Estimating duration distribution aided by auxiliary longitudinal measures in presence of missing time origin

Lifetime Data Analysis - Understanding the distribution of an event duration time is essential in many studies. The exact time to the event is often unavailable, and thus so is the full event...     

Young care leavers' expectations of their future: A question of time horizon

This paper investigates young care leavers' expectations of their future after discharge from care. The results are based on qualitative longitudinal data where 16‐ to 21‐year‐old care leavers (n = 15) were interviewed twice, first when still in care but planning for their discharge (T1) and the second time 6–9 months later (T2). The analysis using a general inductive approach showed that their expectations were dependent on the time horizon and that there was an obvious difference between the young informants' short‐ and long‐term expectations. Their short‐term expectations consisted of worries connected to their approaching discharge (at T1) and how to cope with challenges of everyday life after discharge from care (at T2). These results seem to echo negative outcomes shown in previous quantitative research. However, the informants' long‐term expectations provide a different picture, being mainly positive in both interviews (T1 and T2). The results are discussed from a life course perspective, where the informants' visions of their future are framed and understood in terms of the different stages of their transition process.     

Financial strain over the life course and health among older adults

This paper focuses on financial strain across the life course as a condition underlying health inequalities observed in later life. The analysis is based on data from 1167 adults 65 years and older collected as part of the 'Aging, Stress and Health Study". Relying on retrospective data about hardship experienced over the life course, we find that long-term financial hardship is reflected in a range of health outcomes at late life, even after controlling for the effects of current financial circumstances. Moreover, the sheer persistence of hardship matters more than its episodic occurrence or timing, so that the health effects of early hardship may be obviated if followed by no further hardship. This pattern offindings is consistent with the notion of allostatic load, the cumulative damage done to health and well-being under the burden of an unrelenting stressor in a critically important life domain.     

Detecting suicide risk in adolescents and adults in an emergency department: a pilot study

The investigators conducted a pilot study to detect suicide risk in adolescents and adults seeking treatment in an emergency department, as well as to test the reliability and validity of the 4-item Risk of Suicide Questionnaire (RSQ). This study expanded the implementation of the RSQ beyond its initial use with children and adolescents with psychiatric symptoms who were seeking treatment in a pediatric emergency department to include adolescent and adult patients in a Level I trauma center. An advanced practice psychiatric nurse verbally administered the RSQ to a convenience sample of 104 emergency department patients ages 12 to 82. Psychometric analysis demonstrated an adequate degree of reliability and criterion-related validity for the RSQ. Approximately 30% of all patients who participated screened positive for suicide risk. The results support the continued use of the 4-item RSQ with all adolescents and use of a reduced 2-item form of the RSQ with adults exhibiting psychiatric chief complaints to determine imminent risk of suicide in patients who seek treatment in the emergency department. Nurses in all health care settings need to initiate suicide screening and implement nursing interventions directed toward suicide prevention.     

Welfare recipients’ quality of life: lessons from the United Nations’ Human Development Index for the US welfare policy La calidad de vida de las beneficiarias del bienestar social: lecciones del Indice de Desarrollo Humano (IDH) de las Naciones Unidas para la política de bienestar social de los Estados Unidos de América

This article is part of a study on single mothers who were welfare recipients in Georgia, US (n?=?53,323) in the year 2000 which used the Human Development Index (HDI) to measure their quality of life (QOL) and that of the overall Georgia population by race. The United Nations created the HDI in 1990 to compare QOL across nations, but the HDI has also proved to be suitable for sub-populations within countries. Based on the QOL study in Georgia, the first one to use the HDI to measure QOL of women on welfare, this article discusses lessons derived from the use of the HDI that can be drawn for the US welfare policy. Specifically, the discussion focuses on: (1) the role of health coverage; (2) the role of infant mortality rate; (3) the role of maternal mortality rate; (4) the mismatch between education and standard of living; and (5) the need for a welfare policy with a human development approach. These issues are also relevant to other welfare nations where their restructuring, especially welfare-to-work policies, have most affected lone mothers.

Este artículo es parte de un estudio sobre madres solteras beneficiarias del sistema de bienestar social en el estado de Georgia, Estados Unidos de América (n?=?53,323) en el año 2000, el cual utilizó el Indice de Desarrollo Humano (IDH) de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) para medir su calidad de vida (CDV), así como la de la población general de Georgia según su raza. La ONU creó el IDH en 1990 para comparar la CDV entre naciones, pero el IDH también ha demostrado ser útil para sub-poblaciones dentro de las diferentes naciones. Basado en el estudio sobre CDV en Georgia, el primero en utilizar el IDH para medir la CDV entre beneficiarios/as del bienestar social, este artículo discute las lecciones derivadas del uso del IDH que pueden aplicarse a la política de bienestar social de los EUA. Específicamente, la discusión se enfoca en: (1) el papel que desempeña la cobertura en salud; (2) el papel de la tasa de mortalidad infantil; (3) el papel de la tasa de mortalidad maternal; (4) la disyunción entre nivel de educación y estándard de vida; (5) la necesidad de una política de bienestar social enfocada en el desarrollo humano. Estos temas son igualmente relevantes para otras naciones bienestaristas en donde las reestructuraciones, en particular las políticas de transición de bienestar a trabajo obligatorio, han afectado especialmente a las madres solteras/solas.     

中国人口转变道路的探索和选择

从1949年到1978年,中国在进行社会主义道路探索的同时也在进行着对中国人口转变道路的探索。建国初期,通过开展群众卫生运动,死亡率迅速下降,开启了中国人口转变的进程。20世纪50年代,初次面对人口快速增长问题,中国提出了"实现有计划的生育"的理论和构想,人口转变的中国道路开始孕育。经历了"大跃进"时期的思想动摇、工作停滞和此后的人口继续快速增长等种种波折之后,人们在人口与社会经济矛盾激增的过程中明确了中国人口转变道路的方向。最后,在"文革"期间,脆弱的国民经济和日益增长的人口压力迫使中国选择了一条主动控制人口过快增长、实行计划生育的人口转变道路。这条道路是由时代发展特征和中国的特殊国情共同决定的。     

人口与消费对二氧化碳排放的动态影响——基于变参数模型的实证分析

近年来,随着全球气候的不断变暖,二氧化碳减排问题已经引起了世界性的关注。中国作为世界上最大的碳排放国,必须逐步降低经济发展过程中的碳排放。基于此,利用1978～2009年的相关数据和变参数模型,分析了人口数量和居民消费对我国二氧化碳排放的动态影响。结果表明,人口、消费与二氧化碳排放之间存在长期稳定的关系,二者对碳排放均有比较显著的影响。从总体来看,人口对碳排放的影响弹性要高于消费对碳排放的弹性,但是近年来两者之间的差距越来越小,说明消费对二氧化碳排放的影响力日益增大;随着时间波动,人口与消费对碳排放的影响弹性会呈现规律性的变化,并且可以将其划分为三个明显的阶段。依据上述结论,文章提出了相关政策建议,以减少由人口和消费带来的二氧化碳排放。     

The Gender‐Gap Reversal in Education and Its Effect on Union Formation: The End of Hypergamy?

Newly released census microdata reveal the nearly worldwide and substantial decline in educational hypergamy (women marrying men with higher educational attainment) across 56 countries from the 1970s to the 2000s. We examine the extent to which the observed decrease in hypergamy is connected to the worldwide rise in female educational attainment. Our results show that educational hypergamy is an enduring form of gender inequality in union formation across the countries examined but that it has been decreasing over the last few decades and in some countries has reversed in recent years. Overall, we find a strong association between hypergamy and gender differences in educational attainment. Societies in which the female educational advantage is greater tend to have lower levels of educational hypergamy. There is a tendency toward a joint increase in women's educational levels and a decrease in educational hypergamy. This article underlines the influence of women's educational opportunities on the increase in gender symmetry in assortative mating, which leads us to predict the end of educational hypergamy.