Testing an explanatory model of the development of depressive symptoms in young women during a life transition

Factors to explain the rising incidence of depressive symptoms among young women making the transition from home to university life were investigated. A path analysis of data from 213 18- and 19-year-old women entering a large university indicated that negative life events, interpersonally derived social support, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms were significantly related. Negative life events that affected the women's self-esteem (drawn from the women's performance in interpersonal relationships) were most strongly associated with depressive symptoms, and self-esteem derived through efficacy (i.e., taking control and acting assertively) was not associated with negative events. The women in the sample appeared to derive efficacy self-esteem from relationships. An analysis of the data supported developing interventions to improve interpersonal relationships rather than focusing on competence in gaining access to resources.     

Well siblings living with schizophrenia. Impact of associated behaviors.

As a result of the ongoing hallucinations and delusions, life at home became "anxious and chaotic" with "lots of stress." Because there was no on-site crisis intervention by professionals, well siblings were sometimes called upon to control the violent behavior and were vigilant and fearful regarding the potential for abuse. Negative symptoms were the most disturbing to well siblings. Siblings need help to understand that social isolation and lack of motivation are symptoms of the illness--not due to "laziness."     

Accelerating acceptance

Innovations are either accepted or rejected in large part because of their implementation--sometimes without regard to improvements over existing techniques. By understanding the dynamics of how innovations are adopted and by whom, physician executives will have insight into influencing others. All adopters are not created equal. They fall into five categories, beginning with those who embrace innovation, even seek it out. In any given organization, or the population in general, there are: (1) innovators (2.5 percent); (2) early adopters (13.5 percent); (3) early majority (34 percent); (4) late majority (34 percent); and (5) laggards (16 percent). As these categories imply, each group has specific personalities related to adopting innovations that can be identified and used to implement new policies and procedures. By identifying and encouraging innovators and early adopters to think outside the box and then gaining critical mass through the early majority, who also act as opinion leaders, organizations can accelerate the pace of adopting innovations. New processes are adopted when opinion leaders initiate new practices, whose results can be tangibly discerned by the majority of adopters.     

International migration and the global agenda: reflections on the 1998 UN Technical Symposium

This article reviews the nature of discussions at the 1998 UN Technical Symposium on International Migration and Development. The Symposium reviewed the literature linking migration and development and successful policy approaches. Several themes emerged. A research framework is needed for accounting for all types of population mobility at all stages of the migratory process. Research should integrate contributions from a range of disciplines. The influence of social networks and cultural capital has grown in importance. Strategies need to account for women's experiences, which involve both empowerment and exploitation. Strategies need to consider return migration and better public information on migration and settlement. It was agreed that there is a need for a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches and multidimensional analysis. The links between migration and development are complex, but sufficient information is available to greatly improve policy formation and international cooperation. National level responses have occasionally eroded the rights and protection of migrants. Few countries have adopted the 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families and ILO Conventions 97 and 143. A prominent realization was that international cooperation did matter. International migration should be viewed as an opportunity for cooperation and development.     

Marriages and fertility among Turkish and Moroccan women in Belgium: results from census data

The patterns of family formation and fertility behavior of Turkish and Moroccan women in Belgium are changing rapidly. The census data (1991) indicate a fertility decline. The reasons are changes in the nuptiality patterns, contraceptive behavior, and migratory flows. The changes are not identical in both communities. Young cohorts postpone their marriage, but this is most prominent among Moroccan women. On the other hand, young Turkish women have a clear preference for smaller families. The changes also differentiate according to migrant "generation" and level of education. The changes are not restricted to Belgium but are also observed in the countries of origin.     

Death at the border

"Debates about United States border control policies have generally ignored the human costs of undocumented migration. We focus attention on these costs by estimating the number, causes and location of migrant deaths at the southwest border of the United States between 1993 and 1997.... Deaths from hyperthermia, hypothermia and dehydration increased sharply from 1993 to 1997 as intensified border enforcement redirected undocumented migration flows from urban crossing points to more remote crossing areas where the migrants are exposed to a greater risk of death."     

A method to obtain a randomized control group where it seems impossible. A case study in program evaluation

Randomization of program participants into control and experimental groups is often not feasible in field settings. The researcher's desire to evaluate a program with a rigorous experimental design is often incompatible with the objective of serving the expressed needs of the program participants. However, opportunities do arise when a randomized control group can be constructed without disregarding the participants' wish to be included in the treatment group. This article describes a method that uses the participants' compliance to program instructions as a means of classifying participants and, thereby, obtains a randomized control group for a subset of participants. A large smoking intervention project is used to illustrate two variations of this method.     

The Chicago School,So-Called

Many sociologists believe in the myth of a Chicago School, a unified and coherent body of thought and research practice carried on at the University of Chicago from the 1920s through the 1960s. Chicago never constituted such a coherent system and is better understood as a school of activity, a group of people who cooperated in the day-to-day running of a major department.     

Reinventing Rural Sociology: Processes and Substance1

Abstract Major shifts in the terms of the social contract between society and land grant universities have implications for the research, teaching, and extension agenda of rural sociology. By tracing the legislative, academic, and social context of these changes, one can understand the evolving process, the forces of change, and the necessity for new organizational strategies to respond to society's needs. Better networking with constituencies and use of advisory councils would tie the discipline closer to these needs. The identification of substantive needs are a product of such interaction and reflect new opportunities for rural sociology to provide leadership for human and community development programs.     

The Doldrums

Journal of Population Research -