Evaluation of a tobacco prevention program on knowledge, attitudes, intention and behavior of tobacco use among fourth grade students--a preliminary study

This was a preliminary study to evaluate the effectiveness of a tobacco prevention program on knowledge, attitude, intention, and behavior of tobacco use among fourth-grade students in four north central Florida counties. The results suggest that the program was effective in improving students' knowledge, attitudes, and intention toward not using tobacco products. Data analysis showed that students in the education group had a greater improvement in knowledge than the comparison group. Students in the education group also improved their attitude and intention scores while the comparison group did not show any improvement. The results also indicated positive responses from the students. In addition, teachers also gave a very positive response to the program.     

Beyond enmeshment: evidence for the independence of intrusiveness and closeness-caregiving in married couples

In a 1996 article on family theory, we (Green & Werner) proposed that family enmeshment should not be equated with high cohesion and that the construct of enmeshment fails to discriminate between two distinct relationship processes: Closeness-caregiving and intrusiveness. In this study, our model of these two independent dimensions of family connectedness was tested by assessing spouses from 264 couples, using the California Inventory for Family Assessment (CIFA). The CIFA scales showed acceptable reliability. Significant interspouse validity correlations also were obtained. As predicted by our theory, factor analyses distinguished dimensions of intrusiveness (blurring of boundaries) from dimensions of closeness-caregiving (such as warmth and nurturance). On all but two factors, behaviors of only one spouse (but not of both) had interpretable loadings. That is, in most areas, the two spouses' behaviors did not load together to form meaningful factors. The latter finding suggests that family systems theory--with its central notion of reciprocally contingent behaviors between family members--may be useful in understanding only a few dimensions of spouses' behavior (such as reciprocal aggression) whereas personality-in-context theories may be better for understanding most other dimensions (such as warmth and nurturance).     

Attitudinal acceptance of intimate partner violence among U.S. adults

Attitudinal acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important correlate of violent behavior. This study examined acceptance of IPV using data collected from a nationally representative telephone survey of 5,238 adults. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to violence, question order, and acceptance of hitting a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend under specific circumstances. Depending on the circumstance examined, acceptance of IPV was significantly higher among participants who were male and younger than 35; were non-White; were divorced, separated, or had never married; had not completed high school; had a low household income; or were victims of violence within the past 12 months. Participants were more accepting of women hitting men; they also were consistently more likely to report tolerance of IPV if they were asked first about women hitting men rather than men hitting women. Reports of IPV tolerance need to be interpreted within the context of the survey. Efforts to change IPV attitudes can be tailored to specific IPV circumstances and subgroups, and these efforts should emphasize that the use of physical violence is unacceptable to both genders.     

Distribution and utilization of home- and community-based long-term care services for the elderly in North Carolina

Provision of home- and community-based long-term care is a growing concern at the national, state, and local levels. As more persons grow old, the need for these services is expected to rise. This analysis examines the distribution and utilization of three home- and community-based long-term care programs in North Carolina for each of the state's 100 counties. Maps were generated to examine how counties differed in respect to service utilization among the elderly. Great variability was found in number of elderly utilizing the services across the state as well as the percent of Medicaid- and/or age-eligible persons who utilized the programs. Multivariate modeling for associations to service utilization was only possible for one of the long-term care programs. Results indicated that living alone, being non-white, and having a mobility and self-care limitation were all positively related to utilization. Percent of persons 85 years or older and the ratio of institutionalized long-term care beds were negatively associated with utilization. It was concluded that states must engage in concerted efforts to ensure equity in access to home- and community-based long-term care.     

Juvenile male sexual offenders: the quality of motivation system of assessment and treatment issues

A group of juvenile male sexual offenders (n=100) completed the Quality of Motivation Questionnaire (QMQ) upon entry into a residential treatment facility. The concepts of Quality of Motivation (QM) Theory are presented to explain the QMQ scores. The scores include Disclosure Level, Sources of Motivation, Life Style Characteristics and Power. The results indicate abnormal motivation scores in the area of Disclosure Resistance, Depression, Primary and Learned Sources of Motivation, and all of the Maladaptive Skills Scores. Recommendations of treatment issues for therapists are prioritized according to QM Theory and presented in a treatment plan format called the Personal Development Plan (PDP). Implications for further research with the QMQ include outcome measurement of changes and comparison with non-offender groups.     

Meta-analysis of MFT interventions

This article briefly reviews 20 meta-analyses of marital and family interventions. These meta-analyses support the efficacy of both MFT for distressed couples, and martial and family enrichment. Those effects are slightly reduced at follow-up, but still significant. Differences among kinds of marital and family interventions tend to be small. MFT produce clinically significant results in 40-50% of those treated, but the effects of MFT in clinically representative settings have not been much studied. The article also introduces the concept of meta-analytically supported treatments (MASTs), which are treatments that meet certain criteria for efficacy in meta-analysis, and which remedy certain problems in the empirically supported treatment (EST) literature. The article concludes with recommendations for doing better meta-analyses.     

The role of inferential accuracy in performance rating

The presence of shared implicit theories of performance is used in explaining the failure of behavioral anchors to improve performance ratings. It is proposed that efforts to improve rating accuracy also will be hampered by a preoccupation with observation. Instead, attention needs to be focused on the inferential accuracy of the rater and the cognitive processes and implicit theories upon which raters rely.     

Whatever happened to environmental analysis?

This article discusses a longitudinal study of firms selected for their expertise in environmental analysis. It is primarily designed to test two general propositions. The first, that environmental analysis is increasing in importance over time— both within and between firms; and the second, that environmental analysis is most viable as a separate, freestanding function within the organization.