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In 1995, approximately 24 million children-28% of the population of American children-did not live with their biological fathers, an increase of 17.5% over that population 36 years ago (Shapiro, Schrof, Sharp, & Friedman, 1995). Forty percent of all children of divorced parents have not seen their fathers in the past year (Horn, 1995). In this regard, Brown-Cheatham (1993) asserted that 50% of today's children will spend at least part of their childhood in a single-parent female-headed household.In 1993, only 51% of all children were still living with both biological parents, and 90% of Black children spent part of their childhood in a single-parent female-headed household (Brown-Cheatham, 1993). Statistics on living arrangements show that African American children are slightly more likely to live in a single-parent family (41%) than they are to live in a dual-parent family (40%). The remaining percentage (18%) of African American children live with a parent and another relative (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1993). The explanation for this phenomenon is that the African American family structure is often extended and multigenerational and not limited to the membership of the nuclear family (father, mother, and children), to one household, or even to blood relatives

Research suggests that empathy may reduce stigma, while adult attachment style may influence empathy. We examined stigma toward schizophrenia and other psychosocial or health concerns. We created vignettes describing a person displaying behavioral problems with different reasons offered for the behavior. Vignettes were followed by stigma items. Participants (N = 347) also completed empathy and adult attachment scales. The most stigma was found with a homelessness vignette, and the least with an Alzheimer's disease vignette. No significant differences in stigma were found between bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or “severe psychological disorder” vignettes. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated a significant main effect for empathy. Interaction terms for empathy and adult attachment did not explain a significant proportion of stigma variance. Results are discussed in terms of mainstream conceptions of these conditions.

This study used archival data on a sample of 186,492 referrals from a southwestern state Juvenile Probation Commission to compare the characteristics of 5,439 male Black, Hispanic, and White juveniles with sexual behavior problems on the five most common sexual offenses in the data set. The characteristics of 181,053 juveniles of the three races without sexual behavior problems were also compared on the basis of the seven most common nonsexual offenses. The bases of comparison were the seven variables: reported incidence of sexual offenses, the primary caregivers or living arrangements, age, suspected sexual abuse, suspected emotional abuse, suspected physical abuse, and special education status, on which racial differences were found. Prevention and treatment implications of findings are discussed.

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