Partying Before the Party: Examining Prepartying Behavior Among College Students

Objective: The authors examined the phenomenon known to college students as prepartying, which is the consumption of alcohol prior to attending an event or activity (eg, party, bar, concert) at which more alcohol may be consumed. Participants: To explore the extent of this behavior, the authors surveyed 227 college students about each drinking event over a 1-month period. Results: Principal results revealed that 64% of participants engaged in prepartying (75% of drinkers) and that prepartying is involved in approximately 45% of all drinking events. Prepartying was predictive of more drinking throughout the day of the drinking event and alcohol-related negative consequences. Men and women engaged in this behavior at similar rates, and prepartying was most related to social reasons for drinking. Conclusion: Because prepartying is well-known among students, the authors suggest that clinicians and researchers target it to better understand college drinking and to help students understand the associated dangers.     

Getting Unstuck: Interdisciplinarity and Aging

Continuing the dialog initiated by Scheff in the March issue of Sociological Forum, we reflect on some of the challenges involved in interdisciplinary research.     

Counseling Brazilian Undergraduate Students: 17 Years of a Campus Mental Health Service

Objective: The authors reviewed demographic and clinical characteristics of undergraduates at a Brazilian public university (UNICAMP) who visited the campus mental health service (SAPPE) and compared their demographics with those from all undergraduate students enrolled in the university. Participants: The authors looked at data from all undergraduates who sought counseling or mental health care at SAPPE over a 17-year period (N = 2,203; 1987-2004). Methods: They obtained this information from clinical charts and a UNICAMP database. Results: Women, students from other Brazilian states, students living in the campus residence hall, and students whose main source of income was a scholarship were overrepresented. Female student-clients complained about family conflicts more frequently than did their male counterparts, and male student-clients reported concern about poor academic performance more frequently than did their female counterparts. Conclusions: Sex, living in a university residential facility, and reliance on a scholarship grant were predictive of undergraduates' mental health-seeking behavior and pattern of complaints.     

Access Barriers to Mental Health Services for Older Adults from Diverse Populations: Perspectives of Leaders in Mental Health and Aging

This project is based on the results of telephone surveys with 52 local, state, and national informed respondents including policymakers, county leaders, planners, and advocates in mental health and aging with a particular focus on the states of California and Florida. This article addresses challenges to access to mental health services for diverse older adults including barriers related to race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, location, age, gender, immigrant status, language, sexual orientation, and diagnosis. The article also highlights broad themes that emerged including (1) the importance of outreach and transportation tailored to diverse elders, and (2) recruitment of diverse staff and training related to diversity. The article concludes with policy and practice recommendations to reduce these disparities in access to mental health services for diverse populations of older adults.     

Financial Exploitation of Elders: Analysis of Risk Factors Based on County Adult Protective Services Data

ABSTRACT

While all types of elder abuse and neglect are serious problems affecting thousands of vulnerable elders, financial exploitation has especially serious implications for the victims’ economic well-being and quality of life, because it may deprive the victims of their life savings and assets and thus their economic foundation for independence. In this study, data from the case files of a county adult protective services program were analyzed to identify risk factors associated with financial exploitation of and mismanagement by elders. The elders who were financially exploited were, on average, in their late seventies and tended to be cognitively impaired. We also found that owner-occupant elders were especially vulnerable to exploitation and that financial mismanagement and exploitation often occurred together. Approximately 60% of the perpetrators were relatives of the elderly victims, mostly their adult children, and the rest of the perpetrators were not related to the victims. Implications for interventions include case management for frail, cognitively impaired elders; preventive educational programs; and ongoing collaboration among adult protective services, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies.     

“Living Well in Later Life”: An Overview of the National Service Framework for Older People in England

The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People is a set of standards produced by the Department of Health in England in 2001 to overhaul the health and social service delivery systems over a 10-year period aimed at optimizing the care received by older adults. The NSF arose from broader social and health care reforms that likewise sought the establishment of performance assessment, augmented consumer sovereignty, and greater coherence across health and social services. The United States shares with England similar problems with care for its older adults, strategies for improvement, and obstacles to successful implementation of change.     

Multiple Disadvantages Among Older Citizens: What a Multidimensional Measure of Poverty Can Show

Using the newly created Freedom Poverty Measure, a multidimensional measure of poverty, it can be seen that there were 534,700 individuals who were in freedom poverty, who had either poor health or poor education in addition to having low incomes. This multidimensional disadvantage would not normally be captured by single measures of poverty, such as income poverty measures. Men were significantly less likely to be in freedom poverty than women (OR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.54–0.74, p < .0001), and the proportion of individuals in freedom poverty increased with age, with those older than 85 being 2.3 times more likely to be in freedom poverty than those aged 65 to 69 years (95% CI: 1.73–3.11, p < .0001). Policy responses to address the marginalization of disadvantaged older people should take a multidisciplinary approach, addressing health inequalities in particular, not just low income.     

Differential Health and Social Needs of Older Adults Waitlisted for Public Housing or Housing Choice Vouchers

Affordable housing is an important form of income security for low-income older persons. This article describes characteristics of older persons waitlisted for either public housing or a housing choice voucher (HCV; previously Section 8) in Portland, Oregon. 358 persons (32% response rate) completed a mailed survey with questions about demographics, health and housing status, food insecurity, and preference for housing with services. Findings indicate that many waitlisted older persons experienced homelessness or housing instability, poor health, high hospital use, and food insecurity. Public housing applicants were significantly more likely to report lower incomes, homelessness, and food insecurity than HCV applicants. We conclude with policy implications for housing and health agencies that serve low-income older persons.     

Responding to Self‐harm: A documentary Analysis of Agency Policy and Procedure

This paper reports on the findings of a documentary analysis of policies and procedures relating to self‐harm from a range of organisations working with young people in the UK. It identifies the extent to which policies and/or procedures relating to self‐harm are available for service providers and offers a wider understanding of the concepts of self‐harm and approaches to helping as incorporated into service guidance and delivery. It highlights the prevalence of self‐harming behaviours in a climate of stigma and the need to define appropriate and supportive agency responses from a trained staff that is both sensitive and individualised.     

军人电子健康档案互联互通性相关标准概述和应用建议

在介绍互联互通性概念的基础上,分析了电子健康档案互联互通性标准的分类和引用关系,并分别对互联互通性标准的3个层次,即信息集成规范、信息模型标准和信息语义标准的主要代表性标准的内容和典型应用进行了综述,提出了在军人电子健康档案系统建设中如何运用上述标准的建议。