Jo Turner, Ph.D., CFP, Family and Consumer Economics

Summary

The United States and even the world are concerned about retirement resources for future generations.  The effort to revamp the Social Security program is one example of this concern.  Other examples include employers who have spent the retiree’s retirement to pad their on pockets or trying to stay out of bankruptcy.

The literature shows that employers who match employee contributions have more employees participating in the retirement savings program than employees participating in programs where employers who don’t provide for matching contributions.  The authors of this research sought to develop a model of factors that influenced savings behavior and to find out (1) what factors were related to an individual having a retirement savings program and (2) the relationship between having a retirement savings program and confidence about their retirement.

Findings

Model:

	Environmental Influences Household Size (-)
Individual Differences Higher than college degree (+) Income over $50,000 (+)	HAVING A RETIREMENT SAVINGS PROGRAM	Psychological Processes Employer Education (+) Financial Behaviors and Attitudes (+) Pessimistic Retirement Attitude (-)
	Outcome Retirement Confidence

42.7% of the sample had in the previous 12 months received employer provided financial education. Employees who had financial education at the work site were more likely than those who had not received this information to have a retirement savings plan.  In fact, the odds of have a retirement savings plan increased three fold with employer provided education. . The individual’s financial confidence correlated to education at the worksite.

As the size of the household increased, the less likely the parents were to have a retirement savings plan.

Respondents with $50,000 or more annual income were more likely to have a retirement savings plan.

Respondents with higher education were more likely to have a retirement savings plan.

When accounting for income and family size, there was no difference between ethnic groups.

Few employers provided financial education at the work place, but those who did found that the payoffs were greater than the costs.

Implications for Extension Programming

Early in 2006, a multistate project will be launched to teach young employees 18-24 the importance of saving for the future and retirement.  This research can be used to introduce employers to the project and encourage them to participate in the project by cosponsoring with the Florida Cooperative Extension Service a series of lessons at the worksite.  The employer can provide space, refreshments, and even time for the employee to receive the instructions.  The employer can display posters and even put a brochure in the pay envelope of the employee.

¹ A study by So-Hyun Joo and John E. Grable in the Journal of the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Volume 16 (1), 2005.

financial, planning, retirement, savings

Suzanna D. Smith, Ph.D., Human Development

Sobolewski, J. M. & King, V. (2005). The importance of the coparental relationship for nonresident fathers’ ties to children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 1196-1212.

About half of all U.S. children will live apart from their fathers some time during their childhood because their parents have divorced or separated. While some nonresidential fathers do not maintain contact with their child, others are able to continue to be a part of the child’s life. A very important factor in whether a father remains involved seems to be how the mother and father work out their co-parenting relationship after they split up. Fathers may be involved in decisions about the child, have frequent contact, and be involved in warm and supportive relationships with their children—or they may be fairly distant or not involved at all.

A recent study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family (Soblolewski & King, 2005) looked at co-parenting relationships between mothers and fathers living apart from their biological children. Using data collected from a national sample of children and custodial mothers, the researchers found that cooperative co-parenting is fairly uncommon: 66% of mothers say that the father has no influence over childrearing and 58% say that they get no help from the father in childrearing.

These results suggest, “many parents may find it difficult or even impossible to engage in cooperative co-parenting after separation” (p. 1210). However, when they can cooperate, fathers are able to have more frequent contact with their children and a more trusting and supportive relationship. In fact, contact with children is the key to encouraging nonresidential father involvement—fathers who have contact that is more frequent are more involved. This supports other research that finds that father involvement has many positive outcomes for children.

coparenting, divorce, parenting

Submitted by: Kate Fogarty, Ph.D., Youth Development

Where do teens get their information about sex?

In a small but crowded room of 4-H seniors (aged 14-18) from across Florida, an uncomfortable question was asked: “How many of you discuss sex ‘openly’ with your parents?” Two of thirty youth in the room raised their hands; one was male and the other female. Once the workshop was over, these two who were among the last to leave, expressed surprise about standing out from the rest of the group.

Granted the 6.7% statistic that I witnessed that day does not come from a “representative sample.” Adolescents’ concerns with how they look in front of their peers and the many meanings teens have for ‘open’ communication about sex with parents (Kirkman, Rosenthal, & Feldman, 2005), contributed to the low show of hands. In actuality, half (50%) of American teens have conversations with their parents about contraception, sexual behavior, and negative effects of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases/infections (Jaccard, Dodge, & Dittus, 2002).

The other half gives us cause for concern. If they are not talking with their parents, then where do these teens get their information about sex? Sex education should not be a burden placed solely on schools, other community resources, and the media (Ward & Friedman, 2006). In school, for example, middle schoolers (6th to 8th graders) still wanted to learn more factual information – as well as practical advice on how to apply the information they’ve learned – in their sex education classes (Byers, Sears, Voyer, Thurlow, Cohen, & Weaver, 2003). In addition, the majority of parents (95% in a study of 4,000 parents of school-aged youth) agree that sex education is a joint responsibility of school and the home (Weaver, Byers, Sears, Cohen, & Randall, 2002). Last, there are numerous advantages to parents and teens discussing sex in the home and family setting, including (Berk, 2006):

• Parents can communicate their own values on sexuality.
• Parents’ better understand their teens’ background and life circumstances.
• Parents can tailor the information shared based on their understanding of their teenager’s personality, knowledge level, and developmental level.

Barriers to Parent/Adult-Teen Communication About Sex

Possible reasons that teens and parents don’t discuss sex include embarrassment (Rosenthal & Feldman, 2002), or parents’ assuming teens know more than they do (the teens themselves and/or parents!) (Jaccard, Dittus, & Gordon, 2000). Although teens tend to feel confident in what they know about sex, when tested, their actual knowledge falls short (Radecki & Jaccard, 1995). Adolescents seek to be treated as adults but may feel ‘talked down to’ when talking with parents or other adults about sex. Teens’ complaints about discussing sex with parents or adults include viewing them as close-minded, uncompassionate, or lacking understanding of the complexities in their adolescent lives (Berk, 2006).

Mothers are the primary initiators of discussions on sex with their teens. Mothers tended to be in charge of these conversations – especially when they are communicating with their sons. The most interactive conversations, however, take place between mothers and daughters (Raffaeli, Bogenschneider, & Flood, 1998). An adolescent is likely to ‘disconnect’ from a discussion when a parent or adult dominates the conversation. Teens who feel overpowered tend to withdraw from discussions with their parents about sex, which, in turn, limits the amount of parent-teen conversations about sex and teens’ knowledge of sexual health issues (Lefkowitz, Sigman, & Au, 2000).

The Solution

Based on the shortcomings of teens’ sexual health education by adults, it is important to encourage positive communication between teens and adults in this area. Effective sexual health parent education programs promote the following communication styles between parents and teens (Lefkowitz et al., 2000):

• Having two-way conversations.
• Use of open-ended questions.
• Thorough discussions of dating and sexuality.
• Empathy and reduced judgment.

In return, teens of parents trained in communication skills about sexual health are likely to feel (Lefkowitz et al., 2000):

• More comfortable discussing sensitive sexual matters.
• More likely to seek out birth control.

In addition, parent-school partnerships in sexual health education (for example assigning ‘homework’ activities for youth to discuss sexuality issues with parents) are an effective means of preventing sexual risk behaviors and opening the lines of communication (Blake, Simkin, Ledsky, Perkins & Calabrese, 2001).

School-based sex education involving communication exercises with parents contributed to the following:

• Reducing early teens’ intentions to have sex before completing high school.
• Increasing teens’ self-efficacy in refusing high-risk sexual behaviors.
• Decreasing discomfort in parent-child communication about sex.

Advice for Parents and Sexual Health Educators

Ultimately, educating teens about sexuality needs to be a balance between what teens want to learn about and what we as adults feel they need to know to develop into healthy adults.

Ways in which adults and parents can effectively communicate with adolescents about sex include (Berk, 2006; Ponton, 2000):

• Encouraging open communication (e.g., speaking directly to teen).
• Using accurate yet simple names for body parts, sexual behaviors, and feelings.
• Keeping in mind that sexuality is a complex topic and teens are struggling to understand their sexual identities.
• Effective use of conversational skills (Open-ended questions, being nonjudgmental, respectfully disagreeing, use of suggestion rather than directives).
• Reflective listening and speaking (use of I messages, active listening, turn taking).
• Keeping the dialogue open and ongoing – not restricted to a single “sex talk.”
• Gently communicating morals and values and using examples.
• Encouraging teens to talk with adults they trust about sexuality.
• Watching for danger signs such as sexual and other risk behaviors (unprotected sex, potentially harmful sexual relationships, depression, anxiety, self-mutilation behaviors)
• Keeping in mind that sexuality is a confusing topic and teens are struggling to understand their sexual identities. Therefore, try to avoid stereotyping by gender, (For example; using double standards such as having stricter rules for females than males because ‘girls can get pregnant’) or by sexual orientation, which can be potentially damaging to teens’ developing identities.

In conclusion, it is important to keep in mind the long-term goal or impact of effective communication about sexuality with today’s youth: ensuring positive youth development by promoting their physical, social, and emotional health.

References:

Berk, L.E. (2006). Child Development (2nd Edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Blake, S.M., Simkin, L., Ledsky, R., Perkins, C., & Calabrese, J.M. (2001). Effects of a parent-child communications intervention on young adolescents’ risk for early onset of sexual intercourse. Family Planning Perspectives, 33, 52-61.x

Byers, E.S., Sears, H.A., Voyer, S.D., Thurlow, J.L., Cohen, J.N., & Weaver, A.D. (2003). An adolescent perspective on sexual health education at school and at home: II. Middle school students. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 12, 19-34.

Jaccard, J., Dodge, T., & Dittus, P. (2002). Parent-adolescent communication about sex and birth control: A conceptual framework. In S.S. Feldman & D.A. Rosenthal (Eds.), Talking Sexuality: Parent-adolescent communication (pp. 9-41). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Jaccard, J., Dittus, P., & Gordon, V.V. (2000). Parent-adolescent congruency in reports of adolescent sexual behavior and in communications about sexual behavior. Child Development, 69, 247-261.

Kirkman, M., Rosenthal, D., & Feldman, S.S. (2005). Being open with your mouth shut: The meaning of ‘openness’ in family communication about sexuality. Sex Education, 5, 49-66.

Lefkowitz, E.S., Sigman, M., & Au, T.K. (2000). Helping mothers discuss sexuality and AIDS with adolescents. Child Development, 71, 1383-1394.

Ponton, L.E. (2000). Teenagers and sexuality at camp: Understanding teen sexuality and tips for talking with them. Camping Magazine, September/October, 20-24.

Radecki, C.M., & Jaccard, J. (1995). Perceptions of knowledge, actual knowledge, and information search behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 107-138.

Raffaeli, M., Bogenschneider, K., & Flood, M.F. (1998). Parent-teen communication about sexual topics. Journal of Family Issues, 19, 315-333.

Ward, L.M., & Friedman, K. (2006). Using TV as a guide: Associations between television viewing and adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16, 105-131.

Weaver, A.D., Byers, E.S., Sears, H.A., Cohen, J.N., & Randall, H.E.S. (2002). Sexual health education at school and at home: Attitudes and experiences of New Brunswick parents. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 11, 19-30.

sex, teens, adolescent, parenting, sex education

Elizabeth Bolton, Ph.D. Community Development

Alexander, J. (Fall 1999). The Impact of Devolution on Nonprofits: A multiphase Study of Social Service Organizations. Nonprofit management and leadership. Vol. 10, no. 1. p. 57 – 70.

Devolution affects every organization that serves the public in the state of Florida. The author defined the term in this study to mean the process of changing organizations’ funding resources from government focused to block grants and state regulated funding. Also known as, “the new federalism,” the intent of devolution is to shift funding and oversight responsibility from the federal government and to individual states. The reality that gives wings to devolution is that programs financed by the federal government, particularly welfare programs, have been wasteful and ineffective. According to the author, devolution is part of a larger movement aimed at both government and nonprofit organizations. The assumption underlying this movement is that private sector practices and technologies are better and more effective than those in the public sector are.

The article points out that the goals of devolution were to make nonprofits central in providing services and to make government agencies a fallback. As the funding from government fluctuates the number and strength of nonprofits also fluctuates. This is evident as many organizations choose not to serve low-income groups, but rather the needs of persons they choose to serve. There is a correlation between the audience served and the presence of government funding.

Organizations that serve children and families in Cayahoga County, Ohio completed a survey to determine how devolution was affecting them. 124 surveys were completed and focus group results were included to determine possible ways for the organizations to survive. The results of the study showed that larger organizations already operating like a business entity were not likely to find themselves affected by changes due to devolution; while smaller organizations found it hard to adapt to these practices induced by devolution. The small organizations found it necessary to spend more of their limited resources on required management tasks and procedures and reduce the amount available to programs and client services. As the need to generate measurable outcomes grew, smaller organizations had to deal with changing their mission to survive in a new milieu of business operations rather than altruistic practice. One example showed that small organizations had to hire highly qualified and expensive personnel in order to be able to receive and maintain certain licenses.

Implications for Extension Programming

The implications of this article for Cooperative Extension suggest that the business model is the order of the day if public organizations are to survive and flourish.

The boundaries between for profit and nonprofit will continue to blur as competition becomes more intense and government funding decreases. Organizational leaders will need to be effective in lobbying and political involvement to ensure they are aware of events that might influence their funding or programs. The funding of welfare programs, how these changes affect the client groups, and the sponsoring organizations, are an example of how devolution works and the results of it. The question is: do we, in Cooperative Extension, ignore it and just hope for the best, or do we accept that it is happening and adapt our strategies to the changing realities of “new public management” which assumes that the efficiency of markets and the value of competition are the best way to serve many public needs

nonprofit, devolution, organizations

Submitted by: Rosemary V. Barnett, Ph.D., Youth Development and Public Policy, and Stephanie Bates, B.A., B.S.

Suicide continues to be among the leading causes of death in the United States among 10-19 year olds. It is currently ranked third, with the greatest increases in suicide rates in the previous decade among black and other minority youth. It is important to stay aware and informed about this serious topic. Should we notice serious depressive and/or suicide symptoms among youth, it is critical that they be referred for appropriate treatment immediately.

This review of an article by Iris Wagman Borowsky, MD, Ph.D., Marjorie Ireland, Ph.D. and Michael D. Resnick, Ph.D. (2000) will focus on some current research related to what we know may place a youth at risk for attempting suicide and what has been identified in the research related to protective factors for these youth. This information will help us consider how these factors may relate to youth we know or are currently working with in our programs.

The study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1995 & 1996) which examined interviews with 13,110 students in grades 7-12. The results indicated that certain risk and protective factors for suicide attempts were identified for all adolescents in the study and some were specific to race and gender, specifically focusing on Black, Hispanic and White groups of adolescents.

Risk Factors

For all adolescents, several factors predicted attempting suicide, including a previous suicide attempt, violence victimization, violence perpetration, alcohol use, marijuana use, and school problems.

For girls of all racial/ethnic groups in the study, these factors predicted attempting suicide: somatic symptoms, having a friend attempt or complete suicide, other illicit drug use, and a history of mental health treatment.

For boys of all racial/ethnic groups in the study, predictive factors were: weapon carrying at school and same sex romantic attraction.

For at least 1 of the 6 racial/ethnic groups in the study, risk factors included suicidal behavior of a family member, easy household access to guns, weight dissatisfaction, skipping school, poor perceived general health, being held back a grade in school, and skipping a grade in school.

Protective Factors

Several factors were found to significantly reduce the odds of suicideattempts among youth in the study.

For all adolescents, perceived parent and family connectedness served as a protective factor.

For girls, emotional well-being was protective for all racial/ethnic groups in the study.

For boys, an additional protective factor was a high grade point average.

For some of the boys but not for the girls, high parental expectations for school achievement, more people living in the household and religiosity were protective.

For some of the girls but not for the boys, counseling services at school and parental presence at key times during the day were protective.

When all of the risk factors were analyzed in various combinations with protective factors, significant findings related to protective factors resulted:

The risk for attempting suicide, for all adolescents in the study showed a reduction of 70% to 85% when three protective factors (emotional well-being, parent-family connectedness, grade point average) were present.

These results support the importance of family connectedness when it comes to preventing suicide attempts, regardless of gender or racial/ethnic group.

Emotional well-being also significantly protects youth against suicideattempts; whereas the opposite is true for youth characterized by psychopathology, particularly depression.

Last, it is important to recognize the importance of school factors, specifically academic achievement as measured by grade point average in this study, which supports earlier findings that perceived connectedness to school are also protective by providing youth a sense of belonging, happiness and safety at school (Resnick et al, 1999). Of particular impact is the perception of students that they are close to people at school and teachers care about
them.

As the end of the school year approaches, it is particularly important to keep a watchful eye on youth under added stress, such as final exams, deadlines, and standardized tests. By being aware of suicide predictors as found in this study, we can try to keep youth safe by minimizing risks and enhancing protective factors. Those youth at risk for suicidal behavior or depression can especially benefit from caring adults who address the external demands and stress. This provides youth with these important factors to offset their risk. Clearly, while faced with a serious problem, parents and practitioners are far from powerless in assisting their adolescents.

References:

Borowsky, I.W., Ireland, M. & Resnick, M. (2000). Adolescent suicide attempts: Risks and protectors.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System. http://www.childstats.gov.

Resnick, A.D., Harris, L.J., Blum, R.W. (1993) The impact of caring and connectedness on adolescent health and well-being. Journal of Pediatric Child Health. 29(supplement): S3-S9.

suicide, teens, adolescents, risk factors, prevention

Submitted by:Dr. Jo Turner, CFP, Professor, Family and Consumer Economics

A study by Jean M. Lown and Lance Palmer in the Journal of the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Education. Volume 15 (2), 2004.

Summary

The question of whether to buy long-term care insurance (LTCI) is similar to that of whether or not to pay off your home mortgage early. Both questions require a thorough analysis of financial goals, risk management strategies, long-term financial projections and longevity analysis. In fewer than 20 years, LTCI policies have grown from 200,000 to four million. The authors of this research believe that many people have been sold insurance rather than selecting to buy it. They think that there are alternatives to LTCI that should be explored.

First, not everyone can afford the premiums. For example in one study (Health and Retirement) of 700 respondents, only 23% had kept their LTCI policy. However, an industry report in 2004 stated that 7 out of 10 LTCI policies were still in force. McNamara and Lee (2003) reported a 75% lapse rate. Many policyholders let their policies lapse because they can’t afford the premiums after they retire and are on fixed incomes. The price of LTCI policies is based on the assumption that many purchasers will drop out before incurring any claims. There are concerns about the industry. There is a lot of uncertainty about the future demand on the insuring companies. The National Association of Insurance Commission data reveal that LTCI policies paid out only 35% of premiums in 2001. Consumers Union, after reviewing 47 policies in 2003,
considered, that for most people, long-term care insurance was too risky and too expensive.

Criteria for purchasing Long Term Care Insurance:

• Age 55 or older with a chronic medical condition


• Family history that indicates need for nursing home


• Assets of $200,000 to $1.5 million


• The desire to protect assets


• Capacity to absorb potentially high premium increases


• No family member who is willing to care for you.
  

Low income, low asset individuals simply cannot afford LTCI insurance and must rely on family, friends or Medicaid to pay for care. High income, high asset consumers have sufficient resources to self insure for costs of care. The people in the middle who fear a long stay in nursing home, depletion of their assets and impoverishing a spouse need guidance that has not been available to make this decision. Thus, this research presents an alternative decision making framework for funding long-term care based on the risk management principle of self-insurance. (Self-insure by investing the annual premium.)

Six alternatives to purchasing LTCI:

1. Risk avoidance (This option is not viable due to the aging process.)


2. Loss prevention and loss reduction. These alternatives deal with life
   style choices, i.e. diet, exercise, activities.


3. Risk transfer – pre arrange with family and make an agreement for care (family
   and friends are sole caregivers of 70% of the elderly) or


4. Medicaid for low-income individuals.


5. Risk assumption and


6. Self-insurance. May be effective tools but you must have resources to cover
   potential costs.

A plan to address potential needs should include multi strategies. If one self-insures, he/she needs to evaluate family history of longevity and chronic illnesses. Women live longer than their spouse whom they care for. Long-term care is a woman’s issue. The average age at which people enter a nursing home is 83. The average stay is 2.3 years at $50,000 per year, which is $115,000. One third of the nursing home stays is 90 days or less. However, nine percent of residents stay five or more years.

Advantages of self-insurance approach:

• Greater flexibility in use of financial resources


• No worries about having policy lapse from failure to pay premium


• No problems with policy restrictions, the money can be used to pay relatives who
  care for you or for other needs.


• No concern about insurance company insolvency


• Heirs can inherit the remainder of self-insurance fund not needed for care
  

Implications for Extension Programming

Given the critical nature of lengthening life span and the increasing need for
long term care, conducting programs that will help clients determine how much
long term care may cost and resources available to fund long term care would
help focus the need on financial planning for the last stage of the life cycle.
A speaker from the Florida Department of Financial Services and their booklet
“Long-Term Care & Other Options for Seniors,” would be appropriate.

Web sites that will be helpful:

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/retirement

http://www.financinglongtermcare.umn.edu

http://www.elderweb.com/default.php?PageID=2770

retirement, money, insurance, long-term care, LTCI, financial planning