Collective risk aversion

In this article we analyze the risk attitude of a group of heterogeneous agents and we develop a theory of comparative collective risk tolerance. In particular, we characterize how shifts in the distribution of individual levels of risk tolerance affect the group’s attitude towards risk. In a model with efficient risk-sharing and two agents an increase in the level of risk tolerance of one or of both agents might have an ambiguous impact on the collective level of risk tolerance; the latter increases for some levels of aggregate wealth while it decreases for other levels of aggregate wealth. For more general populations we characterize the effect of first-order like shifts (individual levels of risk tolerance more concentrated on high values) and second-order like shifts (more dispersion on individual levels of risk tolerance) on the collective level of risk tolerance. We also evaluate how shifts in the distribution of individual levels of risk tolerance impact the collective level of risk tolerance in a framework with exogenous egalitarian sharing rules. Our results permit to better characterize differences in risk taking behavior between groups and individuals and among groups with different distributions of risk preferences.     

Negotiating narratives surrounding children's mental health diagnoses: Children and their contribution to the discourse

Despite increasing numbers of children diagnosed with mental health disorders, there is limited research on how children come to understand these diagnoses in childhood. This study examines the retrospective accounts of emerging adults who were diagnosed with mental health disorders in childhood to better understand how they made sense of their diagnoses over time. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 emerging adults (ages 18 to 22) who were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and/or bipolar disorder in childhood. Interviews elicited participants' experiences learning about their diagnoses and suggestions for how diagnoses should best be explained to children. Findings demonstrate that participants actively sought and obtained information about their diagnoses over time. They negotiated narratives from several sources, including parents, teachers, mental health professionals, peers, siblings, the media, reading materials, and the Internet. Many of those who embraced medical accounts of their diagnoses did so as they obtained in-depth medical information over time. Meanwhile, those whose parents were open and communicative without using medical narratives suggest it is possible to share information with children without utilizing the terminology of “disorder.” Participants emphasize the importance of being open with children and providing them assurances, explaining that their problems are legitimate, common, and “not their fault.” Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

A Preliminary Investigation of a Telephone Administration of the Quality of Marriage Index

Follow‐up data collection presents many challenges for longitudinal research. Validating paper‐and‐pencil assessments for use via telephone may alleviate these issues. This study evaluates psychometric properties of the Quality of Marriage Index (QMI; Norton, 1983, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 141) when administered by telephone and compares scores with the paper‐and‐pencil version. Participants included women with major depressive disorder and dyadic discord and their male spouses (n = 24 couples). Results suggest excellent scale reliability for the verbal QMI. However, a significant mean difference was found: participants scored on average 3 points higher on the telephone‐administered QMI than on the written QMI. Recommendations for future research and clinical implications are discussed.     

Immigrants and Employer-provided Training

Much has been written about the labour market outcomes for immigrants in their host countries, particularly with regard to earnings, employment and occupational attainment. However, much less attention has been paid to the question of whether immigrants are as likely to receive employer-provided training relative to comparable natives. As such training should be crucial in determining the labour market success of immigrants in the long run it is a critically important question. Using data from a large-scale survey of employees in Ireland, we find that immigrants are less likely to receive training from employers, with immigrants from the New Member States of the EU experiencing a particular disadvantage. The immigrant training disadvantage arises in part from a failure on the part of immigrants to get employed by training-oriented firms. However, they also experience a training disadvantage relative to natives within firms where less training is provided.     

Community Organization Project for the Development of Aborigines in an Area North and North-East of Alice Springs

It is recognized in the field of social work that institutionalization of any people produces certain negative and detrimental patterns of behaviour. In geriatrics present practice is away from institutionalization. The aged are encouraged to find employment or interests and to move out of institutions. Emphasis is placed upon individual flats and self-care with any supportive services that are necessary. More and more the emphasis in child care is upon foster care in ordinary homes scattered through the general community and culture to which the children belong.     

Marriage Caretaking and Territorial Justice in an Australian State

Australian Marriage Guidance Councils are rarely considered avant garde. Yet contemporary emphasis on the importance of citizen participation in social service delivery programmes¹ unexpectedly shows them in the vanguard of the new art of mobilizing participatory community services. For more than a quarter of a century now they have been operating as expert guides and counsellors in the difficult territory of marital therapy, mainly using staffs of part-time counsellors drawn from the general community. The magnitude of this feat of maintaining the participatory character of this community service in a potentially rich field for professional exploitation goes largely unacknowledged. It has been pointed out that the professional, “because of his status, commitment and knowledge”,² is in most cases successful in converting citizen participation programmes into the service of his own professional interest. This has always been one of the most intractable problems of any participatory scheme. So far the Marriage Guidance Councils have stayed right on top of this problem.     

Daytime Sleepiness,Poor Sleep Quality,Eveningness Chronotype,and Common Mental Disorders Among Chilean College Students

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate whether daytime sleepiness, poor sleep quality, and morningness and eveningness preferences are associated with common mental disorders (CMDs) among college students. Methods: A total of 963 college students completed self-administered questionnaires that collected information about sociodemographic characteristics, sleep quality characteristics, CMDs, and other lifestyle behaviors. Results: The prevalence of CMDs was 24.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] [21.5%, 27.1%]) among all students. Prevalence estimates of both excessive daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality were higher among females (35.4% and 54.4%) than males (22.0% and 45.8%). Cigarette smoking was statistically significantly and positively associated with having CMDs (p = .034). Excessive daytime sleepiness (odds ratio [OR] = 3.65; 95% CI [2.56, 4.91]) and poor sleep quality (OR = 4.76; 95% CI [3.11, 7.29]) were associated with increased odds of CMDs. Conclusion: Given the adverse health consequences associated with both sleep disorders and CMDs, improving sleep hygiene among college students is imperative to public health.     

A Collaborative Student Affairs and Faculty Health Assessment and Intervention Initiative

Abstract

The authors describe a collaborative partnership forged between faculty and student affairs staff to improve student health at a large urban university. They examine skills and reward structures of each constituency and the stages of the collaboration in the context of 2 theoretical models. A comprehensive data collection and dissemination process in the campus community provided goals for the initial stage of the partnership, leading to implementation of campus initiatives that use the reciprocal skills of each stakeholder. Outcomes of the collaboration included (1) a working relationship between faculty and student affairs staff, (2) increased dialogue with high-level administrators, (3) more coordinated campus efforts to decrease high-risk drinking, (4) use of outcome measures for implementing and evaluating health programs, and (5) an opportunity for interdisciplinary research. The authors offer suggestions for implementing the process on other campuses.