National Probability Sample Survey Research Articles

The Uses and Efiects of Public Service Advertising

Public service advertisings (PSAs) typically attempt to increase public awareness of such problems and their possible solutions, and in many instances also try to influence public beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors concerning them. Most PSAs emanate from not-for-profit or governmental organizations and receive gratis placement in broadcast and print media. Mass media audiences appear fairly attentive to PSAs and have generally favorable reactions to them. A 1980 national probability sample survey of 1,500 US adults by authors found that 30% said they paid “a lot” of attention to televised PSAs, and another 44% claimed to pay at least “some” attention to them. Moreover, PSA recall was higher for those more attentive to certain public affairs contents, those more knowledgeable about current events, and for those engaged in more reflective, interpretive news information processing. PSAs appeared to have greater attitudinal effects on some persons while not necessarily increasing their information, whereas for other individuals it stimulated behavioral changes without concurrent attitudinal ones.

Smoking in Italy, 1949–1983

Trends in the prevalence of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked per day in Italy were derived from six national probability sample surveys conducted between 1949 and 1983. There was a steady and substantial decrease in reported smoking prevalence among adult men (from 71.4% of current smokers in 1949 to 45.6% in 1983), although the estimated average number of cigarettes smoked per day increased, at least up to 1980. Among women, large increases in smoking prevalence have occurred since the mid-1960s (up to 17.7% among women age 14 or over in 1983) and in average number of cigarettes smoked per day (10.9 in 1980). Both the reported decreasing prevalence among men and the increasing prevalence among women were concentrated mostly in the younger age groups. Data on national surveys of tobacco use may give interesting indications for the analysis of different trends in sex or age groups. They should, however, be interpreted critically, since large discrepancies between interview-based data and information on legal sales of manufactured cigarettes have emerged over the last years, indicating that interview data are largely biased in the sense of systematic underreporting. It seems, therefore, that more than any real changes in smoking habits taking place, it is the attitudes toward reporting smoking that have changed in Italy over the last three decades: in fact, in 1983 cigarette sales reached a maximum both in absolute terms and in average levels per adult.

Associations among cataract prevalence, sunlight hours, and altitude in the Himalayas.

The relationship between cataract prevalence, altitude, and sunlight hours was investigated in a large national probability sample survey of 105 sites in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, December 1980 through April 1981. Cataract of senile or unknown etiology was diagnosed by ophthalmologists in 873 of 30,565 full-time life-long residents of survey sites. Simultaneously, the altitude of sites was measured using a standard mountain altimeter. Seasonally adjusted average daily duration of sunlight exposure for each site was calculated by a method which took into account latitude and obstructions along the skyline. Age- and sex-standardized cataract prevalence was 2.7 times higher in sites at an altitude of 185 meters or less than in sites over 1000 meters. Cataract prevalence was negatively correlated with altitude (r = -0.533, p less than 0.0001). However, a positive correlation between cataract prevalence and sunlight was observed (r = 0.563, p less than 0.0001). Sites with an average of 12 hours of sunlight exposure had 3.8 times as much cataract as sites with an average of only seven hours of exposure. Sunlight was blocked from reaching certain high altitude sites by tall neighboring mountains.

Norms for the revised Hebrew version of the Depression Adjective Check List.

In order to reduce the readability level of the Hebrew version of the DACL, a new list of words with high frequency of usage in the Hebrew language was created from the translations of E, F, and G. Ninety-four Ss completed the revised form and the translated standard form E in randomized order; the correlation was .90 (p less .001). Split-half reliability for the revised form was .83 (N = 1,230, p less than .001). The revised DACL was included in a national probability sample survey (N = 1253; 699 females and 544 males). T score and percentile norm distributions are skewed toward the left. Raw scores above 20 are rare.

Physician compliance with recommendations of the joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure: Findings of a National probability sample survey: Robert A. Gold, National High Blood Pressure Education Program, Bethesda, Maryland, Robert Temple; Graham W. Ward; Reuben Cohen; Deanne E. Knapp

Physician compliance with recommendations of the joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure: Findings of a National probability sample survey: Robert A. Gold, National High Blood Pressure Education Program, Bethesda, Maryland, Robert Temple; Graham W. Ward; Reuben Cohen; Deanne E. Knapp

Experience with and Attitudes toward Explicit Sexual Materials1

The data reported in this paper come from a national probability sample survey designed to provide an empirical description of the national experience with explicit sexual materials, the public's attitudes toward these types of material, and social‐psychological correlates of both experience and attitudes. An overwhelming majority of adults report having been exposed at some time in their life to very explicit sexual materials that are often labeled pornography. Nevertheless, considerable variation in experience does exist. Differential exposure is related to the content of depictions, mode of depiction, and characteristics of the viewer. The data do not support a concept of a “contemporary community standard” relating to the representation of sexual matters: There does not exist anything approaching consensus in attitudes regarding the availability of sexual materials; attitudes toward availability vary greatly according to the circumstances of availability; and attitudes vary considerably among groups formed on the basis of demographic characteristics.

The probability of premarital intercourse

Data on sexual behavior collected retrospectively in a national probability sample survey of females aged 15–19 make it possible, using life table techniques, to compute the probability of having intercourse prior to marriage. Estimates are provided for whites and blacks, for the synthetic cohort based on all five ages combined, and separately for each cohort, i.e., those currently aged 15, aged 16, etc. In addition, minimum and maximum estimates, based on different assumptions regarding ever married females, are also included. The results indicate that at any age, the probability of first premarital intercourse is considerably higher for blacks than for whites. The most striking finding however is one that suggests that premarital intercourse is beginning at younger ages and that the extent of premarital intercourse is probably on the increase. The paper explores other possible interpretations of the estimates.

Daily cycle of solar magnetic induction

Using data from the 2010 wave of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we study the effects of internal migration in China on the emotional wellbeing of children age 10–15. The 2010 CFPS, a national probability sample survey of the Chinese population, includes 3464 children within this age range. We compare five groups: rural children with local registration living with both parents; urban children with local registration living with both parents; children accompanying their migrant parent(s), children left behind with one parent when the other parent goes out to work; and children left behind or sent to live with others when both parents go out to work. We expect the last three groups to be at risk of increased emotional difficulties compared to children living with both parents. We test these expectations using both conventional regression models and community fixed-effects models. The evidence supporting our expectations is very weak and inconsistent, leading us to conclude that in the Chinese context family arrangements have little impact on the emotional wellbeing of children. We conclude by offering some conjectures as to why this is so.