Flourishing,Substance Use,and Engagement in Students Entering College: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the health topics students received information about, how students obtained health-related information, and perceived believability of those sources. Participants and Methods: Students (N = 1202) were surveyed using the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) of the American College Health Association. Results: Nearly half (46%) of the sample reported not receiving any information, whereas only 0.5% received information on all health topics. The Internet was the most common source of health-related information, but, conversely, was perceived as the least believable source. Health center medical staff and university health educators were perceived to be the most believable sources. Conclusions: Future practice at the university setting should focus on delivering health information through believable messengers utilizing the most commonly reported sources of information. This may have implications towards how students shape their health-related social cognitions and subsequent behaviors.     

Notes on the Alma Hartshorn Collection in the University of Queensland

The article provides information on the Alma Harsthorn Collection within the University of Queensland. The Collection documents the growth and development of social work in the health field in Australia from the 1930s until the early 1980s. The papers written in this period are classified under specific headings reflecting the major features of social work in the health field in order to highlight their significance for historical research.     

Mental disease postpartum and parent‐infant interaction—evaluation of videotaped sessions

In order to investigate the influence of maternal mental illness postpartum on mother‐infant and father‐infant interaction, infants of 14 mentally ill women admitted to hospital within 6 months after delivery were compared to infants of 22 women who had been somatically ill. Videotaped sessions when the infant was 10 months old revealed that mothers in the psychiatric sample showed less sensitivity in comparison to mothers in the somatic sample. When the infant was 2 years old, mothers in the psychiatric sample showed less positive affect and less link‐infant follow (stimulation dimension) as compared to the somatic mothers. However, there were no differences between fathers in the psychiatric sample and fathers in the somatic sample in any of the interaction variables. In the psychiatric sample, fathers showed more warmth as compared to mothers. In the somatic sample, fathers scored higher than mothers on autonomy but lower than mothers on link‐infant follow (stimulation dimension). A possible interpretation of our data was that the mental illness of the mothers may lead to a more active parenting role of the father in order to buffer the deficit in the mother‐infant relation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Blinking While Speaking and Talking,Hearing, and Listening: Communication or Individual Underlying Process?

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior - Why do eye-blinks activate during conversation? We manipulated informational content and communicative intent exchanged within dyads. By comparison to a silent...     

Childhood nutrition and later fertility: Pathways through education and pre-pregnant nutritional status

Better childhood nutrition is associated with earlier physical maturation during adolescence and increased schooling attainment. However, as earlier onset of puberty and increased schooling can have opposing effects on fertility, the net effect of improvements in childhood nutrition on a woman’s fertility are uncertain. Using path analysis, we estimate the strength of the pathways between childhood growth and subsequent fertility outcomes in Guatemalan women studied prospectively since birth. Height for age z score at 24 months was positively related to body mass index (BMI kg/m²) and height (cm) in adolescence and to schooling attainment. BMI was negatively associated (−0.23 ± 0.09 years per kg/m²; p < . 05) and schooling was positively associated (0.38 ± 0.06 years per grade; p < .001) with age at first birth. Total associations with the number of children born were positive from BMI (0.07 ± 0.02 per kg/m²; p < .05) and negative from schooling (−0.18 ± 0.02 per grade; p < .01). Height was not related to age at first birth or the number of children born. Taken together, childhood nutrition, as reflected by height at 2 years, was positively associated with delayed age at first birth and fewer children born. If schooling is available for girls, increased growth during childhood will most likely result in a net decrease infertility.     

The AIA,a Mental Map for Communicators: A Preliminary Report*

The Allred Interaction Analysis is a new instrument, designed from theory and research, that codifies communication. It was created to give researchers a tool for assessing interaction in dyadic relationships (such as husband and wife, parent and child, and sibling and sibling), a cognitive map for efficiently analyzing their verbal communication, pinpointing areas for improvement, working for improvement, and charting their progress along the way. Preliminary experimental evidence indicates that this vehicle is a useful and efficient means for promoting change and that its Level Ratio score is a dependent variable measure of value.     

Making sense of reablement within different institutional contexts. Collaborative service ideals in Norwegian and Danish home care

With population ageing, many countries are setting up reablement—short-term rehabilitative eldercare interventions—aimed at helping older adults to regain independence and thereby curb their need for long-term care. Reablement is premised on a citizen-centred and collaborative service ideal intended to challenge the fragmented thinking associated with professionalism and a dispersed service delivery field. Drawing on contextualist sensemaking theory and cross-national qualitative case study data, we explore how historical and institutional conditions influence the way reablement is made sense of on the ground. In Danish settings, characterised by legal regulations and institutional arrangements rooted in previous New Public Management reforms, new service ideals were constrained by vertical levers of control. The Norwegian bureau–professional settings opened up for user involvement but also gave rise to tensions between reablement teams working to prevent ill health and agencies expected to respond to the urgent needs of the frailest elderly.     

Parenting a Child With an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Public Perceptions and Parental Conceptualizations

In the middle part of the 20th century, parents were frequently blamed for causing autism. Although this idea is no longer prevalent in professional circles, this qualitative study indicates that parents still experience blame from community members and extended family. Eleven parents of children with autism participated in two focus groups. This qualitative study examined themes of parent blame as well as parents' own conceptualizations of autism. Results indicate that parents experienced blame for their children's autism-related behavior from the public and extended family, but most parents viewed the child with autism in positive ways.