The Differential Effects of the Minimum Drinking Age Law*

This research is based on a comparison of the effects of a 21-minimum-age drinking law. Using two self-report samples of college students, one from a state where the minimum drinking age is 21 (N= 249) and another from a state where the minimum drinking age is 18 (N= 330), drinking behavior patterns are compared in terms of frequency, quantity, and location of consumption. The data suggest that the 21-minimum-age drinking law deters drinking in controlled locations while having no significant deterring effect in uncontrolled locations. Implications of the findings are provided.     

Theoretical Comparisons of Forms of Exchange

A recent program comparing negotiated and reciprocal forms of social exchange offers important implications for theory development. Results of these investigations show that the form of exchange studied—negotiated or reciprocal—affects many of the processes and assumptions underlying contemporary theories of exchange. Three such effects are discussed here. First, the form of exchange affects the causal mechan– isms underlying power use and the relation between network structure and power. Second, whether exchange is negotiated or reciprocal affects the relative emphasis on learning or rational–choice models and the breadth of motivations assumed for "self–interested" actors, including reward maximization, loss avoidance, and reciprocity. Third, the form of exchange affects the salience of the cooperative and competitive "faces" of exchange, influencing actors' subjective xperiences with exchange. These results show the limitations of theories based on any single form of exchange and the need for greater understanding of the full range of exchange forms that characterize social life.     

Clinical and behavioral evaluation of pathological gambling in Barcelona,Spain

This paper assesses both the clinical characteristics and gambling behavior of 45 pathological gamblers (40 male, 5 female, average age 41) in a psychiatric hospital in Barcelona, Spain. These pathological gamblers tend to have other addictions and psychiatric disorders in addition to their pathological gambling. Suicidal ideation and attempts were one of the most frequent complications with these patients. Slot and fruit machines were found to be the most preferred form of gambling. Loans and crime were frequently used by the gambler to finance his or her gambling. Nevertheless, the gambler is rarely aggessive, and legal problems resulting from serious crimes are the exception. The profile presentes is similar to that found among pathological gamblers in other countries.     

Financial Management Practices of Couples with Great Marriages

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about financial management practices of 64 self-selected couples from throughout the United States who believe they have great marriages. Three themes emerged from the data. First, for most couples one of the partners handled the day-to-day finances and that required trust and communication. Second, these couples had little or no debt or had a goal of paying off debt. Third, couples lived within their means and were frugal. Other findings described these couples’ practices of having joint or separate accounts, how they dealt with financial challenges, and their view of other couples having financial challenges.     

Leniency Bias in Evaluating Clinical Social Work Student Interns

Leniency bias, or the tendency to evaluate individuals more favorably than is warranted, can prevent accurate evaluation and constructive supervision. This study tested leniency bias among field instructors of 90 clinical social work interns by comparing face-to-face and anonymous field instructors’ ratings of students’ knowledge, values, and skills. We also compared students’ own ratings to field instructors’ assessments. Results indicated little variance and consistently high ratings when field instructors evaluated face-to-face. There was greater variance and lower mean ratings when supervisors evaluated anonymously. Students’ self-assessments were the most critical and best matched the anonymous evaluations; whereas, the anonymous and face-to-face field instructor evaluations significantly differed on most items. These findings suggest the need for evaluation training for field instructors and the use of multiple assessment methods.     

Negotiating Interactions in State�CVoluntary Sector Relationships: Competitive and Collaborative Agency in an Experiential Workshop

This article examines an experiential student workshop focused on state?Cvoluntary sector relationships in the UK, which formed part of a postgraduate voluntary sector studies programme. The different group behaviours observed were instructive in illustrating how students, all working in third sector or related public agencies, perceive and have assimilated demands and practices of the external environment. These insights also highlight the value of experiential learning in higher education both for student reflection and research. The article adopts an interdisciplinary approach to examine some consequences of ideologies and behaviours associated with managerial culture permeating actions in this interactive setting. It combines critical discussion of non-profit organizations with group relations and learning theories, offering a different perspective through which to explore patterns embedded in inter-agency relationships. Consideration of ways that these patterns might be changed to improve the service environment in the voluntary sector has wider implications for research in this field.     

A calibrated imputation method for secondary data analysis of survey data

In practical survey sampling, missing data are unavoidable due to nonresponse, rejected observations by editing, disclosure control, or outlier suppression. We propose a calibrated imputation approach so that valid point and variance estimates of the population (or domain) totals can be computed by the secondary users using simple complete‐sample formulae. This is especially helpful for variance estimation, which generally require additional information and tools that are unavailable to the secondary users. Our approach is natural for continuous variables, where the estimation may be either based on reweighting or imputation, including possibly their outlier‐robust extensions. We also propose a multivariate procedure to accommodate the estimation of the covariance matrix between estimated population totals, which facilitates variance estimation of the ratios or differences among the estimated totals. We illustrate the proposed approach using simulation data in supplementary materials that are available online.     

The role of education in explaining and forecasting trends in functional limitations among older Americans*

Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we document the importance of education in accounting for declines in functional limitations among older Americans from 1984 to 1993. Of the eight demographic and socioeconomic variables considered, education is most important in accounting for recent trends. The relationship between educational attainment and functioning has not changed measurably, but educational attainment has increased greatly during this period. Our analysis suggests, all else being equal, that future changes in education will continue to contribute to improvements in functioning, although at a reduced rate.     

A portrait of the nest-leaving process in early adulthood

This paper provides an in-depth portrait of the nest-leaving process in early adulthood as it emerged in the 1980s. Event histories are used to describe transitions in and out of the parental home during the years from age 15 through age 23. We focus on the role of the “new” forms of living arrangements in the leaving-home process, namely nonfamily living and cohabitation. The results show that the transition to full residential independence is more gradual, with more intermediate steps, than previous studies suggested. Cohabitation is rare as a route out of the parental home, and both nonfamily living and cohabitation lead to much higher return rates than does marriage.