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Objectives To examine the demographic and health-related factors associated with risk behaviors that have been linked to cancer including smoking, high BMI, and low physical activity. Design and Sample A secondary analysis was conducted using data from Rural Families Speak about Health, a multistate, epidemiologic study of rural American women and their families (N = 444). Measures Validated measures for various demographic and health-related items including tobacco use, BMI, physical activity, and depression were used. Results Of the total sample with complete data (n = 399), the mean age was 32 years and the majority were White (64%), married (67%), had a high school education or higher (73%), and had an annual household income of less than $40,000 (90%). Regarding cancer risk behaviors, 36% of the sample were smokers, 39% reported low levels of physical activity, and 45% had a calculated BMI over 30. Thirty-five percent of participants reported engaging in two or more risk behaviors. There were significant differences in income, perceived health status, and depression depending on the number of risk behaviors reported. Conclusions Understanding combinations of risk behaviors can assist nurses and other health professionals in tailoring multiple health behavior change interventions to prevent cancer among rural women.

This qualitative study was concerned with examining the first language of young Mexicano bilinguals who had already learned enough English to work in all-English classrooms. In order to capture natural language usage within the school setting, five focal children were chosen, observed and audiotaped throughout their school day, for a period of roughly four months. This research presents data on the functions that Spanish continued to serve in the lives of these developing bilinguals. Additionally, it describes the competence they showed in their Spanish. Throughout their school day, in different roles, and in distinct contexts, the children used Spanish in varied and complex ways: (a) to provide information and assistance with school work; (b) to seek explanations, information and clarification; (c) to provide their own self-talk which helped them think through problems, plan strategies and assess their own work; d) to establish and maintain a variety of social relationships, juggling changes in ...

Developmental studies on children's written narratives have focused on tracing the appearance of certain elements at different ages to map out the possible stages of growth in storying. The underlying assumption in many of these studies has been that a unilinear pattern of growth is followed by all children as they learn to write stories. As such, it essentially ignores the effects of culture on story structures and themes. This study challenges this assumption as it analyzes the structural and thematic elements of three stories written by one sixth-grade Navajo girl. By examining various cultural influences, the origins and meanings of certain elements become clear. Furthermore, the complexity and sophistication of these stories can be appreciated. This analysis raises serious questions for those language arts teachers of American Indian children and other school personnel who have failed to appreciate certain kinds of narratives and have sometimes considered the authors of those narratives as less able or less developed.