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.     

Heterosexual Anal Intercourse among Men in Long Beach,California

Anal intercourse poses a greater risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission than vaginal intercourse, and in recent years there has been a growing understanding that heterosexual anal intercourse (HAI) is not uncommon. However, the majority of the anal intercourse literature has focused on men who have sex with men. The little research on HAI has mostly looked at women, with limited work among men. This analysis examined the association between HAI and high-risk behaviors (N = 1,622) and sexual sensation seeking (N = 239) in a sample of men recruited from 2001 to 2012 in Long Beach, California. Almost half of the sample was non-Hispanic Black. The median age was 42 years, 42% were homeless, and 20% reported recent HAI. Men who reported HAI were likely to be Hispanic, were likely to be homeless, had a male partner, engaged in sex exchange, and used cocaine or amphetamines during sex. Men who reported HAI scored higher on the Sexual Sensation Seeking scale. This research supports other work showing the relationship between HAI and high-risk behaviors. More important, it contributes new knowledge by demonstrating the association between HAI and sexual sensation seeking. This research highlights the importance of personality traits when trying to understand sexual behavior and when developing HIV prevention interventions.     

Unravelling Subjective Quality of Life: An Investigation of Individual and Community Determinants

Subjective quality of life is a popular measureof outcomes across fields as disparate asmedical research, community and healthpsychology and sociology. Its widespread usehas led to recent calls for a betterunderstanding of the psychological determinantsof the construct, emphasising the need to builda substantial body of knowledge around whatdetermines and impacts on perceptions of lifequality if it is to live up to currentexpectations as an outcome variable. This studyused two likely determinants of quality oflife, an individual level variable, loneliness,and a community level variable, aspects ofsense of community, and investigated theirassociation with subjective quality of life.Confidence in the results of the study wasstrengthened by repeating it in two separatetowns, matched on fundamental demographicvariables. The results revealed that subjectivequality of life was consistently associatedwith the individual level variable, loneliness,in both towns. Lonely people consistentlyreported significantly lower quality of life,particularly in the domains of intimacy,community involvement and emotional well-being.Once loneliness had been accounted for, thecommunity level variables showed much weaker,and generally no association with reportedquality of life. The importance of continuingto empirically identify variables that impactupon subjective quality of life is discussed.     

Same-Sex Attracted,Not LGBQ: The Associations of Sexual Identity Labeling on Religiousness,Sexuality, and Health Among Mormons

ABSTRACT

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS church), beliefs about same-sex sexual attraction are carefully differentiated from beliefs about same-sex sexual behavior and identity, leading some to reject a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) identity label in favor of declining a sexual identity or describing themselves as experiencing same-sex attraction (SSA). Using data from 1,128 sexual minority Mormons recruited from both politically conservative and liberal circles, we examined the relationship between rejecting an LGBQ identity and religiousness, attitudes toward sexuality, and health outcomes. We found that Mormons who reject an LGBQ identity were significantly more religious and less content with their sexuality but had similar health outcomes relative to LGBQ Mormons. We posit that these differences are best understood by differences in group affiliation and support, intersectional experiences with minority stressors, and the lack of generalizability of LGBQ constructs to those who reject an LGBQ identity.     

What do midwives fear?

BackgroundThere is evidence that a significant number of women are fearful about birth but less is known about the fears of maternity health providers and how their fear may impact on the women they care for.AimThe aim of this study was to determine the top fears midwives in Australia and New Zealand hold when it comes to caring for childbearing women.MethodFrom 2009 to 2011, 17 workshops were held in Australia and New Zealand supporting over 700 midwives develop skills to keep birth normal. During the workshop midwives were asked to write their top fear on a piece of paper and return it to the presenters. Similar concepts were grouped together to form 8 major categories.FindingsIn total 739 fears were reported and these were death of a baby (n = 177), missing something that causes harm (n = 176), obstetric emergencies (n = 114), maternal death (n = 83), being watched (n = 68), being the cause of a negative birth experience (n = 52), dealing with the unknown (n = 36) and losing passion and confidence around normal birth (n = 32). Student midwives were more concerned about knowing what to do, while homebirth midwives were mostly concerned with being blamed if something went wrong.ConclusionThere was consistency between the 17 groups of midwives regarding top fears held. Supporting midwives with workshops such as dealing with grief and loss and managing fear could help reduce their anxiety. Obstetric emergency skills workshops may help midwives feel more confident, especially those dealing with shoulder dystocia and PPH as they were most commonly recorded.