Neglect of older adults in Michigan nursing homes

Although research on domestic elder abuse and neglect has grown over the past 20 years, there is limited research on elder neglect in nursing homes. The purpose of this study is to estimate the incidence of elder neglect in nursing homes and identify the individual and contextual risks associated with elder neglect. Data came from a 2005 random digit dial survey of individuals in Michigan who had relatives in long term care. Our analytic sample included 414 family members who had a relative aged 65 or older in nursing homes. Results showed that about 21% of nursing home residents were neglected on one or more occasion in the last 12 months. Two nursing home residents' characteristics reported by family members appear to significantly increase the odds of neglect: functional impairments in activities of daily living and previous resident-to-resident victimization. Behavior problems also are associated with higher odds of neglect (p = 0.078). Policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Navigating Americanized Identities: Bicultural Ethnicity,Race, and the Incorporation Experience

This paper reports on the complex ways in which immigrant young adults make sense of their Americanized ethnic and racial identities. The analysis draws on a large set of in-depth interviews (N?=?233) collected with immigrants between the ages of 18 and 29 across three regions in the US (California, New York, and Minnesota) in the early 2000s and is in dialogue with emerging new theories of immigrant incorporation which combine the insights of traditional assimilation and racialization frameworks. The identity narratives that emerge from these interviews demonstrate the overarching significance of racial and ethnic identification for young adults across various immigrant communities. The narratives also highlight some of the contextual factors involved in the construction of an ethnic identity in the US such as experiences with discrimination; or the presence of co-ethnic communities. The final substantive section explores how young American immigrants in the transition to adulthood attempt to cultivate hybrid, bicultural identities that balance their American-ness with the ongoing experience of living in a deeply racialized society. The paper concludes by discussing implications for the literature on identity formation and the transition to adulthood as well as on the immigrant incorporation experience.     

Substance use, self-esteem, and depression among Asian American adolescents

The relationship of self-esteem and depression with alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use was tested in a California statewide sample of more than 4,300 Asian American high school students comprising five subgroups: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese. Estimated prevalence rates of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among males and females from these Asian American subgroups are presented. Correlations revealed that cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use were generally more related to high depression and low self-esteem in females than in males. Logistic regression analysis with only the female subjects investigated whether the relationship between the psychological variables and ATOD use was maintained even after controlling for traditionally important constructs in ATOD use (grade level in school, born in the United States, ethnicity, and ATOD use by friends). These results indicated that for females, depression was significantly related to alcohol and tobacco use, but self-esteem was not. Neither self-esteem nor depression was a significant contributor to marijuana use. Issues related to the application of these results are discussed.     

Gaze toward and avoidance of the handicapped: A field experiment

Kleck has discovered more eye contact directed toward a handicapped than a nonhandicapped confederate. He suggested that this was due to the information seeking function of eye contact. Langer et al. argued that this occurred because a handicap is a novel stimulus and that, when socially acceptable, people are motivated to look at something unusual. The present study posited that Kleck's findings occurred because of the experimental setting and that the Langer et al. hypothesis holds true only when interaction with the handicapped person will not occur. A field experiment indicated less gaze toward and more avoidance of handicapped than nonhandicapped confederates when conversation was required and more staring toward the handicapped than the nonhandicapped when conversation was not likely.Portions of this article were reported by Teresa L. Thompson and Bonnie Bell Cundiff, Communication between the handicapped and nonhandicapped: Avoidance and uncertainty, Presented at the Annual Convention of the International Communication Association, Philadelphia, 1979. The author would like to thank Louis P. Casella for helpful assistance.     

Mapping Social Capital: A Critical Contextual Approach For Working With Low-Status Families

Promoting justice in therapeutic work with families demands an analysis of contextual factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, and social class in relationship to societal systems of power, privilege, and oppression. A broad understanding of these dynamics, however, is inadequate to inform our work with families whose social capital severely limits available life choices, social influence, and material resources. In this article, we describe working from a critical contextual perspective to consider how families gain and/or lose social capital through participation in multiple contexts. We introduce a technique for mapping social capitol within and across multiple systems as well as suggestions for interventions aimed at increasing the social well-being of low-status families. These include considering the dynamics of boundary crossing, recognizing and optimizing resistance to oppressive dynamics, finding ways to limit constraints and optimize opportunities, and developing webs of allies to support family functioning and access to resources. We offer the example of 13-year-old Pepe as a case in point.     

Maternal singing of lullabies during pregnancy and after birth: Effects on mother–infant bonding and on newborns’ behaviour. Concurrent Cohort Study

Background

Mother–infant bonding is of great importance for the development and the well-being of the baby. The aim of this Concurrent Cohort Study was to investigate the effects of mothers singing lullabies on bonding, newborns’ behaviour and maternal stress.