Staff & client perceptions of unit quality: a pilot study

This pilot study compared psychiatric health care team members' perceptions of unit quality with discharged clients' perceptions of quality of care received on the unit. The staff members were from four different service units in one acute care psychiatric facility. The study used the Perceptions of Unit Quality (PUQ) scale, a valid and reliable outcome measurement instrument, developed by Cronenwett. Most quality assurance instruments that exist have focused on individual caregivers' or service-specific views of quality, but the PUQ scale allows quality assurance data that represent team performance to be described through team perceptions of quality. Results of this pilot study suggest that use of the PUQ scale, in conjunction with clients' perceptions of unit quality, may be a legitimate approach in continuous quality improvement efforts in psychiatric-mental health care centers.     

Blurring the lines for learning: the role of out-of-school programs as complements to formal learning

As debates continue over the effectiveness of after-school programs, we need to create stronger links between schools and out-of-school activities. Where do such connections begin? How can we integrate skill-building and academic competence into the out-of-school-time context?     

Financial Penalties Under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program: Policy Discourse and Strategies for Reform

Many families did not leave welfare of their own accord but instead were forced off, sanctioned, for failure to conform to new, strict requirements (Bloom & Winstead, 2002). Studies of leavers indicate that many of these leavers are among the families that do not receive needed health insurance, food stamps, and child care assistance for which they remain eligible (Loprest, 2001; Zedlewski & Gruber, 2001). Sanctioned families are less likely to do well after leaving welfare compared to other leavers (Goldberg & Schott, 2000). As part of TANF reauthorization, Congress should prohibit states from sanctioning if they have not met certain requirements: conducted an assessment, made accommodations for people with physical/mental impairments or other barriers, and instituted strong pre-sanction and post-sanction procedures.     

Racial identity, racial discrimination, perceived stress, and psychological distress among African American young adults

This study examines the direct and indirect relationships among racial identity, racial discrimination, perceived stress, and psychological distress in a sample of 555 African American young adults. A prospective study design was used to assess the influence of two dimensions of racial identity attitudes (i.e., centrality and public regard) on other study variables to investigate the relationship between racial identity attitudes and psychological distress. The results show some evidence of a direct relationship between racial centrality and psychological distress, as well as evidence of indirect relationships for both centrality and public regard through the impact of racial discrimination and perceived stress. In addition, racial centrality was both a risk factor for experiencing discrimination and a protective factor in buffering the negative impact of discrimination on psychological distress. Results are discussed within the context of identifying multiple pathways to psychological well-being for African American young adults within the context of racial discrimination.     

Effectiveness of couples treatment for spouse abuse

Despite its controversy, carefully conceptualized and delivered couples treatment appears to be at least as effective as traditional treatment for domestic violence, and preliminary data suggests that it does not place women at greater risk for injury. However, the body of research on which these conclusions rest is sparse. Only six experimental studies have been done, each using different eligibility criteria, outcome measures, and treatment approaches. Thus, further study of this modality is warranted. Marriage and family therapists have an important part to play in continuing to develop and test innovative ways of helping couples end violence and improve their relationships--an endeavor that promises to improve the quality of the partners' lives as well as those of their children.     

Childhood behavioral and emotional disorders

We reviewed the literature on family treatment for childhood behavioral and emotional disorders and found an increase in the number of studies since 1995; however there was significant variation by disorder and therapy model. There is substantially more research on externalizing disorders (i.e., conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder) then internalizing disorders, depression and anxiety disorders. The data support the conclusion that family-based interventions produce results comparable to individually oriented interventions, and in some cases family-based interventions are superior to individual treatments. To date, cognitive behavioral family therapy and parent management have been the two models studied, almost exclusively. Implications for family therapy and future research are considered.     

Huntington's disease

In this case study, we describe the symptoms, neurological exam, neuropsychological test results, and brain pathology of a man who died with Huntington's disease (HD). HD is a rare neurodegenerative disease. Like other movement disorders involving the basal ganglia, HD affects motor, cognitive, and psychiatric functioning. The disease follows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, with onset of symptoms most commonly occurring in the late 30s or early 40s, as in this patient. HD is caused by an unstable expansion of the trinucleotide CAG, coding for glutamine, on chromosome 4. Despite knowledge of the gene mutation responsible for HD, no definitive treatment is currently available to slow or halt progression of the disease. However, symptomatic treatment can significantly improve the quality of life for patients with HD.     

Colored Property: State Policy and White Racial Politics in Suburban America

Norman Cohn, Europe's Inner Demons (1975), xiv+302 (Chatto‐Heinemann for Sussex University Press, £4.50).

Eugene Kamenka and R. S. Neale (eds), Feudalism, Capitalism and Beyond (1975), viii+147 (Edward Arnold, £3.95, paperback £1.95).

David G. Hey, An English Rural Community: Myddle under the Tudors and Stuarts (1974), 260 (Leicester University Press, £5.80).

Enid Gauldie, Cruel Habitations: A History of Working‐Class Housing 1780–1918 (1974), 363 (Allen &; Unwin, £5.75, paperback £3.00).

Lee Holcombe, Victorian Ladies at Work; Middle‐Class Working Women in England and Wales, 1850 to 1914 (1974), x+253 (David and Charles, Newton Abbot, £4.95).

Bo Öhngren, Folk i rörelse. Samhällsutveckling, flyttningsmönster och folkrörelser i Eskilstuna 1870–1900 (1974), 414+26 pp. English summary (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Studia Historica Upsaliensia No. 55, Uppsala). (People on the Move. Social development, migration patterns and popular movements in Eskilstuna 1870–1900)

Michelle Perrot, Les Ouvriers en Grève: France 1871–1890 ( 1974), 2 volumes, 900 (Mouton: Paris and The Hague, Dfl 149). (Workers on Strike: France 1871–1890)

J. E. Knodel, The Decline of Fertility in Germany, 1871–1939 (1974), xix+306 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., £7.60).

Kenneth D. Brown (ed.), Essays in Anti‐Labour History: responses to the rise of Labour in Britain (1974), viii+409 (Macmillan, £10.00).

Bob Jessop, Traditionalism, Conservatism and British Political Culture (1974), 287 (George Allen and Unwin, £4.65).     

Has Family Policy Come of Age? A Decade Review of the State of U.S. Family Policy in the 1990s

Family policy has come of age in the 1990s, yet it has not achieved a status commensurate with that of economic or environmental policy. Because family policy has been difficult to define, this review proposes an explicit definition of the term family policy and a companion implicit term, a family perspective in policy making It updates the rationale for family policy, arguing that family commitment at its core is particularly consequential in an individualistic market economy with a small social safety net. It chronicles recent developments including philanthropic commitments, state and federal policy initiatives, and the use of research to inform family policy making. Selected family policy issues including family and work conflict, long-term care, family poverty, and marriage, are overviewed. The paper concludes with developments during the decade in theory, methods, and dissemination that hold the potential for capitalizing on the current popularity of families as a theme in policy making.