Attachment to Parents and Aggressiveness in Adopted Adolescents: A Multi‐Sample Comparison Study

This study examined adopted adolescents’ levels of attachment security to parents and aggressiveness as compared to those of community nonadopted adolescents and of clinical nonadopted adolescents. Three different subsamples participated (n = 262): 101 community nonadopted adolescents (48.5% girls), 80 community adopted teens (65.0% girls), and 81 nonadopted counterparts (35.8% girls) who participated in a treatment program for youth with behavioral problems. There were no differences between community groups in attachment security or aggressiveness, whereas clinical nonadopted adolescents showed less attachment security and more aggressiveness than the other two groups. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of the potential healing impact that living with adoptive families could have on adopted teenagers’ risk of maladaptive outcomes.     

Perceptions of rodent-associated problems: an experience in urban and rural areas of Yucatan,Mexico

Rodents are a threat to agriculture and homes, and are a public health risk. Local perceptions about rodents and the damage they cause are vital, as a first step, to the design and implementation of rodent control or educational programs. A total of 111 interviews were conducted in two urban neighborhoods and two rural villages in Yucatan, Mexico. More than 90% of the interviewed inhabitants perceived rodents as a problem. The fear of rodents (57%), damage to food and stocks (56%), and damage to clothes (34%), were the most cited problems. In the urban neighborhoods, the use of rodent control methods was more frequent (57%) than in the villages (33%) in this study. In addition, the percentage of damage to domestic appliances was lower in villages (10%) than in neighborhoods (33%). Our preliminary results suggest that rodent pests represent a threat to human health and to human food security in the studied sites.     

An analysis of how children adapt to residential care

This research analyses the personal, social and educational adaptation of 74 children, aged between 6 and 18, under measures of protection in residential care centres. The Autoevaluative Multifactorial Child Adaptation Test (TAMAI) was applied to evaluate the children's level of adaptation. The study also aims to determine the relationship between the different levels of competence and/or functioning in the different areas of adaptation. The results indicate that institutionalised children show a high level of failure to adapt in both personal and social aspects. The fact that children show dissociative maladjustment, negative thoughts and mechanisms for escaping from reality (dreaming, negative opinion of self and undervaluing) is confirmed. There is evidence of the negative effects of neglect on children's perceptions, especially a poor opinion of self and inadequate self esteem. Worthy of note are a maladjusted opinion of self and of reality which makes them pile the tension, fear and uneasiness they live through upon their own shoulders, something which can lead to undervaluing. An inability to adapt to school life manifests itself in a low work level and low motivation to learn and a general dissatisfaction with their schooling situation.     

Health behaviors of culturally diverse inner-city community college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine the prevalence of risk behaviors related to cigarette use, alcohol use, nutrition, physical fitness, and sexual behavior. Participants: Participants were 1,075 students attending an urban community college during the Spring 2012 semester. Methods: Data were collected in randomly selected classes using the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA II) paper survey and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for frequencies and chi-square test of independence. Results: The sample population reported poor diet, low rates of physical activity, high rates of overweight/obesity, low rates of condom use for vaginal sex, multiple sexual partners, and unintentional pregnancy. Protective health behaviors included low rates of cigarette smoking and alcohol use, high rates of condoms use for anal sex, and high rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing. Conclusion: Students are at high risk for health problems related to poor diet, lack of exercise, and risky sexual behaviors. Additional research is recommended to determine the most effective intervention strategies.     

The Inclusion of Minority Groups in Clinical Trials: Problems of Under Representation and Under Reporting of Data

Objective: To evaluate the representation of minority groups in randomized control trials (RCTs), and the frequency with which this information is reported.

Study Design: Reviewers collected data on the racial/ethnic composition of study samples from all RCTs published in six leading medical journals in 1999.

Results: Of the 280 RCTs, most (204, 71.3%) provided no information on the race/ethnicity of participants. Of the 89 U.S.-based RCTs, 50 (56.1%) reported their minority distribution. Relative to other trials, those funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) (n = 52) were more likely to report race/ethnicity data (55.8% vs. 23.7%; χ² = 20.9, p ≤ 0.001) and to include nonwhite participants (13.5% vs. 12.5%; χ² = 22.7, p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion: Minority groups are currently under-represented in clinical trials. Information on the race and ethnicity of clinical trial participants is currently underreported in six leading medical journals. Reporting of minority group information was significantly better only in NIH funded trials, which also were more likely to include nonwhite participants. This suggests that mandatory reporting policies may have a positive effect on both reporting and representation.     

Introduction: Welfare Reform: Preliminary Research and Unanswered Questions

This article summarizes the 1996 welfare reform act and introduces a set of key questions that remain unanswered as initial results concerning the effects of welfare reform are being analyzed and discussed by policymakers andresearchers. We introduce the collection of articles presented in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues, which are devoted to the topic of welfare reform and its potential ramifications for the well-being of families. The articles are grouped into three broad areas that represent major topics of interest to researchers, policy analysts, and others concerned with how welfare reform affects the lives of women and families: the politics of welfare reform, barriers to employment, and the impact of welfare reform on family life.     

The warlord as arbitrageur

This article seeks to generate a more precise understanding of the emergence and perpetuation of warlords. First, it offers a simple, intuitive, and empirically grounded conceptual definition of warlordism. Second, it argues that the primary factor contributing to the success of warlords is the ability to take advantage of price differentials for political, economic, and cultural goods across terrains—in a word, to arbitrage. Third, it illustrates this model with a case study of Khun Sa (1934–2007), the self-proclaimed Shan freedom-fighter and “king” of Burma’s heroin trade. Finally, it suggests that the international community rethink its commitment to the norm of sovereignty in order to combat the proliferation of such non-state violence-wielders.     

The meta-analytic framework for the evaluation of surrogate endpoints in clinical trials

For a number of reasons, surrogate endpoints are considered instead of the so-called true endpoint in clinical studies, especially when such endpoints can be measured earlier, and/or with less burden for patient and experimenter. Surrogate endpoints may occur more frequently than their standard counterparts. For these reasons, it is not surprising that the use of surrogate endpoints in clinical practice is increasing.     

INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF WELFARE REFORM: ADOLESCENT DELINQUENT AND RISKY BEHAVIORS

This study investigates effects of welfare reform in the United States on the next generation. Most previous studies of effects of welfare reform on adolescents focused on high‐school dropout of girls or fertility; little is known about how welfare reform has affected other teenage behaviors or boys. We use a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐differences framework to identify gender‐specific effects of welfare reform on skipping school, fighting, damaging property, stealing, hurting others, smoking, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs. Welfare reform led to increases in delinquent behaviors of boys as well as increases in substance use of boys and girls, with substantially larger effects for boys. (JEL K42, I12, I31, I38)