Nursing-Home Resident Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Case Study Approach

Longitudinal quality-of-life (QOL) research incorporating multiple perspectives can add to knowledge about how nursing home residents experience QOL, but these methods are seldom used. This study employed interviews and participant observation to conduct multiple-perspective, longitudinal case studies of six residents. Close, reciprocal relationships with staff members, staff knowledge of residents, and autonomy were fundamental to QOL. Autonomy was experienced through choice and self-advocacy. Changes in QOL over time related to changes in resident health status, acclimation to the setting and family member availability. Study results may have implications for staffing and staff training.     

Determinants of Subjective Quality of Life Among Rural Adolescents: A Developmental Perspective

This study examines youths' experiences of loneliness and community connectedness in relation to seven domains of subjective quality of life among pre-adolescents, early adolescents, and middle adolescents. Participants consisted of 464 youth, ranging in age from 11 to 17 years, from two rural towns. Youth reported on their subjective experiences of loneliness and their perceptions of their community environments (neighbourhood and school). Hierarchical regressions indicated the importance of loneliness in accounting for subjective quality of life for early adolescents, and less so for middle and pre-adolescents. Community factors significantly accounted for additional variance in pre-adolescents' reports of their quality of life, compared with early and middle adolescents' reports. Discussion highlights the importance of understanding the determinants of quality of life from an individual, community, and developmental perspective.     

Exact intervals and tests for mean of symmetrical population when one "sample" value possibly an outlier

The (continuous) data are n observations that are believed to be a random sample from a symmetrical population. Confidence intervals and significance tests for the population mean are desired. There is, however, the possibility that either the smallest observation or the largest observation is an outlier. That is, the population providing this observation differs from the symmetrical population providing the other n - 1 observations. If this occurs, intervals and tests are desired for the mean of the population providing the other n - 1 observations. Some investigation difficulties can be overcome if intervals and tests can be developed that are simultaneously usable for all of these three situations (a confidence coefficient, or significance level, has the same value for all three situations). Two kinds of intervals and tests with this property are developed. These results always involve both the next to smallest observations and should have at least moderately high efficiencies. Also, some extensions are considered, such as allowing each observation to be from a different population.     

Making visits better: the perspectives of parents,foster parents,and child welfare workers

Mothers of children recently placed in foster care, foster mothers, and child welfare workers participated in semistructured, clinical interviews focusing on the challenges of parent visitation with young children. Mothers described their feelings of grief, trauma, and rage about the forced separation from their children and stressed the importance of emotional expression and communication during visits. Child welfare workers described the complexities of supporting emotionally close parent-child interactions while monitoring and assessing parental behavior during visits. Foster mothers described the importance of preparing children for visits and the difficulties of supporting the children afterward. Implications of understanding mothers', foster mothers', and child welfare workers' perspectives on enhancing the quality of visits with young children are discussed.     

Gambling participation in the U.S.--results from a national survey

Demographic patterns of gambling participation in the U.S. were examined. A national telephone survey was conducted with 2,630 representative U.S. residents aged 18 or older. The sample as weighted for analysis was 48% male, 12% black, and 11% Hispanic. Respondents were questioned on 15 types of gambling: how often they played and how much they won or lost. Eighty-two percent gambled in the past year. Lottery was the most commonly played game, while casino gambling accounted for the largest extent of gambling involvement. Men and women were equally likely to gamble in the past year, but men gambled more frequently and had larger wins and losses, particularly on sports betting and games of skill. Blacks were less likely to have gambled in the past year, but blacks who gambled did so more heavily than other racial groups. Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than average to be pathological gamblers. The rate of past year gambling declined with age, but extent of gambling involvement among gamblers did not vary with age. Rates of participation in most forms of gambling increased with socioeconomic status, but higher socioeconomic status gamblers had lower rates of pathological gambling, and lower extent of gambling involvement, particularly for lottery. New Englanders gambled more heavily than other Americans. Comparison with past studies showed an increase in overall gambling participation in the U.S., and large increases in rates of participation in lottery and casino gambling.     

Factors Associated with Business and Family Success: A Comparison of Single Manager and Dual Manager Family Business Households

The purposes of this article are: (1) to identify internal/micro-level factors associated with perception of family and business success, and (2) to compare single manager and dual manager family business households with respect to factors that contribute to their perceptions of business and family success. The data are from a nationally representative sample of 673 family business households. Using a two-stage least squares regression procedure, the results show a unique relationship between family success and business success. Family success positively impacts business success, but not vice versa, and predictors of family and business success vary widely between household types.     

Do Hispanic and Asian Adolescents Practice Panethnicity in Friendship Choices?*

Objectives. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we investigate whether Asian and Latino youth value racial boundaries more than ethnic boundaries. We evaluate the relative preferences of same‐ethnic, same‐race (but different‐ethnic), and different‐race friends. Methods. We use multilevel multinomial logistic regression models to examine the odds of choosing same‐ethnic, different‐ethnic (but same‐race), and different‐race friends net of the opportunity to interact. Results. We find strong effects of school racial and ethnic composition, immigrant status, and parental education on the likelihood of crossing boundaries in the selection of friends. In addition, we develop a new scale of panethnicity and find substantial ethnic group variation in panethnic sentiment. Conclusion. We find an overwhelming preference for same‐ethnic peers over same‐race (different‐ethnic) and different‐race peers.