ENTER INTO HIS GATES: AN ANALYSIS OF BLACK CHURCH PARTICIPATION PATTERNS

This study examines contemporary trends in Black Church adult participation and whether and how patterns are influenced by factors such as denomination, location, church and clergy profile, church environment, and programmatic efforts. Bivariate and ordered logit results based on Faith Factor 2000 Project data across seven denominations suggest minimal denominational influence; however, church environment, including worship features and sermonic emphasis, as well as varied programs, positively influence participation. Additionally, participation decline is apparent among rural congregations. Results help illumine profiles of Black churches most likely to experience high or low levels of participation.     

LESSONS FOR RESEARCHERS AND FUNDING AGENCIES FROM HURRICANE KATRINA: A RESEARCH NOTE FROM MISSISSIPPI

We surveyed National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research in Mississippi to determine the economic extent of research damage and delays due to Hurricane Katrina. While several facilities were physically damaged, we found that the largest effects were time delays and missed opportunities. While psychological factors were not part of the original economic impact study, it became clear that they played an important role. Specifically, the Principal Investigator's (PI's) attitude of “just another delay” was one cultural barrier to fully accounting for the cost of these research delays. We concluded that Principal Investigators, with the assistance of funding agencies, should be better trained to measure time and opportunity costs associated with their research, so future disaster recovery efforts can more fully address those needs.     

Eight Years of Data on Residents in Small Dementia-Care Settings Suggest Functional Performance Is Maintained

Eight years of data analysis on residents’ status from three small Alzheimer care centers suggest notable stability in function. Individuals’ functional ability was best in their first year, but their year-to-year decline was mostly not significant. Cognitive abilities also were best in the resident's first year, but first-, second-, and third-year cognitive scores were not significantly different. We compared the residents’ dementia progression rate to the true rate of natural disease progression. This study, like others on small homelike settings, suggests that appropriate homelike environments maintain persons with dementia at an optimum level longer.     

Why Do They Leave? Factors Associated With Job Termination Among Personal Assistant Workers in Home Care

Recruiting and retaining an adequate number of personal support workers in home care is both challenging and essential to allowing elders to age in place. A mixed-method, longitudinal study examined turnover in a sample of 261 personal support workers in Maine; 70 workers (26.8%) left their employment in the first year of the study. Logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and lack of health insurance were significant predictors of turnover. Analysis of telephone interviews revealed three overarching themes related to termination: job not worthwhile, personal reasons, and burnout. Implications of study findings for gerontological social workers are outlined.     

Youth and violence: Phenomena and international data

The topic of youth, violence, and disintegration needs addressing because young women and men are the world's greatest capital. They have the energy, talent, and creativity for building a future. But this group also suffers grave vulnerabilities. The time of adolescence includes important and difficult periods of life (for example, becoming more independent from the family, finding an adequate position in society, and starting a family of one's own). All of these points are strongly correlated with social integration, employment, and a place in the labor market--important factors in this context.This article gives an overview of the international development and the actual situation of socially harmful behavior among youths--both fatal violence (homicide) and nonfatal violence (such as bullying, fighting, and carrying weapons). The author shows that different kinds of youth violence represent social problems in every society. The data show that youths are not only perpetrators but also the group with the highest risk of becoming victims of violence. Furthermore, the data from around the world show that their vulnerability is not limited to this sphere. It arises also from their social conditions, especially their high risk of being disintegrated from the labor market. The parallels in the data underline the significance of a functioning institutional structure without positing a deterministic relationship between the risk of economic disintegration and violent behavior.     

‘Being able to bear a child’: Insights from Zimbabwean women in Melbourne

Problem

In non-Western societies, childlessness carries numerous social consequences and has a significant impact on the gender identity and well-being of the women.

Factors affecting early family formation: A path model

The age at which women initiate family formation has important social and economic implications. To explore factors that determine age at initiation of childbearing, a non-recursive path model was estimated using data for young women in the National Longitudinal Survey. Results suggest that the young woman's family of orientation has important effects on the age at which she begins family building, but that the process is not simple or direct. Age at first marriage, educational attainment, and age at family formation are strongly interdependent; however, the process seems to vary by race.Kristin A. Moore and Sandra L. Hofferth are affiliated with the Urban Institute, 2100 M. Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Requests for reprints should be directed to Kristin Moore.