The experiences of women using the community college transfer pathway to earn four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields have not been studied extensively. This study examined the experiences of thirty women (67% first-generation college students, 23% ethnic minority students) pursuing STEM degrees; they were interviewed once while finishing at community college and again one semester later. The results illustrate facilitators at the community college, including inspirational professors, effective transfer advising, academic resources, and flexible work schedules, and barriers resulting from ineffective initial advising. After transferring to a four-year institution, the majority of women persisted in STEM majors despite many barriers, such as negative course experiences, poor advising, and limited finances. Finding a helpful professor or advisor and cotransfer support boosted belongingness and contributed to persistence. Two students switched to non-STEM fields, while two students withdrew from the four-year school completely; these students faced significant financial barriers and did not find a helpful professor or advisor in a STEM field. Finally, four students delayed their transfer, primarily due to financial reasons and family responsibilities. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
During the transition to parenthood, both men and women experience
hormone changes that are thought to promote parental care. Yet very few studies
have explicitly tested the hypothesis that prenatal hormone changes are
associated with postpartum parenting behavior. In a longitudinal study of 27
first-time expectant couples, we assessed whether prenatal hormone changes
predicted self and partner-reported parenting outcomes at three months
postpartum. Expectant fathers showed prenatal declines in testosterone and
estradiol, and larger declines in these hormones predicted larger contributions
to household and infant care tasks postpartum. Women whose partners showed
larger testosterone declines also reported receiving more support and more help
with household tasks. Expectant mothers showed prenatal increases in
testosterone and estradiol, and larger increases predicted lower partner-rated
support. Together, our findings provide some of first evidence that prenatal
hormone changes may indeed be functional and that behaviors associated with
these changes may be detectable by co-parents.
What makes low social status toxic to well-being? To
internalize social status is to believe the self is
responsible for it. We hypothesized that the more people internalize low
subjective social status, the more their basic psychological needs are thwarted.
Experiment 1 randomly assigned participants to imagine themselves in low,
middle, or high social status and assessed their subjective social status
internalization by independent ratings. The more participants internalized low
status, the more they reported their basic psychological needs were thwarted.
This effect did not appear among their higher status counterparts. Experiment 2
replicated and extended these findings using a behavioral manipulation of
subjective social status and a self-report measure of internalization. We
discuss implications for basic and action research.
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