sec. vs 151.2 +/- 36.0 deg./sec., Wilcoxon test, p < .001). The interaction was significant (F1.20 = 8.12, p = .009). These results indicated that refractive correction affected dynamic visual acuity.     

Intimate Partner Violence, Welfare Receipt, and Health Status of Low-Income African American Women: A Lifecourse Analysis

Although the association among intimate partner violence (IPV), welfare receipt, and health status has been well-established, little is known about the temporal sequencing of these events. In a random sample of low-income African American women in an urban Midwestern county, lifecourse data about IPV and welfare receipt were obtained using the Life History Calendar method (D. Freedman, A. Thornton, D. Camburn, D. Alwin, & L. Young-DeMarco, 1988), along with data about mental and physical health status. Controlling for relevant factors, longitudinal analyses found that previous experience of IPV increased women's odds of receiving welfare benefits in a given year, but previous welfare receipt did not. Cumulative IPV, but not cumulative welfare receipt, was associated with current and past-year health problems. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that IPV leads women to turn to welfare assistance, and that compromised physical and mental health due to past cumulative IPV interferes with women's gainful employment.     

Marital Status,Home Environments,and Family Strain: Complex Effects on Preschool Children's School Readiness Skills

The current study examined the complex associations among marital status, home environments, and family strain (i.e. income, maternal depressive symptoms, social support, and parenting stress), as they predict preschool children's pre‐academic and social skills at 36 and 54 months. Findings from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 897) showed that the home learning environment, which was significantly lower among single‐parent families, worked as a mediator to explain the relationship between single‐parent families and children's pre‐academic skills at 36 and 54 months. Additionally, parenting stress, which was significantly higher among single‐parent families, worked as a mediator to explain the relationship between single status and the home learning environment. Finally, moderation analyses showed that family income is important for improving the home social environment, and the home social environment is strongly associated with children's social skills in single‐parent families, but not in cohabiting families. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enculturation and Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence and Gender Roles in an Asian Indian Population: Implications for Community-Based Prevention

This study examined the relationships among enculturation, attitudes supporting intimate partner violence (IPV-supporting attitudes), and gender role attitudes among one of the largest Asian Indian population groups in the US. Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews with a random sample of Gujarati men and women aged 18–64 in Metropolitan Detroit. Using structural equation modeling, we modeled the effects of three components of enculturation (behavior, values, and community participation) on gender role attitudes and IPV-supporting attitudes among married respondents (N = 373). Analyses also accounted for the effects of respondent age, education, religious service attendance, perceived financial difficulty, and lengths of residence in the US. The second-order, overall construct of enculturation was the strongest predictor of IPV-supporting attitudes (standardized B = 0.61), but not gender role attitudes. Patriarchal gender role attitudes were positively associated with IPV-supporting attitudes (B = 0.49). In addition to the overall effect of the enculturation construct, two of the components of enculturation had specific effects. “Enculturation-values” had a specific positive indirect association with IPV-supporting attitudes, through its relationship with patriarchal gender role attitudes. However, “enculturation-community participation” was negatively associated with IPV-supporting attitudes, suggesting the importance of community-based prevention of IPV among this immigrant population group.     

Elderly homicide in Chicago: a research note

There is a body of knowledge about elderly crime victims, but we know little about the characteristics of elderly perpetrators, especially of homicide. The few studies that have been published are based on small samples and are somewhat dated. In an examination of homicides committed in Chicago over a 31-year period, we compared cases involving perpetrators aged over 60 years (n = 443) with those involving younger perpetrators (n = 24,066). There were a number of significant differences. Elderly killers were more likely to be White and to commit suicide afterwards. Their victims were more likely to be spouses, females, and aged over 60 years. Inter-racial homicide was more common for younger offenders. The low number of homicides involving the elderly is explained by reference to routine activity theory.     

Using Interactive Theater to Create Socioculturally Relevant Community-Based Intimate Partner Violence Prevention

This article describes the use of interactive theater, audience response assessment, and peer educators to create community-generated approaches for bystander interventions (i.e., actions taken by people who become aware of controlling, abusive and violent behavior of others) to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) and to foster change in community norms. We include a case example of an ongoing university–community partnership, which mobilizes community members to develop and implement socioculturally relevant IPV prevention programs in multiple Asian communities. We used interactive theater at a community event—a walk to raise awareness about IPV in South Asian communities—and examined how the enacted bystander interventions reflect specific community contexts. We detail the challenges and limitations we have encountered in our attempts to implement this approach in collaboration with our community partners.