Ordinary Linear Regression Analysis Research Articles

Disparities in the impact of economic well-being on self-esteem in adulthood: Race and ethnicity.

Most studies have defined economic well-being as socioeconomic status, with little attention given to whether other indicators influence self-esteem. Little is known about racial/ethnic disparities in the relationship between economic well-being and self-esteem during adulthood. To explore the impact of economic well-being on self-esteem in adulthood and differences in the association across race/ethnicity. The current study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The final sample consisted of 2267 African Americans, 1425 Hispanics, and 3678 non-Hispanic Whites. Ordinary linear regression analyses and logistic regression analyses were conducted. African Americans and Hispanics were more likely to be in poverty in comparison with non-Hispanic Whites. More African Americans were unemployed than Whites. Those who received fringe benefits, were more satisfied with jobs, and were employed were more likely to have higher levels of self-esteem. Poverty was negatively associated with self-esteem. Interaction effects were found between African Americans and job satisfaction predicting self-esteem. The role of employers is important in cultivating employees' self-esteem. Satisfactory outcomes or feelings of happiness from the workplace may be more important to non-Hispanic Whites compared to African Americans and Hispanics.

Necessary condition analysis has either low specificity or low sensitivity: Results from simulations and empirical analyses of grit, depression, and anxiety

ObjectivesInitially the stated goal of Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was to help identify conditions that are necessary but not sufficient for some outcome. However, later the developers of the test asserted that the test is for identifying if the association between two variables is characterized by some indeterminate type of non-randomness. The objective of the present study was to assess the ability of NCA to achieve its originally as well as its more newly stated objective. Furthermore, the performance of NCA was compared with the performance of ordinary linear regression analysis. MethodsData simulating various deviations from randomness as well as empirical data on grit, depression, and anxiety in the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) were analyzed with NCA and with linear regression. ResultsFor its initially stated objective, NCA displayed low specificity. For its more newly stated objective, NCA exhibited low sensitivity. Ordinary linear regression analysis was better than NCA at identifying non-random associations, especially negative associations. ConclusionsThere does not appear to exist any convincing reasons to use the significance test in NCA instead of ordinary linear regression analysis. There appears to be confusion about how results from NCA should be interpreted, maybe even among the developers of the test.

Statistical testing in transcriptomic-neuroimaging studies: A how-to and evaluation of methods assessing spatial and gene specificity.

Multiscale integration of gene transcriptomic and neuroimaging data is becoming a widely used approach for exploring the molecular underpinnings of large‐scale brain organization in health and disease. Proper statistical evaluation of determined associations between imaging‐based phenotypic and transcriptomic data is key in these explorations, in particular to establish whether observed associations exceed “chance level” of random, nonspecific effects. Recent approaches have shown the importance of statistical models that can correct for spatial autocorrelation effects in the data to avoid inflation of reported statistics. Here, we discuss the need for examination of a second category of statistical models in transcriptomic‐neuroimaging analyses, namely those that can provide “gene specificity.” By means of a couple of simple examples of commonly performed transcriptomic‐neuroimaging analyses, we illustrate some of the potentials and challenges of transcriptomic‐imaging analyses, showing that providing gene specificity on observed transcriptomic‐neuroimaging effects is of high importance to avoid reports of nonspecific effects. Through means of simulations we show that the rate of reported nonspecific effects (i.e., effects that cannot be specifically linked to a specific gene or gene‐set) can run as high as 60%, with only less than 5% of transcriptomic‐neuroimaging associations observed through ordinary linear regression analyses showing both spatial and gene specificity. We provide a discussion, a tutorial, and an easy‐to‐use toolbox for the different options of null models in transcriptomic‐neuroimaging analyses.

An Empirical Study on the Factors Affecting the Interest Rate Spread of Listed Conventional Commercial Banks of Bangladesh

This paper aims to explore the factors affecting the interest rate spread of the listed conventional commercial banks of Bangladesh from 2011 to 2019. For this, banks' interest rate spread has been considered a dependent variable while bank-specific, industry-specific, and macroeconomic factors have been considered independent variables. Bank-specific factors are credit risk, bank size, operating cost, liquidity risk, net interest income, capital adequacy, return on equity. The bank industry-specific factor is market share, while macroeconomic factors are GDP and Inflation. Pooled Ordinary Linear Regression analysis and the random-effect method have been used to investigate the impact of the factors on interest rate spread. The results demonstrate that credit risk, operating costs, and liquidity risk positively impact interest rate spread. The asset size and GDP have both positive and negative relationships depending on the circumstances. In contrast, net interest income, capital adequacy, return on assets, and market share have a negative relationship. The study's findings will assist the regulatory body of the banks in developing strategies to maintain a satisfactory level of interest rate spread.

The impact of females’ economic well-being on fertility: Race and ethnicity

As women’s labor participation has increased, the fertility rate has decreased. However, there is little research addressing economic well-being among females and the effect of females’ economic well-being on the fertility rate. Through this study, we examines the effects of females’ economic well-being on fertility and differences in the association across ethnicity/race. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 was used. 3734 females were selected for the final sample. The sample consists of 1834 non-Hispanic Whites, 1175 African Americans, and 725 Hispanics. Ordinary Linear Regression Analyses and Logistic Regression Analyses were conducted. There were ethnic/racial disparities in economic well-being amongst females. Poverty was positively associated with both having more children and higher numbers of miscarriages/stillbirths. Interaction effects were found: African Americans and Hispanics moderated the association between poverty and number of children. This research contributes to further understanding ethnic/racial disparities between females’ economic well-being and fertility.

Opioid ordering habits in the acute emergency department visit: Before and after implementation of departmental prescribing guidelines.

ObjectiveAt our emergency department (ED), opioid prescribing guidelines were implemented in September 2016. The opioid prescribing guidelines were adopted and revised from collective efforts and advocacy of the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians for ED‐led opioid stewardship. We performed a retrospective before and after study to determine if opioid prescribing guidelines would change the use of intravenous opioids per patient and the morphine equivalent units (MEU) per patient in a suburban academic ED.MethodsA retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care level 1 trauma center with an annual ED volume of ≈ 130,000 visits. All intravenous orders of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone for adult patients from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2017, were tabulated. A 3‐month (August 2016–October 2016) washout period was used. Poisson and ordinary linear regression analyses were employed to evaluate any difference in number of intravenous opioids ordered before and after adoption of the guidelines. Within our opioid prescribing guidelines was also guidance for oral opioid orders within the ED and oral opioid prescriptions for discharge, although these elements were not included in this investigation.ResultsA total of 108,327 intravenous opioid orders were included in the final analysis. After adoption of the opioid prescribing guidelines, the expected number of intravenous opioids ordered dropped by 3.1% (eβ, 0.969; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.779–1.209), and there was an additional decrease of 0.1% per month (eβ, 0.999; 95% CI, 0.990–1.010). After the adoption of opioid prescribing guidelines, the average MEU dropped by 0.3 mg (95% CI, −0.47 to −0.13), and there was decrease of 0.01 mg per month (95% CI, ‐0.02 to ‐0.004).ConclusionAfter the adoption of opioid prescribing guidelines, our analysis suggests that opioid prescribing guidelines are associated with clinically small but statistically significant changes in MEU ordered in ED. We cannot determine if this represented a continued trend of decreased opioid use or associated with the opioid prescribing guidelines.

Associations of 24-Hour Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion with Cardiac Biomarkers: The Maastricht Study

Background:It is a matter of debate whether sodium and potassium intake are associated with heart disease. Further, the mechanisms underlying associations of sodium and potassium intake with cardiac events, if any, are not fully understood. Objectives:We examined cross-sectional associations of 24-h urinary sodium excretion (UNaE) and potassium excretion (UKE), as estimates of their intakes, with high-sensitivity cardiac troponins T (hs-cTnT) and I (hs-cTnI), and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), which are markers of cardiomyocyte injury and cardiac dysfunction. Methods:We included 2961 participants from the population-based Maastricht Study (mean SD age 59.8 8.2 y, 51.9% men), who completed the baseline survey between November 2010 and September 2013. Associations were examined with restricted cubic spline linear regression analyses and ordinary linear regression analyses, adjusted for demographics, lifestyle, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Results:Median [IQR] 24-h UNaE and UKE were 3.7 [2.8–4.7] g/24 h and 3.0 [2.4–3.6] g/24 h, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, 24-h UNaE was not associated with hs-cTnT, hs-cTnI, and NT-proBNP concentrations. In contrast, after adjustment for potential confounders, lower 24-h UKE was nonlinearly associated with higher hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP. For example, as compared with the third/median quintile of 24-h UKE (range: 2.8–3.2 g/24 h), participants in the first quintile (range: 0.5–2.3 g/24 h) had 1.05 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.11) times higher hs-cTnT and 1.14 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.26) times higher NT-proBNP. Associations were similar after further adjustment for estimated glomerular filtration rate, albuminuria, blood pressure, and serum potassium. Conclusions:Twenty-four-hour UNaE was not associated with the studied cardiac biomarkers. In contrast, lower 24-h UKE was nonlinearly associated with higher hs-cTnT and NT-proBNP. This finding supports recommendations to increase potassium intake in the general population. In addition, it suggests that cardiac dysfunction and/or cardiomyocyte injury may underlie previously reported associations of lower potassium intake with CVD mortality.

Differential response to pallidal deep brain stimulation among monogenic dystonias: systematic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveGenetic subtypes of dystonia may respond differentially to deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi DBS). We sought to compare GPi DBS outcomes among the most common...

Impact of Organizational Support And Technology Competence In E-Commerce Adoption On SMEs Performance In Jabodetabek Region

E-commerce has changed the ways of doing business in many business sectors, including Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. However, SMEs encountered varied challenges in adopting e-commerce to their business. This research analyzed organizational support and technology competence in e-commerce adoption on SMEs performance in Indonesia, specifically in Jabodetabek region. A quantitative approach was applied in this study, with a Likert-scale questionnaire as a tool to determine the impact of internal factor regarding e-commerce adoption on the SMEs performance. An ordinary linear regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. The results showed that the variables of organizational support and technology competence simultaneously affect the performance improvement on e-Commerce adoption by SMEs in Jabodetabek region

189 Opioid Prescribing Habits in the Acute Emergency Department Visit: Before and After Implementation of Departmental Prescribing Guidelines

A rise in opioid-related overdoses, opioid-related deaths and possible association with recent decreases in life expectancy has captivated national attention. This has led to increased scrutiny of outpatient opioid prescribing by physicians. There have been multiple studies of emergency department (ED) populations which examine prescriptions that are provided for home use; however, we have not discovered studies that have evaluated intravenous (IV) opioid utilization for treatment of pain in the ED. At our tertiary care ED, a set of “opioid prescribing guidelines” (OPG) was created in September 2016. The OPG includes discussion of opioid risks, intention to maximize non-opioid analgesia, transparency about reviewing the Michigan Automated Prescriptions System (MAPS), and delineation of acute and chronic pain. It is not clear if such guidelines affect the prescribing patterns of clinicians or if they encourage more “appropriate” utilization of opioid medications. The primary objective is to determine if the overall number of IV opioids and total morphine equivalents (ME) changed after initiation of the OPG. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single-site tertiary care center with an annual census of 130,000 ED visits. We used ED pharmacy electronic medical records to compare opioid prescribing habits before and after the adoption of departmental OPG. We included patients aged 18 years and older who presented to the ED from 2015-2017. All prescriptions of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone administered from November 2015 to July 2017 were tabulated to assess temporal trends in the number of prescriptions and ME of opioid medications. August through October of 2016 were excluded from data analysis to allow a washout period surrounding the adoption of the guidelines. Poisson and ordinary linear regression analyses were employed to evaluate any difference in prescribing habits before and after adoption of the guidelines. A total of 71,430 opioid-prescribing records were analyzed over the study period. The estimated mean of opioid prescriptions per 1,000 patients in the “pre” OPG period was 1797.5 (95% CI 1747.2 to 1847.8) and 1765.8 (95% CI 1715.7 to 1815.9) in the “post” period, resulting a decrease of 31.7 (95% CI 0 to 63.9, p-value = 0.05). Moreover, among patients who received opioids while in the ED, the estimated mean of ME per patient was 8.9 (95% CI 8.6 to 9.2) in the “pre” period and 8.4 (95% CI 8.1 to 8.7) in the “post” period, resulting a decrease of 0.5 (95% CI 0.3 to 0.7, p-value < 0.001). In our ED, after adoption of department-wide OPG, the number of opioids prescribed for pain during the ED encounter decreased but was not statistically significant, while the amount of ME statistically significantly decreased over the study period. Intradepartmental prescribing guidelines may be an effective tool to empower clinicians and may lead to more judicious prescribing of opioid medications.

Examining the Association Between Health Literacy and Medication Adherence Among Older Adults

ABSTRACTHealth literacy plays a vital role in patients’ understanding of their prescribed medication instructions. To inform strategies to assist providers in communicating in a manner that is easily understood by patients, it would be beneficial to determine the relationship between health literacy and the day-to-day aspects of medication adherence. This study identified: 1) differences of health literacy levels in medication adherence; 2) the association between health literacy and medication adherence; and 3) and factors associated with medication adherence score. A convenience sample of older predominantly African-American patients (N = 389), over the age of 60, completed a cross-sectional survey. Chi-square analysis assessed health literacy differences in five aspects of medication adherence. Ordinary linear regression analysis determined factors associated with medication adherence score. Patients with limited health literacy were more likely to forget to take their medications and more likely to take less medication than instructed than patients with adequate health literacy (χ2(5) = 15.91, p = .007, χ2(5) = 10.31, p = .036, respectively). REALM score was also significantly associated with medication adherence score (β= .016, p < .001, β = .009, p = .033), respectively). Findings suggest that providers seeking to improve medication adherence in older adults, particularly African-American patients, should focus communication on assessing health literacy levels prior to discussing medication instructions.

Discussing Religion: Exploring the Link between Parental Religious Socialization Messages and Youth Outcomes

This study explored the relation between adolescent reports of parental religious socialization (i.e., cultural socialization, promotion of mistrust, and pluralism) and their religious out-group evaluations, externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Crosssectional data were obtained from 730 12- to 15-year old Belgian adolescents through questionnaires. Results from multilevel and ordinary linear regression analyses indicated that pluralism was associated with higher religious out-group evaluations whereas promotion of mistrust was associated with lower religious out-group evaluations and higher externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Cultural socialization interacted with the importance adolescents give to religion to influence youth externalizing behaviors. Despite its limitations, this study presents a complex picture of the association between religious socialization practices and adolescent outcomes and offers an alternative pathway to understand parental religious socialization.

Penetrability of microfine cement grouts: experimental investigation and fuzzy regression modeling

One-dimensional injection tests were conducted on sand columns with a height of 134 cm for the penetrability evaluation of microfine cement grouts. Three ordinary cement types were pulverized to obtain microfine cements having nominal maximum grain sizes of 20 and 10 μm, and these cements were used in the present investigation. Suspensions with water to cement (W/C) ratios of 1, 2, and 3, by weight, were injected into 13 clean sands with d15 ranging from 0.17 to 2.25 mm and Cu ranging from 1.19 to 6.67. Pulverization of the ordinary cements to produce microfine cements extends the range of groutable sands to “medium-to-fine”. Cement fineness; suspension W/C ratio and apparent viscosity; and sand grain size, gradation, and relative density are very important parameters, as they substantially affect both grout penetration and maximum injection pressure. The penetration length of cement grouts was correlated to parameters pertinent to the suspension, sand, and injection process by performing fuzzy and ordinary linear regression analyses of the injection test results. The resultant fuzzy regression models provided successful penetration length predictions for the majority of the cases analyzed, while the best ordinary regression model exhibited a correlation coefficient not higher than 0.363.

Calcium intake and hypertension among obese adults in United States: associations and implications explored.

The relationship between calcium intake and hypertension is receiving increased research attention. The prevalence of hypertension is high among the obese populations. Calcium is a mineral that influences blood pressure. The aim of the study was to examine the association between calcium intake and hypertension in a large nationally representative sample of obese American adults. A total of 14,408 obese adults aged 20 years or older were obtained from the 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Analysis of variance and linear regression models were used to examine relationships between calcium intake and systolic blood pressure (SBP) as well as diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the association between calcium intake and hypertension after adjusting for potential confounders and interactions, including: age, race, education level, alcohol use, smoking, diabetes status, sodium intake and potassium intake. Calcium intake was significantly lower for the hypertensive group compared with the normotensive group (P<0.0001), especially among those obese female young adults aged 20-44 years and among non-diabetic obese adults. Based on ordinary linear regression analysis, a significant inverse relationship was detected, SBP and DBP decreased if calcium intake increased (SBP: regression coefficient estimate=-0.015, P<0.0001; DBP: regression coefficient estimate=-0.028, P<0.0001). Multiple logistic regression showed that calcium intake was negatively associated with the probability of hypertension (odds ratio (OR)=0.81, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74-0.87, P<0.0001). In stratified analysis, calcium intake in youngest adults (age 20-44 years) had the lowest likelihood of hypertension (OR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.64-0.93, P<0.0001), the inverse relationship between calcium intake and probability of hypertension was stronger among females (OR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.55-0.84, P<0.0001), when compared with the whole sample including all of 14,408 obese adults. The protective effect of calcium intake and hypertension was found significantly in obese non-diabetic adults (OR: OR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.67-0.89, P<0.0001) not in obese diabetic adults. SBP, DBP and calcium intake were log transformed for both ordinary linear regression analysis and logistic regression analysis. Our study findings underscore the need to explore the physiological mechanism between calcium intake and hypertension. In this study, increased calcium intake was associated with the lowest risk of hypertension. Future studies utilizing longitudinal research designs are needed to quantify therapeutic levels of calcium for control of hypertension among obese adults. Increasing calcium intake among American adults may offer promise as a cost-effective strategy to improve hypertension among obese adults; however, further scientific exploration is warranted.

Disproportionate utilization of healthcare resources among veterans with COPD: a retrospective analysis of factors associated with COPD healthcare cost

BackgroundCOPD is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). To determine the clinical factors associated with the cost of COPD management, we analyzed the relationship between clinical characteristics and COPD healthcare costs at the Cincinnati VAMC.MethodsWe queried the VHA Decision Support System for patients diagnosed with COPD at the Cincinnati VAMC and calculated their VHA COPD-related encounters and costs in FY2008. Patients were ranked by COPD-related cost. We determined the detailed clinical characteristics of patients selected by modified systematic sampling and performed univariate and multivariable ordinary linear regression analysis to determine factors associated with cost.Results3263 Veterans had 11,869 encounters with a primary or secondary diagnosis of COPD: 10,032 clinic visits, 505 emergency department (ED) visits, and 1,332 hospitalizations and incurred a total COPD-related healthcare cost of $21.4 M: $2.4 M clinic visits, $0.21 M ED visits, and $18.7 M hospitalizations and $0.89 M for COPD-related prescription costs. When the patients were ranked by VHA healthcare costs, the top 20% of patients accounted for 86% of the total costs and 57% of the total encounters with a primary or secondary diagnosis code of COPD and 90% of the total costs and 75% of the total encounters with a primary diagnosis code of COPD. The clinical characteristics and VHA healthcare costs of 840 of the 3263 unique individuals with COPD were analyzed to determine those characteristics associated with increased COPD-related costs. Univariate analysis showed significant associations with 24 clinical variables; the 4 most highly associated factors were nursing home residence, total hospital admissions, use of oral corticosteroids, and supplemental oxygen (p < 0.001 for all). In multivariate analysis, total number of admissions (p < 0.001), management by a pulmonologist (p < 0.001), number of clinic visits (p < 0.001), use of short acting anticholinergic (p = 0.001), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (p = 0.011), number of prescriptions (p = 0.011), body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.025), and use of inhaled corticosteroid (p = 0.043) were associated with COPD management cost.ConclusionThe total number of admissions, clinic visits, physiologic impairment, BMI, number of medications, and type of provider are strongly associated with the total cost of COPD management. These factors may be used to focus COPD management toward patients with the potential for high utilization of healthcare resources.

Determination of an international sensitivity index of thromboplastin reagents using a WHO thromboplastin as calibrator for plasma spiked with rivaroxaban

Rivaroxaban and other direct factor Xa inhibitors are used at fixed doses without drug monitoring and dose adjustment. Patients may require determination of the anticoagulant effect during treatment. The aim of this study was to develop a method to reduce the differences between thromboplastin reagents and coagulation analysers for determination of the anticoagulant effect of rivaroxaban in human plasma. Purity of rivaroxaban extracted from commercially available drug was confirmed by mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Coagulation times of pooled human plasma spiked with 50-900 ng/ml rivaroxaban were analysed. Thromboplastin reagents, WHO RBT/90, Innovin, RecombiPlasTin 2G, STA Neoplastin Plus, Technoclot PT Plus and Thromborel S, the manual Kolle-Hook method and the KC10 analyser were used. An international sensitivity index (ISI) was determined for each reagent and coagulation method using the RBT/90 thromboplastin reagent as reference. The orthogonal, used for the determination of the ISI of coumarin plasmas, and ordinary regression analyses were compared. The results showed than increasing concentrations of rivaroxaban prolonged coagulation values of all thromboplastin assays linearly (r (2)= 0.96 and r(2) = 0.99, respectively). The coefficient of variation between the slopes of the dilution curves and the ratios of the thromboplastin reagents were reduced using the international normalized ratio (INR) and ISI calculated for rivaroxaban. The ISIs of the thromboplastin reagents ranged from 0.73 to 1.67 as compared with the WHO reagent using the manual technique. The coefficient of variations between the thromboplastin reagents comparing the orthogonal and the ordinary regression analysis were 6.8 versus 3.7% (Kolle-Hook method, P = 0.0011) and 8.5 versus 4.8% (KC10 method, P < 0.0001). Using ISI for vitamin-K antagonist and rivaroxaban, the INRs for the rivaroxaban-containing samples were significantly different for one of five commercial thromboplastin reagents. In conclusion, the determination of an ISI for rivaroxaban using a WHO thromboplastin reagent is required for commercial thromboplastin reagents. The manual Kolle-Hook method and an ordinary linear regression analysis should be adopted.

Evidence That Prestin Has at Least Two Voltage-dependent Steps

Prestin is a voltage-dependent membrane-spanning motor protein that confers electromotility on mammalian cochlear outer hair cells, which is essential for normal hearing of mammals. Voltage-induced charge movement in the prestin molecule is converted into mechanical work; however, little is known about the molecular mechanism of this process. For understanding the electromechanical coupling mechanism of prestin, we simultaneously measured voltage-dependent charge movement and electromotility under conditions in which the magnitudes of both charge movement and electromotility are gradually manipulated by the prestin inhibitor, salicylate. We show that the observed relationships of the charge movement and the physical displacement (q-d relations) are well represented by a three-state Boltzmann model but not by a two-state model or its previously proposed variant. Here, we suggest a molecular mechanism of prestin with at least two voltage-dependent conformational transition steps having distinct electromechanical coupling efficiencies.

Negative life events and stability of sense of coherence: A five‐year follow‐up study of Finnish women and men

A strong sense of coherence (SOC) is found to be associated with good mental health. This study investigated (1) whether negative life events affect level of SOC, (2) whether initial level of SOC modifies the effect of negative life events on SOC, and (3) whether stability of SOC differs between genders. The data were derived from the 15-year Health and Social Support study (N= 17,271). Ordinary linear regression analysis was used. Negative life events decreased the level of SOC among both genders irrespective of the timing of the event. The more recent the life event, the lower the SOC. A strong SOC in 1998 did not protect SOC from declining during follow-up. Specific gender differences were not discovered. SOC was related to negative changes in people's environment. Initially strong SOC was not more stable than initially mediocre or weak SOC. Men and women reacted quite similarly to negative life events.

Regression among factor scores

Structural equation models with latent variables are sometimes estimated using an intuitive three-step approach, here denoted factor score regression. Consider a structural equation model composed of an explanatory latent variable and a response latent variable related by a structural parameter of scientific interest. In this simple example estimation of the structural parameter proceeds as follows: First, common factor models areseparately estimated for each latent variable. Second, factor scores areseparately assigned to each latent variable, based on the estimates. Third, ordinary linear regression analysis is performed among the factor scores producing an estimate for the structural parameter. We investigate the asymptotic and finite sample performance of different factor score regression methods for structural equation models with latent variables. It is demonstrated that the conventional approach to factor score regression performs very badly. Revised factor score regression, using Regression factor scores for the explanatory latent variables and Bartlett scores for the response latent variables, produces consistent estimators for all parameters.

Secular trends in the rates and seasonality of violent and nonviolent suicide occurrences in Finland during 1980–95

Background: Because secular trends in seasonality of different types of suicides has not been studied before, we utilized a novel statistical method to evaluate this phenomenon by using national Finnish suicide statistics during 1980–95. Methods: Rates were analyzed with ordinary linear regression analysis. Secular trends were evaluated using ratio-statistic and its 95% confidence intervals. Results: The rate of violent suicides increased before year 1990 and decreased since that. The nonviolent suicide rate increased continuously. The decreasing tendency of seasonality in nonviolent suicides and a slight decrease in violent suicides are seen within the three successive time periods studied. Conclusions: Trends in rates and in seasonality of suicides might be related to changes in the health politics in Finland. Limitations: The short time-series and lack of studying associations of suicides with socioeconomic, environmental or biological factors are limitations of our study. Clinical relevance: Studying the time-dependent changes in rates and in seasonality of suicides provide a novel perspective for the evaluation of the aetiology of suicidal behaviour.