Attitudes of a community members as a function of participatory research with Oxford Houses

Citizen participation in research may include involvement in generating original ideas, planning appropriate designs, collecting data, and helping to implement interventions. Unfortunately, little is known about the attitudes of the community members who participate in such research processes. In the present exploratory study, a team of community members (4 men, 3 women; age > 30 years old) who were employed as investigator research associates to evaluate an innovative substance abuse recovery home were asked for their perspectives about their involvement in the research effort. Findings indicated that these community members felt their participation was a positive experience. Moreover, while their understanding and sense of participation in the research process increased, their identification and affiliation with their support organization was not reduced. Results imply that there is a need to better understand how citizen members of community organizations are affected by their involvement in the research process.     

Creating a home to promote recovery: the physical environments of Oxford House

The interior and exterior physical characteristics of substance abuse recovery program dwellings (11 woman, 44 men) from three geographic sections of the United States were assessed at creating a "house-as-home" for residents. Although each house was independently governed and operated by residents, results indicated vast similarities among the interior characteristics, amenities, and structural aspects. These rented dwellings also had similar well-maintained exterior characteristics, despite their geographic locations. Follow-up interviews of former residents indicated that these house characteristics and amenities helped create a sense of home not found in traditional institutional facilities. Results suggested that residents of self-governed independently operated recovery houses may create and maintain safe and sober settings that elicit a sense of home among residents.     

Does alcohol make a difference? Within-participants comparison of incidents of partner violence

Episodes of husband-to-wife violence in which the husband consumed alcohol were compared with episodes of husband-to-wife violence, reported by the same individuals, in which the husband was not drinking. Among this community sample of newlyweds, wife reports, but not husband reports, indicated that violent episodes in which the husband was drinking included more acts of violence and were more likely to involve severe violence. Both wife and husband reports indicated that wives were more likely to be physically aggressive in husband drinking episodes compared to sober episodes. However, whereas wives reported that their aggressive behavior was a response to husband aggression, husbands reported that wives were more likely to initiate violence in these episodes. Violent episodes that include alcohol may be more severe and more mutually violent than sober episodes. Discrepancies between husband and wife reports may reflect differences in recall or self-serving biases.     

Factor Structure and Criterion Validity of the Five Cs Model of Positive Youth Development in a Multi-University Sample of College Students

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - There is growing recognition that clinical and developmental outcomes will be optimized by interventions that harness strengths in addition to ameliorating...     

A COMMENT ON WILLIAM J. HOWE AND HUGH MCISAAC'S ARTICLE “FINDING THE BALANCE” PUBLISHED IN THE JANUARY 2008 ISSUE OF FAMILY COURT REVIEW

This article is a response to an article written by William Howe and Hugh McIsaac that questions their recommendations that court‐based mediation not be used when certain types of persons appear in court. We assert that it will be very difficult for the court to identify these people. Further, we argue that mediation practice has advanced so far that even these persons (those with serious issues of domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health) should be given an opportunity to participate in mediation before being referred to the adversarial court process.     

Institutional Change and the Social Sources of American Economic Empire: Beyond Stylised Facts

The three volumes commented on here present some of the very best political economy and economic sociology scholarship on change within the US economy, as well as US-led changes in the international political economy. This review article seeks to identify the key contributions made by these works and how they improve our understanding of institutional change within the US economy. At a time when international relations and political science is populated by critiques of US empire, this article submits that understanding the 'economic taproot' of US power is essential in exposing its enduring character and weaknesses.
Gourevitch, P. A. and Shinn, J. J. (2005) Political Power and Corporate Control: The New Global Politics of Corporate Governance. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
Sinclair, T. J. (2005) The New Masters of Capital: American Bond Rating Agencies and the Politics of Creditworthiness. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press.
Whitford, J. (2005) The New Old Economy: Networks, Institutions, and the Organizational Transformation of American Manufacturing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.