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Attention to same-sex marriage has increased in the past decade. This study examines the perceptions of same-sex marriage among social work faculty. Faculty play a critical role in preparing future social workers for competent, ethical practice--including advocacy for social policies inclusive of sexual minorities. The present study investigates endorsement of same-sex marriage among teaching faculty in U.S. and English-speaking Canadian MSW programs. Twelve factors were found to be significant in the bivariate analyses; however, only four retained significance in the multivariate analysis. Specifically, the multivariate analysis found "other race" and religiosity to be negatively associated with support for same-sex marriage, whereas acceptance of same-sex relationships and understanding gender-based oppression as the root cause of domestic and sexual violence were positively associated with same-sex marriage support. The results highlight the importance of social attitudes concerning same-sex relationships and gender-based oppression for endorsement of same-sex marriage. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.

Runaway youth may experience a myriad of challenges associated with significant risks to health and well‐being. To examine the prevalence and correlates of running away from home among US youth. Annual US nationally representative samples of 8th and 10th graders between 2005 and 2017 from the Monitoring the Future study. Self‐reports of nationally representative samples of 8th and 10th graders in the US Annual survey data from 8th and 10th graders spanning 2005–2017, n = 116,520. The primary outcome of this study, running away from home in the past 12 months, was examined using multivariable weighted logistic regression. Predictor measures included: parent and peer relationships, school factors (e.g., grade point average [GPA]), internalizing symptoms, externalizing behavior, and substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes). Demographic measures in the model were grade level (8th or 10th), gender (boys or girls), parent education, and race/ethnicity. The annual prevalence of running away decreased significantly from 8.3% in 2005 to 6.1% in 2017. Demographically, running away from home was significantly lower among boys compared with girls. Multivariable logistic regression model results revealed that higher levels of parental involvement, GPA, and self‐esteem are all significantly related to lower odds of running away from home. Having peers who drop out of school, going on more date nights, self‐derogation, interpersonal aggression, sensation seeking, theft, and property damage, as well as past 12‐month alcohol use, past 12‐month marijuana use, and past 30‐day cigarette use were all associated with higher odds of running away from home. Annual prevalence of running away from home has been decreasing, but still affects a large number of teens. Running away is associated with numerous challenges across social, behavioral, and health domains that can further negatively impact the health and well‐being of this already vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study used the family stress model to test the mechanisms by which economic insecurity contributes to mothers' and fathers' mental health and couples' relationship functioning. Background: Although low household income has been a focus of poverty research, material hardship—defined as everyday challenges related to making ends meet including difficulties paying for housing, utilities, food, or medical care—is common among American families. Methods: Participants were from the Building Strong Families project. Couples were racially diverse (43.52% Black; 28.88% Latinx; 17.29% White; 10.31% Other) and living with low income (N = 2794). Economic insecurity included income poverty and material hardship. Bayesian mediation analysis was employed, taking advantage of the prior evidence base of the family stress model. Results: Material hardship, but not income poverty, predicted higher levels of both maternal and paternal depressive symptoms. Only paternal depressive symptoms were linked with higher levels of destructive interparental conflict (i.e., moderate verbal aggression couples use that could be harmful to the partner relationship). Mediation analysis confirmed that material hardship operated primarily through paternal depressive symptoms in its association with destructive interparental conflict. Conclusion: The economic stress of meeting the daily material needs of the family sets the stage for parental mental health problems that carry over to destructive interparental conflict, especially through paternal depressive symptoms. Implications: Family‐strengthening programs may want to consider interventions to address material hardship (e.g., comprehensive needs assessments, connections to community‐based resources, parents' employment training) as part of their efforts to address parental mental health and couples' destructive conflict behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Corporal punishment is still widely practiced around the globe, despite the large body of child development research that substantiates its short- and long-term consequences. Within this context, this paper examined the relationship between parental use of corporal punishment and youth externalizing behavior with a Chilean sample to add to the growing empirical evidence concerning the potential relationship between increased corporal punishment and undesirable youth outcomes across cultures. Methods: Analysis was based on 919 adolescents in Santiago, Chile. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which parents' use of corporal punishment and positive family measures were associated with youth externalizing behavior. Furthermore, the associations between self-reported externalizing behavior and infrequent, as well as frequent, use of corporal punishment were investigated to understand how varying levels of parental use of corporal punishment were differently related to youth outcomes. Results: Both mothers' and fathers' use of corporal punishment were associated with greater youth externalizing behavior. Additionally, increases in positive parenting practices, such as parental warmth and family involvement, were met with decreases in youth externalizing behavior when controlling for youth demographics, family socioeconomic status, and parents' use of corporal punishment. Finally, both infrequent and frequent use of corporal punishment were positively associated with higher youth problem behaviors, though frequent corporal punishment had a stronger relationship with externalizing behavior than did infrequent corporal punishment. Conclusions: Parental use of corporal punishment, even on an occasional basis, is associated with greater externalizing behavior for youth while a warm and involving family environment may protect youth from serious problem behaviors. Therefore, findings of this study add to the growing evidence concerning the negative consequences of corporal punishment for youth outcomes. (Contains 4 tables.)

Considerable research in the United States has established that adolescent antisocial, aggressive, and attention problem behaviors negatively influence adolescents' ability to become productive members of society. However, little is known about the development of these problems among adolescents in other countries. This study contributes to our understanding of personality and parenting factors associated with adolescent problem behaviors using an international sample. Data are from a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded study of 884 community-dwelling adolescents in Santiago, Chile, of mid-to-low socioeconomic status. Results reveal that rule-breaking and aggressive behaviors were both associated with greater levels of adolescent drive but lower levels of parental monitoring and positive parenting by both parents. Adolescents who reported more attention problems were more likely to exhibit driven behavior and more behavioral inhibition and to report lower levels of parental monitoring and positive parenting by mother and father. Results of interactions revealed that the influences of positive parenting and parental monitoring on adolescent aggressive behaviors varied as a function of the gender of the adolescent. Helping parents build on their parenting skills may result in important reductions in adolescent problem behaviors among U.S. and international adolescents. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and correlates of eating disorders among a community-based sample of female Chilean adolescents. Data were collected through structured interviews with 420 female adolescents residing in Santiago, Chile. Approximately 4% of the sample reported ever being diagnosed with an eating disorder. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that those with higher symptoms of anxiety and who had tried cigarettes were significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with an eating disorder. Findings indicate that Chilean female adolescents are at risk for eating disorders and that eating disorders, albeit maladaptive, may be a means to cope with negative affect, specifically anxiety.

This study examined the associations of 11 discipline techniques with children's aggressive and anxious behaviors in an international sample of mothers and children from 6 countries and determined whether any significant associations were moderated by mothers' and children's perceived normativeness of the techniques. Participants included 292 mothers and their 8- to 12-year-old children living in China, India, Italy, Kenya, Philippines, and Thailand. Parallel multilevel and fixed effects models revealed that mothers' use of corporal punishment, expressing disappointment, and yelling were significantly related to more child aggression symptoms, whereas giving a time-out, using corporal punishment, expressing disappointment, and shaming were significantly related to greater child anxiety symptoms. Some moderation of these associations was found for children's perceptions of normativeness.

The United States is currently experiencing an epidemic of children who are overweight or obese. Recently, research on child obesity has begun to examine the relationship between neighborhood environments and the health behaviors of youths. The current study used growth curve analysis based on multilevel modeling to examine the relationship between parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's body mass index (BMI). Parents' perceptions of neighborhood safety had a significant association with children's BMI, and this relationship was fully mediated by television viewing. The results of this study suggest that when parents perceive their neighborhood to be unsafe, they will restrict their children's outdoor activities and increase the likelihood of sedentary indoor activity. Policies aimed at reducing overweight and obesity in children should take into account the neighborhood contexts in which children live.

Success in school is a vital developmental outcome for children. In recent decades, it has been shown that school outcomes are influenced by a variety of environments and social processes in the lives of children, both within and across the central microsystems of family, school, and neighborhood. The current study used a multilevel analytic strategy and three data sources--a community survey, the 2000 census, and citywide school achievement data--to examine the association between neighborhood social capital and physical conditions with academic achievement. The sample comprised predominantly African American children in first through eighth grades in a midsized Midwest industrial city. Results revealed that increased levels of neighborhood bonding social capital and lower levels of poor physical conditions were predictive of higher student scores on achievement tests in math and reading. In addition, as children progressed from the first through the eight grades, the magnitude of the effect of bonding social capital and poor neighborhood physical conditions on school achievement increased.

Research investigating neighborhood effects on children and families has been largely deficit and individual-focused, investigated structural variables, and has typically produced equivocal findings and small effect sizes. We suggest an approach focused on community strengths and resources that stresses the role of measures of social interaction variables and the utilization of analytic strategies that model the spatial and nested nature of contextual effects. To that end, we offer a community resilience model that includes both community-level risk and protective factors, and suggests sources to obtain community-level strengths data. We also provide a guide for locating community resource data appropriate for use in neighborhood effects research utilizing geographical information systems, multilevel modeling, and spatial analytic strategies. Finally, we discuss the challenges and issues to be addressed in further developing a strategy for investigating neighborhood effects from a strengths perspective. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Corporal punishment has been the focus of considerable study over the past decade. Some recent research suggesting that the use of corporal punishment may have significant long-term negative effects on children has prompted increasing exploration and interest in the issue. We used tobit regression analysis and data from the 2000 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine both the prevalence and the chronicity of spanking in a nationally representative sample of parents. Mother's characteristics (e.g., age, education) and neighborhood context did not show a relationship with parental use of corporal punishment. Among parents who used corporal punishment, being Protestant had a relatively large relationship with its use. Although children's externalizing behaviors had some association with parents propensity to spank, findings suggest that use of corporal punishment may be better understood as part of a constellation of behaviors relating to a parenting style. Further, findings indicate that it is easier to predict the incidence of corporal punishment than to predict its frequency of use.

Three developmental contexts--school, neighborhood, and family--influence school outcomes. The focus of the current investigation was on the promotive role of 4 family factors--family satisfaction, family support, family integration, and home academic culture--on 3 school outcomes. These outcomes included student self-reported sense of school coherence, avoidance of problem behavior, and academic performance. Utilizing a hierarchical linear modeling strategy and a national probability sample, the family protective factors of interest displayed a significant but differential pattern of impact on the 3 school outcomes studied. Findings related to neighborhood and school factors, as well as race/ethnicity, are also reported and discussed. The implications of these findings with respect to practice and policy are addressed.

Childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) can have lasting effects on well-being. Children also display resilience following IPV exposure. Yet, little research has prospectively followed changes in both maladaptive and adaptive outcomes in children who experience IPV in early life. The goal of the current study was to investigate how child factors (irritability), trauma history (severity of IPV exposure), maternal factors (mental health, parenting), and early intervention relate to trajectories of behavior problems (internalizing and externalizing problems) and resilience (prosocial behavior, emotion regulation), over 8 years. One hundred twenty mother-child dyads participated in a community-based randomized controlled trial of an intervention for IPV-exposed children and their mothers. Families completed follow-up assessments 6–8 months (N = 71) and 6–8 years (N = 68) later. Although intention-to-treat analyses did not reveal significant intervention effects, per-protocol analyses suggested that participants receiving an effective dose (eight sessions) of the treatment had fewer internalizing problems over time. Child irritability and maternal parenting were associated with both behavior problems and resilience. Maternal mental health was uniquely associated with child behavior problems, whereas maternal positive parenting was uniquely associated with child resilience. Results support the need for a dyadic perspective on child adjustment following IPV exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the effectiveness of the Qungasvik (Tools for Life) intervention in enhancing protective factors as a universal suicide and alcohol prevention strategy for young people ages 12−18 living in highly affected rural Alaska Native communities. Four communities were assigned to immediate intervention or to a dynamic wait list. Outcomes were analyzed for 239 young people at four time points over two years of community intervention. Outcomes assessed two ultimate variable protective factors buffering suicide and alcohol risk, and three intermediate variable protective factors at the individual, family, and community level. Dose dependent intervention effects were associated with growth in ultimate but not intermediate variables. This evaluation of the Qungasvik intervention provides support for the effectiveness of its Indigenous strategies for suicide and alcohol misuse prevention in this rural Alaska Native setting. Though findings did not provide support for a theory of change where growth in ultimate variables is occasioned through effects on intermediate variables, research designs focused on young people who enter intervention at lower levels of preexisting protection hold promise for better understanding of intervention change processes. The Qungasvik intervention is responsive to an acute public health need for effective rural Alaska Native suicide and alcohol risk prevention strategies. Highlights: The Qungasvik intervention promotes protective factors to prevent suicide and alcohol misuse.We examined the effectiveness of Qungasvik in a dynamic wait‐listed community‐level trial.Intervention was associated with growth in ultimate variables protective from suicide and alcohol.This provides an evidence base for a rural Alaska Native suicide and alcohol prevention strategy.Findings support an Indigenous intervention strategy using a protective factor framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to examine the effect of corporal punishment on antisocial behavior of children using stronger statistical controls than earlier literature in this area; to examine whether the effect of corporal punishment on antisocial behavior is nonlinear; and to investigate whether the effects of corporal punishment on antisocial behavior differ across racial and ethnic groups. The author used a nonexperimental design and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The analysis was conducted using fixed-effects methods to control for observed independent variables and unobserved time-invariant variables. Corporal punishment had a nontrivial effect on children's antisocial behavior in later years despite the strong controls introduced by the fixed-effects models. The analysis provides no evidence for differences in the effect of corporal punishment across racial and ethnic groups.

This article presents early descriptive findings on youths and their experiences in the first 12 to 18 months after leaving foster care as part of the state of Wisconsin's Foster Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study. Findings suggest that the transition to independence is a difficult time for youth leaving the out-of-home care system. (Author/SD)

Executive functioning (EF), or a set of related cognitive skills that facilitate goal-oriented behavior, is a critical aspect of adaptive development. Mounting research indicates that exposure to environmental threats during the preschool years jeopardizes EF; however, the extent and mechanisms through which early exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) influences children's EF are unknown. Using data from an eight-year longitudinal investigation of mothers who had experienced IPV and their preschool-aged children (N = 120), this study examined the relative influence of recent and remote IPV exposure on speeded control—a component of EF influenced by processing speed—in late childhood. Results indicated that preschoolers' IPV exposure had a significant negative impact on their speeded control eight years later, and this relation was mediated by the remote effects of IPV on their mothers. Specifically, IPV was positively associated with maternal depression, which in turn contributed to greater use of negative parenting strategies when children were of preschool age. Children's IPV exposure during late childhood was not predictive of their concurrent speeded control. These findings lend further evidence to the notion that the preschool years are a sensitive period for the mastery of EF skills and that IPV exposure is a distinct risk factor that can have protracted effects on children's cognitive development. Further, this study points to modifiable environmental risk factors, which, through targeted prevention and intervention efforts, could promote EF across the lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the scope and adverse clinical consequences of child abuse, assessment of salient etiological factors can lend critical insights needed for abuse prevention. Increasingly, dual-processing models have been applied to aggression, which postulate that parallel automatic and conscious processes can evoke aggressive behavior, implicating both affective and cognitive elements in both routes. Using two samples of mothers (n = 110 and n = 195), the current investigation considered evidence of the reliability and convergent, concurrent, and construct validity of the new Automatic Parent Emotion Analog Response task relevant to parent–child aggression, contrasted with a self-reported conscious processing measure. Findings provide evidence that affective reactions of both anger and worry relate to child abuse risk and inclination to respond aggressively, and demonstrate how mothers' automatic reactions relate to both perceived child misbehavior and child dangerous behavior. Current results lend psychometric support for automatic processing in parent–child aggression consistent with other dual-processing theories of aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]