Older Adults’ Experiences of Sexual Difficulties: Qualitative Findings From the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA)

There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that sexual activity is important to the quality of life of older adults, and that it can be influenced by physical, psychological, and social factors. However, older adults’ experiences of sexual difficulties remain relatively unexplored. This article draws on qualitative data collected as part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Participants answered a Sexual Relationships and Activities Questionnaire (SRA-Q), which included an open comment box for further details, 1,084 (1/7) of which were completed. These data were analyzed using Template Analysis, and findings on the experiences of sexual difficulties are presented in this article. Sexual difficulties were contextualized within the couple relationship and could be detrimental to the relationship, particularly if the partner would not seek professional help. Participants reported that sexual difficulties could also have a negative impact on psychological well-being, described mainly as frustration, depression, and sadness. For some participants the supportive nature of their relationship buffered these impacts. Few had sought professional help; those who had reported helpful and unhelpful experiences. These findings add to the limited evidence base and have implications for health care in the context of global aging and a growing recognition of older adults’ sexual rights.     

Estimating school effectiveness with student growth percentile and gain score models

Measuring school effectiveness using student test scores is controversial and some methods used for this can be inaccurate in some situations. The validity of two statistical models – the Student Growth Percentile (SGP) model and a multilevel gain score model – are evaluated. The SGP model conditions on previous test scores thereby unblocking a backdoor path between true school/teacher effectiveness and student test scores. When the product of the coefficients that make up this unblocked backdoor path is positive, the SGP estimates can be inaccurate. The accuracy of the multilevel gain score model was not associated with the product of this backdoor path. The gain score model appears promising in these situations where the SGP and other covariate adjusted models perform poorly.     

Grillin’ with My Grandchild©: multigenerational programming for grandfathers and grandchildren

This article describes the Grillin’ with My Grandchild^© multigenerational relationship education program which is designed to encourage the enhancement and maintenance of a meaningful grandfather-grandchild relationship. During this multi-session program, grandfather and grandchild participants engage in several activities which include creating an electronic memory book as well as grilling and eating food together. They learn through facilitated discussion and by sharing personal experiences what it means to be a grandfather and a grandchild. Facilitated discussion about nutritional grilling practices and safe food grilling are implemented at each session. Grandfather-grandchild dyads interact with other familial dyads in their group and experience a sense of community and familiarity. Future research into the relational and psychological benefits of the program are suggested.     

Housing hardship and energy insecurity among native-born and immigrant low-income families with children in the United States

The costs for rent and utilities account for the largest share of living expenses, yet these two critical dimensions of material hardship have seldom been examined concurrently in population-based studies. This paper employs multivariate statistical analysis using American Community Survey data to demonstrate the relative risk ratio of low-income renter-occupied households with children experiencing ‘rent burden', ‘energy insecurity', or a ‘double burden’ as opposed to no burden. Findings suggest that low-income households are more likely to experience these economic hardships in general but that specific groups are disproportionately burdened in different ways. For instance, whereas immigrants are more likely to experience rental burden, they are less likely to experience energy insecurity and are also spared from the double burden. In contrast, native-born African Americans are more likely than all other groups to experience the double burden. These results may be driven by the housing stock available to certain groups due to racial residential segregation, decisions regarding the quality of housing low-income householders are able to afford, as well as home-country values, such as modest living and energy conservation practices, among immigrant families. This paper also points to important policy gaps in safety net benefits related to housing and energy targeting low-income households.     

Quantile Regression for Location‐Scale Time Series Models with Conditional Heteroscedasticity

This paper considers quantile regression for a wide class of time series models including autoregressive and moving average (ARMA) models with asymmetric generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity errors. The classical mean‐variance models are reinterpreted as conditional location‐scale models so that the quantile regression method can be naturally geared into the considered models. The consistency and asymptotic normality of the quantile regression estimator is established in location‐scale time series models under mild conditions. In the application of this result to ARMA‐generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity models, more primitive conditions are deduced to obtain the asymptotic properties. For illustration, a simulation study and a real data analysis are provided.     

A general approximation to quantiles

For many continuous distributions, a closed-form expression for their quantiles does not exist. Numerical approximations for their quantiles are developed on a distribution-by-distribution basis. This work develops a general approximation for quantiles using the Taylor expansion. Our method only requires that the distribution has a continuous probability density function and its derivatives can be derived to a certain order (usually 3 or 4). We demonstrate our unified approach by approximating the quantiles of the normal, exponential, and chi-square distributions. The approximation works well for these distributions.     

Life Satisfaction Judgments and Item-Order Effects Across Cultures

We conducted two studies to investigate the item-order effect on life satisfaction judgments. In Study 1, Japanese and American participants completed various life-domain satisfaction items either before or after completing general life satisfaction items. American respondents weighed the best life domains more strongly than Japanese respondents, in particular when they answered domain satisfaction items before making life satisfaction judgments. Overall, Japanese tended to weigh the worst life domains more heavily when making life satisfaction judgments than Americans. We hypothesized that the Japanese patterns of life satisfaction judgments come from the chronic attention to others’ perspective. To examine this hypothesis in Study 2, Japanese participants were exposed to either the “other are not watching” or the “other are watching” manipulation. As expected, when Japanese participants were led to believe that “others are not watching,” they judged their overall life satisfaction based more heavily on the best life domains (like Americans in Study 1).     

Curved versus straight scissors to avoid 3rd and 4th degree perineal tears: A randomised feasibility study

BackgroundSevere perineal tears sustained during childbirth cause significant distress and morbidity amongst women. The objective of this study was to compare the use of straight scissors for cutting an episiotomy with the use of curved scissors, which are designed to curve away from the anal sphincter.MethodsWe used a single-centre, randomised feasibility trial. The intervention was the use of curved scissors. Women were recruited during a prenatal visit and randomised in the delivery suite, when it became clear that an episiotomy was required. The feasibility outcomes were the proportion of women able to be recruited, randomised and followed up. We also calculated the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injury when either straight or curved scissors were used to cut an episiotomy. Other outcomes assessed were pain, length of hospital stay, perineal infection and perineal dehiscence.ResultsOf the 155 patients recruited in the prenatal period, only 20 (12.9%) were eventually randomised at birth. The main reasons for the high loss were that women either did not have a vaginal delivery (38, 24.5%), or they did not need an episiotomy (72, 46.5%). Rates of obstetric anal sphincter injury and other outcomes were similar between groups.DiscussionAnal sphincter injury during childbirth remains an important problem. Although the use of curved scissors provides a theoretical solution, we found that the high attrition rate made feasibility of conducting a suitably powered, randomised trial using the current design untenable. Alternative strategies have been suggested to make any future study more viable.