Economic, social and cultural influences on the status and wellbeing of Indian rural wives

Examines the status and well being of wives in rural India using results from interviews. Surveys were conducted in three villages in the southwest of West Bengal and in three villages in the west of Orissa. The survey in West Bengal contained a large proportion of Santal tribals and the Oriyan survey was dominated by Kondh tribals. The relationships between variables representing economic, social and cultural factors are compared with ‘dependent’ variables representing the status of wives within their family and their wellbeing. Wellbeing is indicated by whether the basic needs of wives for food and medical care are met. Status of wives is indicated by their ‘control’ over family resources, whether or not they are restricted in joining social groups and in working outside their home, and the extent of their involvement in family decision-making. Cultural factors are found to be the dominant influence on the status of wives. Family income and other economic factors are found to be associated cross sectionally with greater restrictions on wives within their family. Nevertheless, the higher in the economic status of the household, the more likely are the basic needs of wives to be met.

Insufficiently active Australian college students: Perceived personal, social, and environmental influences

Background. A sustainable pattern of participation in physical activity is important in the maintenance of health and prevention of disease, College students are in transition from an active youth to a more sedentary adult behavior pattern. Methods. We assessed self-reported physical activity and other characteristics in a sample of 2,729 male and female students (median age was 20 years) recruited from representative courses and year levels at four Australian College campuses. They were categorized as sufficiently or insufficiently active, using estimates of energy expenditure (kcal/week) derived from self-reported physical activity, Personal factors (self-efficacy, job status, enjoyment), social factors (social support from family/friends), and environmental factors (awareness of facilities, gym membership) were also assessed. Results. Forty-seven percent of females and 32% of males were insufficiently active. For females, the significant independent predictors of being insufficiently active were lower social support from family and friends, lower enjoyment of activity, and not working. For males, predictors were lower social support from family and friends, lower enjoyment of activity, and being older. Conclusions. Factors associated with physical activity participation (particularly social support from family and friends) can inform physical activity strategies directed at young adults in the college setting. (C) 1999 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.

Christian Thomasius and the desacralization of philosophy

Despite his significance in early modern Germany, where he was well-known as a political and moral philosopher, jurist, lay-theologian, social and educational reformer, Christian Thomasius (1655-1728) is little known in the world of Anglophone scholarship. 1 Unlike those of his mentor, Samuel Pufendorf, none of Thomasius's works was translated into English, when, at the end of the seventeenth century, English thinkers were searching for a final settlement to the religious question. None has been translated since. Moreover, while Thomasius has been subject to increasing scholarly attention in Germany since the 1970s, where he has been treated largely as a representative of the "early Enlightenment," there is very little secondary literature on him in English. 2 Things are however beginning to change in this regard, with recent research already giving rise to important new Anglophone books and essays. 3 Knud Haakonssen's article on [End Page 595] Thomasius for the new Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy might well be a straw in the wind

Outcome research in psychodynamic psychotherapy: Psychological, social and neuropsychological factors

While many studies have demonstrated positive outcomes from psychotherapy when it is practiced in a controlled research environment with carefully selected (or excluded) patient groups and rigid manualised therapy sessions there is a paucity of research regarding effective outcomes from psychotherapy as it is practiced in actual clinical conditions. The aim of this series of studies was to investigate outcomes, using an effectiveness approach, from psychodynamic psychotherapy as it is practiced by private psychiatrists. Three studies were planned. The aim of Study 1 was to provide standardized baseline measures on the following dimensions • Personal Demographic Information (PDI), • Target Symptoms and Disorders (TSD) including a neuropsychological profile • Inter and Intra Personal (IIP) factors, and, • General Functioning and Quality of Life (GFQoL) factors. Study 2 aimed to examine changes in patient characteristics during the course of treatment. Thus, baseline assessments were repeated at sixmonthly intervals to determine if therapy had been effective for individual patients. A third study was planned to assess the extent to which the results of significant outcome predictors could be replicated in different patient samples. Twenty-nine psychiatrists consented to refer patients with 20 patients having completed pre therapy assessments and six and 18-month follow-up questionnaires. The presentation of this research will focus on the interesting research methodology utilized, patient demographic characteristics and on the patient changes occurring over time on the dimensions of Defence Style (DSQ), Quality of Life (WHOQOL- Bref) and the severity of depression (BDI). The patient sample included 10 male and 10 female patients, whose ages ranged from 19 years to 66 years (mean = 43 years). While seven of the patients did not meet SCID-IV criteria for a current DSM-IV Axis 1 disorder, six patients met criteria for a current mood disorder, three for panic disorder, one patient each for PTSD, alcohol abuse and dependence, and 2 patients met current criteria for multiple Axis 1 disorders. The research is ongoing.

Social and psychiatric influences on urban-rural differentials in Australian suicide

The purpose of this study was to investigate urban-rural differentials in Australian suicide rates, and to examine influences that previously have remained largely speculative. Suicide rates for males (all ages and young adults) were significantly higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. Urban-rural suicide rate differences in males were rendered nonsignificant after adjustment for migrant and area socioeconomic status. Adjusting for mental disorder prevalence, in addition to migrant status, reduced the excess suicide risk in rural areas; the excess was reduced further with addition of mental health service utilization. The implications of this study are that socioeconomic circumstances in rural populations contribute to higher male suicide rates compared to urban areas, but these conditions may be partly mediated by mental disorder prevalence and mental health service utilization.