Model diagnostics for the proportional hazards model with length-biased data

Length-biased data are frequently encountered in prevalent cohort studies. Many statistical methods have been developed to estimate the covariate effects on the survival outcomes arising from such data while properly adjusting for length-biased sampling. Among them, regression methods based on the proportional hazards model have been widely adopted. However, little work has focused on checking the proportional hazards model assumptions with length-biased data, which is essential to ensure the validity of inference. In this article, we propose a statistical tool for testing the assumed functional form of covariates and the proportional hazards assumption graphically and analytically under the setting of length-biased sampling, through a general class of multiparameter stochastic processes. The finite sample performance is examined through simulation studies, and the proposed methods are illustrated with the data from a cohort study of dementia in Canada.

     

A DSM-5-Based Online Mental Health Referral Inventory: A Large-Scale Validation Study

In 2007, a comprehensive mental health referral inventory based on the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) was posted online as an alternative to the informal tests the public now uses to self-diagnose mental health problems. A validation study was published in 2011 (Epstein &; Muzzatti, 2011 Epstein, R., &; Muzzatti, L. (2011). Preliminary validation of an online DSM-based mental health referral inventory. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 29, 284–295. doi:10.1080/15228835.2011.638421[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). In 2013, a revision of that inventory that was consistent with the DSM-5 was posted. The present study evaluates the new inventory with a diverse sample of 201,625 people from 184 countries (mainly the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom). The 63-item inventory screens for 21 common problems and typically takes about 5?min to complete. Test scores proved to be good predictors of a variety of self-reported criterion measures, including happiness, personal and professional success, history of hospitalization, history of therapy, current participation in therapy, and employment. Females were found to have slightly more mental health problems than males, and effects were also found for education and race/ethnicity. The revised test is more accessible than the original, reducing the reading level from grade 10.2 to 6.6. It is not designed to diagnose; rather, its primary purpose is to refer people to mental health professionals for further evaluation. It can also be used in clinical settings for quick screening purposes.     

An Exploration of the Influence of Household Poverty Spells on Mortality Risk

Household poverty is dynamic and characterized in terms of spells. Exposure to poverty accumulates through the recurrence and persistence of spells, leading to divergent family adaptive strategies that contribute to mortality risk. The data set used in this study is longitudinal and contains socioeconomic and demographic data of a nationally representative sample. The findings are (a) poverty significantly increases mortality risk, controlling for age, gender, and race; (b) the first spell is especially potent, and mortality risk declines rapidly during subsequent spells; and (c) both direction and strength of these estimates are robust to marital status, but power diminishes significantly net of education and employment.     

Evidence-based clinical practice: the effectiveness of music-based intervention for women experiencing forgiveness/grief issues

This study evaluates the effectiveness of individual grief counselling using music-based intervention for women who had unresolved forgiveness/grief issues due to the loss of a loved one. Each individual (N = 21) completed the 12 bi-weekly grief counselling sessions, in which the pretest and posttest data were collected. The results suggest that music-based intervention made a positive impact on the individuals who had current unresolved forgiveness/grief issues and depression symptoms. A strong positive correlation was observed between their perception of unresolved forgiveness/grief issues and their depression levels. Implications for evidence-based social work practice are discussed.     

Factors influencing resubstantiation of child neglect in South Korea: A comparison with other maltreatment cases

While a high prevalence of child neglect cases has been reported by Child Protective Services (CPS) in Western countries, child neglect cases reported to South Korea's Child Protection Agency (CPA) present different trends than those in Western countries. Nevertheless, child neglect is an understudied area within child welfare. Thus, a need exists to investigate the unique characteristics of child neglect cases substantiated by the CPA in Korea. This study investigates the unique characteristics of child neglect cases and examines how factors associated with the resubstantiation of these cases differ from those of other maltreatment cases. Using CPA administrative data, we employed a multilevel discrete‐time hazard analysis to analyze the risk and protective factors associated with the resubstantiation of child neglect cases and compared the results with other maltreatment cases. In both cases, younger children, perpetrators with alcohol problems, families receiving welfare, and months of agency operation were associated with resubstantiation. For child neglect cases, the provision of child and parent services, and CPAs located in metropolitan area were protective factors that reduced the risk of resubstantiation. The finding in this study highlights the need to expand the provision of services to child neglect cases to prevent resubstantiation.     

Radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer in patients aged 75 years or older: comparison with primary androgen deprivation therapy

Objective: To determine whether radical prostatetomy (RP) is suitable for prostate cancer patients with age ≥75 years in comparison to primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT).

Patients and methods: A cohort study was conducted in clinically localized prostate cancer patients with ≥75 years of age who underwent RP or PADT at six institutions from 2005 to 2013. Patients who had less than 12 months of follow-up, or received neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy were excluded. We compared clinical characteristics, cancer-specific and overall survivals, and post-treatment complication rates between two groups.

Results: We included 92 and 99 patients in the RP and PADT groups, respectively. In survival analyses, there were no significant differences in cancer-specific and overall survivals (p?=?.302 and .995, respectively). The incidence of serious adverse events (cardio- or cerebrovascular event, or bone fracture) was higher in the PADT group (p?=?.001). Multivariable analysis showed that PADT had a worse effect on the serious adverse events (OR 10.12, p?=?.038).

Conclusions: In selected elderly patients, RP was safe and effective for treatment of localized prostate cancer, as compared to PADT. Surgical treatment options should be considered in elderly patients with respect to life expectancy, rather than chronological age.     

Where Does Religion Matter Most? Personal Religiosity and the Acceptability of Wife‐beating in Cross‐National Perspective

Does religion justify violent acts against wives, or does it reduce approval of this type of intimate partner violence? We examine whether personal religiosity raises or lowers the acceptability of wife‐beating. In addition, we investigate how the relationship between personal religiosity and attitudes toward wife‐beating differs depending on the overall normative context of the country where a person lives. Using multilevel modeling with data from the fifth wave of the World Values Survey (2005–2008), we find that greater individual‐level religiosity reduces the acceptability of wife‐beating. More importantly, cross‐level interactions show that these reductions are greatest in countries where there is a general lack of normative restraint as measured by the “anomie” scale. These observations suggest that religiosity may influence an individual's norms the most in countries where secular controls are absent or weak.     

Global poverty estimates based on 2011 purchasing power parity: where should the new poverty line be drawn?

This paper aims to present a new global poverty line based on the 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). To calculate a new global poverty threshold based on 2011 PPP, this paper moves away from the World Bank’s method of anchoring a single global poverty line on the national poverty lines of the 15 poorest countries. It instead proposes an alternative method of using equivalent poverty lines. Each country is shown to have a different equivalent poverty line. This paper finds that there is no single international poverty line in 2011 PPP that is equivalent to $1.25 in 2005 PPP. Single poverty lines vary for each region because countries have experienced different inflation rates and have different PPP conversion rates between 2005 and 2011. To calculate a single poverty line in 2011 PPP, this paper measures the weighted average of equivalent poverty lines of 101 countries around the globe with weights proportional to their populations. Based on the new method, the corresponding poverty line is estimated at $1.93 in 2011 PPP. The World Bank has officially adopted the poverty line of $1.90 in 2011 PPP. This paper demonstrates that our proposed poverty line performs better than the World Bank’s in terms of preserving the real purchasing power of the previous line of $1.25 in 2005 PPP. Given the new poverty threshold of $1.93, the number of poor worldwide is reduced by 6.42 million, with the reduction largely occurring in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.     

Overweight Korean Adolescents and Academic Achievement

The relationship between academic achievement and being overweight among South Korean high school students was examined. Data used in the regression were from the Korean Education and Employment Panel Survey. The theoretical framework that poor school performance increases the risk of adolescents’ being overweight, which, in turn, causes poor school performance, was supported. With no other direct or indirect association between weight and achievement, an overweight high school student’s poor performance in school was assumed to be a function of the psychosocial well-being variables and self-concern about weight. A simultaneous-equation regression model that endogenized the likelihood an individual is classified as overweight (a binary variable) and the performance of that individual on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) incorporates the unobserved psychosocial well-being correlated with both school grades and being overweight.

Measuring the impact of price changes on poverty

This paper develops a methodology to measure the impact of price changes on poverty measured by an entire class of additive separable poverty measures. This impact is captured by means of the price elasticity of poverty. The total effect of changes in price on poverty is explained in terms of two components, income and distribution effects. The income effect measures the change in poverty when all prices increase uniformly, whereas the distribution effect captures the change in poverty because of changes in relative prices. Using this decomposition, the paper derives an empirically operational index, which reveals whether the price changes have been pro-poor or anti-poor. The paper also derives a new price index for the poor. While this index can be computed for any poverty measures, our empirical analysis applied to Brazil is based on three poverty measures, the head-count ratio, the poverty gap ratio and the severity of poverty. The empirical analysis shows that price changes in Brazil during the 1999–2006 periods have been anti-poor. Nevertheless, during the last 2 to 3 years, the price changes have affected the poor less adversely than the non-poor.