Interactional Dynamics in Alcohol-Complicated Marital Relationships: A Study From India

This study seeks to understand differences in the interpersonal dynamics of couples living in alcohol-complicated and alcohol-free marital relationships in India. An ex-post facto cross-sectional design was used to compare 150 wives of alcoholics with an equal number of wives of nonalcoholics, who were administered standardized instruments to assess marital adjustment and family interaction pattern. Analyses show that wives of alcoholics have lower levels of marital adjustment and a poorer family interaction pattern across various domains, in consonance with the Western literature on these issues. Covariates analyzed included four variables such as type of family, type of marriage, consanguinity, and wife's occupational status. Implications for de-addiction programs in India are discussed and the need for couple/family-based therapy is emphasised.     

Biomechanics of the heel-raise exercise

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether increases in internal (muscular) demand would be proportional to increases in the external demand during heel-raise exercise. Seven male (mean age 74.9 +/- 4.8 years) and 9 female (mean age 74.4 +/- 5.1 years) older adults performed both double-leg heel raises and single-leg heel raises under 3 loading conditions (no external resistance and +5% and +10% of each participant's body weight). Kinematic and kinetic dependent variables were calculated using standard inverse-dynamics techniques. The results suggest that although the single-heel raise led to increases in peak net joint moments, power, and mechanical-energy expenditure (MEE), it did so at the expense of range of motion and angular velocity. In addition, increasing the external resistance by 5% of participants' body weight did not elicit significant changes in either the power or the MEE of the ankle joint. These effects should be considered when prescribing these exercises to older adults.     

Studying social change with survey data: Examples from Louis Harris surveys

The recent publication of a volume that identifies almost 14 000 repeated questions from Louis Harris surveys should greatly facilitate the use of survey data for the study of social change. Four problems that accompany trend analyses with survey data are discussed in this paper with special attention to Harris data. They involve sample composition, question context, question wording, and short term versus long term change.