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Research has linked workplace harassment and abuse with distress and drinking. However, increasing societal attention to sexual harassment (SH) has been accompanied by pressures on work organizations to censure harassing behaviors. We address altered perceptions of the organizational tolerance (OT) for SH and generalized workplace abuse (GWA), changes in the prevalence and incidence of these experiences, and their impact on distress and drinking behaviors. A cohort of workers completed a mail survey at three points in time. Questionnaires assessed perceptions of OT for SH and GWA, experiences of SH and GWA, coping, and distress and drinking behaviors. Both sexes perceived that tolerance of SH and GWA has decreased over time. Changes in reported prevalence of these experiences differed by gender, and incidence for both genders decreased more strongly than prevalence. The linkages between SH/GWA and distress and drinking changed over time, but in different ways for women and men. SH and GWA still have deleterious consequences, and replications of this research and greater efforts at prevention are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's roles have undergone rapid transformation in recent decades and appear to affect the decision to breast-feed. Research in this area has been hampered by the lack of valid instruments to measure the relevant domains of gender-role related considerations. This study developed a scale to measure gender-role attitudes toward breast-feeding in primiparous women. Ninety-one married women, recruited during childbirth education classes in the Chicago metropolitan area, were surveyed by mail at eight weeks postpartum regarding their experiences as new mothers. Questionnaire items measuring infant feeding method (breast-feeding, bottle feeding) and attitudes toward breast-feeding were developed specifically for this investigation. Validity and reliability were assessed by structural equations analysis using LISREL. The LISREL fit statistics supported a one factor measurement model and combining the six items into a scale. Reliability analysis yielded a standardized alpha coefficient of .74. If results of future research are promising, the scale could be used to target new mothers with multiple roles for education and support and to evaluate interventions designed to promote positive breast-feeding attitudes and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because estimates of the prevalence of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) have been quite variable, there is a need for a screening instrument and second stage medical assessment that will produce the most valid estimate of the CFS prevalence. In the present study, four groups of 15 subjects were recruited :patients diagnosed with (1) CFS, (2) Lupus, (3) Multiple Sclerosis(MS), and (4) a healthy control group. Participants were interviewed twice over a two week period of time with a screening instrument comprising The Fatigue Scale and a newly configured section. The screening instrument had an excellent test-retest and interrater reliability. This screening instrument therefore has utility for CFS community-base epidemiologic research. However, while the instrument differentiates patients with CFS from those who are healthy, it is less likely to distinguish CFS from other autoimmune diseases (especially Lupus). Thus, future community-based CFS prevalence studies should encompass both a screening and medical examination to adequately differentiate CFS from other illnesses with overlapping symptomatology. We recommend a two stage research design with (1) a screening instrument with a good sensitivity, and (2) medical assessments of CFS positives from stage 1 to deal with the specificity problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]