This report discusses the findings of national surveys that show little evidence of improvement in the economic well-being of Americans with disabilities. Positive and negative findings include: (1) the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities aged 18-64 remained more or less constant, at about 52 percent between 1990 and 1994;…

This paper analyzes singlehood as a positive choice made by adults. In-depth interviews with single men and women (N=20) reveal a complex set of experiences surrounding the decision to remain single. The growth of interpersonal support structures for singles and an emergent ideology of singlehood are identified. (Author)

Japanese Americans in suburban Orange County, California, are widely dispersed geographically and have frequent opportunities to integrate totally into mainstream society. Nevertheless, ethnicity survives and flourishes for many. The mechanisms by which ethnicity is developed and maintained by Japanese Americans residing in predominantly white,…

The McDaniel Dating Questionnaire purports to measure four variables: reason for dating, orientation, commitment and behavior. A factor analysis of data collected from a sample of 34 single adults raised questions about the validity of this instrument. It was concluded that the questionnaire does not adequately distinguish among the variables.…

This paper reports on a study of the effect of aging on various kinds of social participation and the relationship between the level of participation of older adults (age 50 through 69) and their earlier participation. The data collected during interviews with 1,500 adults of Nebraska in 1961-62 were used. Seven participation variables such as…

Education certainly encompasses more than that which occurs in the classroom. Every educational experience the student has in or out of class during his formative years will help to determine what sort of adult citizen he will become. There is a possibility that this topic may excite controversy, because many people are convinced that education is…

To study the leisure activities, social participation, and organizational participation of mental patients before hospital admission, a three-part research instrument was developed consisting of a structured interview schedule requesting information on the patient's leisure activities, a self-administered questionnaire entitled Survey of Opinions…

Greek organization members generated the scale of prestige for Greek organizations. Another sample of Greek organization members furnished data on their dating and the Greek affiliations of their dating partners. Prestige homogamy was evident in the findings but none of the three attributes distinctive of rating-dating was found. (Author)

Examined two contrasting views of divorce and long-term adjustment of children. Failed to support physical-wholeness position; parental marital status was not significantly related to psychological adjustment or social life satisfaction. Results provided strong support for psychological-wholeness position: adolescents' psychological adjustment and…

Presents a peer counselling model emphasizing outreach social activities and school community liaison for adolescents. Evaluation of this model according to counsellors' self-reports, and student clients' evaluations indicated that peer counsellors were perceived as highly effective in social leadership, group discussion, and individual…

Democracy in western countries now depends on literacy at every level: censuses by which governments can plan for the future; elections which are the cornerstone of democratic choice; local meetings which have agendas and minutes--the whole apparatus of social living is organized and recorded through literacy. This paper is concerned with how…

Presents evidence that disengagement from life may be situational--that how an individual ages depends largely on his/her social milieu, and that socially isolated older people may disengage but that older people supported by a community of appropriate peers, do not. (Author)

The authors conclude that the college system inhibits the natural development of relationships because of its goldfish bowl" effect. Yale men may find it doubly hard to be open, yet the people at Yale are generally bright and sensitive and may very well create a uniquely close and natural community. (Author)

Attempts to replicate research on the activity theory of aging. Behaviorally based activity scales were drawn from daily activity inventories of residents of three retirement communities. Findings support the activity theory. Informal activities had the most positive affect on respondents' life satisfaction. (Author/JAC)

Studied the relationship between progressive hearing loss (presbycusic) hearing patterns and social involvement of the aged. Individuals (N=50) with presbycusic hearing patterns were asked specific questions about their social activities. Results indicated that social involvement was not related significantly to the amount of hearing loss in this…