Each issue in the 2002 edition of the Australian Transcultural Mental Health Network (ATMHN) newsletter represents a theme critical to mental health practitioners. The Winter 2002 issue features articles on the psychological consequences of interpreters in relation to working with torture and trauma clients, addressing language issues on mental…

The New York State Council on Children and Families is charged with acting as a neutral body to coordinate the 13 health, education, and human services agencies within the state to promote children and families' well-being. The Council uses the Touchstone accountability framework to facilitate the development of state and local service systems…

School curricula reflect the sociocultural values held by society. As such, curricula may adopt: (1) a philosophically humanistic, individual-sensitive orientation, or (2) an economically-driven, social development orientation. This first orientation supports self-realization and prioritizes a broad-based and multidisciplinary school curriculum.…

This guide chronicles the ongoing work and writings of the Chapin Hall Center for children at the University of Chicago, a policy research center dedicated to bringing sound information, rigorous analyses, innovative ideas, and an independent, multidisciplinary perspective to bear on policies and programs affecting children. The guide, organized…

As policymakers have sought to balance the goal of fostering poor children's well-being with that of encouraging adult's self-sufficiency, public assistance has become more predicated on custodial parents' involvement in work or mandatory welfare-to-work programs activities. This report examines the effects of welfare-to-work programs on the…

Examined adequacy of family functioning related to the health status of its members. Studied 46 heart patients and concluded that families of most patients functioned fairly well. Found family functioning unrelated to health as determined by objective indicators or self-perception, and unrelated to depression but negatively related to anxiety.…

Models the impact of three domains of environmental variables (ecological/architectural, psychosocial, and personal) on the mental health and well-being of 989 community-based rural elderly. Perceived environmental constriction, satisfaction with dwelling features, and satisfaction with community were the largest predictors of mental health.…

Presents strategies for Head Start programs to use to help parents ensure their children's health, safety, and well-being. Recommends creative approaches such as lending libraries, bulletin boards, displays, take-home information sheets, conferences, small group discussions, and newsletters. Describes the parent health education program at the…

Pays tribute to older women teachers who have survived and thrived over the years as elementary and secondary school teachers. Describes the qualities that have served them well, such as scheduling, attention to detail, commitment, and ability to cope with change. (TB)

Discusses ways in which colleges are making creative use of their existing computer and media technologies to promote healthier student choices through social norms campaigns and engaging web sites. Describes a campus AIDS project the utilized the web, as well as describing a study conducted by the author. (Contains five references.) (NB)

Examines the ethical questions involved in intervening when a student has emotional difficulties. Particularly asks how adjunct faculty can be prepared to handle these situations, given their busy schedules and minimal institutional involvement. Describes the student assistance program (SAP), a committee that offers guidance to faculty and…

Among 1,286 employed persons responding to the Work, Family, and Well-Being survey, women received more interpersonal work rewards (thanks and recognition) than did men, and these rewards correlated negatively with earnings. However, men and women did not differ in their ratings of interpersonal or economic work rewards as subjectively rewarding.…

A survey of Canadian staff members (n=22), rehabilitation patients (N=27), pacemaker patients (n=31), and family members of the patients (N=34) asked what they considered important to the patients' quality of life. Results found marked differences between the groups in the physical, psychological, and activity domains, indicating that quality of…

Studied role of adolescents' awareness in relationship between marital conflict and adolescent distress. Found marital conflict was related to parental hostility toward adolescents and adolescents' awareness of conflict; parental hostility and adolescents' awareness of marital conflict were related to adolescent-perceived parental hostility. Found…

Examined the role of stressful life experiences and social support in the health of 292 community-living elderly. Findings suggest that the number of hours worked at a paying job, lower levels of depression, and greater perceived social support were directly related to higher levels of life satisfaction. (RJM)