Applicability of the WHOQOL-BREF on early adolescence

The WHOQOL-BREF is one of the cross-cultural and widely used measures for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Previous studies of the HRQOL using the WHOQOL-BREF mainly focused on adult; however, there has been less work carried out on assessing the HRQOL on early adolescence. The goal of this study was to examine the applicability of the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version in early adolescent sample. A total of 365 junior high school students participated in this study. Participants completed the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version and five visual-analogue items on HRQOL evaluation. The results supported the originally designed four-factor model, and also indicated good item discrimination, internal reliability, factorial validity (by using confirmatory factor analysis) and construct validity (e.g., predictive validity, discriminant and convergent validity) after deleting two physical health items (i.e., “To what extent do you feel that your pain hinders you in doing what you need to do”; “Do you need medical treatment to cope with your daily life?”) and one social relationships item (i.e., “Are you satisfied with your sex life?”). Overall, this study provides the applicability of the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version in early adolescence. In addition, the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version may be of use to health professionals in the assessment and comparison of different age groups from early adolescence to adulthood.     

新年寄语

节日似乎是一瞬间的事情,而新的一年对你来说才刚刚开始。或许就是这一刻,在零时零分我们都做着同样的事情,认真地倒数时间,给你最重要的人来自第一时间的祝福和问候。在静默的空气中,用心凝视自己,在一个时间的起始点与自己对话。每天都被很多最流行的元素包围,却很少停下来与自己交谈。过去的一年我们对自己满意吗?对未来还有多少期待仍...     

Bayesian analysis under accelerated failure time models with error-prone time-to-event outcomes

Lifetime Data Analysis - We consider accelerated failure time models with error-prone time-to-event outcomes. The proposed models extend the conventional accelerated failure time model by allowing...     

Do Interactions between Unemployment Insurance and Sickness Insurance Affect Transitions to Employment?

Previous research suggests that there are substantial interactions between the unemployment and sickness insurance in Sweden. Moral hazard arises in the interplay between these insurance systems, as by reporting sick an unemployed person can postpone unemployment insurance expiration and sometimes receive considerably higher benefits. I examine whether these interactions affect the transition rate to employment. To do this I use a reform that greatly reduced the incentives to transfer to sickness benefits. Although there is evidence that this reform effectively lowered the incidence of sick reports among the unemployed, I do not find that the reduced sick report rate in turn affected the transition rate to employment.     

Inference in Arch and Garch Models with Heavy–Tailed Errors

ARCH and GARCH models directly address the dependency of conditional second moments, and have proved particularly valuable in modelling processes where a relatively large degree of fluctuation is present. These include financial time series, which can be particularly heavy tailed. However, little is known about properties of ARCH or GARCH models in the heavy–tailed setting, and no methods are available for approximating the distributions of parameter estimators there. In this paper we show that, for heavy–tailed errors, the asymptotic distributions of quasi–maximum likelihood parameter estimators in ARCH and GARCH models are nonnormal, and are particularly difficult to estimate directly using standard parametric methods. Standard bootstrap methods also fail to produce consistent estimators. To overcome these problems we develop percentile–t, subsample bootstrap approximations to estimator distributions. Studentizing is employed to approximate scale, and the subsample bootstrap is used to estimate shape. The good performance of this approach is demonstrated both theoretically and numerically.     

A preliminary review of the parenting assessment and skill development service: A 10-day residential service for families at risk of child maltreatment

Tweddle's Parenting Assessment and Skill Development Service (PASDS) is a 10-day residential programme for families at risk of child maltreatment. The service aims to conduct a comprehensive parenting capacity assessment to inform case management and improve parenting practices. The aims of the study were to (1) describe the psychosocial functioning of parents taking part in PASDS, (2) describe the key parenting assessment outcomes, and (3) explore parents' experiences of participation in PASDS including (a) perceived barriers and enablers of participation and (b) perceived outcomes for their family. Participants were 18 parents who participated in Tweddle's PASDS in Melbourne, Australia. A mixed methods study comprising a case file review and qualitative interviews was conducted. Parents accessing PASDS had experienced adverse childhood events, and many were experiencing mental health difficulties. Interviews with parents revealed perceived benefits of PASDS in improving parenting knowledge and skills, family relationships, and parenting confidence. At the time of discharge, 33% of families were assessed as unable to provide independent care for their child. The current findings have important implications for the further evaluation of evidenced-based services which can improve the accuracy of parenting capacity assessments, aiding in child protection decision-making related to child placement and safety.