Chronic stress in the lives of college students: Scale development and prospective prediction of distress

This article reports the development of the 54-item College Chronic Life Stress Survey (CCLSS) and its use in prospective studies of the relationship between chronic stress and psychological distress in college students. Study 1 demonstrated the CCLSS's test-retest reliability and concurrent validity (best friend corroboration of specific items). Study 1 also revealed differential endorsement of specific CCLSS items as a function of gender and year in college. Study 2 cross-sectional and prospective analyses showed that CCLSS chronic stress was a significant predictor of distress. Study 3 cross-sectional analyses showed that the CCLSS effects withstood the statistical control of neuroticism. The findings suggest the value of future research on chronic stress and demonstrate the utility of the CCLSS in studies with college students.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Delaware. Current interests include child sexual abuse, family therapy, and psychology internship training.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida State University. Current interests include research on stress-related growth and the role of social cognition in stress vulnerability. To whom correspondence should be addressed.     

THE “END” OF MARRIAGE*

This article addresses four different meanings of the “end” of marriage. It rejects the broad interpretive assertion that Lawrence v. Texas and Goodridge v. Department of Public Health signal the destruction of the institution of marriage, though both are criticized for politicization and feeble legal analysis. Those decisions have provoked a backlash that may contribute to a rediscovery of and re‐valuation of the importance of the institution of (conjugal) marriage, as passage of state marriage amendments suggests. If Goodridge and Lawrence show that genderless unions are the ultimate form of marriage, they would lead to the end of democratic society as well as of the institution of marriage. The fragmentation of marriage by reduction to functional relationships is myopic. While current developments may make it harder for the institution of marriage to thrive, the institution of marriage is “here to stay.”     

Interagency implementation of government policy: Strategic management of maternal and child health care in texas

Focusing on a joint effort of the Texas Department of Health and the Texas Department of Human Services, this study examined the interagency implementation of maternal and infant health policy in the state. Thompson's typology of implementation⁽¹⁾ was integrated with the Montjoy and O’Toole⁽²⁾ model of overhead influence on intraorganizational factors in public policy implementation for analysis. The findings provide some support to the Montjoy and O’Toole model.⁽³⁾ The data suggested Type A Mandate Effects and Expected Activity for both departmental programs. Reciprocal Operating Interdependence existed between the two state departments.     

Public Administration in the Twenty-First Century

Books reviewed in this article:
Donald F. Kettl, The Transformation of Governance: Public Administration for the Twenty-First Century America
Lester M. Salamon (ed.), The Tools of Government: A Guide to the New Governance
H. George Frederickson and Kevin B. Smith, The Public Administration Theory Primer     

At the Movies: A Continuing Dialogue on the Challenges of Teaching with Film

As part of ISP's ongoing effort to provide a scholarly venue for the exchange of ideas on a variety of topics, this issue's ISP Forum presents one set of reactions to the February 2001 article by Lynn Kuzma and Patrick Haney titled "And Action . . . ! Using Film to Learn About Foreign Policy" (February 2001:33-50). Vincent Pollard's comments represent what we hope will be the first in a series of comments on teaching international studies with film. Profs. Kuzma and Haney in their rejoinder urge for an ongoing discussion of the topic, as they see the use of film growing in the field. More broadly, the Editors of ISP invite readers to submit their own comments and reactions on this and other pieces that appear within the pages of ISP. Please note that all submissions undergo a peer review process.