The purpose of this research is to determine if certain demographic, health, and financial characteristics discriminate between a group of preretirees who anticipate post-retirement employment and a group of those who do not. The data for this investigation are from a study which included employees of nine western region land grant universities. The data were collected independently in each state by mail questionnaire following the Dillman Total Design Method. Discriminant functions were computed and the results suggest that for this sample of preretirees the demographic, health, and financial characteristics which were examined are not significant predictors of anticipated post-retirement employment. Although the outcome of this study did not present any outstanding significant findings, the results do indicate that there is a need to continue investigating the characteristics of those who expect to be employed during retirement.

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of socialization processes and antecedent variables on children's evaluative criteria for clothing purchases and to examine antecedent variables on the socialization process. A total of 500 parents of children from the first through sixth grade were systematically selected from the Directory of Catalina Foothills School District and mailed a questionnaire. Using principal components factor analysis on parental socialization variables and on evaluative criteria items, nine factors were developed. Based on stepwise multiple regression analysis for each hypothesis, it was concluded that antecedent variables have direct influence on socialization process variables which, in turn, impacts the outcome variables. Antecedent variables, however, tended to have limited direct influence on outcome variables but have an indirect effect on outcome variables only through socialization variables.

This study examined early adolescent risk for substance use in a sample of 1,170 sixth and seventh graders. Risk was assessed by inspecting the predictive strength of thirteen continuous variables from the interpersonal (peer pressure, peer substance use, parental monitoring, parent-child involvement, academic achievement, and school adjustment) and intrapersonal (self efficacy, impulsivity, withdrawal, depression, somatization, delinquency, and aggression) domains. Consistent with expectations, mean levels of substance use did not differ by gender or ethnicity (Caucasians and Hispanics). In addition, model-free LISREL analyses revealed underlying process similarity of predictors between sixth and seventh graders and between Caucasians and Hispanics. Interpersonal variables accounted for significantly more variance in early adolescent lifetime substance use than intrapersonal variables (39% versus 25%). Finally, weighting continuous independent predictors did not meaningfully improve prediction of lifetime substance use. The importance of process similarity and the significance of the peer domain in early adolescent substance use are discussed.

This paper shows how the battered women's shelter where I work has become, like many other battered women's shelters in the US, enmeshed in a bureaucratic web of procedures and requirements. The shelter uses a therapeutic, self-help model in its approach to counseling residents, partly as a result of its bureaucratization. This paper provides a forum to discuss the advantages and disadvantages to the shelter's use of the self-help model, and proposes the adoption of a different counseling model by the shelter, that of resistance. Data from interviews conducted individually with thirteen shelter residents over a period of six months buttress the recommendation.

<p> Holding both work and family roles can be a central experience for men and women, young or old. Yet, to date, the bulk of knowledge on holding roles in both domains is specific to young adults, a critical gap as conditions warrant longer work life. This inquiry thus focused on older working men and women (over 50 years of age) with at least one family role (spouse, parent of adult children, caregiver to an aging parent, or grandparent). With survey data from the Health and Retirement Study in 2010 and 2012, latent profile analysis, path analyses, and regressions were conducted to investigate multiple roles in later adulthood: 1) The extent older workers experience role enhancement and conflict between work and family roles because of role stressors and rewards, and patterns of role enhancement and conflict experiences, 2) The extent role enhancement and conflict (a) mediate between role rewards/stressors and psychological well-being (aging self-perceptions, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms), and (b) interact with each other when exerting their psychological impacts, 3) Gender differences in role enhancement and conflict experiences and in their psychological consequences. Holding multiple roles in later life was characterized predominantly by work and family roles mutually enhancing each other, rather than conflicting with each other, a pattern driven primarily by low role stressors and secondarily by high role rewards. Role enhancement and conflict mediated the effects of role stressors/rewards on psychological well-being, especially on self-perceptions on aging. Interactive effects were also found: Psychological well-being was fostered by work conflicting with and enhancing the family but compromised by a similar circumstance in the family. Finally, gender differences emerged. Women benefitted more than men from multiple sources of role enhancement and from their work role (even when it enhanced and conflicted with the family). Men&rsquo;s psychological well-being was neutral to multiple sources of role enhancement, enhanced by multiple sources of role conflict, and compromised by later-life family (when it enhanced and conflicted with work). In conclusion, although men and women experienced multiple roles in unique ways, they overwhelmingly benefitted from socially recognized activities from work and family roles.</p>

<p> Community mental health centers are actively pursuing evidence-based practices to help serve adolescents with serious emotional disturbances (Painter, 2012) and maintain adolescents in their homes who are at-risk for placement in residential care facilities (Copp, Bordnick, Traylor, &amp; Thyer, 2007). Family preservation programs attempt to improve family functioning and dissuade future out-of-home placement (Diamond &amp; Morris, 2011). The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between the characteristics and outcomes of at-risk adolescents through secondary data. This study used a theoretical approach of the social learning theory developed by Albert Bandura (1973). The overall research question was as follows: Is there a significant difference between age, gender, and the length of treatment among adolescents in family preservation services? The study sampled 79 completed records of adolescents, age 1117, who received family preservation services in a Southeastern state over a five-year period and discharged from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2014. The quantitative research design was intended to examine the relationship between age, gender, length of treatment, and treatment outcomes of at-risk adolescents using archived data from the Child Behavior Checklist and the Global Assessment Functioning. The results of this study were shared with the administrators of the community mental health center. Excerpts of the written report of this study were discussed in detail with the administrators. This study has demonstrated that the participants of family preservation services experience significant differences in treatment outcomes of length of treatment, but not in age and gender. Implications for service delivery, especially successful completion of services, were discussed. Recommendations for future research are suggested at the conclusion of this study.</p>

<p> The use of social technologies continues to grow at a rapid pace. Such technologies free individuals to communicate with one another in a multitude of ways without the need to be face-to-face in the same room This study was designed to explore, based on a small sample of case studies, the usefulness of one way that social technology is employed today, collaborative email letter writing (CELW), when used in conjunction with live therapy sessions to counsel a self-injuring population. Currently, most email counseling consists of exchanging communications without live clinical intervention (Heinlein, Welfel, Richmond, &amp; Rack, 2003). While self-injury behavior (SIB) is on the rise (Conterio &amp; Lader, 1998; Zila &amp; Kiselica, 2001), there is little evidence that shows that either traditional or systemic postmodern therapies are useful in treating SIB in adolescents or young adults. Alternative forms of communication, such as letter writing (Freedman &amp; Combs, 1996; White, 1995; White &amp; Epston, 1990), have proven to benefit a variety of clients who have a difficult time expressing emotions in live therapy sessions. However, research studies on CELW as an ongoing therapeutic technique with clients are extremely limited. To address this gap, I conducted a qualitative case study on a small sample of clients in which I explored how CELW could be used with certain clients. Considering the in-depth understanding of the therapeutic participant-observer, therapist CELW, client CELW, and the researcher's experience, I sought to establish the meanings of multiple perspectives for analysis of this underused therapeutic technique. I used a cross-case analysis of three individual cases to provide both an in-depth understanding of the similarities and differences across three case studies, and to understand how clinicians might incorporate this additional resource into their clinical practices.</p>

<p> This study examined the experiences of bilingual parents who have a child with a disability, during two points in the special education process, eligibility and IEP. This study was designed to interpret parents&rsquo; experiences using Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and Social Dominance Theory (Sidanius &amp; Pratto, 1999) in order to draw conclusions as to if parents provide informed consent. </p><p> The population included nine parents of students with disabilities. The parents all identified as Hispanic, native Spanish speakers, and as a primary caretaker of the child with a disability. Basic qualitative research (Merriam, 2009) was conducted, and study data was collected by a semi-structured interview protocol. The interviews were conducted by the researcher, or a qualified Spanish speaker if needed. Data was transcribed, and analyzed using qualitative analysis to determine emerging themes. </p><p> The study&rsquo;s results provided evidence on parents&rsquo; perceptions on the special education process impact their provision to provide informed consent. Parents perceived they were involved in the special education process, they used relationships with others to find support in the special education process, and they perceived barriers to participating in the special education process. Analysis of these findings on parental perceptions during the IEP process reveal that bilingual parents are not providing informed consent. Recommendations that can be implemented at a teacher, school, or policy level are made.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to ascertain the various factors that influenced these first-generation college women as they chose a college and selected a STEM major and subsequently persisted to upper level (junior/senior) status. Twenty-five first-generation college women in STEM majors who attended a research-intensive university in the Midwest were interviewed. Approaching this study using constructivist grounded theory provided the opportunity for deeper insights by examining data at a conceptual level while preserving the voices of the women in this study. The women faced numerous challenges on their journeys, yet they persisted. As the women in this study selected and persisted in STEM, they demonstrated thoughtful determination, experienced shifting identities, established purposeful relationships and applied forward thinking, as they practiced high-stakes decision-making during their journeys. The experiences of these women, namely first-generation women in STEM fields, may inform students, parents, educators, researchers, and policymakers concerned with (a) inspiring students to consider STEM majors, (b) fostering student success in STEM throughout their academic journeys, and (c) ultimately increasing the number of underrepresented minorities and women in the STEM fields.</p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the lived experience of White, American, middle-class international adoptive mothers. This project excavates the emotional, psychological and cultural sequelae of the international adoptive mother&rsquo;s matrescence, her process of becoming a mother from the earliest stirrings of maternal desire to a mature adoptive motherhood 20 years later. Western culture hosts a predilection for myths with regard to motherhood, family and adoption and a tendency toward an idealization of them all. However, contrary to the popular myth that women who adopt internationally do so out of a motivation to rescue abandoned children, my findings reveal that their motivation mirrors that of traditional mothers&mdash;a natural desire to mother a child. Furthermore, the study reveals that what begins with a desire for motherhood becomes an unexpectedly multi-layered, multicultural and transformative pilgrimage of individuation&mdash;the feminine embodiment of Campbell&rsquo;s monomyth. Data was acquired through in-depth interviews with 13 adoptive mothers from 7 of the United States with adopted children from 10 countries. Two methodologies were used: narrative inquiry to capture the lived experience of these mothers and portraiture to convey the findings in a creative and accessible way. Narrative themes are explored through a depth psychological lens. Emergent themes include marginalization, loss and joy, blood and belonging, genetic immunity, colorblindness, special needs advocacy, tenacity and intention, awareness of White privilege, and embracing the child&rsquo;s original family and country.</p><p> Keywords: international adoption, adoptive motherhood, hero&rsquo;s journey, matrescence.</p>