Restrictive Attitudes Research Articles

Economic analysis of out-of-town establishments in the retail industry

The structural changes in retailing towards out-of-town establishments over the last few decades have affected the attractiveness of towns and cities and also the urban transport system has been profoundly affected. Many countries in Europe have implemented policies and planning guidelines that reflect a more restrictive attitude towards out-of-town establishments. This has been done, however, with an in-depth economic analysis. This paper discusses the research agenda in this field with examples and applications from the grocery sector. The main focus is taken from two complementary perspectives: the construction of a spatial general optimization mode and identification of potential social dilemmas associated with structural changes. The results show that out-of-town stores are not efficient when the available streets and roads are congested, even when economies of scale are considered. The hypothesis that social dilemmas influence household choice of stores is supported by the results. Together with the problems of varying preference structures between individuals in the same residential areas, show that town planning and other institutional measures should be employed to prevent an excessive dominance of out-of-town stores in grocery retailing and support more variety in local retail service.

Attitudes of Teens and Professionals Regarding Teen Contraception

This study describes the attitudes of adolescent boys and girls towards contraceptive methods. In general, their attitudes are positive, although they identify several barriers to regular and effective use of contraception. Adolescent boys seem concerned with sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy prevention, and are willing to share contraceptive and protection responsibilities. This study also describes the attitudes of health and school professionals towards adolescent contraception. In spite of some restrictive attitudes, professionals reaffirm their willingness to address and support adolescents in their development of preventive behaviours. Adjusting perceptions of both groups on the context of contraceptive use and on the importance of dual protection may help in the development of simple and useful prevention guidelines in sexual and reproductive health care for adolescents.

Social convergence of disturbed eating attitudes in young adult women.

It has been suggested that a broad range of social factors influence disturbed eating attitudes, but there has been relatively little investigation of the role of peer influence. Drawing from social identity theory, this longitudinal study of a nonclinical group of women examined whether social proximity results in a convergence of eating psychopathology over time. Forty-one nonclinical women (living in 11 communal apartments) completed the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) at three time points (1 week after moving in, 10 weeks later, and a further 14 weeks later). The women's eating and related attitudes were compared across the three time points. Then divergence scores were calculated (showing the spread of EDI scores within each apartment) and compared across the three time points. The spread of scores within the apartments changed significantly, indicating some convergence in those attitudes that are socially valued (restrictive attitudes; body concerns) and divergence in those attitudes that are not socially valued (bulimia). There was also an increase in convergence of levels of perfectionism. The findings support the suggestion that social proximity promotes convergence of socially valued eating characteristics but divergence of socially stigmatised characteristics. Further research is suggested to establish the generalizability of these findings and to identify those who are most at risk of such social effects on eating disturbance.

Religiosity and attitudes about abortion.

In a sample of 55 undergraduates, religiosity scores were associated with more restrictive attitudes toward abortion.

Contraceptive Need among Cambodian Refugees in Khao Phlu Camp

Women living in a refugee situation may have a serious need for family planning services yet may face obstacles (both cultural and logistical) to practicing contraception. Understanding the reproductive health needs of women in these difficult circumstances is critical to devising comprehensive programs. Data on contraceptive knowledge beliefs and practices were collected from a random sample of 102 women (94 married 5 single and 3 widowed) living in Khao Phlu refugee camp in Thailand and from the 10 midwives employed at the maternal and child health center serving refugees. In addition focus groups were held with 28 married male refugees and with 21 traditional birth attendants (TBAs) serving the camp population. While 82% of married women in the camp wanted to stop or delay childbearing only 12% of all women interviewed reported using a modern method of contraception. Reasons for nonuse of contraceptives varied: 61% of respondents mentioned fear of side effects; 24% cited lack of information; 20% mentioned a current illness; and 42% reported discomfort over seeking contraceptives. In addition some 32-48% of women did not know that various contraceptive methods were available at the refugee health center. Nearly all midwives indicated that they would not provide contraceptives to an unmarried woman and many indicated they would not provide contraceptives to a woman who was older than 42 had no children or was unhealthy. In focus groups men demonstrated a lack of knowledge about contraception and held restrictive attitudes about which women should have access to family planning. Few midwives no TBAs and none of the women or men knew about emergency contraception. The stress of refugee situations may intensify existing barriers to the use of contraceptives. Concerted efforts at education must be made to dispel misperceptions about safety and increase awareness that services are available. The availability of providers with whom women are comfortable is critical to expanding both awareness of and access to family planning. (authors)

Defining Mental Illness: The Relationship Between College Students' Beliefs About the Definition of Mental Illness and Tolerance

The current study investigated the relationship between college undergraduate students' beliefs about the definition of mental illness and their tolerance toward individuals with mental illnesses. Undergraduate students (N = 102) in courses in the College of Education at a large midwestern university were given a questionnaire designed to determine their beliefs about what constitutes a mental illness along with the Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill questionnaire (CAMI). Significant correlations were found between the breadth of their definition of mental illness and their tolerance toward individuals with mental illnesses. Those students with broad and inclusive definitions of mental illness had more benevolent, less authoritarian, and less socially restrictive attitudes toward individuals with mental illnesses.

Attitudes Towards Mental Illness and Knowledge of Mental Health Services Among the Australian and Chinese Community

The study aimed to examine the attitudes toward mental illness and knowledge of mental health services among Anglo-Australian and Chinese-Australian adults. Participants included 105 Anglo-Australians and 129 Chinese-Australians. Participants were requested to complete a questionnaire on attitudes toward mental illness and knowledge of mental health service available in the community. The results indicated that there was a significant ethnic difference in attitudes towards mental illness. Chinese-Australians endorsed authoritarian, restrictive attitudes towards people with mental illness and interpersonal etiology more than Anglo-Australians. There was also a significant difference in attitudes towards mental illness due to the amount of contact with people with mental illness. The more contact the participants had with people with mental illness, the less they endorsed authoritarian, and restrictive attitudes toward people with mental illness. Though there was a non-significant difference in knowledge of mental health services due to ethnic origin or amount of contact with people with mental illness, there were ethnic differences in the type of mental health services preferred. Among Chinese-Australians, age was positively related to knowledge of services for acute and chronic cases of mental illness. Implications for community mental health education programs are discussed.

Diffusion of new drugs in Danish general practice.

There is a large variation in implementing research findings in clinical practice. We examined whether the concept of early or late adopters is universal for the diffusion of all new drugs, and whether it is associated with non-scientific factors in general practice. We identified all prescriptions for five new drugs from the population-based prescription database in North Jutland County, Denmark (490000 inhabitants) from 1993 to 1996, and calculated the period from release of the drugs to the issuing of the first prescription by each GP. Logistic regression was performed to predict early or late prescribing from physician characteristics, practice activity and the number of prescriptions, adjusted for age and sex. The distributions of the diffusion time of the drugs by 95 solo practitioners were asymmetrical, with a long upper tail representing the late prescribers. The shape and slope of the diffusion curve were highly drug dependent. There was poor agreement of the three adopter categories (early, intermediate and late prescribers) between the five drugs (kappa < 0.35), but being a late prescriber was the most consistent condition. Late prescribing of tramadol, compared with intermediate prescribing, was associated with female physicians (odds ratio (OR) 5.7; 95% CI 1.5-21.3), smaller list size (OR 0.1; 95% CI 0.0-0.8), a strong general restrictive attitude to pharmacotherapy (OR 0.07; 95% CI 0.01-0.68) and a tendency to lower diagnostic activity per patient (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.1-1.9). The slope and shape of the diffusion curve are both dependent on physician and drug characteristics, but late prescribers share some common characteristics.

Are eating and psychosocial characteristics in early teenage years useful predictors of eating characteristics in early adulthood? A 7-year longitudinal study.

This longitudinal research aimed to determine the utility of psychosocial and eating characteristics in early teenage years in predicting eating attitudes and behaviors in early adulthood. Self-esteem, perfectionism, family function, and eating attitudes were measured at 12 years and eating attitudes and behavior were assessed at 19 years. Sixty-three women (71.6%) remained in the study over the 7 years. Bulimic attitudes in early teenage years were related to subsequent bulimic features, while restrictive attitudes were more closely related to later purging behaviors. Self-esteem and perfectionism were only weakly linked with subsequent eating. However, different perceived family characteristics at the first stage were associated with specific aspects of eating in early adulthood. There is consistency of eating characteristics across time, but psychosocial characteristics have a more limited predictive power. Future longitudinal studies should begin earlier in childhood if psychosocial factors are to be useful predictors of eating psychopathology in adulthood.

Authoritarian and socially restrictive attitudes toward mental patients in mental health volunteers and nonvolunteers.

31 French-Canadian mental health volunteers and 43 nonvolunteers participated in a study of the relationship between Authoritarian and Socially Restrictive attitudes toward mental patients and the variables of volunteer status, age, sex, education, having a mentally ill family member, Locus of Control, Extraversion, Psychoticism, Neuroticism, and Social Desirability. Bivariate and partial (Social Desirability effects removed) correlations suggested that scores on Authoritarian and Socially Restrictive attitudes are higher among older, less educated, less extraverted men and women who are not volunteers. Although volunteers compared to nonvolunteers had lower scores on Authoritarian and Socially Restrictive attitudes, they did not differ in terms of age, having a mentally ill family member or scores on Locus of Control, Extraversion, Psychoticism, Neuroticism, and Social Desirability; however, volunteers were better educated.

Sexuality and the Demented Patient

The older adult has not generally been presented by the media as sexually driven or as sexually active, except as a joke. Sexual activity, when displayed by older adults on television or movies, is often limited to hugs or kisses, a relatively dilute depiction when compared to some of the passionate, fleshrevealing glimpses seen in movies portraying younger populations in sexual encounters. When references are made to older adult sexual activity in television or movies, they are typically accompanied by a wink or guffaw. With this restrictive attitude toward older adults' sexuality, one must question whether sexual feelings or activities are likely to be topics that are seriously considered or even mentioned by the caretakers of the geriatric population, particularly caretakers of demented patients. The management of sexuality in this population, including consensual sexual activity as well as forced sexual encounters, are topics which merit attention and should be addressed by the facility and for individual patients in their care plans, in accordance with OBRA regulations.

Importance of fathers' parenting to African-American toddler's social and cognitive development

The present study examined the degree to which parenting attitudes and behavior (i.e., self-reported warmth, restrictiveness, and behavioral sensitivity as assessed during a freeplay session) were related to toddlers' development. Results showed a restrictive attitude was negatively related to social and cognitive development, whereas paternal sensitivity was positively related to aspects of social development that are less dependent on language skills (e.g., motor and daily living skills). Fathers of girls exhibited greater sensitivity in their freeplay interactions than fathers of boys. More globally, the present research demonstrates important relations between the parenting attitudes and behavior of low- to working-income African-American fathers and young children's development, and similarities to White, middle-income fathers.

The ethics of euthanasia—Attitudes and practice among Norwegian physicians

The ethical guidelines of the Norwegian Medical Association strongly condemn physician participation in euthanasia and assisted suicide. A previous study on attitudes towards euthanasia in the Norwegian population, however, indicates that a substantial part of the population is quite liberal. This study explores Norwegian physicians' attitudes towards and experience with end of life dilemmas. Sixty-six percent of a representative sample of 1476 who received postal questionnaires responded. They confirmed that Norwegian physicians actually seem to hold quite restrictive attitudes towards euthanasia. Seventeen percent answered yes to a question of whether a physician should have the opportunity to actively end the life of a terminal patient in great pain who requests this help, while 4% agreed that the same could be done to a chronically ill patient with great pain and a poor quality of life who otherwise would have several more years to live. Six percent of the physicians had performed actions intended to hasten a patient's death, while 76% said that they at least once had treated patients even if they had felt that treatment should have been discontinued. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that internal medicine specialists, surgeons and psychiatrists were significantly more restrictive than their colleagues in laboratory specialties, and that physicians educated abroad and those with negative attitudes towards patient autonomy had more liberal attitudes towards euthanasia, when gender and time since graduation from medical school were controlled for.

Women in higher education

The high level of admissions of women into higher education in Japan is analysed in the context of examining revised views about the higher education of women resulting from changes in the traditional view of the relationship between higher education and social values. Despite the shift in women's educational expectations, there is still clear evidence that a 'gender track' continues; typically men congregate in four year institutions whilst women focus on Junior Colleges and on particular courses of study deemed to be appropriate for women. The 'gender track' is further demonstrated by detailed studies of the Junior College and the Women's College. Women's employment opportunities are shown to have been affected by restrictive attitudes of employers which tended in the past to impose on women particular modes of employment. The reasons for the emergence of a change in these attitudes in the latter part of the 1980s are explored and the impact of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1986 is examined. The article concludes by considering the wider implications for women, both in the work-place and in society more generally, of these developments. It is noted that highly educated Japanese women tend to hold more conservative values and may see their education as an expression of their social status rather than a way of increasing their earning power. The recent establishment of a number of courses in Women's Studies may well have an influence upon future developments in ideas about women and higher education in Japan.

Bulimic psychopathology and attentional biases to ego threats among non-eating-disordered women.

It has been proposed that bulimic psychopathology is associated with responsiveness to ego threats, rather than to physical threat. However, the concept of ego threat is a heterogeneous one, and needs to be more clearly defined. This study examined the relationship between bulimic attitudes and attentional biases to different forms of threat. The participants were 80 non-eating-disordered women, drawn from school and University populations. Each woman completed a Stroop task, measuring attentional biases toward five different forms of threat. Their times to complete these tasks were associated with scores on the Eating Disorders Inventory. Bulimic (but not restrictive) attitudes were specifically associated with an attentional bias toward ego threats that are self-directed, rather than with ego threats that are perceived to come from others. It is suggested that there is a complex relationship between attention to self-directed ego threats, poor self-esteem (ineffectiveness), and bulimic psychopathology, although the causal structure of the relationship remains to be established. The results require replication with an eating-disordered sample.

Sexual assault: Myths and stereotypes among Australian adolescents

Myths and stereotypes about sexual assault reflect a society which excuses perpetrators of assault and blames victims for failing to control men's sexuality. Such views are well-established by early adulthood, but there is little research with adolescents. This study surveyed two hundred forty-four 14–16 year old Australian high school students (105 male, 139 female), of Anglo-European descent. Males were significantly more likely to endorse sexual assault myths, to agree that forced sex was acceptable in some situations, and to hold false stereotypes about sexual assault. Males also held more restrictive attitudes toward women's roles and endorsed a greater level of sexism in dating relationships. This suggests that male and female adolescents have differing expectations of dating relationships, which may underlie sexual assault within relationships. Assault-supportive attitudes are apparent at a young age, supporting the need for educational and social interventions targeting young people.

Pregnancy and the Saber-Toothed Tiger

Traditional medical advice to pregnant women in the U.S. has discouraged exercise. This restrictive attitude has denied many women an essential healthful behavior at an important period of their lives. Regular physical activity is a behavior to which the human body has adapted over millions of years of evolution. It is a behavior that is as vital, safe, and natural during pregnancy as at any other time. We maintain that healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies can perform regular upright moderate intensity exercise (50-65% VO2 max) as well as upright vigorous exercise (65-85% VO2max), without endangering themselves or compromising fetal well-being. We further maintain that they should be encouraged to do so regularly. Exercise prescription should be individualized, and not based on arbitrary standards.

College Students' Attitudes toward Elderly Sexuality: A Two Factor Solution

RÉSUMÉCette étude examine la capacité de l'instrument de Connaissance et d'échelle d'attitudes de la sexualité des personnes âgées (ASKAS) à mesurer les attitudes des individus envers la sexualité des aînés. L'hypothèse principale selon laquelle les attitudes des individus envers la sexualité des aînés sont unidimensionnelles est remise en cause. Quatre cent cinquante huit étudiants de collèges, dont la moyenne d'âge était de 27 ans (écart-type = 8,67), ont rempli l'échelle d'attitude de l'ASKAS, ont répondu à une série d'énoncés portant sur les attitudes envers la sexualité des aînés élaborés par les auteurs, et ont fourni de l'information personnelle sur des variables démographiques et de la personnalité les concernant. Une analyse factorielle de l'ensemble des énoncés d'attitude révèle une solution à deux facteurs dans laquelle les énoncés regroupés sous le premier facteur semblent représenter des attitudes plus restrictives (c'est-à dire moins permissives) envers la sexualité des aînés. Par contre, les énoncés regroupés sous le deuxième facteur semblent représenter des attitudes plus empathiques. La validité de cette structure d'attitudes bidimensionnelle semble être soutenue par la nature prédictive d'un certain nombre de variables y compris la religiosité, l'angoisse face ' la mort, la visibilité de la sexualité des personnes âges et l'âge. On se sert également de cette attitude bidimensionnelle sous-jacente pour interpréter des résultats contradictoires précédents concernant les attitudes des prestateurs de soins envers la sexualité des aînés.

Attitudes on Interfaith Dating Among Jewish Adolescents

Attitudes toward interfaith dating are a pertinent topic to investigate among groups characterized by endogamous marital patterns. In the present investigation, this topic is examined among Jewish adolescents living in minority and majority community contexts. This study offers an extension of previous research by drawing on theory from the social psychology of attitudes to explore the roles of various contextual and developmental variables in attitudes toward interfaith dating. Qualitative analysis was employed to identify attitudes and issues indicative of varying degrees of willingness to interfaith date. Quantitative analysis (using discriminant function analysis) was employed to explore the roles of various contextual and developmental variables in the attitudes and issues expressed. More restrictive attitudes toward interfaith dating were associated with majority adolescents, greater Orthodoxy, and more frequent religious participation.

Prediction of attitudes towards restrictive aids policies: A structural equation modelling approach

The purpose of the study was to test a prehypothesized structural equation model of predictors of attitudes towards restrictive AIDS policies. It was assumed that such attitudes are under influence of both cognitive processes and more general attitudinal structures. The hypothesized model was tested against empirical data from a nation-wide survey of Norwegian adults, including 543 males and 577 females. The proposed model fit the data reasonably well. As expressed by total effect education was the most important predictor of AIDS policy attitudes. However, the most notable finding appeared to be the strong direct effect exerted by attitudes towards minorities. Misinformation about AIDS transmission and sexual attitudes also exerted significant direct effects upon AIDS policy attitudes. The results clearly demonstrate that AIDS policy attitudes are not cognitively based alone but also reflect more general attitudinal structures. Thus choosing a strategy which is primarily based on increasing the flow of factual AIDS information in order to remedy casual contact beliefs, will not be sufficient to prevent stigmatized and negative AIDS attitudes. This is more evident in that beliefs about modes of AIDS transmission, as reported in this study, seem themselves to have a symbolic component. A perspective which includes the idea of the value expressive fuctions of AIDS related attitudes seem relevant. Consequently, educational strategies which directly address prejudiced attitudes towards minority groups may prove particularly appropriate in the prevention of stigmatized and restrictive AIDS attitudes.