Informal care vs. formal services: changes in patterns of care over time

Longitudinal data from a representative sample of community-residing older persons were used to document changes in patterns and costs of care, both informal and formal. It was found that use of formal services was usually in conjunction with, and secondary to, informal care. Limited availability of informal care as well as increased disability raised the odds of using services. Substitution of formal services for informal care was limited and usually temporary. Total costs of community care, including living expenses, were generally less than the cost of nursing home care.     

Eternal legitimacy of New Zealand trade unions: An update

This paper examines the current state of play in New Zealand’s industrial relations policy following the first general election under a system of proportional representation. The implications of the new Coalition Government’s policy statements are examined in light of the current outcomes under the Employment Contracts Act. It is concluded that radical reforms, and therefore radical changes, are unlikely. With the exception of the role of the Employment Court, institutional arrangements and bargaining outcomes under the Employment Contracts Act have become reasonably stable and are unlikely to be radically altered. The role of the Employment Court and to a lesser extent the Employment Tribunal is under threat and a more gradual move towards further liberalization of the labor market through changes to personal grievance procedures and bargaining process requirements cannot be ruled out. This research was funded by a grant from Public Good Science Fund administered by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST Contract: VUW F514).     

The Use and “Abuse” of Family in Policy Matters

Family as an institution and as rhetoric appears to play an inordinate role in shaping social policy formation, implementation, and evaluation. Its impact affects the work of applied and academic sociologists in multiple ways. Given its importance and the manner in which it operates, I argue that family may be usefully studied as an ideograph. I present a detailed analysis of how family operates rhetorically to shape and constrain policy-related matters. I also illustrate how it affects and delimits consideration of some specific social concerns, and I conclude that social science practitioners should conscientiously take family into account as we do our own work.     

Making a connection: school engagement of young people in care

Intervention to improve educational attainment for children in out‐of‐home care is increasingly being recognized as important for their well‐being and future opportunities. This paper reports on a mixed method study of the school engagement or connectedness of young people in care. The study comprised a survey of 202 young people in care in Queensland, Australia, and a matched comparison group of young people not in care, plus interviews with a subset of 65 young people in care who were surveyed. Both the school environment and the perceived levels of support influenced school engagement, with those who were assisted by carers and caseworkers more likely to be positively connected with school. These young people perceived education as a pathway to achieving work and life goals. The findings suggest that active and focused attention on young people's school engagement should be part of case planning and monitoring as it offers an additional strategy for improving their educational experience.     

The influence of dual-identity development on the psychosocial functioning of African-American gay and bisexual men

To examine the influence of racial-ethnic and sexual identity development on the psychosocial functioning of African-American gay and bisexual men (AAGBM), 174 AAGBM completed questionnaire packets designed to assess their levels of racial-ethnic and sexual identity development, self-esteem, social support, male gender role stress, HIV prevention self-efficacy, psychological distress, and life satisfaction. The results indicate that AAGBM who possess more positive (i.e., integrated) self-identification as being African American and gay reported higher levels of self-esteem, HIV prevention self-efficacy, stronger social support networks, greater levels of life satisfaction, and lower levels of male gender role and psychological distress than their counterparts who reported less positive (i.e., less well integrated) African American and gay identity development. Although higher levels of racial-ethnic identity development were associated with greater levels of life satisfaction, sexual identity development was not.     

Feasibility study for collecting alcohol and other drug use data among secondary school students: a web-based survey approach

This study examined the feasibility of using a Web-based survey to collect alcohol and other drug use data from secondary school students in an urban school district in the Midwest. A Web-based survey was self-administered by a random sample of 6th through 11th grade students in the spring of 2002. The final sample consisted of 1,536 secondary school students (781 women and 755 men). The sample was 57% White, 40% African American, and 3% from other racial and ethnic groups. Several indicators of data quality were examined including response rate, absenteeism, refusals, substantive data, and data processing time. The study achieved a response rate of 89.1%. The results of the present study provide evidence that a Web-based survey can be successfully implemented in an economically and racially diverse urban sample of secondary students. While researchers conducting survey research within secondary schools should consider using Web-based survey approaches, additional research is needed to compare Web-based surveys to more traditional approaches to collecting data.     

Sexual double standards: a review and methodological critique of two decades of research

A review of 30 studies published since 1980 found evidence for the continued existence of sexual double standards: different standards of sexual permissiveness for women and men. Experimental studies have included predominantly White North American college students; ethnographies, focus group and interview studies, and linguistic analyses have included more diverse samples. Studies show that sexual double standards are influenced by situational and interpersonal factors (e.g., the target's age, level of relationship commitment, and number of partners), and that double standards are local constructions, differing across ethnic and cultural groups. This review discusses methodological issues, including the strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative approaches. It also discusses implications for women s high-risk sexual behavior and sexual identity, and suggests directions for future research.     

The effect of homosexuality on perceptions of persuasiveness and trustworthiness

This study investigated the effect of sexual orientation on perceptions of persuasiveness and trustworthiness. Subjects were told that a university was considering adding either an International Studies Minor or a Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Studies minor to its curriculum. Subjects then viewed a videotape of a male professor, introduced as either homosexual or heterosexual, speaking about the benefits of the proposal. Following the video, ratings of the speaker's trustworthiness and persuasiveness were assessed. Results indicate that the speaker's sexual orientation alone did not have a significant effect on either of these ratings. However, a significant interaction occurred between the speaker's sexual orientation and the speech topic, indicating that subjects expressed especially low levels of trustworthiness when the homosexual speaker was lecturing on the GLB minor. Regression analyses revealed that subjects' attitudes toward homosexuals were a significant predictor of their judgements of the speaker's trustworthiness.