Support groups are established psychosocial treatment modalities where clients address particular problems or diagnoses. Discusses a long-term (five year) AIDS support group and examines the following issues: (1) marginality; (2) making choices; (3) coping with emotions; (4) premature confrontation of life issues; (5) chronic illness versus…

Laments the fact that the social strata model is still being used as the focal point of contemporary educational sociology and inequality research. Proposes models used in research on lifestyles and milieus conducted within the framework of empirical social research as alternatives. Provides two studies that illustrate these proposed methods. (DSK)

Examines "bimaadiziwin"--the moral structure of traditional Anishinaabe (Chippewa) religion, which is providing past-present continuity in Anishinaabe worldview. Discusses the teachings of bimaadiziwin ("good life") as governing human relations with nature and social relations, storytelling as a medium for moral teachings, an…

A Minnesota study showed that changing school starting times to accommodate adolescent sleep patterns profoundly affected many families. Implementation processes substantially influenced how families received changes. Policy makers should inform and involve all stakeholders, allow ample time, provide research-based justifications, support…

Evaluated barriers to participation in physical activity by American Indian elementary school students. Data from interviews, observations, and surveys indicated that barriers at school included lack of facilities, equipment, and trained staff people for physical education. Weather conditions, safety concerns, and homework/chores were also…

The author reviews the literature related to life roles and describes a variety of techniques that can be used from a constructivist career counseling perspective. Seven counseling techniques are included: life space map, life line, life-space genogram, life roles circles, life roles assessment, life role analysis, and goal map. Framed from the…

Wellness scores of 1,249 traditional and 318 nontraditional undergraduate college students revealed low levels of wellness in multiple areas in comparison with non-student adults and within-group differences according to demographic variables. Profiles of wellness for traditional- and nontraditional-age students revealed significant differences on…

Dominant academic narratives about "the body" occur within two major camps. The first is derived from "classical social theory", and takes a macroscopic focus. The contrasting perspective is what Sharp ("Extended forms of the social", "Arena Journal", 1, pp. 221-237, 1993) refers to as "post-classical…

Over the past forty years various changes in the U.S. "built environment" have promoted sedentary lifestyles and less healthful diets. James Sallis and Karen Glanz investigate whether these changes have had a direct effect on childhood obesity and whether improvements to encourage more physical activity and more healthful diets are likely to lower…

While there is sufficient evidence to suggest that physical activity is inversely related to lifestyle diseases, researchers are far from being certain that this evidence extends to children. Nevertheless, the school physical education curriculum has been targeted as an institutional agency that could have a significant impact on health during…

I Sing the Body Electric (BODY ELECTRIC) is a fine arts and health promotion program that supports communication of healthy lifestyle choices among youth. BODY ELECTRIC connects youth in 27 high schools with health and education communities in the largest rural geographic education region in a Midwestern state. The three-phase prevention plan…

In classrooms across the U.S., students spend untold hours sitting at desks and tables working on their lessons or listening to their teachers. That lack of movement might not have been a concern years ago, when children's time away from school typically was spent outdoors playing and exercising. However, as children spend more time in front of a…

Using the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), this paper examines the health status of the older (aged 55[thorn]) immigrant population relative to that of non-immigrants in order to identify areas where their health statuses diverge. First, we compare the health status of older immigrants (foreign-born) aged 55 and over in Canada to…

Objectives: The purpose of this investigation was to complete a formal evaluation of Reading Across My Pyramid (RAMP), a literacy promoting nutrition and health education curriculum. Methods: To meet this need, a short survey, the "Child Survey," based on topics covered in RAMP lessons was developed and tested for clarity in a group of…

The authors' purpose in this action study was to examine the effect of a 10-week intervention, using the Disconnected Values Model (DVM), on changes in selected measures of fitness, blood lipids, and exercise adherence among 51 university faculty (10 men and 41 women) from a school in the southeastern United States. The DVM is an intervention…