The purpose of this study is to examine the nature and extent of alcohol-related problems experienced by adolescents residing in an urban (n = 1132) and rural (n = 987) area of Nova Scotia. These problems are divided into three categories: social consequences, early dependency symptoms, and vandalism or violence. A significantly greater number of subjects in the rural as compared to urban junior-high grades reported problems with school (χ² = 7.21, p < .007), the police (χ² = 4.5, p < .03), and money (χ² = 4.23, p < .03), whereas a significantly greater number (χ² = 5.04, p < .020) of high-school seniors from the urban area reported pre-party drinking as compared to their rural counterparts. The small-town environment of a rural area appears to provide little insulation against the risks and problems associated with teenage alcohol consumption. Health professionals need to become aware of the prevalence of adolescent drinking problems and take an active role in supporting enlightened public policies.

The present study was designed to assess whether the health-protective effects of membership in supportive primary networks, such as reduced illness and distress, extend to membership in self-help groups. In Study 1, the self-help sample was compared to acute and chronically ill controls on measures of health status and attitudes toward health-services utilization. Study 2 was an examination of how self-help group processes related to a variety of outcomes in a sample of chronically ill or disabled self-help group members. Self-help group members demonstrated levels of distress about health problems equal to the acute controls and were less distressed than the chronically ill controls who were not involved in mutual-aid organizations. Self-helpers also felt themselves more likely to take action in the face of concerns about health issues than acute controls. Finally, supportive group processes were associated with perceptions of positive outcome among self-help group members.

Le programme de visiteurs bénévoles Amitié/Friendship offre des visites amicales hebdomandaires à des adultes qui ont des problèmes chroniques de santé mentale et qui sont socialement isolés. Chaque bénéficiaire du programme est jumelé quant à son âge, son sexe, et ses intèrèts à un bénévole qui réside dans la měme communauté. Le but de ces visites hebdomadaires est de promouvoir le développement d'une relation amicale non professionnelle entre le client et le bénévole, afin de stimuler la confiance en soi du client et d'augmenter ses compétences sociales. L'objectif de cette recherche était d'évaluer l'impact du programme de visiteurs bénévoles Amitié/Friendship sur la socialisation du bénéficiaire. L'évaluation a porté plus spécifiquement sur le degré de satisfaction du client face à ses relations sociales, ainsi que sur la fréquence et la diversité de ses activités de loisir. Le devis expérimental d'évaluation était l'essai randomisé. Durant les neuf mois de recrutement à l'étude, 74 personnes sur 83 participants potentiels ont été inscrites au programme de visiteurs bénévoles Amitié/Friendship. Trente-neuf ont été assignées alèatoirement au groupe expérimental et 35 à un groupe témoin. Un questionnaire initial a été administré à la maison avant le début de l'intervention et des questionnaires de suivi ont été administrés trois et six mois après la première visite bénévole. Les résultats ne démontrent pas d'effet significatif du programme de visiteurs bénévoles Amitié/Friendship sur la satisfaction des participants face à leurs relations sociales, ni sur la fréquence de leurs activités de loisir. La discussion porte sur les aspects de l'intervention et de la recherche qui peuvent contribuer à expliquer ces résultats, notamment la faible intensitè de l'intervention et le choix d'un essai randomisé.

Following methods previously developed, the social stigma associated with AIDS was investigated by placing 90 telephone calls to landlords advertising rooms for rent in each of three Canadian cities: Windsor, Toronto, and Halifax. Compared to control conditions, calls ostensibly from AIDS patients were likely to elicit negative responses as to availability of the advertised room. The results provided an initial examination of the public's attitude toward conditions such as AIDS. Results were compared with those of previous studies investigating stigmatization of the mentally ill, in which the competing themes of acceptance and rejection were also found. Results were discussed in the context of strategies for measurement of attitudes toward minority or stigmatized groups.

This study reports perceptions of residential services in larger group homes and smaller, integrated housing for 24 developmentally handicapped adults and 29 members of their families. Criteria employed in judging quality of life and community integration differ in some cases from those used by professionals. The data indicate the enhancement of individual dignity and increased community involvement are more successfully realized in smaller, integrated settings.

This paper examines the relation between psychiatric challenges to the asylum and the professionalization of psychiatry in twentieth century Canada. It is argued that psychiatry established a presence outside the asylum through two somewhat conflicting strategies. The first strategy involved a convergence with medicine. In seeking the scientific credibility associated with medicine and medical specialties psychiatrists struggled to establish institutional arrangements parallel to those of medicine. The second strategy involved a divergence from medicine. Many psychiatrists refused to allow their occupation to be seen as just another medical specialty and promoted a more global view of health and health care than that characteristic of mainstream medicine. The paper analyzes the origins and influence of these two strategies between 1918 and the 1950s. It also identifies the circumstances which led psychiatrists to reaffirm their ties with medicine in the 1960s.

Les comportments sociaux de plus de 2000 enfants de maternelle sont évalués par deux adultes, soit l'éducatrice et la mére (ou la personne qui la remplace). Les indices d'inadaptation retenus sont l'agressivité, le retrait, et l'absence de comportements prosociaux. Le présent article traite des associations possibles entre l'attitude pédagogique de l'éducatrice sur un continuum autonomie-contrmle et la présence dans sa classe d'enfants aux comportements aberrants sur le plan social. Tous les sujects éducatirices se situent plus près du pmle autonomie que du pmle contrmle. Il ressort qu'une attitude moins autonomiste de la part de l'enseignante est associée à la présence d'èlèves jugés agressifs-hyperactifs et ce, particulièrement dans les écoles de statut socio-économique faible ou élevé. Aucune association n'est relevée entre l'attitude de l'éducatrice et la présence dans sa classe d'enfants jugés anxieux ou non prosociaux. Les resultats sont présentés et analysés sous les traits d'une étude épidèmiologique.

Based on in-depth interviews with 74 infertile couples seeking to adopt children, suggestions are made for modifying public adoption practice. Key findings in the study suggest couples experienced a loss of control, felt inadequately prepared for adoptive parenthood, and were socially isolated. Suggestions are made for how to incorporate empowerment, education, and support into adoption practice in order to build a stronger foundation for adoptive relationships.

When clients fail to arrive for their initial appointments, the result is wasted clinician and clerical time and effort. The present study attempted to find a cost-efficient way to reduce initial appointment no-show rates in a children's community mental-health clinic. Four types of reminder letters were compared to each other and to a system whereby forms were completed and returned prior to appointment setting. Results showed that all interventions reduced the no-show rate significantly, that all reminder letters worked equally well, and that use of forms was significantly better than letters in reducing the no-show rate. All approaches were considered cost-efficient. Results are discussed in terms of commitment required for form responses, and suggestions are made for future research.

This paper looks at the issue of freedom of choice as it relates to women who chronically use hostels for single women in Toronto. The paper reviews the systemic and “personal” factors which underlie the homelessness of some women and examines the conditions in which transient women live while a part of the hostel circuit. Finally, the paper discusses the physical and psychological needs which hostels meet for such women even as they limit the range of their patrons' areas of self-determination. It is concluded that any concept of “freedom of choice” for homeless women must be viewed within a context of extreme caution.