Multiproblem families: A social-psychological perspective

Summary It is generally conceded that our allied mental health professions have fallen short in our attempts to provide adequate services to those people whose need is most desperate, those individuals and families ambiguously and condescendingly designated multiproblem. It could be said that we, the caregivers, have been unwilling or unable to be good enough mothers to these, our motherless children. In fact, the early, formative experience of the people with whom we are concerned has invariably been marked by gross discontinuities in mothering; the consequent defects in controlling, regulatory psychic structure (ego defects) are most prominently manifested in the chaotic life-style which characterizes these individuals and families. Our task as caregivers, when viewed from this perspective, is clear: we must somehow bring order out of disorder. But, with tragic regularity, disorder prevails; the provider of service succumbs to the same painful feelings of disorganization, bewilderment, frustration, and helplessness with which his client struggles, and, eventually, both give up in despair. What is more, this sense of fragmentation and futility pervades the institutions responsible for provision of services. Client, caregiver, and institution, all are trapped in the same tortuous maze. How, then, are we to extricate ourselves? Certainly not by drafting yet another master plan which promises everything and delivers nothing. Both realistic and humanistic considerations dictate more modest goals: We might not be able to rescue everyone who needs assistance, but we can help a few. And, whatever approach we may adopt, the service we offer can only be effective if it is based upon a sustained and sustaining (in essence, maternal) relationship.Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child     

The Determinants of Trust and Credibility in Environmental Risk Communication: An Empirical Study

This study examines a key component of environmental risk communication; trust and credibility. The study was conducted in two parts. In the first part, six hypotheses regarding the perceptions and determinants of trust and credibility were tested against survey data. The hypotheses were supported by the data. The most important hypothesis was that perceptions of trust and credibility are dependent on three factors: perceptions of knowledge and expertise; perceptions of openness and honesty; and perceptions of concern and care. In the second part, models were constructed with perceptions of trust and credibility as the dependent variable. The goal was to examine the data for findings with direct policy implications. One such finding was that defying a negative stereotype is key to improving perceptions of trust and credibility.     

Understanding changes in Māori incomes and income inequality 1997–2003

This paper examines recent changes in weekly income levels and dispersion for Māori, New Zealand’s indigenous ethnic group. Changes in the Māori income distribution between 1997 and 2003 reflect rapid increases in economic growth and employment rate. A reduced proportion of people had zero or benefit-level incomes and a higher proportion had high incomes. Income inequality declined for working-aged Māori and was stable for employed Māori. The average income gap between Māori and Europeans declined. The increased Māori employment rate during this period was the single most important driver of changes in the Māori income distribution.

Changes in HIV/AIDS knowledge and testing behavior in Africa: how much and for whom?

Demographic and Health Survey data from nine African countries make it clear that HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge has been increasing. Still, in many cases, fewer than half of adult respondents can identify specific prevention behaviors. Knowledge is lowest in rural areas and among women. HIV testing generally remains rare but is highly variable across countries, likely reflecting differences in the supply of testing services. In most cases, schooling and wealth impacts on prevention knowledge have either been stable or have increased; hence, in the majority of contexts, initial disparities in knowledge by education and wealth levels have persisted or widened.

Estimating chance reproducibility in Guttman Scaling

A definition of reproducibility in Guttman Scaling and two chance measures of reproducibility are suggested. The first measure assumes that the items are independent. The second method assumes nonindependent items and fits respondent and item margins by an iterative method used in fitting log-linear models. Chance reproducibility is conceptualized in terms of assumptions about respondent variability.     

Family size and children’s education in Vietnam

Data from the nationally representative 1994 Inter-Censal Demographic Survey are used to examine the association between family size and children s schooling in Vietnam. The data provide information on several education measures for all children over age 10, including children no longer residing in the household. Although a clear inverse bivariate association between family size and children s school attendance and educational attainment is evident, multivariate analysis controlling for urban/rural residence, region, parents’ education, household wealth, and child’s age, reveals that much of this association, especially that predicting educational attainment, is attributable to these other influences. Moreover, much of the effect that remains after statistical adjustment for the other influences is seen mainly at the largest family sizes. We consider the implications of these findings for current population policy in Vietnam and the possible features of the Vietnamese context that might account for the modest association.     

Making Sense of the Census: Why Sampling Might Not Be so Simple

Population and Environment -