Decreased psychopathology & family burden. Associated with clozapine treatment of patients with refractory schizophrenia

1. Intensive multimodal treatment produces measurable gains in community functioning of people with schizophrenia and reduces family burden. 2. Families that were more involved with patients were more satisfied. 3. Money directed at intensive management and rehabilitation decreases hospitalization and increases community functioning of people with schizophrenia.     

Female‐Headed Families and Poverty in Rural America*

Abstract Employing data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 March supplements of the Current Population Surveys, this study examines changing household and family structure in metro and nonmetro areas and corresponding changes in poverty, emphasizing female‐headed families with children under age 18. We also pay particular attention to the structure and economic conditions of subfamilies with children during this period. Household and family structure in suburban metro and nonmetro areas were quite similar by 2000. In contrast, families and households in nonmetro and metro central city areas were similar in their high prevalence of poverty. Finally, the risk of female‐headed families and subfamilies with children living in poverty is highest for nonmetro residents, and their individual characteristics suppress rather than account for this disadvantage. This pattern persisted across the decades studied, despite economic growth during the 1990s.     

The Onset of Working Memory in Infants

We used an optimized configuration of the delayed‐response task to explore the ability of young infants to remember which of 2 locations was correct across 12 trials after a 1‐ to 2‐sec delay. Performance improved with age, particularly after 5.5 months. These findings suggest an onset of appreciable working memory for many infants in the middle of their 6th month.     

Young children's perception of nonverbally expressed “preference”: The effects of nonverbal cue,viewer age,and sex of actor

Eighty children, 4 and 6 years old, viewed color movies of other children looking at two identical boxes each containing different toys not visible on the film. Films were made in four nonverbal cue conditions: facial expression and head movement; facial expression, head, and upper body movement; head and upper body movement only; and head movement only. Viewers were asked to identify which box the child in the film preferred and to report the information they had used to decide. Six year olds and those viewing films with female actors were significantly more accurate in identifying the box actually preferred. Differential responding based on type of nonverbal cue was found among 6 year olds and among those viewing films with female actors. Actor looking time at the preferred box was found to relate to viewer judgment and to be reported as the decision strategy used among 6 year olds, but not among 4 year olds.This study is based on an M.A. thesis submitted by Karen L. Pendleton to the Department of Education and Child Development faculty, Bryn Mawr College. The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the directors, teachers, and students of the schools that participated in this research.     

Decision Making for Risk Management: A Comparison of Graphical Methods for Presenting Quantitative Uncertainty

Previous research has shown that people err when making decisions aided by probability information. Surprisingly, there has been little exploration into the accuracy of decisions made based on many commonly used probabilistic display methods. Two experiments examined the ability of a comprehensive set of such methods to effectively communicate critical information to a decision maker and influence confidence in decision making. The second experiment investigated the performance of these methods under time pressure, a situational factor known to exacerbate judgmental errors. Ten commonly used graphical display methods were randomly assigned to participants. Across eight scenarios in which a probabilistic outcome was described, participants were asked questions regarding graph interpretation (e.g., mean) and made behavioral choices (i.e., act; do not act) based on the provided information indicated that decision‐maker accuracy differed by graphical method; error bars and boxplots led to greatest mean estimation and behavioral choice accuracy whereas complementary cumulative probability distribution functions were associated with the highest probability estimation accuracy. Under time pressure, participant performance decreased when making behavioral choices.     

Professionals’ Perceptions of Food Insecurity Among Their Low-Income Clients

Abstract

This research examines the awareness of social service professionals of the food security of low-income families in a community-based savings program. Based on survey data of 65 community agencies in seven states that offer the Individual Development Account (IDA) program, the study investigates program providers’ awareness of the food security of IDA program participants. Second, this study presents IDA program provider activities to alleviate food insecurity and summarizes their opinions about how food insecurity could be prevented among their program families. Results show that providers were aware that families did not have enough of the kinds of food they want to eat. This perception was most strongly related to IDA programs with longer durations. Program families’ reports of their children’s food insecurity aligned well with the extent of food hardship reported by the program providers. Access to food and nutritional wellness services was considered most relevant for alleviating food insecurity. Financial security, access to community resources, and direct access to food and family support networks were considered important factors for protecting families from the threat of hunger. Research is needed to identify the role of community organizations that do not provide nutrition assistance for helping low-income families overcome food hardship.     

Sociology of Sport: an Overview

This review sketches some strengths and weaknesses in the subfield and its potential for generating and testing theoretical frameworks. The analysis includes research on sport from the following perspectives: interinstitutional relationships, social stratification, small groups, and social psychology. In recent years, the sociology of sport has become more sophisticated in terms of research questions posed, research design, quantitative analysis, and cross-cultural comparisons. As one dimension of leisure, sports represent a serious topic for scholarly research to round out our understanding of the human person as a social being.     

Residential Differences in Family Formation: The Significance of Cohabitation*

Abstract We update and extend prior research on residential differences in women's family formation experiences using data from the 1995 cycle of the National Survey of Family Growth. Residential differences in the timing of family formation behaviors are examined, including first birth, first cohabitation, and first marriage. Our study emphasizes the significance of cohabitation, estimating the effect of geographic residence on type of union formation (i.e., cohabitation versus marriage) and relationship context of first birth (i.e., cohabiting, married, or single). We find that (1) the timing of family formation behaviors, including marriage and childbearing, differs by residence; (2) nonmetro women are more likely to enter marriage and marry at younger ages than their metro counterparts; and (3) when marriage and cohabitation are presented as competing risks, nonmetro women are more likely to marry than cohabit both as a first union and a first birth context.