Friendship,Quality of Life,and People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have fewer opportunities to create and maintain friendships. In fact, it is not uncommon for people with IDD to consider their paid staff friends, which is problematic given high staff turnover and a lack of reciprocity, a key element of friendship. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between friendship and quality of life of people with IDD. We had two main research questions: 1) what factors predict people with IDD having friends (outcomes present)?; and, 2) how does having friends (outcomes present) impact the quality of life of people with IDD? To do so, this study analyzed Personal Outcome Measures^® interviews data from approximately 1300 people with IDD exploring the relationships between friendship and factors at individual, organizational, and societal levels. Findings revealed friendship predicts improved outcomes in almost every area of one’s life; as such, it is critical to promote the development, maintenance, and growth of friendship of people with IDD. To do so, organizations need to make it best practice to facilitate the friendships of the people they serve. Systemic issues also need to be addressed in order to promote the friendships of people with IDD.     

Grief among gay men associated with multiple losses from AIDS

Few quantitative studies have examined the phenomena of multiple loss and cumulative grief occurring in gay men as a result of the AIDS epidemic. In this study, Sanders's Integrative Theory of Bereavement (1989) was used to examine the relationship between multiple loss and the intensity of grief experienced by gay men. The relationship of selected situational, factors and internal characteristics of the bereaved to the numbers of losses and intensity of grief was also explored. Ninety-three gay men living in San Francisco, whose own HIV status was negative or unknown, and who had lost at least three friends, lovers, or relatives to AIDS, completed the Grief Experience Inventory and a demographic questionnaire. There was no signaficant relationship between the number of individual losses reported and the intensity of grief experienced. There were significant relationships among social and demographic variables. Factors influencing the bereavement response found in this study are consistent with several of the external and internal mediators presented in Sanders's theory. The findings suggest that an adaptive process of habituation may be occurring and that these men may be remaining in Sanders's conservation-withdrawal phase of bereavement.     

Gay men''s perceptions and responses to AIDS

Gay men continue to be the largest group in Canada developing AIDS. They have responded to this threat on a personal and community level. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of gay men about AIDS, and how they responded to these perceptions. Data were gathered through unstructured interviews with 34 healthy gay men, from participant observations chosen from logs that described nursing interactions with gay men who had AIDS, and fieldnotes collected during AIDS education programmes with health care workers and gay men. Using constant comparative analysis, a substantive conceptual framework was developed. Trusting was identified as the basic social psychological process that determined how gay men responded to AIDS. AIDS was perceived by all gay men in this study to threaten their own health and their acceptance by society. Variables identified behaviour, ranging from denial of personal risk to taking leadership roles in organizations to fight AIDS related to the trusting theory. This theoretical explanation of gay men's responses provides direction for programmes to educate gay men about HIV-related diseases, as well as to support those who acquire the HIV.     

Social factors,alcohol expectancy,and drinking behavior: A comparison of two college campuses

Background: Though college students have high rates of heavy drinking, few studies have examined the various pathways through which risks affect drinking and whether this varies by institution. We examined whether alcohol expectancy mediates the relationship between social factors (i.e., hooking up, friends drinking, Greek affiliation, entitlement) and drinking behavior comparing college students from one Midwestern and one Southeastern university. Methods: In the 2013–14 academic year, 1,482 college students (51% female) enrolled in undergraduate courses at two public universities completed a paper and pencil survey of attitudes and experiences about dating, sexuality, and substance use. Multiple group path analysis was used to compare two institutions. Results: Drinking behavior was positively associated with hooking up more often, Greek affiliation, being male, having close friends who consume more alcohol, and greater alcohol expectancies. We found unique differences in the mediating pathways for the two campuses. Conclusion: This study provides a more nuanced understanding of risk factors for heavy drinking. Moreover, it adds to the scarce body of literature concerning entitlement and drinking and the unique pathways between two college campuses. Finally, the results could lead to the development of more specific intervention strategies to reduce risky drinking among U.S. college students.     

Drinking context and alcohol’s harm from others among men and women in the 2010 US National Alcohol Survey

Background: Little is known about how drinking in different contexts is associated with harms from someone else’s drinking, including marital problems, financial problems, and assault. We examined how drinking in four different contexts was associated with alcohol’s harm from others (AHFO). Methods: We utilized the landline sample of the 2010 US National Alcohol Survey (n = 5885) to examine associations between drinking context and AHFO using weighted binary logistic regression. Results: For women, drinking when friends dropped over was positively associated with assault and financial troubles due to someone else’s drinking. Drinking when friends dropped over was negatively associated with assault for men. For men, drinking at a bar, party, or during a quiet evening at home were each significantly associated with more assault by someone who had been drinking. Bar drinking among women was significantly associated with more marital problems, whereas drinking at a party at someone else’s home was associated with significantly less marital problems. Conclusions: Context-specific drinking has differential associations with specific types of harms from someone else’s drinking for men and women. Additional research on drinking context, relationship to the harmer, and violence experienced by men and women is needed.     

A pilot study exploring the effect of kudzu root on the drinking habits of patients with chronic alcoholism

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess if kudzu root extract influences the drinking habits of veterans who entered a substance abuse treatment program. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized double-blind controlled clinical trial. SETTING: A nonacademic Veteran Affairs Medical Center. METHODS: Patients with the diagnosis of alcoholism were randomly assigned to receive either kudzu root extract 1.2 g twice daily or a matching placebo. Patients completed questionnaires that focused on craving for alcohol and sobriety status on a monthly basis. OUTCOME MEASURES: Sobriety level and craving for ethanol were assessed on a visual analogue scale from 0 to 10. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients completed 1 month of the study; 21 randomly assigned kudzu, 17 to placebo. No statistically significance difference in craving and sobriety scores were noted after 1 month between kudzu and placebo, or at later stages with smaller numbers (15-19) of patients. CONCLUSION: In this small patient population, kudzu root appeared to be no better than placebo in reducing the craving for alcohol or promoting sobriety.     

Mutual Liking, Enjoyment, and Shared Interactions in the Closest Relationships between Children with Developmental Disabilities and Peers in Inclusive School Settings

Typically analysis of the characteristics of friendships is made on the basis of nomination of a friend or best friend, with the assumption that this nomination reflects actual friendship. While it is possible that this assumption may be valid in typically developing children, this may not be the case for relationships for students with developmental disabilities. The relationships of 16 students with developmental disabilities in grades 1 through 6 and their three closest peers were examined to determine if dyads engaged in behaviors associated with defining components of friendship (i.e. shared interaction, mutual enjoyment, mutual liking) from literature on typically developing children. Interviews were conducted with target students, as well as with their peers, parents and teachers. Interview data indicated that the majority of dyads engaged at least sometimes in behaviors related to each of the defining components of friendship and reported behaviors associated with these components were typically reported as mutual. Additionally, voluntary peer nomination of friends at the beginning of interviews corresponded well with the presence of characteristics of friendship but this was less so when peers needed to be asked directly whether a child with a disability was a friend.     

Mental health: what do we know,how did we find it out and what does it mean for nurses?

As part of a qualitative study exploring the health needs of gay men, undertaken in the Lothian area of Scotland (Robertson & Hutcheson 1995), the mental health needs of gay men were elicited through focus groups and individual interviews. A grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss 1967) was used to analyse the responses from a sample of 37 gay men. This research followed a social interactionist approach and examined from the respondents' stance the effects of being perceived as deviant and the subsequent impact on self-identity and self-esteem. The findings were that there is a reluctance amongst gay men to disclose their sexuality in health care settings which results in mental health needs remaining unrecognized by health professionals. The research also showed that the respondents faced profound social difficulties when coming to terms with their sexuality, a process that can occur throughout their life time. Those who were married faced the strain of living two lives and cited alcohol misuse and depression amongst the effects of this stressful lifestyle.     

Delayed pursuit of health care among HIV-positive gay men enrolled in a longitudinal research study.

The aim of this qualitative article is to describe the reasons HIV-positive gay men who are enrolled in a longitudinal research project give for not initiating health care. Extreme sampling techniques were used to recruit four HIV-positive gay men who are enrolled in a research project that is examining factors related to disease progression in HIV infection but who do not otherwise receive any health care. Intensive, open-ended interviews were conducted, and the interviews were analyzed for recurring themes. Results indicate that the participants did not have an accurate perception of health care and therefore were hesitant in seeking health care. Part of this hesitation involved their strong reluctance to begin antiretroviral therapy. Enrollment in a longitudinal study allowed the participants to have some monitoring of their HIV infection. However, not having a primary care provider resulted in a lack of preparedness when they encountered changes in their health status. The end result of this process was progression in their HIV disease. Implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed.     

Gay men and HIV/AIDS: understanding the double stigma.

Many men with HIV/AIDS are and will continue to be homosexual or bisexual. Effective care requires understanding the impact of the double stigma of being gay and having HIV/AIDS. While providers have traditionally focused on gay men with HIV disease as individuals, this article directs providers' attention to the importance of social dimensions in creating a plan of care.     

Indulgence, restraint, and the engagement of pleasure: inciting reflection using Nietzsche's ascetic ideal

As part of an interview-based study of gay circuit parties in Montreal, Canada, which involved 17 gay and bisexual men, it was noted that participants were preoccupied with the topics of indulgence and restraint, particularly in relation to their perceptions of social norms regarding acceptable sexual behaviors. Theoretically, these findings were examined from a post-structuralist perspective using Nietzsche's conceptualization of the ascetic ideal. The outcome of this analysis is an alternative conceptualization about the intersections between indulgence, pain, guilt, pleasure, and sexually transmitted infection.     

‘I don't care if you think I'm gay … that won't make me either promiscuous or HIV positive’: HIV,stigma, and the paradox of the gay men's sexual health clinic - An exploratory study

Young gay men are affected by HIV. Due to a lack of studies on these males, and that previous research notes youth's minimal healthcare seeking, we recruited young gay men at a gay men's STI testing clinic to explore their perceptions of care. Eight men participated in semi-structured interviews. Our results identified that, while our participants experienced stigma in some interactions, particularly when healthcare workers emphasized the probability of contracting HIV for gay men, overall they reported positive experiences with healthcare providers, particularly at the gay men's STI clinic. The gay men's STI clinic diminishes stigma and promotes HIV testing among a group of gay male youth who are affected by HIV, while its very existence propagates the association between gay males and HIV that most of the participants found stigmatizing. The association between sexuality and HIV was reported as stigmatizing in some situations, while the construction of a clinic on the premise that gay men require such testing was not. This reinforces the idea that stigma is a personal experience independent of action and locale.     

Predictors of eating attitudes and behaviors among gay Hispanic men

Gay men are a vulnerable population at risk for a number of health disparities, but little is known about eating disorders among gay Hispanic men. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of eating attitudes and behaviors with alcohol abuse, body image, depression, self-esteem, and sexual behaviors to determine predictors of eating attitudes and behaviors in a community sample of gay Hispanic men. Significant numbers of the participants were at risk for eating disorders (13%), alcohol abuse (18%), body image disturbance (29%), depression (25%), low self-esteem (12%), and high-risk sexual behaviors (34%). Alcohol abuse, body image, depression, self-esteem, and sexual behaviors were significant predictors of eating attitudes and behaviors and accounted for 38% of the variance in eating attitudes and behaviors. Nurses providing care to this population of gay men must be aware of this cluster of related mental health conditions that are experienced by these men. Addressing and treating these health conditions as a group of related mental health conditions are necessary. More research is needed to further explore this cluster of health issues among gay Hispanic men.     

The mental health experiences of gay men: a research study exploring gay men's health needs

As part of a qualitative study exploring the health needs of gay men, undertaken in the Lothian area of Scotland (Robertson & Hutcheson 1995), the mental health needs of gay men were elicited through focus groups and individual interviews. A grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss 1967) was used to analyse the responses from a sample of 37 gay men. This research followed a social interactionist approach and examined from the respondents' stance the effects of being perceived as deviant and the subsequent impact on self-identity and self-esteem. The findings were that there is a reluctance amongst gay men to disclose their sexuality in health care settings which results in mental health needs remaining unrecognized by health professionals. The research also showed that the respondents faced profound social difficulties when coming to terms with their sexuality, a process that can occur throughout their life time. Those who were married faced the strain of living two lives and cited alcohol misuse and depression amongst the effects of this stressful lifestyle.     

Critical friends: A way to develop preceptor competence?

Preceptorship entails for nurses to create a supportive learning and working climate where students or newcomers are given opportunities to develop professional competence. However, being a skilled and experienced nurse does not automatically turn the professional into a skilled educator as teaching of a subject is a whole different story. Preceptors need to continuously and critically reflect on their practices in order to facilitate the development of professional pedagogical competence. Critical friends are colleagues with comparable educational background evaluating the work of each other. The relationship should rely on friendship and mutual trust, adding new dimensions to the reflective process. Being engaged in a critical friendship allows the “friends” to become aware of their own shortcomings which can then be reflected on in relation to clinical as well as pedagogical practices. Being and having a critical friend might be one promising way forward for preceptors to develop pedagogical and professional competence.     

Parents do matter,but why? Examining two mediators of the association between parental approval and negative consequences of alcohol use

College student drinking is a public health concern with potentially serious consequences. A growing body of literature indicates perceived parental approval of alcohol use is associated with drinking outcomes in college populations, and that parent-based interventions may be a viable way to reduce alcohol use on campus. However, researchers have not yet identified the mechanism responsible for this relationship. In this study, a path model was used to look at the relationship between perceived parental approval of drinking and negative consequences of alcohol use among undergraduate students (N?=?632) via two mechanisms: perceived friends’ approval of drinking and perceived parental monitoring. The path model specified in this study indicated that perceived parental approval of drinking is associated with negative consequences of alcohol use, and that this effect is not fully attributed to perceived parental monitoring, injunctive norms of friends, gender or weekly alcohol consumption. As hypothesized, perceived friends’ approval of drinking partially mediated the relationship between perceived parental approval of drinking and negative consequences of alcohol use. Contrary to hypothesis, the path model did not provide support to the mediating role of perceived parental monitoring.