This guide, designed to help people improve the quality of their leisure time, suggests alternative activities which may involve risk or change and may be used by individuals, families, teachers, and treatment personnel. The format is a collection of experiences that people have enjoyed and that make them feel relaxed, refreshed, and good about…

The curious association between romance and adverse circumstances is based on an extension of emotional attribution theory, which postulates that romantic notions are evoked when nonspecific physiological arousal is attributed to another person or to an interpersonal relationship. Data from a survey on stressful life events was examined to…

Compared neighborhood perceptions and use and social network involvement in urban and suburban older people. Urban older people reported more frequent interactions with friends, greater dissatisfaction with friendships and greater organizational participation. Informal social relationships were related to elderly urbanites' morale but had…

Using interview data collected from 595 subjects in five Utah counties, this study identified through factor analysis two dimensions of community satisfaction (economic and interpersonal). Results showed rural people tended to have highest levels of interpersonal satisfaction while urban people were more economically satisfied. (DS)

Objective: To study the relationship between child psychiatric disorders and quality of life (QoL). Method: In a sample of 310 children (ages 6-18 years) referred for psychiatric problems, children, parents, and clinicians reported on psychopathology and subjective and objective QoL indicators. Results: Six diagnostic categories were…

Social support is a significant component of mental health; yet, it has not been examined extensively among black Americans. This paper is a critical review of the research literature on informal social support. The review identifies how social support is conceptualized and defined, the importance of social support for mental health, and the…

It is the dimension of power or control, either in the workplace or in the family, that determines the degree to which social relations are alienating. The consequences of social inequality for the quality of personal life were examined in 314 married couples, of whom 70 were dual-earning non-parents, 123 were dual-earning parents, and 41 were…

This paper presents a discussion of the importance of voluntary childlessness as a contemporary social phenomenon. The negative attitudes associated with voluntary childlessness are discussed in a brief summary of recent literature. An exploration of the methodological limitations of existing research is included which emphasizes its usefulness…

The most common psychological disorder found in the elderly is depression. To investigate the relationship between numerous age-related stresses and depression in older adults, 68 residents of a retirement center completed a questionnaire assessing depression and a wide range of possible losses or stresses. Depression was related to poorer…

Migrant Puerto Rican children born or raised in the United States who moved to Puerto Rico during adolescence experienced drastic changes in their self-esteem and self-identity; in family and interpersonal relations; and in their relations with broader aspects of the new environment, including its physical, interpersonal, and cultural dimensions.…

Describes an intergenerational residential community in an educational setting. Pennswood Village, a Quaker-led retirement community offering lifetime care to persons over the age of 65, was established by George School, a coeducational Quaker secondary school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in order to open new sources of endowments. (AN)

This study examined differences in belief systems about friendship employed by two groups of students (total n=24) with mild disabilities in a vocational program. Members of one group had a fair number of reciprocal friendships and high satisfaction, whereas members of the other group had few reciprocal friendships and low satisfaction. Individual…

The purpose of this study was to develop a preliminary understanding of the nature of provider-parent relationships in family day care homes, as revealed through interviews with providers and parents and observations of their interactions in a small number of day care homes. The study relied primarily on the theoretical and methodological…

This study examined the effect of chronic illness on the individual's ability to meet his or her need for solitude and for social interaction by exploring how chronically ill individuals used their own ability (self-care agency) to meet these needs. Subjects were 90 chronically ill older persons, 30 of whom were living at home, 30 who lived in a…

The report describes a site visit to the Seven Counties Services Region in Kentucky to identify and document promising practices for serving people with severe disabilities in integrated community-based services. The regional agency serves Jefferson, Oldham, Henry, Trimble, Spencer, Bullitt and Shelby Counties. Regional service priorities have…