The physiological effects of racism, as a stressor, were examined as they related to blood pressure (BP) and anger experiences in Black college students. Current research has failed to consider the stressful effects of racism as a factor contributing to the higher incidence of essential hypertension among Blacks. Twenty-seven Black college students viewed three excerpts showing racist situations involving Blacks; anger-provoking, nonracist situations; and neutral situations. After each scene, BP was taken, and a mood checklist was administered. The Framingham Anger Scale and the Anger Expression Scale were administered. Analyses revealed that BP significantly increased during the presentation of racist stimuli but not of anger-provoking or neutral stimuli. Self-reports of state anger, as measured by the mood checklist, were significant for both the anger-provoking and racist stimuli. BP scores were significantly correlated to the two trait anger measures. Exposure to racist stimuli was associated with BP increases among Blacks. Such cumulative exposure to racism may have important implications for the etiology of essential hypertension.

Although many studies have compared gender‐role ideologies internationally and cross‐culturally, few researchers have attended to cultural differences in the meaningfulness or conceptual equivalence of the scale items. The literature on the use of instruments internationally is reviewed with respect to potentially universal (etic) constructs and findings. Gender differences in attitudes and the domains in which gender‐related behavior is expressed differ internationally. A potential universal dimension is represented by a modern, egalitarian ideology on the one pole and a traditional ideology on the other. Using scales developed in three cultural contexts, we demonstrate that ratings of meaningfulness are correlated with the use of scores distant from the midpoint. Specific recommendations for researchers include consultation with cultural informants and incorporation of culturally specific (emic) items.

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The presence of caring adults in the extended family and unrelated adults, such as neighbors, teachers, youth workers, and clergy, is thought to make a positive contribution to young adolescent development. Many reports mention the importance of those relationships, but there is a sparse empirical literature describing their nature and role in young adolescents' lives. The available literature is reviewed here with respect to (a) identifying the nonparental adults who positively affect adolescents; (b) characterizing the kinds and frequency of contact between adolescents and nonparental adults; and (c) articulating the functions that the relationship serves and specifying the personal characteristics of the nonparental adult. Specifically addressed in this article are the ways in which age and grade, gender ethnicity, and socioeconomic status of the adolescent, and the characteristics of the community, affect adolescents' relationships with nonparental adults.

The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, designed to protect the best interests of the child in intercountry adoption, has been signed by 83 nations. We evaluate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the Convention in achieving this purpose and also in protecting a second vulnerable population, birth families. A case study example of the United States' implementation of the Hague requirements reveals several weaknesses with respect to non-Convention countries as sending nations, financial oversight, and oversight of foreign collaborators. International birth families, especially birth mothers giving consent to an adoption, are often vulnerable because of a lack of power and resources, as well as different cultural understandings of the nature of family and adoption. We conclude that in order to protect vulnerable children and birth families, individual sending and receiving countries need to supplement the Hague Convention with specific, contextually appropriate laws and regulations.