Geophysical variables and behavior: LIX. The seasonal variation in suicide rates: three studies

The seasonal variation in suicide in the USA was not more pronounced in 1980 in northern regions but was more clear for married people than for those with other marital statuses. The seasonal variation in suicide was not associated with the gross domestic product of the region.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXVIII. Group health-care-seeking behavior and meteorological variables

Outpatient visits to a "subtropical" military medical clinic (group health-care-seeking behavior) were correlated to weather variables via stepwise linear regression. Despite several significant sets of correlations, quantitative (r, r2, multiple R, multiple R2 and x2) and qualitative (matrix) analyses did not support the existence of lag/causal relationships between weather and behavior. The largest amount of variance (r2) attributable to an individual weather variable was 3% for lower (minimum) daily mean wind speed per month. No regression accommodated more than 36% of variance. Thus, 64% of variance was due to unidentified variables. A winter "seasonal effect" (December and January) was tentatively identified. Group influenza immunizations and 3-day holidays preceded increased visits.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXII. The tectonogenic strain continuum of unusual events

Transient and very localized geophysical forces are hypothesized to be a major source of phenomena that have been traditionally labelled as haunts and poltergeists. They would be generated by increasing tectonic stresses and would display electromagnetic and gravitational characteristics. Materials would be influenced according to their physical properties. Dielectric materials would respond differently from conductors. Organic semiconductors, of which the human being is an important subcategory, would be affected as well. The conspicuous overlaps between (non-convulsive) complex partial epilepsy and many episodes of poltergeists and haunts are expected in light of the direct stimulation of the observer's brain by the transient, intense magnetic fields and the liability of temporal lobe structures. Implications and some general predictions for the distribution of these phenomena in time and space are discussed.     

Attitudes toward suicide among Chinese people in Hong Kong

Since suicide in Chinese people exhibits certain distinctive characteristics, it is important to develop indigenous measures to assess Chinese attitudes toward suicide that may be used to inform suicide reduction programs. Combining qualitative and quantitative methods, we developed a Hong Kong version of the Chinese Attitude toward Suicide Questionnaire (CASQ-HK) which assesses attitudes toward suicide, suicidal inclination under 12 hypothetical scenarios, and prior suicidal experience. A convenience sample of 1,226 people completed the self-report questionnaire. In keeping with Chinese tradition, respondents revealed both tolerant and condemning attitudes that varied with their sociodemographic characteristics. Generally, they were not strongly inclined to consider suicide in the presence of difficult scenarios. Female gender, older age, and the presence of suicidal ideation were associated with more contemplation of suicide.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXIX. Solar activity and admission of psychiatric patients.

Numbers of first admissions per month for a single psychiatric unit, from 1977 to 1987, were examined for 1829 psychiatric inpatients to assess whether this measure was correlated with 10 parameters of geophysical activity. Four statistically significant values were 0.197 with level of solar radioflux at 2800 MHZ in the corresponding month, -0.274 with sudden magnetic disturbances of the ionosphere, -0.216 with the index of geomagnetic activity, and -0.262 with the number of hours of positive ionization of the ionosphere in the corresponding month. Percentages of variance accounted for were very small.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXVIII. Distal and lunar variables and traffic accidents in Saskatchewan 1984-1989.

The daily total number of traffic accidents and traffic accident severity for the years 1984 to 1989 in Saskatchewan were analyzed to estimate relationships with day of the week, season of the year, and various lunar variables (lunar phase, distance of the moon from the earth, and moon-sun tidal index). A regression model with both a linear term and a trigonometric term was fitted to the data. No relationship between lunar cycles and total accidents or severity of accident was found. A larger number of total accidents was found during the winter months and weekends; however, more severe accidents tended to occur during the summer months. A slight linear trend was uncovered for total accidents over the time period under consideration.     

Cohort trends in perceived Internet influence on political efficacy in Hong Kong.

The study explored overall and cohort-specific trends in Internet political efficacy from an age-period-cohort approach with a cross-sequential design. Perceived Internet influence on political efficacy is found to increase with age. Significant difference between Internet users and nonusers is also found in some cohorts. Online news reading and online chats/discussions have a positive impact in some cohorts.     

Predictors of suicide ideation and depression in Hong Kong adolescents: perceptions of academic and family climates

The unique dimensions of perceptions of school and family contributing to depression and suicide ideation in Hong Kong adolescents were examined in two studies. In Study 1, among 327 Hong Kong Chinese female students ages 13-18, 47% reported some suicide ideation. Suicide ideation was significantly associated with depression, test anxiety, academic self-concept, and adolescents' perceived parental dissatisfaction with academic performance. The correlation between test anxiety and depression was especially high (r = .51). Study 2 examined how three different aspects of perceived family relationship were associated with depression and suicide ideation. Among 371 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents ages 14-20, 52.6% reported suicide ideation. Low levels of family cohesion and support and high levels of parent-adolescent conflict were positively related to depression and suicide ideation in both genders. Across both studies, depression mediated associations between academic- and family-related variables and suicide ideation. Findings underscore the importance of both academic and family climate in understanding depression and suicide ideation among Chinese adolescents.     

香港道教界隆重举办第十届香港道教节

<正>3月29日下午,由香港道教联合会主办的第十届香港道教节在香港伊利沙伯体育馆隆重开幕。香港特区行政长官曾荫权、中央政府驻港联络办主任彭清华、国家宗教局局长王作安、中国道教协会会长任法融应邀担任主礼嘉宾。香港民政事务局局长曾德成,香港道教联合会主席汤伟奇,香港道教联合会会长黎显华、周铭,香港其他宗教的代表,以及来自海内外的道教界人士和各届嘉宾共2000余人参加了开幕式。曾荫权特首、王作安局长、任法融会长、汤伟奇主席分别在开幕式上致辞。     

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXV. Seasonal changes in mood in opioid addicts on the Addiction Research Center Inventory

Seasonal changes in mood using the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) were tested in 243 male opioid addicts when they were free of drug and withdrawal effects. No significant changes were found on scales which measure euphoria (MBG), tension-anxiety (LSD), excitement (Ex), or dysphoric effects (SOW). A significant difference between seasons was found for lowered motivation (PCAG) in the summer and spring relative to winter, but these effects were not consistent with a winter seasonal affective disorder. Significant changes were more common for spring-fall and summer seasons relative to winter on items of the inventory.     

Risk factors associated with suicide attempts and other self-injury among Hong Kong adolescents

This study examined 1,361 Chinese adolescents who reported self-injurious behaviors. Groups A and B both acknowledged deliberate self-injury, but only Group A had made a suicide attempt. Group C reported accidental self-injury. Deliberate self-injurers (Groups A and B) were more frequently girls, older, and with more suicidal ideation. Group A had more psychopathology, environmental and suicide-related risk factors than group B and C. Group C had higher depressive symptoms than noninjured controls. The study clarifies differences among self-injurious behavior groups based on expressed deliberate self-injury and self-reported suicide attempt. These three groups appear to present a continuum of risk.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXIX. Impact of atmospheric conditions on occurrences of individual violence among Canadian penitentiary populations

This project studied the effects of weather variables and size of the population on minor and major violence rates within six prisons in the Kingston, Ontario, Canada area from January, 1980 through December, 1983. While weather variables have been studied in relation to mood changes within the general population, this study was the first to analyze the impact of weather variables on rates of violence within the prison setting using forward inclusion multiple regression. Analysis showed that population size consistently appeared positively correlated with assaults on other inmates among the male medium-security prisoners during the summer months. In the summer months, temperature tended to be positively related to some minor kinds of offenses, but in the winter months the relationship was negative. Humidity, rain, sunshine hours, snow, and snow on the ground were not consistently related to incidences of minor and major violence. Indices of geomagnetic disturbances had statistically significant inverse relationships with attempted suicide/self-inflicted injury rates among the male prisoners during the summer months. Over 12 months, wind was generally negatively correlated with incidences of major and minor violence among the male inmates. For 6-mo. periods, wind was generally positively correlated with violence rates during the winter months and negatively correlated during the summer months among the male inmates. The findings relating weather variables to violence rates in the women's prison were consistently in opposition to those found for male prisoners during the 4-yr. period.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXIII. Relations between UFO reports within the Uinta Basin and local seismicity

A strong temporal correlation was found between the numbers of reports of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and nearby seismic activity within the Uinta Basin for the year 1967. The numbers of UFO reports per month during this classic UFO flap were correlated 0.80 with the sum of the earthquake magnitudes per month for events within 150 km of the report area. Numbers of UFO reports were not correlated significantly with earthquake activity at distances greater than 150 km but less than 250 km away. The strongest correlation occurred between UFO reports and nearby seismic activity within the same month but not for previous or consequent months. Close scrutiny of daily shifts in epicenters and reports of UFOs indicate that they occurred when the locus of successive epicenters shifted across the area. These analyses were interpreted as support for the existence of strain fields whose movements generate natural phenomena that are reported as UFOs.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXI. Geomagnetic variation as possible enhancement stimuli for UFO reports preceding earthtremors

The contribution of geomagnetic variation to the occurrence of UFORs (reports of UFOs) within the New Madrid States during the 6-mo. increments before increases in the numbers of IV-V or less intensity earthquakes within the central USA was determined. Although statistically significant zero-order correlations existed between measures of earthquakes, UFORs and geomagnetic variability, the association between the latter two deteriorated markedly when their shared variance with earthquakes was held constant. These outcomes are compatible with the hypothesis that geomagnetic variability (or phenomena associated with it) may enhance UFORs but only if tectonic stress and strain are increasing within the region.     

Antecedents of career exploration among Hong Kong Chinese university students: Testing contextual and developmental variables

In this study we investigate the antecedents of career exploration. We apply the perspectives of Flum and Blustein [Flum, H., & Blustein, D. L. (2000). Reinvigorating the study of vocational exploration: A framework for research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 380-404] for the first time in Hong Kong, and we also test culture-specific factors in exploration. A quantitative research study was conducted with Chinese students from a university in Hong Kong over a period of up to six months to examine relationships between career exploration and its antecedent variables. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 271 students and a longitudinal sample of 101 students who participated in either a student internship or a series of career seminars. The results demonstrated that relational support and prior career exploration were related consistently to career exploration as hypothesized, but the claim that achievement motivation is an antecedent of exploration received only limited support. The framework of Flum and Blustein [Flum, H., & Blustein, D. L. (2000). Reinvigorating the study of vocational exploration: A framework for research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 380-404] was found very relevant in our conceptualization and analysis of career exploration in the Hong Kong context. Implications of this study are discussed and suggestions are made to further extend career exploration research in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: LIII. Epidemiological considerations for incidence of cancer and depression in areas of frequent UFO reports

Luminous phenomena and anomalous physical forces have been hypothesized to be generated by focal tectonic strain fields that precede earthquakes. If these geophysical processes exist, then their spatial and temporal density should be greatest during periods of protracted, localized UFO reports; they might be used as dosimetric indicators. Contemporary epidemiological data concerning the health risks of power frequency electromagnetic fields and radon gas levels (expected correlates of certain tectonic strain fields), suggest that increased incidence (odds ratios greater 1:3) of brain tumors and leukemia should be evident within "flap" areas. In addition the frequency of variants of temporal lobe lability, psychological depression and posttraumatic stress should be significantly elevated. UFO field investigators, because they have repeated, intermittent close proximity to these fields, are considered to be a particularly high risk population for these disorders.     

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXXIII. Onsets of historical and contemporary poltergeist episodes occurred with sudden increases in geomagnetic activity

Several researchers have reported that poltergeist episodes frequently begin on the day (+/- 1 day) of a sudden and intense increase in global geomagnetic activity. To test this visual observation, a near-complete account of these episodes for which the inception dates were recorded and verified was examined. Statistical analyses clearly indicated that global geomagnetic activity (aa index) on the day or day after the onset of these episodes was significantly higher than the geomagnetic activity on the days before or afterwards. The same temporal pattern was noted for historical cases and for those that have occurred more recently. The pattern was similar for episodes that occurred in North America and in Europe. The results were statistically significant and suggest that these unusual episodes may be some form of natural phenomena that are associated with geophysical factors.