The social maps of children approaching adolescence: Studying the ecology of youth development

This article reports the first results of the three-year longitudinal study of the social maps of children beginning the transition to adolescence. This exploratory study is guided by Bronfenbrenner's conception of the ecology of human development, stressing the importance of a phenomenological orientation to development in the context of ecological transitions. The study focuses on characteristics of children's social networks (the web of relationships in which the individual is involved) as a function of neighborhood type, socioeconomic status, and level of physical maturation. The social heterogeneity of the social network (e.g., the relative salience of peers versus adults) is a primary concern. The child's and parent's perceptions of the network, of the people available to help the child, and the child's friends are compared within the context of ecological, socioeconomic, and maturational factors. The results (for 111 sixth-grade children from three contrasting neighborhood schools) shed some light on age segregation and the overall heterogeneity of the social environments of children facing the transition to adolescence. They provide a context and a baseline for the longitudinal study.A version of this paper was presented at the 85th annual convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August 25–30, 1977.Received his Ph.D. in human development and family studies from Cornell University in 1973. Principal interests are the ecology of social development and child maltreatment.     

An epidemiological assessment of problematic contacts to members of Congress

In order to assess the nature of threat assessment activity pertaining to members of Congress, 4387 cases involving threatening and other problematic contact were analyzed. The cases were studied regarding subject characteristics, articulated motives, as well as several aspects of contact behavior in relation to approach behavior. Approachers were significantly less likely to have articulated threat language prior to or during their contacts and were also less likely to have stated a policy grievance (foreign or domestic) as the source of their concern. Further, approachers were substantially more likely to have expressed help seeking requests as part of their prior and approach-related contacts and were less likely to have had racial or sexualized content within their contacts. Approachers were also significantly more likely to have had a criminal record as well as displayed symptoms suggestive of major mental illness. Subjects engaging in approach behavior were also less likely to have used an alias, were less likely to be a direct constituent of the target and were more likely to have contacted multiple congressional targets. The implications for threat assessment activity are discussed.     

Since September 11, All Roads Lead to Rome

The Bush administration has repudiated President Clintons signature on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. This repudiation comes when the war on terrorism is directed against the very crimes denounced in the Rome Statute. Critical criminology has been skeptical of criminal law regimes within nations on the ground that they legitimize pre-existing power relationships. The criminal law regime among nations in the Rome Statute is the only method to delegitimize military force by any permanent member of the U.N. Security Council as well as the only forum to try accused terrorists that can offer an appearance of fairness.     

Individual Conceptions of Justice and Their Potential for Explaining Proenvironmental Decision Making

In Germany, community-based climate-protective decisions were measured on micro up to macro levels, and the role justice appraisals play in decision-making was investigated in comparison to responsibility-related and self-centered motives. Results reveal that in the field of carbon dioxide emission, gaps between those who are gaining profits and those who have to suffer from negative side effects are recognized by the community on a national as well as an international level. For gaining behavioral impact, the perception of these gaps needs to be regarded under a moral perspective and considered unjust. These justice appraisals are shown to be stable predictors of climate-protective commitments, even when powerful responsibility-related variables were included in the regression analyses. Self-centered motives proved to be of minor importance.     

School Violence Prevention: Current Status and Policy Recommendations

The purpose of this article is to identify an array of strategies that are available to schools to address concerns school violence and to identify some of the potential school or school district policy options related to those choices. We illustrate that many promising options are available to schools to address violence and other inappropriate behavior of students. The very breadth and diversity of these options may pose a problem in attempting to develop a comprehensive local policy on this topic. While many schools have chosen increasingly punitive zero‐tolerance policies as their primary strategy of violence prevention, there is little or no research evidence documenting that such an approach can contribute to school safety. Rather, effective school violence prevention requires comprehensive planning involving documented best‐practice programs, preventive strategies, and effective responses to any violence that may occur. Since research documenting the effects of violence prevention strategies is inconsistent, it is incumbent upon schools to consider carefully which programs best meet the needs of their local situation, and to monitor the effectiveness of new programs in improving school safety and reducing disruption and incivility.     

Acculturation, partner violence, and psychological distress in refugee women from Somalia

This study examined the relations among acculturation, domestic violence, and mental health in 62 married refugee women from Somalia. Refugees from Somalia constituted the largest group of refugees entering the United States in 2005, and little is known about the presence of domestic violence in this group. The results showed that women who reported greater ability to speak English also reported more experiences of partner psychological abuse and physical aggression. Experiences of more psychological abuse and physical aggressions also predicted more psychological distress. Implications for future research and psychological services are addressed.