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doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<3::AID-JCOP2290120102>3.0.CO;2-7pmid: N/A
Residential mobility was examined using a path‐model to determine the importance of social contact with friends and neighbors as a predictor of the desire to move. No effects were found. The major factors leading to moving aspirations related to both residential and neighborhood satisfaction.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<13::AID-JCOP2290120103>3.0.CO;2-9pmid: N/A
The study sought to determine whether there were social network and demographic differences between short‐term (nonusers) and long‐term (users) participants in an educational support program for parents of very young children. The sample included 55 working‐class and low‐income mothers. Nonusers were found to have less involvement in community affairs, a fewer number of nearby friends and relatives, and received less instrumental help from parents than program users. Nonusers gave more overall in helping relationships but received more help at the time of the child's birth than users. Nonusers also had a fewer number of children than users. There were no significant income differences between nonusers and users. The data suggested that social network attributes may play a role in determining an individual's need and style regarding participation in a formal peer‐oriented program. Implications for program development and future research were suggested.
Perlman, Baron; Dobbin, Debbie D. Fisher
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<21::AID-JCOP2290120104>3.0.CO;2-Bpmid: 10265314
Service provision and client utilization at the catchment area level were studied to provide data relevant to (a) comprehensiveness of care, (b) client behavior with human service organizations, and (c) management and policy in times of fiscal decline and/or scarcity. Four human service organizations and 3529 clients seen over a six‐month period were sampled. At the system level, data revealed a 100% duplication rate by the four organizations for nine service categories. At the individual level, 7% (n = 250) of the clients were multiorganization users and of these, only 150 received duplicated services. Implications of these data for comprehensiveness of care, utilization and provision duplication, human service system impetus and future research were discussed. Overcomprehensiveness of service provision may be a problem. At the client level, more research on differences between the multiorganization user who does and does not receive duplicated services is needed.
Baker, Frank; Perkins, David V.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<31::AID-JCOP2290120105>3.0.CO;2-7pmid: 10310460
Primary prevention has been growing as a major initiative in mental health, and to avoid overpromising its benefits, primary prevention programs must be evaluated in a systematic and effective fashion. Information on the developmental maturity and the direct costs of a program is very useful in assessing its merit, even if definitive findings on incidence reduction are not available for many years. This paper outlines the steps by which information on a program's developmental maturity and direct costs can be obtained, and discusses the implications of these steps for primary prevention policy.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<43::AID-JCOP2290120106>3.0.CO;2-Ypmid: N/A
Community psychologists have often refrained from entering the public policy decision‐making arena. This has limited psychology's potential impact on life in the community. This paper describes a project in which (a) the role of the community psychologist was broadly conceptualized, and (b) principles of community psychology as well as other social sciences were applied a priori to the efforts of a large suburban community to deal with vandalism. A major factor determining the project's outcome was the application of behavioral science through consultation with the leadership of a townwide committee. In this way a psychologist was able to expand successfully his role into the wider areas of human services and public policy.
Wutchiett, Ron; Egan, David; Kohaut, Susan; Markman, Howard J.; Pargament, Kenneth I.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<53::AID-JCOP2290120107>3.0.CO;2-Upmid: 10273467
Needs assessments are conducted with the expectation that the information obtained will be used to make rational decisions. However, appropriate planning and service delivery decisions do not always flow from needs assessment information. Assessment of the anticipated utilization of needs assessment data, and evaluation of the appropriateness of these uses prior to conducting a needs assessment may prevent inefficient use of resources. The present study evaluated the willingness and ability of community mental health leaders to use needs assessment data. A structured interview was developed which tapped into several dimensions relevant to the evaluation of the need for a needs assessment. The most striking result was that when asked how they would use future needs assessment data, all respondents indicated that the results would not influence service delivery patterns. Strategies to facilitate the constructive use of information gained from needs assessments are discussed.
Scott, Reda R.; Balch, Philip; Flynn, Todd C.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<61::AID-JCOP2290120108>3.0.CO;2-Wpmid: 10265315
One accessible measure of the impact a community mental health center has on the community it serves is the awareness levels of both residents and gatekeeper groups regarding the center's existence and services. This broad‐based study was conducted with university students at no cost to the center and included 436 residents and 175 gatekeepers. The results indicated that awareness levels for community residents and gatekeeper groups were 34% and 53%, respectively, but varied dramatically as a function of how the awareness questions were phrased. The overall awareness findings generally supported those of other studies and were discussed in light of potential normative levels, methods for conducting surveys of this nature, response rates, and the increasing need to justify existence given the diminishing funding situation.
Richards, Mary L.; Kashner, James B.; Vaughan, Dale A.; Okun, Morris A.; Stock, William A.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<67::AID-JCOP2290120109>3.0.CO;2-Bpmid: N/A
Most of the research examining the link between life events and adaptation has focused on psychological distress and illness. The present study investigated the influence of serious personal loss or misfortune on life satisfaction. A secondary data analysis was conducted on a subsample of 375 adults obtained from 9,570 respondents to health risk appraisal questionnaires collected in 12 cities across the United States. A significant inverse relationship between serious personal loss or misfortune and life satisfaction was obtained, and coping resource and behavior variables did not moderate this relationship. Results were similar for blacks and whites.
Hobfoll, Stevan E.; Benor, Dan E.
doi: 10.1002/1520-6629(198401)12:1<74::AID-JCOP2290120110>3.0.CO;2-8pmid: N/A
The process of selection of medical students who were chosen with regard to criteria that have often been used successfully to select mental health interventionists was examined. Selection interview ratings emphasizing personal characteristics were found to have some limited predictive ability to person‐oriented clinical performance in medical clerkships. Premedical grades and entrance examination scores were found to be unrelated to clinical performance despite the wide scoring range on these academic criteria among accepted candidates. Faculty ratings of students on characteristics similar to those utilized in the selection interview were found to be moderately to highly correlated to clinical performance. It was argued that the results suggest a process conclusion that a set of identifiable helping characteristics exist, can be judged, and relate to students' clinical performance in an interpersonally oriented medical program, but that the interview process may be too superficial to assess reliably these personal qualities. It was alternatively suggested that the restricted range of interview ratings among candidates accepted for study may have limited the magnitude of these correlations that were consistently in the predicted direction.
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