Stereotypes of social isolation and early burnout in the gifted: Do they still exist?

At the turn of the century, two common stereotypes of genius were that precocity was associated with social failure and that precocity bred early burnout. Later research on the gifted has refuted these stereotypes. The two studies in this paper investigate whether the stereotypes have changed in light of this new knowledge. In the first study, 66 male and 61 female colege students rated gifted, able, and average males and females. In the second study, 60 male and 59 female college students rated males and females with various extreme levels of precocity. In both studies, the stimulus persons were rated as high schoolers and as adults. Results indicate that the perception of the gifted, especially females, as encountering serious social problems is still prevalent. The illusion of burnout, however, has been replaced with an illusion of unqualified success.Major reseach interests include person perception and close relationships.     

The Association Between Family Factors and Depressive Disorders in Adolescents

The main aim of this study was to examine the familial factors (parental psychopathology and attachment to parents) in depressed adolescents. Another aim was to compare level of psychosocial impairment, use of mental health services, suicidal ideation and attempt, and the clinical features of depression (e.g., severity and age of onset) among depressed adolescents with depressed parent(s) with those whose parent(s) do not have any depression. Result showed that the adolescent depression was significantly associated with an elevated rate of having a depressed mother. Perceived level of attachment to parents, as measured using the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, was significantly lower among depressed adolescents than among adolescents without any psychiatric disorders. Depressed adolescents with depressed parents reported significantly higher suicidal ideation and had more recurrent depressive episodes than depressed adolescents with nondepressed parent(s). Our results imply the importance of shifting our focus from universal programs to family-based prevention and intervention programs for depression.     

Agricultural pesticide abuse in Texas: A case study in the mobilization of law

This article focuses on why and how law was mobilized to regulate agricultural pesticide abuse in Texas during the 1980s. Pesticide abuse is defined as a significant, violent corporate crime worthy of additional analysis. The dynamic forces leading to development of reactive and proactive mobilization efforts are examined. Black’s propositions that proactive law becomes the major form of mobilization in regard to generalized social needs, in conflict situations, and in protection of society’s lower strata are confirmed. Restraints and limits on legal mobilization are discussed.     

European Union Training Missions: security sector reform or counter-insurgency by proxy?

With European Union Training Missions (EUTM) Mali and EUTM Somalia, the EU seeks to stabilize countries facing state weakness caused by intrastate conflict. While the EU formally promotes security sector reform (SSR) through its foreign policy, the EUTM missions in Mali and Somalia in one sense can be described as “counter-insurgency by proxy” as military trainees combat local insurgencies shortly upon graduation. This raises the question whether the EUTM missions are consistent with SSR aims, such as creating a security sector that is legitimate, sustainable, and under civilian control, or inadvertently risk contributing to negative side effects in the medium term. Based on extensive interviews in Belgium, Kenya, Mali, Sweden, and Uganda with personnel who either served in or planned these missions, this study analyses factors which hinder the EUTM concept from being fully consistent with SSR and identifies possible policies to ameliorate the risk of unintended side effects.     

Thinking about Violence

In the book, Enduring Violence: Ladina Women’s Lives in Guatemala, I assembled a lens to shed light on the less visible and routinized aspects of violence in women’s lives, based on field work I conducted among ladina women in eastern Guatemala and indigenous Maya women in the western highlands. In this piece I reflect on the connections between the framework I developed in this book and theoretical extensions to study similar cases of gender violence in other contexts as well as on the possibilities for engaging in public sociology that this work has created. I also take the opportunity to respond to a few critics so as to engage in productive dialogue that can inform future work in this area.     

How Coordinated Capitalism Adapts to the Knowledge Economy: Different Upskilling Strategies in Germany and Switzerland

The rise of the knowledge economy challenges coordinated models of capitalism by requiring their skill formation systems to produce a workforce with higher skills. This paper examines how coordinated capitalism adapts to upskilling pressures by jointly studying general education and vocational education and training (VET) at both upper-secondary and tertiary levels. Employing a comparative research design covering German and Swiss upskilling efforts over the past 50 years, we observe important differences. Switzerland, with influential small firms and weak union presence, focuses on keeping VET an attractive option at upper-secondary level by favoring VET graduates' access to tertiary education. By contrast, Germany, marked by large firm dominance and influential unions, concentrates on expanding general education throughout and adding vocational elements later. Our analysis suggests that firms' reform preferences are conditioned by their size and political constraints to reform.