Connecting research and practice: Perspectives on the role of manualized programs in youth work

While there is a strong movement in favor of the use of manual-based programs in the arena of social care, there is a view that such programs are not applicable in the more fluid setting of youth work, which operates informally, using dynamic and organic methods. A critical pedagogical approach to youth work engages young people by encouraging them to become inquisitive, to question why things are the way they are and to pose problems through which they can learn. For some, manualized or evidence-based programs are not seen as having a role in such contexts. However, to date, the international debate in relation to this issue has been limited by an absence of published studies focusing specifically on strategies to implement evidence-informed practice in youth work contexts. This article aims to address this gap in the literature. The Irish national youth organization Foróige, which works with more than 56,000 young people in Ireland on an annual basis, has developed a range of manualized evidence-informed resources to support its youth work over recent years. Drawing on research findings from a range of studies conducted with youth workers focusing on implementation of these resources, the article explores the benefits and tensions associated with the use of program manuals in a youth work context. The findings suggest that such resources have a valuable role to play in youth work if designed in collaboration with youth workers, showing respect for core youth work values and allowing for flexibility and adaptability in implementation.     

"New" phenotypes in the human red cell isozyme system ADA

Two rare ADA phenotypes were observed in a German mother and her child. These phenotypes may be due to the allele ADA *9 previously found in Bulgaria.     

Substance use among African American adolescents in the Midwest

The purpose of this article is to examine the attitudes and substance use behaviors of African American adolescents living in the Midwest. A baseline survey was administered to 463 African American teens between the ages of 11-19. The article examines the relationship between attitudes toward drugs and drug-using behavior in this African American sample. Drug use will be compared to national drug use norms established by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. Overall participants had fairly negative attitudes toward drugs. Sixty percent of the sample reported that they were committed to a drug-free life, 74% had made a decision to stay away from marijuana, 79% reported making a decision not to smoke cigarettes, and 71% reported they would not get drunk in the next year. Females were more likely to stay away from marijuana than males. In this current study there is cause for alarm; participants reported higher percentages of ever smoking cigarettes and marijuana than the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. This study shows there is a need to provide substance abuse prevention programs for African American adolescents. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.     

Depression and suicidal ideation in early adolescents

This study sought to determine to what extent depression in young adolescents could be predicted by a variety of demographic and personality measures. A sample of 132 adolescents enrolled in junior high school completed a biographical data sheet, short forms of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a Sensation- Seeking Scale (SSS), the Family Environment Scale (FES), a social support index (SSI), and a life stress inventory (LSI). The nondepressed group differed from the depressed group on a variety of variables, and stepwise multiple regression suggested a significant relationship between depression and life stress and an inverse relationship between depression and family cohesion.Received Ph.D. from University of North Dakota. Main research interests are family coping and child psychopathology.Received M.A. from University of Washington. Main research interests are adolescent depression and future self-concept.Received M.A. from University of Washington. Main research interests are Projective assessment of Personality.     

Testamentary capacity

Wills are more prone to challenge on the issue of testamentary capacity because, as people live longer, they are more likely to have the kind of conditions that interfere with capacity and because the courts seem to be more apt to hear evidence and allow findings of lack of testamentary capacity than in the past. Therefore, it is incumbent on attorneys to protect the interests of their clients by addressing the issue of testamentary capacity in any case in which a will contest might be anticipated. Ideally, attorneys in such situations should have their clients counsel with a psychiatrist who is knowledgeable and experienced in matters of probate and will contests. Further, the attorney and the client must provide extensive data (of the kind which a jury might ultimately obtain) on which the psychiatrist can base his or her conclusions that the client is of "sound mind."     

Plasminogen (PLG): a useful genetic marker for paternity examinations

The genetically determined polymorphism of plasminogen (PLG) was analyzed by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gels. For analysis neuraminidase-pretreated sera were used. PLG was developed functionally by activation with urokinase and subsequent lysis of casein in an agar overlay. In a random sample of 957 unrelated healthy individuals from Southern Germany, three common phenotypes, PLG1, 2-1, and 2, and five rare variants were found. The allele frequencies were: PLG*1 = 0.7174, PLG*2 = 0.2780, and PLG*Var = 0.0046. The theoretical exclusion rate in cases of disputed paternity is 16.5%.