The Invisible Side of Military Careers : An Examination of Employment and Well-Being Among Military Spouses

The link between employment and well-being is well-documented. However, limited research is available examining how employment affects the well-being of military spouses. Using data from the 2003 Air Force Community Assessment Survey, this study examines the impact of employment characteristics on depression levels, satisfaction with emotional well-being, and life satisfaction for military spouses. Results indicate that being unemployed and looking for employment outside of the home is detrimental to well-being for this group. Other personal, familial, and military factors are also discussed in relationship to employment and well-being of military spouses. Practical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed

Conducting Qualitative Research on Parental Incarceration: Personal Reflections on Challenges and Contributions

Methodological challenges of conducting research with protected populations using qualitative methods are abundant. Inmates and children are two vulnerable populations, requiring rigorous processes and permissions to gain access to individuals in these populations. Qualitative research requires intimate interactions and discussions of sensitive topics, posing challenges related to extracting information and creating emotional responses from researcher and participant. Drawing on interviews with incarcerated mothers and children with incarcerated parents, we discuss challenges and benefits of qualitative methodology for research on parental incarceration and offer suggestions for overcoming barriers to access, data collection, and publication

Speak Your Peace: A Communications Strategy for Changing Community Culture

· Strategic communications can play a crucial role in advancing tangible community-wide impacts. · “Speak Your Peace: The Civility Project” (SYP) was developed by The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and the Millennium Group to improve the civility of public discourse, under the premise that this would strengthen community decision making, expand civic engagement, and increase residents’ interest in elected office. · The SYP campaign promotes nine principles (or “tools”) adapted from Forni’s book Choosing Civility (e.g., pay attention, take responsibility, apologize, give constructive criticism). · City councils, county commissions, and school boards in the region adopted the nine tools as ground rules for meetings, leading to more civil interaction. · There is suggestive evidence that civility has spread to citizens who are actively involved in local public affairs. · The initiative’s success can be traced to the multimode approach to communicating the nine tools, as well as the recruitment of “champions” who highlighted the tools and translated the tools into concrete policies and practices

Parenting Behind Bars: A Qualitative Study of Incarcerated Mothers

Policies of mass incarceration have resulted in a dramatic increase in the prison population in the United States over the past few decades. The number and proportion of women who are incarcerated have vastly increased as a result. Despite increased interest among criminologists, a variety of questions remain as to how women experience incarceration. Most women who are incarcerated are mothers, but criminological literature has yet to fully explain how mothers fulfill their parenting roles or navigate motherhood while incarcerated. No dominant theoretical framework exists to explain the experiences of incarcerated mothers in relation to their mothering roles. This research addresses such limitations by exploring the question: How do incarcerated mothers negotiate motherhood from behind bars? Data from this study come from qualitative interviews with 49 mothers (35 individually and 14 in group settings) serving time at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women. Findings suggest that incarcerated mothers experience ambiguous loss of children and the mother identity. They deal with that loss through coping strategies to preserve motherhood and by redefining the mother role. Policy recommendations and suggestions for future research based on findings are discussed

Validity of Maternal and Perinatal Risk Factors Reported on Fetal Death Certificates

We sought to estimate the accuracy, relative to maternal medical records, of perinatal risk factors recorded on fetal death certificates. We conducted a validation study of fetal death certificates among women who experienced fetal deaths between 1996 and 2001. The number of previous births, established diabetes, chronic hypertension, maternal fever, performance of autopsy, anencephaly, and Down syndrome had very high accuracy, while placental cord conditions and other chromosomal abnormalities were reported inaccurately. Additional population-based studies are needed to identify strategies to improve fetal death certificate data