Adolescents view their mental health

A new 40-item behavioral checklist, the Adolescent Life Assessment Checklist (ALAC), was devised to be used with patient and nonpatient samples. A comparable form obtains information from a parent or guardian. Responses of 356 adolescents from three sources were analyzed for differences attributable to race, sex, age, sample source, and their interactions. A factor analysis was carried out on the average within-race-sex-source subgroup correlation matrix, resulting in seven meaningful and six usable oblique factors. Subscales were developed and corrections were computed to remove estimated differences due to race, sex, and age. Corrected scales significantly differentiate the three samples.This study was supported in part by MCHS Grant No. MC-R-390201, the Adolescent Clinic Foundation, and USPHSMH Fellowship Grant No. 0597921.Received her Ph.D. in psychology from Washington University, St. Louis; received a Foundations Fund for Research in Psychiatry interdisciplinary research-teaching grant, 1959–1965. Current research interests include test development, evaluation, and personality research.Received her M.D. from Medical College of Georgia at Augusta; her medical internship was at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. Current research interests include stress, coping, and adaptation in children and adolescents.She is a licensed psychologist with the State of Ohio, with an M.A. from the University of Cincinnati. Current research interests include verbal behavior, psychotherapeutic efficacy, and dream research.Received his M.D. from College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati; his medical internship was with Boston City Hospital, and he is the founder of the Adolescent Clinic, Cincinnati General Hospital. Current research interests include growth and development and medical/social problems at adolescence.     

Associations Between Shyness and Internalizing Behaviors,Externalizing Behaviors,and Relationships during Emerging Adulthood

Many studies have documented the ways in which shyness can be a barrier to personal well-being and social adjustment throughout childhood and adolescence; however, less is known regarding shyness in emerging adulthood. Shyness as experienced during emerging adulthood may continue to be a risk factor for successful development. The purpose of this study was to compare shy emerging adults with their non-shy peers in (a) internalizing behaviors, (b) externalizing behaviors, and (c) close relationships. Participants included 813 undergraduate students (500 women, 313 men) from a number of locations across the United States. Results showed that relatively shy emerging adults, both men and women, had more internalizing problems (e.g., anxious, depressed, low self-perceptions in multiple domains), engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors (e.g., less frequent drinking), and experienced poorer relationship quality with parents, best friends, and romantic partners than did their non-shy peers.

HIV/AIDS and older women in Zambia: Concern for self,worry over daughters,towers of strength

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa has exposed the way in which gender relations can place women in a particularly precarious position in respect of health matters (Ankrah, 1991; Baylies, Bujra et al , 1999; de Bruyn, 1992; Heise & Elias, 1995; Obbo, 1993; Ulin, 1992). As it advances, it is also evident that women do not face the epidemic as a homogeneous group, but as one which is divided by varying levels of vulnerability and varieties of response. This article focuses on generational differences, as well as those defined by marital status and economic security, and identifies older women who have completed their families as positioned not just to perform a caring role but also to serve as advocates for others in articulating the dangers which gendered practices may pose for their daughters and for women in general, both married and unmarried. It will be argued that they may become spokeswomen for their communities and their families and should be seen as powerful actors around AIDS issues.     

Commissions of inquiry and policy change: Comparative analysis and future research frontiers

Canadian governments have spawned hundreds of federal and provincial commissions of inquiry (COIs). Many scholars have completed in‐depth analysis of particular COIs but less attention has been paid to policy impact and comparisons across COIs. This study addresses the following questions. What role do COIs play in policy change? Would policy change likely have occurred without the COI? Why do some COIs result in policy change and others do not? This analysis reports on findings from in‐depth case studies of ten COIs. It uses a theoretical framework focusing on ideas, institutions, actors and relations to examine whether and how COIs lead to policy and administrative change.     

Personality Profiles of Veterans Entering Treatment for Domestic Violence

The purpose of this study was to reveal the typical personality profiles of veterans who have been perpetrators of domestic violence. Cluster analysis revealed that the MCMI-II profiles of 183 veterans entering treatment for domestic violence at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center fell into three clusters. These clusters were labeled Subclinical Narcissism, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and High General Psychopathology/ Substance Dependence. The typical MCMI-II profile for each cluster is discussed in terms how it might be associated with domestic violence. As this typology enables a fuller understanding of veterans who have been perpetrators of domestic violence, it can provide useful information for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.