Gender differences in health-related quality of life

In 1986 the life expectancy at birth was 71.3 years for males and 78.3 years for females--providing a 7-year advantage for women. Although women live longer, it has been reported that they paradoxically experience more physical and psychological illnesses. In this article, we estimate the expected well-years or quality-adjusted life years for men and women in the general population. The data were obtained in a random sample of 1,034 residents of San Diego. The well-life expectancy uses standard life expectancies with adjustments for quality of life. The well-life expectancy for men was 59.8 years; for women, it was 62.7 years. Thus, the quality adjustment had significantly more impact on women (15.6 years) than on men (11.5 years). Age-specific estimates of health-related quality of life suggested a male advantage before age 45 and a female advantage after age 45. The benefits of well-years of life as a public health statistic are discussed.     

Perceptions of parenting behavior and young women's gender role traits and preferences

This study examines the effect of perceptions of mothers' and fathers' parenting behavior on their college-aged daughter's gender role development. Unlike in previous studies, in this analysis we consider both the gender role traits of young females (their instrumentality and expressiveness) and their gender role preferences (modernity vs. traditionalism) simultaneously. Three alternative empirical models are tested with data from 163 randomly selected college-aged females using analysis of covariance structures in LISREL VII. Findings substantiated the hypothesis that perceptions of earlier parenting behavior exert a substantial influence on gender role developments of children, particularly regarding mothers' influence on the instrumentality and expressiveness of their daughters. Mothers' parenting, measured along the dimensions of encouragement and control, was generally more strongly related to their daughters' gender role traits than was fathers'. Little influence of parenting behavior on daughters' gender role preferences was found.The authors wish to acknowledge Dr. Hyman Rodman for his comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

Suicidal behavior in Italy: data, trends and guidelines for a suicide intervention/prevention policy.

Even though in Italy, as in the majority of Mediterranean countries, the increase in suicide rates is not among the highest in Europe, between 1969 and 1989 it showed a sharp upswing (+43% among males and +31% among females). In terms of geographical differences, the regions with the highest suicide rate are the northern ones (up to twice the national average). The age groups with the highest suicide risk are those over 74 years (in 1989 the rate among males over 65 was the highest of all: 31.3 per 100,000). The differences in the between-sexes distribution show that among females over 65 years old the suicide rate rose by 70% between 1974 and 1989, versus 77% for males of the same age. The preliminary epidemiological results of one of two Italian centers are presented. These centers are collaborating with the WHO/EURO Multicenter Study on Parasuicide; parasuicide rates are higher for females than for males (55.9 per 100,000, as against 38.1 for males), while the age group at highest risk is seen to be young women (15-24 years), with a specific rate of 115.6.     

Playfulness and humor in the psychoanalytic relationship

This paper, which was presented at the Postgratuate Center for Mental Health, New York, February 10, 1990, is a much abbreviated version of Playfulness in the Psychoanalytic Relationship,Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 26(1), 74–95, 1990.     

Washing, drying, and anointing in adult humans (Homo sapiens): commonalities with grooming sequences in rodents.

Very few behavioral patterns generalize across human and nonhuman species. We describe washing, drying, and anointing sequences in humans (Homo sapiens) that may have analogies with other species. The rank ordering of washing, drying, and anointing body parts was obtained over 3 successive days for 37 men and 60 women. Variation in rank ordering of body parts was nonrandom, and a cephalocaudal progression was evident for each behavior. Reliability of the behaviors as well as the correlations across rankings were highly significant, which indicates a generalized cephalocaudal progression for all 3 behaviors. Women's anointing was most variable, which suggests a more specific function. The cephalocaudal action pattern described for humans is similar to that for Mongolian gerbils and laboratory rats. Cross-species functions, such as these, may add to our understanding of common developmental and learning processes.     

Quality of mental health services and method of payment: an empirical study

Data from a sample of clinicians are examined to study the relationship of the lower socio-economic client and therapist. Therapist practice variables are regressed on variables measuring client income and contrasting client's use of Medicaid with the use of private insurance or out-of-pocket funds. It is found that therapist practice variables can predict a significant proportion of the variance of these criterion variables. These relationships and their implications for the therapeutic needs of indigent clients with less severely impaired conditions are discussed.     

Subliminal Self-Help Tapes and Academic Achievement: An Evaluation

Marketing claims of effectiveness in improving academic achievement through the use of commercially prepared subliminal audiotapes were investigated. Students enrolled in a career development class were randomly assigned to an active treatment group (n=25), an inactive treatment group (n=26), or a control group (n=22). Participants in the treatment group listened to tapes with subliminal affirmations masked by ocean waves. The inactive treatment group listened to placebo tapes with ocean waves but no subliminal messages. Dependent variables used were final examination scores from the class and current semester grade point average. No treatment differences on either dependent measure were found. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Effects of short-term retrieval on adult age differences in long-term recall of actions.

In Experiment 1 young and elderly subjects either recalled or repeated after every block of 4 actions, whereas control subjects received neither interpolated short-term recall nor action repetition. On a later long-term memory test, experimental subjects, regardless of age or condition, recalled slightly more actions than control subjects. In Experiment 2 young adult and elderly subjects received 12 short-term memory trials in which 2 actions were performed on each trial, but only 1 was cued for recall after a brief retention interval filled with a distracting activity. On a later long-term memory test for the actions performed on the short-term trials, both young and elderly subjects recalled significantly more previously cued than noncued actions. The Age X Cuing Condition interaction was negligible. Prior retrieval of actions appears to enhance later recall regardless of age but seemingly only when prior retrieval requires considerable cognitive effort (as in Experiment 2).     

The effects of late-life spousal bereavement over a 30-month interval

Self-report measures of grief, depression, and general psychopathology were studied in widows and widowers over a 2.5-year period following death of their partner. A comparison sample of men and women was also followed for the same period. Differences in severity of depression and psychopathology previously reported at 2 months postloss (Gallagher, Breckenridge, Thompson, & Peterson, 1983) diminished to nonsignificant levels at 12 and 30 months. However, significant differences between bereaved and comparison subjects on measures of grief were still apparent 30 months after spousal loss. A main effect of gender for depression and psychopathology (but not for grief) was found at 2 and 12 months: Women reported more distress than men regardless of bereavement status. Results indicate that the experience of grief persists for at least 30 months in both older men and women who have lost their spouse.