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Using the case of female genital cutting (FGC), the article addresses the question of when local attitudes and practices conform to international norms. One theoretical perspective links attitudes in developing countries to control over the physical environment, arguing that greater control over nature is associated with the rejection of traditional authority and the acceptance of modern science. A competing perspective emphasizes the importance of western scripts as a source of individual identity. The authors use hierarchical models to analyze Demographic and Health Survey data on attitudes toward, and the practice of, female genital cutting in five African countries with anti-FGC policies. They find that institutions that carry `modern' scripts - education, college, mass media and female employment - all reduce the probability that women will favor the continuation of FGC or `circumcision' of their daughters. The effects of factors associated with control over nature were more mixed. The study also finds that Christian women are more likely to express negative attitudes toward FGC.

Almost nothing is known about the family and individual adjustment of military mothers who have deployed to the conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan (Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn; OIF, OEF, OND), constituting a gap in psychologists' knowledge about how best to help this population. We report baseline data on maternal, child, parenting, and couple adjustment for mothers in 181 families in which a parent deployed to OIF/OEF/OND. Among this sample, 34 mothers had deployed at least once, and 147 mothers had experienced the deployment of a male spouse/partner. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires assessing past year adverse life events, war experiences (for deployed mothers only), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, difficulties in emotion regulation, parenting, couple adjustment, and child functioning. Mothers who had deployed reported greater distress than non-deployed mothers (higher scores on measures of PTSD and depression symptoms), and slightly more past year adverse events. A moderate number of war experiences (combat and post-battle aftermath events) were reported, consistent with previous studies of women in current and prior conflicts. However, no differences were found between the two groups on measures of couple adjustment, parenting, or child functioning. Results are discussed in terms of the dearth of knowledge about deployed mothers, and implications for psychologists serving military families.

Cyberbullying victimization and perpetration are associated with poor mental health outcomes for adolescents, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, and suicide ideation. Although most cyberbullying occurs at home, few interventions have been developed for parents of adolescents. We examined parental connectedness and parental online monitoring in relation to cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, with the goal of understanding how parents buffer young teens from involvement in cyberbullying. We leveraged data from an existing study involving three racially and ethnically diverse middle schools in a metropolitan area in the Midwest of the U.S. (n = 570). In the spring of sixth grade, students reported on cyberbullying involvement, parental connectedness, and parental monitoring. Greater parental connectedness was related to a lower likelihood of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration in logistic regression models. Parental monitoring of online activities was not related to cyberbullying victimization but was marginally related to a lower likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration. Results suggest that cyberbullying prevention programs should consider ways to foster parent/youth connectedness.

Housing insecurity is concerning at any age, but the prevalence and predictors of young adult housing insecurity are poorly described. Multivariable regression analyses using cross-national longitudinal data from a population-based sample tested prospective associations between various adolescent predictors and young adult housing insecurity. Participants from Washington State (United States) and Victoria (Australia) were surveyed at ages 13, 14 and 15 (2002–2004) and 25 and 29 years (2014–15, 2018–19; N = 1945; 46% female). The prevalence of housing insecurity was 9%. Multivariable predictors of housing insecurity included living in Washington State, antisocial behavior, a history of school suspension, and academic underachievement. School suspension was more strongly related to insecure housing in Washington State than in Victoria. Future analyses should explore state policy differences and risk and protective processes within social-ecological contexts to identify population-level modifiable upstream risk factors for housing insecurity that can be targeted earlier in the life course.