In Brief

By David Bjerklie

THE TIES THAT BIND When it comes to baby boomers caring for their aging parents, the numbers fall along a multicultural divide. According to an AARP survey, white Americans are the least likely to care for their elders (19%), while Asians are the most likely to do so (42%). Blacks (28%) and Hispanics (34%) fall in the middle. Guilt feelings for not providing enough care neatly mirror the differences: Asians feel the most guilty; whites the least.

FUELING THE PURGE URGE? Fashion magazines seem to get blamed for reinforcing eating-disorder tendencies in teenage girls. Now a study by researchers at Brigham Young University suggests that hyper-thin supermodels are not solely to blame. Teens who took laxatives or diet pills, went on severe diets or forced themselves to throw up, researchers found, were also more likely to be frequent readers of health and fitness magazines. Go figure.

COMING-HOME WOES Kids in foster care should be reunited with their biological families when possible. That's been the prevailing wisdom. But a study spanning six years published in the journal Pediatrics sees reason for caution. Researchers found that kids reunited with their families had higher levels of risky behavior and substance use and were more likely to drop out of school or be arrested than kids who remained in foster care. A possible explanation: the problems that led to the child's initial removal were still unresolved.

--By David Bjerklie