Predicting Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Intentions of College-Aged Males: An Examination of Parents’ and Son's Perceptions

Abstract

Objective: To examine male students’ and their parents’ human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine communication in relation to males’ willingness to discuss the vaccine with their health care provider and the likelihood of being vaccinated. Participants: Dyads (n = 111) of students and parents. Methods: Participants completed a HPV vaccine survey based on the risk perception attitude framework in 2009. Results: Male students’ perceived susceptibility for HPV and self-efficacy to talk to their provider were directly related to their intention to discuss the HPV vaccine, and their intention was directly related to their likelihood of being vaccinated. Parents’ perceived self-efficacy to talk to their son and response efficacy of the vaccine were directly related to their intention to talk to their son; however, parents’ intention was not related to the likelihood of their son being vaccinated. Conclusions: College males may benefit from HPV vaccine educational programs that include communication skills training to discuss the HPV vaccine with their parents.     

Sample size determination for 2k-r experiments with a binomial response

This paper provides closed form expressions for the sample size for two-level factorial experiments when the response is the number of defectives. The sample sizes are obtained by approximating the two-sided test for no effect through tests for the mean of a normal distribution, and borrowing the classical sample size solution for that problem. The proposals are appraised relative to the exact sample sizes computed numerically, without appealing to any approximation to the binomial distribution, and the use of the sample size tables provided is illustrated through an example.     

Eastern Donors and Western Soft Law: Towards a DAC Donor Peer Review of China and India?

The international system is still governed by a normative framework designed mainly by OECD countries, especially with regard to soft‐law standards in the field of development co‐operation. However, the growing relevance of ‘Eastern donors’ is weakening its efficiency and raises the question of how compliance with these standards can be assured in a changing donor landscape. Despite efforts to integrate emerging countries into the traditional approach of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to monitoring compliance through peer reviews, the aid architecture of the future might turn out to be a synthesis of established and new approaches.     

Promoting social Europe? The development of European youth unemployment policies

Since the beginning of the millennium, the institutions of the European Union have intensified their political efforts to combat youth employment. Youth‐specific policy initiatives were launched after the financial and economic crisis of 2008, and the overall subsequent rise of unemployment rates among young people. In this article, we analyse and assess these developments on the basis of an analysis of European policy documents and interviews. Our conclusions are twofold. One, we argue that the Europe 2020 Strategy and its flagship initiatives devoted to youth do not constitute a new policy field or approach, but are rather the outcome of an incrementalist logic of policy development. Two, the European youth strategy is clearly committed to activation, and it pushes policy developments towards a minimalist policy approach of precarious protection. Both developments are explained by the actor constellations and path dependencies of the European policy arena.     

A Dyadic Approach to Understanding the Link Between Sexual Functioning and Sexual Satisfaction in Heterosexual Couples

Researchers have demonstrated that several dimensions of sexual functioning (e.g., sexual desire, arousal, orgasm) are associated with the sexual satisfaction of individuals in a committed mixed-sex (male–female) relationship. We extended this research by comparing a dyadic model that included both own (i.e., actor effect) and partner (i.e., partner effect) domains of sexual functioning to an individual model that included only actor effects. Participants were 124 mixed-sex couples who completed online measures of sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction. Data analysis using the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that the dyadic model had a better fit than the individual model. Women’s sexual desire and orgasm and men’s erectile functioning were significant positive predictors of both own and partner’s sexual satisfaction. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of taking a dyadic approach to research and clinical work related to sexual satisfaction.     

Older Women with Cardiovascular Disease: Perceptions of Initial Experiences and Long-Term Influences on Daily Life

ABSTRACT

In 2004, we conducted qualitative interviews with 29 White women diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD) living in Southwest Virginia, aged 69 to 92 years (M age = 79.2 years; SD = 6.8); time since diagnosis ranged from 1 to 50 years (M = 14.3; SD = 11.2). We explored the women's initial illness episode and the influence of CVD on their current daily functioning, family activities and relationships, and social engagement. The women were slow to seek help for CVD symptoms. Postrecovery, 62% of women perceived their heart disease as influencing change in their daily lives. The influence of CVD varied depending on how congruent behavior changes were with their sense of self.     

Income distribution in Italy: A nonparametric analysis

Using kernel density estimation, this paper describes the real income distribution and how it evolved over time in Italy. Data are cross-sectional samples from the population of Italian households during the period 1987–1998. A non parametric test is applied to asses whether the observed changes in the distribution are statistically significant, while the presence of more than one mode in the distributions is investigated by a bootstrap test. Empirical results show that the Italian income distribution significantly changed over time, accompanied by a decreasing inequality pattern until 1991 and a subsequent rise. No marked income gains were perceived, while the real “losers” of the decade seem to be households in the middle-upper income range. Supported by the MURST project 98-13-45. We would like to thank Nicholas Longford for his precious support and encouragement, two anonymous referees, the participants of the seminar at CEPS/INSTEAD in Luxembarg, and of the 40 ^th SIS Conference in Florence, for helpful comments and suggestions. The usual disclaimers apply.     

Quick estimation of tourist nights spent in Italy

ISTAT currently disseminates monthly provisional data on arrivals and nights spent in the Italian tourist establishments after 90 days from the end of the reference month, according to the EU Directive on Tourism Statistics. The aim of the paper is to compare some quick estimation methods able to improve timeliness and quality of provisional estimates. According to a super-population model, on the basis of available quick responses of provinces which tourist data are available within 45 days, some predictors are proposed in addition to that actually used. An empirical application has been carried out, using true monthly data on nights spent in Italy in 2002 and comparing predictors derived from balanced sampling theory and regression methods.