This book offers a British perspective on ways of conceptualizing, assessing, and intervening in the challenging behavior of people with severe learning disabilities, with emphasis on the types of technical support needed. An introductory chapter explains why the term "learning disability" is used rather than mental handicap, mental…

Discusses how the infection of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in a profound immunosuppression due predominantly to a selective depletion of helper/inducer T lymphocytes that express the receptor for the virus, as well as neuropsychiatric abnormalities in the brain. (TW)

Women are a rapidly growing group of people with AIDS in the United States, and Hispanic/Latina and African American women are disproportionately represented. This paper reviews the literature on the epidemiology of AIDS/HIV infection among Latina women, children, and adolescents and discusses the needs of Latinas regarding AIDS prevention…

This study identified risk factors associated with unsuccessful discharge status of 134 students with serious emotional/behavioral disorders enrolled in a secondary-level, therapeutic day-treatment program. Major risk factors found were student substance abuse, involvement with juvenile services, and family living status. Application of…

The article examines why women and young girls are predisposed to tobacco use, what gender-based variables are at play, what external variables facilitate the initiation of tobacco use, why women continue to smoke, and what intervention strategies can address females and at-risk subgroups. (SM)

Development of an inexpensive but powerful computer program to teach clinical periodontal diagnosis using epidemiological principles is described. Using probabilistic thinking, the student is guided from application of raw research data to derivation of likelihood ratios and how they affect clinical decision making. Student response was found to…

Although evidence indicates that people know how the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is spread, many are not changing risky sexual behavior patterns. Reasons for this lack of change are explored, and a four-point program for containing the epidemic is offered. Age- and gender-specific programs are essential. (SLD)

Reviews recent research on the epidemiology, subject characteristics, and service needs of the homeless population who are dually diagnosed to suffer both severe mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Discusses evolving approaches to providing social services, various treatments, system and legal issues, and problems with current research.…

Differences in prevalence of depressive symptoms were studied for 1,108 male and 1,092 female adolescents from diverse ethnocultural groups through a national survey of symptom levels. Females reported more depression than did males in any ethnic group. Mexican-American males reported more depressive symptoms than did other males. (SLD)

Examines the correlates of substance abuse among New Jersey middle school students by employing an epidemiological perspective in which an individual's risk of using cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs is predicted to increase in relation to the amount of vulnerability and/or risk an individual faces. (Author/MKA)

The research needs in the epidemiology of child sexual abuse are discussed in terms of: a definition of epidemiology, the clash between the medical and legal cultures, statistical concerns, the relationship of social class or poverty with child sexual abuse, the need for cross-cultural research, intervention studies, studies of service…

Background: Both the professional and the general media have recently published concerns about an "epidemic" of child and adolescent depression. Reasons for this concern include (1) increases in antidepressant prescriptions, (2) retrospective recall by successive birth cohorts of adults, (3) rising adolescent suicide rates until 1990,…

This publication presents information for each of the 60 research projects active under the support of the Maternal and Child Health Research Program (MCHRP) in Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991. The variety of research topics and objectives pursued by the 60 investigations mirrors the broad mandate of the MCHRP as well as the eclectic and…

This annotated bibliography offers an international perspective on attitudes toward adolescents and young adults with disabilities, and policies and service delivery systems impacting these adolescents and young adults. The bibliography provides the author, title, source, and abstract for 19 resources on attitudes toward people with disabilities,…

Reports that by the end of 1987, nearly 50,000 cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) had been reported in the United States since 1981, with 20,745 in 1987 alone. Discusses the disordinate proportion of cases involving black and Hispanic adults and children. (TW)