The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent: Physical Disability, Social Role Configurations, and Changes in Loneliness Among Married and Unmarried Older Adults.

To examine how social role configurations (SRCs)-combinations of the quality of spousal, family, and friend relationships-moderate the association between functional limitations (FLs) and loneliness among married and unmarried older adults and whether this differs by gender. Longitudinal data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project on married ( = 945) and unmarried ( = 443) older adults (aged 57-85 years). Latent class analysis was used to identify SRCs.

The Role of Protective Behavioral Strategies, Social Environment, and Housing Type on Heavy Drinking among College Students.

Background: Though research has examined heavy drinking by housing type, the link between type of college student housing and protective behavioral strategies (PBS) has rarely been examined comparing different college campuses.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the role of housing type, perceptions of peer drinking, and PBS with respondent heavy drinking among undergraduate college students from one Southeastern and one Midwestern university in the United States.

Methods: 1,448 college students enrolled in undergraduate courses at two public universities completed a paper and pencil survey of attitudes and experiences about dating, sexuality, and substance use.

Physical Disability and Increased Loneliness among Married Older Adults: The Role of Changing Social Relations.

Examining the social context of disablement, we investigated how changes in social relations affect loneliness among married older men and women. With longitudinal data on 914 married persons from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we found that changes in the quality of marital and nonmarital relations moderate the effect of disability on loneliness in unexpected ways. Increases in negative marital quality buffer the effect of physical disability, while increases in nonmarital support exacerbate it.

Alcohol Expectancy, Drinking Behavior, and Sexual Victimization Among Female and Male College Students.

College students have high rates of heavy drinking, and this dangerous behavior is strongly linked to sexual victimization. Although research has examined risk factors for sexual assault, few studies have simultaneously studied the various pathways through which risks may affect sexual assault and how these pathways may be uniquely different among females and males. As such, the current study uses path analyses to examine whether alcohol expectancies mediate the relationship between social factors (e.

Marital quality and older men's and women's comfort discussing sexual issues with a doctor.

It is not uncommon for older adults to feel uncomfortable engaging in sexual health communication with a doctor. Nevertheless, there is reason to expect that marital quality is associated with older adults' comfort discussing sexual issues with a doctor. This study examined the relation between marital quality and comfort discussing sexual issues with a doctor among older married men and women using a nationally representative sample of older adults.

Widening the social context of disablement among married older adults: Considering the role of nonmarital relationships for loneliness.

Utilizing the stress process and life course perspectives, we investigated the influence of non-spousal social support on the associations between marital quality, physical disability, and loneliness among married older adults. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we found that the association between physical disability and loneliness was partially accounted for by the fact that physical disability was associated with less supportive nonmarital relationships. While physically-disabled older adults in higher-quality marriages were buffered from loneliness, supportive non-martial relationships did not offset elevated loneliness among those in low-quality marriages.

Toward advocacy in cancer care for older adults: survivors have cautious personal actions but bold advice for others.

Objectives: To examine narratives of personal coping with the cancer experience and compare them with narratives of advice offered to other cancer patients by community-dwelling elderly cancer survivors.

Design: Qualitative and quantitative mixed methods.

Setting: Community.

Outcome and complications of posterior transiliac plating for vertically unstable sacral fractures.

Vertically unstable sacral fractures often make it difficult to achieve rigid fixation and there is no consensus on the optimal fixation technique for these injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate complication rate and short-term outcome of vertically unstable sacral fractures treated by posterior transiliac plate fixation. We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data of patients who underwent posterior transiliac plating for sacral fractures at two institutions.