Teri A. Garstka

How Young and Older Adults Differ in Their Responses to Perceived Age Discrimination

The authors examined the consequences of perceived age discrimination for well-being and group identification. The rejection-identification model suggests that perceived discrimination harms psychological well-being in low status groups but that group identification partially alleviates this effect. The authors hypothesized that this process model would be confirmed among older adults because their low status group membership is permanent but not confirmed among young adults whose low status is temporary. Using structural equation modeling, the authors found support for the hypothesized direct negative link between perceived age discrimination and well-being among older adults, with increased age group identification partially attenuating this effect. For young adults, these relationships were absent. Differences in responses to discrimination appear to be based on opportunities for leaving a low status group.

Using the implicit association test to measure age differences in implicit social cognitions.

Two studies investigated the use of the Implicit Association Test (IAT; A. G. Greenwald, D. E. McGhee, & J. L. K. Schwartz, 1998) to study age differences in implicit social cognitions. Study I collected IAT (implicit) and explicit (self-report) measures of age attitudes, age identity, and self-esteem from young, young-old, and old-old participants. Study 2 collected IAT and explicit measures of attitudes toward flowers versus insects from young and old participants. Results show that the IAT provided theoretically meaningful insights into age differences in social cognitions that the explicit measures did not, supporting the value of the IAT in aging research. Results also illustrate that age-related slowing must be considered in analysis and interpretation of IAT measures.

Stereotyping of older adults: The role of target facial cues and perceiver characteristics.

This 2-part study used photograph-age and photograph-stereotype sorting tasks to examine the role of target facial cues in stereotyping of older persons. As predicted, young, middle-aged, and older participants associated photographs of those who looked older and those with a neutral facial expression with fewer positive stereotypes than other photographs. Participants also selected fewer positive stereotypes for photographs of women than of men, except when the photographs showed old-old (80 years and over) men. Participant age affected stereotyping only of the photographs of old-old persons, with older participants selecting fewer positive stereotypes for those photographs than middle-aged and young participants. These results establish the importance of facial cues in the age stereotyping process and suggest age boundaries for positive stereotypes of men and women.

Judgments about Stereotypes of the Elderly Attitudes, Age Associations, and Typicality Ratings of Young, Middle-Aged, and Elderly Adults

In this study, 125 adults in three age groups (young, middle-aged, and elderly) rated the typicality and approximate age of individuals representing 11 stereotypes of the elderly. Participants indicated their attitudes toward the individuals on a set of bipolar adjective scales. Attitude results conformed to the pattern predicted. Attitudes toward individual stereotypes varied according to the valence of each stereotype rather than participant age. Likewise, age judgments varied with the valence of the stereotype. Participants of all ages chose the older age ranges for the more negative stereotypes and younger age ranges for the positive stereotypes. Finally, elderly participants gave lower typicality ratings to the stereotypes than those in the other two age groups, although those in all age groups ordered the stereotypes similarly in terms of their typicality. Results are discussed in terms of their relationship to the cognitive representations of aging held by those in the three age groups.

Beliefs about Language Performance: Adults' Perceptions About Self and Elderly Targets

Stereotypes of the elderly may lead to beliefs about their communication competence. Yb test this hypothesis, the Language in Adulthood Questionnaire (LIA) (Ryan, Kwong See, Meneer, & Trovato, 1992) was used to assess beliefs of young, middle-aged, and elderly adults about their own language skills and those of four elderly targets. Targets represented two positive (Golden Ager, John Wayne Conservative) and two negative (Despondent, Shrew/Curmudgeon) stereotypes of older adults. As expected, elderly respondents reported more language problems than did the middle-aged and young. However, contrary to expectations, middle-aged respondents reported no more problems than the young, and elderly respondents showed no advantage in skills shown to improve with age. Assessments of the targets supported the hypothesis that beliefs about language skills vary with the characteristics of older individuals and do not derive solely from their categorization as elderly.

Implementing Performance-Based Contracts and Quality Assurance Systems in Child Welfare Services: Results From a National Cross-Site Evaluation

Services for children and youth in foster care are often contracted by public agencies to private social service entities. One way to encourage quality services and promote improved outcomes for children is to implement performance-based contracts (PBCs) within this public–private partnership, and then use data through quality assurance systems to drive practice change. Three demonstration sites (Florida, Missouri, and Illinois) employed a collaborative approach to planning and implementing PBCs in foster care case management or residential youth services. A cross-site evaluation of these three sites produced qualitative and quantitative results that demonstrated how an inclusive and outcome-oriented process can facilitate improved performance and outcomes for children and agencies.

Promoting Outcome Achievement in Child Welfare: Predictors of Evidence-Informed Practice

The use of data and evidence to inform practice in child welfare is the subject of increased discussion in the literature as well as in agencies striving to achieve child safety, permanency, and well-being. Survey data was collected from workers and supervisors in private agencies providing out-of-home care case management and residential treatment services to children and youth across three states. Hierarchical linear modeling tested the role of goal-oriented teamwork and supervisory practice involving the use of data to assess practice effectiveness in predicting evidence-informed practice. The partially mediated relationship showed that a more goal-oriented approach combined with supervisory practice led to increased use of evidence-informed practice. Implications for promoting evidence-informed practice in child welfare are discussed.

Barriers to Cross-Systems Collaboration in Child Welfare, Education, and the Courts: Supporting Educational Well-being of Youth in Care Through Systems Change

Cross-systems collaboration between child welfare, education, and the courts benefits when challenges and priorities are identified early. We measured perceptions of educational stability in foster youth with a statewide survey of 1,603 professionals in education, child welfare, and the courts. Results reveal commonalities among perceived challenges to collaboration across systems (e.g., multiple foster care placements; school changes) and differences in perceived importance or significance of a given issue by professional group. Results guided collaborative work in Kansas and may assist other states seeking strategies that inform cross-systems collaboration to improve educational well-being for youth in foster care.

Collective impact facilitators: how contextual and procedural factors influence collaboration

Abstract Collective impact (CI) has primarily been applied to solving organic adaptive problems that evolve over time. While this framework aligns broadly with the collaboration literature, the dynamic, and at times forced, nature of this work in practice poses challenges. This study used a quasi-experimental design to test a CI model of the facilitators of mandated collaboration measured by the Levels of Collaboration Scale and the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory. Hierarchical linear regression techniques and data from 126 early childhood community stakeholders were used to test the impact of facilitators, including key elements of CI, on perceived collaboration. Findings show that: (1) policy mandates have a significant, positive correlation with collaboration; and (2) the only significant predictor of collaboration is informal relationships. This analysis suggests a hybrid process, combining key elements of CI with a focus on relationship building, to support effective collaboration practice.

How the Center for Public Partnerships and Research Navigates Complex Social Problems to Make a Collective Difference

ABSTRACT The challenge of maximizing the well-being of children, youth, and families is recognizing that change occurs within complex social systems. Organizations dedicated to improving practice, advancing knowledge, and informing policy for the betterment of all must have the right approach, structure, and personnel to work in these complex systems. The University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research cultivates a portfolio of innovation, research, and data science approaches positioned to help move social service fields locally, regionally, and nationally. Mission, leadership, and smart growth guide our work and drive our will to affect positive change in the world.