Unmet needs and barriers to service delivery for the blind and visually impaired elderly.

Reported is a state-wide survey of aging and blindness agencies. Shown by the findings was that a large percentage of aging agencies are not addressing the needs of the aging blind population. In addition, the lack of interaction between the two systems is a major service delivery barrier. Suggested by the data was the need for improvement in understanding the needs, resources, and areas of expertise of each system, with additional training and better communications between the systems being especially important.

The relationship between sexual abuse and substance abuse among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents.

A comparative study using matched samples was conducted to investigate the relationship between sexual abuse and substance abuse. The sample included 48 adolescent psychiatric inpatients who had been sexually abused (abuse group) and 48 psychiatric inpatients without a known history of such abuse (control group) matched by age, race, sex, and primary psychiatric diagnosis. Statistically significant differences emerged between the groups in several areas. Abuse group subjects indicated more regular use of cocaine and stimulants, greater frequencies of alcohol and drug use, and more reported drunkenness and times high on drugs than their control counterparts. Explanations of the association between substance abuse and sexual victimization are explored. Discussion suggests the possibility of earlier coping strategies being related to later chemical use patterns. Implications for service delivery are offered.

Revalidation and expansion of an adolescent substance abuse screening measure.

The perceived-benefit-of-drinking scale has been developed to assess reasons for drinking in an adolescent population. In this study, the self-administered questionnaire, which has been expanded to include a reason-for-drug-use scale, was completed by 1363 junior and senior high school students. A comprehensive battery of analytic techniques was used to investigate the performance of these perceived-benefit scales on this larger and wider age-range sample. The results confirmed the reliability and validity of the instrument. The findings showed the two scales to perform well across a range of sociodemographic and age groups. These data reassert the strength of the approach and support the instrument's potential as a tool for clinically assessing adolescent substance use.

The hospital merger: its effect on employees.

Hospital closings are occurring with increasing frequency, yet little is known about their impact on employees. A study was conducted to assess the impact of a psychiatric hospital's closing on employees' perceptions of and preparation for the closing process, as well as the impact on employment outcomes.

A longitudinal study of the impact of a school heart health curriculum.

This paper presents the findings of a study testing the impact of the Chicago Heart Health Curriculum on the behavior and attitudes towards cardiovascular disease prevention of 325 sixth graders residing in rural, suburban and residential suburban, northeast Ohio regions. Using a pre-test/post-test control group experimental design, data were gathered with a Student Health Questionnaire testing self-reported attitudes and behaviors regarding heart disease factors, at three points in time: 1) Pre-test: before implementation of the Heart Health Curriculum; 2) Post-test: immediately following implementation; and 3) FOLLOW-UP: one year later. Using an analysis of variance procedure, treatment effects were evidenced for only one of the outcome variables, Heart Health Knowledge (F = 26.80, df = 2/638, p less than .00005). Results revealed that while the Chicago Heart Health Curriculum contributed to an increase in cardiovascular knowledge among the sixth graders tested, it did not affect attitudinal/behavioral preference change among the students.

Perceived-Benefit-of-Drinking Scale: approach to screening for adolescent alcohol abuse.

An index that measures adolescents' perceived benefits of drinking, the self-administered Perceived-Benefit-of-Drinking Scale, has been tested on a high school population. Results indicate that the instrument is practical and that it generates a scalable, reliable, and valid measure of reasons for drinking. The scale's strong relationship with other drinking behavior indicators makes it a potentially useful clinical screening device because it can serve as a proxy measure to assess the drinking behaviors of adolescents.

The impact of parent participation on the effectiveness of a heart health curriculum.

This paper presents the findings of a 1982-83 study testing a) the impact of the Chicago Heart Health Curriculum on the behaviors and attitudes toward cardiovascular disease prevention of 647 sixth-grade students in northeast Ohio, and b) the impact of including a Parental Participation Component (N = 322) in conjunction with the Chicago health curriculum program. Using a pre-test/post-test four-group experimental design, data were gathered with a Student Health Questionnaire testing self-reported attitudes and behaviors regarding cardiovascular disease factors prior to and immediately after the implementation of the curriculum. A parental pre- and post-test survey evaluated parental levels of knowledge and current behavior regarding cardiovascular risk factors. Using a one-between-one-within ANOVA model, treatment effects were revealed for three outcome variables: 1) Health Knowledge with higher scores indicating greater heart-health information (F = 34.15, df = 3/590, p less than 0.00005); 2) Attitude Toward Nutrition with higher scores indicating a positive attitude toward one's nutritional intake (F = 4.44, df = 3/517, p less than 0.004); and 3) Shopping Behavior with higher scores indicating healthier food choices (F = 4.27, df = 3/590, p less than 0.005). Results of the Parent Participation Component on student performance revealed that parental involvement had no effect on student knowledge or behavior with regard to cardiovascular disease prevention.

A biracial comparison of adolescent alcohol use.

This study used a survey design to compare the drinking behaviors of Black and White students from two urban high schools in the city of Cleveland. Data are presented from 1,096 students who completed a 28-item self-report questionnaire measuring adolescent alcohol use and several factors which influence it. White males demonstrated the highest amount of alcohol use on all measures, while White females demonstrated drinking rates comparable to Black males. Blacks of both sexes exhibited the highest percentage of nondrinkers and the highest lifetime abstention rates. White respondents tended to have their initial drinking experiences almost a year earlier than their Black counterparts and perceived greater parental permissiveness regarding drinking. Relaxation was the most popular reason given for drinking by all groups of students. Higher percentages of White than Black students felt that conviviality and problem avoidance were benefits associated with drinking. Subcultural variations were also seen in the perceptions about parental influences on drinking. Implications for service delivery are discussed.

Social networks and social support among black urban elderly: a health care resource.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in social networks and social support among the black urban elderly. This article reports from a community survey on the size, interaction, availability and adequacy of support and roles of kin and non-kin network members. The findings reveal frequent contact among family, relatives, friends, and neighbors. Black elderly utilize network members differentially for emergency and nonemergency situations. Implications for social work in health care are discussed.