George K. Jarvis

RELIGION AND DIFFERENCES IN MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY

Religion and its effects on morbidity and mortality (with particular emphasis on mortality) are reviewed as are special issues which have in the past made the study of religion and death difficult. The morbidity and mortality experience of various religious groups is portrayed, including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, the clergy, Seventh-day Adventists, Latter-day Saints, Parsis, Jehovahs Witnesses and Hutterites. Studies of religious effects on morbidity and mortality have broadened in focus from the study of specific health practices, or health-related behaviors, to include the study of social support, religious participation and health-related attitudes. Gaps in the literature are identified and a preliminary model of religions effect on morbidity and mortality is discussed.

PERCEIVED LEVEL OF STRESS AMONG UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN EDMONTON, CANADA

A sample of 457 (177 men, 280 women) undergraduate students were surveyed regarding perceived level of stress. Women were more likely than men to report an unacceptable stress level. To reduce stress, women were more likely to indicate a need to limit commitments, exercise, and worry less. Reasons for not reducing stress were lack of time and lack of self-discipline, both of which were reported significantly more often by women. The present data suggest health education interventions are needed to assist students in coping with the stress they experience.

Death styles among Canada's Indians

Data are examined from a prospective study of Native mortality on 35 reserves and colonies in the province of Alberta, Canada. Native Indian deaths tend to occur at a younger age than others, to be multiple events and to occur in non-hospital settings with others present. In almost half the cases death resulted from accident, suicide or homicide. Though circumstances of weather and physical isolation, as well as human negligence and carelessness resulted in some deaths, the majority of violent deaths were associated with the heavy use of alcohol.

Sex and Age Patterns in Self-Injury*

Age and sex differences in rates of self-injury are prominent and relatively unexplained. A prospective study of self-injury patients resident in London, Canada was carried out between 1969 and 1971. It wasfound that rates of self-injury are higherforfemales andforyoung persons, compared with suicide rates which are higherfor males and for older persons. Other factors related to rates of self-injury are also examined, but the basic age and sex patterns persist when these variables are controlled. These findings indicate that self-injury among the young, especially young females, has considerably less lethal risk than among older persons, especially males. For this reason, self-injury may have rather different motivation and be surrounded by different circumstances that serve to differentiate the classes of events. A preliminary theoretical model is proposed which relates self-injury to suicide and other forms of reaction to stress. The study of suicide and attempted sui- cide has long exerted a strange fascina- tion for scholars, which has resulted in more study than the subject matter has seemed tojustify either as a cause of death or as a problem of social importance. Only in recent years has the extent of self-injury behavior in the population begun to be uncovered. As a result, students of this subject are becoming aware that self- injury is much more common than they had thought, hence a greater cause for concern. For example, a Canadian pro- spective study of self-injury behavior in London, Ontario, recently reported a rate of 730 cases of self-injury per 100,000 population, a rate several times highei than is usually associated with this * This project was supported by grants from the following sources: The Ontario Mental Health Foundation (#241); the Public Health Research Grants Division of the Department of National Health and Welfare (#605-7-585); and the Canada Council (#573-0294-51). phenomenon. Moreover, evidence sug- gests that actual rates of self-injury in the population may be as high as 1400 cases per 100,000 population per annum (Whitehead, Johnson and Ferrence, 1973). According to these reports, the high rate in London probably does not reflect a high propensity for self-injury in the local population. Rather, it indicates a more complete description of existing patterns of the incidence of self-injury (Ferrence and Johnson, 1974). If the unknown but reputedly much higher rates of threatened self-injury are added to these known rates, we begin to become aware of the importance of self-injury as a technique in human relations. Of the many areas of analysis of suicide and self-injury that are reported in the literature, the interrelationships of sex and age comprise one of the most intri- guing sub-sets for potential further study. The purpose of this paper is to report and

Gender and Age Differences in the Drinking Behaviors of University Students

A sample of 457 university students were queried concerning their use of alcohol. The majority (90%) of students reported drinking at least once over the past year, with men drinking more often. Age differences were noted, with older students (Mdn = 32.0 yr. vs 19.0 yr.) more likely to report drinking 4 to 6 times per week. Women generally had healthier attitudes concerning alcohol consumption, e.g., more likely to try to prevent a friend from driving after drinking, pay for use of a taxi, or have a designated driver. Men were more likely to indicate that it is socially acceptable to be intoxicated occasionally and also that most drinkers do not suffer health problems as a result of their drinking. The present study indicates a need to educate university students about the effects of alcohol with a particular emphasis needed for male students.

Socioeconomic development medical care and nutrition as determinants of infant mortality in less developed countries

Abstract Using data for sixty less‐developed countries, we constructed a causal model in which medical care, nutrition, status of women, and socioeconomic development are examined as determinants of infant mortality. Social and economic development are treated as exogenous variables; medical care, nutrition, and status of women are viewed as variables endogenous to the model. The model is tested by maximum likelihood methods. Results indicate that good nutrition and the presence of informally trained health care personnel, i.e., midwives, are more significantly related to low rates of infant mortality than are the employment status of women and the presence of formally trained health care personnel such as physicians and nurses. The general level of social and economic development conditions these relationships.

Mormon mortality rates in Canada.

Abstract In the United States, Mormons have been shown to have lower incidence and mortality rates of cancer and other diseases than the general population, a fact which has been attributed to the life style prescribed by the Mormon Church, including abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea. This study examines Mormon cause‐specific mortality rates in Alberta, Canada, compared to rates for the general population of Alberta and of all Canada. Mormon death rates for most causes were lower than those for Alberta, which are themselves lower than Canadian rates. Mormon death rates for males were higher than for females for most causes, but male and female death rates were more similar among Mormons than in the general population. Causes of death for which Mormons have an average or higher than average risk are either less frequent causes or are less clearly related to dietary habits. Mormons have disproportionately low death rates for many causes which are not clearly related to the use of tobacco, al...