Bringing Down Dictators: The Diffusion of Democratic Change in Communist and Postcommunist Europe and Eurasia

What explains the cross-national diffusion of democratic change? A comparative analysis of two waves of such changes in postcommunist Europe and Eurasia from 1988-2005 suggests that three factors are critical. One is an expansion of opportunities for change; another is the appeal of positive precedents, especially when parallels can be drawn between the “sender” and the “receiving” country; and a third is the rise of transnational groups supporting political change. For subversive innovations, all three factors seem to be necessary—which is one reason why each of the waves of democratic change came to an end

The Economic Effects of Licensure of Dietitians and Nutritionists and Social Workers

This dissertation examines the economic effects of occupational regulation of dietitians and nutritionists (DNs) and social workers (SWs). Both occupations require a bachelor’s degree, employ high percentages of female, part time, and institutional workers, have strong occupational associations, and are subject to different types of regulation in different states. Models for the effect of regulation on numbers and wages of practitioners use individual-level data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 5% Census surveys and control for regulation via a dummy variable (for linear effects) or a function of years of regulation (for non-linear effects). Models for the effect of regulation on quality of service use individual-level data from the 1984 through 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys and measure quality of service in terms of health indicator variables derived from survey questions. Empirical models include OLS, FE, and 2SLS models with IVs for regulation variables. Results are found for the effect of any regulation, regulation that is named licensure (with or without practice restriction), or licensure on the number of practitioners, wages, and quality of service. I find no evidence that regulation reduces the number of DN or SW practitioners, but licensure of DNs is associated with an increase in the number of DNs in job positions that are exempt from regulation. Any regulation of DNs and regulation named licensure of SWs have small, positive, although not significant, impacts on wages. I find positive elasticities of wages with respect to years of regulation for both DNs and SWs. I also find small improvements in the quality of service due to any regulation of DNs and licensure of SWs. Results for different regulation levels are similar to those for licensure

Caregivers’ Self-Compassion and Bereaved Children’s Adjustment: Testing Caregivers’ Mental Health and Parenting as Mediators

Objectives: Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has been found to be related to individuals’ mental health. Few studies have examined caregivers’ self-compassion in relation to parenting behaviors and child adjustment in addition to its relation to their own mental health. In the current study we examined caregivers’ self-compassion as a protective factor related to parentally bereaved children’s internalizing and externalizing problems and further tested whether these relations were mediated by caregivers’ mental health (complicated grief and psychological distress) and parenting. Methods: The sample consisted of 74 caregivers (female = 78.4%) who participated in a larger study designed for bereaved families. At T1 (baseline) and T2 (20 weeks later), caregivers completed measures on demographic information, self-compassion, complicated grief, parental warmth, and consistent discipline, as well as child internalizing and externalizing problems. Results: Findings supported that caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively related to decreased internalizing and externalizing problems in bereaved children. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of self-compassion on externalizing problems was mediated by parental warmth and by consistent discipline. In addition, caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively associated with decreased complicated grief and psychological distress of the caregiver. Conclusions: These findings add to the knowledge on the benefits of self-compassion for bereaved families and suggest that caregivers’ self-compassion intervention may be a leveraging point to protect both bereaved caregivers from complicated grief and distress but also to strengthen parenting which leads to bereaved children’s adjustment

Developmental cascade models of a parenting-focused program for divorced families on mental health problems and substance use in emerging adulthood

A developmental cascade model from functioning in adolescence to emerging adulthood was tested using data from a 15-year longitudinal follow-up of 240 emerging adults whose families participated in a randomized, experimental trial of a preventive program for divorced families. Families participated in the program or literature control condition when the offspring were ages 9–12. Short-term follow-ups were conducted 3 months and 6 months following completion of the program when the offspring were in late childhood/early adolescence. Long-term follow-ups were conducted 6 years and 15 years after program completion when the offspring were in middle to late adolescence and emerging adulthood, respectively. It was hypothesized that the impact of the program on mental health and substance use outcomes in emerging adulthood would be explained by developmental cascade effects of program effects in adolescence. The results provided support for a cascade effects model. Specifically, academic competence in adolescence had cross-domain effects on internalizing problems and externalizing problems in emerging adulthood. In addition, adaptive coping in adolescence was significantly, negatively related to binge drinking. It was unexpected that internalizing symptoms in adolescence were significantly negatively related to marijuana use and alcohol use. Gender differences occurred in the links between mental health problems and substance use in adolescence and mental health problems and substance use in emerging adulthood

When parties make peoples

One of the lessons of the 2014 Scottish referendum on independence is that political separatism may be inspired by goals of a Left-Right kind. The surge in support for the Yes campaign corresponded to its emergence as an anti-austerity movement. The paper examines how questions of peoplehood became linked in this case to the adversarial pursuit of political ends. To clarify the dynamics of partisanship at work, I go on to examine a second case of political separatism – Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s – where, major differences notwithstanding, a similar set of currents was present. Rival definitions of peoplehood were here too the symptoms of political contestation at least as much as its inspiration. The paper ends by considering what the partisan contestation of political boundaries reveals about the condition of the democracies in which it occurs

Emotionality and self-regulation, threat appraisal, and coping in children of divorce.

Abstract A model of the effects of children's temperament (negative and positive emotionality, impulsivity and attention focusing) on post-divorce threat appraisals, coping (active and avoidant), and psychological symptoms (depression and conduct problems) was investigated. The study utilized a sample of 223 mothers and children (ages 9 to 12 years) who had experienced divorce within the last two years. Evidence was found of direct effects of child-report negative emotionality on children's threat perceptions and of child-report positive emotionality and impulsivity on children's coping. Indirect effects of negative emotionality on active and avoidant coping through threat appraisal were found. Direct effects of the temperament variables on symptoms were also found. Cross group analyses indicated that the models were robust to age differences, but gender differences were found in the relation between negative emotionality and depression. The results of this study indicate that temperament and threat appraisals are important predictors of children's post-divorce symptoms, and that temperament is a predictor of children's appraisal and coping process

The Eyes Have It: Sex and Sexual Orientation Differences in Pupil Dilation Patterns

Recent research suggests profound sex and sexual orientation differences in sexual response. These results, however, are based on measures of genital arousal, which have potential limitations such as volunteer bias and differential measures for the sexes. The present study introduces a measure less affected by these limitations. We assessed the pupil dilation of 325 men and women of various sexual orientations to male and female erotic stimuli. Results supported hypotheses. In general, self-reported sexual orientation corresponded with pupil dilation to men and women. Among men, substantial dilation to both sexes was most common in bisexual-identified men. In contrast, among women, substantial dilation to both sexes was most common in heterosexual-identified women. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed. Because the measure of pupil dilation is less invasive than previous measures of sexual response, it allows for studying diverse age and cultural populations, usually not included in sexuality research

Transnational partisanship: idea and practice

That parties might successfully organize transnationally is an idea often met with scepticism. This article argues that while certain favourable conditions are indeed absent in the transnational domain, this implies not that partisanship is impossible but that it is likely to be marked by certain traits. Specifically, it will tend to be episodic, structured as a low-density network and delocalized in its ideational content. These tendencies affect the normative expectations one can attach to it. Transnational partisanship should be valued as a transitional phenomenon, e.g. as a pathway to transnational democracy, more than as a desirable thing in itself