Symptoms of Eating Disorders Among Females in Drug Addiction Treatment

The aim of this study is to measure and describe symptoms of eating disorders among females in treatment for drug addiction in Norway. Previous clinical and epidemiological studies have revealed coprevalence between eating disorders and substance use or abuse. However, few studies have measured eating disorders in drug-using samples and even fewer within the context of drug treatment. In this study, 29 females with drug use disorder in residential treatment were tested with the Eating Disorder Inventory–2. A subgroup of 9 females (31%) with significant symptoms of eating disorders was identified. The characteristics of this group and possible clinical consequences are discussed.     

The pill and partnerships: the impact of the birth control pill on cohabitation

This paper investigates the impact on cohabitation behavior of the introduction and dispersion of the birth control pill in the USA during the 1960s and early 1970s. A theoretical model generates several predictions that are tested using the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. Empirically, the causal effect is identified by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in state laws granting access to the pill to unmarried women under age 21. The evidence shows that the pill was a catalyst that increased cohabitation??s role in selecting marriage partners, but did little in the short run to promote cohabitation as a substitute for marriage.     

Judging childhood

This article brings ethnohistorical inquiry to bear in exploring the certainties of Progressive Era reformers regarding the role of the state, the meaning of childhood, and the power of intervention in the lives of children, youth, and families in Butte, Montana. The author draws on the key themes of the Just Practice perspective (Finn & Jacobson, 2008)—as an organizing frame to explore assumptions and contestations regarding childhood, well-being, trouble, and intervention as expressed through primary source documents and reports of juvenile court proceedings in Butte from 1900 to 1914. Butte, a site of rapid industrialization at the turn of the last century, provides a local context in which to examine ways these certainties were asserted, negotiated, embedded, and resisted in the making of a nascent system of child welfare and juvenile justice. The historical analysis offers a foundation for critical reflection on the certainties embedded in contemporary practice with children and youth.     

Forced Migration and Mortality in the Very Long Term: Did Perestroika Affect Death Rates Also in Finland?

In this article, we analyze mortality rates of Finns born in areas that were ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II and from which the entire population was evacuated. These internally displaced persons are observed during the period 1971-2004 and compared with people born in the same region but on the adjacent side of the new border. We find that in the 1970s and 1980s, the forced migrants had mortality rates that were on par with those of people in the comparison group. In the late 1980s, the mortality risk of internally displaced men increased by 20% in relation to the expected time trend. This deviation, which manifests particularly in cardiovascular mortality, coincides with perestroika and the demise of the Soviet Union, which were events that resulted in an intense debate in civil society about restitution of the ceded areas. Because state actors were reluctant to engage, the debate declined after some few years, and after the mid-1990s, the death risk again approached the long-term trend. Our findings indicate that when internally displaced persons must adjust to situations for which appropriate coping behaviors are unknown, psychosocial stress might arise several decades after their evacuation.     

Validation of the 12 Item Short form Health Survey in a Sample from Region Central Jutland

In 2010 the Danish regions started a new program of public health surveillance in collaboration with the national and local health authorities using the short form health survey (SF-12) for measuring and reporting on health related quality of life among the Danish adult population. The instrument has not, however, been validated in a Danish setting. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the physical component summary (PCS) and the mental component summary (MCS) score of the 12-item short form health survey (SF-12) in a sample from Central Denmark Region. A total of 26,397 persons above the age of 25 were included in the analyses. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s α. The validity was assessed using known-groups comparisons and convergent validity. The factor structure was investigated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Cronbach’s α showed high reliability with a score of 0.90 and 0.85 for PCS and MCS respectively. The SF-12 discriminated well with respect to gender, age, educational status and long term illness. Individual items correlated higher with own hypothesized scales than with other scales and summary measures corroborating the convergent validity. The EFA gave a two-factor structure. Irrespective of the chosen rotation method (varimax and oblimin) the items related to PCS loaded on one factor and the items related to MCS loaded on another factor. The factor structure was validated with acceptable model-fit values in CFA. The SF-12 instrument is a reliable and valid measure of health related quality of life among the population of Central Denmark Region.     

The Sexual Inhibition (SIS) and Sexual Excitation (SES) Scales: I. Measuring sexual inhibition and excitation proneness in men

This study involves the development and initial validation of a questionnaire measuring the propensity for sexual inhibition and excitation in men: the Sexual Inhibition Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES). The underlying theoretical model postulates that sexual response and associated behavior depend on dual control mechanisms, involving excitatory and inhibitory neurophysiological systems. The scales and their discriminant and convergent validity and test-retest reliability are described. In a sample of 408 sexually functional men (mean age = 22.8 years), factor analyses identified three higher-level factors: two related to sexual inhibition and one to sexual excitation. Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analyses revealed that the factor structure provided an acceptable fit to the data obtained in a second (N = 459; mean age = 20.9 years) and third (N = 313; mean age = 46.2 years) sample of men, with similar distributions and relationships with other measures. Theoretical issues and areas for further research, including male sexual dysfunction and risk taking, are discussed.     

The Sexual Inhibition (SIS) and Sexual Excitation (SES) Scales: II. Predicting psychophysiological response pattens

This study evaluated the predictive value of a newly developed measure of the propensity for sexual inhibition and excitation; the Sexual Inhibition Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES). Sexual, cardiovascular, and startle responses were measured in a group of 40 sexually functional men during the presentation of threatening and nonthreatening erotic films. Two levels of performance demand were created and two films were combined with a distraction task. Participants were assigned to high and low groups for each of the three SIS/SES scales. As predicted, men with high SES scores showed generally higher sexual responses. High and low SIS1 groups did not differ in their responses. Men with high and low SIS2 scores did not differ in their responses to nonthreatening stimuli; however, low SIS2 men showed greater genital response to the threatening stimuli. The findings provide support for the value of the SIS/SES scales in predicting sexual responses.     

Managerial attitudes towards computer models for planning and control

The wealth of publications, seminars and conferences on the topic of computer models for planning and control has included only a relatively small proportion of material which critically evaluates their contribution and, in particular, focuses attention on the attitudes of managers towards such innovation. There are some outstanding exceptions to this general picture, such as the excellent survey by P.H. Grinyer and J. Wooler¹ on corporate models in the U.K., and the critique by R.H. Hayes and R.L. Nolan², who argue that corporate models have fallen into disuse or disrepute in many U.S. organizations and recommend the development of simple models to aid the planning process rather than overall corporate models.

In this article the authors attempt to bring together some of the more important findings in the literature.     

The Americans with Disabilities Act: an examination of compliance by state, territorial and local governments in the USA

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits public entities in the US from discriminating against people on the basis of a disability. The term 'public entity' includes all state, territorial, and local governments and their instrumentalities. A survey was conducted to determine the extent of compliance by public entities in the US. Based on the survey the conclusion is that the ADA is being implemented on the state, territorial, and local levels in the US to a satisfactory extent.