Jane D. Lanigan

A Sociotechnological Model for Family Research and Intervention: How Information and Communication Technologies Affect Family Life

The social impact of rapidly evolving information and communication technologies has become the focus of research across many disciplines. Although family scientists recognize the importance of contributing to the discourse, few studies have applied a family theoretical perspective. This article introduces a sociotechnological family conceptual model that organizes existing research and suggests areas for future study and intervention. The model uses an ecological approach and bidirectional conceptualization that acknowledges both the effect of multifunctional technologies, such as cellular phones or personal computers, on and the influence of familial, extrafamilial, and individual characteristics on how those technologies are incorporated within the family context. The Perceived Impact of Home Computer Use on Family Relationships study is used to illustrate how the sociotechnological model advances understanding of the influence information and communication technology has on family life.

The association between adverse childhood experience (ACE) and school success in elementary school children.

We explored the feasibility of using school personnel as reporters to examine the relationship between the level of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exposure in a nonclinical sample of public elementary schoolchildren and academic risk. We selected a random sample of 2,101 children from kindergarten through 6th grade classroom rosters at 10 elementary schools. Students were 50% male, 78% White, and 55% free and reduced meal program participants. School personnel reported their factual knowledge of 10 ACEs and academic risk in a database controlled by the schools. Data were de-identified prior to analysis. A high prevalence of ACEs exposure was reported (44%), with 13% of students experiencing 3 or more ACEs. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed a dose–response effect between the number of ACEs and risk of poor school attendance, behavioral issues, and failure to meet grade-level standards in mathematics, reading, or writing. Using elementary school personnel reports of child ACE exposure minimized family burden and potential intrusion while producing prevalence estimates consistent with those of caregiver report from the National Survey of Children’s Health. Results suggest that understanding and responding to a child’s ACE profile might be an important strategy for improving the academic trajectory of at-risk children.

The Prevalence and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Intrusion in the Workplace

ABSTRACT This study examines the prevalence and consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the workplace. Surveys were completed by 1,390 employees in 32 different companies representing different organization types. Over half of the women and almost a quarter of the males reported that they had been an IPV victim at some point in their lives with 16% reporting victimization in the previous 12 months. Younger workers and workers who witnessed IPV frequently as a child were more likely to be current IPV victims. Further, 41% of lifetime victims reported significant workplace consequences, such as missed days of work, tardiness, and perpetrator intrusion. Younger workers, a history of IPV physical injury, more frequent IPV events over longer periods of time, and a history of stalking were associated with a greater number of IPV work consequences. The cumulative effects of IPV as well as active victimization contribute to negative workplace consequences. With significant numbers of employees experiencing IPV and reporting workplace consequences, the present research underscores the need for employers to develop a more precise means of understanding cost and response.