Gender Differences in Self-Regulation Patterns and Attitudes Toward Driving Among Older Adults

ABSTRACT

The automobile is essential for many older adults to fulfill their daily needs, especially since many live where they lack access to public transit or other acceptable modes of transportation. Increased self-regulation is one way older drivers continue to drive safely and maintain mobility. This research considers whether self-regulation attitudes and patterns differ by gender. Results indicate that women and men report distinct patterns of self-regulation behaviors. Age, health status, and household status also interact with gender, influencing the extent of self-regulation. The results also show that women report lower levels of confidence in their driving skills than men, although the difference varies based on whether or not a woman lives alone. Implications of these results are considered for an aging population—particularly women—that over the coming decades will be more reliant on the automobile for transportation than ever before.     

Crisis subjectivities: resilient,recuperable, and abject representations in the new hard times

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore a range of media representations that center on what we identify as crisis subjectivities. These are subjects presented as embodiments of economic and political crises, coming out of a context best described as the propagation of crisis as an ordinary, everyday occurrence. We trace the development of three main types of crisis subjectivities (resilient, recuperable, and abject) within this context, focusing on the ways in which these subjectivities are subsequently read back as the cause of broader structural crises, especially through their connection to discourses of postfeminism and the postracial. Formed through normative divisions of the population, i.e. racism, classism, and sexism, crisis subjectivities are also presented as disrupting normative temporality on multiple levels, interrupting narratives of progress, individual life trajectories, and the temporality of crisis itself. Within this context, normative discourses of time as linear, constant, and progressive are replaced by representations that emphasize time as discontinuous and disjunct, defined by unexpected accelerations, delays, and deferrals. Finally, we explore the way these crisis subjectivists and temporalities are articulated to discourses that suggest that the proper responses to crisis are individual resilience and self-management, while de-emphasizing structural analysis and collective action.     

Are Migrants Going Up a Blind Alley? Economic Migration and Life Satisfaction around the World: Cross-National Evidence from Europe, North America and Australia

Are migrants satisfied with their decision to move to another country? Research shows that the income-wellbeing relationship is weak in wealthy countries, usually countries of destination. Are then economic migrants mistaken? Employing data from the Gallup World Poll, a representative sample of the world population, we investigate whether a general pattern of association exists between income and the cognitive component of subjective wellbeing, and whether this pattern differs by immigration status in 16 high-income countries. In only a handful of countries do we find a distinctive immigrant advantage in translating income into higher life evaluation or life satisfaction: Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. For immigrants in most of these countries, income increases cognitive wellbeing even in the fifth income quintile. Depending on the measure used, immigrants in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy and the US only have positive income-wellbeing associations at or below the third quintile. We take this as evidence that, among recent arrivals, income is positively associated with wellbeing up to the point in which non-pecuniary factors associated with long-term residence become dominant. We also find a number of “frustrated achievers” among the foreign born in the US, France and Finland. These immigrants report a negative association, in absolute value, between income and life satisfaction or life evaluation.     

Negotiating Control: From Recognizing a Need to Making a Decision to Apply for a Housing Adaptation

ABSTRACT

A housing adaptation (HA) can enable independent living in one's own home, but deciding to change the home environment can be a thought-provoking matter. The aim of this study was to explore the applicant's perspective and decision-making process when applying for an HA grant. Seventeen persons were interviewed about their application for such a grant, and the data were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. The findings illustrated how the participants negotiated control in their everyday lives as they went from recognizing a need to then deciding to apply for an HA grant. Before coming to a decision, alternative solutions were considered and their expectations on the effect of having an HA were explored. This knowledge is useful for professionals and caregivers to help support people during the HA decision-making process.     

The College Student-Athlete: Psychological Considerations and Interventions

Abstract

This article reviews the literature dealing with problems brought by student-athletes to college counseling and mental health centers. Among the issues discussed are fear of success; identity conflict; social isolation; poor athletic performance; academic problems; and career or vocational concerns. In addition, the authors examine the paradox that although athletes experience as much or more psychological distress as non-athletes, research indicates that athletes use professional services less often than nonathletes. Finally, the authors review approaches to psychological intervention, including short-term psychotherapy, very brief interventions, cognitive behavioral therapy, and career/vocational counseling, and discuss special considerations for conducting therapy with athletes.     

Specificity of the Tuberculin Skin Test and the T-SPOT.TB Assay Among Students in a Low–Tuberculosis Incidence Setting

Abstract

Objective: Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) are an important tool for detecting latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Insufficient data exist about IGRA specificity in college health centers, most of which screen students for LTBI using the tuberculin skin test (TST). Participants: Students at a low–TB incidence college health center. Methods: TST and T-SPOT.TB were performed on prospectively recruited students. TB exposure risk was assessed using a questionnaire: Those at low risk were assumed to not have LTBI in order to calculate test specificity. Results: Of 184 students enrolled, 143 had results available for both TST and T-SPOT.TB. Agreement of the tests was 97% (kappa statistic 0.717; 95% confidence interval, 0.399–1.00). Among 124 low-risk students, specificity for TST and T-SPOT.TB were 98.4% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions: T-SPOT.TB specificity was high among low-risk students. Additional studies such as cost-effectiveness analyses using T-SPOT.TB as a single or confirmatory test to TST are needed to contribute to LTBI screening policy decisions.     

Toward a Sociology of “Security”

Security as a phenomenon has come to occupy increasing social energy and thus merits sociological attention. But the question of how to go about studying “security” is somewhat vexing, because the concept of “security” is both highly polysemous (Ranasinghe 2013) and one that can potentially be located within a wide spectrum of social sites, ranging from the feelings of individuals to the practices of states. I suggest that we must first clarify what we are talking about when we talk about “security.” Here, I present several ideas for fully articulating the concept.     

The Lichtenberg Financial Decision Screening Scale (LFDSS): A new tool for assessing financial decision making and preventing financial exploitation

ABSTRACT

One of the challenges in preventing the financial exploitation of older adults is that neither criminal justice nor noncriminal justice professionals are equipped to detect capacity deficits. Because decision-making capacity is a cornerstone assessment in cases of financial exploitation, effective instruments for measuring this capacity are essential. We introduce a new screening scale for financial decision making that can be administered to older adults. To explore the scale’s implementation and assess construct validity, we conducted a pilot study of 29 older adults seen by APS (Adult Protective Services) workers and 79 seen by other professionals. Case examples are included.     

Parental Divorce and College Students: The Impact of Family Unpredictability and Perceptions of Divorce

The impact of parental divorce, perceptions of divorce, and family unpredictability on the locus of control, interpersonal trust, and assertiveness of college students (n = 115) was studied. Roughly 27% of participants came from divorced homes; they did not differ significantly from participants from nondivorced homes on locus of control, trust, or assertiveness. However, negative perceptions of parental divorce were associated with a more external locus of control. Aspects of maternal unpredictability related to lower trust yet higher assertiveness. Participants with divorced parents reported more unpredictable finances and somewhat more unpredictable meals growing up. Implications for adjusting to divorce are discussed.     

Different Challenges,Different Well-Being: A Comparison of Psychological Well-Being Across Stepmothers and Biological Mothers and Across Four Categories of Stepmothers

Although previous research has indicated stepfamilies experience poorer mental well-being than biological families, it has focused primarily on stepfather-led families. In contrast, this study focuses on the well-being of stepmothers. It is also the first to compare well-being across all combinations of residential, nonresidential, simple, and complex stepfamilies and to measure anxiety and depression as indicators of stepmother well-being. Participants were 333 biological mothers and stepmothers. Among the results, in comparison to biological mothers, full complex and part simple stepmothers reported significantly higher mean levels of, respectively, depression and anxiety. Results also suggest that, for biological mothers but not for stepmothers, having a long-term partner might be a buffer against anxiety and depression.