bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Personality Variables in Alcohol Abuse in College Students
Authors: Brooks Mark L. , Walfish Steven , Stenmark David E. , Canger Jonathan M.
Published: May 2005

The relationship between specific personality variables and alcohol abuse in college students were examined. Ninety-seven undergraduate college students were administered the trait portions of the State-Trait Personality Inventory and the Student Drinking Questionnaire. Results of stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that these personality variables were not strong predictors of alcohol abuse in this population. However, subjects who were identified as being highly trait anxious or trait angry were significantly more likely to abuse alcohol than subjects low on these variables.
The Association between Mortality, Morbidity and Age in New Zealand's Oldest Old
Authors: Wilkinson Tim J. , Sainsbury Richard
Published: May 2005

People aged eighty-five years and over (the oldest old) will form an increasing proportion of the population of New Zealand and many other countries. Because of their smaller numbers and relative inaccessibility, their health status has sometimes been extrapolated from populations of people aged sixty-five to eighty-four years. For people aged sixty-five to eighty-four years an exponential relationship is seen between age and morbidity and mortality. We explore if this exponential relationship extends to people aged ninety years and over. We analyzed data from the New Zealand 1991 Census and 1992 hospital discharge records and, for people aged sixty to eighty-nine years, confirmed an exponential relationship between age and mortality, inactivity, hospital utilization, and occupation of residential institutions. This exponential trend did not continue for people aged ninety years and over for whom mortality rates and indicators of morbidity were considerably lower than expected, and conclude that the actual health status of people aged ninety years and over is better than the status extrapolated from that of people aged sixty to eighty-nine years.
Evaluating Prevention and Intervention Procedures
Authors: Sullivan Arthur P. , Guglielmo Robert , Lilly Levander
Published: May 2005

The process-outcome research and evaluation paradigm applied to alcohol and substance abuse prevention and intervention programs is stated. Its application to efforts to improve students' and patients' self-esteem is shown to be deficient in certain aspects, and additions to the evaluation procedures, most notably analysis of in-session change, is advocated.
Structural Effects and Life Satisfaction among the Aged
Authors: Conner Karen A. , Powers Edward A.
Published: May 2005

This study investigates whether adjustment, or life satisfaction, is a function of the structural effect of community age density, the behavioral variables of total social interaction and age-graded interaction, or both. The sample contains one hundred eight-five persons seventy years of age and older in a midwestern state who have resided in their community at least five years. Thus, the study examines the influence of community structure on life satisfaction, age-graded interaction, and total interaction in a “real world” setting by using a relatively non-mobile sample. The findings suggest that no significant relationship exists between community structure and either total or age-graded interaction. Age-graded interaction, however, is significantly correlated with life satisfaction in large communities.
Correlates of Financial Satisfaction
Authors: Hsieh Chang-Ming
Published: May 2005

The objectives of this study are to 1) assess the effects of major correlates of global subjective well-being on financial satisfaction, and 2) use empirical data to present the consequences of violating basic regression assumptions. Analyzing data from the General Social Surveys, 1972–1996 (Davis & Smith, 1996a) this study found that among Americans age forty-five and above, most of the major correlates of global subjective well-being show similar effects on financial satisfaction. The study's findings confirm a nonlinear effect of income on financial satisfaction. Comparing results from different analytical methods, this study also alerts researchers to the importance of taking into account the level of measurements of study variables, which have tended to be overlooked by previous subjective well-being research.
Family Living Arrangement and Social Adjustment among Three Ethnic Groups of Elderly Indochinese Refugees
Authors: Tran Thanh V.
Published: May 2005

This study examines family living arrangement and social adjustment in an area probability sample of 258 elderly Indochinese refugees fifty-five years or older in the United States. Data were collected in 1982 from five locations representing the diversity of the Indochinese refugee communities in the United States. Multiple regression analysis was used. The findings reveal that elderly refugees who lived within the nuclear or extended family had a better sense of social adjustment than those living outside the family context. Elderly refugees who lived in overcrowded households and in households that had children under the age of sixteen experienced a poorer sense of adjustment. Ethnicity had no significant relationship with social adjustment. Finally, among six control variables, age had a significant relationship that indicates that older refugees had a poorer sense of adjustment than their younger counterparts.
Testing Nursing Home Iatrogenesis
Authors: Retsinas Joan , Garrity Patricia
Published: May 2005

Many nursing home residents, admitted for “temporary” stays, are expected to return to the community. To test the notion of iatrogenesis, this research examined the discharge status of “temporary” residents discharged from a proprietary nursing home during the first six years of its operation. The research noted 1) the extent to which those residents did not return home and 2) reasons for their derailment. The results of the research did not support the notion of iatrogenesis. Of 419 residents, seventy-nine were expected to return to the community. Only 16 percent of those seventy-nine did not. Content analysis of histories, moreover, showed that two chose to remain, four had families who declined to fill caregiver roles, and two quickly deteriorated. Even the histories of the five who generally lost the ability to function independently did not suggest institutional life was to blame.
A Case of Factitious Disorder Involving Menstrual Blood Smeared on the Face
Authors: Yanik Medaim , San Imran , Alatas Necat
Published: May 2005

This article presents a case of factitious disorder in which a female smeared menstrual blood on her face. The patient was admitted to our otolaryngology clinic complaining of bleeding from the mouth, nose, ears and eyes. This event reportedly occurred three to four times on a daily basis. She acknowledged nine prior admissions to different specialists over the last two years. Following psychiatric consultation, we diagnosed factitious disorder with predominantly physical signs and symptoms. She was started on Fluoxetine 20 mg/day and supportive interviews were organized. After diagnosis, we observed that her symptoms decreased over two months. The symptoms did not reoccur three to nine months after treatment. This case report outlines two important features. The first is that a case of this type has not been reported before, and the second feature is that this case demonstrates the effect of cultural factors greatly different from those seen in classical factitious disorder.
Family Expenditures before and after Retirement: A Research Model for Measuring Priorities
Authors: Hildreth Gladys J. , Kelley Eleanor
Published: May 2005

Economic pressures of contemporary American society have had an impact on many families. This article focuses on how elderly, intact couples allocated their retirement dollars. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) family budget expense categories were used as a basis to develop expense categories. The couples were asked what changes, if any, they made in expenditures after retirement and if they would allocate their money differently if they were free to do so. Most of them had changed expenses after retirement. Some of their expenditures had increased rather than decreased in importance since retirement. Only two expenditure categories, food and transportation, were ranked the same as the BLS ranking by at least 30 percent of the couples. The empirical usefulness of the methodology reported in this paper was illustrated with a sample of elderly couples. However, it seems applicable not only for the elderly but also for families in all stages of the family life cycle.
Drinking, Sex, and Violence on Television: The Cultural Indicators Perspective
Authors: Signorielli Nancy
Published: May 2005

This article explores the portrayal of alcohol, alcoholics, and drinking in annual week-long samples of prime-time network dramatic programs. While references to alcohol and drinking have increased rather steadily since 1969, the number of alcoholics in each yearly sample has remained stable. The harmful effects of drinking alcoholic beverages were rarely mentioned. Programs that mention alcohol were also likely to have references to sexual behavior. The characters seen drinking alcoholic beverages—about 37 percent of all major characters—do not differ dramatically from other major characters. Alcoholics, however, are treated quite negatively. Respondents, especially whites and those who have been to college, from the 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1983 NORC General Social Surveys who watch four or more hours of television each day are somewhat less likely to reply that they occasionally drink alcoholic beverages than respondents who watch less television. Data from these surveys also reveal that smoking is positively related to television viewing-those respondents who say they watch four or more hours of television each day are also likely to respond that they smoke.
The Influence of Separation Orientation on Life Satisfaction in the Elderly
Authors: Park Douglas , Vandenberg Brian
Published: May 2005

Good health, involvement in social activity, and the presence of a confidant have all been found to be important factors for life satisfaction of the elderly. However, there is a significant minority of the elderly for whom these findings do not hold. The results of this study indicate that individuals' separation orientation helps explain the differential impact of important environmental factors on life satisfaction. Those who are overly dependent tend to be more adversely affected by poor self-rated health and inadequate formal activity than balanced or overly self-sufficient participants. In contrast, the presence of a confidant was associated with higher life satisfaction scores for overly dependent participants, but was associated with decreased life satisfaction for overly self-sufficient participants.
Subjective Well-Being and Physical Health: A Narrative Literature Review with Suggestions for Future Research
Authors: Zautra Alex , Hempel Ann
Published: May 2005

In this article the authors review the findings of eighty-one studies that have tested the relationship between health status and subjective well-being. Support was found for an association between health and well-being, although the source and extent of that relationship could not be clearly delineated given the numerous measurement problems and methodological inconsistencies found among the studies. Objective indices of health tended to have lower correlations with subjective well-being than with self-reports, suggesting that various report biases may account for some, but probably not all, of the relationships obtained. Problems in study design and health measurement are also noted. An outline of the major competing hypotheses is presented that would explain the health-well-being association to guide future research and call for more direct study of psychological processes affected by changes in health in future research.
Prior College Experience and Attitude Change during the Middle Years: A Panel Study
Authors: Willits Fern K. , Funk Richard B.
Published: May 2005

The relationships of previous college attendance to changes in attitudes later in life were assessed by focusing on the responses of middle-aged men and women to two surveys—one when they were approximately forty years of age, and a second thirteen years later. For both men and women, prior college attendance was associated with acceptance of less traditional conceptions of gender-roles and beliefs about God and lower feelings of anomia at midlife. Moreover, for the men, previous college training was also associated with the amount of change in their attitudes which occurred during the middle years. For women, there was little long range linkage between earlier education and attitude change at midlife.
Tactweb: The Intersection of Text-Analysis and Hypertext
Authors: Rockwell Geoffrey , Passmore Graham , Bradley John
Published: May 2005

While hypertext systems are changing the way we communicate, many computing humanists have concentrated on how computers can help with the study of traditional texts. The TACTweb workbook was designed to teach humanities students to use computer-assisted text-analysis tools in a hypertext environment thus bridging the study of electronic editions of classics and the study of new forms of text. TACTweb is a World Wide Web based text-analysis environment that represents the results of text queries as hypertexts. The TACTweb workbook is a hypertext tutorial that introduces students first to both the hypertextual capabilities of electronic literature and to the analysis of electronic editions of traditional texts. The TACTweb workbook has been remodeled using feedback from a student questionnaire in order to improve the interface.
Retirement Style and Retirement Satisfaction: Retirees Aren't All Alike
Authors: Walker James W. , Kimmel Douglas C. , Price Karl F.
Published: May 2005

Postretirement patterns of work-employment for pay, voluntary activities, or no work-like activities-were examined for 1511 recent retirees from major corporations. A related typology of retirement style-reorganizer, rocking chair, holding on, and dissatisfied patterns-was also used. These patterns were examined in terms of preretirement characteristics of the respondents, postretirement attitudes about retirement, and retirement satisfaction. Multivariate analyses comparing the salience of retirement style with health, income, occupation, and preretirement feelings about retiring for predicting retirement satisfaction indicated that retirement style was a significant predictor of overall retirement satisfaction, and the subscales of satisfaction with activities and satisfaction with finances. Implications of these findings for preretirement counseling and retirement policies are discussed.
Drug Abuse Prevention Education: What is Realistic for Schools?
Authors: Sheppard Margaret A.
Published: May 2005

Whenever a social problem needs correcting, education is the first idea put forth. In the area of drug abuse is education the answer? An exploration of some causes of drug use are undertaken and ideas put forth as to where education could impact on these causes.
Deweyan Integration: Moving beyond Place Attachment in Elderly Migration Theory
Authors: Cutchin Malcolm P.
Published: May 2005

The fact that aging-in-place and elderly migration are intricately linked has been overlooked by behavioral approaches to elderly migration. “Humanistic” inquiry has provided important insights into aging-in-place and elderly migration as well as the connection between the two. Humanistic approaches, however, do not encapsulate the full range of experience involved in elders' lives. To move beyond humanistic research and key concepts such as place attachment, the philosophy of John Dewey is introduced. Dewey's viewpoint is merged with the geographical concept of place into what is termed “place integration.” This perspective is subsequently compared with humanistic perspectives on aging-in-place and elderly migration decision-making. Fundamental differences such as temporal orientation and substantive focus are illustrated and discussed. Conclusions address the utility of such a perspective.
Psychological Satisfactions Derived from Smoking Cigarettes in Fifty-Seven Dental Patients
Authors: Christen Arden G. , Glover Elbert D.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to discover factors which would help dentists understand the psychology of smoking in some of their patients. Fifty-seven dental patients (thirty-seven men and twenty women) ages nineteen to twenty-five voluntarily attended two free five-day quit smoking clinics. Subjects were given the Horn Smoker's Self-Test which elicits information on six key factors relating to the psychological satisfactions derived from smoking: stimulation, handling, pleasurable relaxation, crutch, craving and habit.

The three most important sources of perceived satisfactions for cigarette smokers were craving (77.1%), crutch (tension-reduction, 70.1%) and pleasurable relaxation (59.6%). Women tended to smoke more for tension reduction than men (85% to 62%, respectively) and slightly more for relaxation (65% to 56%). Most smokers reported a combination of the three main factors. In this study, smokers who were attracted to a quit-clinic were generally categorized as hardcore, negative affect types who may need maximal intervention programs and strategies.
Reminiscence and its Relationship to Attachment and Personality in Geropsychiatric Patients
Authors: Molinari Victor , Cully Jeffrey A. , Kendjelic Edward M. , Kunik Mark E.
Published: May 2005

The relationships between reminiscence functions and attachment styles; reminiscence and personality factors; and attachment and personality were examined in forty patients attending a geropsychiatric outpatient clinic. They were administered the Reminiscence Functions Scale, NEO-FFI, and the Relationship Questionnaire. Compared with insecurely attached older patients, securely attached older patients score higher on the teach/inform reminiscence function. Consistent with prior research, relationships were found between the extraversion personality factor and conversation reminiscence; and between the openness personality factor and both identity and problem-solving reminiscence functions.
LSD Now: 1973
Authors: Chunko John A.
Published: May 2005

LSD NOW is a nationwide, statistical survey and analysis of hallucinogenic drug use by individuals presently in formal educational surroundings. Analysis, concentrating on the extent and rationale related to the use of such drugs, now offers a deeper and more meaningful understanding of a particular facet of the drug culture. This understanding may very well be the keystone to solving the problem of drug abuse in general.
An Empirical Study of Object Relations in Adult Children of Depressed Elderly Mothers
Authors: Hernandez Nancy A. , Hinrichsen Gregory A. , Lapidus Leah Blumberg
Published: May 2005

This study used a psychodynamic perspective on psychological functioning, object relations, for understanding coping and emotional distress in ( N = 50) sons and daughters providing assistance to an elderly mother hospitalized for major depression. Hypotheses that better maternal object relations would be related to more adaptive coping and less emotional distress received partial support. The hypothesis that an elderly mother's history of depression when a son or daughter was a child would be associated with adult children's poorer object relations received support. Results indicate that object relations may be a useful framework for studying family issues in late life depression.
An Examination of the Vulnerability Hypothesis
Authors: Fillenbaum Gerda G.
Published: May 2005

Follow-up information from three groups of older persons (community residents, clinic clients, the institutionalized) confirms and extends data presented by Youmans and Yarrow [1] indicating that increasing interdependence among different areas of functioning increases with age, possibly resulting in increased vulnerability in time of loss. Some implications of these findings were indicated.
Specificity and Substitution in the Social Networks of the Elderly
Authors: Simons Ronald L.
Published: May 2005

A set of hypotheses is developed with regard to the way that lifecycle, cultural, and structural factors serve to delimit and specify the psychological desires satisfied through interaction with the various categories of others in an elderly person's social network. A second set of hypotheses focuses upon the extent to which the absence of the social category of persons most relevant for the satisfaction of a particular desire can be compensated for by persons from another category. Data are presented which largely support both sets of hypotheses. The findings point to the importance of diversity in the social networks of the aged. Although some substitution of relationships may take place, in the present study no one type of relationship, whether with a spouse, adult children, siblings, confidant friends, or organizational acquaintances, was able to satisfy all three of the psychological desires considered.
Age Differences in Personality Structure Revisited: Studies in Validity, Stability, and Change
Authors: Costa Paul T. , Mc Crae Robert R.
Published: May 2005

Construct validity and longitudinal stability evidence for three cluster dimensions of personality identified as Anxiety, Extraversion, and Openness is examined in a sample of adult males. Correlations with Allport-Vernon-Lindsay Value scales, Cornell Medical Index scores, Eysenck E and N scales, and factors from the SVIB are presented in support of the interpretation of the three clusters. Nine-year longitudinal evidence of stability is presented for Anxiety and Extraversion scores. Previous evidence for change in the structure of Openness to Experience is reconsidered in the light of eleven-year longitudinal data. While the earlier structural differences were not longitudinally replicated, a pattern of external correlates provided evidence for validity of an Openness dimension. Finally, the structural approach to personality development is illustrated by examining the differing relations between field-dependence and tendermindedness in younger and older men.
Gender and Generation Effects on Person Perception
Authors: Sharp Kay C. , Candy Sandra G. , Troll Lillian E.
Published: May 2005

It has been assumed that the characteristics of respondents, such as their sex, background and socialization experiences, would affect the way in which respondents perceive other persons. Sex differences have been found in college students, but generational differences have not been explored. The present study employed one hundred fifty men and women, of non-college background and of a wide range of ages, and permitted free responses in respondents' descriptions. The effect of gender and generation on the categories participants used to describe a known man and woman was examined. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated significance on both variables. However, subsequent one-way analyses of variance revealed that only a few categories were used differentially by men and women, or by the older, middle and younger generations.
Family and Friend Relationships among Older and Younger Adults: Interaction Motivation, Mood, and Quality
Authors: O'Connor Brian P.
Published: May 2005

This research examined relationships and life satisfaction among older and younger adults. Eighty-two independently-living older adults and ninety-one younger adults completed a variety of measures of their relationships with family and friends. For both groups the quality of relationships was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction than frequency of contact. For elderly people the quality of their relationships with friends was more important to life satisfaction than the quality of their relationships with children. However, in contrast to a common assumption in the literature, relationships with friends were not perceived to be more positive or intrinsically motivated than relationships with children. It was also found that experiences of criticism and intrusion are particularly important to the family relationships of both older and younger adults. The discussion focuses on how elderly people may have overly positive perceptions of their family relationships.
Coping with the Stress of Medical Problems among Black and White Elderly
Authors: Conway Katherine
Published: May 2005

This is a preliminary study looking at the coping responses of a group of black and white urban elderly women to the stressful event of a medical problem. Cognitive and active coping responses, as well as social support, were explored. Findings revealed these women were similar in many of the ways in which they responded to the stress of medical problems. However, there were some definite racial differences. These included level of social support, use of prayer in coping, and use of nonprescription drugs; the black elderly engaged in these latter behaviors more frequently.
Mass Media, Alcohol and Drugs: A New Trend
Authors: Breed Warren , De Foe James R.
Published: May 2005

While alcohol and other drugs have similar physiological effects, they are defined very differently by society. Alcohol is generally approved, other drugs are generally disapproved. The mass media of communication reflect this definition. A recent shift, however, has been noted. Several televised situation comedies have presented marijuana in a new way—as a humorous plaything, a relatively harmless escape from the cares and boredom of life. Examples are given and the cases are analyzed. No implication of a concerted plan is assumed. It is speculated that continuation of such a trend would have an impact on public attitudes toward marijuana, and perhaps on other drugs as well.
Observations on Social Gerontology in France
Authors: Pitaud Philippe
Published: May 2005

In this article, the author attempts to make an assessment of some of the most important French contributions to social gerontology, isolating the main characteristics of the works encountered. We successively review some of the few studies concerning old women as well as studies dealing more generally with the social and economic aspects of aging. These lines show social gerontology in France as a forum for specialists from various disciplines; it is a specialty still in its infancy, but its multi-disciplinary approach will, no doubt contribute to its fruitfulness.
An Evaluation of a Teacher Training Program in Drug Education: Results and Implications
Authors: Fiman Byron G. , Maxwell Lucia , Cohn Victor H.
Published: May 2005

This paper describes an intensive training program in drug education for teachers, presents an evaluation of the program, and discusses the results in terms of the implications for future drug education programs. The major goal of the training program was to positively affect the teacher-student interaction concerning drugs by training the teacher in each aspect of the interaction, facilitating the teacher's awareness of his own drug attitudes and interpersonal style, developing insight into the psycho-social context of student drug usage, and providing accurate information about the pharmacological effects of drugs. Evaluation of the program was made with survey instruments administered on the first and last days of the three-week training course. The instrument consisted of items designed to assess demographic characteristics; training course expectations; attitudes about the educational process, drug usage, and controversial aspects of the current youth scene; drug knowledge; and the evaluation of specific aspects of the course. Although pre-post differences were relatively small and were not statistically significant, drug knowledge showed a substantial increase, and attitudes about drugs and drug users became less negative and more nonjudgmental. Attitudes about the educational process and feelings about youth essentially remained at the same level. An overwhelming majority of teachers felt that the training course had provided valuable results for them and that they would be better teachers as a result. There is little evidence, however, for any major attitude change in the manner they perceived drugs and the drug user from a philosophical and moralistic viewpoint.

It is important to reexamine the administrative goals of drug education programs, the process of selectively recruiting drug education staff, and inservice training strategies. An appropriate goal may be the facilitation of an awareness among students of their own motivations for using drugs and the development of a more intelligent decision-making process about drug usage. It appears from the training course data that those teachers with less traditional attitudes about education and/or less negative attitudes about the current youth scene tended also to have a less negative and judgmental attitudes about drugs and drug users and may thus be able to more easily establish good rapport with young people. Finally, the public school administration should treat drug education as a specialized subject area, and implement a selection process to identify those teachers who have the most likelihood of successfully achieving program goals. For this staff, inservice training might focus on the communication process, on the dynamics of value clarification, and on the adoption of effective interpersonal skills, in addition to more factual material.
The Reagan-Era Shift toward Restrictiveness in Old Age Policy in Historical Perspective
Authors: Powell Lawrence Alfred , Williamson John B.
Published: May 2005

For forty years following the passage of the Social Security Act, the United States experienced a liberalization in public policy toward the aged. In the late 1970's, the momentum of this liberalization began to ebb, and by the early 1980's, a shift toward greater restrictiveness was underway. Scholars and journalists often discuss this Reagan-era shift as if it were a unique policy initiative. A case can be made, however, that this is just a recent example of a recurrent pattern of social policy reform and reaction in the history of American politics. This point is illustrated by placing the current policy shift alongside a historically remote period.
A Note on Methodological Fallacies in the “X% Fallacy” Literature
Authors: Mc Connel C. E.
Published: May 2005

This article demonstrates that the numerical estimate of an approximately 25 percent risk of nursing home institutionalization reported in the “4–5% fallacy” literature is based on an invalid set of implicit assumptions. Using the most recent national level statistics on nursing home residency and discharge, a measurement technique is introduced to provide an estimate of the maximum and minimum number of nursing home residents in 1976, and a corresponding range for the annualized risk of institutionalization between 6 and 9 percent, within which the true risk must lie.
Performance on Tests of Power and Speed as Related to Age among Male Job Applicants
Authors: Thumin Fred J.
Published: May 2005

A number of ability tests were administered to 187 male job applicants ranging in age from twenty to fifty-three years. When test-performance was compared across age groups, no significant differences were found on tests of mental ability, numerical ability, reading speed and comprehension, and mechanical comprehension. On one of two verbal comprehension tests, scores increased significantly as a function of age. Moreover, the older individuals were not penalized in any way by tests which emphasized speed as opposed to power. The findings were discussed in connection with the generally negative stereotype of the aging worker.
Focusing on the Family in the Treatment of Substance Abusing Criminal Offenders
Authors: Slaght Evelyn
Published: May 2005

Aftercare services are acknowledged in the criminal justice system as critical to enabling drug offenders to avoid relapse and reincarceration, but the content too often is unsupported through research. One program funded under the Department of Justice in Maryland interviewed 150 inmates after three months in the community to determine what environmental influences were having the greatest impact on drug reuse. Findings suggest that more emphasis is needed on family relationships before and after release since satisfaction with family life is strongly correlated with drug abuse.
“Alternatives to Drugs” as a Part of Comprehensive Efforts to Ameliorate the Drug Abuse Problem
Authors: Gordon Paula D.
Published: May 2005

The author discusses the trend in drug abuse prevention efforts toward promoting alternatives to drug-taking behavior. The alternatives approach is an integral part of comprehensive efforts to deal with the problem. The approaches which are most worthy of attention promote social and psychological health while responding to the wide range of unmet needs and unfulfilled aspirations which underlie drug-taking behavior. Certain current approaches have either negligible or questionable effects or decidedly harmful effects on psychological and social well being and their continued support would be both unwise and impolitic. The author suggests that the same kind of orientation toward psychological and social health which characterizes the most effective and promising alternatives should be reflected in all efforts to intervene at every stage of the drug-taking cycle if such efforts are to have lasting and beneficial results.
Phenomenology and the Meaning of Aging for Young and Old Adults
Authors: Adams-Price Carolyn E. , Henley Tracy B. , Hale Melanie
Published: May 2005

Qualitative methods were used to examine the similarities and differences in the meaning of aging for young and old adults. Nineteen young adults and seventeen older adults were asked to describe in detail a specific event or time in their lives that suggested to them that they were aging. Their responses were reduced to significant statements by two independent coders, until a thematic structure became apparent. Younger adults associated aging with major events in their lives, and even though these events tended to be positive, aging had a negative meaning for them. Young adults tended to associate aging with increased responsibility and lost freedom. By contrast, older adults associated aging with everyday events or no specific events at all, and they perceived aging positively. Both young and old adults mentioned themes of times, the body, and others.
The Assessment of Parent-Led Prevention Programs: A Preliminary Assessment of Impact
Authors: Klitzner Michael , Gruenewald Paul J. , Bamberger Elizabeth
Published: May 2005

This article reports on a preliminary study of the impact of parent-led prevention groups on youthful drug and alcohol use. In addition, the study assessed the extent to which families involved with parent-led prevention programs reported improved family relations and increased parental control of children's social activities—two major mechanisms by which parent-group advocates claim their activities alter youth substance use patterns [1]. Consistent with the claims of parent-group advocates, the study results suggest that the parent groups did have some impact on family relations and on parental control of children's social activities. The evidence for an impact on drug and alcohol use was, however, weak. A somewhat unexpected finding was that parents who become involved in parent-led prevention activities may not be those parents whose children are at highest risk.
Public Interest Report No. 11: New Colleges for All Ages
Authors: Butler Robert N.
Published: May 2005

Man prides himself upon his intelligence and transmission of culture. However, thousands of people are arbitrarily retired annually. The distinguished American philosopher Paul Weiss took his case to court, arguing his ability and his right to teach regardless of age. New colleges should use emeritus professors to benefit students of all ages.
Drinking on Television: A Five-Year Study
Authors: DeFoe James R. , Breed Warren , Breed Lawrence A.
Published: May 2005

A five-year study of prime-time television programs showed that alcohol was the preferred beverage used by characters. In the final years viewers were exposed to more than eight alcohol drinking acts per hour. The rate of this activity was rising. In comparison, use of coffee, tea, soft drinks and water was less frequent, although the rates were also rising. All kinds of characters were seen drinking, with one major exception: youth. Consequences of alcohol abuse, and the response of other people to such abuse, were not always shown. Several qualitative patterns in the drinking process were noted as subject to change when television personnel are shown the research results.
Habituation as a Model of Human Aging
Authors: Kastenbaum Robert J.
Published: May 2005

This article introduces a new partial model of human aging that centers around the process known as habituation. The essence of habituation is progressive response decrement to a stimulus as the organism's exposure to this stimulus increases. Basic concepts and studies of habituation in its traditional sphere-infancy and early childhood—are reviewed. It is pointed out that habituation is a process that has been identified very early in life and which is intimately related to major psychobiological variables, capable of generalization, and thought to have enduring characteristics. It is further suggested that there is a striking resemblance between habituation and core features of the “aged state.” The amenability of habituation to clear-cut experimentation and precise quantification is also noted. The possibility is presented that aging might be regarded as a disorder of habituation. The phenomena of hyper-and hypo-habituation are briefly discussed, along with several problems and potentials in this new model of aging.
Assessing Anxiety about Retirement: The Case of Academicians
Authors: Hayslip Bert , Beyerlein Michael , Nichols Judith A.
Published: May 2005

One hundred and forty-four individuals, ninety-two of whom were active university faculty and fifty-two of whom were retired, completed a measure of anxiety about retirement as well as a battery of self-report scales assessing a number of personality, job-related, and retirement-specific constructs. Results suggested that the newly developed measure of retirement anxiety possessed high internal consistency as well as both discriminant and construct validity. Moreover, it is multidimensional in nature, and distinct in content from previous scales assessing anxiety about retirement. Its use for persons anticipating retirement is discussed in the context of the benefits of a proactive stance toward retirement preparation.
The Chemical Wars
Authors: Montague Peter
Published: May 2005

The culture of economic growth and rapid innovation has led the chemical industry to contaminate tens of thousands of locales with hazardous chemicals that are poorly understood. As a result, the chemical industry finds itself at war with citizens who are troubled by the widespread dissemination of industrial poisons and alarmed by the power and unaccountability of the corporations themselves. The current chemical regulatory system has not provided an effective or reassuring restraint on chemical contamination because it relies heavily on a technique called risk assessment instead of the newer approach being tried now in Europe and elsewhere, the precautionary principle.

Here's a riddle to keep you up at night: How come, at a time when the environmental movement is stronger and richer than ever, our most pressing ecological problems just get worse? It's as though the planet has hit a Humpty-Dumpty moment in which unprecedented amounts of manpower and money are unable to put the world back together again.
Drug Knowledge (Prescription, over-the-Counter, Social): Young Adult Consumers at Risk?
Authors: Krupka Lawrence R. , Vener Arthur M.
Published: May 2005

This article reports the results of a survey testing the knowledge that 561 young adults have regarding the use and effects of various over-the-counter, prescription, and social (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine) drug products. The sample group as a whole, correctly answered, on the average, 71 percent of the questions on the Drug Knowledge Test, with women demonstrating somewhat greater knowledge. Four of the content areas—alcohol, contraceptives, O-T-C drugs, and general drug information were distributed equally among the high, moderate, and low knowledge categories. None of the questions dealing with nicotine were in the low knowledge grouping. The misinformation in certain areas that respondents demonstrated led to the conclusion that they were at risk and therefore, Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware), as a viable perspective regarding the purchase and consumption of legal drugs was untenable. Since the Drug Knowledge Test elicited much student discussion and was readily modifiable, it was proposed that this instrument would be useful in drug and health education programs. Health educators were precautioned not to overlook problems associated with legal drugs in the current climate of the “war” on illicit drugs.
Therapeutic Value of Oral History
Authors: Baum Willa
Published: May 2005

There can be a rich exchange of information and techniques between gerontologists and oral historians working with the elderly. Oral history provides a way of making concrete one's experiences and wisdom and of creating from them a heritage to hand down to one's family and communal heirs. There are great therapeutic benefits or enhancement-of-life benefits to the narrators doing an oral history. Benefits are directly in proportion to how rigorous a historical effort it is, and therefore, the less “therapeutic” the goal, the more therapeutic the result will be.
Prevalence and Determinants of Depressive Disorders in Primary Care Practice in Spain
Authors: Aragonès Enric , Piñol Josep Lluís , Labad Antonio , Masdéu Rosa Maria , Pino Magdalena , Cervera Josepa
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Depressive disorders are considered to be a public health problem. Primary health care plays an important role in the treatment of such disorders. Our aim is to determine the prevalence and determinant factors of major depression and dysthymia in consecutive primary care attenders.

Method:

The study took place in medical consultations in 10 Primary Care Centers in Tarragona (Spain). It was designed as a two-phase cross-sectional study. In the first phase we screened 906 consecutive patients according to Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale. In the second phase the 209 patients whose results were positive and 97 patients whose results were negative (1/7 chosen at random) were given the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, plus a series of questionnaires. We evaluated the link between major depression and dysthymia and several sociodemographic and clinical variables using non-conditional logistic regression.

Results:

Weighted prevalence was 14.3% (CI 95%: 11.2–17.4) for major depression and 4.8% (CI 95%: 2.8–6.8) for dysthymia. Independently linked to the presence of major depression were female sex, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, frequency of primary care visits, and clinical presentation in the form of explicitly psychosocial symptoms as opposed to exclusively somatic symptoms. Independently linked to the presence of dysthymia were age, generalized anxiety disorder and psychosocial symptoms.

Conclusion:

In our area, depressive disorders in primary care attenders are very common. General practitioners should be aware of this fact so that these disorders can be detected and treated correctly.
Attitudes toward Work and Retirement in Sweden: A Multigroup, Multivariate Analysis
Authors: Skoglund John
Published: May 2005

This study examines various work and retirement orientations and ascertains how they apply to four a priori-defined groups. Questionnaire data from an age-stratified random sample of 584 men and women, aged sixty to seventy-five, were analyzed by means of stepwise multiple discriminant analysis. Fourteen out of twenty-five variables contributed significantly to three functions, correctly classifying 54 per cent of the individuals. It was found that preretirees, although anticipating loss of employment after retiring, displayed the least work satisfaction and preferred a lower retirement age, manifesting simultaneous positive attitudes toward retirees and their gatherings; early retirees were characterized by negative attitudes toward work as well as retirement and by ambiguous views of retirees and social integration; working retirees appeared the most work-oriented and evidenced distaste for retirement; fully retired persons were characterized as retirement-oriented and as being negative toward social activities. The results are discussed within the context of previous hypotheses and related findings.
Prediction of Retention in Methadone Maintenance in a Contextual Model
Authors: Joe George W. , Singh B. K. , Lehman Wayne , Garland John , Sells S. B. , Seder Paul
Published: May 2005

This study investigated predictors of drug treatment retention of individual clients in terms of a contextual model. The model involved eight components: 1) socioecological factors, 2) clinic attributes, 3) clinic staffing and services, 4) clinic sociodemographic (aggregate) characteristics, 5) clinic deviance (aggregate) characteristics, 6) individual level client sociodemographic characteristics, 7) individual level client deviance characteristics, and 8) individual level client retention outcomes (time in treatment and quit or expelled termination status). The components were represented in the study by variables developed from census data, and National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) CODAP and NDATUS data bases. This model was analyzed by path analysis for clients in methadone maintenance programs.

There was consistent support for the relationships expected among the components of the model. The socioecological variables predicted the types of clients that entered treatment in terms of clinic level (aggregate) variables, and these were found to predict both the corresponding individual level client variables and client outcomes. Clinic attributes were found to predict clinic staffing and services and both of these components were found to be related to client outcomes in several analyses.
The Developmental Course of Defense Mechanisms in Later Life
Authors: Shenfeld Miriam E.
Published: May 2005

Many have proposed that in later life there is a return to the use of primitive psychological defense mechanisms, such as denial and projection. The theoretical literature is clouded by a common failure to distinguish regression of defenses from defensive failure and regression of drive. Although research directly examining the developmental course of defenses in adults is scanty, empirical studies emerging out of the fields of coping processes and personality development indirectly address the regression hypothesis. Studies measuring overt social phenomena and self-reported psychological data point to few age differences in adaptive strategies that would be suggestive of regression. Investigations measuring psychological processes through projective tests and dreams have obtained results consonant with the regression hypothesis, although replications have not always been successful. Most available studies are cross-sectional and, therefore, cannot separate cohort from aging effects. Finally, the potential influence of physical illness and the changes in sociocultural status that accompany aging are discussed both as methodological confounds in current research and as factors influencing the observed developmental course of defense mechanisms in current society.