The Needs of Elders in Public Housing: Policy Considerations in the Era of Mixed-Income Redevelopment

A number of studies have followed the changes in the lives of public housing residents forced to relocate because of redevelopment. From 2002 to 2007, researchers followed the residents of a public housing development from the first year when residents learned of the pending demolition through 4 years of resettlement. Elder residents dispersed throughout the city provide insights into what life is like for low-income seniors leaving their homes and entering as strangers into new neighborhoods. The article concludes with recommendations for rethinking aging in place for poor elders.     

Awareness of Publication Guidelines and the Responsible Conduct of Research

We have conducted a longitudinal survey of NIH-funded F32 postdoctoral fellows to determine if mandated instruction in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) has measurable effects on awareness of, attentiveness to, and behavioral judgments about research ethics and authorship and publication. Of 418 F32 fellows participating in the study, 50% were aware of and had referred to guidelines on authorship and publication practices while 50% were either unaware of or had not referred to guidelines. Groups were similar with regard to total number of peer-reviewed publications and total number of first author publications, years of research experience, years since completing their doctoral degree, and receipt of RCR training. The equal distribution of guideline awareness and use, and group similarities with regard to career development and achievement provided us with an opportunity to consider whether awareness of and use of guidelines is associated with broader judgments about author roles and responsibilities. The findings suggest that awareness and utilization of guidelines are, at best, only modestly associated with more ethically appropriate judgments and attitudes about author roles and responsibilities among novice F32’s.     

Assessing Health Care Needs Among Street Homeless and Transitionally Housed Adults

ABSTRACT

This study examined the health services received and needed among homeless persons in Hillsborough County, FL (N = 823). Lifetime and current need and receipt of health services were assessed with a cross-sectional survey. Participants reported extensive lifetime and current needs for physical and behavioral health care services. Nearly a third of participants reported current unaddressed health problem(s); an inability to obtain needed health care; and feelings of unaddressed mental health issue(s) as well as substance abuse problem(s) in the past year. Future research on homelessness and health should focus on identifying different pathways to health and mental health services for this vulnerable population and the outcomes of these interventions.     

A 12-Month Follow-Up Evaluation of Integrated Treatment for Homeless Individuals With Co-Occurring Disorders

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effectiveness of the Comprehensive, Continuous, Integrated System of Care (CCISC) model in addressing co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Clients were eligible for participation if they had co-occurring disorders and were homeless or at risk of homelessness. Forty-eight clients received a comprehensive array of services consistent with the CCISC model. Measures assessing housing, employment, mental health, and substance use were completed at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. Results demonstrated significant improvements in housing, employment, mental health, and substance use at 12-month follow-up. These results underscore the effectiveness of implementing evidence-based care.     

Test-retest reliability on nine tasks of the Physical Work Performance Evaluation

The Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE) is one of many functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) currently available to assist with determining injured workers' physical potential to return to work. Previous research has explored interrater reliability, construct and predictive validity of the PWPE. This research examined test-retest reliability on a sample of 24 clients with stable physical injuries who were participating in vocational rehabilitation. Nine of the 21 main tasks of the PWPE were evaluated: lifting floor to waist, bilateral carrying, pushing, sitting, standing, kneeling, stair climbing, repetitive squatting and walking. Kappa scores ranged from 0.19 (error) to 0.77 and percent agreement from 66.7% to 87.5%. The results for kneeling, lifting floor to waist, bilateral carrying and pushing tasks suggest substantial test-retest reliability with moderate reliability also suggested for the standing and repetitive squatting tasks. Self-limiting behavior and alterations in pain scores, position adjustments and movement deviations are seen to be the main contributors to affect scoring between the first and second tests.     

Young Children's Evaluations of the Ingroup and of Outgroups: A Multi-National Study

In investigating intergroup attitudes, previous research in developmental psychology has frequently confounded ingroup favouritism and outgroup derogation. The present study, using unconfounded measures, examines the possibility that ingroup favouritism and outgroup derogation are distinct phenomena. Six‐year‐old children (n=594) from five, culturally diverse nations were asked to make various evaluations of the national ingroup and of four national outgroups. The data indicate that although there is overwhelming evidence that young children favour the ingroup over other groups, outgroup derogation is limited in extent and appears to reproduce attitudes held by adult members of the particular nations investigated.     

Self-concept and attitudes toward adoption: a comparison of searching and nonsearching adult adoptees

This study showed that nonsearchers and searchers are different from each other on almost every measure that was applied. Research on and experience with searching adult adoptees should not be applied to nonsearching adult adoptees. Likewise, research on and experience with nonsearching adult adoptees should not be generalized to searchers . The results of this study do not support the belief that adoptees, in general, have low self-concepts and identity conflicts, or that adoptees need information about their biological families and reunions to resolve their identity conflicts. Although the sample of pre- and post-reunion searchers was small, reunions did not make a significant difference in self-concept or identity conflicts, as measured by the TSCS . The results of this study do not support the theoretical bases often cited to justify open records. Specifically, adult adoptees in this study do not have negative self-concepts, did not experience poor adoptor - adoptee relationships, and the majority did not experience revelation of adoptive status as disruptive or late. Although significant differences exist between the comparison groups, an important finding is that of all the adult adoptees, the majority scored above the sixtieth percentile on the TSCS and had positive scores on the Attitude Toward Parents Scales. Furthermore, they were happy growing up, with only 12% reporting being unhappy. These findings support the conclusions of Day [1979] and Norvell and Guy [1977] as well as the belief that adoption is a legitimate way of building families.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

ARE THE HOMELESS TO BLAME?

Dominant ideology and public arenas theories yield different hypotheses concerning the incidence and antecedents of public beliefs about the causes of homelessness. The analysis reported here, which tests these hypotheses with data from a 1988 national telephone survey, shows that (1) more Americans believe structural rather than individualistic factors cause homelessness, (2) personal statuses like gender, political orientation, and party affiliation significantly influence such causal beliefs, but (3) the single strongest determinant is the perceived presence of—and by implication, exposure to—homeless people in one's own community. Causal beliefs in turn affect policy attitudes: respondents who consider homelessness a structural problem are more likely to favor government action than those believing in individualistic causes. While mixed, the results as a whole provide somewhat greater support for the public arenas perspective.     

The effect of retirement on home production: evidence from Australia

Review of Economics of the Household - This paper examines the effect of retirement on individuals’ time spent on home production activities. Using rich longitudinal data from Australia and...     

Partner Violence Victimization Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Transgender, and Queer Youth: Associations Among Risk Factors

Literature shows that youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) experience high rates of victimization across various contexts, though there is little research specific to partner violence victimization. Given the deleterious effects of partner violence seen in both youth generally and LGBTQ adults, it is imperative to investigate partner violence among LGBTQ youth. The authors investigated the prevalence of partner violence among a community sample of LGBTQ youth (N = 140) and examined potential correlates of said violence. Approximately half of the participants had ever experienced some form of partner violence. Rates of ever experiencing partner violence were approximately 2.5 times higher for youth who had binge drank in the past month or ever experienced familial abuse and nearly three times higher for youth who had experienced an episode of homelessness in the past year. Implications for professionals who serve LGBTQ youth are discussed.