bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Short-Term Outcome Evaluation of the “I'M Special” Drug Abuse Prevention Program: A Revisit Using Scat Inventory
Authors: Kim Sehwan , McLeod Jonnie H. , Shantzis Carl
Published: May 2005

In the previous evaluation of “I'm Special” (ISP) drug abuse prevention/education program, the long-term impact was reported. The current study examines the short-term outcome of the ISP to establish a conceptual link between what has been observed longitudinally to the short-term outcome. The evaluation instrument used is children's Self-Concept Attitudinal (SCAT) Inventory. Subjects are the third grade students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The evaluation design employed is before and after-measurement without a control group. In the absence of a control group, the treatment effect of the ISP is estimated on the basis of individual growth curve models. Through the study, it has been learned that the ISP was able to generate positive changes along six attitudinal dimensions included in the SCAT Inventory. The six scales have shown close relationships to student performance at school: student-teacher relationship; self-esteem, attitude toward school, basic social values, advanced social values, and the perception of family cohesiveness. Of these, the first four scales have shown statistical significance at the .05 level. It is estimated that the ISP is capable of generating a significant amount of positive attitudinal changes on a short-term basis with a time span of about four months between pre- and posttests. These findings are consistent with the conclusions obtained from the longitudinal study where student alcohol and other drug using behavior and other related student problem behaviors were significantly lower among the ISP recipients than non-recipients of the program.
A Uniform Progress and Evaluation Reporting System for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Agencies: Two Examples
Authors: Kim Sehwan
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic approach toward a remedy of the current stagnation in program monitoring and program evaluation, particularly in the field of drug abuse prevention and intervention. To do this, this approach introduces a Uniform Progress and Evaluation Reporting System (UPERS), which is capable of rendering comparative judgements across various agency performances. Some of the highlights of comparative inquiry made through the UPERS are: 1) the degree to which theoretical involvement justifies one's program; 2) the degree to which the program is fully developed to accommodate consistent replications of the program; 3) the degree of discrepancy between the target population and clients who are actually served by the program; and 4) the degree to which evaluation is implemented by the program agency toward an enhancement of one's existing program or toward a development of a valid and more useful program in the future.
Changes in Track and Field Performance with Chronological Aging
Authors: Fung Lena , Ha Amy
Published: May 2005

Use of existing records to study performance decline with age has been recommended by several writers. This investigation attempts to identify one running, jumping, and throwing event whose performance was most affected by age. Results indicated that the 400 meter run and the long jump events were most affected by advancing age among both male and female master athletes whereas in the area of throws, the event most affected was the javelin for men and the discus for women.
Revisiting the Generation Gap: Exploring the Relationships of Parent/Adult-Child Dyads
Authors: Shapiro Adam
Published: May 2005

There is some evidence that older parents and their adult children may evaluate their relationships with each other in different ways. To date, we know little about what may account for these discrepancies. This investigation compares the perceptions of intergenerational solidarity among 2,590 adult-child/older-parent dyads from the National Survey of Families and Households. Further, this study examines a social structural model to test the relative contribution of individuals' sociodemographic and social structural positions to the correspondence between generational perceptions of solidarity. The findings indicate that there is a high degree of disagreement between how adult children and their parents view their relationship. Parents are more likely to report greater relationship quality, while children report greater contact and exchanges of assistance. While a number of variables influence the correspondence between generations, the strongest and most consistent predictors are sex, age, child's marital status, and residential proximity.
Does Drug and Alcohol Use Lead to Failure to Graduate from High School?
Authors: Friedman Alfred S. , Glickman Nita , Utada Arlene
Published: May 2005

In a study of 526 students in two Philadelphia public high schools, the majority (135 of 265) who had been using drugs were found subsequently to have dropped out (failed to graduate) from high school, compared to only approximately one out of four (42 of 158) of the non-drug using students.

In a multiple regression analysis, which controlled for twenty demographic, personal and family variables which had previously been found to have significant correlation with dropping out versus graduation from high school, the severity of the student's earlier drug use was still found to predict to failure to graduate, to a significant degree ( F = 6.03).

While drug use may not be the main cause of dropping out of high school, but only a concomitant effect of earlier, more basic state of disaffection from school, it is nevertheless clear that drug use by adolescents interferes with academic progress in high school.
Facts or Delusions: The Television Advertising of a Non-Prescription Drug Product
Authors: Holst Donald E. , Sause Robert B.
Published: May 2005

A recent television advertisement for a topical analgesic cream is reviewed with an analysis and discussion of the claims made in the commercial concerning the mode of action and the effectiveness of the product. The claims, although based on fact, may be considered to be speculative. Advertisements of this type prove counterproductive to the educational efforts of health educators.
Depressive Symptoms in the Frail Elderly: Physical and Psycho-Social Correlates
Authors: Barusch Amanda Smith , Rogers Anissa , Abu-Bader Soleman H.
Published: May 2005

The elderly who suffer from chronic illness are at unusually high risk of depression and depressive symptoms. This study was conducted to describe the prevalence of depressive symptoms in a sample of chronically-ill elders and to examine the relationship between physical illness and depression, both as it is illuminated in a regression model and as it is understood by the respondents themselves. Interviews were conducted with a random sample of 100 clients in a community-based care program for low-income elderly at risk of nursing home placement. Over one-third of the sample (36%) reported significant depressive symptoms, as measured by the CES-D. Multiple regression analysis identified functional limitations, cognitive impairment and self-perception as significant correlates of depression in a model that explained 30 percent of the variance in CES-D scores.
Personality and Politics among Older Americans: A Rural Case Study
Authors: Peterson Steven A. , Maiden Robert
Published: May 2005

This study examines personality factors as predictors of political attitudes and behavior among a sample of rural older Americans. Results indicate that trait variables (extraversion, openness, and neuroticism) and measures of self-concept (locus of control) affect political attitudes and behavior in predictable ways. Suggestions for future research are outlined.
Service Utilization by Well-Organized Frail Elderly Individuals
Authors: Ozawa Martha N. , Morrow-Howell Nancy
Published: May 2005

In spite of extensive legislation intended to provide social services for elderly individuals, there is a lingering question about how much elderly persons actually use these services. This article reports findings from a study involving an innovative program called STAES (System to Assure Elderly Services), located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri and in particular finds that frail elderly individuals in the STAES program are using services in greater numbers than the review of the literature seems to suggest. In-home services such as homemaker services and visiting nurses' services are indeed used by elderly individuals who are in greater need than others. Through discussing the objective and operation of this program, the article explains why elderly individuals participating in the STAES program are effective users of publicly provided social services.
Toward a Social Phenomenology of Aging: Studying the Self Process in Biographical Work
Authors: Starr Jerold M.
Published: May 2005

In recent years, the study of aging has come to be increasingly multidisciplinary and to encompass the whole life course. The well established life history approach has been reformulated to include the macro-structural and cultural context of aging. Over the past decade research on adult development and aging, cohort differences in aging patterns, and historical changes in life course differentiation has challenged the validity of the established “stability” and “ordered change” theories of aging. An “aleatoric” account of aging, which calls attention to the flexibility of developmental patterns, has been proposed in their stead. Consistent with this development is the need to replace the old conception of the self as a passive object of outside social forces with a new conception of the self as an active, self-reflexive agent in society. The author demonstrates the utility of certain core concepts in social phenomenology and ethnomethodology, in particular Schutz's concept of biographical work, for developing this new conception of the self. It is proposed that more attention to the practical procedures of reality construction involved in biographical work would provide the epistemological basis and conceptual clarity needed for empirical research on the dynamics of life histories.
A Developmental Model for Primary Prevention of Chemical Abuse
Authors: Norem-Hebeisen Ardyth A. , Lucas Mark S.
Published: May 2005

A review of correlates of chemical abuse provides background for an inferentially derived proposal for direction of prevention efforts in educational settings. The proposed developmental model suggests five simultaneously viewed perspectives for generating curriculum with a preventative thrust. The five perspectives provide the basis for a hierarchy of instructional objectives and direct the educator toward objectives of developmental growth for students.
Ending One's Life in a Nursing Home: A Note on Swedish Findings
Authors: Samuelsson Gillis , Sundström Gerdt
Published: May 2005

Statistics on place of death, validated against longitudinal evidence on the entrance into nursing homes, show the “final” rate of institutionalization to have risen in the decades between 1938 and 1975 in Sweden. In a local study, 15 percent entered a nursing home between the ages of sixty-seven and eighty, which seems representative of national trends. The “final” rate is estimated to be between 22 percent and a maximum of about 40 percent. Currently, the socially and economically deprived dominate in Swedish nursing homes just as they did in the poor house of the past. Yet, rising rates may indicate raised welfare for the poorest in society. Issues concerning who is institutionalized and why appear more important than precise measurement of rates of institutionalization.
Social Cognitive Predictors of Nutritional Risk in Rural Elderly Adults
Authors: Hendy Helen M. , Nelson Gordon K. , Greco Margaret E.
Published: May 2005

According to Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1997), nutritional risk would be predicted by perceptions of nutrition efficacy, which in turn would be predicted from four sources: modeling, verbal support, physiological conditions, and nutrition habits. In telephone interviews with 154 rural elderly adults (44 men, 110 women; mean age = 74.4 years), nutritional risk was measured with Nutritional Risk Index (NRI), Nutritional Screening Initiative (NSI), and seven-high-risk-nutrients consumed less than 50 percent of RDA (Diet Plus Analysis). Nutrition-efficacy was measured with a new twenty-five-item scale of Perceived Nutrition Barriers (PNB). Sources of nutrition-efficacy included: mealtime modeling—shared meals, household size; verbal support—people talk to each day, hours talked, number of confidants; physiological conditions that may affect nutrition—age, body mass, medications, disability, negative affect, and nutrition habits—daily food variety, use of meal services. Path analysis was performed with each measure of nutritional risk (NRI, NSI, 7-high-risk-nutrients) as a criterion variable, nutrition-efficacy (PNB) as a possible mediating variable, and sources of nutrition-efficacy as predictor variables. Social Cognitive variables accounted for 58 percent of variance in NRI, 49 percent of variance in NSI, and 29 percent of variance in seven-high-risk-nutrients. Nutritional risk was directly predicted by large households, few shared meals, few confidants, high body mass, many medications, and few daily foods; it was indirectly predicted (via PNB) by high levels of negative affect. Perceived Nutrition Barriers (PNB) most often mentioned were food cost, eating alone, food tastelessness, transportation to the store, and chewing difficulty.
A Comparison of Office and Adult Day Care Center Older Volunteers: Social-Psychological and Demographic Differences
Authors: Okun Morris A. , Eisenberg Nancy
Published: May 2005

Numerous researchers have compared older adults who volunteer with those who do not volunteer on several demographic variables. In contrast, in the present study we compared older adults (minimum age = 55 years old) who volunteered to work for a community organization at an office or in a day care center on social-psychological and demographic predictors. It was hypothesized that day care center volunteers would have higher scores than office volunteers on sympathy, role taking, and self-based salience of volunteer role (i.e., personal identity). In addition, office volunteers were expected to have higher scores than day care center volunteers on other-based salience of volunteer role (i.e., social identity). Discriminant function analysis indicated that day care center volunteers were higher than office volunteers on sympathy whereas office volunteers were higher than day care center volunteers on educational attainment, involvement in clubs and organizations, and role taking.
The Distaff and the Staff: Stereotypes and Archetypes of the Older Woman in Representative Modern Literature
Authors: Kehl D. G.
Published: May 2005

Belles-lettres, dealing with what it means to be human, serve to expose stereotypes, strip them away, and reveal the truth behind the misconceptions, often in terms of archetypes. An all-too-common subject of stereotyping is the aging of women. Much modern fiction and poetry cogently exposes such demeaning stereotypes. References to twenty-five representative poems and nine works of fiction by thirty-five modern authors (American, British, Australian, French) demonstrate that the elderly woman often survives with dignity, even nobility, in a society often insensitive to her plight, that she often ages with grace, retaining her independence, fortitude, and passion for life.
Observed Changes in the Functioning of Nursing Home Residents after Relocation
Authors: Bonardi Elisa , Pencer Irwin , Tourigny-Rivard Marie-France
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the effects of environmental changes on the functioning of nursing home residents who were relocated to a newly built facility. Assessment via a multidimensional observation scale revealed that the physical functioning and orientation of the relocated residents were not affected. A stabilizing effect on mood was noted along with a relative increase in withdrawn behavior. Mortality rate showed a decline. These apparent positive and negative effects are discussed in relation to the conditions surrounding the move, the extent of change, and the relative quality of the new environment.
Explaining Performance on P&P versus Computer Mode of Administration for the Verbal Section of the Graduate Record Exam
Authors: Vogel Lora Ann
Published: May 2005

The present study attempted to find the effects of trait and computer anxiety upon performance on paper-and-pencil and computer forms of verbal sections of the Graduate Record Examination. Scores for neuroticism, extraversion, computer anxiety, GRE via paper-and-pencil, and GRE via computer were collected for forty college undergraduates. Analyses revealed significant interactions for computer anxiety and extraversion with test mode. Contrary to the hypothesis, results found extraverts and those scoring low in computer anxiety obtained significantly lower scores on the computer version than their counterparts. Explanations for the findings and implications for future research are discussed.
The Accuracy of Older and Younger Australians' Understanding of Mental Health and Aging
Authors: Peterson Candida C.
Published: May 2005

Inadequacies in contemporary mental health care for elderly individuals may come about partly through ignorance of both positive aspects of mental health in old age (e.g., the responsiveness of older clients to psychotherapy) and the negative aspects (e.g., elderly men's unusually high suicide risk). A quiz measuring knowledge of both kinds was administered to a total of 250 Australian men and women aged seventeen to eighty-one years who were either retired, employed, housewives, or university students. As hypothesized, the retired group scored lowest on the quiz, with no significant differences among younger students versus non-students. Age was found to be a more important mediator of the retired group's low scores than gender, living with an older person, or self-definition as retired versus employed or a housewife. A previous finding of higher scores by Australians than by U.S. undergraduates in an aging course was also replicated and extended to older nonstudent groups. Implications of these findings for mental health services for elderly individuals and for educational interventions to improve understanding of mental health in older age groups were considered.
Drug Use by Students of Drug Abuse
Authors: Linder Ronald L. , Lerner Steven E. , Drolet Judy C.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of differences in the use of certain psychoactive drugs among students who enrolled for an elective drug abuse course and students not enrolled, or who have not previously taken a drug abuse course.
Children's Changing Attitudes regarding Alcohol: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Pisano Samuel , Rooney James F.
Published: May 2005

A drug and alcohol related questionnaire was distributed to the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students in an urban school district in Pennsylvania. Based on the responses to the questionnaire, it was concluded that the sixth-grade students were significantly more advanced than the fourth- or fifth-grade students, in terms of conformity to peer pressure and positive attitudes toward the use of drugs and alcohol. It was recommended that prior to the sixth-grade, use of drug and alcohol education curriculum may be useful. Beginning at the sixth-grade and continuing on through high school, sole reliance on drug and alcohol education curriculum as a means of dealing with drug and alcohol use was not expected to produce positive results.
Determinants of Cognitive Abilities in the Elderly
Authors: Denney Nancy Wadsworth , Thissen David M.
Published: May 2005

One hundred and fifteen men between the ages of fifty and ninety-three were administered six cognitive tasks: a verbal intelligence subtest, a nonverbal intelligence subtest, two tests of concrete operations, one test of formal operations, and a problem-solving task. The obtained scores were factor analyzed. Two factors were obtained, a nonverbal, performance factor and a verbal-reasoning factor. Regression analyses in which age, education, occupation, years since retirement, health status, activity level, and marital status were predictor variables performed on the factor scores obtained for each of the factors. The nonverbal performance factor was significantly predicted by age while the verbal factor was significantly predicted by education. None of the other predictors were significant. The results suggest that verbal and nonverbal abilities may be determined by different antecedents. Since different cognitive abilities may have different antecedents and since these antecedents may have different relationships to age, it is important to view adult cognitive development as multidimensional and multidirectional rather than as normative and unidirectional.
The Impact of Early Loss History on Parenting of Bereaved Children: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Porterfield Katherine , Cain Albert , Saldinger Amy
Published: May 2005

The current report is a qualitative exploration of the ways in which an adult's childhood experiences with death subsequently influence their parenting of their own parentally-bereaved children. Findings stem from semi-structured interviews with a community sample of 41 bereaved spouses, interviews that are part of a broader, longitudinal investigation of the determinants of the impact upon children of parent death. While some researchers have examined how childhood loss globally affects parenting, none has looked at the unique experience of the impact of such early experiences on parenting during bereavement. Moreover, in contrast to most studies of childhood loss which operate exclusively from an impairment-focused stance, this study also documents the long-term competency-building that may result from the experience of bereavement during childhood.
Differential Impact of Three Alcohol Prevention Curricula on Hypothesized Mediating Variables
Authors: Hansen William B. , Graham John W. , Wolkenstein Bonnie H. , Lundy Beth Z. , Pearson Jill , Flay Brian R. , Johnson C. Anderson
Published: May 2005

This study examines the effects of alcohol use prevention curricula designed to have differential impact on hypothesized mediating variables. Three curricula, one which focused on teaching individuals social pressure resistance skills, one which focused on solidifying conservative group norms, and one which had a goal of increasing student understanding of the consequences of using alcohol, were tested. Results confirm that each program had a differential effect on hypothesized mediating variables.
A Lifetime of Events: Age and Gender Variations in the Life Story
Authors: de Vries Brian , Watt David
Published: May 2005

This study adopted a structural perspective in the examination of life events in the context of an individual's life story. Ten men and ten women at each of three age groups (young, middle-aged, and older adulthood) identified, on a time line, personally significant life events from their past and anticipated future. Results indicated that women identified a greater number of life events and reported a younger age corresponding to their first event than did men; this was especially true for older women. Older participants, in general, identified fewer future events than did younger participants and reported an older age for their last event; the corresponding range of time covered from the first to the last event was also longer. Event type also varied by age and gender. Recency played a central role in the allocation of life events, although late adolescence and early adulthood were especially dense event periods for all groups. Discussion focuses on the roles of gender, age, and the life course in the ways in which events are configured in the life story.
An Evaluation of Ombudsman Primary Prevention Program on Student Drug Abuse
Authors: Kim Sehwan
Published: May 2005

This study is designed to measure the outcome of a drug prevention program entitled Ombudsman. Currently, this program is being disseminated nationwide via the National Diffusion Network (NDN) since its approval as a national model by the U.S. Department of Education. In its replication in Charlotte during fall semester 1979, the Ombudsman program (OP) was offered to students in grades 5–9. One-hundred thirteen students were in the treatment group which had three different subgroups. Seventy-two students were in the control group. Utilizing the “high-risk” Student Attitudinal Inventory (SAI), the following results were obtained: 1. at the conclusion of the OP, a significantly larger proportion of students in the treatment group had favorable attitudes toward their regular school teachers than those in the control group; 2. a significantly larger proportion of students in the treatment group reported more favorable attitudes toward the Ombudsman instructors than did either the treatment or control groups with regard to their own classroom teachers; 3. the OP was more effective among students whose regular classroom teachers have had Ombudsman training than those whose teachers did not have such training; and 4. the OP was more effective among elementary than junior high school students.
Meeting the Challenge of Raising Grandchildren
Authors: Strom Robert D. , Strom Shirley K.
Published: May 2005

More grandparents are raising grandchildren than ever before. The predictable problems they experience include a revision of personal goals; learning how growing up has changed since they raised their own children; cooperating with the parent who shares responsibility for child care; monitoring social and academic progress of children; becoming aware of rights and available social services; and arranging periodic relief from the daily demands of their surrogate obligations. Full-time grandparents often rely on support groups for comfort and advice. The advantages and limitations of this approach are examined. Recommendations are made for ways to improve how support groups function so they can achieve their purposes.
Continuing Education in Later Adulthood: Implications for Program Development for Elderly Guest Students
Authors: Dellmann-Jenkins Mary M. , Papalia-Finlay Diane , Hennon Charles
Published: May 2005

While more and more institutions of higher education are offering cost-free continuing education programs to older men and women, the enrollment of this target population is quite low. This study was conducted to identify factors that would positively influence the decisions of individuals over sixty years of age to participate in such programs. Sixty-five white predominately upper middle-class, highly educated ( X̅ = 16.92 years of schooling) women aged sixty years and over ( X̅ = 68.80) were given a questionnaire concerning attitudes toward continuing education. The majority (86%) indicated a high level of interest in taking geology, political science, world and art history, music, literature, and language courses. In addition, 85 percent preferred to participate in learning situations that included younger and older individuals; 58 percent reported interest in having a companion enroll with them; 48 percent preferred no specific learning environments (i.e., lecture, discussion, or workshop); and 75 percent reported that family members did not suggest that they enroll in continuing education classes. It is suggested that the high level of interest in taking courses offered by institutions of higher education displayed by the women surveyed is because of personal experience with university level education in young adulthood.
Is Alcoholism a Problem of the Elderly?
Authors: Zimering Stanley , Domeischel Joseph R.
Published: May 2005

Alcoholism is a problem that effects over 5.6 per cent of our population. It can be said that the desire to alter reality is probably one of the oldest persistent, and acceptable of human needs. Given the right circumstances the mood-changing and stress relieving qualities of alcohol seem warranted. The old, lonely, on a fixed income, frightened, bored and alone have the right circumstance for abusing alcohol. Recent evidence has shown that an alarming number of elderly are becoming dependent on alcohol. Programs to intercept the disease of alcoholism are mounting. Public education is needed to make individuals aware of this growing crisis in our society.
Nanotechnology and Environmental and Public Health Considerations
Authors: Geiser Ken
Published: May 2005

Nanotechnology has arrived on the scene much as did predecessor technologies—hailed for its purpose and accepted with enthusiasm amid bursts of research, funding, and news of creative applications. But the early efforts to consider its environmental aspects have been small even though the implications for environmental and public health are broad. A well-crafted policy framework is needed, one linked to a clearer understanding of the direct and indirect effects, benefits, and risk of nanotechnology. A precautious approach would foster policy interventions to prevent harms by slowing developments where the risks are high and focus scientific effort on dispelling ignorance and uncertainty, especially in those areas where the consequences of being wrong are substantial. This kind of approach also would impose the burden of demonstrating the safety of the technology primarily on its proponents. The process of producing guidelines for other technologies is considered.
Community Involvement in Prevention and Control of Drug Abuse
Authors: Slawson Marlene R. , Kopacz Kenneth
Published: May 2005

This article emphasizes the need for community involvement in controlling drug abuse. It illustrates the type of New York State legislation that gave rise to the creation of Narcotic Guidance Councils. It furthermore states the goals of NGC's and the means through five committees to accomplish these goals. These committees include publicity, youth activities, counseling, school education programs, and adult education.

In some greater depth, this article traces the development of the Cheektowaga Narcotics Guidance Council and a survey of more than three hundred and fifty NGC's operating in New York State to obtain information concerning specific programs in different locales. Key approaches of this new program involve 1) knowing the problem; 2) finding out what your town is already doing; 3) knowing what you are talking about; 4) keeping the media involved; 5) educating youth and adults; 6) involving young people; 7) setting objectives; and 8) evaluating the program.
Health and Drug Education—How Effective?
Authors: Zimering Stanley
Published: May 2005

The total study comprises over one hundred and ninety pages of tables, narrative, conclusions, and recommendations for the administrator and health educator. The essence of this article is to guide a school district in its attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of their health programming. The author will attempt to provide additional information and help upon request. Additional members of the study team are Michael Koss, Glenn A. Gorlitsky and Andy I. Bern.
The Hanthorne Site (14LT335), a Late Woodland Site in Southeast Kansas
Authors: Hawley Marlin F.
Published: May 2005

In 1946, Albert C. Spaulding, while at the University of Kansas, investigated a mound in southeast Kansas. The mound, composed of earth and fire-cracked rock contained artifacts and several burials. Based largely on the presence of cord marked ceramics, the mound can probably be assigned to the Late Woodland, perhaps ca. A.D. 700 to 900. The mound may be an incipient burned rock midden, possibly related to the gathering and processing of nut mast, particularly acorns, in autumn and possibly too the processing tubers, roots, or bulbs in spring. Buried within mound fill were several inhumations, indicating that it also served a mortuary function. An unconfirmed report of a projectile point embedded in one human vertebra hints at violence. Description of the site and the excavations are based on Spaulding's notes, while the small collection of artifacts from the site, curated by the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Kansas, was analyzed. The limited data from the investigation is herein compared to other, similar sites in the region.
Mondrian and the “Boogie Woogies”: Interruption of Inner Developmental Logic or Completion in Old Age?
Authors: Cohen-Shalev Amir , Rapoport Aviva
Published: May 2005

Taking the work of the painter Piet Mondrian as a point of departure, artistic continuity and change are examined from a lifespan developmental perspective. It is argued that decontextualized continuity tends to occur within a given lifestage, whereas contextualized change is apt to emerge during a transition from one lifestage to another. Thus, Mondrian's gradual development of a unique style, predicated on logical, stage-like unfolding, is related to a midlife emphasis on formal structure. From a similar perspective, his dramatic shift away from this inner logic of development in his last work, the Boogie Woogies, is attributed to an ultimate effort in old age to synthesize art and reality, to reconcile a conflict between the laws of art and direct expression of sense experience.
The Relative Effects of Health and Income on Life Satisfaction
Authors: Spreitzer Elmer , Snyder Eldon , Larson David
Published: May 2005

The relative effects of health and income on life satisfaction were analyzed using data collected in three recent national surveys. Financial situation was a slightly stronger predictor of life satisfaction for persons under age sixty-five, whereas health condition had a stronger impact on the life satisfaction of persons over age sixty-four. An attempt was made to quantify the relative impact of health and income on life satisfaction through an analysis of conjoint influence with contingency tables.
Social Correlates of Smoking in a Healthy Male Population
Authors: Rose Charles L.
Published: May 2005

This is a preliminary exploration of smoking behavior relative to social characteristics in the Normative Aging population. There were definitive findings with respect to the non-smoker and the ex-smoker, but none with regard to the amount of cigarette smoking.
Setting Graduation Rate Thresholds
Authors: Underwood David G. , Rieck James R.
Published: May 2005

The federal government, with the ill-fated State Postsecondary Review Program (SPRP), required the State Postsecondary Review Entities (SPREs) to develop quantitative performance standards. An essential part of the requirements was to set performance thresholds for targeting institutions to be reviewed. The work of the SPREs on one standard in particular, the idea of a graduation rate threshold, may still be useful in assessing an institution's graduation rate compared to other institutions or a selected group of peers. Although the SPRP no longer exists, many states have moved in the direction of either incentive funding or performance funding based on various performance indicators. One of the indicators nearly always selected to be associated with incentive or performance funding is graduation rate. This article is based on work done by the authors as members of a committee to set graduation standards for the SPRE. The article reviews the completion/graduation rate thresholds developed by several other states and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods. Alternative statistical approaches to establishing performance thresholds for graduation rates are also discussed, including the use of the one standard deviation lower bound method, the logit prediction bound method, the linear regression method, and the logistic regression method.
Evidence for the Reliability and Factorial Validity of the Computer Game Attitude Scale
Authors: Chappell Kelly K. , Taylor Catherine S.
Published: May 2005

The Computer Game Attitude Scale (CGAS) evaluates student attitudes toward educational computer games. This study provides evidence for the reliability and factorial validity of the scores of the CGAS and its two subscales. Study participants were 186 middle school students from two large school districts in the Pacific Northwest, one urban and one suburban. The CGAS produced scores with a total test alpha coefficient of 88 for the sample. A principal components factor analysis with a two factor solution and a varimax rotation was conducted on the items of the CGAS. Two factors explained 44 percent of the total variance. The pattern of loadings in the principal components factor analysis supports the grouping implied by the two subscales, indicating that the two subscales were sufficiently stable to be used as separate scores. Data indicate that the CGAS produced reliable test scores that may aid researchers, computer game designers, and teachers in the evaluation of educational software games.
Refusal Skills: Learning to Be Positively Negative
Authors: Goldstein Arnold P.
Published: May 2005

Many youth wishing to refuse drugs or alcohol offered to them are deficient in the interpersonal abilities which constitute such refusal skills. This article describes Skillstreaming, an interpersonal skill training approach of apparent effectiveness when used for such behavioral enhancement purposes. Presented are its constituent training procedures, specific skills content, and methods for promoting the transfer and maintenance of skill competence in real-world, refusal-relevant situations.
IGBO Students' Attitudes toward Supporting Aged Parents
Authors: Ohuche Nancy M. , Littrell John M.
Published: May 2005

This study was designed to explore attitudes of Nigerian, i.e., Igbo, students toward caring for aged parents. A questionnaire consisting of descriptive information and eighteen statements of attitudes about supporting aged parents was administered to 134 students in a Nigerian teacher training college. Students expressed strong support for caring for aged parents; however, male students were not as keen about supporting aged parents as were females. Students' age correlated negatively with the desire to support aged parents in that older students were less willing to care for their aged parents than were younger students. Factors such as birth order, place of residence in the past five years, religion, and educational levels of the mother and father had no significant relationship with attitudes toward supporting aged parents.
The Normative Aging Study: An Interdisciplinary and Longitudinal Study of Health and Aging
Authors: Bell Benjamin , Rose Charles L. , Damon Albert
Published: May 2005

The Normative Aging Study is a comprehensive interdisciplinary longitudinal study located in the VA Outpatient Clinic in Boston, Mass. The study was inaugurated in 1963 by the VA because of its statutory responsibility for the medical care of 25 million war veterans of whom 2 million are now 65 years of age and over, a figure which will rise to over 7 million in the next 20 years. Approximately 2,000 male veterans are enrolled for their lifetime as research subjects and undergo recurrent examinations administered on an outpatient basis. The focus of the study is on non-pathological aging, so that the subjects were carefully screened in advance to satisfy rigid health criteria regardless of age. The study is distinctive because of its large N and the socioeconomic diversity of its population. Parameters include clinical medicine, biochemistry, special senses, oral medicine, anthropometry and behavior. The study is designed to investigate the relationship between normal aging and the natural history of chronic diseases. The investigation of environmental correlates of age change throughout the logitudinal design will also suggest the intrinsic or extrinsic nature of the aging process. The hybrid cross-sectional-longitudinal design will also enable the partialing of secular from true aging effects. Functional ages pertaining to various aspects of aging are being developed as a tool for assessing relative aging rates and the relationship among such differences in aging.
Friends in Passing: Social Interaction at an Adult Day Care Center
Authors: Williams Barbara , Roberts Pamela
Published: May 2005

This study explores the social interactions and friendships that exist among cognitively impaired adult day care participants. A five month participant observation of an adult day care center was conducted, involving fifty-three clients ranging in age from sixty-six to ninety-three. Findings indicate that the clients engage in a variety of social interactions and friendships, enabling them to maintain a sense of self as well as to adjust to the norms of the group. Specific areas to be discussed are: general socializing, enduring friendships, helping relationships and client integration. A descriptive approach such as this provides the opportunity to examine the complexity of social interactions, including the positive relationships available to the cognitively impaired elderly.
Drug Free Therapeutic Community — A Five-Year Follow UP
Authors: Charuvastra V. Charles
Published: May 2005

An original follow-up study of fifty patients from the Brentwood Veterans Administration Residential Treatment Center (RTC) was conducted in 1974 with favorable results for 44 per cent of the sample [1]. The difficulty in obtaining a favorable outcome in drug treatment is well documented with few modalities daring to claim long-term effectiveness. The therapeutic community is one modality that does purport to be effective and there is evidence that this is true [2]. Kleber et al. find that residential treatment graduates seem to do better compared to dropouts [3]. Bale et al, comparing long-term therapeutic communities with methadone maintenance in a two-year-outcome study, showed superior results for the residential treatment [4].

The purpose of the following study is to continue follow-up of the original sample of RTC residents from our 1974 report. This five-year perspective should present further information on the long-term effectiveness of residential treatment.
Self-Perception and Perception of Age Groups as a Function of the Perceiver's Category Membership
Authors: Celejewski Irek , Dion Karen K.
Published: May 2005

This research examined self-perception and the perception of age groups by young and elderly adults from the perspective of social identity theory and social categorization theory. Respondents rated either themselves or unfamiliar stimulus persons from three age categories in adulthood: young, middle-aged, and elderly. As expected, an ingroup bias was found in the evaluation of elderly adults. Specifically, compared to ratings made by younger adults, older adults evaluated elderly persons more favorably. Moreover, as predicted, elderly adults' self-evaluations and those of young adults asked to imagine themselves as elderly were more positive than the ratings made by respondents who evaluated an unfamiliar older adult (e.g., elderly woman, elderly man). Both cognitive and motivational processes were discussed as contributing to the phenomenon of self-other discrepancy in beliefs about and attitudes toward older adults.
Self-Reported Sleep Disturbance among African-American Elderly: The Effects of Depression, Health Status, Exercise, and Social Support
Authors: Bazargan Mohsen
Published: May 2005

The prevalence and correlates of self-reported difficulties in initiating and maintaining sleep were investigated for a sample of 998 Black elderly. In terms of prevalence, only 68.3 percent of this sample had no trouble falling asleep. Over 14.5 percent of men and 23.6 percent of women participants in this study reported sleep latencies exceeding thirty minutes. Almost 13 percent reported getting less than four hours of sleep at night. Moreover, 14.5 percent of participants wake up at least three times during a typical night's sleep other than to use the bathroom and 45.3 percent said when they wake up during the night, they remain awake at least thirty minutes before falling back to sleep. Compared to men, women reported longer sleep latency, waking up more frequently at night, and were more likely to visit a health practitioner for sleeping problems. Multivariate analysis indicates that self-reported sleep problems were significantly greater among Black elderly who were women, with a higher level of depression/anxiety, those with a higher number of chronic illnesses, those who did not exercise, and those who reported lower levels of emotional social support.
Methamphetamine Use: Hazards and Social Influences
Authors: Wermuth Laurie
Published: May 2005

Use of methamphetamine, a potent central nervous system stimulant, increased in the early- to mid-1990s in the United States, concentrated in the west, midwest, and south. The use and trade of methamphetamine was facilitated by a fairly simple production process and the involvement of numerous small entrepreneurs as well as drug-trafficking syndicates. National data from the 1994 Drug Abuse Warning network revealed that for the period from 1991 to 1994 methamphetamine use among short-stay hospital patients more than tripled, and methamphetamine-related deaths reported by medical examiner offices nearly tripled. In addition, the Treatment Episode Data Set revealed a 43 percent increase in treatment-program admissions in which clients identified methamphetamine as the primary drug of abuse. Nonetheless, methamphetamine use did not become widespread in the U.S. population. Low-income and unemployed young white men continue to be the group most likely to use methamphetamine, but by the mid-1990s the drug had increased in popularity in more diverse populations and regions. Economic and social pressures experienced by a broad array of Americans may partially explain expanded methamphetamine use; for example, depressed economic conditions in rural and semi-rural areas have contributed to methamphetamine's appeal as a source of income. A “war against drugs” approach has characterized the policy response, with increased criminal justice penalties. A public health approach is recommended, including prevention campaigns, harm-reduction outreach and treatment approaches, and pharmacologic and abstinence-based drug treatment approaches.
Generic Tobacco Use among Four Ethnic Groups in a School Age Population
Authors: de Moor Carl , Elder John P. , Young Russell L. , Wildey Marianne B. , Molgaard Craig A.
Published: May 2005

The prevalence of overall or “generic” tobacco use among Hispanic, white, Black and Asian youths in grades four, seven, ten and twelve was compared in San Diego, California ( n = 4980). Significant differences in generic tobacco use between ethnic groups were found in the 4th, 10th and 12th grades, but were greatest in the 10th grade. Only white youths demonstrated a sharp increase in regular tobacco use (once a month or more) between 7th and 10th grade. Overall, the prevalence of regular use was highest among whites (25.8%), followed by Hispanics (19.7%), Blacks (17.6%) and Asians (12.6%). Marijuana, alcohol, and other drug use explained approximately 40 percent of the variance in tobacco use in each ethnic group. Other predictors varied by ethnicity and included socioeconomic status, happiness of student, strictness of parent, adult tobacco use at home, accessibility to marijuana, and gender.
Increased Exposure to Alcohol and Cannabis Education and Changes in Use Patterns
Authors: Smart Reginald G.
Published: May 2005

The introduction of new alcohol and cannabis education programs in Ontario schools was associated with significant increases in reported exposure to alcohol and cannabis education. Significant increases were reported for both sexes, all grade levels, and geographic areas. These were associated with decreases in proportions of drinkers, especially among younger students. Little effect was seen on heavy drinking. The evidence also suggests that reported increased exposure to cannabis education was not associated with reduced cannabis use. The challenge remains to develop alcohol education programs which can reduce heavy drinking and to develop effective cannabis education programs.