Public transit wage rates: Pre-Reagan and Reagan-Bush eras

This paper examines the earnings of public transit bus drivers for both the pre-Reagan and Reagan-Bush eras using Current Population Survey data. The findings show that union drivers were consistently paid a significant wage premium over nonunion drivers, a premium which also exceeded that for unionized private nontransport operatives — suggesting that special institutional features of the public transit industry have collectively conferred market power on unionized public transit workers. During the Reagan years, the earnings of public transit drivers, union and nonunion alike, rose relative to those of private and public nontransport operatives in spite of federally-spearheaded cost containment policies. In 1990, these earnings fell relative to those of private and public nontransport operatives, suggesting that the effects of these policies may be beginning to be felt. Helpful comments were provided by Don Bellante and an anonymous referee     

Unmet service needs of families of young children with chronic illnesses and disabilities

Data about health and educational services were collected from 187 families with young children (under two years) who have chronic illnesses and disabilities. The purpose was to assess parents' satisfaction with services their families received and to identify families' unmet service needs as well as the reasons for these unmet needs. Although families' ratings of the adequacy of services are relatively high, 28% of the families report unmet service needs. The unmet needs most often reported are occupational, physical, or speech therapy; respite care/child care; and special education. Lack of funding is the most commonly given reason for unmet needs. Children with multiple impairments are at highest risk for unmet needs. Only 22% of unmet needs reported at the initial interview have been met by the time of the six-month follow-up. Increased coordination and monitoring of services across service sectors are indicated. Her research interests include the effects of disability on family identity and families' responses to minority stress. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She gratefully acknowledges Shelley Blazis and Nadav Casuto for statistical consulting. Her research interests focus on the impact of chronic illness and disability on families. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include families and health and chronic illness and disability in children. She received her Ph.D. in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. His areas of interest include neurodevelopmental outcomes of low birth weight infants and training in developmental pediatrics. He was graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School. His areas of interest include adolescents with chronic illness and disabilities, adolescent sexual decision making, and international adolescent health care issues. He was graduated from Howard University College of Medicine was awarded his earned doctorate in Health Policy from the University of Minnesota. Preparation of this article was supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grant #H133890012.     

Young people's views on being looked after in out-of-home-care under The Children Act 1989

This paper describes a project to inform and to elicit the views on The Children Act 1989 of forty five young people who were currently being looked after by English local authorities in out-of-home-care. The full findings are reported elsewhere (Buchanan, Wheal, Walder, Macdonald, & Coker, 1993).One of the key principles of The Children Act 1989 was that children and young people should, in the light of their age and understanding, be consulted and participate in decisions affecting their lives, provided that this approach did not jeopardise their welfare. Throughout 1991 the Department of Health in London orchestrated an impressive training initiative to ensure that all those who had a role in implementing the Act were aware of the principles that informed the legislation. Leaflets were also prepared for young people who were being looked after in foster or residential care. During this period I asked a young man in a local authority residential establishment, what he knew about the new law. “No one tells me anything”, he replied. This was worrying because without the necessary information, such young people would poorly equipped if they wished to participate in decisions affecting their lives, and more seriously they would be poorly protected should they have reason to complain about their care. During the late 1980's and early 1990's there had been a number of concerns about the welfare of young people living in residential settings. These had resulted in a spate of enquiries, (Levy & Kahan, 1991), (Williams & Macreadie, 1992), and a number of reports (e.g. Utting, 1991; Warner, 1992).     

An evaluation of the fidelity of implementation of a school-based drug abuse prevention program: project toward no drug abuse (TND)

This article provides an implementation fidelity evaluation of the fourth experimental trial of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND). Two theoretical content components of the curriculum were examined to increase our understanding of the active ingredients of successful drug abuse prevention programs. A total of 18 senior high schools were randomly assigned by block to receive one of three conditions: cognitive perception information curriculum, cognitive perception information + behavioral skills curriculum, or standard care (control). These curricula were delivered to both regular and continuation high schools students (n=2331) by trained project health educators and regular classroom teachers. Across all program schools, the two different curricula were implemented as intended, were received favorably by students, and showed significant improvements in knowledge specific to the theoretical content being delivered. This pattern of results suggests that the experimental manipulations worked as intended, and thus, permit the attribution of future behavioral outcome differences between conditions to differences in content of Project TND material provided rather than to differences in the fidelity of delivery. Further, our findings indicate that Project TND can be implemented effectively with low and high risk youth in a general environment as well as with high risk youth in a more specialized environment.     

Environmental Effects on Family Size Preferences and Subsequent Reproductive Behavior in Nepal

This study investigates the relationship between environmental degradation and men and womens family size preferences and subsequent reproductive behaviors in Nepal. We draw on unique environmental data at the local level, household and individual-level survey data and individuals reproductive behavior over a 3 year time period in Western Chitwan Valley, Nepal. Results from Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and logistic regression models show that poorer environmental quality and greater reliance on publicly owned natural resources are associated with higher family size preferences and higher rates of pregnancy. The analyses provide support for the vicious circle argument that environmental degradation can lead to rising population growth via positive effects on fertility. As environmental conditions decline and when households rely on public lands for natural resources, men and women desire larger family sizes and women are more likely to get pregnant in the near future.     

Assimilation effects on poverty among immigrants in Norway

This paper discusses the question of whether or not the high incidence of poverty among immigrants in Norway persists even after immigrants have been in the country for a long period, i.e. after they have had the opportunity to integrate and adapt their skills to the expectations in their new home. While similar to traditional studies of wage assimilation, a study of assimilation in relation to poverty propensity nevertheless measures something different than labor market assimilation, and this represents the main innovation of this study. Analysis of assimilation with respect to poverty focuses on welfare for the lower end of the income distribution and for all individuals, regardless of their relationship with the labor market. It can therefore be seen to better reflect the degree to which immigrants as a whole are able to achieve at least the minimum necessary to participate in the life of their new home and avoid difficulties later on.

THE LAWYER-THERAPIST CONSULTATION TEAM*

This paper discusses a six-month pilot study done at The Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy. Joint consultations with a Family Therapist and a Matrimonial Attorney were offered to ten couples and one woman contemplating divorce. Sessions were videotaped. A project addendum was done with telephone interviews. The authors were interested in determining whether joint consultations would be useful to help couples understand the psychological and legal implications of conflicts expressed during the separation process.     

Mexican American Fathers' Occupational Conditions: Links to Family Members' Psychological Adjustment

To examine the implications of fathers' occupational conditions (i.e., income, work hours, shift work, pressure, workplace racism, and underemployment) for family members' psychological adjustment, home interviews were conducted with fathers, mothers, and two adolescent offspring in each of 218 Mexican American families. Results underscored the importance of acculturation as a moderator. Fathers' income was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in highly acculturated families but not in less acculturated families. In contrast, fathers' reports of workplace racism were positively associated with depressive symptoms in less acculturated families but not in more acculturated family contexts. These findings were consistent across all 4 family members, suggesting that the "long arm" of the jobs held by Mexican American fathers extends to mothers and adolescent offspring.