Describes the founding, organization, and support services of the Oregon Family Support Network. Using volunteers, the network provides support and information to families whose children are severely emotionally or behaviorally disturbed. Services include emotional support, technical assistance, networking, information, community forums, parent…

Tests a theoretical model for the constitution of the self among adolescents in a cross-cultural, comparative study. Examines the impact of schools and families, as institutions and networks of interaction, on the self of adolescents. Based on data from three sample surveys from an East/West study of adolescent students. (DSK)

Examines the networking strategy that was utilized to develop a rural health promotion cooperative in southwestern Ohio, with special emphasis on the success of this strategy as a technique for introducing change and reducing resistance to prevention programs. Also discusses the obstacles to, and the benefits of, such programs. (MDM)

Examines research on the fundamental contexts for social contact: the family and networks of social support. It focuses on the processes and dynamics within these systems of relationships that are considered vitally important to normal and abnormal mental and emotional development. (GR)

The relationship between social support and the welfare of the recipient of support has been well documented in the clinical and research literature; however, HIV-positive individuals have seldom been examined in this context. This study attempts to bridge this gap by examining the perceived availability of social support of 77 persons living with…

Recommends that child care workers engage in community networking to form mutually beneficial relationships with people who can help children and families. Identifies good work, leadership, communication, advocacy, and sharing of credit as five fundamental components of power networking. (DLH)

Examined 475 adolescents from Grade 7 through early adulthood to identify antecedents and pathways of teen parenthood. Found that teen fatherhood and motherhood were predicted by individual and peer configurations such as a combination of high aggression, low academic competence, low popularity, and low family SES. Peer characteristics, race, and…

Survey data was used to examine gender differences in perceptions of support across three different constructs: structural support related to the number of adults versus friends; the quantity of support provided by mothers, fathers, peers, and teachers; satisfaction with support from friends and family. Implications for practice with adolescents…

Examines the effectiveness of "social presence" as a predictor of learner satisfaction in a text-based medium based on the GlobalEd inter-university computer conference. Results suggested social presence as a strong predictor of satisfaction, and participants felt a higher sense of social presence by using emoticons (i.e. icons that express…

The present study is an examination of the effects of quality and quantity of social support on the psychological and physical well-being of women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Participants were 568 women who were members of a health maintenance organization (HMO) with a confirmed diagnosis of FMS. Participants were administered a battery of…

This article presents the results of new data collection in Mexico about the relationship between child well-being and social networks. Two research questions guide the analysis. First, under what conditions do networks generate greater (lesser) support? Second, what kinds of networks are associated with healthier children? We explore the health…

Purpose: The Dementia Care Networks' Study examined the effectiveness of four community-based, not-for-profit dementia networks. The study involved assessing the relationship between the types of administrative and service-delivery exchanges that occurred among the networked agencies and the network members' perception of the effectiveness of…

The notion of learning community has assumed an important position in discussions about the education of adults. The vision of a network of learning communities each producing forms of social capital is actively promoted as the key to lifelong learning. Universities are increasingly being positioned within this network. This article explores and…

Recent decades have seen an explosion of transnational networking and activism, but participation varies widely around the globe. Using negative binomial regression, we explore how national and global political and economic factors shape this "uneven geography" of participation in transnational social movement organizations (TSMOs). Contrary to…

This study assessed policy actors' influence on state reading policy and compared the structure of reading policy networks across eight states. Data for the study came from structured interviews and archival documents and were analyzed using social network analysis methods. This study found that state reading policy networks were heterogeneous in…