Resilienz durch Training personaler Ressourcen stärken: Evaluation einer web-basierten AchtsamkeitsinterventionEnhancing resilience through training of personal resources: Evaluation of a web-based mindfulness intervention

Resilience refers to personal resources and behavioral strategies that protect psychological well-being even under high demands. The present study examines whether mindfulness fosters resilience and reduces emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, we evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based mindfulness intervention that saves costs and time compared to existing face-to-face trainings. The assumptions were tested with a sample of N = 72 employees within a pre- and posttest design with a treatment and control group. The results provide empirical evidence that mindfulness reduces emotional exhaustion, which is mediated by resilient behavior. Furthermore, the intervention is effective with regard to mindfulness.     

Gendered and classed experiences of work–family conflict among lone mothers in Sweden

ABSTRACT

Research on the relationship between lone motherhood and social class is indeed limited. Drawing on 39 in-depth interviews, the overall aim of this article is to increase knowledge of the ways that working conditions and access to economic resources impact on Swedish lone mothers’ opportunities to integrate paid work and family. One assumption is that lone mothers are guided by culturally shaped ideas about the proper way to be a mother, and that variance between mothers’ notions of good mothering and the means for their realization, i.e. sociological ambivalence, may give rise to conflicts and dilemmas. Results show that low incomes, non-standard hours and temporary employment reduced working-class mothers’ prospects of practising the kind of mothering they considered proper, creating dilemmas and high levels of conflict. Mothers could not always effectively use the rights granted to parents by the Swedish welfare state. The variances between notions about good mothering and the means for realizing them were not as big for middle-class mothers, thanks to greater access to economic capital and flexible working hours. Different opportunity structures hence significantly influenced lone mothers’ opportunity to combine paid work and caring commitments in ways they found appropriate.     

SAME-GENDER SEX IN THE UNITED STATES IMPACT OF T-ACASI ON PREVALENCE ESTIMATES

Well-conducted telephone surveys provide an economical meansof estimating the prevalence of sexual and reproductive behaviorsin a population. There is, however, a nontrivial potential forbias since respondents must report sensitive information toa human interviewer. The National STD and Behavior MeasurementExperiment (NSBME) evaluates a new survey technology—telephoneaudio computer-assisted self-interviewing (T-ACASI)—thateliminates this requirement. The NSBME embedded a randomizedexperiment in a survey of probability samples of 1,543 U.S.and 744 Baltimore adults ages 18 to 45. Compared with NSBMErespondents interviewed by human interviewers, respondents interviewedby T-ACASI were 1.5 to 1.6 times more likely to report same-gendersexual attraction, experience, and genital contact. The impactof T-ACASI was more pronounced (odds ratio = 2.5) for residentsof locales that have historically been less tolerant of same-gendersexual behaviors and for respondents in households with children(odds ratio = 3.0).     

Classical and Bayesian Analysis of Univariate and Multivariate Stochastic Volatility Models

In this paper, efficient importance sampling (EIS) is used to perform a classical and Bayesian analysis of univariate and multivariate stochastic volatility (SV) models for financial return series. EIS provides a highly generic and very accurate procedure for the Monte Carlo (MC) evaluation of high-dimensional interdependent integrals. It can be used to carry out ML-estimation of SV models as well as simulation smoothing where the latent volatilities are sampled at once. Based on this EIS simulation smoother, a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) posterior analysis of the parameters of SV models can be performed.     

Computer systems in addiction treatment programs: Availability and implications for program evaluation

Addiction treatment programs have been slow to adopt computerized information systems. Little systematic data exist on programs' technological infrastructures and use of electronic databases to store and analyze client information. Likewise, there is little information available on counselors' access to and use of the Internet for learning about new treatment techniques. Drawing upon data obtained in 2002–2003 from nationally-representative samples of publicly- and privately-funded addiction treatment centers and their counselors, this article describes the current state of the field in terms of data system availability and Internet usage. The availability of client-level databases is variable but continues to evolve. Programs maintaining electronic client data appear to be at an advantage for implementing outcomes monitoring activities. While counselors' access to computers is high, their use of the Internet and the NIDA website is low. The implications of these findings, and directions for future research, are discussed.     

Research into unaccompanied refugee minors in family foster care: Promoting adaptive functioning?

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) are at high risk for trauma and maladaptive functioning. Although foster care is best suited to come forth to their needs, obtaining a better understanding of the strengths and flaws of foster care for URM can help to improve their development and psychological wellbeing. Twenty-seven URM cared for in family foster care filled in questionnaires measuring trauma, behavioural difficulties, resilience and contact with persons from the home and host country, whilst their foster care workers assessed the quality of the living environment. URMs had more trauma symptoms than other immigrants and Belgian adolescents. Furthermore, compared to Belgian counterparts, levels of resilience were low. However, URM did not have more behavioural problems. The quality of the living environment in kinship care was worse than the quality in non-kinship foster care, and social support and cultural sensitivity were protective factors. This study found evidence for developmental risks for URM in foster care. Integration, social support and a connection with the home culture were protective factors. Contrary to other studies, no evidence was found of kinship foster care being preferential.     

Alternative sensitivity analyses for regression estimates of treatment effects to unobserved confounding in binary and survival data

Statistical Methods & Applications - Estimates of treatment effects in non-experimental studies are subject to bias owing to unobserved confounding. It is desirable to assess the sensitivity of...     

Geometry of a corelation coefficient under a copula

Spearman's rank correlation coefficient is shown to be a measure of distance on the unit square, which characterizes the concentration of the probability density under a copula. A distance function offers insight into structuring copulas with a desired degree of association.     

Least squares and generalized least squares in models with orthogonal block structure

Besides the basic model, Kronecker products of rotated models are used to isolate the variance components as parameters of a linear model. A characterization of BLUE given by Zmy?lony (1980) is applied to the different models. Generalized least squares are used to complete the estimation.