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This study brings a fresh perspective to elite polarization by examining how policymakers and party leaders interpret and respond to it. Polarization is examined through the language and lived experience of those most familiar with it—policymakers themselves. Face-to-face interviews posed qualitative and quantitative questions to 212 legislators and 13 key informants from two states that varied in polarization. Most legislators describe polarization in negative terms. Consistent with "Community Dissonance Theory," analyses reveal differences in a legislature's institutional culture with policymakers in the more polarized state reporting more fraying of the social fabric and fracturing of decision-making processes. Specifically, legislators report more limited opportunities to build relationships with colleagues across party lines and for the minority party to make meaningful contributions. Corroborating the "Theory of Pernicious Polarization," polarization appears to function as a relationship-based process that leaders can use for instrumental political ends. Polarization depends on whether party leaders react to rifts in tribal, non-compromising ways and how the minority responds. Consistent with "Conditional Party Governance" theory, party leaders can contribute to dysfunctional polarization by encouraging homogeneity in their own party and polarity from the opposing party. Drawing on policymakers' own words, states vary in whether elite polarization is dysfunctional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Families have long been recognized for the contributions they make to their members and to society. Yet families are seldom substantively incorporated into the normal course of policy and program development, implementation, and evaluation. We propose the family impact lens as one way to shift the rhetoric from appreciating families to prioritizing them as worthy of study, investment, partnership, and political action. This paper provides the theoretical and empirical rationale for the family impact lens and introduces a toolkit for professionals who conduct or manage programs, teach about families, communicate with policymakers and program administrators, or evaluate programs and policies. Five guiding principles comprise the core of the family impact lens--family responsibility, family stability, family relationships, family diversity, and family engagement. To operationalize these principles, three methodologies are proposed--Family Impact Discussion Starters, the Family Impact Checklist, and Family Impact Analysis. Next steps are proposed for implementation and evaluation.

This decade review centers on 2 disconnects between rhetoric and reality. First, public investments in families continue to grow, yet family policy is still not a term widely used by policymakers or the public. Second, social science studies increased in number and sophistication, with some family sensitive and others policy relevant. Few focus on both, which is what is most needed if research is to inform family policy. In exploring these disconnects, we summarize recent trends in family policies and the influence of research on family policymaking. We suggest a rationale for family policy and illustrate its value using the examples of early childhood, welfare reform, and parent education policies. We conclude with suggested next steps.

Because scientific understanding of communicating family research to policymakers is incomplete, qualitative interviews were conducted with social scientists experienced in bridging the gulf between research and family policy. In keeping with the tenets of 2 communities and community dissonance theories, the underutilization of research in policymaking was attributed, in part, to misperceptions and miscommunication between researchers and policymakers who operate in different cultures. Social scientists identified cultural barriers they encountered and rewards they experienced when communicating research to policymakers. Ten recommendations detail pragmatic strategies for communicating across conflicting cultures to promote greater use of research in family policy decisions. The findings suggest a paradigm shift away from simply disseminating research to policymakers and toward developing collaborative relationships with them. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper examines conditional and reporter effects of parental responsiveness using survey data from White 8th to 12th graders (N = 440) and their parents (N = 511). Adolescent reports of maternal and paternal responsiveness predicted higher GPAs, fewer delinquent behaviors, and less internal distress. Mothers' and fathers' reports of responsiveness were positively associated with adolescent responsibility. Looking within families, the more dissimilar mother and adolescent reports were, the more internal distress daughters reported. Looking across families, mothers' responsiveness was associated with higher GPAs and fathers' responsiveness was associated with lower substance use, but only for adolescents who reported less responsiveness than their parents and peers. The findings suggest using a single reporter to describe a relationship property is incomplete.

As newcomers on college campuses, family policy courses have the potential to benefit policymaking, fill a void in undergraduate and graduate education, strengthen families, and prepare students for lifelong political engagement during a pivotal period in their development. Yet, family policy has proven a challenging course to teach. Family policy is an esoteric concept, which makes courses difficult to distinguish from other policy courses. The content of a family policy course is fluid and inherently value laden. This paper proposes course content and teaching techniques to transform these challenges into learning opportunities. The author discusses similarities and differences in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses and recommends cross-university dialogue and resource exchange to improve the teaching of family policy in college classrooms.

Examines the reliability and validity of the Youth Support Inventory, a tool designed for community coalitions to assess the availability of local resources and supports that previous research indicates are important for preventing adolescent alcohol and other drug use. (BF)

Examines white mothers (n=199) and white fathers (n=144) of adolescents reporting regular alcohol use. Less than one third of parents were aware of their adolescents' drinking. Parental awareness of adolescent alcohol use served to protect adolescents by moderating the reaction of parents' responsiveness to episodes of drinking and driving. (Author/MKA)

Examines parent-teen communication about sexual topics in mother-teen (n=666) and father-teen (n=510) pairs. Results show that, aside from gender of parents and teens, demographic variables were insignificant; relationship and attitudinal variables were linked to sexual discussions in both mother-teen and father-teen dyads. (Author/MKA)

Examined parent/peer linkages and how both types of experiences influence substance use in European-American adolescents. Found that mothers' responsiveness lessened adolescents' peer orientation, which reduced substance use. This process was moderated by maternal values regarding adolescent alcohol use. Among fathers, closer monitoring was associated with less adolescent substance use, with stronger effects among fathers with more disapproving values. (Author)

Argues that systematically investigating proximal processes as unifying and overriding forces in human development may be an overlooked aspect of contemporary developmental science. A study of 10,000 high school students showed that those whose parents were more involved in school performed better in school, irrespective of the parents' gender or education. (RJM)

Examines the effectiveness of parent education newsletters among 726 White parents of 9th to 12th graders. Results show that parents who read all of the newsletters reported closer monitoring, higher responsiveness, and more parent/teen discussions when compared to a control group. Newsletters helped parents who faced single or multiple risks. (RJM)

Examined Belsky's model of the determinants of parenting among 666 pairs of White mothers and adolescents and 510 pairs of White fathers and adolescents. Results indicate that, when parents reported higher perceived parenting competence, sons and daughters reported more parental monitoring and responsiveness and less parental psychological control. Other findings are reported. (RJM)