Showing papers in "Journal of Social Issues in 1984"

Toward a Theory of Social Support: Closing Conceptual Gaps

Abstract: We define social support as “an exchange of resources between two individuals perceived by the provider or the recipient to be intended to enhance the well-being of the recipient.” We then discuss the assumptions and implications of this definition and address several gaps in the support literature. Specifically, we consider the costs and benefits of supportive exchanges for both participants, the dual and possibly incongruent perceptions of support held by the provider and the recipient, and the importance of non-network sources of support. In addition, we distinguish between the health-sustaining versus health-compensating functions of support and how these functions link with the resources provided in supportive exchanges. We next address the factors that can influence support effects and suggest a broad range of outcomes for both the provider and the recipient. Finally, we distinguish the dimensions of support from the contextual variables that can influence its quality and effectiveness.

Social Support and Cancer: Findings Based on Patient Interviews and Their Implications

Abstract: Past research indicates that social support is beneficial to cancer patients in adjusting to the stress of the disease. In this article, a brief review of research on social support is provided as a framework within which support among cancer patients can be examined. Research on cancer is then reviewed, and selected results from an investigation of 79 cancer patients are reported. The findings indicate that: health care providers are particularly important sources of support to cancer patients; of several types, emotional support is seen as especially helpful; and the types of support seen as most helpful by those with cancer depends on who provides them. In addition, variability in stress among cancer patients mediated the frequency of interpersonal problems, and the association between support and various indices of adjustment. Implications of these results for future research on social support in stressed populations, especially cancer patients, are discussed.

Social Interaction and Social Support

Abstract: Typical research models of social support are overly simple on two grounds. First, they treat social support as exogenous to the model. That is, models incorporate the effects of social support on stressors and on psychological distress, but typically ignore the influences of stressors, psychological distress, personal characteristics of recipients, and environmental constraints on support. Second, the models typically consider only positive consequences of social interactions, although these interactions may also have negative consequences. Further, actions that are perceived as helpful by the donor, the recipient, or both can have harmful effects if they do not fit individual circumstances. Five dimensions of fit between the characteristics of the recipient and those of the supportive act are proposed: amount, timing, source, structure, and function. Implications for research and intervention are discussed.

Working at Home with Computers: Work and Nonwork Issues

Abstract: The term telecommuting refers to the substitution of telecommunications technology for physical travel to a central work location; it usually implies that the person is working in the home. This paper reviews organizational arrangements which allow employees to work at home on a regular basis as a substitute for attendance at the normal workplace. Two extreme cases of the implementation of such an arrangement are described. In the first, where the employee has a skill in demand and a job that is characterized by complexity and autonomy, work at home reinforces the individual's autonomy and self-control over the work. In the second case, where the employee's skill is not in demand and he or she has few other work options due to nonwork (i.e., family) constraints, the job is designed to reduce individual autonomy and may involve reduced compensation relative to comparable work performed on-site. Based on interviews with employees working at home, we examine the effects of work at home on the relationship between the employee and employer, the connection between work and nonwork domains, and gender issues. We tentatively conclude that work at home will not become a widespread trend, but there is sufficient interest in its use as a flexible work option in special cases that it should be examined more closely.

Differentiating Fact from Fantasy: The Reliability of Children's Memory

Abstract: This paper examines a set of common assumptions about children's memory. Children compared to adults are thought to notice less, omit more, forget faster, be more susceptible to suggestion, and especially to intermingle imagination and perception in remembering. These propositions are interesting from the point of view of theoretical models of memory and memory development. They also have important implications for legal practice. While children's tendency to recall less than adults is well documented, there is surprisingly little evidence for other deficits in children's memory. This paper describes a new line of research, directed at the question of whether children are worse than adults in discriminating real from imagined events in memory (reality monitoring). The results suggest that children may have difficulty with some, but not all, reality-monitoring situations.

Victim Readjustment Following Assault

Abstract: A growing literature on the impact of assault has given little consideration to the factors contributing to variations in victim reaction. This paper reviews the preassault and postassault variables that are associated with the recovery process. Among key factors are the psychosocial resources of the victim at entry to the crisis and the violence of the assault itself; however, variables often contribute differentially at different points in the recovery process. Subsequent discussion focuses on the methodological, theoretical, and policy implications of these findings.

The Child as Witness to Homicide.

Abstract: This paper describes the experiences of children who have witnessed the homicide of a parent and are then legally compelled “to tell what [they] have seen.” The witnessing of a human killing constitutes psychic trauma, and the child may exhibit symptoms of a posttraumatic stress disorder. There may also be a wide range of grief responses. Our focus is on the interplay of the child's grief and traumatic reactions, and the demands of the legal system. The horrifying loss of impulse control in the assailant, the mutilation of the victim, and the helplessness of the victim and witness continue to haunt the child. We review the issues arising from police questioning, qualification procedures, testimony in open court, and defendant sentencing. The child's efforts at mastering the trauma can be either enhanced or impeded by involvement in judicial proceedings. With more complete mastery of traumatic anxiety, the child can become a more effective witness. We argue for the usefulness of having an expert in psychic trauma to assist these young witnesses and outline legal recommendations to provide adequate mental-health consultation.

Distortions in the Memory of Children

Abstract: One does not have far to go to find expressions of the belief in the extreme suggestibility of children. But are children more suggestible than adults? The memory of adults is readily contaminated; by comparison, children appear to be more easily influenced in only some instances. If an event is not encoded well, or if a delay weakens the child's memory relative to an adult's, then differences in memory may emerge. On the other hand, if an event is understandable and interesting to both children and adults, and if their memory for it is still equally strong, there may be no differences in suggestibility. If a suggestion is accomplished through the subtle use of language, or if well-developed knowledge structures are required to comprehend the suggestion, then children may actually be less easily influenced. In short, whether children are more or less suggestible than adults probably depends on the interaction of age with other factors.

The Testimony of the Child Victim of Sexual Assault

Abstract: Sexual abuse of children, though widely condemned, is nevertheless more prevalent than has been previously realized. When the accused offender does not admit guilt, the testimony of the child victim is likely to be the only or the main evidence. Members of the criminal-justice system often share general societal beliefs that children are not as credible as adults and that children cannot participate in such legal proceedings without serious trauma. In this article, we address some of the social and legal barriers to successful prosecution of child sexual abuse cases, and to the child's effective participation in such cases. Then, we discuss some steps that can be taken to help reduce, eliminate, or overcome these barriers.

Children's Testimony in Historical Perspective

Abstract: Children have been testifying in courts of law for centuries, but not without raising questions about the value of their statements. Over the years, the legal system has proposed a host of rules to govern children's testimony, but today the value of many of these rules is being questioned. The scientific study of child witnesses by psychologists began around the turn of the century. Early studies tended to support some of the legal profession's stereotypes of children by claiming to show that children are “the most dangerous of all witnesses.” More recent studies challenge this oversimplified view and instead indicate that children are not always more suggestible than adults. In this paper, the laws, past and present, and the development of the relevant psychological literature are reviewed, with special attention placed on the early studies.

Assessing the Risk of Crime Victimization: The Integration of Personal Victimization Experience and Socially Transmitted Information

Abstract: To adapt effectively to environmental hazards such as the risk of crime victimization, individuals should not rely solely upon their direct personal experience. Instead, they should use information about the environment gained from others' experiences in estimating risks and in determining the appropriate type and number of behaviors to undertake in order to avoid victimization. Such information can come either through social networks (i.e., through talking to friends, family, or neighbors) or via the mass media (newspapers, television, radio, magazines, and pamphlets). Although experiences conveyed by family, friends, and neighbors have been found to influence risk estimates and prevention behaviors, mass media experiences have not been found to influence such judgments or behaviors. This lack of mass media influence has been found both in studies of naturally occurring crime-risk judgments and in evaluations of media campaigns, such as the recent national campaign urging citizens to “take a bite out of crime.” This paper reviews the literature concerning the influence of indirect experiences upon fear of crime, with a focus on trying to understand why citizens fail to use the mass media as a source of information about personal crime risk.

Jurors' Reactions to Child Witnesses

Abstract: Adults often do not know when to believe children. There are few places where this uncertainty is more consequential than in a court of law where jurors may be forced to base their verdict largely on the testimony of children. Legal and cultural stereotypes undermine children's credibility as witnesses by portraying them as basically honest but highly manipulable, unable to differentiate fantasy from reality, and lacking in cognitive sophistication. In this article, we review juror, witness, and courtroom factors that influence a child's credibility. We also present the results of our own studies on reactions to child witnesses.

Computing as an Occasion for Social Control.

Abstract: This paper examines three models of social control processes in computerized work settings. Two models, the management control model and the professional negotiations model, are derived from other analysts' conceptions. The third model, the institutional control model, is new. The models differ in their conception of the flexibility of norms, the proximity of social control agents to other participants, and the patterns of information flow in a system. We examine the explanatory value of these models in light of an intensive study of one complex organization. A set of episodes concerning one recurrent dilemma reported by information system users, the maintenance of accurate data, illustrates the usefulness of the institutional negotiations model. Control is exercised by many actors in a complex social fabric rather than simply through vertical management control or through lateral work relationships. Participation in a larger, institutionalized world of computer use defines work activities, and it subjects users, regardless of their position in the hierarchy, to tighter social controls than is suggested by the other models.

Encountering an Alien Culture

Abstract: This paper applies a cultural perspective to the problem of introducing novices to a new technology: computing. We suggest a general model of initial socialization composed of reality shock, confusion, and attempts at control. Cultural values and ideas contribute to the settings in which this socialization takes place, and one result of this socialization process consists of either cultural recruits or cultural dropouts. In a two-part study exploring the nature of novice encounters with computing in one university setting, reality shock and confusion were quite high and attempts at control were often unsuccessful. In this study when novices encountered computing, they learned more than skills: they learned cultural lessons. Novices acquired perceptions of the social organization of computing; they learned “we-they” distinctions and language; they learned values. This cultural learning, we think, will magnify differential outcomes of organizational socialization to computing.

Difficulties of Providing Help in a Crisis: Relationships Between Parents of Children with Cancer and Their Friends

Abstract: Parents of children with cancer experience substantial stress over a long period of time. One way that parents cope with such stress is to seek social support from various sources, especially from close friends. Interviews with a sample of these parents, as well as with some of their close friends or informal “helpers,” illustrate the difficulties involved in both seeking and providing help in the midst of a crisis. Among the major difficulties parents and their close friends report are managing the emotional impact of the illness, intrusions into privacy or the prior boundaries of relationships, the creation of a stigma or an aura of “non-normality,” finding methods for being useful and feeling effective, and dealing with sex-role barriers to a full range of helping interactions. These difficulties are discussed and analyzed primarily in a qualitative framework; special attention is paid to deriving an understanding of their meaning from the actual experiences and reflections of parents and friends engaged in the helping process.

Social influence and crime-victim decision making.

Abstract: Other people can affect a crime-victim's decision to notify the police in at least four different ways: (a) by cuing the victim to a particular “script” or particular actions within a script, (b) by providing arguments and advice, (c) by indicating what normative standards operate within some group important to the victim, and (d) by providing socioemotional support or nonsupport. These four functions others serve can operate when the victim is labeling an event as a crime, when the victim is determining its seriousness, and when the victim is deciding what to do about it. This paper discusses these four functions in terms of relevant theoretical and empirical work.

Why Do Victims Fail to Report? The Psychology of Criminal Victimization

Abstract: This article reviews emotional and cognitive reactions to criminal victimization. It draws connections between the contents of these reactions and victims' reluctance to report the crime to authorities. Since between one half and two thirds of all crimes are not so reported, understanding these connections is critical. We argue that nonreporting is the result of three factors acting singly or in concert: (a) victim fear, (b) feelings of helplessness and the perceived powerlessness of police, and (c) the threat of further victimization from authorities. We believe victims react in relatively rational ways. Despite the apparent loss of control and the strong fear engendered by the experience, the victimization does not lead people to report it to authorities. Instead, reporting to police is often realistically viewed by victims as ineffective and potentially costly.

“I'm the thinkist, you're the typist”: The Interaction of Technology and the Social Life of Classrooms

Abstract: The experimental research approach has some limitations when used to understand the effects of the recent introduction of computers on the social context of classrooms. Rather than looking for effects per se, an alternate framework is used to study the places and processes of change that accompany the use of new technologies. The authors outline two critical elements of the process by which computers are incorporated into the social context of the classroom. First, teachers' interpretations of the meaning of the software–its purpose and value, and whether it has a legitimate relationship to traditional curricular areas and modes of learning – will play a central role in how and whether computers become an integral part of the classroom. Second, teachers' and students' views regarding the new kinds of learning interactions often arising when working with computers, namely, the legitimacy of collaborative work and child experts, will also have a powerful influence in shaping the role of computers. The paper concludes with a discussion of how computers may enable teachers and students to learn new things about and through the technology, as well as provide opportunities for rethinking the learning agendas and the organization of learning interactions currently employed by schools.

Face-Recognition Memory: Implications for Children's Eyewitness Testimony

Abstract: In this paper we review studies pertaining to face-recognition memory and attempt to derive implications for assessing the dependability of children's performances as eyewitnesses. The small amount of data concerning children's performances in either identification parades or in laboratory face memory studies is reviewed; a somewhat more extensive, but still modest, literature concerning the performance of adults in these same contexts is examined in an attempt to draw useful generalizations about face recognition applicable to children. Throughout, we identify important developmental questions for future research.

The Role of Bystanders in Crime Control

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and explain the role bystanders play in crime control. We describe the range of bystanders' reactions to crime including nonintervention, indirect intervention, direct intervention, and spontaneous vigilantism, and cite illustrations of each from mass media accounts. Using evidence from social psychological research, we discuss conditions under which each type of reaction would be expected to occur. Evidence is then presented that the mere presence of bystanders capable of surveillance may inhibit the commission of crime. A cyclical model is then discussed in which fear of crime reduces the number of bystanders available for surveillance, decreasing the risks of crime and potentially increasing its occurrence. This model suggests that under certain circumstances crime causes crime and implies that an important factor in the social control of crime is the relative balance between the offender's fear of surveillance and the bystander's fear of crime.

Crime Definition, Crime Measurement, and Victim Surveys

Abstract: Although victim surveys can generate information about characteristics of victims, precursors of victimization, effectiveness of resistance, victim-offender interaction, effects of crime on the victim, and police response, current research has hardly begun to mine their potential. Much of the underutilization and misinterpretation of victim surveys can be understood in light of their original objective: to measure the “dark figure” of crime. Victimization estimates were originally intended to index all occurrences of crime, both crimes that become known to the police and those that do not. Because victim-survey data and police data are products of numerous definitional decisions made by victims, other citizens, and the police, some types of crime are likely to be captured by both data sources, some by only one, and some by neither. Thus, victim surveys do not simply reveal more crimes than police statistics; they capture different crimes. This very difference makes victim-survey data especially valuable.

The Child Witness: Conclusions and Future Directions for Research and Legal Practice

Abstract: The papers in this issue reflect the “state of the art” in research and thinking on children as witnesses, but the possibilities for further studies are numerous. In this article, ideas for future research on child witnesses are discussed in relation to three themes: children's ability to provide accurate testimony, emotional trauma likely to be experienced by child witnesses, and the perceived credibility of children's testimony. Proposals for improvements in legal practices are also offered. It is concluded that members of the psychological and legal communities should join in trying to solve the dilemmas posed by the child witness.

Social Support: Methodological Issues in Design and Measurement

Abstract: Despite plentiful evidence of a link between social support and adaptation to stress, we still know virtually nothing about why this connection exists. This paper is designed to help the researcher plan a study that offers the optimal test of any given explanation. We assume that the research is founded on a conceptual model of the association between stress, support, and strain. The specificity of such a model will depend upon what has been established from existing knowledge. The paper focuses on key issues in measurement, design, and analysis. A fundamental problem in measurement of social support is how to select from a host of possible strategies. The measurement section introduces important considerations that should govern that choice. The design section alerts the reader to sources of bias that commonly constrain the inferences that can be drawn from social support research. It also addresses the thorny problem of timing measurement to capture a process that transpires over time. The analysis section illustrates how structural equations can be used to model specific social support effects and discusses the circumstances that would make inclusion of additional variables advisable. Finally, we consider the limitations of relying exclusively on quantitative data and illustrate ways in which qualitative research can be used to develop unique information about the role of social support in circumventing the effects of stress.

The Multifaceted Nature of Social Support in a Community Sample of Elderly Women

Abstract: Forty-three elderly women at two low-income city nutrition sites participated in a study of social ties and social support. As predicted, discrete facets of support were differentiated from among a variety of social network and support variables. Age was negatively related to network size, amount of emotional support, and time spent with confidantes and relatives. With age controlled, the best predictors of life satisfaction were network size, frequency of church attendance, and proportion of network members considered intimates. Results are discussed with regard to the multidimensionality of the social support construct.

A Phenomenological Study of Being Criminally Victimized: Contributions and Constraints of Qualitative Research

Abstract: Phenomenological analyses of 50 victims' experiences are presented. The format of the results preserves what it was like to live through being victimized, including the temporal flow and the vicissitudes of the experience. This presentation tries to put readers in touch with existential meanings of being criminally victimized, especially the radical threat to the victims' sense of social order and of community. It also draws out implications for strengthening citizens' sense of mutuality. Concrete suggestions include advice to police officers and to designers of victim brochures. Theoretical integration of representative research studies is offered. The article provides clarifications about qualitative methods, including their advantages and constraints.

Child Witnesses and the First Amendment: A Psycholegal Dilemma

Abstract: There have been a number of recent proposals for procedural reforms to protect child victims in their role as witnesses. The Supreme Court's decision in Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court suggests both the constitutional limits of these reforms and some circumstances in which social-science evidence in unlikely to be given weight by the judiciary. Globe is particularly interesting with respect to the latter issue because its judgment appeared to turn on perceptions of empirical data. The Court's use of these data is analyzed, and suggestions are made for future research about children's involvement as witnesses. It is argued that attention might be better paid to making the present system more responsive to the needs of child witnesses than to attempting major procedural changes.

Evaluation of an International Scientific Computer-Based Conference

Abstract: Computer-based conferencing is a form of computer-mediated communication which supports group discussion. This report describes the reaction of scientists who participated in such a conference and were asked to comment on the technology itself and on the scientific value of the exercise. While 78% indicated that they would participate in other computer-based conferences, they also identified improvements that they would like to see. Scientists from developing countries were concerned primarily with technical problems because their capability for on-line participation was low; most received the transcript in the mail and sent their contributions by TELEX. However, the problems identified by the industralized-country participants require social, not technical, solutions. These scientists were concerned about the lack of contribution of others, the quality of the information that was presented, and the lack of focus or direction to the conference. They saw little of value contributed by others, but were also reluctant to contribute themselves to such an open conference. These concerns are described and related to a number of topics in social psychology such as equity, leadership, and communication networks.

Alienating the Victim: Compensation and Victim Attitudes

Abstract: Criminal victimization and postvictimization experiences often affect victim attitudes negatively toward criminal justice and government. Victim-compensation programs seek to improve those attitudes as well as to curb crime and repay victim losses. A few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of compensation plans in achieving their goals, and special attention is given herein to the programs' effects on attitudes. The research, done mostly in Florida, New York, and New Jersey, shows considerable victim disenchantment and even some evidence of greater discontent among applicants to such plans than among nonapplicants. Two primary causes of dissatisfaction are administrative inconvenience and receipt of an inadequate (or no) award. Thus, the effect of compensation plans seems to be more symbolic than tangible.