bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Psychology and Literary Texts: An Empirical Analysis of a Contemporary Indian Novel
Authors: Contarello Alberta , Vellico Elena
Published: May 2005

The aim of the article is to illustrate the contribution of research with literary tests to study Self1 and social relationships. We briefly overview, first, different theoretical approaches using literature in social psychology, second, the analysis of Self and identity within the framework of social representations. This perspective considers literary texts—co-creations of their time—worth of study to test and expand social psychological knowledge. In the present research the importance of the individualism—collectivism dimension to understand social “worlds,” and of dynamic forces underlying social life is tested. After considering studies on Self and culture in the Indian context, a novel by Anita Desai—a recognized authoress, renowned in India and in the West—is analyzed. Content and correspondence analyses were performed to detect dimensions underlying the portrayed characters and relationships. The resulting structures partially support but also extend social psychological knowledge on Self and relationships.
Mediators of Estimates of Brief Time Intervals in Elderly Domiciled Males
Authors: Licht David , Morganti John B. , Nehrke Milton F. , Heiman Gary
Published: May 2005

Conflicting interpretations questioning whether brief intervals of real time are perceived as passing more or less rapidly with increasing age have been reported. Reasons for these inconsistent results lie in semantic confusions, in variations in methodology, and in the effects of other mediating variables. The present study examined relationships between age, value of time over both the short and the long term, perceived time to death, self-perceived activity levels, and estimates of brief time intervals in a sample of older institutionalized males. The production method was used to obtain the estimates of time passage. Time intervals were increasingly underestimated with advancing age, indicating that time units are shorter with increasing age. While a number of other variables were interrelated, the only other factor consistently related to time estimates was the short-term value of time. Implications for future research and for interventions in institutional settings are discussed.
Ethnicity and Intergenerational Perceptions of Family Solidarity
Authors: Bond John B. , Harvey Carol D. H.
Published: May 2005

Intergenerational interaction between matched pairs of older parents and their middle-aged offspring were explored in this research, comparing Mennonites and non-Mennonites. Middle-aged respondents replied to a mailed questionnaire, and their parents were interviewed. Five dimensions of family solidarity were compared between the generations, with the result that middle-aged offspring typically report less family solidarity than do their parents. These results are explained in terms of the concept of the “developmental stake.”
An Approach to Primary Prevention of Drug Abuse among Children and Youth—Parental Influence
Authors: Eiseman Seymour
Published: May 2005

Parental influence is the source of primary prevention of drug use by children and youth in this country today. Parents may feel helpless to combat the use of drugs by their children as a way of coping with the responsibilities of daily living. Guidelines for effective parent-child relationships are offered as one approach to insure a positive future for our nation's children and youth, and revive the potency of parents as sources of positive influence.
Social Work and Aging: A Review of the Literature and How it is Changing
Authors: Cormican Elin J.
Published: May 2005

Three related trends emerge from a review of the traditional social work journals, Social Casework, Social Work, and The Social Service Review, during the five year period from 1970 through 1974. Social workers begin the period with an essentially negative view of aging. They portray aging as a process of losses, regard the aged person as a precipitator of family crises, and focus on protective services. During the middle of the period, the writings show a more positive view of aging, posit the elderly person as a functional role model for families, and stress supportive counseling services. At the end of the period, however, the diversity of the aging process, the elderly person's relationship to his family, and the delivery of services are recognized.
Planning for Imminent Change in College Admissions: Research on Alternative Admission Criteria
Authors: Bennett D. Tyson , Wesley Homer “Bucky” , Dana-Wesley Marion
Published: May 2005

Recent trends in American higher education point to imminent change in the way students are reviewed for admission. The resurgence of class-based admissions in the Hopwood case and the upheaval over Proposition 209 in California have marked certain college admission criteria for possible extinction. As a result, university officials are searching for alternative admission models to protect their institutions from circumstances of legality and conflict. The authors of this article have determined an alternative admission model that may afford the desired protection from controversy, yet maintain the same degree of variability in predicting the future academic success of college students.
Cognitive Age: A New Multidimensional Approach to Measuring Age Identity
Authors: Barak Benny
Published: May 2005

An exploratory field study was undertaken to explore the way in which age-concepts are experienced, and to assess the relationship of age identities to each other. In addition, this study seeks to establish a new multidimensional age scale, Cognitive Age, to replace the well-established standard scale, Identity Age. This research also functions as a follow-up to an exploration by Kastenbaum et al. of “ages-of-me.” Ths most frequently used subjective age measures, Identity Age and Feel/Age, are unidimensional, and thus very difficult to evaluate in terms of reliability and/or validity. A multidimensional view of age as reflected by Personal Age is very appealing, but complex to assess. Cognitive Age successfully merges Identity Age, in which respondents identify with age-referrent groupings, and Personal Age, in which respondents rate themselves in terms of four functional age dimensions. The resultant Cognitive Age scale is both reliable and valid.
Aged Citizens in the Warning Phase of Disasters: Re-Examining the Evidence
Authors: Perry Ronald W. , Lindell Michael K.
Published: May 2005

While there is a strong consistent empirical literature on older citizens in the recovery period of disasters, there is much less research on how the elderly respond to disaster warnings. Furthermore, there are conflicting findings among these studies, some characterizing the elderly as noncompliant and less likely to cooperate with authorities, while others find the elderly no less responsive than other age groups. The current article reviews the literature in this area and tries to sort out conflicting findings in terms of the timing of the research and methodological considerations. Data are analyzed from nine disasters—representing flood events, volcanic eruptions, and hazardous materials emergencies—which show citizens over sixty-five years old no less likely to comply with disaster warnings.
Glimpses into the Social World of Middle Age
Authors: Clausen John A.
Published: May 2005

This paper describes briefly the two cohorts recently followed up in the long term longitudinal research program at the Institute of Human Development at Berkeley, and notes the characteristics of those members who remain under study. It then presents a few findings on the occupational careers and work orientations of both men and women, notes certain personality correlates of career patterns in the middle years, and briefly touches on marital satisfaction as related to work status.
Predicting Preservice Teacher Perceived Computer Use under Differential Access to Resources
Authors: Kellenberger David
Published: May 2005

This study examined the effectiveness of experience-related and value-related factors in predicting preservice teachers' perceived computer use with a class under differential access to four resources: computers, programs, a computer-knowledgeable individual, and an individual to initially teach students how to use a computer. The three experience-related factors were: number of computer courses taken, perceived past computer experience, and success of past experience. The six value-related factors used were the value of computers for preservice teachers': own needs, career, spouse, children, future students, and society in general. The sample consisted of 222 Primary/Junior (junior kindergarten through grade six) preservice teachers who completed a questionnaire. Results indicate that the value of computers for preservice teachers' career and future students were the best predictors of perceived computer use under differential access to the first three resources while value for own needs and, again, value for future students were the best predictors for perceived computer use associated with the fourth resource. None of the experience-related factors, nor the value of computers for spouse, children, or society were significant.
Evaluation of Infantilizing Speech in a Rehabilitation Setting: Relation to Age
Authors: Whitmer Rachel Anne , Whitbourne Susan Krauss
Published: May 2005

The purpose of the present study was to assess whether reactions to infantilizing speech and content are a function of age when levels of dependence within an institutional environment are controlled. Ten individuals below the age of sixty-five were compared with ten above age sixty-five. Respondents were given two sets of materials designed to produce comparative ratings of adult and infantilized speech content and intonation. The over sixty-five age group did not detect a difference between adult and infantilizing content. The under sixty-five age group reacted more negatively to infantilizing content than did the older group. Independence scores were not significantly correlated with either set of speech ratings, or to age. The difference between older and younger adults with the same level of functional impairment supports the empirical literature that infantilization is due in part to stereotyped expectations regarding the aged as more dependent and hence in need of childlike treatment.
Subjective Well-Being Among the Old-Old: The Role of Health, Personality and Social Support
Authors: Landau Ruth , Litwin Howard
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to devise and test a path model that explains how background variables, physical capacity, and psychosocial resources (locus of control and social network supportiveness) affect three well-being outcome measures—self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction—among the old-old in Israel. A sample of European-born persons aged seventy-five and over, drawn randomly from the population registry in the greater Tel Aviv area, was administered a structured questionnaire in personal interviews ( N = 194). The findings confirm that the relationship between background variables, physical capacity and well-being is differentially mediated by the psychosocial resources, with different variable combinations predicting each of the respective facets of well-being. Moreover, the relative strength of the relationships between locus of control and social network supportiveness and well-being indicate that among the old-old, personality factors may be more consequential than social resources for one's well-being.
A Competency Based Assessment Approach to Training and Job Performance in the Field of Chemical Dependency
Authors: Armstrong Dennis A. , Ottenheimer Howard M.
Published: May 2005

Competency based education is an innovative educational model which can be utilized for training and evaluating alcohol and drug abuse personnel. Basic to this approach is a process of identification and measurement of knowledge and skills associated with the tasks performed by practitioners in the field. An identification and assessment process is described in this paper in reference to the development and implementation of a competency based bachelor's degree program for students majoring in alcohol and drug abuse related areas. Additional applications of a competency based model in areas of licensing, accreditation, funding and evaluation is also suggested.
Marijuana and the Law: What Young People Say
Authors: Hays J. Ray , Winburn G. Michael , Bloom Robert
Published: May 2005

As a result of the actions of many young people there is a good deal of concern in our society about the use of chemical substances by adolescents. The adults in our society become concerned when young people drop out of school, when they become indifferent to the values and standards which are either held or idealized by the larger society, and when they violate the legal codes.
Toward Social System Theory: Implications for Older People with Developmental Disabilities and Service Delivery
Authors: Dossa Parin A.
Published: May 2005

The literature refers to older people with developmental disabilities as the “new service population.” How and why this population emerged as a special category is discussed conceptually with reference to social systems theory. A brief review of social systems theory and some basic systemic tenets are presented. Systemic tenets are employed in examining the historical development of social gerontology and present trends in the service-delivery system. I show that the systemic variable of the economic model of human development has significantly impacted on the making of older people with developmental disabilities a dependent population. In the conclusion the systems perspective is explored in relation to recognizing the liminal, in-between parts between components. It is argued that such a perception minimizes the dichotomy between older people with developmental disabilities and the non-disabled population, paving the way for a genuine encounter.
Work Centrality of Different Age Groups and the Wish to Discontinue Work
Authors: Mannheim Bilha , Rein Josef
Published: May 2005

This study explores the relationships between work centrality, age and the wish to stop working in a sample of 755 males in Israel, classified into five occupational categories. Contrary to disengagement theory, no relationship was found between age and work centrality in any occupational group. Occupational situs was found to intervene in the relationship between age and the wish to stop working. Those willing to stop working have lower work centrality in all age groups, and intrinsic job rewards have a moderating effect on this relationship. The factors affecting work centrality of older workers differ from those affecting younger workers.
Concerns of Drug Abusers Entering an Outpatient Treatment Program
Authors: Riem Karl F. , Adams Roderick E.
Published: May 2005

A recent trend in the treatment of drug dependency is to employ a more comprehensive, multidimensional approach. Such approaches require more thorough and complex evaluation procedures. As a supplement to objective assessment of clients' life situation, it is proposed that clients' perceived needs and concerns be addressed.

A procedure for evaluating concerns of drug users is presented in which clients rated their concerns for 109 specific items, comprising six major categories. This procedure was applied with eighty-one drug abusers entering an outpatient treatment program. Clients showed a great range of concerns and a large percentage of the abusers had major concerns about areas which might not be predicted on the basis of their actual situation. The utility of such information for individual treatment and program planning is discussed.
Leisure Activities of Retired Persons in the United States: Comparisons with Retired Persons in the People's Republic of China
Authors: Carp Frances M.
Published: May 2005

This study was undertaken in view of the large and growing numbers of retired persons in the People's Republic of China; the dearth of information about how they spend their time; and the importance of such knowledge in guiding city reform and accomplishing the Four Modernizations and the future cause. The discretionary-activity patterns and rates, the importance of these activities, and their perceived impact upon the health of 551 retired persons and 100 employed workers in Shanghai were compared in order to investigate the role of retirement in China. To assess similarities and differences between retired persons in China and in the West, the activity patterns and rates of retired Chinese adults were compared with retired adults in two samples from the United States (352 from San Antonio and 899 from San Francisco).
Investigation of Changes in Clinical Laboratory Tests Related to Aging and Smoking
Authors: Burney Spencer W. , Enslein Kurt
Published: May 2005

A multivariate discriminate analysis of laboratory variables collected over a period of three to five years for 502 healthy male veterans showed that 5 variables (fasting blood glucose, blood glucose two hours following ingestion of 100 gm. of glucose, total serum protein, hemoglobin, and cholesterol esters) were changing significantly in the 222 subjects who were over 50 years of age on entry into this study. It took the combined effect of fifteen variables to predict any age change in the subgroup of 280 subjects who were 25–49 at time of entry. A further subgrouping of current cigarette smokers and those who had never smoked showed no significant difference in the laboratory data in either age cohort.
Marketing to Older American Consumers
Authors: Mertz Barbara , Stephens Nancy
Published: May 2005

Older adults are examined as a potential market for American businesses. Data indicate that in terms of size and income, senior citizens comprise a substantial buying group. Their buying styles, product and service needs, and shopping behavior are shown to vary from those of younger adults and, in fact, vary substantially within the older adult population. Differences are speculated to be the result not only of age influence, but also of cohort and period influences. Strategies for successful marketing are suggested. These strategies relate directly to the identified characteristics of older adults.
Laboratory Functional Age
Authors: Burney S. W.
Published: May 2005

The results of several laboratory and pulmonary function tests from a group of healthy male veterans were entered into a regression equation. Forced expiratory volume, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hemoglobin had Beta weights which, when combined with a constant, gave a laboratory functional age. This functional age was compared with the Ss' chronological age. It was found that some Ss were functionally older than their chronological age and several older Ss were considerably younger functionally than the majority whose values fell within ±2 SD of the mean of the group. Outlier Ss (functionally older or younger) from the psychology, sociology and anthropometry disciplines of the same study were compared with the laboratory functional age. Nearly all coincident outliers were older or younger in all disciplines, suggesting that perhaps aging occurs as a continuum in all phases rather than at very different rates in the various body systems.
Caffeine Knowledge and the Young Adult
Authors: Krupka L. R. , Vener A. M.
Published: May 2005

This paper reports the results of a survey testing the knowledge that 747 young adults have regarding the highly domesticated drug—caffeine. The average correct score on the twenty-five item Caffeine Knowledge Test (CKT) was 13. Respondents were aware that caffeine is a widely used addictive drug which is a central nervous system stimulant, causing rapid heartbeat and anxiety. Only a small percentage of the respondents were cognizant of the specific amounts of caffeine contained in colas and over-the-counter medications, or of such recent scientific findings as the association of caffeine with fibrocystic disease of the breast. Several differences by sex were discerned. Respondents demonstrated a keen interest in the CKT. It was concluded that the apparent contradiction between the significant amounts of caffeine ingested by young adults and their knowledge of its biological action as a drug has stimulated much concern with its potentially harmful consequences.
Contextual Age as a Life-Position Index
Authors: Rubin Alan M. , Rubin Rebecca B.
Published: May 2005

A contextual age construct was developed and examined as a transactional, life-position index of aging. The eighteen-item contextual age index included six interrelated dimensions: physical health, interpersonal interaction, mobility, life satisfaction, social activity, and economic security. In addition to the development of the index, associations among contextual age and sociodemographic characteristics were examined for a sample of 640 persons. Chronological age was correlated negatively with mobility and physical health, and positively with economic security, life satisfaction, and interpersonal interaction. Mobility, economic security, life satisfaction, physical health, and interpersonal interaction discriminated between chronological age groups. Interpersonal interaction, economic security, physical health, and social activity were predictors of life satisfaction. The contextual age construct raises questions concerning several negative myths about aging. The findings reflect the weak validity of chronological age as a unidimensional indicator of life-position and well-being.
Grandparents and Learning
Authors: Strom Robert , Strom Shirley
Published: May 2005

The educational needs of grandparents have been overlooked. They deserve access to a curriculum that can help them adjust to their changing role and illustrate how to build satisfying family relationships. In order to identify appropriate topics and instructional procedures for grandparent education, weekly meetings were held for a semester with 400 grandmothers and grandfathers. The resulting program includes experiences in sharing feelings and ideas with peers; listening to the views of younger people; studying lifespan growth and adjustment; acquiring intergenerational communication skills; and focusing self-evaluation. A field test involving several hundred participants, equally divided into experimental and control groups, is underway to determine the worthwhileness of this approach to family development.
Disability and Principal Lifetime Occupation in the Elderly
Authors: Geroldi Cristina , Frisoni Giovanni B. , Rozzini Renzo , Trabucchi Marco
Published: May 2005

This study addresses the relationship of disability with principal lifetime occupation in the elderly. Daily function, cognitive, and physical health variables were assessed in an Italian population of 524 community-dwelling elders aged seventy and over. Farmers had 1.4 (95% C.I.: 0.6 to 2.2) instrumental daily functions lost higher than white-collar workers. Adjustment for age, education, and financial dissatisfaction with multiple linear regression analysis decreased the difference to a still significant figure of 0.9 (95% C.I.: 0.1 to 1.7). On the contrary, adjustment only for cognitive status resulted in complete disappearance of the association [0.2 functions lost (95% C.I.: −0.5 to 0.9)]. The data indicate that greater disability in the most disadvantaged occupational groups may be due to poorer cognition.
Participation in Leisure Activities by Older Adults after a Stressful Life Event: The Loss of a Spouse
Authors: Patterson Ian
Published: May 2005

This study aimed to establish if frequent participation in leisure activities helped widows and widowers adapt to widowhood, and to maintain lower stress levels. A small sample of sixty recently bereaved widows ( n = 43) and widowers ( n = 17) who were living in an Australian city were selected for the study. Their ages ranged from fifty to eight-four years with a mean age of sixty-four years. Each widow or widower was interviewed and provided responses to three scales measuring participation in leisure activities, adaptation to widowhood, and stress. Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used to interpret the data. The leisure activities most frequently participated in by widows and widowers were found to be home based activities, involving social activities with family and friends. Greater participation in leisure activities was found to be negatively correlated with stress scores, suggesting an association between leisure participation and stress reduction for recently bereaved widows and widowers. However, the study failed to find any association between participation in leisure activities and adaptation after the death of a spouse. In addition, no significant differences were found in the age, gender, income, and type of employment of widows and widowers, although perceived health status was found to be a significant factor in helping to determine future participation in leisure activities.
Effects of Integrating Problem Solving, Interactive Multimedia, and Constructivism in Teacher Education
Authors: Kim Min Kyeong , Sharp Janet M. , Thompson Ann D.
Published: May 2005

Research on mathematics teacher education indicates that offering an appropriate constructivist-based teaching model of mathematics instruction to preservice elementary teachers enhances their teaching abilities and confidence in future teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice elementary teachers' decisions about teaching strategies and their attitudes toward mathematics and computer-related technologies in a constructivist-centered methods course which included the use of problem solving multimedia. The treatment consisted of six hours of multimedia-enhanced instruction over two weeks. This study focused on three mathematics education topics taught to each group of students: problem-solving, technology, and ratios/proportions. The results indicated that constructivist-based instruction using multimedia helped the participants develop more positive attitudes toward computer-related technologies and influenced their decisions to plan more constructivist-based teaching strategies than those participants in the comparison groups.
Filial Responsibility and Informal Support among Family Caregivers of the Elderly in Jerusalem: A Path Analysis
Authors: Litwin Howard
Published: May 2005

Informal family caregivers from a sample of 110 hospitalized elderly Jewish Jerusalemites were queried regarding their perceptions of filial responsibility and the supports they provide their parent(s). A path model was examined in which the outcome variable was a measure of the caregivers' expectations of future support. Background variables considered included sociodemographic variables and religiosity of the caregivers, family problems, proximity to the dependent parent, ADL, and length of dependency of the elderly care recipient. The analysis found future expectations of support to be explained principally by perceptions of filial responsibility, that were in turn explained by religiosity of the caregiver. Current support provided was influenced by proximity to the care recipient, ADL, length of dependency, and perceptions of filial responsibility. The implications of these findings for promotion of informal care are discussed.
Meaning in Life Categories of Elderly Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Depaola Stephen J. , Ebersole Peter
Published: May 2005

Essays were gathered from fifty-three elderly nursing home residents about the strongest meaning in their lives. These elderly nursing home residents most often reported the category of family relationships as central, followed by pleasure and then health. A chi-square analysis showed a significant difference between the type of meaning of the elderly nursing home residents and those of younger adults. An additional chi-square analysis found no significant difference between the nursing home residents and a group of golden anniversary couples' meanings. Finally, our results indicate that elderly nursing home residents do not report an absence of meaning in their lives.
Moral Development and Perceptual Role-Taking Egocentrism: Their Development and Interrelationship across the Life-Span
Authors: Bielby Denise Del Vento , Papalia Diane Ellen
Published: May 2005

Moral judgments and perceptual role taking egocentrism were assessed in seventy-two middle-class people whose age range encompassed a significant portion of the life span. Findings support the anticipated curvilinear relationship between moral development and age, and egocentrism and age. However, the close conceptual relationship between moral development and egocentrism throughout life received only slight statistical support, which attained significance only in the fifteen- to nineteen-year-old age group. The existence of “self-involving” egocentrism was postulated to be an important determinant of moral development during adulthood.
Marijuana, Alcohol and Academic Performance
Authors: Finnell William S. , Jones John D.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this research was to determine relationships between the regular use of marijuana and alcoholic beverages and the academic performance of students during their four years in college. Participants were grouped into four categories: (1) users of marijuana, (2) users of alcohol, (3) users of both, and (4) abstainers. Data were obtained and analyzed to determine the groups' academic aptitude, academic achievement, and degree of academic performance. It may be concluded on the basis of this study that (1) the group using both marijuana and alcohol had the highest academic aptitude; however, when compared with the other groups, experienced a lower degree of academic performance, (2) alcohol had no adverse effect on academic performance, and (3) abstainers compared unfavorably with the other two groups in academic aptitude, but favorably in degree of academic performance.
Some Correlates of Attitudes towards Old People
Authors: Naus Peter J.
Published: May 2005

A group of 103 undergraduate students responded to a semantic differential measure of the attitude toward old men, and to a number of measures assessing potential correlates of this attitude. Attempts were also made to assess the validity of an indirect measure of the attitude toward elderly. Older men were evaluated less positively; they were judged less decisive, and instrumental as compared with younger men. Of all the variables studied only two were significantly related to attitudes toward older men, i.e., socioeconomic status of parents and frequency of contact with elderly. The outcomes with regard to the validity of the indirect measure of attitudes were ambiguous at best.
Caffeine Use and Young Adult Women
Authors: Vener Arthur M. , Krupka Lawrence R.
Published: May 2005

A study of 491 randomly selected college women and men surveyed on two separate occasions and enrolled in required courses at a large Midwestern university showed that caffeine, a pharmacologically active psychotropic drug, was consumed by a large proportion of the respondents in a twenty-four hour period (86%). Women consumed a larger amount of caffeine and used more substances containing this drug. An increase in caffeine usage with increased psychic stress was observed for women only. About 15 per cent of the women sampled (N = 337) had ingested 500 mg or more during the survey period of highest stress. The data suggest that future investigations of the linkage of poor pregnancy outcomes with caffeine consumption must obtain an accurate appraisal of the total amount of caffeine ingested. This can be accomplished only if O-T-C drugs containing caffeine and such beverages as colas, teas and cocoa, as well as coffee, are taken into account.
A Comparison of Interpersonal Distancing Behavior in Young and Elderly Adults
Authors: Winogrond Iris Ruther
Published: May 2005

Differences in cortical activation (arousal), age, and race were used to test several hypotheses on interpersonal distancing behaviors which have implications for intergenerational and cross-cultural interaction. The investigation centered on the relationship of sensory deficits in the elderly to their use of personal space in peer interactions. A comparison of young, white female college students and elderly white females indicated no significant differences in arousal level, but the younger adults used significantly closer distancing behaviors with their peers. However, a similar comparison of elderly white and black females revealed no differences in either arousal level or interpersonal distancing. The findings suggest that interpersonal distancing behaviors may be less influenced by the need for cortical stimulation than by the prevalence of cultural norms. It also suggests that the proxemic behavior of adult college students may be more adolescent than adult in its personal space scheme.
Mental Health Problems and Aging: A Short Quiz
Authors: Pruchno Rachel , Smyer Michael A.
Published: May 2005

The mental health needs of older adults remain largely unmet. This gap is due, in part, to a lack of adequately trained professionals and paraprofessionals. The sixteenitem quiz presented in this article has two purposes: 1) to present an overview of salient empirical and theoretical issues in the area of mental health and aging, and 2) to promote discussion of these topics. Each item is documented with supporting literature. In addition, average scores, item difficulties, and item-to-total correlations are presented for two groups of undergraduate students.
Political Devolution and the Health Services in Great Britain
Authors: Woods Kevin J.
Published: May 2005

This article reviews the effects of political devolution on health care in the countries of Great Britain at the end of the first term of the new political institutions created in 1999. In the light of the powers transferred, an assessment is made of the nature and extent of policy autonomy exercised by the devolved administrations. The author considers the question of whether political devolution is leading to local variations in health care provision that threaten established concepts of equity in a U.K. National Health Service. Policy areas discussed include the personal care of older people, mental health, governance, competition, the role of the private sector, and the health care workforce. Also discussed are the dynamics of intergovernmental relations in the longer term, including the effects of the developing European Union. The article concludes by assessing the extent to which the individual countries within Great Britain are likely to develop health care systems with distinctive identities.
A Study of a Stress Questionnaire: The Later Years
Authors: Meimsh Ivan N.
Published: May 2005

A twenty-seven item life stress questionnaire was derived from the Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale, modified for older respondents, and administered to sixty-two patients hospitalized for neuro-behavioral diagnosis and treatment. The aims were to focus on significant life stresses and the patients' responses to these, and to identify those life events that were subjectively evaluated by the patients as significantly affecting their life adjustment.

The study suggests that fewer than twenty items-seventeen in this investigation-may be an efficient range of events to estimate life change effects and that the degree of impact of these stresses must be sought out systematically if these phenomena are to be better understood.
A Statewide Evaluation of a Communication and Parenting Skills Program
Authors: Klein Michael A. , Swisher John D.
Published: May 2005

This study evaluated, through a state training network the Communication and Parenting Skills (CAPS) substance abuse education program. The program includes: 1) parental modeling of positive attitudes and behaviors and 2) effective communication. Ten instructors, located throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, each conducted two CAPS courses — one serving as an experimental course, the other as a control.

The procedure followed for this project was a post-test only design. Comparative data revealed that the marital status and years in present residence for the two groups were very similar. The control group averaged one-half year more of education and one-half child less per family. Results from the Sensitivity to Children Index indicated a significant acquisition and utilization of constructive responses by participants in the experimental condition.
“The Ages of Me”: Toward Personal and Interpersonal Definitions of Functional Aging
Authors: Kastenbaum Robert , Derbin Valerie , Sabatini Paul , Artt Steven
Published: May 2005

Personal age (how old a person seems to himself) is proposed (a) as a potential component of total functional age and (b) as a basis of classification in attempts to create and modify “old behavior.” Companion constructs are those of interpersonal age (how old a person seems to others) and consensual age (degree of agreement between personal and interpersonal ages). Illustrative data are reported from a sample of 75 adults (38 women, 37 men) who range in age from 20 to 69; 43 are enrolled in advanced gerontology training programs. The results suggest that personal age is comprised of at least two fairly distinct components: how old S looks and how old he feels. There is a strong bias toward reporting personal age as more youthful than chronological age—a bias that becomes more pronounced with advancing chronological age level. All of the age constructs are related to chronological age, although not always in a linear or simple manner. At this point in the research program, gerontology specialists do not appear conspicuously different from nongerontologists in their response to personal age and other related questions.
Employment, Social Networks, and Health in the Retirement Years
Authors: Mor-Barak Michál E. , Scharlach Andrew E. , Birba Lourdes , Sokolov Jacque
Published: May 2005

The impact of employment on the health of retirees is examined, with particular attention to the hypothesis that social roles affect health through their impact on social networks. Data are based on comprehensive assessment questionnaires completed by 175 participants of a corporate sponsored geriatric clinic. Results indicate that employment in the retirement years is related to larger social networks and indirectly, through this relationship, to better perceived health. Of the three social network factors identified through factor analysis: family, friends, and confidant relationships, employment was significantly related only to the friendship component. A summary analytic model is presented and implication for interventions are discussed.
The Reliability and Validity of the Bath County Computer Attitude Scale
Authors: Francis Leslie J. , Evans Thomas E.
Published: May 2005

The Bath County Computer Attitude Survey was developed originally in the U.S.A. For use among a school aged population. The present study explores the properties of this instrument among a different age group and in a different culture, employing a sample of 387 undergraduate students in the United Kingdom. The data support the reliability and validity of the scale. Tentative scale norms are presented separately for male and female students, but no gender differences were found.
Methods of Suicide by Age: Sex and Race Differences among the Young and Old
Authors: McIntosh John L. , Santos John F.
Published: May 2005

The elderly have the highest suicide rate in the United States. In partial explanation of this finding, a common statement in the suicide literature is that older persons tend to use more drastic and effective methods of suicide. However, little, if any, data have been presented in defense of this explanation. In order to investigate the validity of this contention, annual official statistics for specific methods of suicide (firearms, hanging, poisons) by age for different sex and racial groups (whites, blacks, nonwhites excluding black) were examined from 1960 to 1978. Comparisons among the age-sex-race groups, along with trends over time and differences in the methods employed, were noted. For white males, blacks of both sexes, and nonwhites excluding black females, the findings confirmed the use of more violent methods by the elderly than by the young in terms of the proportion of suicides by firearms and/or hanging. Less support and, in fact, opposite results for method-related age differences were obtained for white females and nonwhites excluding black males. Another general finding was an increase in the use of firearms for most of the groups studied. The need for data for specific groups within the nonwhite category excluding blacks is apparent both from the available literature and from the present findings. Possible explanations and implications of the observed results are discussed.
The Right to Health
Authors: Caroline Dommen
Published: May 2005

Does the global trading system operate to the detriment of human rights? Some people think so. Many argue that trade policy interferes with a nation's capacity to develop its own human rights policies in the areas of health, nutrition, and medical services. This article examines that contention by studying how World Trade Organization (WTO) rules limit a country's ability to uphold the right to health for its citizens and suggests ways that human rights norms and mechanisms can be employed as counterweights to socially harmful WTO polices. The author concludes that most commentators agree that human rights are inalienable and thus would prevail in a judicial setting and that human rights mechanisms have been underused by proponents of public health.
Substance Abuse Prevention Programming and Research: A Partnership in Need of Improvement
Authors: Dembo Richard
Published: May 2005

Drawing upon relevant literature and personal experience conducting surveys of substance use among young people, this paper focuses on the mutual need effective prevention programming and drug research have of one another. Important relationships and experiences that need to be taken into account in improving the ties between drug prevention programming and research are addressed. In the context of this discussion, a brief natural history of a South Bronx, New York City junior high school survey completed in 1976 is presented, and some of its findings relating to the development of prevention efforts in the school and community are reviewed.
The 13- and 20-Item Hopkins Symptom Checklist Depression Scale: Psychometric Properties in Primary Care Patients with Minor Depression or Dysthymia
Authors: Williams John W. , Stellato Christina Perez , Cornell John , Barrett James E.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Depression scales that are responsive to changes in clinical symptoms are important for clinical monitoring and outcomes assessment in longitudinal studies. We evaluated the psychometric properties and responsiveness to clinical change of the 13- and 20-item versions of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist Depression Scale (HSCL-D).

Methods:

A secondary data analysis from a large 11-week, multicenter clinical trial, comparing three treatments was performed. Adult patients with minor depression or dysthymia and a score of ≥ 10 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were recruited from primary care clinics. Item-total correlations and Cronbach alphas were computed for HSCL-D-13 and HSCL-D-20. Clinical response at 11 weeks was defined by a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) < 10, clinical remission by a HDRS < 7, and criterion symptom remission by ≤ 1 DSM-III-R criterion symptoms. Standardized effect sizes and Guyatt's responsiveness statistic were determined for the 13- and 20-item HSCL-D.

Results:

Of the 656 subjects enrolled, 511 (77.9%) had complete data and were included in the analysis. Patients were 61.1 ± 15.0 years old; minor depression was diagnosed in 238, dysthymia in 273. Both scales had good internal consistency; Cronbach's α = 0.835 and 0.859 for the 13- and 20-items questionnaires respectively. Standardized effect sizes for clinical response (0.62 for the HSCL-D-13; 0.66 for the HSCL-D-20), clinical remission (0.69 and 0.70), and criterion symptom remission (0.65 and 0.67) showed moderate to large effects and did not differ significantly for the two versions. Responsiveness was virtually identical for patients with minor depression and dysthymia but responsiveness was substantially lower for ethnic minorities.

Conclusion:

The HSCL-D-13 and 20-item versions have similar responsiveness to change. For use in European Americans, we recommend the HSCL-D-13 if response burden is the preeminent consideration. To more fully capture DSM criterion symptoms, we recommend the HSCL-D-20.
Organizational Culture and Student Persistence: Prospects and Puzzles
Authors: Kuh George D.
Published: May 2005

This article examines five shibboleths about the relationship between campus culture and student persistence. A six-step approach is described for using the peer group and classroom as key elements in cultivating a success-oriented institutional culture.
An Evaluation of a Controlled Drinking Program for Drinking Drivers
Authors: Werch Chudley E. , Damron C. Frazier
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of Behavioral Self-Control Training in terms of reductions in alcohol consumption and blood alcohol concentration generally, and determine if changes on these indices effect reductions in drinking-and-driving incidents, blood alcohol concentration during drinking-and-driving incidents, and reductions in life problems. Self-referred individuals who drink and drive were randomly assigned into one of two experimental conditions: 1) Behavioral Self-Control Training (BSCT), or 2) Conventional Alcohol Education (CAE). Behavioral Self-Control Training resulted in nonsignificant ( p > .05) reductions of: 1) alcohol consumption, 2) peak blood alcohol concentration, 3) drinking-and-driving episodes, 4) blood alcohol concentration during drinking-and-driving episodes, and 5) the severity of life problems. No significant differences were found between conditions on these variables. These results suggest that a controlled drinking goal may not be feasible for all drinking-and-driving populations.
Challenging the Collegiate Rite of Passage: A Campus-Wide Social Marketing Media Campaign to Reduce Binge Drinking
Authors: Glider Peggy , Midyett Stephen J. , Mills-Novoa Beverly , Johannessen Koreen , Collins Carolyn
Published: May 2005

A social marketing media campaign, based on a normative social influence model and focused on normative messages regarding binge drinking, on a large, southwestern university campus has yielded positive preliminary results of an overall 29.2 percent decrease in binge drinking rates over a three-year period. The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey and the Health Enhancement Survey provided information on student knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors regarding alcohol and binge drinking. This study represents the first in-depth research on the impact of a media approach, based on a normative social influence model, to reduce binge drinking on a large university campus and has yielded promising initial results.