Suchergebnisse

The goal of this study was to explore whether supportiveness from a parent or a friend moderated the effects of the supportive person's drinking on the trajectory of adolescent alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms. High‐risk adolescents recruited from shelters and a matched sample of adolescents recruited from the sheltered adolescent's former neighborhood completed assessments at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Measures included the Social Network Interview, assessing the drinking and supportiveness of everyone in the network. The alcohol module of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children was also administered. Hierarchical Linear Modeling identified predictors of the trajectory of alcohol symptoms of the 401 adolescents over 18 months. The results showed that the baseline levels of parental drinking predicted increased symptoms over time only for those with low parental support. In contrast, the baseline level of peer alcohol use predicted increased symptoms over time only for those with high peer support. The pattern of results did not differ for shelter youth compared to neighborhood controls.

Media and professional interest in homelessness represent important sources of data that may be useful in understanding broader societal factors influencing this pressing social issue. The present study examined the volume and content of coverage of homelessness in four major newspapers and the professional literature indexed in PsycINFO over the past 30 years. Media coverage showed a steep increase during the mid‐1980s, a steady decline throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s, and a plateau since the mid‐1990s. Professional coverage demonstrated a less pronounced and delayed pattern of growth, with no sign of decline during the past decade. Content analysis of 574 newspaper articles revealed a sympathetic focus on deinstitutionalization and other structural causes of homelessness during the period of increasing coverage in the mid‐1980s, as well as positive media coverage in terms of an emphasis on critical programs and services during more recent years. Content analysis of 324 professional journal articles showed that deficits and deviant characteristics of homeless people were discussed to a significantly greater extent than the structural causes of homelessness over the entire 30‐year time period. Possible interactions among media coverage, professional interest, public opinion, the prevalence of homelessness, and policy initiatives are discussed.