Joan F. Robertson

The nature of the association between parental rejection and delinquent behavior

A panel design with approximately 300 adolescents was employed to investigate the relationship between parental rejection and delinquency. Previous studies have failed to control for potentially confounding family factors and have ignored the possibility that the causal priority is from delinquency to parental rejection, rather than the reverse. Parental rejection continued to show a moderate association with delinquency after relevant controls were introduced. The results were the same across sexes. LISREL was employed to estimate the parameters of the reciprocal relationship between parental rejection and delinquency. Analysis indicated that the predominant causal flow is from parental rejection to delinquency.

Interaction in Three Generation Families, Parents as Mediators: Toward a Theoretical Perspective

This paper focuses on the development of a theoretical perspective within which it is possible to empirically define parental mediation in interactions between grandparents and grandchildren. Using socialization theory and studies conducted by the writer and a colleague, eight independent dimensions of parental mediation have been identified. This makes it possible to develop measurement indices for testing the postulate that parents act as mediators between the grandparent and grandchild generations in socializing both into their respective roles and thereby influencing the nature of their relationship.

The Impact of Parenting Factors, Deviant Peers, and Coping Style upon Adolescent Drug Use.

Social learning theory and recent findings regarding stress and coping are integrated to form a model of adolescent drug use. Analysis of data obtained from interviews with 343 youth largely support the model. Parental rejection, deviant peers, and a combination of low self-esteem with an avoidant coping style served to increase an adolescents probability of drug use. The findings suggest that treatment of adolescent drug use should utilize both individual counseling, focusing upon social/coping skills, and family therapy, with an emphasis upon parenting practices.

Referral for Treatment among Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Abusers

This research used logit analysis on a sample of adolescents referred for alcohol and other drug abuse treatment (N = 127, 72 males) and a randomly selected comparison group sample (N = 101, 51 males) of adolescents to test whether certain status characteristics increase the likelihood of referral to the treatment program. Results indicated that two status characteristics do so: labeling of the adolescent based on prior involvement in the social service delivery system and labeling of the adolescent based on a lower level of involvement in conventional groups. Gender did not affect the probability of referral directly, but the effect of level of involvement in conventional groups on referral likelihood depended on gender. Controlling for level of substance use, girls who were more involved in conventional groups and boys who were less involved in conventional groups were more likely to be referred. Implications for labeling theory and a policy of nonintervention for the commission of minor delinquencies are discussed.

Preserving the Social Work Perspective in the Research Sequence: State of the Art and Program Models for the 1980s

Emphasizing the importance of the social work perspective in research, the authors present a two-dimensional conceptual model of a range of social work educational programs by educational goal. The model frames the directions and approaches of the social work research sequence. Based on this model, the authors discuss the linkage roles of the social work research sequence in integrating separate social work curriculum areas and narrowing the gap between social work and other disciplines.

Activity Preferences of Community-Residing Aged as a Guide for Practice Emphases

Through the use of a highly structured, pretested questionnaire and an area probability sample of 257 male and female community residing aged, this research details preferences for social participation in four spheres of activity: family, friends, organizations, and work. The findings were analyzed for their relevance to practice considerations. These data indicate a low preference for organizational involvements, an interest in family activities, and an unusually high priority for friendship or peer associations. The lotter finding suggests that practitioners working with the aged could best serve their subtle social needs by helping them focus on developing opportunities for maintaining age-related peer contacts.