PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J L Spearly

Publications and source records attributed to J L Spearly.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1983

Social integration and mental health in a biracial community.

The study investigated the relationship between social integration and mental health, with a particular interest in social integration in a minority group context. The study involved a home interview with 33 white and 30 black women who resided in a residentially integrated working-class community in Austin, Texas. Although blacks reported significantly more psychological symptoms than whites, the race effect was explained by an underlying interaction between race and social integration. Blacks low in social integration showed more symptoms than either white respondents or blacks with a high level of integration. The Race X Social integration interaction is considered in the light of societally based prejudice and the potential social stress associated with minority group status.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Community characteristics and ethnicity in the prediction of child maltreatment rates.

In this study of 246 Texas counties, the varying ability of certain community characteristics to predict rates of maltreatment was examined for different ethnic groups. The use of rates based on Central Registry data is based on the assumption that officially registered reports of abuse and neglect are a reasonably valid index of actual child maltreatment. The results provide support for socioeconomic and demographic factors investigated by previous ecological researchers. In general, the greater the proportions of single mothers and working mothers in a community, the greater its rate of maltreatment; the greater the proportion of families with annual incomes over $15,000, the lower the county maltreatment rate. Differential patterns were observed for various predictors for rates of abuse and neglect considered separately. Greater economic resources availability was significantly related to lower county rates of neglect, but not significantly related to abuse rates. Higher abuse rates were significantly associated with greater proportions of single mothers, while higher neglect rates were significantly associated with greater proportions of absent mothers due to employment. Smaller amounts of formal economic assistance to single-parent families (AFDC) significantly enhanced the prediction of counties at risk for higher rates of child abuse. Differential patterns of results were observed for Anglo, Black, and Mexican-American segments of county populations. Socioeconomic status of counties was a significant predictor of Anglo rates; greater urbanization was a significant predictor of increased rates of both Black and Mexican-American maltreatment. These results support the use of indicators of the availability of economic and social resources for identifying high-risk communities and planning preventive interventions for child maltreatment.

Child↗