Examining Housing Instability Among Females Who Are System-Involved: Comparing Females With and Without Histories of Commercial Sexual Exploitation

Females involved in child welfare (CW) or juvenile justice (JJ) systems are at-risk for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). This study used administrative data from CW and JJ agencies in Los Angeles County to examine out-of-home care experiences and identify the types of homes that were associated with housing instability for females who experienced CSE. Demographic and case characteristics of females with a history of CSE and a matched sample without a reported history of CSE were compared using χ2 analyses and t-tests. Females with a history of CSE experienced significantly more housing instability compared to their matched counterparts. Housing instability was associated with leaving care without permission (LCWOP), and females were most likely to move because of LCWOP from group homes. These findings highlight the extremely unstable living situations for females with histories of CSE. Recommendations align with new federal policy, which aims to reduce reliance on group homes.

Women’s outcomes following mixed-sex, women-only, and home-based cardiac rehabilitation participation and comparison by sex

Background Despite women’s greater need for cardiac rehabilitation (CR), they are less likely to utilize it. Innovative CR models have been developed to better meet women’s needs, yet there is little controlled, comparative data assessing the effects of these models for women. This study compared outcomes in women electing to participate in mixed-sex, women-only, or home-based CR, and a matched sample of men. Methods In this retrospective study, electronic records of CR participants in Toronto who were offered the choice of program model between January 2017 and July 2019 were analyzed; clinical outcomes comprised cardiorespiratory fitness, risk factors and psychosocial well-being. These were assessed at intake and post-6-month program and analyzed using general linear mixed models. Results There were 1181 patients (727 women [74.7% mixed, 22.0% women-only, 3.3% home-based]; 454 age and diagnosis-matched men) who initiated CR; Cardiorespiratory fitness among women was higher at initiation of mixed-sex than women-only (METs 5.1 ± 1.5 vs 4.6 ± 1.3; P = .007), but no other outcome differences were observed. 428 (58.9%) women completed the programs, with few women retained in the home-based model limiting comparisons. There were significant improvements in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .001) and quality of life (P = .001), and lower depressive symptoms (P = .030) as well as waist circumference (P = .001) with mixed-sex only. VO2peak was significantly higher at discharge in mixed-sex than women-only (estimate = 1.67, standard error = 0.63, 95% confidence interval = 0.43–2.91). Conclusion Participation in non-gender-tailored women-only CR was not advantageous as expected. More research is needed, particularly including women participating in home-based programs.

Dimensionality of the Chinese CES-D: Is It Stable across Gender, Time, and Samples?

Depression is a common mental illness among Chinese adolescents. Although the Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) has been widely used in diverse populations, the reported factor structures are inconsistent, and its longitudinal invariance is under-researched. This study examined the psychometric properties and factorial invariance across gender and time of the CES-D among Chinese adolescents. Adolescents aged above 11 years from five schools in Chengdu responded to a questionnaire at Wave 1 (n = 5690). Among them, 4981 participants completed the same questionnaire after six months (Wave 2). The matched sample was composed of 4922 students (51.5% were girls; mean age = 13.15 years) at Wave 1. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the factor structure and performed multi-group CFA to test the factorial invariance across gender and time. A three-factor solution was identified, including “positive affect”, “somatic complaints”, and “depressed affect”. Results of multi-group CFA comparisons supported the factorial invariance of the resultant three-factor solution. Using a new sample of Chinese adolescents in Southwestern China, the present study reproduced earlier findings on adolescents in other areas in China. This study has implications for depression assessment and research in Chinese adolescents.

Comment letters on annual reports: Evidence from an emerging market

This paper examines comment letters on firms’ annual reports in an emerging market. The literature primarily focuses on comment letters issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), although many other market regulators also use SEC-style comment letters. Comment letters can potentially be very impactful in emerging markets due to weak institutions and low disclosure quality in these markets. Using comment letters in China from 2015 to 2019, I find that the market response to the receipt of comment letters is significantly negative and associated with the severity of the comment letters. The receipt (severity) of comment letters is associated with adverse regulatory consequences, CEO turnover, corrective actions to remedy financial reporting, and poor future financial performance in the propensity score matched sample (recipient sample). Overall disclosure quality in the post-review year does not increase, but some comment letter topics prompt topic-specific financial reporting changes.

Emotional Dysregulation, Temperament and Lifetime Suicidal Ideation among Youths with Mood Disorders

Background: Psychopathological dimensions contributing to suicidal ideation in young age are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the involvement of emotional dysregulation and temperament in suicide risk in a sample of accurately selected young patients with mood disorders and a matched sample of healthy controls (HC). Methods: We assessed 50 young patients (aged 14–25 years) with DSM-5 bipolar or depressive disorders for clinical and psychopathological characteristics and 82 age and sex, educational level, and smoking habits-matched HC. Emotional dysregulation and temperament were assessed using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A-39), respectively. We tested their associations with suicidal ideation, using standard univariate/bivariate methods, preceded by overall multivariate analysis. Results: In the group of patients, 24 (48%) reported lifetime suicide ideation (LSI). Patients with LSI scored higher on emotional dysregulation (p < 0.001) and cyclothymic (p < 0.001), irritable (p = 0.01), and hyperthymic temperaments (p = 0.003) than HC. Patients with LSI specifically presented with more emotional dysregulation (p < 0.001) and cyclothymic temperament (p = 0.001), than patients without LSI (N = 26). Conclusions: Temperamental features, in particular cyclothymic temperament, and emotion dysregulation may represent independent factors for increased vulnerability to lifetime suicidal ideation in young adults with mood disorders.

Microcredit Impacts: Evidence from a Large-Scale Observational Study in Brazil

This paper studies the impact of microcredit in Brazil. We use a propensity score matching on original primary data on business and personal outcomes to compare veteran clients of BNDES—Brazil’s largest government-owned development bank—to a matched sample of more recent clients. Based on administrative data as well as data from a survey of 2107 clients from the South and Northeast regions of Brazil, the findings show no significant impacts on income, employment generation, access to credit, and business formalization, except for the poorest Municipalities of the Northeast, where microcredit presented positive effects.

Expectation of Selfishness From Others in Borderline Personality Disorder

Social difficulties are apparent in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Behavior in BPD is characterized by mistrust and expectations of malevolence from others. We examined whether there is an asymmetry between their social behavior and their belief about other people’s social motivations. Subjects completed a task where they had to allocate money between themselves and an imagined other they will not meet and interact with. In addition they also had to report their expectations about how the imagined other would solve the task. We hypothesized that even though BPD patients will act in a prosocial way, they will expect selfish behavior from the other. We used the Slider Measure of social value orientation (SVO) and also created a modified version of the measure to examine the discrepancy between the subjects’ own SVO and their expectations from other people. We compared the results of thirty clinically diagnosed BPD patients to a matched sample of healthy participants. Our results show that the BPD group’s selfishness expectations significantly outweigh the expectations of selfishness in the HC group (U = 269, p = 0.007). This result further supports the mistrust and negativity bias observed in various aspects of social interactions in BPD.

Association between mortality and highly antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in intensive care unit-acquired pneumonia

Data on the relationship between antimicrobial resistance and mortality remain scarce, and this relationship needs to be investigated in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to compare the ICU mortality rates between patients with ICU-acquired pneumonia due to highly antimicrobial-resistant (HAMR) bacteria and those with ICU-acquired pneumonia due to non-HAMR bacteria. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study using the French National Surveillance Network for Healthcare Associated Infection in ICUs (“REA-Raisin”) database, gathering data from 200 ICUs from January 2007 to December 2016. We assessed all adult patients who were hospitalized for at least 48 h and presented with ICU-acquired pneumonia caused by S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, P. aeruginosa, or A. baumannii. The association between pneumonia caused by HAMR bacteria and ICU mortality was analyzed using the whole sample and using a 1:2 matched sample. Among the 18,497 patients with at least one documented case of ICU-acquired pneumonia caused by S. aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, P. aeruginosa, or A. baumannii, 3081 (16.4%) had HAMR bacteria. The HAMR group was associated with increased ICU mortality (40.3% vs. 30%, odds ratio (OR) 95%, CI 1.57 [1.45–1.70], P < 0.001). This association was confirmed in the matched sample (3006 HAMR and 5640 non-HAMR, OR 95%, CI 1.39 [1.27–1.52], P < 0.001) and after adjusting for confounding factors (OR ranged from 1.34 to 1.39, all P < 0.001). Our findings suggest that ICU-acquired pneumonia due to HAMR bacteria is associated with an increased ICU mortality rate, ICU length of stay, and mechanical ventilation duration.

Comparing Healthcare Utilization and Diagnoses in Immigrant Versus Nonimmigrant Youth

Introduction: To inform efforts to provide healthcare to uninsurable, immigrant youth, we describe The Access Partnership (TAP) hospital-based charity care program and compare healthcare utilization and diagnoses among TAP and Medicaid patients. Methods: We use propensity scores to match each TAP patient to three Medicaid patients receiving care at a pediatric clinic from October 2010 to June 2015 on demographic characteristics. We use descriptive statistics to compare healthcare visits and diagnoses. Results: TAP ( n = 78) and Medicaid patients ( n = 234) had similar healthcare utilization, though Medicaid patients had more outpatient visits (10.8 vs. 7.7, p = .002), and TAP patients were more likely to have ever received subspecialty care (38.5% vs. 22.2%, p = .005). Diagnoses were similar between groups, with some exceptions: TAP patients more likely to present with genital and reproductive disease (33.3% vs. 19.7%, p = .013); Medicaid patients more likely to present with endocrine, metabolic, and nutritional disease (52.1% vs. 28.2%, p < .001), psychiatric, behavioral disease, and substance abuse (41.0, 26.9%, p = .026). Conclusions: TAP patients had similar healthcare utilization and diagnoses to matched sample of Medicaid patients. Findings indicate policy proposals that extend public health insurance to all children would likely benefit immigrant children and not incur higher costs than those of low-income U.S. citizen children.

Adapting to Frequent Changes: The Roles of Job Crafting and Personal Needs

Drawing on the transactional theory of stress and self-regulation theory, we propose a conceptual framework to examine how change frequency relates to approach or avoidance adaptations. Multiwave, multisource data from a matched sample of 424 subordinates and their supervisors indicate that (a) approach and avoidance crafting mediates the negative relationship between change frequency and adaptivity, (b) the need for human connection weakens the relationship between change frequency and approach–avoidance crafting, (c) the need for control strengthens the relationship between change frequency and approach–avoidance crafting, and (d) change frequency has a weakened (strengthened) indirect effect on adaptivity via approach crafting and avoidance crafting when employees have a high need for human connection (control). This study expands the research on job crafting and adaptivity and provides practical implications for organizations undergoing or soon to undergo changes.