The pursuit of socially modifiable contingencies in mental health

The effort to understand the meanings of the well-demonstrated linkages between mental health and one's locations in the social structure has commanded a great deal of research attention over the past half century. Following a brief consideration of my early efforts to make a contribution in this regard, some recent and ongoing work is summarized. In concert with important work by others, these findings support the conclusion that differences in exposure to social stress represent a much more critical contingency in mental health and substance use outcomes than has generally been assumed. In addition, reported results indicate that the lifetime experience of multiple adversities is quite common among young people in South Florida and, presumably, elsewhere and the likelihood that the compelling linkage observed between cumulative adversity and risk for psychiatric and substance disorders is causal in nature. It is suggested that the development of interventions in the service of stress prevention or reduction should command a greater proportion of the attention of researchers and interventionists.     

Mathematical models and their applications in medicine and health

Mathematical models have great potentialities as regards their utility in different disciplines of medicine and health. This paper attempts to elucidate their uses in the field. A brief mention of some models has also been made. Mathematical models are useful in epidemiologic research, planning and evaluation of preventive and control programmes, clinical trials, measurement of health, cost-benefit analysis, diagnosis of patients and in maximizing effectiveness of operations aimed at attaining specified goals within existing resources.     

Regarding the Protests of Others

While much social movement research focuses on how activists actively cultivate affect and how social movements benefit from shared emotions, these ideas rarely intersect with research examining how race constructs emotional responses in a white settler society. I bridge this theoretical divide by examining the 2009 Tamil diaspora protests in Canada to study dimensions of suffering and apathy through the construction of the racialized protest(er). Drawing upon illustrations from a critical discourse analysis of 153 mainstream news articles and interviews with activists and journalists, this paper explores how racial logic frames media and public discourse through (1) the expression of protesters’ suffering and (2) the construction of racial apathy by the Canadian public. The paper theorizes why and how race frames the production of suffering and apathy, and offers considerations for social movement theory.     

Using the wellness inventory to assess health and well-being in college students at the end of the semester

Abstract

Objective: The authors examined the end of semester outcomes (December, 2017) on the Wellness Inventory and demographics among college students taking a Physical Education (PED 101) course at a university in the southeast United States. Participants: College students were assessed at the end of the semester for health and well-being outcomes according to the Wellness Inventory. Results: Results showed that there were few gender or age differences for the dimensions of well-being. However, there were significant differences for most of the dimensions of health and well-being between frequent exercisers and infrequent exercisers. There were also significant differences between students who reported being in excellent health versus students who reported being in fair or poor health. Conclusions: Consistent exercise throughout the week may play a role in overall health and well-being. The results from this study warrant further investigation into the relationship between the exercise frequency and the dimensions of health and well-being.     

Authority and the pursuit of order in organizational performance

The paper seeks to examine the site of performance, the spatial context of the dramatic act, and to consider the various ways in which performance is regulated, ordered and sustained. In particular, the paper is concerned with the relationship between authority and propriety in the regulation of the performance site and with the transformational metaphors which sustain the trajectory of the performance. The basic premise on which the argument rests is that there is a equivalence of sign-imagery as appropriate to liturgical performance which is the basis of some forms of organisational behaviour and that this equivalence permits more than the mere playing out of ritualistic behaviour: it appropriates the image in the reproduction and re-presentation of its forms. Consequently, the significance of the elevation, for instance, of The Cross or the consecrated Host, the notion of ritualistic cleansing, of humiliation, of redemptive acts, of public confession, become emblematic means of achieving organisational incorporations and of achieving movement from the isolated “I” to the collective “We”.     

Knowledge Regarding Hymens and the Sex Education of Parents

The objective of this study was to ascertain beliefs and knowledge of pediatricians and parents regarding the hymen and to evaluate parental and pediatrician attitudes regarding sex education by pediatricians. Surveys were distributed anonymously to parents and pediatricians. Survey questions included knowledge of the female hymen and questions regarding attitudes toward sexual health education. There was a statistically significant difference in mean knowledge scores between pediatricians and parents regarding the hymen (3.7 versus 1.3; p < 0.0001). Almost two-thirds of pediatricians (63%) felt comfortable providing sexual health education directly to their patients, but only 41% felt comfortable educating parents. Pediatricians and parents demonstrate knowledge gaps about the hymen.     

Immigration,labor force integration and the pursuit of self-employment

A correspondence analysis was used to examine the entire working life cycle of Canadian-born male age-education cohorts and immigrant male age-education cohorts who arrived during 1945-61. Data were drawn from the 1961 and 1971 census databases as well as the 1981 and 1991 public individual files. Findings support the existence of a split labor market based on immigrant status, particularly at the low end of the schooling spectrum. In 1961, immigrants with low levels of schooling were closely associated with the wage construction sector, whereas Canadian-born males below the high school level would most likely gravitate towards consumer services. Meanwhile, immigrants with a high school education were likely to be in consumer services; whereas, Canadian-born males with a high school education were closely aligned with public administration and distributive services. Moreover, immigrants with higher levels of schooling were less likely to work in ethnically dominated markets, while immigrants with low schooling moved into the self-employed construction sector. The existence of a split in the labor market was evident among workers with lower levels of schooling compared with university-educated workers.     

British newspapers privilege health and medicine topics over other science news

This study examines coverage of science, health and medicine in five UK national newspapers: three broadsheets, a mid-sheet and a tabloid. The content analysis is compared with a quantitative survey of members of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW). The study confirms earlier reports that medicine and health topics are privileged over science in newspaper reporting. Unlike studies of medical research news, which have found medical journals to be the main source of news stories, this study found that general science and medical news is drawn from a wide range of sources. Although respondents were generally positive about press materials, targeting and news value were highlighted as areas for improvement. Briefing scientists to use less jargon and training scientists to better understand the needs of journalists were also highlighted by respondents as areas to improve.     

In pursuit of social meaning

Meaning and Linguistic Variation: The Third Wave in Sociolinguistics is a collection of works published in a variety of edited collections, journals, and conference proceedings. It also includes one unpublished conference paper. The collection traces the (ongoing) development of the concept of social meaning in language variation in 11 different papers. These are contextualized with personal reflections on variationist sociolinguistics and the profession of linguistics that frame each paper. This review article highlights some of the key themes in the collection: As well as social meaning itself, issues with style, clustering of variables, peripheral and core members of communities, and agency are discussed. Eckert's innovative proposal that variables can be differentiated on the basis of their relative “interiority” is considered, as is the assertion that linguistics transcends the referential properties of language to include the expressive and moral.     

Age, ethnicity, and use of complementary and alternative medicine in health self-management

Drawing on models of health self-management, we develop hypotheses that age and ethnicity will modify associations among indicators ofpoor health and use of complementary and alternative medicine. These hypotheses are evaluated using the 2002 National Health Interview Survey with the Alternative Health Supplement. Results produced partial support for hypotheses that the effects of ailments on use of complementary and alternative medicine differ by age. Results suggest that ailments such as bodily pain, chronic conditions, and functional impairment are associated with use of complementary and alternative medicine among midlife and younger adults, but these associations are generally attenuated among older adults. Hypothesized ethnic differences received weak support. These findings suggest that different interpretations of ailments and appropriate responses may explain why complementary and alternative medicine is used by fewer older adults. The results also highlight the significance of social and cultural factors in understanding patterns of complementary and alternative medicine use in the adult population.     

Families in the future: the pursuit of personal autonomy

There have been substantial changes in the demography of the family since the early 1970s in Australia. Age at 1st marriage has risen substantially. In 1986, 6.1% of heterosexual couples in Australia were living together. In 1 in 3 marriages today, 1 or both partners have been married before. The percentage of marriages ending in divorce based on annual data increased from 14% in 1971 to 35% in 1986. The birth rate has declined substantially since 1971. In 1986,, 77% of all households were family households, 4% were group households, and 19% were 1-person households. Over 1 in 3 Australian children being born today will spend some time in a 1-parent family before they reach majority. The important measure, however, may not be family structure but the extent of support, both economic and emotional, that the child receives from his or her parents. Similar arguments may be applied to the aged. A 1982 survey showed that among persons aged 15-64 years who had a parent living elsewhere, over 50% had contact with that parent at least once a week. The same survey showed that among aged people requiring help, they were 5 times more likely to receive that help from a family member than from a government agency or from a voluntary agency. A focus on how families function draws attention to the changes in the lives of married women. Labor force participation rates for married women have been steadily increasing for over 50 years. Even in couple families with a child under 5 years old, 40% of the women were in the labor force in 1986. The family changes described above can all be interpreted in terms of the movement to personal autonomy which has characterized the last 20 years. This is especially the case with the increase in age at marriage, the decline of teenage pregnancy, and the rise in the divorce rate. The trend for young couples to live together rather than marry can be seen as an experiment in the pursuit of personal autonomy. The author hypothesizes that people choosing to live together before marriage are seeking personal autonomy, and it is the conflict between personal autonomy and family life that leads ultimately to their higher break-up rates.     

Couple Attitudes and Agreement Regarding Pregnancy Wantedness in the Philippines

We compare husbands' and wives' views of the wantedness of their most recent pregnancy in the Philippines, a country where relatively high levels of unintended fertility persist. This research is an extension of earlier work that looked separately at individual men's and women's responses. We analyze survey data for 369 couples and find that those most at risk of experiencing a pregnancy that neither spouse wanted tended to be higher parity couples, those who were more fatalistic, those who were practicing Catholics who attended religious services frequently, and those among whom the husband was the sole breadwinner. Higher parity women and older women were also more apt to experience a pregnancy that was wanted by only 1 spouse. Women who had difficulty discussing sexual matters with their husbands were more likely than other women to have a pregnancy that their husbands wanted but they did not.