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The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has adopted Correctional Offender Management and Profiling Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS), an actuarial risk- and needs-assessment instrument, as part of its reentry supervision and parole planning procedure. A large-scale 3-year prospective study was conducted to assess the instrument with regard to how well it predicted whether a parolee would be rearrested for (a) any crime and (b) a violent offense. This study followed, for up to 2 years, a total of 91,334 parolees who had been assessed with COMPAS prior to reentry into the community. The instrument achieved an acceptable level of predictive validity in general rearrests with an area under the curve value of 0.70, but its predictive power for subsequent violent offenses fell short of this conventional threshold. Moreover, a parsimonious model using four known risk factors from existing official records (i.e., gender, age, age of first arrest, and the number of prior arrests) performed just as well in predicting subsequent arrests. Findings from this study illustrate the challenges in applying group-based attributes to predict individual criminal behavior and suggest that, although COMPAS has other attractive features such as case management capability, existing official records may offer a lower cost alternative for assessing the risk of reoffending for community reentry purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study evaluated a community-based correctional program in California, in which parolees tested positive on illicit drugs were given the option of going into a treatment program or having their parole revoked and returned to prison in California. Two comparison groups were constructed to assess the treatment effect—a propensity-based comparison group extracted from the general parolee population and program dropouts. Although implicitly coercive, some parolees who finished the program were less likely to be reincarcerated 12 months following release than both comparison groups. However, the observed treatment advantage quickly eroded in the second observation year. Savings realized from the incarcerations avoided were more than enough to pay for the program. Findings from this study suggest that boosting participation in reentry services through coercive measures may yield currently unrealized individual and societal benefits. However, systemic efforts are needed to extend the short-term treatment effects. Design and data limitations in the study weaken the persuasiveness of these findings. Methodological implications and policy issues about coerced treatment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Therapeutic communities have become increasingly popular among correctional agencies with drug-involved offenders. This quasi-experimental study followed a group of inmates who participated in a prison-based therapeutic community in a California state prison, with a comparison group of matched offenders, for more than 5 years after their initial prison release. Contrary to successes reported elsewhere, this study found no difference in new arrests and returns to prison between therapeutic community participants and the comparison participants after 5 years. Overall, more than 60% of both groups were returned to prison within 2 years following their initial release. After 5 years, the return-to-prison rate reached about 73% for both groups. The average time spent in prison following initial release was about the same for both groups. Rearrest offenses were also similar in both groups. Policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a 2001 report, the U.S. National Institutes of Health called for more integration of the social sciences into health-related research, including research guided by theories and methods that take social and cultural systems into consideration. Based on a theoretical framework that integrates Hofstede's cultural dimensions with sociological theory, the authors used multilevel modeling to explore the association of culture with structural inequality and health disparities. Their results support the idea that cultural dimensions and social structure, along with economic development, may account for much of the cross-national variation in the distribution of health inequalities. Sensitivity tests also suggest that an interaction between culture and social structure may confound the relationship between income inequality and health. It is necessary to identify important cultural and social structural characteristics before we can achieve an understanding of the complex, dynamic systems that affect health, and develop culturally sensitive interventions and policies. This study takes a step toward identifying some of the relevant cultural and structural influences. More research is needed to explore the pathways leading from the sociocultural environment to health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a great deal of recent interest and debate concerning the linkages between inequality and health cross-nationally. The U. S. National Institutes of Health recommended in 2001 that any new research on health disparities should include social and cultural systems as units of analysis. Nevertheless, many public health interventions and policies continue to decontextualize risk factors from the social environment. Exposures to social and health inequalities probably vary as a consequence of different cultural contexts. To identify the processes that cause social and health inequalities, it is important to understand culture's influence. Navarro's research on political institutions and inequality illustrates the role of cultural context, although indirectly. Policies reflect cultural values because politicians typically translate their constituents' dominant values into policy. Political systems and structural inequality are institutionalized manifestations of cultural differences that intervene between dominant cultural dimensions at the societal level and health. The authors present a theoretical framework that combines constructs from sociological theory and cross-cultural psychology to identify potential pathways leading from culture and social structure to social and health inequalities. Only when all levels are taken into consideration is it possible to come up with effective, sustainable policies and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 1990s, California legislators funded a statewide, community-based correctional program intended to reduce parolee recidivism. Overseen by the California Department of Corrections, the Preventing Parolee Crime Program (PPCP) provided literacy training, employment services, housing assistance, and substance abuse treatment to tens of thousands of parolees. The study found that the PPCP produced modest reductions in reincarcerations and parole absconding, creating the potential for substantial long-term cost savings for California taxpayers. Because the PPCP's positive effects were strongest for parolees who completed their services, future program designers and administrators should consider including mechanisms to improve parolee retention and service utilization. This study also points out the potential benefits of incorporating rigorous evaluation plans into the design and implementation of correctional rehabilitation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which examined the structure and construct validity of a measure of ethnic identity among young adolescents from diverse ethnic groups. Details on the use of the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure; Method; Results; Discussion.

Presents a brief measure of loneliness suitable for use with adolescents. Administration of an 8-item loneliness scale to a sample of high school students; Internal consistency reliability of the scale; Evidence of construct validity.

Investigates the relations among depression, acculturation and socioeconomic status (SES) in a young-adult Latino sample. Measuring instruments used in the study; Procedures of the study; Depression findings; Symptoms of depression and acculturation; Depression and ethnic group status; Conclusions.

Focuses on the operating characteristics of a loneliness scale, RULS-8, with Anglo-American and Mexican American adolescents. Cronbach's alpha for Mexican American and Anglo-American students; Use of loneliness measures for mental health surveys; Principal components of loneliness.

Do relations with parents during the transition from adolescence to adulthood have long-term consequences for self-esteem? We addressed this question with 20-year panel data from 273 youths (age 16-26 at baseline) who participated in the University of Southern California Longitudinal Study of Generations. We found that youths who reported stronger affective ties to parents reported greater self-esteem at baseline and at 17- and 20-year follow-ups. We also found, however, that the long-term association between baseline affection and subsequent self-esteem was due primarily to moderate stability in self-esteem across the transition to adulthood. Our findings support the view that the quality of affective ties to parents during the transition to adulthood has long-term significance for self-esteem among offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the psychological benefits of close parent-child relations for sons and daughters who have reached adulthood? We apply identity theory to formulate hypotheses concerning potential contributions of parent-child affection to filial self-esteem and well-being in young adulthood. We expect that the immediate psychological benefits of such affection will depend on the psychological salience of the filial identity. Competing "adult" work, marital, and parental role-identities should decrease the salience of filial identity, thereby decreasing contributions of parent-child affection to filial self-esteem in young adulthood. A panel of 293 parent-child dyads provided longitudinal data (spanning 14 years) on quality of relationship and filial well-being as the sons and daughters aged from their late teens to thirties. The major findings are as follows: 1) parent-child affection made a modest contribution to filial self-esteem in late adolescence and early adulthood; 2) negative psychological consequences of low parent-child affection were less for young adults who possessed work and, to a lesser extent, marital and parental identities; and 3) early contributions of affection to filial self-esteem provided modest long-term psychological benefits for sons and daughters in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences between Anglos and Mexican Americans are examined for three measures of social support. Most initial ethnic differences disappeared when the effects of age, gender, education, income, and marital status were controlled. There were some differences in the pattern and magnitude of associations between measures of social support and demographic variables when analyses were stratified by ethnicity. Methodologic and substantive implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Data from a study of family service center clients are analyzed to assess how a measure of client satisfaction operates when used with different ethnic populations. The eight-item version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) is a measure of general satisfaction with services that was developed to provide a brief, standard assessment procedure suitable for use in a wide variety of service settings. Based on the results of this survey, the CSQ-8 seems to operate about the same, whether administered to Anglos or to persons of Hispanic origin, or in English or Spanish. There were essentially no differences among the various ethnic and language groups across statistical criteria such as internal consistency reliability, central tendency, dispersion, item intercorrelation, or missing values. These results suggest that the CSQ-8 is a measure of general satisfaction with services suitable for use with a variety of client populations, including Hispanics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Data from a large-scale survey of community health center clients were analyzed to assess how a measure of client satisfaction operates when used with different ethnic populations. The eight-item version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) is a measure of general satisfaction with services which was developed to provide a brief, standard assessment procedure suitable for use in a wide variety of service settings. Based on the results of this survey, the CSQ-8 seems to operate about the same, whether administered to Anglos, blacks, persons of Mexican descent, or persons of other Hispanic origin. Whether the criterion was internal consistency reliability, central tendency, dispersion, item intercorrelation, or missing values, there were essentially no differences among the four ethnic groups, suggesting that the CSQ-8 is a measure of general satisfaction with services suitable for use with a variety of client populations, including Hispanics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sex differences in depressive symptomatology among Mexican Americans are examined using data from two sample surveys conducted in Alameda County, California, in 1975 and 1978. In both studies, women reported more depressive symptoms than men, even after controlling for the effects of age, education, and income. Among the married, the employed reported fewer depressive symptoms than the nonemployed, and controlling for the effects of employment on depression eliminated the sex differentials observed initially. Also, in both studies, there was no difference in the depression scores of employed men and women. This finding for Mexican Americans is at variance with most findings from other populations, in which employed men generally report less depression than their female counterparts. Another finding was that housewives in both studies reported more symptoms of depression than did working men, which is consistent with previous research results. In regard to the contrast between employed and nonemployed women, in one sample the housewives were more depressed while in the other there was no difference between these two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study uses data from a survey conducted in 1974 to compare rates of depressive symptoms among married couples (N = 752) differentiated by the traditional or nontraditional sex-role relationship (division of labor) in the family. Wives reported more symptoms of depression than husbands in both nontraditional (in which both husband and wife work) and traditional relationships. Within-sex analyses show that the employment status of the wife has no significant effect on depression scores. Although these results corroborate some earlier findings regarding sex differences in depression, e.g., that women have higher rates, they do not corroborate the data (collected in 1965) reported by Rosenfield (1980), in which the males in nontraditional relationships have higher rates of depression than the females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data are presented from sample surveys conducted in 1974 (N = 3,119) and 1975 (N = 657) in Alameda County, California, comparing psychological distress among Mexican Americans, blacks, and Anglos. Measures of psychological distress include satisfaction with leisure, marriage, and job, reported happiness, positive and negative affect, and reported episodes of emotional problems and chronic nervous trouble. Based on crude prevalence rates, there are no differences among the ethnic groups in either sample in reported emotional or mental illness, and negative affect. There are differences in happiness, job satisfaction, and chronic nervous trouble in the 1974 study but not the other. In the remaining three comparisons (satisfaction with leisure and with marriage, positive affect) there are significant differences in both studies, Chicanos faring worse than Anglos but somewhat better than blacks. Controlling for the effects of age, sex, education, income, marital status, and physical health status in general reduces but does not eliminate most of these ethnic differences, and in no case is the rate for Chicanos lower than that for Anglos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comment focuses on the September 1976 article "Marital Role, Education, and Mental Disorder Among Women: Test of an Interaction Hypothesis," which illustrates several fundamental issues in current epidemiologic research on mental illness. The rationale for the study apparently arises from a basic error of fact. The authors' basic premise that women have higher rates of mental disorder than men is not acceptable. The second observation relates to the omnipresent problem of case identification in psychiatric epidemiology. They use the 22-item index developed by Langner to estimate prevalence of psychiatric impairment, but of the numerous psychiatric screening instruments, this particular one may be the least desirable.