Determinants of environmental public participation in China: an aggregate level study based on political opportunity theory and post-materialist values theory

The level of public participation in response to environmental issues in China has significantly increased over the past 10 years. This expansion of participation occurred as the government was pursuing legislative and regulatory approaches to address environmental pollution. Factors contributing to the development of environmental public participation are explored based on the political opportunity theory and post-materialist values theory. Two participation styles are used as dependent variables in a panel data framework. The empirical results of an analysis of provincial level data indicate that the degree of openness to participation and economic development level show consistently significant impacts on the levels of different environmental participation styles, thus demonstrating the applicability of the political opportunity theory and Inglehart’s post-materialist values theory in predicting environmental public participation in China. The results also show that other variables, including educational level and environmental pollution level have different or even reverse effects depending on the form of participation examined. In general, the results are consistent with cross-national studies of environmental policy development and political participation.     

Maternal Depression and the Ability to Facilitate Joint Attention With 18‐Month‐Olds

Maternal depression has been associated with the mother‐child dyad's ability to engage in joint attention. This study of 69 depressed and 63 control mothers and their 18‐month‐olds addresses how aspects of maternal psychopathology are related to joint attention during a snack interaction. Although nondepressed‐mother dyads appeared better at joint attention than depressed‐mother dyads, this difference was not statistically significant. Among the depressed‐mother dyads, joint attention was related to presence of a comorbid Axis I diagnosis (usually an anxiety disorder) versus a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) only. Surprisingly, dyads with mothers who met criteria for a comorbid diagnosis were better at joint attention than those with MDD only, despite the fact that those mothers were likely to have longer and more severe depressive histories. The relationship between comorbid status and joint attention was mediated by the mother's affect. Rationale for the paradoxical finding that the “more pathological” mothers had greater success in engaging in joint attention is discussed.     

Extended critical vawes of the multivariate extreme deviate test for detecting a single spurious observation

The Institute of Mathematical Statistics has published a table of critical values for the multivariate extreme deviate test. However, the critical values, derived by a Monte Carlo simulation, are given for only the dimensions 2 through 5. We present new critical values for the dimensions 6 through 10, 12, 15, and 20. The results are presented in both table and graphical form. All critical values for the test statistic have been generated by a Monte Carlo simulation using 10,000 observations per case. An example is presented using the new critical values.     

Offending Trajectories Among Native‐Born and Foreign‐Born Hispanics to Late Middle Age

Research on crime over the life‐course has made considerable progress in the last several decades. Despite this growth, significantly less attention has been devoted to longitudinal examinations of Hispanic populations beyond one phase of the life‐course, and/or examining differences between native‐born and foreign‐born Hispanics. Recognizing these limitations, this study offers an investigation of Hispanics in the United States focusing on offending and its relationship to immigration status. Using arrest data from a cohort of 375 Hispanic males from ages 18 to 50, trajectory analysis revealed four unique offending trajectories: very low‐rate offenders, high‐rate late‐onset escalators, initially high‐rate desisters, and high‐rate chronic offenders. Multivariate regression models demonstrated that Hispanic immigrants were significantly less likely to be initially high‐rate desisters or high‐rate chronic offenders compared with their native‐born counterparts, yet unmarried Hispanics were significantly more likely to be high‐rate late‐onset escalators. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.     

In the Best Interest of the (Adult) Child: Ideas About Kinship Care of Older Adults

This article uses a qualitative, ethnographic approach to examine the experiences of older adults and their kin, as the older adult engages in relocation. Studies looking at caregiving by kin for older adults highlight burdens for the adult child. This study offers a life course perspective on kinship care, analyzing older adults’ decisions to move. It was found that many older adults are strongly influenced by the desire to not be solely cared for by their kin, as well as to select housing near their existing social network, which might exclude kin. In conclusion, policy implications are discussed.     

Why Adoption? Gay,Lesbian, and Heterosexual Adoptive Parents’ Reproductive Experiences and Reasons for Adoption

This study aimed to explore the experiences of gay, lesbian, and heterosexual adoptive parents from 130 families. Parents’ reproductive experiences prior to adoption and their reasons for choosing to adopt were compared. Heterosexual couples were more likely to have experienced infertility than same-sex couples. Same-sex couples were more likely to prefer adoption over other routes to parenthood. Parents in all three family types selected their route to parenthood according to normative expectations, attitudes to biogenetic parenthood, ease of access, and moral reasoning. Same-sex couples’ decisions were enabled by the non-discriminatory sociolegal context of the United Kingdom.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RELATIONAL ETHICS SCALE*

In order for empirical testing to be performed systematically on family therapy theories, appropriate testing instruments must be developed and validated. The purpose of this study was to develep a reliable and valid scale for measuring the related constructs of relational ethics as described in contextual family therapy (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Krasner, 1986). Presented here is the five-stage procedure used in development in Relational Ethics Scale, data supporting the validity and reliability of the scale, and the final version of the instrument.     

Health policy in a new key: setting democratic priorities

Health policy in the United States is entering an era in which explicitly value-based allocation decisions require direct attention. Policies concerning access to care, financing, and utilization management will necessarily have redistributive effects. For these policies to command social legitimacy and political support, some consensus will have to emerge around the values and ideals justifying these policies. This article addresses the problems of conceptual clarification and democratic process raised by the prospect of an explicitly value-based allocation policy. It offers a conceptual matrix distinguishing the scope of the issue of allocation in health care. Drawing on the activities of community health decisions projects in several states, it also offers suggestions about building a participatory and educational process at the grassroots level that might lead to a democratic consensus suitable for guiding policy choice.     

Determinants of mental health treatment seeking among soldiers who recognize their problem: implications for high-risk occupations

Although research has documented an increased risk of mental health problems among employees in high-stress occupations, little attention has been devoted to the process by which employees seek treatment for these problems. Using components of the Stages of Change Model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982), this study examined the correlates of considering and receiving treatment for such problems among active-duty military personnel in the U.S. Army. A multidimensional assessment of determinants of treatment seeking was administered to 1725 military personnel, along with measures of mental health symptoms and treatment seeking. These determinants were examined as predictors of considering and receiving treatment among a sub-sample of 466 personnel who recognized having a current mental health problem. Multinomial logistic regressions indicated that attitudes towards treatment and a preference for self-reliance distinguished those considering treatment from those who had not sought treatment. A larger number of factors distinguished soldiers considering treatment from those who had actually received treatment, with operational barriers and self-reliance being the strongest and unique correlates. The discussion focuses on the importance of what organizations can do to facilitate treatment seeking among employees in high-risk environments.