Sexual Identity Formation of Women Who Love Women: A Contextual View Point

Nonheterosexuals experience oppression and discrimination that affect personal development on all levels. An increased awareness of sexual identity development could create more inclusive sexual identity models, better understanding for counselor educators, and better training for counselors on issues of sexual identity. The purpose of this study was to identify the life experiences that influence sexual identity in women who love women. This study required that participants attach meaning to sexual identity formation. From the data collected, four themes emerged: I was just different, information seeking, view of self as a woman within the context of culture, and contextual relationships. Findings of this study did not support a stage model of sexual identity development. Instead, this study supported the view that sexual identity is fluid and strongly related to relationships with peer groups.     

A Survey of 100 Community Colleges on Student Substance Use,Programming, and Collaborations

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to survey community college personnel about student substance use, and infrastructure (staff and funding), programs, and collaborations dedicated to substance use prevention. Participants: The sample included 100 administrators, faculty, and health services staff at 100 community colleges. Methods: Participants completed a Web-based survey. Results: Participants reported a number of alcohol and other drug (AOD) related concerns. Despite limited staff and funding dedicated to AOD, institutions are implementing a number of programs, although many are not implementing some of the programs popular at traditional 4-year colleges. They are also collaborating with a number of on- and off-campus groups. The availability of staff and funding dedicated to AOD, and the presence of residence halls, is associated with health programming and substance abuse collaborations. Conclusions: Results suggest that there is a need for increased research to understand the most effective AOD prevention strategies for community colleges.     

Spherical regression models with general covariates and anisotropic errors

Statistics and Computing - Existing parametric regression models in the literature for response data on the unit sphere assume that the covariates have particularly simple structure, for example...     

The decline of intelligence in New Zealand

The social setting in New Zealand to-day is in many respects noticeably different from that of the home country. Observers rarely fail to comment upon the equalitarianism in all walks of life, the stability of the family pattern, the Plunkett system and the achievements of social security. It may come as a surprise, therefore, that in New Zealand a similar downward trend of national intelligence can be observed, as has been ascertained for the United Kingdom by the notable pioneer inquiries of Sir Cyril Burt, Sir Godfrey Thomson and Dr Fraser-Roberts. In the United Kingdom the dysgenic selection seems to operate mainly through differential rates of reproduction in the various strata of society. These differentials are less marked in New Zealand, but it would appear that they are compensated by the effects of migration.     

Crime Victimization in Latin America and Intentions to Migrate to the United States

Among the challenges faced by Latin America at the onset of the 21st century is the increase in crime and violence that began in the mid-1980s, and which, to one degree or another, has afflicted most countries in the region. In this study we explore the potential implications of the upsurge in crime on migration by testing the hypothesis that crime victimization in Latin America increases the probability that people have given serious thought to the prospect of migrating with their families to the United States. Using Latinobarometro public opinion surveys of approximately 49,000 respondents residing in 17 countries in 2002, 2003, and 2004, the results of a Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model found that, net of individual and country-level control variables, the probability of seriously considering family migration to the United States was around 30 percent higher among respondents who reported that they or a member of their family was a victim of a crime sometime during the year prior to the survey. Evidence that victimization promotes the propensity to emigrate is a finding that contributes to an understanding of the transnational consequences of the increase in crime in Latin America, and adds a new variable to the inventory of factors that encourage people to migrate to the United States.     

Women's sexual desire: A feminist critique

This article offers a critical feminist analysis of the biomédical conceptualization of women's sexual desire. The five major features of the biomedical model of female sexual desire examined and critiqued are (a) use of the male model as the standard, (b) use of a linear model of sexual response, (c) biological reductionism, (d) depoliticalization, and (e) medicalization of variation. A “New View,” an alternative to the biomédical model, is offered for reconceptualizing women's sexual problems. This analysis concludes with recommendations for feminist‐based biopsychosocial research.     

A Descriptive Study of Home Modifications for People with Dementia and Barriers to Implementation

This study describes home environmental features, safety issues, and health-related modifications in a community dwelling sample of 82 elderly people with dementia. Main barriers to the accessibility of the homes were steps both inside and outside the home. The majority of the caregivers had made home modifications that pertained mainly to physical limitations. Home modifications to support cognitive deficits were made to a lesser extent. The main barrier to the implementation of home modifications to accommodate the care recipient's memory loss was skepticism about their usefulness. Regarding the removal of physical barriers, financial constraints were most frequently mentioned.