Adult Partner Research Articles

The Relationship Between Social Support and Adolescent Dating Violence

Although much research has focused on the function of social support in adult intimate partner violence, little is known about the role of social support in adolescent dating violence. This study is an exploratory analysis of the independent impact of social support from friends and family on the risk of adolescent dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of youth (n = 970). Approximately, 21% of the sample reported experiencing victimization in a dating relationship whereas 23% indicated perpetrating dating violence. Male youth reported significantly more involvement in dating violence as both perpetrators and victims. Negative binomial regression modeling indicated that increased levels of support from friends was associated with significantly less dating violence perpetration and victimization; however, when gendered models were explored, the protective role of social support was only maintained for female youth. Family support was not significantly related to dating violence in any model. Implications for dating violence curriculum and future research are addressed.

The Evolutionary Armistice

Natural selection modified the attachment-behavioral system to bond adult mating partners in early members of the genus Homo, thus facilitating increased investment, especially paternal investment, in offspring. Previously existing adaptations that fostered intersexual conflict (e.g., ovulatory adaptations) could have threatened attachment bonds; therefore, the attachment-behavioral system might have evolved the ability to mute or refocus such adaptations for the purpose of strengthening the bond. Two studies offer support for this prediction. Women who were strongly attached to their romantic partner revealed positive associations of fertility with reports of romantic physical intimacy, but these associations were negative among unbonded women. This moderational effect of attachment bond strength was robust beyond dispositional attachment anxiety and avoidance, relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and partner physical attractiveness, none of which revealed robust moderational effects. Findings highlight how researchers can use the timeline of hominid evolution (i.e., phylogeny) as a tool to complement functional, adaptationist hypotheses.

Student Voice in the Elementary Years: Fostering Youth-Adult Partnerships in Elementary Service-Learning

Service-learning is promoted widely by professional organizations (NCSS, 2001), but often with little reflection on the nature of meaningful student participation and the impact of teacher leadership styles. The authors studied mixed-age “small school” advisory groups involved in service-learning at one elementary school; observational, interview, and focus group data were collected. They present three case studies that represent various leadership typologies of elementary service-learning: The Catalyst, The Synthesizer, and The Commander. The authors then map these leaders' priorities onto a Youth Adult Partnership (YAP) continuum to suggest how student voice, a common component of successful service-learning, might occur in the elementary years.

Childhood Violence and Adult Partner Maltreatment: The Roles of Coping Style and Psychological Distress

The study investigates the impact of psychological well-being, coping style, and maltreatment types on adult partner maltreatment patterns. A large sample of undergraduates completed assessments measuring history of childhood violence exposure, psychological distress, coping, and adult partner maltreatment. The multiply abused group (childhood physical abuse and witnessing family violence) experienced the highest levels of all forms of adult maltreatment, followed by the childhood physical abuse group. As childhood victimization became more severe, the relationship between childhood victimization and adult partner maltreatment became more direct. The current study highlights that individuals exposed to a greater degree of childhood victimization are more vulnerable to adult maltreatment because there are few mediators which may prevent or decrease risk for adult maltreatment. The results suggest that treatment and prevention efforts with victims of interpersonal violence should foster individualized coping skills and address specific psychopathology depending upon the individual’s childhood abuse history.

Making Youth Gardens Grow with Captured Rainwater . . . and Video

In the arid Southwest, water is a limiting resource. Rainwater harvesting is garnering favor, but many are unaware of the myriad uses for that water. Access to fresh, healthy food is also limited in many rural counties because the arid climate makes farming conditions difficult. Teaching youth gardening with rainwater increases the accessibility of local food and the importance of capturing water that might go unused. A series of videos made in youth and adult partnerships provides a tutorial for project duplication worldwide.

Influence of family of origin and adult romantic partners on romantic attachment security.

According to attachment theory, attachment style derives from social experiences throughout the life span. The authors tested this expectation by examining associations between the quality of observed interaction patterns in the family of origin during adolescence and self-reported romantic attachment style and observed romantic relationship behaviors in adulthood (ages 25 and 27). Family and romantic relationship interactions were rated by trained observers from video recordings of structured conversation tasks. Attachment style was assessed with items from D. W. Griffin and K. Bartholomew's (1994a) Relationship Scales Questionnaire. Observational ratings of warmth and sensitivity in family interactions were positively related to similar behaviors by romantic partners and to attachment security. In addition, romantic interactions characterized by high warmth and low hostility at age 25 predicted greater attachment security at 27, after controlling for attachment security at age 25. However, attachment security at age 25 did not predict later romantic relationship interactions after controlling for earlier interactions. These findings underscore the importance of close relationships in the development of romantic attachment security but do not indicate that attachment security predicts the quality of interactions in romantic relationships.

When mum’s away: a study of mother and calf ego networks during separations in wild bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops sp.)

Early social development in long-lived social mammals has important implications for adult behaviour, particularly in taxa that exhibit stable long-term bonds. In one such species, bottlenose dolphins, calves have precocious locomotion, enabling them to separate from their mothers soon after birth and associate with other dolphins in the absence of direct maternal influence. To investigate mother and calf social patterns while together and separated, we analysed the ego networks of 27 mother–calf pairs constructed using group composition data from focal follows and evaluated differences based on calf sex. When separated, all calves had larger, less dense ego networks than their mothers, whereas ego networks of mother and calf when together were similar in size to those of calves, but significantly less dense. Most intriguingly, during separations, male calves’ relationships with other male calves were stronger than expected, foreshadowing the long-term bonds between adult male alliance partners. Female–female calf relationships were not stronger than expected, but when together, mothers and female calves had strong relationships with juvenile females. These results support the social bonds hypothesis and suggest that temporary separations allow calves to build and strengthen their social networks. Since bottlenose dolphins show bisexual philopatry and infant relationships can persist into adulthood, calf independence and early social development probably have implications for future success.

Mediating haptic exploratory strategies in children who have visual impairment and intellectual disabilities

This article provides a synthesis of literature pertaining to the development of haptic exploratory strategies in children who have visual impairment and intellectual disabilities. The information received through such strategies assumes particular significance for these children, given the restricted information available through their visual modality, often in combination with additional sensory and/or physical impairments. The literature reviewed from early child development highlights the importance of independent activity in the development of exploratory strategies, as well as the pivotal role of vision in 'mediating' information received through the haptic modality. In translating these findings to children who have visual impairment and intellectual disabilities, the role of the child's learning partner assumes greater significance in ensuring that haptic information is appropriately 'mediated' to meet the child's individual needs. The implications for developing appropriate developmentally paced intervention approaches are considered. A framework is outlined that seeks to account for the role of the child's adult partner in mediating haptic learning experiences to ensure they are appropriately structured and progressive.

Systems Theory, Family Attachments and Processes of Triangulation: Does the Concept of Triangulation Offer a Useful Bridge?

This article reviews the usefulness of the systemic concept of triangulation as a bridge between systemic thinking and practice and attachment theory. Traditionally attachment theory has theorized and researched with dyads, parent‐child and adult romantic partners, whereas systemic theory has worked therapeutically with the triangle as the basic human relationship; that is, when any two people interact, their interactions are influenced by their respective relationships with the same third person. Here it is argued, for example, that a child's attachment representations are shaped not only by the relationship with each parent but with the relationship between them. Thus, the process of triangulation in intimate relationships is seen in this article to link attachment theory with systemic thinking, as systemic theory needs a theory of love and attachment theory needs to consider how intimate relationships are nested and interconnected in an attachment network.

School Bullying Perpetration and Other Childhood Risk Factors as Predictors of Adult Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration

To assess the relationship between bullying peers as a child and adult intimate partner violence perpetration in a clinic-based sample of adult men. School bullying perpetration and intimate partner violence perpetration are both thought to stem from desire for power and control over others. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January 2005 and December 2006. Three urban community health centers in Boston, Massachusetts. Men aged 18 to 35 years (n = 1491) seeking services at participating community health centers. School bullying perpetration. Past-year physical or sexual violence perpetration against a female partner (intimate-partner violence [IPV]). Two-fifths of men reported perpetrating school bullying as a child (n = 610; 40.9%). Men who rarely bullied in school were 1.53 times more likely to perpetrate past-year IPV than men who did not bully (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-2.29); this risk was elevated to 3.82 times more likely to perpetrate any past-year IPV for those men who bullied peers frequently (95% CI, 2.55-5.73). The present study indicates that bullying peers in school as a child, especially frequent bullying perpetration, is associated with increased risk for men's perpetration of IPV as an adult. The effect remains strong after controlling for common prior risk factors for both bullying and IPV perpetration. Future research is needed to discern the mechanisms and underlying root causes of abusive behavior, such as power and control, as a means to prevent violence perpetration across settings and life stages.

The Role of Adolescent Physical Abuse in Adult Intimate Partner Violence

This study's primary aims were to examine whether a sample of young adults, aged 23 to 31, who had been documented as physically abused by their parent(s) during adolescence would be more likely to aggress, both physically and verbally, against their intimate partners compared with nonabused young adults and whether abuse history was (along with other risk factors) a significant predictor of intimate partner physical and emotional violence perpetration or victimization. In this longitudinal study, 67 abused and 78 nonabused adults (of an original sample of 198 adolescents) completed the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale and the Jealousy and Emotional Control Scales. Nonabused comparison adolescents were matched for age, gender, and community income. As adults, participants with abuse histories had significantly higher rates of intimate partner physical violence and verbal aggression than did comparison participants. Multivariate logistic regressions indicated that adults with histories of physical abuse were more than twice as likely to be physically violent and almost six times more likely to be verbally aggressive to their intimate partners than were comparison participants. Having had an alcohol use disorder, being married to or living with a partner, and perceiving one's partner as controlling were also significantly associated with physical violence. Jealousy and feeling controlled by one's partner were also significant predictors of verbal aggression. These findings underscore the importance of preventing adolescent abuse as a means of decreasing the incidence of intimate partner physical violence in adulthood.

From "student voice" to "youth—adult partnership"

What does the term 'student voice' mean to you? Does it mean listening to students' opinions? Involving students in decisions about their learning? Giving students equal say in decisions about school management and governance? This commentary analyses and critiques the ways we tend to think about young people's responsibilities, roles and rights to participate.

Maternal programming of sexual attractivity in female Long Evans rats

In mammals, maternal care influences the developing offspring across multiple domains. In Long Evans rats, for example, the quality of maternal care received as a pup influences later cognitive function, neuroendocrine responses to stress and behavioral measures of emotionality. Data from humans, non-human primates, and rodents also suggest that early life events may similarly perturb measures of sexual reproduction, with possible consequences for reproductive fitness. The current study examined whether or not male conspecifics differentially prefer females, as adult mating partners, that were reared under varying maternal conditions (assessed via the quantity of licking and grooming received; LG). Additionally, the impact of maternal care on adult female sexual motivation and behavior were quantified to determine if these behavioral characteristics are associated with any preference observed. In a mate preference task, male rats chose, almost exclusively, to mount, copulate and ejaculate with female rats reared under Low LG conditions. Under non-paced mating conditions, female Low LG rats display significantly more paracopulatory and copulatory behaviors compared to High LG rats. Due to its critical role in female paracopulatory behavior, progesterone receptor immunoreactivity (PR-ir) in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) was also assessed in both groups of female rats. Estradiol induced PR-ir in the VMH was significantly higher in Low LG relative to High LG rats. Together, these data suggests that early life parental care may developmentally program aspects of behavior and physiology that subsequently influence sexual attractivity and behavior in adult females.

Lay Intuitions About Family Obligations: The Case of Alimony

Most people have a sense of obligation to family members that is more powerful than the law in compelling compliance with its demands. When families dissolve, however, the power of such nonlegal norms often dissolves as well. The question then becomes what the law should require in their stead. This paper is part of a larger series of studies that have examined this question by asking what citizens believe the law should demand, using surveys of persons called to jury service in Tucson, Arizona. Respondents are asked to imagine they are the judge charged with deciding a series of cases in which the facts are systematically varied so as to reveal the implicit principles survey respondents employ in deciding them. Previously reported results in this project have examined studies of the amount of the child support people believe appropriate, and how they believe child custody disputes should be resolved. This study examines lay views about alimony. It finds considerable divergence between American law in practice, and the views of American citizens as to what the law should be.Survey respondents were willing to award alimony considerably more often than the law now does. More clearly, in deciding on whether to allow an alimony award, they care most of all about the claimant’s responsibility as primary caretaker of the couple’s minor children, some but noticeably less about the partner’s marital status and their relational duration, and very little at all about the claimant’s history of having cared for the couple’s now-grown children. Moreover, the way these factors affect our respondents’ judgments about alimony are not very dependent on who they are. Our respondents did vary among themselves, of course, in the frequency with which they allowed alimony, but they varied relatively little in how factors such as marriage, relational duration, the presence of minor children, or the history of care for now-grown children, affected their judgments.The citizen consensus reflected by these patterns differs, however, from the prevailing legal rules, the views of many scholars, and the recommendations of the American Law Institute. This striking discrepancy is interesting although not always surprising. Our respondents’ willingness to award alimony to non-marital partners, for example, is consistent with the law of some other western countries, even if not with American law, suggesting perhaps that it is American law, not our respondents, that is peculiar. Perhaps it is also understandable that our respondents seem more concerned with the welfare of the couple’s current minor children, than with addressing perceived inequities in the current economic circumstances of the adult partners. In any event, the views of our respondents pose a challenge to policymakers. Given the dearth of theoretical justification for current American practice, its rejection by American citizens seems all the more telling.

Yet Another Paraphilia Definition Fails

Historically, it has been difficult to define paraphilias in a consistent manner or distinguish paraphilias from non-paraphilic or normophilic sexual interests (see Blanchard, 2009a; Moser & Kleinplatz, 2005). As part of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) process of revising the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Blanchard (2010a), the chair of the DSM-5 Paraphilias subworkgroup (PSWG), has proposed a new paraphilia definition: ‘‘A paraphilia is any powerful and persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in copulatory or precopulatory behavior with phenotypicallynormal, consentingadulthumanpartners’’ (p. 367). Blanchard (2009a) acknowledges that his paraphilia ‘‘definition is not watertight’’and it already has attracted serious criticism (see Haeberle, 2010; Hinderliter, 2010; Singy, 2010). The current analysis will critique three components of Blanchard’s proposed definition (sexual interest in copulatory or precopulatory behavior, phenotypically normal, and consenting adult human partners) to determine if the definition is internally consistent andreliably distinguishes individualswith a paraphilia from individuals with normophilia. Blanchard (2009a) believes his definition ‘‘is better than no real definition,’’but that remains to be seen. According to Blanchard (2009a), the current DSM paraphilia definition (APA, 2000) is a definition by concatenation (a list of things that are paraphilias), but he believes a definition by exclusion (everything that is not normophilic) is preferable. The change is not substantive as normophilia (formerly a definitionofexclusion)nowbecomesadefinitionofconcatenation (a list of acceptable activities). Nevertheless, it seems odd to define a paraphilia on the basis of what it is not, rather than by the commonalities among the different paraphilias. Most definitions are statements of what things are, not what things are excluded or lists of things to be included. Blanchard (2009a) purposefully left ‘‘intact the distinction betweennormativeandnon-normativesexualbehavior,’’implying that these categories are meaningful. Blanchard (2010b; see alsoBlanchardetal.,2009)definesaparaphiliabyrelativeascertainment (the interest in paraphilic stimuli is greater than the interest in normophilic stimuli) rather than absolute ascertainment (the interest is intense). Using relative ascertainment confirms that one cannot be both paraphilic and normophilic; the greater interest would classify the individual as paraphilic or normophilic. Blanchard (2010a) then contradicts himself when he asserts that once ascertained with a paraphilia, the individual should retain that label, even if the powerful and persistent paraphilic sexual interest dissipates. Logically, the relative dissipation of the paraphilic and augmentation of the normophilic interests should re-categorize the individual as normophilic. The first aspect of Blanchard’s paraphilia definition is the ‘‘sexual interest incopulatoryorprecopulatorybehavior.’’Obviously, most normophilic individuals do not desire or respond sexually to all adults. Ascertaining if someone is more aroused by the coitus or their partner’s physique, attitude, attributes, etc. seems fruitless and hopelessly convoluted. I can see no other way to interpret sexual interest in copulatory or precopulatory behavior, except to conclude that coitus (between phenotypically normal consenting adults) is normophilic. Otherwise, a powerful and persistent preference for blonde (or Asian or petite) coital partners is a paraphilia. If a relative lack of sexual interest in brunettes as potential coital partners indicates a C. Moser (&) Department of Sexual Medicine, Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, 45 Castro Street, #125, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA e-mail: docx2@ix.netcom.com 1 Another version of this definition exists (Blanchard, 2009a, 2009b), but I do not believe the changes substantially alter any of my comments.

Dyadic drumming across the lifespan reveals a zone of proximal development in children.

Many social interactions require the synchronization--be it automatically or intentionally--of one's own behavior with that of others. Using a dyadic drumming paradigm, the authors delineate lifespan differences in interpersonal action synchronization (IAS). Younger children, older children, younger adults, and older adults in same- and mixed-age dyads were instructed to drum in synchrony with their interaction partner at a constant, self-chosen tempo. Adult-only dyads showed the highest and children-only the lowest levels of IAS accuracy. It is important to note that children improved reliably in IAS accuracy when paired with older partners. The observed age-related differences in IAS accuracy remained reliable after statistically controlling for individual differences in the ability to synchronize to a metronome and for between-dyad differences in tempo. The authors conclude that IAS improves from middle childhood to adulthood and that adult interaction partners may facilitate its development.

Childhood and Adolescent Violent Victimization and the Risk of Young Adult Intimate Partner Violence Victimization

Using a nationally representative sample of participants, this study investigates childhood victimization in the home and adolescent violent victimization in the community on the risk of being a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV), general violence, or both during early adulthood. The study findings indicate being left home alone and being physically abused during childhood, and adolescent violent victimization in the community had strong independent effects on an individual's likelihood of becoming a victim of IPV, general violence, or both in early adulthood. The study findings suggest a consistent pattern of victimization across the life course, and intervention programs need to be developed that address the specific needs of children and adolescents at high risk for home and community violent victimization.

Young Voices on Climate Change

369 Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 21 No. 1 (2011) ISSN: 1546-2250 Young Voices on Climate Change Louise Chawla Citation: Chawla, Louise. (2011). "Young Voices on Climate Change." Children, Youth and Environments 21 (1). Produced and directed by Lynne Cherry, 2009. http://youngvoicesonclimatechange.com/store. Lynne Cherry, author and illustrator of award-winning environmental books for children including The Great Kapok Tree and A River Ran Wild, traces her commitment to connecting children to nature and preserving natural areas to her own experiences as a child. As a girl she spent countless hours immersed in the woods behind her family home, until the day when she came home from school to find bulldozers obliterating her woods. Concerned that when children today learn about environmental problems, they can feel the kind of grief and helplessness that she felt then, Cherry created this series of seven short films that have been assembled in one DVD. Episodes feature young people who are creatively taking action to protect the environment. Each four- to five-minute episode is inspirational, infused with young people’s energy and enthusiasm as they join forces with others their age and adult partners to tackle problems. The stories include a young German boy who founded Plant for the Planet at age 9, and who by 11 had engaged clubs across Europe in planting more than a million trees. Four middle school students initiate an energy audit at their Florida school that saves so much money that the students become instrumental in getting the Miami International Airport to follow their school’s example. An Indigenous Siberian girl teaches her schoolmates and community elders how to monitor Arctic melting for a research team. High school students in Santa Monica successfully campaign to ban plastic in their city to protect the marine environment. The stories illustrate the influence that young people can have if they work together and find teachers, school administrators, and other mentors who will support them. The film forms an excellent resource for schools, youth clubs, and organizations, as it shows that young people can effectively respond in their local contexts to even the biggest environmental problems. ...

The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence on Sexually Transmitted Infections

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adult intimate partner violence (IPV) have both been found to be associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) independently, but studies of STIs have rarely looked at victimization during both childhood and adulthood. This paper examines the relationship between CSA, IPV and STIs using data from a nested case-control study of 309 women recruited from multiple health care settings. Overall, 37.3% of women experienced no violence, 10.3% experienced CSA only, 27.3% experienced IPV only, and 25.0% experienced both CSA and IPV. Having ever been diagnosed with an STI was associated with violence (CSA only, odds ratios [OR] = 2.8, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 1.0-7.5; IPV only, OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.0-4.9; CSA and IPV: OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.7-9.4), controlling for demographic characteristics. Women who experienced CSA were younger when they were first diagnosed. Understanding how both childhood and adult victimization are associated with diagnosis of STIs is important to reducing the incidence and prevalence of STIs, as well as the associated consequences of STIs.

Two-to-three-year-old children's interactions with peers in child-care centres: Effects of spatial distance to caregivers

In child-care centres, the influence of caregivers on the development of peer interactions seems ambivalent and mixed results are reported in the literature. Adopting an environmental approach, we examined the effects of the caregivers’ spatial proximity on children's social behaviour. The study was carried out with 175 children (18–40 months) in 12 child-care-centre groups. Children's behaviours were observed during free plays, and both children and caregivers’ locations were recorded. When peers were nearby, children's social behaviours were compared when they were in the immediate proximity (within 2m) and out of the immediate proximity of a caregiver. Results show that in the latter situation children spend substantially more time addressing social overture to peers and interacting with them; positive interactions with peers show a particularly marked difference. This pattern of results is exhibited by the greater part of the children. Whatever the child-care-centre group, the age subgroup or the gender considered similar results are found. Results also demonstrate that when children are in the immediate proximity of caregivers they are socially oriented towards the attractive adult partners rather than towards peers.