Hopelessness, helplessness, and haplessness as predictors of suicidal ideation

Scales to measure helplessness and hopelessness were found to have good reliability and concurrent validity and were significantly correlated with suicidal ideation.     

In search of the non-profit sector II: The problem of classification

Building on a previousVoluntas article (Salamon and Anheier, 1992b), which formulated a systematic approach to defining the non-profit sector for purposes of comparative research, this article takes on the complementary task of formulating a classification system that can be used to differentiate systematically the types of non-profit organisations that exist at the global level. To do so, the article first assesses a number of existing classification systems, such as the International Standard Industrial Classification and the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities. Finding these systems inadequate, the article then introduces an alternative system, which we term the International Classification of Nonprofit Organizations (ICNPO). The ICNPO classifies non-profit establishments into 12 major groups based on their primary economic activity, and then further sub-divides these into 24 sub-groups. The result is a system that scores high in terms of five key evaluation criteria: economy, significance, rigour, organising power, and richness. What is more, initial tests of the ICNPO in a set of countries show that it performs well in coming to terms with the diverse types of non-profit institutions that exist around the world.Lester Salamon is Professor at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 and Director of the Institute for Policy Studies there.Helmut Anheier is Research Scientist at the Institute for Policy Studies at the Johns Hopkins University and Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08903. He is co-editor ofVoluntas.The authors are grateful to Kusuma Cunningham for her assistance in developing the ICNPO and for compiling Appendix C of this paper.     

"Some stars aren't like you and me": a talk with Wayne Koestenbaum on Andy Warhol

Over twenty-five years after his unexpected death in 1987 following routine gall bladder surgery, avant-garde artist Andy Warhol remains a controversial artistic and cultural figure. In a wide-ranging interview, Wayne Koestenbaum--professor of English at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and author of a biography about Warhol published in 2001--discusses the reasons for that controversy as they relate to Warhol's gay sexual orientation and queer outsider contributions to contemporary culture. The introduction to the interview explores why, despite the problems Warhol encountered personally and professionally over the years because of his queer outsider status, his art and personality have had a deep impact on mainstream culture.     

Suicidal behavior among members of Gamblers Anonymous

A national sample of 500 members of Gamblers Anonymous was surveyed by mail in order to gather information on suicidal history. One hundred sixty two usable surveys were returned representing 32.4% of the original sample. Compulsive gamblers who had a history of suicidal preoccupation began gambling at an earlier age than nonsuicidal gamblers and were more likely to have stolen to support their gambling. They also tended to have addicted relatives and children more than nonsuicidal gamblers did. The data suggest that those gamblers who had been suicidal tend to be more serious gamblers than nonsuicidal respondents.     

Telephone counseling and the masturbator: A dilemma

Summary The problems facing telephone counseling services who receive calls from men who desire to masturbate while talking to a female are discussed. Some suggestions are made as to how the counselor can handle this type of call, but it is noted that there is no evidence that telephone counseling is feasible with such callers.     

THE "PSYCHOSOMATIC FAMILY" RECONSIDERED: DIABETES IN CONTEXT–A REPLY

Minuchin, Rosman and Baker's (1978) Psychosomatic Families: Anorexia Nervosa in Context, is a work that does demonstrate that physiological disturbance of some, very specifically defined, diabetic patients serves a function in their families. Statistical analyses of the original data are reported which strongly support the original conclusions; Coyne and Anderson's (1988) presentation of the methodology and findings of the original study is shown to substantially misrepresent information actually presented in the book. Review of the literature they cite was informative about some aspects of poorly controlled diabetes for a variety of populations but not relevant for psychosomatic patients; however, some of it supported our findings. Responsibility for "constraining" and/or "providing momentum" for the field is rejected and precise and rigorous thinking encouraged in developing both studies and critiques .