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PubMed1983

Improving peer relationships through contracting in primary nursing.

Effective peer group relationships are essential in both primary nursing and the peer review process. Yet professional peer behaviors are frequently lacking in primary nursing groups. These authors believe that if some of the problems in peer relationships are not resolved, primary nursing could be doomed to failure. Here they discuss the concept of "peer contracting" as a potentially useful method for facilitating the development of more professional peer group relationships. From their experience with peer contracting, they present some practical considerations regarding its use and value. Their discussion raises some critical points concerning problems in peer group relationships, and it stimulates further exploration of the nature, use, and implications of peer contracting as a vehicle that can help primary nursing realize its potential.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1990

Specialty nursing council: a peer support group for nurses in independent roles.

As nurses move into more nontraditional, expanded roles, they sometimes lack a social and professional support group within the work setting. Feeling isolated and lacking support, several clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) at a large county institution began the Specialty Nursing Council. The Specialty Nursing Council provides a means of networking and support for nurses in specialty roles in a three institution health care campus. Monthly meetings are conducted to bring members together and for continuing education programs. The keys to success in forming this type of council are: 1) a dedicated group that plans, organizes, and distributes informational material; 2) common goals and objectives; 3) direct benefits to members.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

Participant role approach to school bullying: implications for interventions.

This paper describes practical implications of the participant role approach to bullying in schools. This view looks at bullying as a group phenomenon which is largely enabled and maintained by members of a school class taking on different participant roles (such as assistants of the bully, reinforcers of the bully, or outsiders). Since peers are involved in bullying in different ways, and seem to be powerful moderators of behaviour in a school class, this "peer group power" should also be utilized in putting an end to bullying. In interventions targeting the whole peer group it is peers that, after initial adult encouragement and training, take action against bullying. This happens informally, in their spontaneous everyday intractions. Peers can also be utilized in formal helper roles, as peer counsellors. It is suggested that the focus of counselling could be shifted from supporting the victims towards also working with students in other participant roles.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

A randomized, controlled effectiveness trial of an AIDS prevention program for low-income African-American youths.

BACKGROUND: Some interventions to reduce the risk of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) that target youths have resulted in short-term increases in self-reported condom use. However, long-term intervention effects have not been assessed. STUDY QUESTION: Can a theoretically and culturally based, AIDS-risk reduction intervention delivered to naturally formed peer groups increase self-reported condom use among African-American early adolescents at 6 and 12 months of follow-up? METHOD: A randomized, controlled trial of a community-based intervention delivered in eight weekly sessions involved 76 naturally formed peer groups consisting of 383 (206 intervention and 177 control) African-American youths 9 to 15 years of age. A theory-based, culturally and developmentally tailored instrument that assessed perceptions, intentions, and self-reported sexual behaviors was administered to all subjects at baseline (preintervention) and 6 and 12 months later. RESULTS: At baseline, 36% of youths were sexually experienced, and by 12 months of follow-up, 49% were sexually experienced. Self-reported condom use rates were significantly higher among intervention than control youths (85% vs 61%; P<.05) at the 6-month follow-up. However, by 12 months, rates were no longer significantly higher among intervention youths. The intervention impact at 6 months was especially strong among boys (85% vs 57%; P<.05) and among early teens (13 to 15 years old) (95% vs 60%; P<.01). Self-reported condom use intention was also increased among intervention youths at 6 months but not at 12 months. Some perceptions were positively affected at 6 months, but the change did not persist at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: High rates of sexual intercourse underscore the urgent need for effective AIDS-risk reduction interventions that target low-income urban, African-American preteens and early teens. A developmentally and culturally tailored intervention based on social-cognitive theory and delivered to naturally formed peer groups recruited from community settings can increase self-reported condom use. The strong short-term improvements in behaviors and intentions followed by some relapse over longer periods argue for a strengthened program and research focus on sustainability.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2004

Is there a dark side of positive illusions? Overestimation of social competence and subsequent adjustment in aggressive and nonaggressive children.

This study examined (a) the links between children's overly positive perceptions about the relations with the peer group and with their best friend to subsequent behavioral, emotional, and social adjustment, and (b) whether these links are moderated by children's aggression. Using a short-term longitudinal design, the study was based on a sample of 819 4th- to 6th-graders (427 girls) from low to average SES families. Results showed that positive illusions about their social relations with classmates and with friends were related to an increase in children's peer-rated social preference and fostered the stability of children's dyadic friendships, regardless of children's level of aggression. In addition, overestimation of social competence with the peer group and overestimation of friendship quality were both related to a decrease in children's depressive feelings. Extreme overestimation as well as extreme underestimation of social competence with the peer group was also related to an increase in children's aggression. This latter result, however, was only true for children who were highly aggressive to begin with. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Stimulant use and HIV risk behavior: the influence of peer support group participation.

This study examines 12-step groups for recovery from methamphetamine and cocaine use that are attended by men having sex with men and the impact of attendance on HIV risk behavior. Participants in Crystal Meth Anonymous and other 12-step groups were interviewed up to 3 months since their last substance use. Sixty-two initial interviews, and ethnographic observations, were conducted. With entry into the program, mean reported sexual partners fell from around seven to one per month and the proportion having unprotected anal intercourse declined from 70% to 24%. HIV-positive men were more likely than HIV-negative men to report unprotected anal intercourse when using stimulants but less likely in recovery. Qualitative data suggest a transition from cocaine to methamphetamine in Chicago, and that reduction in partners is due to fear of relapsing in sexual situations rather than program teachings. These programs do however facilitate discussions around drug use and sexual issues.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

[Possibility of the evaluation by Target Value--Clinical Chemistry Examination].

In the evaluation of external quality control survey, the mean value of peer group has been using as the target value generally. However, there are some arguments about whether the mean value shows the true value of survey sample. In 1992 National Federation of Industrial Health Organization(NFIHO) established the committee for reference target value and studied the determining of reference target value. In 1993 NFIHO started the evaluation by the reference target value determined by the committee. In 1996 committee for external quality control survey of Japan Medical Association (JMA) started the evaluation by adjusted mean value of peer group. In 1999 JMA established the sub-committee for target value and published the study report in 2000. By using the result from the above two associations, I have studied the possibility of the evaluation by target value. I concluded as follows. 1) The good agreement was seen between the target values and the mean value of peer group. 2) The poor agreements were seen in some anaytes. 3) By increasing the number of laboratory in which the traceability is being confirmed, the better agreement will come to be seen between the target value and the mean. 4) To determine the target value, we need the long-term maintenance of laboratory performance and the consumption of large energy. 5) As for the analyte, which is possible to calibrate by reference measurement procedure and reference material, the mean value after the traceability was confirmed can be used as the target value.

Chemistry, Clinical↗
PubMed1999

Peer involvement in bullying: insights and challenges for intervention.

The purpose of this research was to examine the peer processes that occur during bullying episodes on the school playground. These processes were examined from a social learning perspective, allowing us to consider the effects of various types of reinforcement among bullies, victims, and peers. Fifty-three segments of video tape were examined. Each segment contained a peer group (two or more peers) that viewed bullying on the school playground. Peers were coded for actively joining or passively reinforcing the bully, and for actively intervening on behalf of the victim. On average, four peers viewed the schoolyard bullying, with a range from two to 14 peers. Averaged across all episodes, peers spent 54% of their time reinforcing bullies by passively watching, 21% of their time actively modelling bullies, and 25% of their time intervening on behalf of victims. Older boys (grades 4-6) were more likely to actively join with the bully than were younger boys (grades 1-3) and older girls. Both younger and older girls were more likely to intervene on behalf of victims than were older boys. The results were interpreted as confirming peers' central roles in the processes that unfold during playground bullying episodes. We discuss the results in terms of the challenges posed to peer-led interventions. Peers' anti-bullying initiatives must be reinforced by simultaneous whole-school interventions.

Aggression↗
PubMed1999

Smoking behaviour in youth: the problem of low self-esteem?

The study considers the relationship between self-esteem and smoking in youth. Research has emphasized the need for ecological perspectives on health behaviours, for example, the context and meaning of cigarette smoking in young people's lives. Recent Scottish research, utilizing a range of methodologies, has examined the peer group context and smoking. The convergence of findings is striking. It would appear that different social groupings exist within the peer context, where these are tied to peer status and associated with distinctive lifestyle practices, and dispositions, including smoking. In the case of self-esteem and smoking the results from conventional, survey-based research have often been inconclusive, the suggestion being that global measures of self-esteem are insufficient, since feelings of self-esteem are domain or context specific. However, the present study analyses survey data from two Scottish samples of 13-14-year-olds, conducted some 10 years apart, one national (n=2100, 1987) and the other rural (n=800, 1996) to show that even with the bluntest of research instruments, i.e. self-report questionnaire survey data and general measures, it is possible to elaborate on the relationship between self-esteem and cigarette smoking in youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The quality information management program database in South Carolina.

BACKGROUND: The Quality Information Management (QIM) Program was initiated in 1987 on the basis of the decision of the South Carolina Hospital Association's Subcommittee on Quality Assurance to develop a statewide database that could provide member hospitals with comparative quality indicator data. There are ten indicators for acute care and seven for psychiatry and substance abuse. Thirty-seven acute care hospitals participate in the QIM program, as do 7 specialty hospitals. For each three-month period, participant hospitals complete a computerized software report from their data sources specifying summary-level and patient-level data elements. REPORTING OF DATA: Participating hospitals are provided detailed, quantitative statistical reports to help them identify variations for further investigation. Risk adjustment is accomplished by peer grouping. Each hospital receives summary data for the peer groups to which it is assigned. During the quarterly users group meetings, participants discuss their successes and failures in collecting, reporting, and presenting indicator data. DISCUSSION: Involvement in the QIM program has educated participants in the use of comparative databases for quality improvement activities. It is a challenge to help providers and practitioners, in the face of increasing demands for dissemination, become more comfortable with the release of data to the public, while still preserving some degree of confidentiality.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1976

Smoking among medical students.

A survey of smoking habits of medical students was done using basic medical science graduate students at the same institution as a comparison group. Smoking status was not significantly related to sex, race, or academic classification. Knowledge of adverse health consequences of smoking was related to time spent in medical school and to whether or not the respondent smoked (ie. probable denial of knowledge of the adverse consequences among smokers). The respondent's smoking status was significantly related to familial and peer group smoking status and to peer group attitude. The most common reason given by quitters was "the media influence." The nonsmoker most frequently never began the habit because of fear of health consequences. Because of the finding that a small percentage of medical students still are not convinced of the dangers of smoking, it was suggested that increased educational emphasis on these dangers be included in the medical curriculum.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Genetic and environmental influences in adolescent peer socialization: evidence from two genetically sensitive designs.

Harris argues that peer relationships are the chief determinants of personality development. Harris's thesis makes the behavioral genetic investigation of peer groups particularly timely. The present study examined genetic and environmental contribution to self-reported peer-group characteristics in two samples of adolescent siblings: 180 adoptive and nonadoptive sibling pairs from the Colorado Adoption Project, and 386 sibling pairs from the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development Study. Substantial genetic influence emerged for college orientation, with the remaining variance accounted for by nonshared environment. For delinquency, however, the majority of the variance was explained by nonshared environment. Although genetic influence was implicated for peer popularity in twin analyses, genetic factors were not important in explaining individual differences in nontwin siblings. These results suggest that although some dimensions of peers are somewhat mediated by genetic factors, nonshared environmental influence is substantial.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Evaluating an educational intervention to improve the treatment of asthma in four European countries. Drug Education Project Group.

In the international Drug Education Project, a new educational program for peer groups of doctors was developed and tested to improve the treatment of asthma patients in The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Slovakia. Individualized feedback on prescribing and the underlying decision strategy was presented and discussed within the group of doctors, in relation to existing guidelines. In a parallel, randomized controlled design the effect on competence and actual prescribing was tested. Results were related to national guidelines. In general, the program improved the doctors' attitudes as well as some of their prescribing behavior. The proportion of patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids significantly improved in The Netherlands (effect size 1.27), and the proportion of oral corticosteroid use for exacerbation treatment increased both in The Netherlands and in Norway (effect sizes 1.99 and 0.87, respectively). Overall attitudes of Dutch and Norwegian doctors also improved significantly (effect sizes 1.06 and 0.87, respectively), as did both knowledge (effect size 1.06) and attitudes (effect size 1.49) concerning exacerbation treatment in Slovakia. In Sweden no significant improvements could be measured. Conclusively, improvements in asthma treatment are possible with an educational program based on self-learning in small peer groups, although effects in one health care setting may not occur in another health care setting. Possible explaining factors may be different attitudes to and experiences with guidelines as well as with continuing medical education programs, and differences in the opportunities for change, including prevailing trends in prescribing behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Mobile surrogate mothers and the development of exploratory behavior and radius of action in infant long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).

One of the effects of rearing young monkeys on surrogate mothers is a delay in the development of exploratory behavior. An important question is which difference between mother and surrogate mother caused this delay. We hypothesized that the mothers' carrying the infant through the environment promotes the development of exploratory behavior and the radius of action of infant macques. Using surrogate mothers, we reared 9 infants in a peer group with immobile surrogates and 10 infants in another peer group with mobile surrogates. During the 3rd to the 6th month, we observed each infant for 30 min weekly, collecting observational data on several behavioral parameters and on time spent in several areas in the cage. Results showed that exploratory behavior and an increase in radius of action developed more rapidly in the mobile-reared infants.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Father's influence on his daughter's marijuana use viewed in a mother and peer context.

A study of the fathers' impact on their daughters' marijuana use is presented viewed in the context of the mother and the daughters' peer group. Four hundred and three female college student volunteers and their fathers were administered closed-ended questionnaires which included a number of scales assessing various parental and peer characteristics. The results indicated that the domain (set) of paternal variables had a direct impact on daughters' marijuana use independent of the effects of the maternal domain. However, in the case of the peer group, the fathers' effects on daughters' marijuana use were not direct but were mediated through the peer domain. In addition, individual protective (nondrug-conducive) paternal variables served to mitigate the effects of certain maternal and peer risk (drug conductive) factors on the daughters' marijuana use. The findings underscore the importance of identifying those paternal factors that exert an influence on the daughters' marijuana use alone or in combination with other interpersonal (maternal, peer) factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

A sexual selection theory longitudinal analysis of sexual segregation and integration in early adolescence.

The three objectives in this longitudinal study were motivated by sexual selection theory. The theory specifies the role of sexually segregated groups and the effects of dominance in male groups and relational/indirect aggression in female groups for heterosexual relationships. Using a multi-method, multi-informant, longitudinal design we studied youngsters (N=138) across their first two years of middle school. First, we examined the nature of change in segregation and dating popularity across two years during early adolescence. Second, a model derived from sexual selection theory is tested to explain the ways in which boys and girls are nominated for hypothetical dates (dating popularity). Third, we examined the role of "poke and push courtship" behavior in boys' and girls' dating popularity. Results indicate that although groups did not become more integrated with time, changes in peer group sexual integration co-varied dynamically with dating popularity. Secondly, dominance-related strategies were more important for boys than girls in dating popularity whereas indirect, or relational, aggression strategies were more important for girls than boys. Third, "poke and push courtship" behaviors did not influence peer group integration or dating.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Polar types of reported drug involvement among Israeli youth.

The predisposing factors lined to drug involvement may be different for various types of youth, although the outcome is the same. In this sense a bimodal curve of drug involvement would indicate two types of highly involved youth: on the one hand, those from high social status families where low parental control implies a tendency to seek involvement with their peers and solve their personal adjustment problems within the peer group. On the other hand, those from the lower social strata for whom low parental control also implies association with outside peer groups as an alternative to shaky and diffuse families and lack of involvement in school life. This study on the cannabis involvement of 776 boys and girls (aged 14-18), drawn from eight schools, is an attempt to identify and describe these polar types of drug-involved youth in more detail.

Adolescent↗