The Second Approximation to an International Standard for Life Satisfaction

An earlier study, based on data from Western countries, concluded that an international standard for life satisfaction could be stated as 75 ± 2.5 percentage of the measurement scale maximum score. This study presents a similar analysis based on data from countries representing all major geographic regions. It is reported that these data yield a more inclusive standard of 70 ± 5 percentage of scale maximum. While the major correlates of life satisfaction are found to be individualism and national wealth, the life satisfaction levels of some countries are distinctly anomalous in this regard. It is concluded that the narrow range of population data suggest that life satisfaction is held under homeostatic control. The anomalous levels of life satisfaction reported by some countries indicate caution in the interpretation of life satisfaction data as implying some desirable population state.     

Race–gender Differences in Risk and Protective Factors among Youth in Residential Group Homes

Analysis reported here examined youth in residential group home placements in order to better understand how sexual behaviors, drug use, and environmental experiences differ by race and gender subgroups. Data were collected from 336 youth aged 14–21 residing in one of 41 group homes in Maryland. Chi square and logistic regression analyses were done to determine differences on study variables among the race-gender groupings. Results demonstrate not only significant health concerns overall but notable differences were also found between race-gender subgroups. Findings suggest that found race-gender subgroup differences might be informative for tailoring programming for youth of residential group home settings.     

The Significance of Shift Work: Current Status and Future Directions

This paper provides a review and synthesis of research literature on the effects of shift work on workers’ physical health, mental health/well-being, and family life. The focus is on current knowledge, unanswered questions, and new directions for future research. The selection of research literature is guided by a general conceptual framework that identifies predictor variables, moderating variables, and outcome variables. The paper concludes with a discussion of the variables that should be incorporated into an agenda for future research.     

Is racial prejudice declining in Britain?1

This article employs two previously neglected indicators of racial prejudice from the British Social Attitudes surveys to examine the social distribution of prejudices against black and Asian Britons. Three hypotheses are proposed and tested: that racial prejudice is declining in Britain; that this decline is principally generational in nature; and that greater prejudice is shown towards more culturally distinct Asian minorities than black minorities. Strong evidence is found for the first two hypotheses, with evidence of an overall decline in prejudice and of a sharp decline in prejudices among generations who have grown up since mass black and Asian immigration began in the 1950s. Little evidence is found for the third hypothesis: British reactions towards black and Asian minorities are broadly similar suggesting racial differences may still be the main factor prompting white hostility to British minorities.     

Evaluating correlated outcomes and sources of new information

This paper considers the difficulties associated with evaluating the expected value of additional information when the outcomes of various decision alternatives may be correlated. Such correlation is explained in terms of dependence of outcomes on common exogenous factors and it is argued that decisions regarding what, if any, additional information to collect should take such dependencies into account. A model-based ‘fixed-parameter’ approach to evaluating EVPI in such a context is developed and compared to the traditional ‘fixed-correlation’ approach. The results suggest that different assumptions about the issue of correlation can produce different, sometimes contradictory, conclusions about the expected value of additional information and bence, should be explicitly stated as part of any pre-posterior analysis. A hybrid model encompassing both approaches and rooted in the theory of psychology of inference is then proposed and illustrated.     

Cellular telephones and motor-vehicle collisions: Some variations on matched-pairs analysis

We describe the analysis of some matched-pair binary data arising from a study designed to investigate whether cellular-telephone use is associated with motor-vehicle collisions. Conditional and random effects approaches to the problem are derived and compared. Driving intermittency is a potential confounder whose effect is assessed by strategic choices of the control period and by application of the bootstrap. The marked discrepancy between the conditional and random approaches merits further study.