Jocks, gender, race, and adolescent problem drinking

Alcohol remains the drug of choice for many adolescents; however, the nature of the relationship between athletic involvement and alcohol misuse remains ambiguous. In this article, we used a longitudinal sample of over 600 Western New York adolescents and their families to explore the gender-specific and race-specific relationships between identification with the "jock" label and adolescent alcohol consumption, specifically problem drinking. Operationalization of problem drinking included frequency measures of heavy drinking, binge drinking, and social problems related to alcohol (e.g., trouble with family, friends, school officials over drinking). Self-identified adolescent "jocks" were more likely to engage in problem drinking than their non-jock counterparts, even after controlling for gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, physical maturity, social maturity, and frequency of athletic activity. Jock identity was strongly associated with higher binge drinking frequency in Black adolescent girls. This study underscores the need to distinguish between objective and subjective meanings of athletic involvement when assessing the relationship between sport and adolescent health-risk behavior.     

Progressive multi-state models for informatively incomplete longitudinal data

Progressive multi-state models provide a convenient framework for characterizing chronic disease processes where the states represent the degree of damage resulting from the disease. Incomplete data often arise in studies of such processes, and standard methods of analysis can lead to biased parameter estimates when observation of data is response-dependent. This paper describes a joint analysis useful for fitting progressive multi-state models to data arising in longitudinal studies in such settings. Likelihood based methods are described and parameters are shown to be identifiable. An EM algorithm is described for parameter estimation, and variance estimation is carried out using the Louis’ method. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed method works well in practice under a variety of settings. An application to data from a smoking prevention study illustrates the utility of the method.     

The journey from pain to power: A meta-ethnography on women’s experiences of vaginal birth after caesarean

Background

Vaginal birth after caesarean can be a safe and satisfying option for many women who have had a previous caesarean, yet rates of vaginal birth after caesarean remain low in the majority of countries. Exploring women’s experiences of vaginal birth after caesarean can improve health practitioners’ understanding of the factors that facilitate or hinder women in the journey to have a vaginal birth after caesarean.

Household Income and Trajectories of Marital Satisfaction in Early Marriage

Are the marriages of lower income couples less satisfying than the marriages of more affluent couples? To address this question, we compared trajectories of marital satisfaction among couples with a wide range of household incomes. The marital satisfaction of 862 Black, White, and Latino newlywed spouses (N = 431 couples) was assessed five times, each 9 months apart, during the first 4 years of marriage. Lower income couples did not have less satisfying marriages on average, nor did their satisfaction decline more steeply on average. They did, however, experience (a) significantly greater fluctuations in marital satisfaction across assessments and (b) significantly more variability between husbands and wives. If efforts to support the marriages of low‐income couples are to address the unique characteristics of their marital development, these findings suggest that efforts to stabilize their marriages may be more effective than efforts to improve their satisfaction alone.     

Nursing-Home Resident Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Case Study Approach

Longitudinal quality-of-life (QOL) research incorporating multiple perspectives can add to knowledge about how nursing home residents experience QOL, but these methods are seldom used. This study employed interviews and participant observation to conduct multiple-perspective, longitudinal case studies of six residents. Close, reciprocal relationships with staff members, staff knowledge of residents, and autonomy were fundamental to QOL. Autonomy was experienced through choice and self-advocacy. Changes in QOL over time related to changes in resident health status, acclimation to the setting and family member availability. Study results may have implications for staffing and staff training.     

Comparative Assessment of Methods for Measuring Consensual Poverty: Sort Card Versus CAPI

Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, the study identifies coping strategies used by older adults. Second, the study examines the impact of older adults’ chosen coping strategies on mortality reduction. The study focuses specifically on differences in the use of religious and secular coping strategies among this population. The findings suggest that although coping strategies differ between those who self-classify as religious and those who self-classify as nonreligious, for both groups social approaches to coping (e.g., attending church and volunteering) are more likely than individual approaches (e.g., praying or active/passive coping) to reduce the risk of mortality. The most efficacious coping strategies, however, are those matched to characteristics of the individual.     

Critical factors for improving social sustainability of urban renewal projects

This study reviews the sustainable urban design concept and identifies critical factors for enhancing social sustainability of urban renewal projects. Through a questionnaire survey carried out in Hong Kong, the opinions of architects, planners, property development managers, and local citizens were sought and evaluated. The results derived from factor analysis indicated that certain design features should be incorporated for achieving social sustainability. “Satisfaction of Welfare Requirements”, “Conservation of Resources & the Surroundings”, “Creation of Harmonious Living Environment”, “Provisions Facilitating Daily Life Operations”, “Form of Development” and “Availability of Open Spaces” were believed to be the significant underlying factors for enhancing social sustainability of local urban renewal projects.