Comparing maltreating fathers and mothers in terms of personal distress, interpersonal functioning, and perceptions of family climate

OBJECTIVE: This study compared perceptions of personal distress, interpersonal and marital problems, and aspects of family climate of maltreating fathers and mothers. METHODS: Subjects were 2841 offenders (1918 of whom were fathers or father-figures) who were identified and treated by the USAF Family Advocacy Program between 1988 and 1996. Independent variables for the analysis were parent sex (mother vs. father) as well as type and severity of maltreatment, history of repeat offenses, and history of abuse in childhood. RESULTS: Maltreating mothers were more distressed and reported more problems from individuals outside the family than maltreating fathers; fathers reported more rigid expectations for children, less cohesive families, and less organized families than did maltreating mothers. Regardless of parental sex, victimization in the family of origin was related to distress and unhappiness. Similarly, both victimization in the family of origin and history of repeated offenses were powerful predictors of a more negative family climate regardless of the offending parent's sex. No significant statistical interactions between parental sex and other independent variables were found when predicting personal and interpersonal distress, marital problems, or family climate. CONCLUSIONS: Studies rarely examine maltreating fathers except in the context of sexual abuse. Fewer still compare maltreating mothers and fathers. This study identified meaningful, though generally small, differences between maltreating mothers and fathers. Patterns suggest that maltreating mothers may tend to cope more poorly with personal distress, whereas maltreating fathers tend to operate in a family climate that is both distant and rigid, while holding inappropriate expectations for children's behavior. The absence of interactions between parental sex and the other independent variables included in the analysis indicate that these patterns do not vary by the history of victimization in the family of origin, the type or severity of child maltreatment, or the history of prior maltreatment in the family.     

But can she cook? Women’s education and housework productivity

Previous inquiries into the relationship between education and housework productivity reveal that expectations differ along disciplinary (i.e., economics vs. non-economics) lines and empirical results from the economics literature are mixed. Expectations of a positive sign between education and housework productivity in the economics literature may be a function of misinterpretations of [J. Polit. Economy 81 (1973) 306] original theory pertaining to all non-market production, which is far more general than just housework. Mixed empirical results may be a function of incomplete or overly assumption-reliant econometric models derived previously. We streamline the procedures for estimating the parameters of a one-person, one-period housework production function such that the system of equations may be specified with a single, literature-based assumption. Our estimation of the production function parameter that measures the effect of education on housework productivity suggests that authors in the non-economics literature may have a point; the relationship between education and housework productivity may be negative due to “morale” effects.     

Evaluating Subject Attainment in Secondary Schools without a Prior Measure of Pupil Potential

Recent developments in statistics have enabled much more effective use to be made of examination results both in educational research and in school management. These developments, however, have assumed that the educational potential of pupils can be assessed by some measure external to the teaching context, such as score on a standardised test of verbal reasoning. This paper considers the extent to which examination results can be used in this way without such an external measure. A method is described which involves comparing a pupil's grade in a given subject with what that pupil would expect on the basis of his/her grades in other subjects taken at the same time. Evidence is presented which suggests that, for most subjects, the resulting measure of subject attainment is not affected by the nature of the catchment area. Applications of the method in studying subject‐based patterns at school, regional and national levels are explored and limitations to its use in research and management are outlined.     

A place to learn: cultivating engaging learning environments for young rural Aboriginal Australians

Rural Aboriginal Australians experience disadvantage across a number of significant social and economic outcomes, including educational engagement and achievement. Current debate postulates that educational environments and systems perpetuate this disadvantage. This qualitative study aimed to contribute to the debate by taking a broader ecological view to consider the aspects of the learning environment that may promote engagement with learning. This paper reports on research conducted in a community-based programme designed to support the engagement of young rural Aboriginal students. A total of 32 participants (including children, parents/carers, tutors, managers, and local teachers) were interviewed to explicate their perspectives on the key aspects of the learning environment that fostered student engagement. An analysis of the interview data identified core characteristics that could be employed to foster engagement and thus contribute to developing equity and self-determination for young rural Aboriginal Australians. Core characteristics that were valued included: a focus on learning and individualised pace; a flexible and relaxed atmosphere; individualised assistance; having an adult who showed interest in the child and their learning; providing a culturally secure learning environment; provision of food; supplying transportation; and staff being part of the same community. This paper contends that these characteristics are valued by the community and thus should inform the practices within the community-based programme as well as mainstream education to facilitate future engagement in learning.     

Perceived Local Job Prospects and School Connectedness in a Struggling Rural Economy: A Life-Course Perspective

Late in first decade of the 2000s, the closing of pulp and paper mills in the rural northeastern United States contributed to economic decline in the region and to rising concerns about population decline due to out-migration among local emerging adults in search of occupational or educational opportunities. In this context, and drawing on a life-course framework, the present study used four waves of panel data from the population of 7th- and 11th-grade public school students in a rural northeastern U.S. county to explore whether the county unemployment rate was related to perceived local job prospects; school connectedness was related to subsequent perceived job prospects; and the effects of county unemployment and school connectedness on perceived local job prospects varied by age cohort. Initially, changes in respondents’ perceptions about local job prospects paralleled shifts in local unemployment similarly for both cohorts; yet after the older cohort respondents had completed high school, their perceived local job prospects fell sharply, while perceptions among the younger cohort respondents, who were still in high school, remained stable. Among the older cohort respondents only, school connectedness was associated with subsequent positive perceptions about local job prospects net of relevant controls. Same-age cohort comparisons, evaluated when each cohort was in 12th-grade, showed no differences in the short-term effects of school connectedness on perceived local job prospects, despite variations in the age-linked timing of the most dramatic rise in unemployment during the study. The results highlight the lasting importance of school connectedness for teens raised in struggling rural economies.