With increasing diversity and multiculturalism, there is a greater need to understand ways to foster positive intergroup interactions. In this study, youth ages 14 to 18 from three different regions in the United States (N = 21) were given camera phones and instructed to take pictures of what multiculturalism meant to them and how it played a role…

Background: Reducing mental illness stigma in youth is an important societal goal, but much of the existing literature focuses on knowledge enhancement strategies. These alone may not be sufficient to enhance empathy, change fundamental attitudes, or reduce social distance. Objective: To evaluate a youth-initiated, discussion- and empathy-based…

Emerging evidence suggests that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth experience disparate treatment in schools that may result in criminal sanctions. In an effort to understand the pathways that push youth out of schools, we conducted focus groups with youth (n = 31) from Arizona, California, and Georgia, and…

The current study used an online survey to explore the anticipated impact of legalized marriage on partners in same-sex couples living in California. These data were gathered prior to the California Supreme Court decision in May 2008 legalizing same-sex marriage, which held sway for 5 months before California Proposition 8 eliminating same-sex…

In this study, we used a mixed methods approach to explore the determinants of relationship patterns and risky sex among homeless men living in downtown Los Angeles. This involved analysis of qualitative interviews focused on gender ideology and sexual events ("n" = 30) as well as structured interviews ("n" = 305) focused on…

This paper presents and tests a general model to predict emergent exchange patterns and power differences in reciprocal exchange networks when individual actors follow the norm of reciprocity. With an interesting qualification, the experimental results reported here support the power-dependence approach (Emerson 1972a, b): those who acquire the…

This study, focused on five transgender and gay youth of color from San Francisco, explored how family problems, poverty, homophobia, and transphobia propelled them into homelessness and made gay-friendly spaces and resources especially meaningful to them. These young people describe seeking support in San Francisco's well-known gay enclave, the…

University of the Pacific is a private, comprehensive university with a College of Arts and Sciences and six professional schools, and with a population of more than four thousand students on its main campus in the ethnically diverse central valley city of Stockton, California. The signature component of Pacific's general education program is the…

Interpersonal and intergroup contention is endemic to the social environment of California prisons. Data from in-depth interviews (N = 74) with prison inmates highlights a conceptual difference between the status behavior understood as signaling "deference" versus those signaling "respect." "Deference behavior"…

"Public Libraries as Partners in Youth Development: Lessons and Voices from the Field," published by the Forum in partnership with the Urban Libraries Council, captures key challenges and lessons learned from an innovative, four-year initiative sponsored by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds that awarded six million dollars to nine…