The Colorado Treatment Outcome Study, a longitudinal study of people with mental illness, developed an integrated management approach that resulted in average recontact rates of 95% in each followup year. The approach includes multiple facets with an emphasis on partnership of all participants and agencies and respect for the individual. (SLD)

Reviews the problems associated with recruiting older minorities into mental health research studies and proposes a consumer-centered model of research methodology that addresses the barriers to recruitment and retention in this population. Results reveal that although the consumer-centered methods result in better recruitment of older minorities…

In a study of the supply and demand of teachers, a state teacher workforce database was analyzed to determine why language teachers were leaving in downstate Illinois. Recommendations are offered for future attrition databases and analyses. (13 references) (Author/LB)

Examines the problem of attrition from therapeutic treatment programs, discussing the scope and limitations of research about the causes of subject attrition. Examines the applicability of proposed methodological remedies for assessing and countering attrition. Such research often suffers from inadequate conceptualization and weak design. (SLD)

Attrition or dropout is the failure of a participant to complete, comply, or the prematurely discontinuation or discharge from treatment, resulting in lost data and affecting outcomes. This review of 10 years of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment outcome literature specific to Criterion A events of human origin examines how…

Two perspectives on carrying capacity and population growth are examined. The first perspective, "Carrying Capacity and Rapid Population Growth: Definition, Cases, and Consequences" (Robert Muscat), explores the possible meanings of the idea of carrying capacity under developing country conditions, looks at historical and present-day cases of…

The bias attributable to nonresponse in population estimates in the field of education was studied. Data were collected from responses to mathematics and science exercises administered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress to a probability sample of 17-year olds, as well as a probability sample selected from nonrespondents.…

Examined job tenure among 85 individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Surveyed clients' demographic, clinical, and vocational histories, their initial reactions to specific jobs, and aspects of the work environment. The average job lasted 70 days. Longer tenure was predicted by previous work history, early satisfaction with the job, lower…

Studies the causes of infant deaths among Nigerian children and the relative contributions of neonatal and postneonatal mortality to infant mortality. (CB)

Longitudinal research produces more reliable evidence concerning causality by gathering data directly from participants, preintervention and postintervention, utilizing 1 or more follow-up studies at the conclusion. The process of surveying at different points in time ameliorates direction-of-effect problems. While there are considerable benefits…

This study presents quantitative, sociological models designed to account for cross-national variation in child mortality. We consider variables linked to five different theoretical perspectives that include the economic modernization, social modernization, political modernization, ecological-evolutionary, and dependency perspectives. The study is…

The retention of older respondents in a longitudinal study is of important concern to data quality and representativeness of the target population. Participant non-response has been considered a more serious problem among older persons than among younger ones, since dropouts in longitudinal studies of older adults have been reported to be less…

The schooling of children, thought to be an important factor in explaining changes in fertility over time, is examined. Theory predicts that it exerts a negative effect on parental fertility. The mechanisms by which this relationship occurs at the micro-level are elaborated by Becker in this quantity-quality trade-off model, and by Cadwell in his…

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scale scores from two samples of students were analyzed to determine their usefulness in moderating the prediction of college attrition. Scales that functioned as moderator variables were sample-specific and did not replicate. (Author)

The quality of research on groups has been notoriously poor. This article is an attempt to respond to the research and evaluation deficit by providing some methodological approaches that might encourage group researchers and practitioners to attempt high quality research. (Author)