A note about calibrated prediction regions and distributions

In this work we address the problem of the construction of prediction regions and distribution functions, with particular regard to the multidimensional setting. Firstly, we define a simple procedure for calculating the predictive distribution function which gives improved prediction limits. Secondly, with a multivariate generalization of a result presented in Ueki and Fueda (2007), we propose a method for correcting estimative prediction regions, to reduce their coverage error to the third-order accuracy. The improved prediction regions and the associated distribution functions are easy to calculate using a suitable bootstrap procedure. Examples of application are included, showing the good performance of the proposed method, even if we consider an approximated model for prediction purposes.     

‘Coming Out Tales’: Adult Sons and Daughters' Feelings About Their Gay Father's Sexual Identity

Coming out to their children is a dilemma that concerns many gay, bisexual, and lesbian parents with children from previous heterosexual relationships. How children found out about having a father who identified himself as gay, and their feelings about their father's sexual identity, were explored through qualitative analysis of semi‐structured interviews with 36 sons and daughters (aged 19 to 36 years) whose gay fathers participated in the Gay & Bisexual Parenting Survey (Barrett and Tasker, 2001). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed that awareness of their father's sexual identity was often left unspoken for various reasons, and that acceptance came about through gradual understanding as well as direct discussion. Interview data indicated the complexity of the relationship between the young adult's personal acceptance of their father's gay identity and their consideration of social context when deciding how open to be to others about their father's sexual identity. This research has varied implications for therapeutic work with gay and bisexual fathers coming out to their children from previous heterosexual relationships.     

Readiness for independent living of youth in residential childcare: A comparative study

Transition to adulthood is an accelerated and early process for care leavers that requires intensive preparation, training and support from child welfare services. This study aimed to explore the perceived readiness for independent living of a group of care-experienced young people preparing for leaving care in Spain and to compare it with the perceptions of their peers from the general population. A sample of 508 youth (50% women) aged 14–21 (M = 16.67; SD = 1.72) took part, of whom 279 were care experienced and 229 belonged to the general population in Spain. Participants' independent living skills, personal autonomy, self-efficacy and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed through an online survey using standardized instruments. Care-experienced young people displayed higher levels of life skills and autonomy in self-care, daily living at home and employment domains, but not related to making daily arrangements in their community. However, their educational level and self-efficacy levels were lower than in the comparison group. Work experience stood out as a significant predictor of care-experienced young people's life skills level. These findings support the importance of assessing life skills as an outcome of leaving care preparation services and providing care-experienced young people with real-life experiences to develop their life skills.     

Comparison of alternative imputation methods for ordinal data

In this article, we compare alternative missing imputation methods in the presence of ordinal data, in the framework of CUB (Combination of Uniform and (shifted) Binomial random variable) models. Various imputation methods are considered, as are univariate and multivariate approaches. The first step consists of running a simulation study designed by varying the parameters of the CUB model, to consider and compare CUB models as well as other methods of missing imputation. We use real datasets on which to base the comparison between our approach and some general methods of missing imputation for various missing data mechanisms.     

Association between dietary phytoestrogens intakes and prostate cancer risk in Sicily

Objective: In this study we aimed to investigate the association between dietary phytoestrogen consumption and prostate cancer in a sample of southern Italian individuals.

Methods: A population-based case-control study on the association between prostate cancer and dietary factors was conducted from January 2015 to December 2016 in a single institution of the municipality of Catania, southern Italy (Registration number: 41/2015). A total of 118 histopathological-verified prostate cancer (PCa) cases and a total of 222 controls were collected. Dietary data was collected by using two food frequency questionnaires.

Results: Patients with PCa consumed significantly higher levels of phytoestrogens. Multivariate logistic regression showed that lignans (Q[quartile]4 vs. Q1, OR [odds ratio]?=?4.72; p?p?p?p?p?p?p?Conclusion: We found of an inverse association between dietary isoflavone intake and PCa, while a positive association was found with lignans intake.     

Determinants of Well-being Among Legal and Illegal Immigrants: Evidence from South Italy

The pursuit of happiness and life satisfaction mobilises individuals to create a dynamic, unique, everyday reality for themselves. The literature has placed particular emphasis on the study of immigrants on the basis that migration is triggered by discrepancies between prior expectations and realisations post-migration. However, the relationship between happiness and illegal migration has received little attention. This study contributes to the current literature by analysing a sample of both illegal and legal immigrants to test the established socio-economic drivers of well-being for each group. Additionally, for the first time, the subjective well-being (SWB) of the respondents is measured in a continuous scale utilising the Visual Analogue Scale technique. Our findings demonstrate that illegal immigrants not only experience greater increases in SWB, but they also report higher levels. Finally, the income effect is positively correlated (although weak) with SWB for illegal immigrants only and family size is positively correlated with greater levels of SWB for their legal counterparts.     

Placentophagy’s effects on mood,bonding, and fatigue: A pilot trial,part 2

Background

Human maternal placentophagy is gaining popularity among a growing number of women who believe it provides maternal benefits, including prevention of postpartum blues/depression, improved maternal bonding, and reduced fatigue.

Group Interventions for Children Having Separated Parents: A Systematic Narrative Review

The aims of this article are to review the current body of knowledge on group interventions for children with separated or divorced parents and to provide new insights into the evaluation of their efficacy. This review draws on a method of systematic narrative review (SNR). We provide a narrative synthesis of evidence from 29 studies conducted between 1980 and 2014, which were included in the SNR consistently with the inclusion criteria established. Three dimensions were considered: intervention characteristics, study characteristics, and intervention outcomes (i.e., types of outcomes and efficacy). Our findings showed a general inconsistency among the studies, which was discussed in the light of some important methodological issues.     

On vicarious ostracism. Examining the mediators of observers’ reactions towards the target and the sources of ostracism

Ostracism is a painful experience, to the point that even observing ostracism hurts. We extend research on vicarious ostracism by investigating how observers subsequently behave and whether this is driven by intrapersonal feelings (need satisfaction) and/or interpersonal impressions. Sixty-six participants observed either ostracism or inclusion in Cyberball. They reported their global impression of sources and of targets, their own need satisfaction, and how they wanted to allocate money towards sources and targets. Observing ostracism increased money donations to targets (and decreased donation to sources), which was mediated by both lowered need satisfaction and negative impressions towards the sources, with stronger effect emerging for the latter mediator. These findings advance knowledge about the mechanisms underlying interpersonal behavior after vicarious ostracism.