Influence of Late Life Stressors on the Decisions of Older Women to Relocate into Congregate Senior Housing

Late-life stressors often require individuals to make substantial alterations in behavior and lifestyle and can affect their overall health and well-being. Relocation is a significant life stress, regardless of age. The primary aim of this study is to elucidate the push-pull factors associated with moving into congregate senior housing. The secondary aim is to investigate the decision-making processes and stresses associated with moving into a congregate living environment. Interviews were conducted with 26 women who were new residents in congregate senior housing. Relocation, as expected, was considered to be stressful, although individual differences were found among perceptions of relocation stresses. Women who had made the decision to relocate on their own showed evidence of better psychosocial well-being at the time of the move. One-quarter of the sample chose to move to provide care to another person. As the options for senior housing continue to evolve and the number of adults reaching advanced age continues to increase, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to successful adaptation. This knowledge will enable facility administrators to implement programs and procedures to assist incoming residents with acclimating to their new homes.     

Back under the Microscope: Insights from Evidence on Budget Support

This article analyses evidence for each of the expected benefits of budget support in turn, and finds the biggest improvements in the pro‐poor nature of public expenditure and public financial management. More modest improvements are noted in the predictability of aid and the burden of transaction costs, while less is known about the real effects on domestic accountability. Underlying them all is an assessment that programmes are incapable of ‘buying’ reforms. Drawing on the analysis, seven areas are highlighted where budget support design can be strengthened vis‐à‐vis its original rationale.     

Analysis of strategic plans to assess planning for sustainability of comprehensive community initiatives

In order to achieve the intended impact on a community, comprehensive community initiatives must sustain programs once they have been implemented. However, planning for sustainability is challenging and is rarely incorporated in the planning process of an initiative. The current study examined 19 5-year plans developed during the planning phase of the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to assess the extent to which the construct of sustainability was incorporated. The plan analysis was supplemented with results from other components of the complex evaluation design implemented as part of the process evaluation of Comprehensive Strategy. Results suggested that sustainability was not accounted for during the planning phase of this initiative. The implications of these findings, including the importance of planning for sustainability in order to achieve sustainability, are discussed.     

The ICD diagnoses of fetishism and sadomasochism

In this article we discuss psychiatric diagnoses of sexual deviation as they appear in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), the internationally accepted classification and diagnostic system of the World Health Organization (WHO). Namely, we discuss the background of three diagnostic categories: Fetishism (F65.0), Fetishistic Transvestism (F65.1), and Sadomasochism (F65.5). Pertinent background issues regarding the above categories are followed by a critique of the usefulness of diagnosing these phenomena today. Specifically, we argue that Fetishism, Fetishistic Transvestism, and Sadomasochism, also labeled Paraphilia or perversion, should not be considered illnesses. Finally, we present the efforts of an initiative known as ReviseF65, which was established in 1997, to abolish these diagnoses.     

Factors enhancing adaptive coping and mental health in lesbian youth: a review of the literature

Mental health practitioners who find themselves working with lesbian youth have a limited knowledge base by which to guide them in the helping process. This article explores, examines, and synthesizes current literature in an attempt to uncover factors that serve to enhance adaptive coping strategies for lesbian youth.     

The Solidary Relationship’s Consequences for the Ebb and Flow of Activism: Collaborative Evidence from Life-History Interviews and Social Media Event Analysis,

Acting in solidarity with deprived others has become a central topic in social movement research. The explanations of solidarity activism or political altruism are few. However, social movement researchers have claimed that solidarity with out-of-group others is a by-product of in-group interaction. In contrast, we argue that out-group interaction with the deprived other and the formation of a solidary relationship is central to the ebb and flow of solidarity activism. We investigate the Danish refugee solidarity movement and show that the meeting with the deprived other 1) brings about an interaction order which makes an ethical demand on the activists to care for the other both within the bounds of the situations and in the future; 2) enacts and amplifies activists’ values and beliefs because the deprived other becomes an exemplar of the injustice and the need to help the broader group of people in the same fragile situation. We develop and test this theory drawing on 42 life-history interviews and a social media dataset containing a panel of 87,455 activists participating in refugee solidarity groups.     

Special issue dedicated to Odd O. Aalen

Lifetime Data Analysis -