Factors affecting completion of a matched savings program: Impacts of time preference,discount rate,and financial hardship

There is a general consensus among researchers and policymakers that matched savings programs can significantly increase the propensity to save among low-income households. This study offers a unique contribution to the field by testing whether principals and theories from behavioral economics affect the decisions that participants make in these savings programs. Using a sample of people participating in the $aveNYC program, a matched savings program for very low-income households, we test whether information failure, time preference, and financial hardship affected people's ability to complete the program and receive the match money. We find that future orientation does not significantly impact program completion, but both information failure and financial hardship increase the hazard of early account closure. Although the pool of participants who did not receive the match was small, both information failure and financial hardship had large impacts on the risk of withdrawing the account before receiving a match. We discuss how these findings can inform program design and suggest future research.     

Disparities in Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Literacy and Vaccine Completion Among Asian American Pacific Islander Undergraduates: Implications for Cancer Health Equity

Abstract

Purpose: Low rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among young Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women need to be addressed, particularly given the high incidence of cervical cancer in this population. The current study aims to investigate predictors of HPV vaccination in young AAPI and non-Latina white (NLW) women. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted of a health survey administered to college-aged women (N = 2,270) at a large public university in the Midwest. Andersen's behavioral model of health services utilization guided the study theoretically, and hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate research aim. Results: NLW women had a significantly higher rate of vaccine completion than AAPI women (NLW = 60.7%; AAPI = 38.6%). NLW women also scored higher on all 5 measures of HPV vaccine literacy than AAPI women. Both groups of undergraduate women reported that increasing age, knowledge about HPV, greater use of gynecological services, and knowing someone who had cancer were significant factors related to HPV vaccination completion. In the NLW group, father's income was also found to be a predictor of HPV vaccination completion. Conclusions: Rate and predictors of HPV vaccination completion vary between NLW and AAPI women. Greater promotion of HPV literacy and gynecological service use should be made to young AAPI women to increase their HPV uptake. Further research should examine sociocultural factors that could hinder or promote HPV vaccination in young AAPI women.     

Women and men – same problems, different treatment

The focus on difference between men and women has been important in the development of gender-specific treatment for alcohol and drug problems. The aim of this article is to examine the views of alcohol and drug treatment staff on differences between men and women in treatment and compare men and women in treatment on issues related to staff attitudes. One data set consists of questionnaires sent to staff working with alcohol and drug problems in Stockholm County (n = 918). Another data set consists of interviews with women and men in treatment for alcohol and drug problems in Stockholm (n = 1865). The results show that staff experience differences between men and women both in their problems and in how they should be treated. Some of these differences are supported by the comparison of women and men in the client-data, but mostly the differences are relatively small or even non-existent.     

The mediating effect of organizational commitment and employee empowerment: how transformational leadership impacts employee knowledge sharing intention

This study examined the underlying process through which transformational leaders provide an influence on employees’ knowledge sharing intention by concentrating on mediating roles of psychological empowerment and employees’ commitment to organizations. The direct and indirect impacts of transformational leadership on knowledge sharing were explored. In order to test the proposed hypotheses, structural equation modelling analysis was conducted with a sample of 426 full-time employees in South Korea. The results of this study showed a significant direct effect of transformational leadership on psychological empowerment and organizational commitment, which in turn had a significant influence on employees’ knowledge sharing intention. Transformational leadership had only an indirect effect on knowledge sharing intention among employees. These results bring out the importance of mediating roles of employee’s attitudes, especially organizational commitment, for promoting knowledge sharing intention among employees.     

Dynamic Noun Generalization: Moment‐to‐Moment Interactions Shape Children's Naming Biases

Recent research on early word learning suggests that children's behavior when‐generalizing novel nouns integrates their prior vocabulary knowledge with the specifics of the task. This study examines how these factors interact on the moment‐to‐moment time scale of the training children receive and the sequence of stimuli they are shown. In ***1 condition, we used a combination of training and stimulus factors predicted to produce a bias to generalize nouns by shape similarity. We then reduced this shape bias and amplified a bias to generalize nouns by material similarity via manipulations of training and stimuli across 3 other conditions. Additional analyses suggest that children's generalizations on individual trials are influenced by what they have seen and done on previous trials. These results highlight the importance of the task and stimuli in bringing children's prior knowledge to bear in early word learning.     

Children living with parental substance misuse: A cross‐sectional profile of children and families referred to children's social care

Parental substance misuse is a significant public health and children's rights issue. In the United Kingdom, social workers frequently work with children and families affected by substance misuse. However, relatively little is known about this population, particularly at point of referral to children's social care. This paper reports on the largest known study of parental substance misuse as a feature of children's social care work in England. The paper provides a cross‐sectional profile of 299 children living with parental substance misuse and referred to children's social care in one local authority in England. Data were collected from social work case files at the point of referral to social care about the child, family, the wider environment, and parental substance misuse. The findings show that children affected by parental substance misuse frequently had other support needs relating to their well‐being and mental health. Children were also likely to be experiencing other parental and environmental risk factors. The significant historical—and in some cases intergenerational—social care involvement for some families indicates potential issues with the capacity of services to meet needs. Recommendations for practice are discussed with a particular focus on the need for early, comprehensive support for children and families.