The quality of life in large American cities: Objective and subjective social indicators

The concept of ‘quality of life’ as a tool of comparative social indicators research is analyzed. Inter-city comparisons of objective and subjective measures of well being are presented and the distinctiveness of these two dimensions of the quality of life is documented. The paper concludes with some observations on the implications that this distinctiveness has for the use of the concept ‘quality of life’ in future social indicators research.     

Binary discrete choice under asymmetric restrictions

A crucial assumption of discrete choice models requires that observed individual behavior is a direct function of unobserved individual utility maximization. There are situations, however, where observed behavior is ambiguous with respect to maximum utility. This is the case, when individual utility maximization is hampered by global restrictions of action. Typically, such restrictions are tied to particular decision alternatives, which causes an asymmetric influencing on individual behavior. The existence of global asymmetric restrictions upon individual behavior can be treated as a second unobserved variable. This leads to two separate models, which have to be estimated simultaneously: a decision model on the one hand and a restriction model on the other. The standard decision model arises as a special case with a zero restriction probability. McKelvey/Zavoina's PseudoR ² can be employed as a straightforward evaluation of the goodness-of-fit. Neglecting the presence of asymmetric restrictions or considering them as symmetric effects leads to biased estimators. This is discussed in a formal manner and demonstrated by means of a simulation study. The bias may occur in either direction. It is not only restricted to the model parameters themselves, but also to their standard errors. To avoid such bias, it seems advisable to use the extended model if ever possible and test for a zero restriction probability. I wish to thank Reinhard Hujer, Jo Grammig, Matthias Lob, Notburga Ott, Reinhold Schnabel and an anonymous referee for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

Development and identity issues in adolescent homosexuality

This paper argues that homosexual emergence in adolescence must be viewed from a developmentally non-pejorative perspective. In attempting to respond to the special stresses in adolescents who are developing gay or lesbian identities, helping professionals need to develop a familiarity with the unique developmental tasks of gay and lesbian youth, as well as the sexual identity formation literature generally. A review of developmental issues for gay and lesbian youth leads to some thoughts regarding the development of services.To the doctor, you were sick; to the lawyer, you were a criminal; to the minister, you were wicked.This paper is one of several reviews and research reports produced is part of the Sexual Orientation and Youth Project, a project examining the issues regarding service delivery to gay youth. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of Community and Social Services.     

SLOF: a behavioral rating scale for assessing the mentally ill

Rating scales for assessing the mentally ill usually focus on the role functioning of clients and their psychiatric symptomatology. This article introduces a rating scale to measure more directly observable behavioral functioning and daily living skills of clients in mental hospitals and in the community. Results are presented from a series of studies designed to test the instrument's psychometric properties.     

Gender Differences in Risk Perception: Effects Differ in Stressed vs. Non-Stressed Environments

Contrary to previous reports that women are more concerned about environmental risks than men, we hypothesized that men and women residing in neighborhoods stressed by multiple hazards would demonstrate similar concerns about local environmental conditions. Analysis of a national data base and an aggregate of ten local data bases found greater female than male concern about local technological, behavioral, and land use hazards in good neighborhoods, but, as expected, not in stressed ones. We urge analysts to conduct more studies in stressed neighborhoods in order to better understand the perspective of those who live with environmental risks.     

Soziale Ungleichheiten beim Schulstart

Although there is a regular age of school entry in Germany, some children start school later than usual and some children start ahead of schedule. While there has been some decrease in delayed school entries in the last years, the rate of premature school entry has increased substantially. Paradoxically, while the delayed entry is primarily because professionals rate a child as not ready for school, the premature entry is mainly based on parents’ choice. The first aim of the paper is to discover whether kindergarten attendance can reduce the risk of a delayed entry. The arguments and hypotheses are mainly based on the theory on the ecology of human development of Bronfenbrenner. The empirical analyses demonstrate that low educated families profit most by kindergarten attendance, but only if the child begins attending the care institution before reaching age four. The second aim concerns considerations in regard to the decision of prematurely entering school. Socio-economic conditions are not as important at this point as compared with a delay in school entry. However, there are some effects indicating that higher educated parents foster a premature entry to elementary schools. The analyses are based on over 1.400 children in the relevant age group and their parents taking part in the large nationwide German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP).     

Making Rape Education Meaningful for Men: The Case for Eliminating the Emphasis on Men as Perpetrators,Protectors, or Victims

Analysis of college men's responses to a fictional woman revealing a rape experience indicate that men want to know how to support women who have experienced rape, however, they feel unprepared to do so. Additionally, men reported their previous education on rape as insufficient, inappropriate, and irrelevant leading us to conclude that rape prevention strategies that focus on men as perpetrators, potential victims, and/or protectors are less than ideal for reaching men. However, based on the men's responses in the interviews and reflective writing pieces, we suggest that teaching men to be supporters or allies of raped women holds promise for making rape education relevant to the men. The paper concludes with suggestions for practitioners on how to meet current rape prevention goals while shifting the focus of the training for men and encourages further empirical testing.