The role of contextual, child and parent factors in predicting criminal outcomes in adolescence.

This study examined predictor variables that would contribute toward an explanatory model linking child maltreatment and the outcome of crime seriousness. A secondary data analysis was completed on a random sample of youth committed and detained by a juvenile justice system in the northeast United States. Although existing data indicate a predisposition to crime and violence among youth that are maltreated, more research is needed to determine the exact nature of the link, as well as the need to determine the relationship of associated factors. The aim of this analysis was to identify key contextual, child, and parental factors related to maladaptive behavior in abused and neglected adolescent offenders. Logistic regression was used to predict serious criminal outcomes. Overall, 73% of the cases were correctly classified. Ten variables remained in the model to predict serious juvenile criminal behavior. Youth who had been exposed to community violence or who had a mother with mental illness were four times as likely to commit serious criminal behaviors.

Research instrumentation and elderly subjects.

PURPOSE: To address instrumentation problems in conducting research with elderly subjects. SCOPE: The needs of older adults are considered with regard to instrument selection. Techniques for pretesting instruments are provided through illustrations from research reports and instrument development. Types of instruments are evaluated for use with older adults and methods for strengthening their applicability are provided. SIGNIFICANCE: Instrument development is sorely needed in gerontological research. Many of the instruments currently used to study elderly subjects lack adequate testing for applicability with old and very old populations. Knowledge about instrumentation can help researchers choose appropriate instruments for elderly subjects and strive to balance subject capacity and the demands of research. CONCLUSIONS: Four factors for consideration in selecting research instruments for use with older adults include subject (a) fatigue, (b) anxiety, (c) ethnic background, and (d) education. These factors are not adequately addressed in the current literature. Certain types of instruments may be more useful than others in studying the elderly.

Contributions of maternal identity and lifestyle to young children's adjustment.

Early child behavior problems have been related to later child adjustment. Therefore, it is important to study factors, such as maternal characteristics, which may affect early child behavior. Existing science stresses the import of maternal identity formation as a key aspect of the early mother-child relationship; however, recent evidence also shows that mothers' health-related lifestyles are salient to preschool children's healthy adjustment. The relative contributions of these two influences on children's behavioral adjustment were compared in a longitudinal mail study of new mothers. The sample consisted of two cohorts of mothers (6 or 12 months postpartum at recruitment) systematically selected (every third name) from published birth announcements in a midwestern newspaper. Maternal identity and lifestyle were both measured when children were 6 to 12 months and were used to predict child behavioral problems 2 years later (N = 122). Using path analysis, the influence of maternal identity and lifestyle on child behavior problems was tested within one model with maternal age, education, family income, and social desirability statistically controlled. The model provided an acceptable fit to the data. The hypothesis that maternal identity would be related to child behavior problems was not supported; however, maternal lifestyle was significantly related to child behavior problems. These findings support the relationship between the mother's health-related lifestyle and her young child's adjustment.

Using key informant methods in organizational survey research: assessing for informant bias.

Specification of variables that reflect organizational processes can add an important dimension to the investigation of outcomes. However, many contextual variables are conceptualized at a macro unit of analysis and may not be amenable to direct measurement. In these situations, proxy measurement is obtained by treating organizational members as key informants who report about properties of the work group or organization. Potential sources of bias when using key informant methods in organizational survey research are discussed. Statistical procedures for assessment of rater-trait interaction as a type of informant bias are illustrated using data from a study in which multiple key informants were sampled to obtain proxy measurement of the organizational climate for caring among baccalaureate schools of nursing.

Are maternal health behaviors related to preschool children's adjustment? A preliminary report.

Little is known about how parental health behaviors affect others within the family. This study examined the relationship of mothers' health behaviors to mothers' reports of their preschool children's mental health. Mothers (n = 89) of 2 and 3 year olds completed a mail survey assessing a variety of health related measures. Children's adjustment was assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist, a well established measure of child adjustment. The Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale were also contained in the survey. Most mothers were white, married, and had attended college. After entering control variables (income, work status, and perceived stress) in regression analyses, mothers' overall health behaviors were significantly related to total child behavioral/emotional problems. These preliminary findings suggest that the health behaviors of mothers may be related to children's mental health, but the direction of the relationship should be tested further in longitudinal research.

Clinical research with community-based older women.

Subjects for research with community-based elderly women are best obtained by first establishing rapport with the manager of the retirement home or apartment complex for the elderly. The site for group research should be comfortable, private, and free of distractions; it should also be centrally located and easily accessible for subjects with impaired mobility. Verbal instructions and printed questionnaires must be appropriate for the elderly subject's hearing, visual acuity, and reading level. It is important to ensure that subjects are using functional hearing aids and glasses, to allow extra time to repeat or explain questions, and to plan sessions that are not lengthy or tiring.