Validation of the subtle and overt psychological abuse scale: an examination of construct validity

The Subtle and Overt Scale of Psychological Abuse (Marshall, 1999a) is a measure designed to examine previously unevaluated forms of psychological abuse. The scale was originally divided into seven subscales (overt: dominance, indifference, monitoring and discrediting; subtle: undermining, discounting, isolating). A sample of 172 women was used to evaluate the construct validity of this measure. In other words, the internal structure of the measure, its relation to other measures of physical and psychological abuse, and its relationship to other psychological outcomes. Empirical and theoretical approaches were used to replicate and examine the dimensions of this scale. Results revealed that this scale represents a unidimensional construct that is highly correlated to other measures of psychological abuse. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

A snapshot in time: Family policy and the United Nations International Year of the Family

Some of the special agendas and initiatives of the International Year of the Family (IYF), sponsored by the United Nations, are highlighted. After reviewing the history and structure of IYF, findings concerning salient areas and topics for nationally based policy and programs are presented. These findings are derived from a content analysis of materials assembled from 136 UN Member States, as well as analysis of other documents and discussions with the IYF Secretariat. The saliency of concerns is also presented by grouping countries according to their level of human suffering. Familycentric policy considerations are discussed, and implications are cited for universities, policy makers, and practitioners.     

Simple Transformation Techniques for Improved Non-parametric Regression

We propose and investigate two new methods for achieving less bias in non- parametric regression. We show that the new methods have bias of order h ⁴, where h is a smoothing parameter, in contrast to the basic kernel estimator's order h ². The methods are conceptually very simple. At the first stage, perform an ordinary non-parametric regression on { x_i , Y_i } to obtain m^ ( x_i ) (we use local linear fitting). In the first method, at the second stage, repeat the non-parametric regression but on the transformed dataset { m^ ( x_i , Y_i )}, taking the estimator at x to be this second stage estimator at m^ ( x ). In the second, and more appealing, method, again perform non-parametric regression on { m^ ( x_i , Y_i )}, but this time make the kernel weights depend on the original x scale rather than using the m^ ( x ) scale. We concentrate more of our effort in this paper on the latter because of its advantages over the former. Our emphasis is largely theoretical, but we also show that the latter method has practical potential through some simulated examples.     

Promoting self-management of urinary incontinence in a geropsychiatric day treatment program

As the number of older adults in the United States increases, the number of older adults with mental illnesses also will increase. There will be a corresponding increase in prevalence of UI and its associated problems--medical problems, loss of independence or need for institutionalized care, diminished quality of life, and increased costs. Psychiatric nurses are in a position to help older adults with mental illnesses improve their overall health and quality of life by preventing the problems associated with untreated UI. Within their practice, psychiatric nurses have the opportunity to ensure clients receive the comprehensive assessments needed to establish their functional, physical, behavioral, emotional, and social support status--information that forms the foundation for developing individualized treatment interventions. Psychiatric nurses have the expertise to integrate physical and mental health care for older adults with mental illnesses and co-occurring conditions, such as UI. Promoting self-management of UI among older adults with mental illnesses potentially will enable them to participate in psychiatric rehabilitation programs; improve their overall health and quality of life; prevent falls and fractures that often cause them to lose their independent community living status and to be admitted to long-term care facilities; and reduce the cost to mental health care providers of managing UI in the treatment setting.     

Caregiver AOD use, case substantiation, and AOD treatment: studies based on two southwestern counties

This article includes two separate studies: the first explores the impact of caregiver AOD use on CPS case substantiation; the second compares CPS-involved and CPS-noninvolved females in AOD treatment systems. Results suggest that cases with indications of AOD use are more likely to be substantiated than cases without; and increasing numbers of children and younger maternal ages are risk factors for CPS involvement among AOD-using women. Related findings are also presented, followed by implications for practice and research.     

Omnibus Tests of The Martingale Assumption in The Analysisof Recurrent Failure Time Data

The Andersen-Gill multiplicative intensity(MI) model is well-suited to the analysis of recurrent failuretime data. The fundamental assumption of the MI model is thatthe process M_i(t) for subjects i=1,,n,defined to be the difference between a subject's counting processand compensator, i.e., N_i(t) A_i(t); >0,is a martingale with respect to some filtration. We propose omnibusprocedures for testing this assumption. The methods are basedon transformations of the estimated martingale residual process ^M _i (t) a function of consistent estimatesof the log-intensity ratios and the baseline cumulative hazard.Under a correctly specified model, the expected value of ^M _i (t)is approximately equal to zero with approximately uncorrelatedincrements. These properties are exploited in the proposed testingprocedures. We examine the effects of censoring and covariateeffects on the operating characteristics of the proposed methodsvia simulation. The procedures are most sensitive to the omissionof a time-varying continuous covariate. We illustrate use ofthe methods in an analysis of data from a clinical trial involvingpatients with chronic granulatomous disease.     

Role stress among Canadian white-collar workers

The incidence of various stressors at work and outside work was examined in a group of public service workers with a large Canadian federal government department. Workers were either in clerical, technical and supervisory ('officers'), or management positions. Measures of work stress included role stressors (load, insufficiency, conflict ambiguity and responsibility), as well as stress due to the physical environment. Both life events and daily hassles were included as measures of non-work stress. The consequences of stress were considered in terms of vocational, psychological, interpersonal, and physical strain, as well as in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Potential moderators of stress included social support and self-esteem. Among work stressors conflict, ambiguity and insufficiency were the more closely associated with vocational outcomes. MANCOVA followed by discriminant function analysis showed that clerical workers were distinguished by higher levels of insufficiency, officers by higher levels of conflict and the lowest levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and managers by higher levels of perceived responsibility for others. The results are discussed in terms of social role theory.