GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN: GOALS AND SUPPORT GROUPS

More grandparents are raising grandchildren than ever before. Success in overcoming their unique problems requires that grandparents be optimistic and adjust to their new role; learn about child and adolescent development in today's society; cooperate with the parent who shares responsibility for providing care; monitor social and academic development; become aware of available services, obligations, and rights; and obtain periodic relief from the demands of the role. Full‐time grandparents often rely on support groups for advice and comfort. The merits of this approach are identified, along with ways to improve group interaction by encouraging hopeful attitudes and constructive behavior, setting guidelines for discussion, emphasizing communication with family members, and making education the basis for grandparent development.     

The Impact of Relational Characteristics and Reasons for Topic Avoidance on Relational Closeness

Although research suggests that the act of topic avoidance itself has consequences for romantic partners, it seems equally likely that the antecedent conditions underlying these decisions to avoid certain topics also lead to important relational outcomes. Framed by communication boundary management theory, relationship characteristics, motivation for topic avoidance, and implications for relational closeness were examined. Findings indicate that relational commitment characteristics and individuals' reported rationale for topic avoidance are related to perceptions of relational closeness. These results illustrate the importance of understanding the underlying factors that motivate the decision to engage in topic avoidance and their impact on romantic relationships.     

Knowledge of Normal and Pathological Memory Aging in College Students,Social Workers,and Health Care Professionals

The Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) measures laypersons' knowledge of normal memory changes and pathological memory deficits in adulthood. In Experiment 1, undergraduate and graduate social work students and social work practitioners completed the KMAQ. Social workers and graduate students were more accurate on the pathological than normal memory aging items, but undergraduate students' knowledge did not differ by question type. Experiment 2 was a conceptual replication where the same pattern of outcomes was obtained using a more heterogeneous sample to increase the ecological validity of the findings. Results confirmed that nonmedical and medical staff at an assisted living facility and health care professionals were more accurate on the pathological than normal memory aging items. Community college and university students' accuracy was similar across question type. Implications for research and the design of education programs to increase awareness of normal and pathological memory deficits in late life are considered.     

Memory Aging Knowledge and Memory Self-Appraisal in Younger and Older Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among memory aging knowledge and memory self-appraisal in college students and community-dwelling older adults. Participants completed the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire ([KMAQ] Cherry, Brigman, Hawley, & Reese, 2003 Cherry , K. E. , Brigman , S. , Hawley , K. S. , & Reese , C. M. ( 2003 ). The knowledge of memory aging questionnaire: Effects of adding a ‘don't know’ response option . Educational Gerontology , 29 , 427 – 446 . doi: 10.1080/713844360 [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the Memory Functioning Questionnaire ([MFQ] Gilewski, Zelinski, & Schaie, 1990 Gilewski , M. J. , Zelinski , E. M. , & Schaie , K. ( 1990 ). The memory functioning questionnaire for assessment of memory complaints in adulthood and old age . Psychology and Aging , 5 , 482 – 490 . doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.5.4.482 [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We hypothesized that poorer performance on the KMAQ stereotype scale, suggesting an ageist response bias, would be associated with more negative self-appraisals of memory. Results confirmed that responses on the KMAQ stereotype scale were significantly associated with responses on the MFQ Frequency of Forgetting scale and two shorter scales derived from the full MFQ, the memory self-efficacy scale (Zelinski & Gilewski, 2004 Zelinski , E. M. , & Gilewski , M. J. ( 2004 ). A 10-item Rasch modeled memory self-efficacy scale . Aging & Mental Health , 8 , 293 – 306 . doi: 10.1080/13607860410001709665 [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and a revised Seriousness of Forgetting scale after controlling for age and educational level. Implications of these findings for the development of instructional materials to improve memory aging knowledge and memory self-appraisal in adulthood are discussed.     

Entitlement: The Coming Debate on Higher Education

There are differing opinions about how to achieve the national goal of “No Child Left Behind.” Concerns involve relevance and fairness of tests students must pass, merits and drawbacks of retention policies, access to tutoring, qualification of teachers, and sufficient funding. These issues may expand to include debate about whether college and vocational training should become an entitlement. Related factors are rising tuition, financial aid, demographic changes, career planning, curriculum practicality, and labor market forecasts.     

“It's Cheesy When They Smile

Building on previous research in which we provided an opportunity for female college athletes to construct their own photographic portrayals, this study explored young female athletes' perceptions of the college athlete photographs. Fifty-two girls participated in focus group interviews where they viewed and discussed the images. The young athletes particularly liked images they perceived to show authentic athletes (e.g., in athletic settings, with appropriate sport attire), images they could relate to due to personal experiences, and images that reflected competent and passionate sportswomen. Images perceived as revealing a lack of motivation, poor sporting attitudes, and nonathletic poses generally were disliked. Images depicting multiple social identities (e.g., an athlete in a dress) were controversial and generated much discussion.     

Understanding capacity through the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in nonprofit community sport organizations

Engaging in relationships with other organizations is one way for nonprofit community sport organizations (CSOs) to acquire needed resources, knowledge, and other social benefits while achieving important public purposes and building community cohesion. This study explored the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in CSOs through semi-structured interviews with presidents of these organizations (N = 20). The findings revealed key relationship processes including trust, consistency, balance, and engagement as well as specific management skills. The findings also revealed that relationships impacted CSOs through enabling improvements to program/service quality and operations, and enhancing community presence. The study contributes to the interorganizational relationship literature and our understanding of how relationships advance organizational goals in this small nonprofit context.