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Unique Study Into Health And Wellbeing Of Older People
A unique Network studying the health and wellbeing of older people is bringing together health, social science and mathematics experts in a revolutionary project which will help shape the long-term provision of health and social care services across the UK and ultimately benefit older people.

Schizophrenia Does Not Increase Risk Of Violent Crime
A new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet and the University of Oxford finds that the severe mental disorder schizophrenia only marginally increases the risk of committing violent crime. Rather, the overrepresentation of individuals with schizophrenia in violent crime is almost entirely attributable to concurrent substance abuse.
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Blogs Comment On Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings, Health Reform, Other Topics
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "Judge Sotomayor Provides Important Testimony on the Constitutional Right to Privacy and Its Application to Reproductive Rights," Marcia Greenberger, Womenstake: "One major line of questions, asked repeatedly throughout the hearings" for President Obama"s Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was her "views on the constitutional right to privacy," Greenberger writes, adding, "Given that this right is central to women"s lives, protecting" such "decisions involving whether to bear children ... and having consensual adult sexual relations, it is important to analyze Judge Sotomayor"s answers carefully." According to Greenberger, because Sotomayor "had not ruled directly on the right to privacy as a federal judge, her testimony in this area warrants particular attention." Following questions from senators such as Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sotomayor portrayed a "clear agreement with the right to privacy and strong description of the court"s current precedents regarding Roe and women"s health," which "lend[s] further support to the view from her legal record that she would not undermine Roe v. Wade if confirmed to the Supreme Court" (Greenberger, Womenstake, 7/16). ~ "Major Steps Forward for Health Care Reform," Thao Nguyen, Womenstake: Nguyen, outreach manager for the National Women"s Law Center, reports that the health care reform legislation passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is "particularly important for women because of the critical headway it makes towards women"s ability to secure access to quality, affordable health care throughout their lives." The bill "works towards confronting many of the particular obstacles faced by women in our current health care system," such as banning the "discriminatory" practice of basing insurance premiums on gender, even when maternity benefits are excluded, Nguyen writes. The bill also bans insurance companies from rejecting patients based on medical history, which has prevented many domestic violence survivors and women who have had caesarean sections from obtaining coverage. Nguyen concludes that "the momentum for health care reform could not have come at a more needed time" because women and their families "need quality, affordable and comprehensive health more than ever" (Nguyen, Womenstake, 7/15).~ "Democrats for Life of America Ousts Member Who Supports Contraception," Feministing: Feministing reports that Democrats for Life of America removed Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) from its advisory board because he supports efforts to improve access to contraception. According to Ryan, he was dismissed from the board after four years after attempting to persuade the group to support contraceptive use as a way to avoid unintended pregnancies. According to the blog, "This is why we call anti-choicers "anti-choice": because they"re not just about making abortion illegal." It adds, "They don"t want women to have access to contraception either -- something that 98% of American women will use at some point in their lives" (Feministing, 7/15). ~ "Umpires, Perspective and the Supreme Court," Jim Wallis, Sojourners" "God"s Politics": "During his opening remarks for his own confirmation hearing in 2005, Chief Justice [John] Roberts made" an analogy between judges and umpires "that has gotten a lot of play in the media and has already been used quite a few times during" Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, Wallis writes. He adds that "nothing in the world would frustrate me more than an umpire who would call the game differently based upon the color of the jersey that" players were wearing. "But I haven"t seen that happen," Wallis writes, adding, "In fact, the biggest problem we face isn"t an umpire that has favored one team over the other, but umpires who make mistakes in their rulings and judgment because of their lack of perspective." He adds that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and "others w
Sexual Health

Preschoolers' Language Development Is Partly Tied To Their Classmates' Language Skills

Young children learn how to speak and understand language from the words parents speak at home and teachers speak in preschool. A new longitudinal study has found that their preschool classmates also play a part. The study, by researchers at the University of Virginia and Ohio State University, is published in the May/June 2009 issue of the journal Child Development. The researchers took a look at more than 1,800 preschoolers in over 450 pre-kindergarten classrooms in 11 U.S. states. They tested children"s skills in "receptive language" (including their understanding of vocabulary and grammar) and "expressive language" (including their speaking skills, which also involve vocabulary and grammar) in English at the start and end of pre-kindergarten. Children"s abilities to both speak and understand words developed faster when they were with classmates with better language skills. Going to school with children who had better language skills was even more beneficial for children who began preschool with higher language skills, and for those who were in classrooms that were well-managed. "Classmates are an important re for all children, especially for children who begin preschool with higher language skills," suggests Andrew J. Mashburn, a senior research scientist at the University of Virginia and the study"s lead author. "This is likely because these children are better able to capitalize on their peers" skills for learning language. These results also indicate that teachers can promote children"s language development by effectively managing children"s behavior, which creates an environment in which children feel comfortable to converse with and learn language from one another." Given the growing recognition that young children"s language abilities affect their readiness for school and later school success, this study offers ideas for designing and structuring preschool classrooms. The study was funded, in part, by the U.S. Department of Education. Summarized from Child Development, Vol. 80, Issue 3, Peer Effects on Children"s Language Achievement During Pre-Kindergarten by Mashburn, AJ (University of Virginia), Justice, LM (The Ohio State University), and Downer, JT, and Pianta, RC (University of Virginia). Copyright 2009 The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved. Sarah Hutcheon Society for Research in Child Development


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