The demography of Tristan da Cunha

Abstract The eruption of the volcano on Tristan da Cunha in 1961 and the subsequent arrival of the island population in the United Kingdom provided a unique opportunity for studying the health of this formerly isolated community. During their stay, while the facilities and services of modern medicine were made available to them, investigations of many facets of their general biology were made under the auspices of the Medical Research Council, co-ordinated by Dr. H. E. Lewis. Analysis of their demographic history was essential to understand many features of their disease pattern, and the results of this analysis are presented here. They are of interest in that they not only show some consistent trends in the common variables of demography, but also demonstrate biological principles, some perhaps for the first time in man, which may be fundamental in the process of colonization as a biological phenomenon, e.g. the initial difficulty of establishment of a population in a new area, the curious demographic structure that may emerge in its earliest years, the bottleneck effect of population-size reduction, the founder principle.     

Effect of family structure on life satisfaction: australian evidence

How do family arrangements affect subjective well-being? We investigate this issue using data pooled from the IsssA and HILDA, both large, representative national samples of Australia (pooled n=38 447). Our regression analysis of cross-sectional and panel data examines how large are the differences in life satisfaction according to marital status and cohabitation. We find that women and men in formal marriages experience higher levels of life satisfaction than do people in other family arrangements. Moreover, both multiple tests in the cross-section, and tests controlling for prior happiness in the panel analysis, suggest that this is a causal relationship. Aggregating up the levels of life satisfaction generated by different marriage and cohabitation arrangements across a lifetime, suggests that a life-long marriage is the most satisfying. Early divorce followed by an enduring second marriage is little worse (because little time is spent outside the married state). But divorce without remarriage, or long lasting cohabitation without formal marriage, reduce the lifetime sum of subjective well-being by 4–12% for both women and men.     

Public attitudes toward the use of psychiatric medications for children

Psychiatric medication use for children has increased dramatically over the past three decades. Despite substantial media attention to the issue, little is known about how the lay public feels about the use of psychiatric medications for children. Drawing on theories of medicalization, we describe and analyze Americans' attitudes towards the use of psychiatric medications generally and Prozac specifically for children described as having three types of behavioral problems. Using data from the 1998 General Social Survey's Pressing Issues in Health and Medical Care Module, we find that more Americans (57%) are willing to use psychiatric medications for children who have expressed suicidal statements than for "oppositional" behaviors (34.2%) or for hyperactivity (29.5%). Across the board, respondents are less willing to give Prozac than the general class of psychiatric medications. While socio-demographics do little to identify Americans with differing positions, the strongest and most consistent correlates of willingness to give psychiatric medications to children are trust in personal physicians, general attitudes towards psychiatric medications, and the respondent's expressed willingness to take psychiatric medications herself or himself.     

Ethics Creep: Governing Social Science Research in the Name of Ethics

This article presents an analysis of the Canadian ethics review process by a member of a Research Ethics Board. The author suggests that the new formal system for regulating the ethical conduct of scholarly research is experiencing a form of ethics creep. This is characterized by a dual process whereby the regulatory system is expanding outward to incorporate a host of new activities and institutions, while at the same time intensifying the regulation of activities deemed to fall within its ambit. These tendencies are demonstrated through an analysis of: 1) the scope of research ethics protocols, 2) the concept of harm employed by these boards, 3) the use of informed consent provisions, and 4) the presumption that research participants will remain anonymous. To accentuate the nature of this ethics creep, comparisons are made between the ways in which identical knowledge generation activities are governed within journalism and the academy. The conclusion suggests that one effect of the increasingly formalized research ethics structure is to rupture the relationship between following the rules and acting ethically. Some of the reasons for this creep are highlighted along with the risks that it poses for scholarship.     

Factors influencing middle and high schools' active parental consent return rates

The authors examined factors influencing the return rates for attempting to collect active parental consent forms from 21,123 students in the 7th through 10th grades in 41 middle and high schools. Overall return rates from middle schools were higher than from high schools. Schools that offered high levels of staff support for collecting consent forms had higher return rates. Procedures where the consent form was attached to a school form that parents had to complete and return to the school yielded the highest return rate. Implications for how researchers can obtain a high parent consent form return rate are discussed.     

A national survey of alcohol screening and referral in college health centers

To determine the extent and nature of alcohol screening and referral services provided by college health centers, the authors conducted a state-stratified, random sampling of 25% of 327 4-year accredited US colleges and universities with health centers. Of the 249 survey respondents, 32% routinely screened students for alcohol use. Urban, public, and large institutions were most likely to screen routinely. Only 11.7% of the sample reported they used standardized instruments, predominantly the CAGE. The health centers used an average of 3.4 referral options, but only 27.5% offered students access to campus programs specifically designed for students who are substance abusers. Findings suggest that the majority of college health centers are not providing routine alcohol screening for students or using standardized screening instruments. In addition, students are often referred to services that may be inappropriate or ineffective in addressing the needs of college drinkers.     

A study of the relationship between protective behaviors and drinking consequences among undergraduate college students

The authors identified the number, type, and frequency of protective behaviors that undergraduate college students who consume alcohol use to prevent alcohol-related consequences. Their hypothesis was that students who engage in more types of protective behaviors with greater frequency would be less likely to experience alcohol-related consequences. Participants consisted of a randomly selected sample of 1,355 undergraduates aged 18 years and older at a large public university. Students completed a mailed questionnaire on alcohol and health behaviors in spring 2002. The findings (after adjustment for covariates) indicated that self-protective behaviors are inversely associated with alcohol-related problems for women but not for men. The influences of gender and racial and ethnic differences are considered in relation to prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing alcohol-related consequences on college campuses.     

Facilitators and barriers to employment: the perspectives of people with psychiatric disabilities and employment service providers

This study examined the perspectives of people with psychiatric disabilities and employment service providers regarding factors that most directly help or hinder consumer efforts to obtain and maintain employment. Forty-four adults with serious mental illness (SMI) (consumers) and 30 providers participated in 12 focus groups across Massachusetts. We began both consumer and provider groups by posing two broad questions: 1) what factors most help people with SMI get and keep jobs (facilitators), and 2) what factors most prevent people with SMI from getting and keeping jobs (barriers)? Data were analyzed qualitatively and both person and environmental factors were highlighted. Among facilitators, participants agreed that quality consumer-provider relationships and individualized employment services are most instrumental in helping consumers achieve employment goals. Participants identified a range of environmental barriers, including issues related to the service system, entitlement programs, non-human resources, and social stigma. Implications for services are discussed.     

Adaptation of the older worker to occupational challenges

The occupational adaptation practice model guided the search for and the analysis of the literature on the older worker. The purpose of this literature review was to: identify the occupational challenges that older workers experience, determine ways in which the occupational therapist can promote the occupational adaptation of older workers, and articulate the research and policy changes implied in the model related to health and improved productivity. The analysis of the worker's personal characteristics, work tasks, and environments highlighted the types of occupational challenges that may overwhelm the older worker's adaptive capacity. Straining adaptive capacity of the older worker leads to degradation in levels of mastery. The occupational therapist and others could assist the older worker to achieve relative mastery in response to occupational challenges through ergonomic solutions, training, assistive devices, management policy, and health promotion. Combined efforts of the employer, of the occupational therapist, and of the older work to capitalize on the older worker's years of experience, existing skills, and knowledge facilitates higher job satisfaction, better performance, and an increased sense of well-being in the older worker.     

Evolutionary and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Gambling

Few attempts have been made to incorporate evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives on gambling. This paper begins with the assumption that gambling represents a risky endeavor undertaken for the purpose of winning stakes. This assumption leads to the derivation from evolutionary theory of two hypotheses concerning the socio-demographic characteristics of gamblers: (1) gambling should be over-represented among males, and (2) among young adults. To test these hypotheses, data are drawn from three sources. A cross-cultural sample of 60 societies reveals that males are more often identified as gamblers than females, and these results do not appear to reflect reporting biases. The data are insufficient to enable conclusions about age patterns associated with gambling within this cross-cultural sample. Nationally representative studies of problem and pathological gamblers drawn from seven nation states show that such gamblers tend to be over-represented by young males, as predicted. Lastly, available demographic data on casino gambling hint at sex differences in the games played and the stakes wagered, but require further research for robust conclusions to be drawn.