Development of short-form measures to assess four types of elder mistreatment: Findings from an evidence-based study of APS elder abuse substantiation decisions

Improving the standardization and efficiency of adult protective services (APS) investigations is a top priority in APS practice. Using data from the Elder Abuse Decision Support System (EADSS), we developed short-form measures of four types of elder abuse: financial, emotional/psychological, physical, and neglect. The EADSS data set contains 948 elder abuse cases (age 60+) with yes/no abuse substantiation decisions for each abuse type following a 30-day investigation. Item sensitivity/specificity analyses were conducted on long-form items with the substantiation decision for each abuse type as the criterion. Validity was further tested using receiver–operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, correlation with long forms and internal consistency. The four resulting short-form measures, containing 36 of the 82 original items, have validity similar to the original long forms. These short forms can be used to standardize and increase efficiency of APS investigations, and may also offer researchers new options for brief elder abuse assessments.     

A Preliminary Study of the Neural Correlates of the Intensities of Self-Reported Gambling Urges and Emotions in Men with Pathological Gambling

Although self-reported gambling urge intensities have clinical utility in the treatment of pathological gambling (PG), prior studies have not investigated their neural correlates. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted while 10 men with PG and 11 control comparison (CON) men viewed videotaped scenarios of gambling, happy or sad content. Participants rated the intensity of their emotions and motivations and reported the qualities of their responses. Relative to the CON group, the PG group reported similar responses to sad and happy scenarios, but stronger emotional responses and gambling urges when viewing the gambling scenarios. Correlations between self-reported responses and brain activations were typically strongest during the period of reported onset of emotional/motivational response and more robust in PG than in CON subjects for all conditions. During this epoch, corresponding with conscious awareness of an emotional/motivational response, subjective ratings of gambling urges in the PG group were negatively correlated with medial prefrontal cortex activation and positively correlated with middle temporal gyrus and temporal pole activations. Sadness ratings in the PG group correlated positively with activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus, and retrosplenial cortex, while self-reported happiness during the happy videos demonstrated largely inverse correlations with activations in the temporal poles. Brain areas identified in the PG subjects have been implicated in explicit, self-referential processing and episodic memory. The findings demonstrate different patterns of correlations between subjective measures of emotions and motivations in PG and CON subjects when viewing material of corresponding content, suggesting in PG alterations in the neural correlates underlying experiential aspects of affective processing.     

The Structure of Intergenerational Relations in Rural China: A Latent Class Analysis

Most existing typology studies of intergenerational relations have used samples in North America and Europe. The present study expands on previous research by determining whether similar family relation typologies could be found using a sample of Chinese rural elders. The data were derived from a survey of 1,224 older adults in China's rural Anhui province in 2009. Latent class analysis revealed 5 types of intergenerational relations in rural Chinese families: (a) tight‐knit, (b) nearby but discordant, (c) distant discordant, (d) distant reciprocal, and (e) distant ascending. The authors argue that the distant ascending ties reflect the strong filial obligations that Chinese adult children have toward their parents and that the distant reciprocal ties reflect collaborative and mutually beneficial parent–child relations in rural China in the context of massive rural‐to‐urban migration. The findings of this study demonstrate how family relations in contemporary China are shaped by the larger economic, geographic, and cultural contexts.     

Forecasting interest rates volatilities by GARCH (1,1) and stochastic volatility models

In this paper, we compare the forecast ability of GARCH(1,1) and stochastic volatility models for interest rates. The stochastic volatility is estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. The comparison is based on daily data from 1994 to 1996 for the ten year swap rates for Deutsch Mark, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling. Various forecast horizons are considered. It turns out that forecasts based on stochastic volatility models are in most cases superiour to those obtained by GARCH(1,1) models.     

Intergenerational support and functional limitations among older Chinese immigrants: Does acculturation moderate their relationship?

ABSTRACT

Using a purposive sample of 236 older Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles, California, this study investigated the association between intergenerational support and functional limitations and the potential moderating effect of acculturation in such a relationship. The results of multiple regression analyses showed that receiving financial support from children and coresiding with offspring were significantly correlated with more limitations in instrumental activities of daily living. Perceived emotional cohesion with children was significantly correlated with fewer such limitations. The relationship between different dimensions of intergenerational support and functional limitations varied by acculturation. To prevent or reduce functional limitations, interventions need to consider acculturation.     

Estimating Diversity Effects in the Neighborhood: On the Role of Ethnic Diversity and Out-group Size and their Associations with Neighborhood Cohesion and Fear of Crime

This study considers and simultaneously tests the role of ethnic diversity and out-group size in relation to individuals’ perceptions of neighborhood cohesion and fear of crime among natives in Dutch neighborhoods. We challenge the way the impact of diversity has been studied previously and propose an alternative measure to examine diversity effects. This results in a better understanding of how and why the ethnic composition of a neighborhood may impact levels of cohesion and fear, and thereby contributes to the literature on the societal effects of ethnic diversity. In addition, attention is paid to the association between cohesion and fear and whether neighborhood cohesion mediates the relationship between ethnic diversity and fear of crime. We apply multilevel equation modeling techniques to analyze the different relationships and use data of the Dutch Safety Monitor (N?=?71,760) in combination with detailed register data. Our study is one of the first to detect a diversity effect on cohesion based on the modified diversity measure. We do not find support for the hypothesized diversity effect on fear of crime. Lastly, out-group size turned out to decrease cohesion and increase fear.

     

Modifications of the Bonferroni-Holm procedure for a multi-way ANOVA

We present step-wise test procedures based on the Bonferroni-Holm principle for multi-way ANOVA-type models. It is shown for two plausible modifications that the multiple level α is preserved. These theoretical results are supplemented by a simulation study, in a two-way ANOVA setting, to compare the multiple procedures with respect to their simultaneous power and the relative frequency of correctly rejected false hypotheses. Financial support of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is gratefully acknowledged.     

Developing a Faith-Based Caregiver Support Partnership

Caring Together, Living Better (CTLB), a partnership of nonprofit and faith-based organizations, developed a culturally appropriate regional network of supportive caregiver services in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL. This article describes the findings of a mixed-methods evaluation that included network analysis to track network growth and development, tracking of service delivery, assessment of caregiver-related outcomes using standardized pre-post measures, and analysis of change stories elicited from project partners. Results include documentation of network expansion and statistically significant improvements in caregiving self-efficacy and adequacy of help. Story themes highlight participants’ positive experiences with CTLB and improved caregiver quality of life.