Volunteer work and well-being

Using two waves of panel data from Americans' Changing Lives (House 1995) (N = 2,681), we examine the relationships between volunteer work in the community and six aspects of personal well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and depression. Prior research has more often examined the effects of voluntary memberships than of volunteer work, has used cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data, and, when longitudinal, has emphasized social causation over selection effects. Focusing only on the consequences of volunteer work overlooks the antecedents of human agency. People with greater personality resources and better physical and mental health should be more likely to seek (or to be sought for) community service. Hence, we examine both selection and social causation effects. Results show that volunteer work indeed enhances all six aspects of well-being and, conversely, people who have greater well-being invest more hours in volunteer service. Given this, further understanding of self- versus social-selection processes seems an important next step. Do positive, healthy people actively seek out volunteer opportunities, or do organizations actively recruit individuals of these types (or both)? Explaining how positive consequences flow from volunteer service may offer a useful counterpoint to stress theory, which has focused primarily on negative life experiences and their sequelae.     

Upping the ante: relative caregivers' perceptions of changes in child welfare policies

Thirty-five caregivers of related children who were in the custody of the child welfare system were interviewed individually or in focus groups as the state child welfare system implemented new federal and state policies encouraging these caregivers to adopt or assume guardianship of the children in their care. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods. Issues of concern included emergency entrance into caregiving; the simultaneous satisfaction and burden of caregiving; obstacles to caregiving, adoption, or guardianship; complex changes in family dynamics following placement of children; sources of support; and caution regarding adoption or guardianship. The caregivers also offered recommendations for the child welfare system. Policy, practice, and research implications are discussed.     

Benchmarking to the world's best in mathematics. Quality control in curriculum and instruction among the top performers in the TIMSS

This article describes the education quality control systems (for mathematics) used by those countries that performed best on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Enforced quality control measures are defined as "decision points"--where adherence to the curriculum and instruction system can be reinforced. Most decision points involve stakes for the student, teacher, or school. They involve potential consequences for failure to adhere to the system and to follow the program at a reasonable pace. Generally, countries with more decision points perform better on the TIMSS. When the number of decision points and TIMSS test scores are adjusted for country wealth, the relationship between the degree of (enforced) quality control and student achievement appears to be positive and exponential. CONCLUSION: The more (enforced) quality control measures employed in an education system, the greater is students' academic achievement.     

Patterns of change in family-based aggression prevention

Patterns of change on three intervention targets were examined in 151 families that participated in a family intervention designed to reduce and prevent children's aggressive behavior. Measures of parents' alliance and parenting skills and children's aggressive behavior were obtained at five times during the intervention. Three cluster analyses were conducted to identify patterns of change on each target. Linear and nonlinear patterns of improvement as well as two distinct patterns of no change were obtained. The patterns were differentiated by net improvement, overall level of skill, and trajectory of change. Family characteristics also differentiated the patterns and relations were found among patterns across intervention targets. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Beyond enmeshment: evidence for the independence of intrusiveness and closeness-caregiving in married couples

In a 1996 article on family theory, we (Green & Werner) proposed that family enmeshment should not be equated with high cohesion and that the construct of enmeshment fails to discriminate between two distinct relationship processes: Closeness-caregiving and intrusiveness. In this study, our model of these two independent dimensions of family connectedness was tested by assessing spouses from 264 couples, using the California Inventory for Family Assessment (CIFA). The CIFA scales showed acceptable reliability. Significant interspouse validity correlations also were obtained. As predicted by our theory, factor analyses distinguished dimensions of intrusiveness (blurring of boundaries) from dimensions of closeness-caregiving (such as warmth and nurturance). On all but two factors, behaviors of only one spouse (but not of both) had interpretable loadings. That is, in most areas, the two spouses' behaviors did not load together to form meaningful factors. The latter finding suggests that family systems theory--with its central notion of reciprocally contingent behaviors between family members--may be useful in understanding only a few dimensions of spouses' behavior (such as reciprocal aggression) whereas personality-in-context theories may be better for understanding most other dimensions (such as warmth and nurturance).     

A follow-up study of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression in Australian victims of domestic violence

Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression are acknowledged consequences of domestic violence, little information is available on the course of recovery over time and factors that may mediate positive outcome. Fifty-nine women were assessed for the presence of PTSD and levels of anxiety and depression at time of shelter residence and again one year later. Results at follow-up indicated a significant reduction in the incidence of PTSD, although a substantial number of women continued to report a range of posttrauma symptoms. There were also significant reductions in the levels of anxiety and depression over the 12-month period. Findings indicated the particular importance of safety and the presence of social support as prerequisites for recovery.     

Attitudinal acceptance of intimate partner violence among U.S. adults

Attitudinal acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important correlate of violent behavior. This study examined acceptance of IPV using data collected from a nationally representative telephone survey of 5,238 adults. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to violence, question order, and acceptance of hitting a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend under specific circumstances. Depending on the circumstance examined, acceptance of IPV was significantly higher among participants who were male and younger than 35; were non-White; were divorced, separated, or had never married; had not completed high school; had a low household income; or were victims of violence within the past 12 months. Participants were more accepting of women hitting men; they also were consistently more likely to report tolerance of IPV if they were asked first about women hitting men rather than men hitting women. Reports of IPV tolerance need to be interpreted within the context of the survey. Efforts to change IPV attitudes can be tailored to specific IPV circumstances and subgroups, and these efforts should emphasize that the use of physical violence is unacceptable to both genders.     

Defined contribution health benefits

This Issue Brief discusses the emerging issue of "defined contribution" (DC) health benefits. The term "defined contribution" is used to describe a wide variety of approaches to the provision of health benefits, all of which have in common a shift in the responsibility for payment and selection of health care services from employers to employees. DC health benefits often are mentioned in the context of enabling employers to control their outlay for health benefits by avoiding increases in health care costs. DC health benefits may also shift responsibility for choosing a health plan and the associated risks of choosing a plan from employers to employees. There are three primary reasons why some employers currently are considering some sort of DC approach. First, they are once again looking for ways to keep their health care cost increases in line with overall inflation. Second, some employers are concerned that the public "backlash" against managed care will result in new legislation, regulations, and litigation that will further increase their health care costs if they do not distance themselves from health care decisions. Third, employers have modified not only most employee benefit plans, but labor market practices in general, by giving workers more choice, control, and flexibility. DC-type health benefits have existed as cafeteria plans since the 1980s. A cafeteria plan gives each employee the opportunity to determine the allocation of his or her total compensation (within employer-defined limits) among various employee benefits (primarily retirement or health). Most types of DC health benefits currently being discussed could be provided within the existing employment-based health insurance system, with or without the use of cafeteria plans. They could also allow employees to purchase health insurance directly from insurers, or they could drive new technologies and new forms of risk pooling through which health care services are provided and financed. DC health benefits differ from DC retirement plans. Under a DC health plan, employees may face different premiums based on their personal health risk and perhaps other factors such as age and geographic location. Their ability to afford health insurance may depend on how premiums are regulated by the state and how much money their employer provides. In contrast, under a DC retirement plan, employers' contributions are based on the same percentage of income for all employees, but employees are not subject to paying different prices for the same investment.