Techniques of Handling Anger in Marriage

This paper endorses David Mace's (1976) recommendations for dissipating anger in marriage, presents a rational-emotive theory of anger, and derives from this theory of number of cognitive-behavioral methods of minimizing anger between marital partners.     

Street Traffic,Social Integration,and Fear of Crime*

Drawing on the work of Jacobs, Newman, and Gardiner, among others, this paper investigates fear of crime by urban residents as a consequence of two interrelated characteristics of neighborhoods: 1) the perceived volume of street usage and 2) the degree of residents' social integration into the neighborhood. Secondary analysis of a 1975 survey shows that, counter to previous hypotheses, perception of increased street traffic leads to greater fear. However, when controlling for social integration, we find that for those who are socially integrated perceived volume of street traffic has no relationship to fear, while for those not socially integrated the greater the perceived street usage the greater the fear. Three mechanisms by which social integration may reduce fear of people on the streets are considered: 1) reducing the proportion of strangers versus acquaintances on the street; 2) providing networks of potential assistance; and 3) reducing the strangeness of the streets' daily rhythms and routines. We conclude that both physical design and social factors must be interrelated in attempts to understand fear of crime and in designing ameliorative programs.     

PARAMETER ESTIMATION FOR LOW-ORDER AUTO-REGRESSIVE MODELS WITH MISSING VALUES

Longitudinal data analysis in epidemiological settings is complicated by large multiplicities of short time series and the occurrence of missing observations. To handle such difficulties Rosner & Muñoz (1988) developed a weighted non-linear least squares algorithm for estimating parameters for first-order autoregressive (AR1) processes with time-varying covariates. This method proved efficient when compared to complete case procedures. Here that work is extended by (1) introducing a different estimation procedure based on the EM algorithm, and (2) formulating estimation techniques for second-order autoregressive models. The second development is important because some of the intended areas of application (adult pulmonary function decline, childhood blood pressure) have autocorrelation functions which decay more slowly than the geometric rate imposed by an AR1 model. Simulation studies are used to compare the three methodologies (non-linear, EM based and complete case) with respect to bias, efficiency and coverage both in the presence and in the absence of time-varying covariates. Differing degrees and mechanisms of missingness are examined. Preliminary results indicate the non-linear approach to be the method of choice: it has high efficiency and is easily implemented. An illustrative example concerning pulmonary function decline in the Netherlands is analyzed using this method.     

Strategic assessment—A rational response to university cutbacks

Effective strategic assessment and planning is required if public higher education is to cope with the problems of the next two decades. This article suggests an approach that can be easily adapted to most public post-secondary institutions, based on a strategic plan devised to combat decline in enrolment and fiscal reduction in a State educational institution.     

Implications of nested designs in school-based mental health services research

Evaluating school-based mental health services for children and youth with emotional disturbance (ED) has been a challenge for researchers. One particular challenge is the study design of using the student as the statistical unit of analysis, which in certain cases may lead to a violation of the "independence of error" assumption. However, the alternative to this nested design, including fewer students and more schools, can be costly and administratively complex. This study examines data from two national studies including 314 students with ED and served in special education programs and their caregivers from 24 schools in the US to identify the extent to which nesting or design effects occur in this population. The results show that variables focusing on psychopathology are less affected by nesting but school-related variables such as academic functioning are more affected. Design effects varied by grade level, suggesting that grade should be considered when designing such evaluations.