The Intersectionality of Discrimination Attributes and Bullying Among Youth: An Applied Latent Class Analysis

Discrimination is commonly experienced among adolescents. However, little is known about the intersection of multiple attributes of discrimination and bullying. We used a latent class analysis (LCA) to illustrate the intersections of discrimination attributes and bullying, and to assess the associations of LCA membership to depressive symptoms, deliberate self harm and suicidal ideation among a sample of ethnically diverse adolescents. The data come from the 2006 Boston Youth Survey where students were asked whether they had experienced discrimination based on four attributes: race/ethnicity, immigration status, perceived sexual orientation and weight. They were also asked whether they had been bullied or assaulted for these attributes. A total of 965 (78 %) students contributed to the LCA analytic sample (45 % Non-Hispanic Black, 29 % Hispanic, 58 % Female). The LCA revealed that a 4-class solution had adequate relative and absolute fit. The 4-classes were characterized as: low discrimination (51 %); racial discrimination (33 %); sexual orientation discrimination (7 %); racial and weight discrimination with high bullying (intersectional class) (7 %). In multivariate models, compared to the low discrimination class, individuals in the sexual orientation discrimination class and the intersectional class had higher odds of engaging in deliberate self-harm. Students in the intersectional class also had higher odds of suicidal ideation. All three discrimination latent classes had significantly higher depressive symptoms compared to the low discrimination class. Multiple attributes of discrimination and bullying co-occur among adolescents. Research should consider the co-occurrence of bullying and discrimination.     

Preparations for the European Football Championship 2000

The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations commissioned the Crisis Research Center (COT)/University of Leiden to provide a profile of the current status of the organisation of Euro 2000 by compiling two audits. The first audit took place in February 2000. The authors report in this article on the results of this audit. It comprises of a content audit (enforcement; arrests and prosecution supervision, transportation and stay; hospitality) and a process audit (preparation, organisation, information, media and communication, after-phase). The audit framework offers both the researchers and the organisations involved a workable checklist for analysing and implementing the preparations for Euro 2000. In practice, it gives the researchers and the officials the idea that they have considered all the conceivable aspects of organising large-scale events.     

The dynamics of interest group evaluations of Congress

We apply a dynamic spatial model to interest group ratings of the members of Congress over the period 1959–1981. Spatial distances between an interest group and the members of Congress are assumed to be monotonic with the ratings. Our pooled cross-sectional time-series data set consists of 203,387 ratings by 59 interest groups. We restrict the spatial coordinates of the interest groups and members of Congress to be polynomial functions of time. Two significant dimensions are recovered: the first dimension, which accounts for approximately 75% of the variance, represents liberal-conservative positions on economic issues; the second dimension, which accounts for approximately an additional 5% of the variance, represents liberal-conservative positions on social issues. Nearly all the interest groups and most members of Congress are ideologically consistent. They are either liberal on both dimensions or conservative on both.     

Adolescent Sexual Timetables

Young people's age expectations for the Initiation by boys and girls of a range of sexual practices were elicited from a sample of 522 15- and 16-year-olds. As expected, there was a progression in the modal ages nominated from the least intimate (kissing) to more intimate behaviors (sexual intercourse). There were few gender differences, either for age expectations of the practices of boys and girls or between male and female respondents. There was a strong relationship between sexual timetables and timetables for autonomy and use of common drugs such as alcohol, and several marker sexual behaviors were identified that may signify the appropriateness of a range of sexual practices, It is suggested that there is a group of young people whose desire for early autonomy, substance use, and belief in early sexual activity may put them at risk.     

Physically violent mothers are a reason for young people's leaving home

In a qualitative study, 302 homeless young people (aged 12 to 20 years) were asked to discuss their reasons for leaving home. Some 103 youth cited physical violence by a parent or stepparent, and of these, 39 cited their mother's or stepmother's violence as the reason for leaving home. Females were more likely than males to report being the target of violence by their mother; however, the converse was true for stepmothers. Several discrete reasons for maternal violence were identified, including maternal personal characteristics and behaviors, issues associated with blended families, or young people's own behavior. In some cases, young people reported violence by both parents. Their attributions of maternal violence centered on a single dimension of the mother/stepmother or her relationship with a partner. They rarely discussed the contribution that they had made to the conflict or acknowledged the social context that may have been a catalyst for violence.