Ethnic Differences in Health Behaviors Among College Students

Ethnic minority groups in the U.S. show significant health disparities, likely arising in part from psychosocial influences on health behaviors. This study explores how ethnicity and acculturation relate to health behaviors among 521 college students. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing eating habits (eating vegetables, fruits, and salads vs. French fries and hamburgers), preventative health behaviors (physical exams, dental visits, exercise), and health-harming behaviors (smoking, drinking), as well as a modified acculturation scale ( Marin et al., 1987 ). Results showed that ethnicity and acculturation likely have both positive and negative effects on health behaviors. Despite equality of education, conceptually meaningful group differences in health behaviors were revealed, pointing toward future research on modifying the psychosocial aspects of ethnic health disparities.     

Social Norms and Engagement in Protective Health Behaviors Among Rural Health Providers

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects for individuals and healthcare systems in the United States. Increasing and sustaining...     

Self-Presentation Concerns and Health Behaviors Among Cosmetic Surgery Patients

The present investigation examined the relationship between self-presentational motives and physical activity in a population of cosmetic surgery participants. Participants were 50 female and 5 male cosmetic surgery patients (CSPs; M age = 38.5 years) who completed a battery of self-report measures following either vein or acne treatment. Analyses revealed significant group differences on self-presentational concern and public self-consciousness between: (a) those who elected the treatment for appearance motives and those who elected treatment for health-based motives, and (b) the more frequent (3 or more times per week) and less frequent (2 or less times per week) exercisers. Greater self-presentational concerns and greater public self-consciousness were associated with having appearance-related motives for treatment and with being a less frequent exerciser.     

Religion,Health, and Life Satisfaction Among Somali and Gambian Women in Norway

Journal of Religion and Health - This article describes and analyses the religious justifications for the life satisfaction reported by two groups of Muslim women. Approximately, twenty...     

Implementation Intentions Increase Parent-Teacher Communication Among Latinos

This research tested an implementation intentions intervention to increase parent-teacher communication among Latino parents of young children. Parents (n=57) were randomly assigned to form implementation intentions or simply goal intentions to communicate with their child's teacher. They completed measures of communication and goal intentions immediately prior to the manipulation, and after the manipulation for 6 consecutive weeks. Implementation intentions increased parent-teacher communication among parents with higher initial (pre-manipulation) goal intentions, but not among those with lower initial goal intentions. The findings support existing work on the conditions for implementation intentions to work, and address an important aspect of Latino children's educational success.     

Religion and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Married Men: Initial Results from a Study in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa

Although some scholars have identified religion as a possible protective factor in the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence concerning the relationship between religion and AIDS behavior there remains sparse. Using a sample of married men from rural Malawi, we examine whether AIDS risk behavior and perceived risk are associated with religious affiliation or with religious involvement. Our analyses of data from the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (2001) reveal substantial variation according to religious affiliation and religious involvement. Men belonging to Pentecostal churches consistently report lower levels of both HIV risk behavior and perceived risk. Regular attendance at religious services is associated both with reduced odds of reporting extramarital partners and with lower levels of perceived risk of infection.     

Health Risk Behaviors and Their Relationships to Health Care Utilization Among Veterans Receiving Primary Medical Care

This paper reports the findings of a behavioral health risk screening form and examines the interrelationships among behavioral risk factors and health care utilization. Participants were 1,000 veterans who completed a brief self-report questionnaire assessing affective distress and behavioral health risk factors while they waited to see their primary care provider. Participants reported a mean level of affective distress in the mild range on a scale of 0 to 20 (M = 6.4, SD = 4.95), and 22.4% reported moderate or high levels of affective distress. Fifty percent of the sample denied alcohol use; 5% of the men and none of the women reported a pattern of use that met established criteria for at-risk drinking. Twenty-six percent of the sample reported current tobacco use, 45% acknowledged concerns about diet and/or weight, and 54% reported concern about pain. These factors were largely significantly intercorrelated and several were related to indices of health care utilization. It was concluded that veterans receiving health care in primary care settings report significant levels of affective distress and other health risk behaviors and that the presence of these factors is associated with increased use of the health care system. These data encourage increased efforts to identify these factors and to develop behavior change interventions.     

Religion and Health Among Older Mexican Americans: Exploring the Influence of Making Mandas

A manda is a religious quid pro quo whereby an older Mexican American promises to perform a religious act if the Virgin or one of the saints grants a request. The purpose of this study is to see whether making mandas is associated with health among older Mexican Americans. Findings from the study model suggest that making mandas is associated with a greater sense of personal control, and more personal control is associated, in turn, with better health.     

Religion and Public Health

The paper begins by acknowledging several ways in which religious beliefs and behavior have had a negative impact on people's physical and mental health; fanatical violence, mortifying asceticism, and oppressive traditionalism (e.g., sexism) are mentioned. Three areas of positive influence are explored: 1) the role of religious practices in personal health; 2) the impact of social ministries on community health, and 3) the complementarity of religious ideas of salvation with medical conceptions of health in contemporary conceptions of human well-being. That religion mediates between the social and individual dimensions of well-being is a unifying theme of the paper.Philosopher of religion who taught for many years at     

Personality and Religion Among Music Students

A sample of 422 students attending courses in eleven departments or colleges of music completed the short form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and measures of prayer and church attendance. In comparison with the population norms, both male and female music students recorded significantly higher scores on the extraversion scale and significantly lower scores on the psychoticism scale. The data confirm that psychoticism is the dimension of personality fundamental to individual differences in religiosity.     

Social Problem-Solving Abilities and Health Behaviors Among Persons with Recent-Onset Spinal Cord Injury

Although many persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are at risk for preventable complications, very little research has examined the health behaviors of these individuals. In this study, we examined self-reported health behaviors of persons with recent-onset SCI. We also studied the association between health behaviors and social problem-solving abilities. The results indicated that positive problem-solving characteristics were associated with more adaptive wellness and accident prevention behaviors. A negative orientation toward problem solving and avoidant and impulsive/careless styles was associated with increased traffic and substance risk taking. Implications are discussed in terms of health education, research, and prevention programs.     

Religion,Health, and the Psychology of Religion: How the Research on Religion and Health Helps Us Understand Religion

An increasing replication of studies find a correlation between religious belief and practice and mental and physical health and longevity. This paper discusses some of the implications of this research for the ways in which religion might understood psychologically. Most interpretations of this data focus on the presence of one or more mediating variables. This paper argues that the presence of these mediating factors helps us understand more precisely some of the ways in which religion actually does impact on human life and in what the psychological uniqueness of religion actually consists.     

Religion and Recovery Among Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Journal of Religion and Health - Faith-based organizations provide essential recovery services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Research suggests that religion and spirituality aid...     

Delivered from the Temptation of Smoking: An Examination of Religion and Health Behaviors of New US Immigrants

Journal of Religion and Health - This study aims to contribute to the literature on smoking, religion, and health, by analyzing the associations between smoking and health of a sample of US...