Marty E. Zusman

College Students' Perceptions About Older People and Aging

ABSTRACT This study assessed the perceptions of college students at a large southeastern university about aging and older people. Participants were 441 students from age 17 to 49 years with a median age of 19 years. There were 118 males (26.8%) and 323 females (73.2%). The results indicated that students believed a person is “old” at the age of 60 years. In addition, most respondents perceive aging according to the frequency of contact with older people. Students who had worked with older people were significantly (p < .02) more likely to believe that older people have little interest in sex and little capacity for having sex than those who had lived with grandparents. Social class, political affiliation, race, and religion of the students were also analyzed.

Marrying a Man with “Baggage”

Abstract Cultural views of previously married men include the assumption that they bring ex-wives and children as “baggage” into subsequent marriages. Analysis of 274 questionnaires of second wives revealed that such baggage was significantly associated with reporting less marital happiness, thinking about divorce, and wishing that they had not married their current husband. Implications for women contemplating marriage to a previously married man include acknowledging the vulnerability of second marriages to marital instability, questioning if living together ensures subsequent marital success, delaying the marriage until issues settle out, and considering moving into a new home or apartment with the new spouse rather than having him move into her home.

Autos, Alcohol, and Adolescence: Forgotten Concerns and Overlooked Linkages

Research, education and prevention efforts dealing with adolescent alcohol use and traffic safety have been focused almost exclusively upon the phenomenon of drinking and driving. Such focus has unfortunately led to a general disregard of other equally important behaviors related to alcohol and automobile use. Of particular concern in this paper is the existence of a group of adolescents who ride with a drinking driver but do not drink and drive themselves. In an attempt to socially locate and better understand this segment of the population, we compare this group to those who both drink and drive and ride with a drinking driver, and those who do neither. Specific attention is given to selected socio-demographic characteristics and alcohol related attitudes and behaviors as group discriminating factors. In addition, the findings suggest that the practice of riding with a drinking driver may be causally linked to the eventual practice of drinking and driving.

Selecting whether to die at home or in a hospital setting

Data from a 1978 health care study in rural North Carolina were analyzed to investigate whether people prefer to die at home rather than in a hospital setting and the reasons for their preference. Medical, financial, personal and family-related reasons were investigated as possible explanations for selecting a preferred site of death. Differences between respondents in demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related variables were analyzed to determine their possible effects on where an individual preferred to die. The results indicate that financial reasons were most likely to be given for preferring to die at home followed closely by individual reasons and then by family and health considerations. Statistically significant differences indicated that those who preferred to die at home were younger, white, more educated, were not satisfied with the quality of medical services, considered their health as excellent and were afraid of hospitals. The implications of these results were considered.