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Based on interviews with 120 children ranging from age 3 to 12, legal interviewers rated the grade school and middle school age children as competent and as understanding the meaning of lying. The interviewers rated the grade school children as more credible "witnesses in court" than either the preschool or the middle school age children. The cues they reported using most frequently were affect and eye contact. (Contains 1 table.)

Compared mothers' and one-month-olds' behaviors during 20-minute bottlefeeding with standard or breastlike nipple. Found that mothers' behaviors did not differ, but infants on breastlike nipples spent less time asleep, more time awake and active and less time fussing and crying than infants on standard nipples; they also exhibited changes in vagal tone similar to those of breastfeeding infants. (Author/KB)

This study investigated the effects of an intervention for polydrug-using adolescent mothers. The program included educational, vocational, and parenting classes; social and drug rehab; and day care for their infants while they attended school half-day. The drug-exposed infants were similar to the non-exposed infants on traditional birth measures, although they had inferior Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale scores, including habituation, orientation, abnormal reflexes, general irritability, and regulatory capacity. The drug-exposed infants also spent less time in quiet sleep and more time crying and showing stress behaviors. Both the mothers and the infants in the drug groups demonstrated inferior interactions, and their dopamine and serotonin levels were significantly higher. As early as 3 months (following 3 months of intervention), the drug rehab mothers and their infants looked more like the nondrug group in their interactions; by 6 months, they looked similar on virtually every measure. At 12 months, the infants of drug rehab mothers (versus the drug control group) had superior Early Social Communication Scale scores and Bayley Mental scale scores, as well as significantly greater head circumference and fewer pediatric complications. The drug rehab mothers also improved on several lifestyle variables. They demonstrated a lower incidence of continued drug use and repeat pregnancy, and a greater number continued school, received a high school or general equivalency diploma, or were placed in a job. Thus, a relatively cost-effective high school based intervention had positive effects on both adolescent mothers who had used drugs and their infants., The incidence of cocaine use among pregnant women has been reported at about 10%, although in some areas it is as high as 28% (Singer, Garber, & Kliegman, 1991). Polydrug […]

Purpose: The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of Kevorkian euthanasia cases were compared with Oregon physician-assisted suicide (PAS) cases and U.S. mortality data. Design and Methods: Two hundred variables were coded from medical examiner reports on all 69 Kevorkian euthanasia cases who died and were autopsied by the Oakland County Medical Examiner. Data on the 43 Oregon PAS cases in the first two years and U.S. mortality data were obtained from published sources. Results: Only 25% of patients euthanized by Kevorkian were terminally ill as compared to 100% of Oregon PAS cases. PAS cases were significantly more likely to have cancer (72%) than euthanasia cases (29%). Women and those who were divorced or had never married were significantly more likely to seek euthanasia than would have been predicted by national mortality statistics. Implications: Gender and marital status appeared to influence decisions to seek an assisted death, and research on the role of these factors in end-of-life decision making is merited. Key Words: Death and dying, End-of-life decision making, Physician-assisted suicide, Euthanasia

ABSTRACT Infants of mothers with depressive symptoms show developmental delays if symptoms persist over the first 6 months of the infant's life, thus highlighting the importance of identifying those mothers [...]

There is increasing recognition of the severe consequences of depression in long-term care residents with dementia. Most health care providers are unprepared to recognize and to manage the complexity of depression in dementia. Targeted educational initiatives in nursing homes are needed to address this growing problem. This paper describes the development of competencies, learning objectives, and learning outcomes for a curriculum on depression in dementia for nurses working in nursing home settings. This work provides the foundation for a curriculum to improve learning for nurses and, ultimately, to advance health care outcomes for residents with cooccurring depression and dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which investigated the clinical and psychological factors that preceded the assisted deaths and suicides of older women. Methods; Results; Conclusion.

Four groups (N = 80 families) of depressed (depressive symptoms) and nondepressed fathers and mothers were compared during interactions with their 3- to 6-month-old infants to determine how depressed versus nondepressed fathers interacted with their infants and how their interactions compared with depressed mothers interacting with their infants. Depressed and nondepressed fathers received similar ratings and depressed fathers received higher interaction ratings than depressed mothers. Although depressed fathers did not seem to behave negatively with their infants, their nondepressed partners showed less optimal interaction behaviors with their infants. © 1999 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "A Comparison of Characteristics of Kevorkian Euthanasia Cases and Physician-Assisted Suicides in Oregon," by L. A. Roscoe, J. A. Malphurs, L. J. Dragovic, and D. Cohen from the August 2001 issue on physician-assisted suicide (PAS), euthanasia, the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, and medical law in Oregon regarding the right to die.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "A Comparison of Characteristics of Kevorkian Euthanasia Cases and Physician-Assisted Suicides in Oregon," by L. A. Roscoe, J. A. Malphurs, L. J. Dragovic, and D. Cohen from the August 2001 issue on the difference between physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and euthanasia in regard to the actions of Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "A Comparison of Characteristics of Kevorkian Euthanasia Cases and Physician-Assisted Suicides in Oregon by L. A. Roscoe, J. E. Malphurs, L. J. Dragovic, and D. Cohen with a written reply from the authors regarding the characteristics of patients who died with the assistance of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, along with information on the definition of euthanasia, patient consent, laws in Oregon regarding the right to die, and bioethics.