Workplace discrimination and diabetes: the EEOC Americans with Disabilities Act research project

Using the Integrated Mission System of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the employment discrimination experience of Americans with diabetes is documented. Researchers compare and contrast the key dimensions of workplace discrimination involving Americans with diabetes and persons with other physical, sensory, and neurological impairments. Specifically, the researchers examine demographic characteristics of the charging parties; the industry designation, location, and size of employers against whom complaints are filed; the nature of discrimination (i.e., type of adverse action) alleged to occur; and the legal outcome or resolution of these complaints. Findings indicate that persons with diabetes were more likely to encounter discrimination involving discharge, constructive discharge, discipline and suspension - all job retention issues. Persons with diabetes were less likely to encounter discrimination involving hiring, reasonable accommodation, non-pension benefits, and layoff. They were also more likely to encounter discrimination when they were older or from specific ethnic backgrounds, or when they worked for small employers or in the Southern United States. Implications for policy and advocacy are addressed.     

Internal validity in rehabilitation research

In experimental research, internal validity is the extent to which the researcher can conclude that the manipulation of the independent variable caused change in the dependent variable. Without causal inference, researchers and research consumers would not be able to meaningfully interpret the results of experiments. This article discusses (a) threats to internal validity in rehabilitation research an (b) experimental procedures that can aid rehabilitation researchers in maximizing the internal validity of their investigations.     

Misdirection on the road to Shangri-La

Will life expectancy in the United States rise or fall in this century? The implications of either scenario are far reaching. We contend that the rise of childhood obesity in the United States in the past three decades has been so dramatic that it will soon lead to higher than expected death rates at middle ages and a possible decline in life expectancy by midcentury. The most detrimental health and longevity effects will not be seen for decades--a phenomenon that cannot be detected by current methods used to forecast life expectancy or estimate the number of deaths currently attributable to obesity. This scenario contrasts sharply with the views of mathematical demographers who generate forecasts by relying on the assumption that the U.S. pattern of longevity will follow that of other longer lived nations and on the extrapolation of historical trends in life expectancy into the future.     

Psychosocial correlates of recreational ecstasy use among college students

College students' ecstasy (MDMA) use increased significantly in recent years, yet little is known about these students. In this study, the authors used the Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Studies (CORE) survey to compare 29 college students who had used ecstasy and other illicit drugs with 90 students who had used marijuana and no other illicit drugs. They noted differences in age, frequency of alcohol and marijuana use, average age of onset of marijuana use, frequency of negative consequences associated with substance use, perceptions of peer norms' drug use, perceived peer acceptance of substance use, and risk perception of substance use. When they entered polysubstance use as a covariate, many of these correlates became nonsignificant. The authors suggest that college ecstasy initiators may be a cohort of marijuana users who tend to engage in multiple risk-taking behaviors. This study serves as a preliminary effort to better understand college students who use ecstasy recreationally.     

Older women's experiences of psychological violence in their marital relationships

Violence within older couples is a reality, not a myth. In this study, qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 women ages 60 to 81 who had suffered marital psychological violence. Husbands' psychologically violent behaviors were grouped into 14 categories: control, denigration, deprivation, intimidation, threats, abdication of responsibility, manipulation, blame, harassment, negation of reality, indifference, making the wife feel guilty, sulking, and infantilization. Control behaviors were found to be the central category. Control dynamics increased at retirement, when children left home and when husbands experienced a decrease in health status. Implications for practice are also discussed.     

Psychological stress in adoptive parents of special-needs children

This article focuses on the nature and extent of parental stress among adoptive parents of special-needs children. In-depth face-to-face interviews of adoptive parents of 35 children were conducted, on average, four months postplacement (but before adoption). One-year follow-up interviews were conducted with parents of 15 (43%) of these children. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected, including parenting stress scores. Results indicated higher than average levels of stress, particularly on subscales related to parent-child dysfunctional interactions and to raising a difficult child. Increased stress levels were associated with poorer family adjustment and with higher levels of child behavior problems. Stress levels remained mostly unchanged over the year. Responses to open-ended questions identified five stress categories: child characteristics, parent-child interactions, family cohesion, parental adjustment, and adoptions service issues. Practice and research implications are discussed.