Family councils in nursing facilities: strategies for effective participation

This article provides an overview of the role of family councils. The contributions of the three groups that play a significant role in the development and support of family councils, relatives and friends of the facility's residents, facility administration and staff, and local advocacy organizations, are discussed. The role of the staff advisor, generally the facility social worker, is a major key to a successful council. Barriers that impede family council success are identified, and strategies that improve effectiveness are presented. Family councils play an important part in improving the quality of lives of long-term care residents.     

Local Chapter Outposts: A Dilemma for Federated Social Movement Organizations*

Although there has been a significant shift toward decentralized forms of social movement organizations (SMOs), the federated form is still quite active and deserves further study. In particular, the role of the local chapter in relation to its national office can be explored from new angles for additional insights into federated SMOs. I address the specific issue of isolation that is problematic for some chapters of federated SMOs. I consider these chapters to be “outposts”; isolated from national headquarters geographically, socially, culturally, politically or due to communication barriers. This outpost status creates specific difficulties over control, autonomy, coordination, and resources. “SMO Outposts” are often not able or willing to carry out national goals, strategy or tactics in the prescribed manner expected from headquarters. However, SMO Outposts may also experience unexpected opportunities. My typology of SMO Outposts clarifies their characteristics and presents the challenges and opportunities they encounter under various modes of isolation. This provides for a fuller assessment of the success, organizing capability and adaptation of federated SMOs.     

SEX OF CHILDREN: A COMMUNITY ANALYSIS OF PREFERENCES AND PREDETERMINATION ATTITUDES

A self-administered questionnaire concerning child sex preferences and attitudes toward the exercise of pre- and post-conception sex predetermination was distributed and retrieved from an urbanized area sample of 209 adults aged 18 to 50. A modified (i.e., truncated) version of McClelland's (1979) "stopping rule" measure method was used to assess child sex preferences. It confirmed and extended findings from earlier research in that male first children, but sex-balanced completed families, were preferred by the respondents. The use of either pre- or post-conception techniques of sex predetermination was favored by only a minority of the respondents, a very small minority when by the postconception method. Finally, it was evident that child sex preferences did not have a significant influence upon fertility intentions or upon attitudes toward the personal exercise of sex predetermination by either method.     

ADAPTING TO DEPRIVATION: AN EXAMINATION OF INFLATED EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS

Many researchers argue that lower-class individuals adapt to their deprivation by lowering their aspirations for success. Data provide only limited support for this position, however, and suggest that many lower-class individuals continue to hold high aspirations. This article points to a second method of adapting to deprivation: raising expectations for success to inflated levels—levels that have a low probability of realization. The extent and determinants of inflated educational expectations are explored using data from a national, longitudinal survey of high school seniors. Results indicate that almost half of all deprived individuals with high aspirations have inflated expectations. The primary determinants of inflated expectations appear to be pressure to attend college and the overestimation of one's abilities. These data are relevant to anomie or strain theories of deviance and social structure and personality.     

Infants' Ability to Distinguish Between Intentional and Accidental Actions and Its Relation to Internal State Language

The experiment reported here investigated infants' concept of intention, as well as the relation among intention understanding, general productive vocabulary, and internal state language production during the 2nd year. Results from an imitation task indicated that 18‐month‐olds are better able to differentiate between intentional and accidental actions than 14‐month‐olds. Although there was no relation between infants' performance on the intention task and their general productive vocabulary, internal state language production at 30 months was predicted by infants' ability to differentiate between intentional and accidental actions about a year earlier. These findings shed light on the developmental progression of infants' concept of intention, as well as on the continuity between infants' understanding of intentional action and their ability to use internal state words.     

The relationship of sexual abuse to symptom levels in emotionally disturbed girls

This research study examined symptom levels and sexual abuse status of emotionally disturbed girls in residential treatment. Sexually abused girls had poorer self esteem, higher levels of anxiety, and a trend toward more depression than the nonabused girls on self-report measures. Measures completed by the residents' therapists also found sexually abused girls as being more symptomatic in a number of areas.This research was made possible by a grant awarded to both authors from the Faculty Research and Innovation Fund of the University of Southern California and a Rhoda G. Sarnat Junior Faculty Endowment to Dr. Mennen.     

Papua New Guinea Highlanders Ancient And Modern

D.K. Feil. The evolution of Highland Papua New Guinea societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1987. xii, 286pp., plates, maps, tables, bibliography, index. $59.50. ISBN 0 521 33423 3.