Wilbur J. Scott

PTSD in DSM-III: A Case in the Politics of Diagnosis and Disease

The American Psychiatric Association published the third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III) in 1980. Unlike DSM-II, it included the listing “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD). The PTSD diagnosis is the product of a concerted effort to reintroduce war neurosis into the official psychiatric nomenclature. This paper tells the sociological story of who put PTSD in DSM-III and how they did it.

A dynamic analysis of migration: an assessment of the effects of age, family and career variables

This paper examines the utility of viewing migration in the context of work careers and family life cycles. We do this by studying migration as a discrete state, continuous time process. We find that the inverse relationship between age and migration is due almost completely to the effects of family life cycle and work career variables. Further, we find that job- or locationspecific resources, prestige and wage deter migration.

Tax evasion and mechanisms of social control: A comparison with grand and petty theft

Schwartz and Orleans’ (1967) study of the deterrent effect of sanctions on tax evasion is considered one of the seminal studies in contemporary deterrence theory. In their field experiment, conducted in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service, the authors compared the effectiveness of threats of legal sanctions and “appeals to conscience” in extracting compliance with taxpaying laws. While both strategies appeared to increase compliance, the appeal to conscience seemed more effective than the threat of legal sanctions. The present research incorporates advances in deterrence theory which have occurred since the early work by Schwartz and Orleans. While some theories of crime focus on factors which motivate individuals to violate the law, others, like deterrence theory, focus on factors which inhibit law violation. The present study draws on the mechanisms of social control, or inhibition, posited by deterrence theory to compare the deterrent effectiveness of three types of punishment threat for tax evasion and theft. The analysis utilizes survey data from a sample of 401 adult residents of a metropolitan area in the United States. Deterrence theory posits three mechanisms of social control, in the form of threatened punishments, which might inhibit illegal behavior: legal sanctions (state-imposed punishment), social stigma (peer-imposed punishment), and guilt feelings (self-imposed punishment). In a previous paper based on a different set of data, we report significant

Minority group status and the wages of Indian and black males

Abstract Using the 1976 Survey of Income and Education the differences in the wages of Indian, black, and white males are examined. The results indicate that the differences in characteristics between Indians and whites largely account for the difference in the average wage of these two groups. On the other hand, minority status, as well as characteristics, are important in understanding the differences in the average wage of blacks and whites. These findings illustrate the importance of understanding the different historical experiences of minority groups to an understanding of current racial inequality.

Socioeconomic status, unemployment experience, and political participation: A disentangling of main and interaction effects

A clarification of the effects of unemployment on political participation attitudes and behaviors is developed by contrasting the effect of unemployment experience across categories of socioeconomic status. Data on employed and unemployed heads of household are drawn from the 1976 University of Michigan national presidential election survey. The results indicate both main and interaction effects. Regardless of employment status, lower socioeconomic status respondents are less committed to voting, feel less efficacious, are less interested in politics, and are less politically active than persons of higher status. However, participation attitudes and behaviors are more adversely affected by unemployment experience among those of lower than higher status. Among higher status respondents, attitudes toward self (i.e., feelings of efficacy) and political interest—but not political activity or attitude toward the importance of participation—are altered by unemployment.

Competing Paradigms in the Assessment of Latent Disorders: The Case of Agent Orange

The use of the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam has sparked controversy and heated debate. The controversy revolves around the individuals and interest groups who advance and oppose the claim that exposure to the herbicide has caused high rates of cancer among Vietnam veterans and birth defects in their children. In this paper, I identify the protagonists, explore the claims-making activity, and review the varieties of evidence put forth in the case. The case serves as a useful vehicle for illustrating the politics of facts and certification.

An analysis of factors affecting traditional family expectations and perceptions of ideal fertility

This study examines (1) the conditions giving rise to variation in sex-role orientation and the perceived cost of having children, and (2) the role these variables play as mechanisms linking antecedent variables to perceptions of ideal fertility. Data are drawn from a metropolitan area sampling of 401 adults. Antecedent variables of sex, employment status, age, education, exposure to metropolitan living, and religious traditionalism — though correlated with ideal fertility — have no direct effects on that variable. Rather, the effects of these variables on fertility are mediated through sex-role orientation and the perceived cost of having children.

Wanted and Unwanted Pregnancy in Early Adolescence: Evidence from a Clinic Population:

Data presented here from a university clinic for unwed pregnant early adolescents suggest two paths to pregnancy: (a) some females, though unmarried, apparently want to become pregnant and have a child; (b) others, who do not want a child, nonetheless become pregnant due to unforeseen circumstances. We report some critical differences in reproductive behavior between those who wanted to get pregnant and those who did not. Implications are developed for theorizing about early adolescent pregnancy and for delivering pregnancy related services for teenagers.

The Fertility Related Behavior of Mexican American Adolescents

Data from a clinic sample of pregnant adolescents are analyzed for differences in fertility related variables between Mexican American and non-Mexican. The independent variables are birthplace, ethnicity, and exposure to U.S. culture of Mexican and non-Mexican adolescents. The dependent variables are talking about sex, pregnancy, birth control, hearing about birth control, and use of birth control. The data support the hypothesis that in the process of acculturation the fertility related behavior of immigrant Mexican adolescent females is affected by the indigenous United States Mexican culture rather than by United States Anglo culture. Implications for delivery of services are discussed.

Dimensions of the Tax Revolt Uncovering Strange Bedfellows

This study presents data from a community survey of Oklahoma City which suggests that the putative tax rebellion is neither as massive nor as homogeneous as some observers contend. The data support Buchanans contention that the widespread support for tax reduction has occurred because the costs, defined in terms of potential cutbacks in government expenditures, are not specified in the proposed legislation. In addition, the findings suggest that people vary in what costs they are willing to incur in order to lower taxes. Some people support tax reduction out of a desire to limit welfare spending and others out of a desire to reduce spending on collective goods. We suggest that the former represents a traditional, conservative response to liberal welfare legislation. However, we identify the latter as a new interest group in American politics which cross-cuts traditional lines of cleavage.