Julie M. Rosenzweig

Child Care and Employed Parents of Children With Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Lack of appropriate child care is frequently reported by parents of children with disabilities as a major obstacle to finding and maintaining their employment. Care for children with emotional or behavioral disorders is particularly difficult to locate because child care providers often lack adequate training. Findings are presented from interviews with 60 parents employed a minimum of 30 hr per week and caring for at least one school-age child with an emotional or behavioral disorder. Child care arrangements were varied and complex, with parents often making adjustments daily to design suitable care plans for all children in the family. Parental stress levels and work limitations because of child care were associated with levels of work—family fit, flexibility, child care difficulty, and child care satisfaction. We suggest that availability and access to child care options and supports specific to the needs of their children may be essential for employed parents of children with emotional or behavioral disorders to reduce stress and promote work—life integration.

Dyadic Adjustment/Sexual Satisfaction in Women and Men as a Function of Psychological Sex Role Self-Perception

Men and women who were found to be androgynous in the sexual situation were more sexually satisfied and had better adjustment in their dyadic relationship than their sex role stereotypic counterparts. This finding was not surprising, since androgyny implies more flexibility. On the other hand, the finding was surprising in light of the fact that large numbers of both men and women in the study sample perceived themselves as feminine in the sexual situation, compared to their global sex role self-perception. Several explanations are offered with respect to these outcomes, and the importance of qualitative differences between men and women is highlighted.

Employed Parents of Children With Mental Health Disorders: Achieving Work-Family Fit, Flexibility, and Role Quality

Extensive interviews with 60 employed parents of school-age children treated for mental health problems explored work-family fit, flexibility, family support, and work-life strategies in relation to role quality. Role quality was measured as employment and parenting rewards and concerns. Work-family fit was positively related to family flexibility but not work flexibility. Higher flexibility in work and family predicted lower job concerns, and work flexibility and work-family fit were predictors of job rewards. Parental concerns were dependent on flexibility and work-family strategies. Single parents had significantly fewer sources of family support and used fewer work-family strategies than caregivers with partners. Human services providers should collaborate with families by jointly exploring new flexibility and support strategies in work and family domains.Research on services for families of children with emotional and behavioral disorders has identified family psychoeducation as a promising modality for service delivery. The current paper reports the results of pilot testing two multi-family psychoeducation groups in a school setting. Parents of 15 children receiving school services for emotional and behavioral disorders participated in two psychoeducation groups. Families completed surveys pre- and post-intervention on family-level and child-level outcomes. Among outcome variables, attention-related problems demonstrated significant improvement and a substantial effect size. Other outcomes were positive, with effect sizes generally in the moderate range. Despite the small sample size and limited measurements, these results offer further support for the promise of psychoeducation for parents of children with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Variations in men's psychological sex role self-perception as a function of work, social and sexual life roles.

Research was conducted to determine whether or not sex role self-perception varied across life situations. Data including demographic information and situational and global sex role was collected from men employed at a large midwestern university. Findings indicate a significant variation in sex role self-perception across work, social and sexual interactions. Regardless of whether the man generally perceives himself as masculine, feminine, or androgynous, his perceptions may change when confronted with culturally stereotypic rules and role demands. The results suggest, first, that caution be exercised in assuming that global sex role perceptions generalize to various role situations and, second, that discrepancies between the global sex role and the situational sex role could result in role strain. The latter could have clear impact upon the dyadic sexual situation.

Women's Sex Roles in Their Public and Private Lives

Research was conducted to determine whether or not sex-role self-perception varies across situations. Data on global and situational sex roles were collected from faculty and nonclassified women employed at a large midwestern university. Findings indicate a significant variation in sex-role self-perception across work, social, and sexual interactions. Regardless of whether the woman generally perceives herself as masculine, feminine, or androgynous, her perceptions change when confronted with cultural stereotypic rules and role demands. The results suggest that caution be exercised in assuming that global sex-role perceptions generalize across situations. Contextual issues affecting sex-role behavior need to be considered by practitioners in their work with women and their partners.

Women and Work: Toward a New Developmental Model

Womens adult development has been explained by means of research and theory that are either individualistic (based on work and achievements) or relational (based on relationships and caring). The author proposes a model that conceptualizes womens growth in self-understanding as being attained through both work and relationships in key life domains. The model is examined as a guide for developmentally based practice with adult women.

Infusing Web-Based Content Centers into an M.S.W. Curriculum: A Faculty and Student Development Project

ABSTRACT Web-based content centers are collections of scholarly digital resources that can be used to support learning in a variety of contexts. Through a recent pilot project, faculty created web-based content centers to support key curriculum areas of an M.S.W. program. Additionally the project aimed at developing technology skills of faculty designers and student users of course support materials. Positive student learning outcomes and increased faculty use of technology resulted. Project outcomes also included the building of virtual learning communities.

Book Reviews : Women's Two Roles: A Contemporary Dilemma. By Phyllis Moen. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 1992, 192 pp.,

Inspired by Alva Myral and Viola Klein’s 1956 book, Women’s Two Roles: Home and Family, Phyllis Moen wrote a current appraisal of the unresolved dilemmas faced by American families with employed mothers of school-age children. Bringing together the literature on work and family of the past three decades, this book provides the reader with a solid review and critique of relevant research. The presentation achieves a balance of the necessary historical perspective, supporting demographic trends, and intriguing questions that makes the material both informative and thought provoking. Another strength of the book is its consistent social and political contextual analysis of the work-family dilemma, including a feminist

45.00 (hardbound),

The book has a few weaknesses that, although disappointing, do not detract from its overall importance. For example, in the final chapter on the 1980s Kellogg and Mintz seem to depart from careful scholarship and talk in generalities (for example, &dquo;We need to take the steps necessary to adapt to the unique conditions of our time,&dquo; [p. 244]). They essentially conclude that we will endure because we always have. They also include