Staff responses to age‐related health changes in people with an intellectual disability in group homes

The purpose of this study was to explore how supervisors in group homes caring for people with intellectual disability responded to the development of age‐related health changes in their residents. Ten group home supervisors working in the disability sector were interviewed once. Data were analysed using Dimensional Analysis. The study identified several factors related to whether a resident could stay ‘at home’ or would need to be moved to residential aged care (nursing home) including: nature and extent of group home resources, group home staff comfort with residents’ health changes, staff skill at navigating the intersection between the disability and ageing sectors, and the supervisor’s philosophy of care. The ability of older people with an intellectual disability to ‘age in place’ is affected by staff knowledge about and comfort with age‐related illnesses, staff skills at navigating formal services, staffing flexibility, and the philosophy of group home supervisors. Despite the growing international concern for the rights of people with disability, particularly in relation to decision making, questions about the older person’s choice of residence and participation in decision making about what was best for them, were almost nonexistent. Rather, decisions were made based on what was considered to be in ‘the best interest’.     

Contraceptive self‐efficacy: A perspective on teenage girls' contraceptive behavior

This research investigated the relationship between the social‐psychological theory of self‐efficacy and teenage girls' contraceptive behavior. Data were obtained from 258 female clients, aged 20 or younger, of a family planning clinic. Four factors were extracted from the contraceptive self‐efficacy (CSE) scale developed for this investigation. Regression analyses were used to determine whether CSE scores distinguished patterns of contraceptive use when the effects of the influential demographic, sexual experience, and psychosocial variables were controlled. Two of the four CSE factors contributed significantly new information in accounting for the variance in the contraceptive use measure, semipartial R = .26, semipartial R² (4, 163) = .07, p < .01. The relationship between study variables and the four CSE factor scores were examined in a canonical correlation analysis to understand better the characteristics of the contraceptively self‐efficacious teenager. The results support the proposition that girls with a high CSE orientation think that they should and can be responsible for their sexual activity and act accordingly to achieve contraceptive protection. Girls with a low CSE orientation may be ineffective contraceptors, because they experience conflict regarding their strong sexual feelings and activities. Implications for interventions are discussed.     

How Older People Position Their Late‐Life Childlessness: A Qualitative Study

This research explored how older people describe their paths to late‐life childlessness. In‐depth accounts from 38 childless older people, age 63–93, highlight the complex journeys and diverse meanings of childlessness for male and female participants, single and partnered, including some who had outlived children. Positioning theory is used to show how the conventional voluntary – involuntary binary is insufficient for capturing their experiences. Childlessness was for some an active choice to break a family violence cycle; for others, it was an outcome of social upheaval. It evoked feelings of both grief and relief over time, it was seen as evidence of discernment in being unwilling to parent at any price, or it was something that felt “natural” within a meaningful life. Rates of childlessness are increasing; this research highlights the fact that pathways and meanings of childlessness vary so much that it is unwise to assume that people have similar experiences of nonparenthood, especially in later life.     

Metabolic Syndrome,Obesity, and Related Risk Factors Among College Men and Women

Abstract

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to characterize the prevalence of overweight/obesity, metabolic syndrome (MbS) and its criteria, and nutrient intakes of college-age men and women via a large-scale screening. Participants and Methods: From August 2005 to July 2008, 2,722 subjects were recruited for the ongoing, cross-sectional Young Adult Health Risk Screening Initiative project. Anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, and dietary data were collected. Results: Approximately one-half of men and more than one-quarter of women were overweight or obese. MbS was identified in 9.9% of men and 3.0% of women; 77% of men and 54% of women had at least 1 MbS criterion. Intakes of saturated fat, magnesium, and fiber, as well as body mass index and reported physical activity levels were related to MbS. Conclusions: Because of high rates of overweight/obesity and MbS, college-age adults are at risk for developing chronic diseases including diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease     

Intimate Partner Violence and Social Relational Theory: Examining the Influence of Children and Important Others on Mothers' Transition Out of Violent Relationships

Interviews with survivors of intimate partner violence were conducted to gain information on the transition from violent relationships to new non‐violent relationships. A subset of this data was re‐analysed using Social Relational Theory to gain further insight into the roles of children and important others who were identified as impacting this transition for mothers who had exited violent relationships. This paper reviews two major themes discovered during the SRT analysis that were inherent in the women's experiences: (i) agency of children, family, peers and community and (ii) power. In addition, this paper suggests implications for research, intervention and psychotherapeutic practice.     

Learning Skinner’s Verbal Operants: Comparing an Online Stimulus Equivalence Procedure to an Assigned Reading

The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of an online stimulus equivalence procedure to that of an assigned reading when learning Skinner’s taxonomy of verbal behavior. Twenty-six graduate students participated via an online learning management system. One group was exposed to an online stimulus equivalence procedure (equivalence group) that was designed to teach relations among the names, antecedents, consequences, and examples of each elementary verbal operant. A comparison group (reading group) read a chapter from a popular textbook. Tests for the emergence of selection-based and topography-based intraverbal responses were then conducted, as were tests for generalization and maintenance. Overall, results suggest that the online equivalence procedure was not significantly more effective in promoting topography-based responses than the assigned reading. However, performance on selection-based tests was enhanced by the online equivalence procedure as was performance on topography-based tests when participants were required to provide operant names in response to consequences or examples. On average, the equivalence group performed at a level that was 10 percentage points (i.e., a full letter grade) above that of the reading group. The viability of the equivalence-based procedure is discussed in relation to the assigned reading.