Serendipitous Intervention: Qualitative Findings from the Study of Dynamic Patterns of Husband-to-Wife Abuse

This mixed methods study observed day-to-day dynamics of husband-to-wife abuse. Daily reporting and weekly interaction with a research associate appeared to offer great benefit. A sample of 20 women age 20–62, were enrolled. Participants at high risk for abuse were excluded. Women who met the inclusion criteria completed a baseline questionnaire. Participants were instructed to complete a daily telephone assessment for 60 days to track the prior day’s abuse severity and potential violence predictors. Participants also completed a qualitative end-of-study interview. Women reported an increased awareness of community resources, heightened self-esteem and coping empowerment. Seven women (35 %) left their abusive relationships. Women who left were more educated but had lower socio-economic status (SES). Participants in common-law marriages were also more likely to leave. The unforeseen consequences of daily reporting coupled with regular contact with an engaged listener were positively associated with a woman’s readiness for change.     

Wanted and Unwanted Sexual Experiences and Family Dysfunction During Adolescence

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between family dysfunction and wanted, unwanted, and illegal sexual experiences that occurred during childhood and adolescence. Three hundred fifty-three subjects from a sexual abuse clinic, a family practice clinic, and a family planning clinic anonymously completed a survey on childhood sexual experiences and physical violence, family substance abuse, violence toward others, and family quality. Overall, 50% had had unwanted (USE) and wanted sexual experiences (WSE) before they turned 18. Subjects in the sexual abuse clinic had the highest percentage (90%) of unwanted or illegal sexual experiences, followed by the family planning subjects (40%) and the family practice subjects (30%). Both USE and WSE were related to family dysfunction scores, even when they were controlled for demographic influences. Family dysfunction scores were highest for those who reported USE and legal WSE and were lowest for those who reported no USE or WSE.     

Attachment cognitions and college and work functioning two years later in late adolescent women

This longitudinal study of 134 female high school seniors investigated the relationship between attachment cognitions and school and work functioning two years later. School functioning was indexed by interviewer-rated strain, stressful events, academic performance, and self-reported attitudes toward college. Work functioning was indexed by interviewer-rated strain, stressful events, and self-reported attitudes toward work. Attachment cognitions were found to be correlated with school strain, number and stress of school-related events as well as self-reported satisfaction, stress, and problems meeting deadlines. Attachment cognitions were found to be correlated with work strain, work satisfaction, tendency to overcommit, and performance anxiety. Most of these relationships persisted even when initial symptomatology was accounted for. These findings lend support to the hypothesis, derived from attachment theory, that secure attachment cognitions provide a secure base that allows the late adolescent to negotiate the challenges of college and work successfully.This research was supported by a PHS National Research Service Award to the first author, and by a grant from the W. T. Grant foundation to the second.Postdoctoral fellowDoctoral candidate     

The rough guide to love: romance,history and sexualization in gendered relationship advice

Sexualization is changing the way we think about romantic love. According to recent research, young people are increasingly confronted by narrowing ideals of sexual attractiveness making romantic intimacy increasingly difficult forcing a choice between ‘raunch or romance’. This article investigates the alleged distinction between romance and sexualization, in the process challenging claims that the current crisis of sexualization is a product of societal change in late modernity. Responding to a call to consider sexualization from a hitherto neglected historical perspective, the paper employs critical discourse analysis to identify the formation of gendered meanings and practices in How the Good Wife Taught Her Daughter, a late medieval advice text for young women, and twenty-first-century advice from the MyBliss website. Focusing on sexualized clothing, contact with others, reputation and social status, the paper argues that in both medieval and modern advice, discourses of romantic love and sexualization are mutually dependent. In addition, similarities between medieval and modern advice reveal that our current sexualization crisis is not solely a product of modern life, but is part of a longer pattern of gender normativity and inequality.     

Effects of proportionate‐share impact fees

Abstract

When it comes to paying for the significant costs of growth, local governments throughout the United States are usually the first line of financing. Yet because of a variety of factors, existing tax, fee, and inter jurisdictional transfer revenues may not be sufficient. Many hundreds (if not thousands) of communities rely in part on proportionate‐share impact fees to provide facilities concurrent with the effects of growth.

Impact fees have numerous detractors, many of whom worry about their effect on affordable housing, economic development, and development patterns. A disparate literature has emerged addressing each of these concerns. This article synthesizes current knowledge about the market effects of proportionate‐share impact fees and finds that for the most part, they facilitate development in several important ways. Policy implications and guidance for future research are presented as well.