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This paper seeks to assess the utility of the transactional model of individual stress. According to the logic of the model, whether persons manifest stress is a multiplicative function of both situational and individual characteristics. The paper briefly discusses possible advantages of the perspective over other frames of reference. Then it describes a pilot study designed to determine whether hypotheses based on the transactional model could be supported empirically. Utilizing interview data from a small probability sample of all adults in the state of Missouri, scales were constructed by an improved method of item analysis for use as indicators of variations in stress and the situational and individual factors. Comparing stress scores by situational and individual variables produced results indicative of a multiplicative relationship and thus supportive of theories derived from the transactional perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minority groups differ from one another, among other things, in the extent to which they are integrated into or apart from the societies to which they belong. The extent of this integration or apartness is reflected in the various ways in which the minorities differ from the rest of the population, such as in the effect of economic class upon voting. No minority group is ever completely integrated into its society, for complete integration is tantamount to the extinction of group identity. No minority group is ever completely apart, for the term "minority" implies the existence of a majority with which the minority forms a common society. The dimension of integration-apartness is related to but not identical with the dimension of assimilation. Assimilation refers to the replacement or modification of group characteristics as a consequence of out-group contacts. Integration refers to the extent a minority actually forms a part of the body politic of its society. Thus, German "non-Aryan" Christians were fully assimilated but, in the Third Reich, certainly not integrated into the German society. In general, the term "integration" is applicable at various levels of analysis. We talk of the integration of individuals into groupings, the integration of these groupings into further units, and the integration of these into larger units in turn. In the case of our study, individuals are more or less integrated into their respective minority groups, and these in turn are more or less integrated into their respective societies. We are concerned in this paper with developing a measure for the degree of integration of minority groups into their societies. The basic proposition of this paper is: The more apart a minority group is from its society, the more will it differ from that society as a whole in the effect of economic class upon voting. An analysis of the voting of two minorities in Central Europe illustrates the above proposition. This is followed by comments on minority group voting in the United States and Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first reviews the descriptions and structural explanations for variations, in urban population densities in the United States over several decades. The research reviewed focuses on shifts in the technology and economics of travel as being the major influences on urban density distributions. These variables appear to be somewhat less adequate as explanations of the process in recent decades. After reviewing these findings and suggesting several research questions, we attempt to assess the evidence relating variations in population density to several other aspects of human behavior. A review of the research relating high population densities to various "social pathologies" indicates that little of the variance in rates of these pathologies can be attributed to density independently of other social structural variables. Some important consequences of population density have been reported, however, and possible research directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from a study of college aspirations among 40,000 Minnesota adolescents indicate that the relationship of family size to aspirations is somewhat higher among Protestants than Catholics. Overall aspirational differences between religious groups are minor. Further analysis suggests that these differences are probably not a function of financial capacities but rather of more basic socialization practices. The data are used to illustrate an alternative approach in analyzing the relevance of religion to contemporary society: examining processual differences between religious groups rather than concentrating only on outcomes—such as net differences in aspirations. The paper concludes by speculating that social process may be critical in distinguishing Protestants from Catholics but has generally been neglected in contemporary research on religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts at educational reform between 1890 and 1930 in New York were more successful in medicine than in law. This paper considers influences favoring medical reform: a rapid introduction of new knowledge and techniques; a national, even international competition for medical esteem; a visible need for expensive instructional facilities; a solid connection of schools of medicine with universities; a strong professional association; and several other forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is the analysis of the interactional patterns of Wisconsin farm couples with their parents. Step-wise multiple regression analysis provides a technique to solve a sequence of one or more multiple linear models by step-wise application of the least sum-of-squares method. The predictor variables used in this analysis include: distance, husband's age, stage in the family life-cycle, husband's education, wife's education, gross farm income, agricultural training of the husband, productive-man-work-units, and level of living. The results showed that distance is an important factor in the interaction between generations in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether, using 1960 census data, differences do exist in occupational and educational attainment for second-generation males of United Kingdom, German, and Italian background, in Northeastern United States. The data are presented with controls for age so that analysis may be made separately for those who were becoming educated and becoming employed in two quite different periods in our nation's social and economic development. Additional data from the 1960 census are presented to view the educational and occupational pattern for the three groups throughout the entire United States, by geographical regions, and for a smaller age category (25 to 34) than that presented in the other tables, in order to determine how typical the Northeast region is of the entire country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of beverage alcohol in American society has always been surrounded by a sharp ambivalence. Even during the colonial era moderate use of non-distilled beverages, such as beer, wine, ale, was expected and fully approved, but drunkenness, usually viewed as a moral defect indicating weak self-control, was frowned upon and often punished. During the Revolution and post-revolutionary period, this ambivalent attitude was fostered and alcohol was viewed, on the one hand, as a temporary desirable release from relentless reality and, on the other hand, as a major cause of poverty, crime, divorce and deviancy. The wet-dry controversy was climaxed, of course, by the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1917. After a long struggle, the "wet" forces were able to obtain the repeal of this amendment in 1933. The impact of this struggle is still felt in contemporary American society. Organized religion, as has been true within the larger society itself, has been divided into several opposing views on the subject of alcohol use. Several of the more fundamentalist groups view the use of alcohol as a moral issue and see total abstinence as the desirable, if not the only acceptable, mode of behavior. On the other hand, Roman Catholics, Jews and Episcopalians are officially unopposed to moderate use of alcohol, although drunkenness is certainly frowned upon. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of organized religion as it affects the use of alcohol among a sample of teenagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years sociologists have done research on race relations in the United States, especially between Negroes and whites. In the past decade, hospitals and the health professions have also been popular objects of sociological inquiry. But thus far, there has been relatively little study of race relations in health organizations. Although some attention has been paid to the contribution of low-status hospital workers to the therapeutic process, the extent to which the race of the low-status worker may influence the contribution has not been studied. This paper presents some data contrasting patient perceptions of subprofessional low-status Negro hospital workers with patient perceptions of the professional high-status white hospital staff. The data suggest that from the patient's point of view (1) Negro aides, orderlies, housekeepers, food service personnel, etc. are more effective in meeting the patients' needs for expressive care than white nurses and physicians; and (2) these individuals' low status, Negro race, and sub-professional affiliation directly contribute to their effectiveness. If supported by further research, these hypotheses would have important implications for the sociology of race relations and for professional practice in patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the address given by the author during the general session of the Midwest Sociological Society's 25th anniversary meeting on April 13, 1962, in Des Moines, Iowa. It discusses the author's experience with the society and his participation in its previous annual conferences. During his term as secretary of the society he has observed the changes in the structure and the functions of the society since its reorganization in 1937. The most important phenomenon having implications for a regional society is the decline in regionalism of American sociology. Regionalism, in the sense that it existed in 1937 has disappeared. The birth of the society have a significant impact on the origins of modern American sociology. The educational institutions established by notable members of the society have contributed to the production of doctor of philosophy degree in sociology.

The primary data for this paper, the self-descriptions of respondents from a delinquent gang of Negro boys, were obtained in a Chicago Park District field house. The boys lived in an adjacent public housing project and hung on the corner near the field house and in the playground. The data were collected by a Youth Studies Program staff member who had spent a number of days as an observer of the gang. He was assisted by the gang's detached worker. Following administration of the questionnaire to the gang boys, these men joined efforts and located 23 non-gang boys of similar ages, who also lived in the same project, to serve as control subjects. Administration required about an hour and a half; the paired comparison instrument in which we are primarily interested, about 20 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]