Doreen Rosenthal

From trust on intimacy: A new inventory for examining erikson's stages of psychosocial development

A new inventory for examining the first six of Eriksons psychosocial stages is described. The self-report questionnaire, developed in a pilot study of 97 adolescents and tested in a study of 622 adolescents, has 12 items for each subscale. Measures of reliability and validity are reported. It is concluded that the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (EPSI) is a useful measure for researchers interested in development from early adolescence and in mapping changes as a function of life events.

Notes on the construction of a ‘subjective vitality questionnaire’ for ethnolinguistic groups

Group ‘vitality’ was recently proposed as a framework for objectively categorizing ethnolinguistic groups in terms of their ability to behave as distinctive collective entities in intergroup settings (Giles, Bourhis & Taylor, 1977). ‘Objective’ accounts of group vitality using status, demographic and institutional support data gathered from secondary sources appear a useful tool for comparing ethnolinguistic groups in cross‐cultural research. This article describes a new questionnaire designed to assess how group members subjectively perceive their owngroup position relative to salient outgroups on important ‘vitality’ dimensions. Group members’ ‘subjective’ vitality perceptions may be as important in determining interethnic behaviours as the Groups objectively assessed vitality. The article includes a discussion of how ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ vitality information can be combined to better account for the dynamics of interethnic relations in multilingual and multicultural settings.

The Nature and Stability of Ethnic Identity in Chinese Youth Effects of Length of Residence in Two Cultural Contexts

This study explored the ethnic identity of first- and second-generation Chinese-Australian and Chinese-American adolescents. Ethnic identity was assessed by: ethnic identification, the extent to which individuals engaged in culturally expected behaviors and their knowledge of the culture, the importance of maintaining these behaviors, and the value ascribed to their ethnic origins. Responses of Chinese-Australians and Chinese-Americans were remarkably similar. There was erosion over time of ethnic identification and behaviors/knowledge but not of the importance and evaluative components of ethnic identity. No change over time occurred in individualism-collectivism, nor did this measure relate substantially to the ethnic identity measures. Correlations between ethnic identity measures were low to moderate, suggesting that these facets of ethnic identity overlap but are not identical. The importance of analyzing separately distinctive components of ethnic identity was confirmed. Despite some attrition over time of the most external aspects of that identity, those that are more internal are more resistant to change.

Writing themselves in: a national report on the sexuality, health and well-being of same-sex attracted young people

This 1998 report is about young people who are attracted to their own sex. The need for accurate baseline figures about young people of non-heterosexual orientation has developed as part of a general concern about the spread of the HIV virus into the adolescent population and a specific concern around these young people’s emotional well-being. In the past three years, Australian adolescent research conducted by the National Centre in HIV Social Research, La Trobe University, has revealed that a significant minority of young people are not unequivocally heterosexual, with numbers ranging between 8 and 11% in recent research. Research which specifically targets this population has, until now, been conducted retrospectively and/or with people who identify as gay or lesbian recruited through gay and lesbian youth groups or the gay press. As researchers we know little about young people at pre-identity or pre-disclosure stages because their need for anonymity means they cannot be contacted through the usual channels. The young people represented in this project were accessed through an advertising campaign in National magazines, via radio and the Internet. A survey was available on a website and from the Centre for the Study of Sexually Transmissible Diseases. Surveys were also inserted in the gay and street press. These surveys sought information regarding sexual feelings and experiences as well as sexual and drug-taking practices in regard to STDs (including HIV) and related diseases. The source and adequacy of sexual health information for this group and their levels of support and experiences of abuse and discrimination were also elicited. The survey also charted young people’s perceptions of their quality of life and emotional well-being. In addition, participants were also asked to write stories about their experiences, including when they first knew about their sexual feelings, their relationships with family and friends, and their hopes for the future.

The Acculturation of Autonomy Expectations in Chinese High Schoolers Residing in 'Iwo Western Nations

Abstract In two studies. conducted in the United States and Australia. first-and second-generation high schoolers of Chinese descent, together with adolescents from the host culture (Euro-Americans and Anglo-Australians) and from Hong Kong were asked about their age expectations for behavioral autonomy. ANOVAS of 19 items and the total Tan Timetable score revealed that in both countries acculturation was very gradual. On many items second generation Chinese students were more like their Hong Kong than their Western counterparts. Rate of acculturation varied with domain, with age expectations for heterosexual interactions showing the least influence of the host culture. Discriminant analyses revealed that using all 19 items, the groups of subjects could be placed in their cultural/generational groups significantly better than by chance. Results were interpreted in terms of cultural beliefs and special factors faced by immigrant families.

Ethnicity and Ethnic Identity: A Comparative Study of Greek-, Italian-, and Anglo-Australian Adolescents

Abstract The present study explores the nature of ethnic identity in a sample of Greek-, Italian-, and Anglo-Australian adolescents. A questionnaire designed to elicit dimensions of ethnic identity was administered to 622 subjects in Years 9 and 11 of high school. For a sub-sample of adolescents, an interview probed for perceived similarities and differences between ethnic groups. The multidimensional nature of ethnic identity was evident from both measures. Similar dimensions emerged for the two ethnic minority groups but perceptions of ethnicity differed. For Greek-Australians, associated with recognition of their cultural separateness was a positive sense of valuing their ethnic origins. For Italian-Australians. cultural separateness was associated with a positive attitude to assimilation.

The Effects of Peer Group Network Properties on Drug Use Among Homeless Youth

The authors examine how the properties of peer networks affect amphetamine, cocaine, and injection drug use over 3 months among newly homeless adolescents, aged 12 to 20 in Los Angeles (n = 217; 83% retention at 3 months) and Melbourne (n = 119; 72% retention at 3 months). Several hypotheses regarding the effects of social network properties on the peer influence process are developed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses show that higher concentrations of homeless peers in networks at recruitment were associated with increased likelihood of amphetamine and cocaine use at 3-month follow-up. Higher concentrations of injecting peers were associated with increased risk of injection drug use 3 months later. Change in network structure over time toward increased concentrations of homeless peers was associated with increased risk of cocaine use and injecting. Higher density networks at baseline were positively associated with increased likelihood of cocaine and amphetamine use at 3 months.

Common perinatal mental disorders in northern Viet Nam: community prevalence and health care use

OBJECTIVE To establish the prevalence of common perinatal mental disorders their determinants, and their association with preventive health care use among women in one rural and one urban province in northern Viet Nam. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey of cohorts of pregnant women and mothers of infants recruited systematically in 10 randomly-selected communes. The women participated in psychiatrist-administered structured clinical interviews and separate structured interviews to assess sociodemographic factors, reproductive health, the intimate partner relationship, family violence and the use of preventive and psychiatric health care. Associations between these variables and perinatal mental disorders were explored through univariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression. FINDINGS Among women eligible for the study (392), 364 (93%) were recruited. Of these, 29.9% (95% confidence interval, CI: 25.20-34.70) were diagnosed with a common perinatal mental disorder (CPMD). The frequency of such disorders during pregnancy and in the postpartum period was the same. Their prevalence was higher among women in rural provinces (odds ratio, OR: 2.17; 95% CI: 1.19-3.93); exposed to intimate partner violence (OR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.12-3.96); fearful of other family members (OR: 3.36; 95% CI: 1.05-10.71) or exposed to coincidental life adversity (OR: 4.40; 95% CI: 2.44-7.93). Fewer women with a CPMD used iron supplements than women without a CPMD, but the results were not statistically significant (P = 0.05). None of the women studied had ever received mental health care. CONCLUSION Perinatal depression and anxiety are prevalent in women in northern Viet Nam. These conditions are predominantly determined by social factors, including rural residence, poverty and exposure to family violence. At present the needs of women with common perinatal mental disorders are unrecognized and not attended to and their participation in essential antenatal preventive care appears to be compromised.

Adolescent sex and the romantic narrative: Why some young heterosexuals use condoms to prevent pregnancy but not disease

Abstract Young heterosexuals are at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases as a result of their inconsistent use of condoms. When a condom is used it is more likely to be to avoid pregnancy than as protection from disease. In this paper, adolescent use of condoms is theorized within the canonical narrative of romance, as one major factor in the social construction of love and sex. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 57 young women and men (aged 16–18 years) in Victoria, Australia. They interpreted their sexual relationships as part of the quest for love, in which women and men had different and well-defined roles to play. In particular, women were understood to value intimate relationships whereas men sought coitus as an end in itself. Discourses of heterosexuality, including the significance of a girls reputation and the need to accommodate the male sex drive, are linked by the explanatory plot of romance. It is argued that the use of condoms for contraception is consistent with a ...

Perceived ethnolinguistic vitality: The Anglo‐ and Greek‐Australian setting

Abstract This paper addresses the issue of how ethnic groups cognitively represent some of the societal forces impinging upon them and relevant outgroups. By utilising the concept of ‘vitality’ and its attending measurement instrument (the SVQ), Greek‐ and Anglo‐Australians’ construals of the sociostructural positions of their own and that of the other group were elicited. The results indicated quite complex cognitive representations in that the two groups (i) agreed that Anglos possessed more vitality on certain status and institutional support, while Greeks assumed more vitality on certain demography items, (ii) disagreed frequently about each others sociostructural positions, and (iii) weighted the questionnaire items differently. Moreover, four judgemental dimensions resembling closely the componential structure of the original ‘vitality’ construct accounted for most of the variance in a factor analysis of all subjects’ ratings. The findings provide strong empirical support for the social psychologic...