Effective directed tests for models with ordered categorical data

This paper offers a new method for testing one‐sided hypotheses in discrete multivariate data models. One‐sided alternatives mean that there are restrictions on the multidimensional parameter space. The focus is on models dealing with ordered categorical data. In particular, applications are concerned with R×C contingency tables. The method has advantages over other general approaches. All tests are exact in the sense that no large sample theory or large sample distribution theory is required. Testing is unconditional although its execution is done conditionally, section by section, where a section is determined by marginal totals. This eliminates any potential nuisance parameter issues. The power of the tests is more robust than the power of the typical linear tests often recommended. Furthermore, computer programs are available to carry out the tests efficiently regardless of the sample sizes or the order of the contingency tables. Both censored data and uncensored data models are discussed.     

The Impact of the Economic Transition in Poland on Vulnerable Populations

The economic changes that began with the fall of communism in 1989 have helped Poland to establish one of the strongest economies in Eastern Europe today. Not all parts of society have benefited equally from the positive economic picture however. Those who are unemployed, living on a pension, single parents, or residents of rural communities are at risk of living in poverty in Polands new economic environment. This paper assesses the views of people in these four groups in terms of their perceived need for basic necessities (money for food, rent, and medicine) and for luxury activities (culture, relaxation, and education). The findings have implications for social welfare policies and services in Poland.The authors wish to thank Kazimierz M. Slomczynski for use of the POLPAN data.     

Purposive concealment of death in household surveys in Misamis Oriental Province

Summary The randomized response technique was used in a household survey of approximately 2,000 rural and 2,000 urban households in Misamis Oriental Province in the southern Philippines in order to determine the extent of purposive concealment of death. The estimated number of deaths deliberately not revealed to the interviewers was 50 per cent or higher. Adjusted crude death rates of 11.5 and 13.4 per 1,000 population were computed for urban and rural areas, respectively, by adding estimated concealed deaths to deaths reported to the interviewers. Application of stable population techniques and of model life tables suitable to the Philippine setting, while not permitting definite conclusions, provided reasons for believing that these adjusted death rates are close to the true mortality situation in the study areas. Randomized response data further indicate that approximately 75 per cent of urban deaths and 47 per cent of rural deaths of the population studied were not registered with municipal authorities. The authors postulate that failure to register deaths with municipal authorities, together with fear of legal involvement if this failure becomes known outside the immediate neighbourhood, is a major reason for the purposive concealment of death in household surveys.     

Psychosocial factors and low back pain among college students

OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The authors evaluated psychosocial factors of stress and their effects on the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among a population of college students in a major university in Colorado. METHODS: This was a nested cross-sectional study of 973 respondents who completed the National College Health Assessment survey. The authors evaluated a subset of questions pertaining to psychosocial stressors against the presence of LBP. RESULTS: The annual prevalence of LBP among the population studied was 42.8%. The stressful psychosocial variables of feeling very sad, exhausted, and overwhelmed were associated with the prevalence of LBP. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of LBP among this younger population is significant and understudied.     

Examining the Moderating Role of Perceived School Climate in Early Adolescent Adjustment

The current study examined the unique and interactive relations of 4 aspects of student‐perceived school climate (cohesion, friction, and competition among students, and overall satisfaction with classes) and adolescent effortful control in the conduct problems and depressive symptoms of 868 ten‐ to fourteen‐year‐old adolescents. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that each of the school climate variables was uniquely associated with at least 1 outcome beyond effortful control. Two‐way interactions between effortful control and school climate variables showed that among boys low in effortful control, those perceiving high levels of cohesion among students, low levels of friction among students, or high levels of satisfaction with classes reported fewer depressive symptoms. Among females, 2‐way interactions indicated that girls low in effortful control reported fewer conduct problems when their perceptions of friction or competition among students were low. Implications for perceptions of good quality school climates are discussed.     

Housing strategies in an uncertain market

The slump in house prices in the early 1990s created a degree of uncertainty in the housing market which contrasts markedly with the optimism of the 1980s. In particular, the market downturn made it sharply apparent that there could be losers as well as winners in the unstable housing market. This study looks at a sample of owner occupiers drawn from Glasgow and Bristol in 1995. While still endorsing home ownership as the major housing option and as potentially enabling in housing and neighbourhood terms, a note of caution is recognisable. Aspirations to climb the housing ‘ladder’ are tempered by fear of overextending financially and by the broader uncertainties that people perceive to be endemic in the labour market and the housing market. Strategies reflect both diverse personal histories and the adoption of defensive or risk reduction options. For many respondents maintaining current housing standards is more important than market advancement.