The effect of guided relaxation and exercise imagery on self-reported leisure-time exercise behaviors in older adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-wk intervention that used guided relaxation and exercise imagery (GREI) to increase self-reported leisure-time exercise behavior among older adults. A total of 93 community-dwelling healthy older adults (age 70.38 ± 8.15 yr, 66 female) were randomly placed in either a placebo control group or an intervention group. The intervention group received instructions to listen to an audio compact disk (CD) containing a GREI program, and the placebo control group received an audio CD that contained 2 relaxation tracks and instructions to listen to music of their choice for 6 wk. Results revealed that listening to a GREI CD for 6 wk significantly increased self-reported leisure-time exercise behaviors (p = .03). Further exploration of GREI and its effects on other psychological variables related to perceived exercise behaviors may substantiate its effectiveness.     

Southern culture and patterns of victim‐offender relationships in homicide: A study of primary and nonprimary homicide in Louisiana

This paper examines the relative influence of Southern culture versus social structural features on primary (dispute motivated) and nonprimary (crime motivated) homicide rates in Louisiana. Multiple regression analysis is used to compare the determinants of homicide in parishes ("counties") with typical Southern cultural heritage with those of parishes with French‐Catholic heritage. It was found that Southern culture exerted a greater positive influence on primary homicide rates than most structural variables, but was negative with respect to nonprimary rates. Implications for clarifying the debate concerning the existence of a Southern subculture of violence are discussed.     

Child Sexual Abuse and Adult Religious Life: Challenges of Theory and Method

The religious consequences of child sexual abuse in adulthood remain relatively unexamined in the research literature, especially where abusers are not clergy. Some studies suggest child sexual abuse survivors may rely on religion as a source of support, though the majority document a decrease in religiosity. Given the propensity for psychological challenges among adult survivors with diminished spiritual coping, we are calling for increased research attention to religion in the context of child sexual abuse. The objectives of this article were to review the literature on intersections between child sexual abuse (perpetrated by nonclergy) and religiosity in adults and set forth relevant research approaches for future investigation. Findings revealed a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and theoretically informed approach to research may be needed.     

Entering first union: the choice between cohabitation and marriage among women in Italy and Spain

While in Spain and Italy cohabitation has not acquired the same role that it has had in Northern Europe, in both of these Mediterranean countries cohabitation is no longer a marginal phenomenon. Moreover, the nature of cohabiting couples is diverse. According to the most recent FFS data, first cohabitations constitute a temporary arrangement that usually ends in the formalization of the union (marriage), and within 5 years 28.9 % of first cohabitations in Spain and 51.7 % in Italy were transformed into marriages. Within a Western context of changes in union formation patterns, the study of the choice between marriage and cohabitation as first union is of great significance. Is it possible to identify a shared pattern of union formation in Mediterranean countries like Italy and Spain? The purpose of this paper is to examine the choice between cohabitation and marriage as first union (timing, incidence and determinants) using a comparative life course approach. For the analysis of the timing and prevalence, cumulative incidence curves are calculated by birth cohorts and regions; while two semiparametric competing-risks models are estimated for the determinants of first partnership formation (one for each country), considering birth cohort, parental separation, educational attainment, employment status, age at leaving the parental home and birth of a child (the last three time-varying) as independent variables.     

Dropping the Books and Working Off the Books

The paper empirically tests the relationship between underground labour and schooling achievement for Italy, a country ranking badly in both respects when compared with other high‐income economies, with a marked duality between North and South. In order to identify underground workers, we exploit the information on individuals' social security positions available from the Bank of Italy's Survey on Household Income and Wealth. After controlling for a wide range of sociodemographic and economic variables and addressing potential endogeneity and selection issues, we show that a low level of education sizeably and significantly increases the probability of working underground. Switching from completing compulsory school to graduating at college more than halves this probability for both men and women. The gain is slightly higher for individuals completing the compulsory track with respect to those having no formal education at all. The different probabilities found for self‐employed and dependent workers support the view of a dual informal sector, in which necessity and desirability coexist.