Deception of parents during adolescence.

Two hundred eighty-one undergraduates at a large university in the southeastern United States anonymously completed a 26-item questionnaire about the degree to which they deceived their parents during high school. Only five percent of the respondents reported that they had never lied to their parents about "where I was." "Who I was with," "my alcohol use," and "my sexual behavior" were additional topics about which they lied the most. It was also found that (1) females lied more than males about sexual behavior, (2) the opposite-sex parent was deceived more often, and (3) intact homes were associated with more lying. Respondents also reported more lies when they lived with their parents than when they left for college. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Selecting whether to die at home or in a hospital setting.

Data from a 1978 health care study in rural North Carolina were analyzed to investigate whether people prefer to die at home rather than in a hospital setting and the reasons for their preference. Medical, financial, personal and family-related reasons were investigated as possible explanations for selecting a preferred site of death. Differences between respondents in demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related variables were analyzed to determine their possible effects on where an individual preferred to die. The results indicate that financial reasons were most likely to be given for preferring to die at home followed closely by individual reasons and then by family and health considerations. Statistically significant differences indicated that those who preferred to die at home were younger, white, more educated, were not satisfied with the quality of medical services, considered their health as excellent and were afraid of hospitals. The implications of these results were considered.