Personality characteristics associated with aerobic exercise in adult females

Using an index of aerobic conditioning 27 adult female joggers and 25 nonexercisers were identified. During individual interviews with each subject basic demographic data were obtained and blood pressure, vital capacity, resting pulse rate, and body fat were meaSured. All subjects completed Form A of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF). Statistically significant differences occurred on two primary factors, and one secondary dimension of the 16PF. The probability of three marginally significant differences out of 24 comparisons is well within the range of expected chance fluctuation. Thus, the study provided no evidence that personality characteristics are predisposing factors in the adoption of an aerobic jogging program by young adult females. The only statistically significant training effect was lower pulse rate; blood pressure, vital Capacity, and body fat were similar for the two groups. Finally, the results of this study of females were compared to those of a previous investigation of male joggers.     

Personality characteristics associated with aerobic exercise in adult males

Using an index of aerobic conditioning 23 adult male exercisers and 23 nonexercisers were identified. During individual interviews with each subject basic demographic data were obtained and blood pressure, resting pulse rate, and body fat were measured. All subjects completed Form A of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF). Statistically significant differences occurred on six primary factors and four Secondary dimensions of the 16PF. In comparison to the inactive subjects the exercisers, all of whom were joggers or runners, were more reserved, expedient, suspicious, forthright, liberal, and self-sufficient on the primary traits, and were more alert and independent, less discreet, and evidenced lower super-ego strength on the broader secondary patterns. The statistically significant training effects were lower pulse rate and less body fat, but did not include blood pressure.     

The influence of gender, hypertension risk, and aerobic fitness on cardiovascular responses to laboratory-induced stress

The study sought to evaluate the influence of gender, hypertension risk, and aerobic fitness on cardiovascular responses to laboratory-induced stress. Sixty nonsymptomatic subjects (30 males, 30 females) participated in the experiment. Half of the subjects had at least one biological parent with hypertension, while half had no parental history of hypertension and served as comparison subjects. Subjects completed a laboratory procedure measuring cardiovascular responses (i.e., pulse rate and blood pressure) while performing stressful laboratory tasks (i.e., the Stroop Color Naming Test and a sham IQ test). Aerobic fitness (i.e., VO_2max using the Bruce protocol) was also determined using a submaximal treadmill test in the laboratory. Results suggest that males with a family history of hypertension were more stress responsive based on systolic blood pressure, while females were more stress-responsive according to pulse rate activity. Fitness levels were significantly associated with diastolic blood pressure throughout the stress and recovery periods but were unrelated to pulse rate and systolic blood pressure.     

The Contribution of Perceived Fitness to Physiological and Self-Reported Responses to Laboratory Stress

This study sought to evaluate the contribution of perceived physical fitness beyond the contributions of gender, body mass index (BMI), defensiveness, and estimated aerobic fitness on both physiological and self-reported stress responsivity to laboratory-induced stress. Ninety healthy individuals (45 males, 45 females) participated in the experiment. Participants completed a laboratory procedure measuring cardiovascular responses (i.e. pulse rate and blood pressure) and self-reported rating of anxiety (i.e. the anxiety scale from the Multiple Affective Checklist–Revised—MAACL–R) while performing stressful laboratory tasks (i.e. the Stroop Color Naming Test and Serial 7's). Estimated aerobic fitness (i.e. VO₂max using the Bruce protocol) as well as perceived fitness (using a 10-point Likert scale) were also determined. Multiple regression and effect size results revealed that perceived fitness significantly contributed to the variance associated with both physiological and self-reported responses to laboratory stress. Specifically, perceived fitness significantly added to the variance beyond that attributed to gender, BMI, defensiveness, and estimated aerobic physical fitness while assessing pulse rate and MAACL–R anxiety scores. Overall results support the view that perception of fitness may be an important factor above and beyond aerobic fitness in its association with physiological and self-reported responses to stress.     

Evaluating the Safety and Effectiveness of the Weighted Blanket With Adults During an Inpatient Mental Health Hospitalization

The weighted blanket (WB) is a modality used to self-comfort, rest, sleep, and decrease anxiety. This exploratory, pilot study investigates the safety and effectiveness of the standardized use of the 30-pound WB with 30 adults during an acute inpatient mental health hospitalization. Safety measures include blood pressure, pulse rate, and pulse oximetry monitoring, with and without the 30-pound WB. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory-10 (STAI-10), a self-rating 0–10 anxiety scale, and electrodermal activity (EDA) readings measure effectiveness for anxiety reduction. No statistical differences in vital signs indicate WB safety. The STAI-10 and self-ratings indicate 60% had a significant reduction in anxiety using the WB. EDA readings were inconclusive.     

Further evidence on 16 PF distortion scales

Norms were obtained on a nationally representative sample of 4830 adult men and women for two empirically developed faking indices for Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) by Winder, Karson, and O'Dell (1975). These data provided convincing evidence that the cutoff suggested in the original work for the faking good scale was far too liberal and would routinely classify more than half of all 16 PF protocols as invalid. The faking bad cutoff appeared to be approximately correct. The correlations of the faking scales with the 16 PF primary factors were highly congruent with those reported in the development study and provided additional validity evidence for the two indices. Both indices were found to be sufficiently reliable to permit adjustments to be made in the primary trait scales when distortion is above average.     

Gender Differences in Fat Talk Among American Adults: Results from the Psychology of Size Survey

Vignettes were used to assess gender differences in likelihood of hearing others engage in and perceived pressure to join in positive, negative (fat talk), and self-accepting body talk. An age-representative sample of 4,014 adult women and men voluntarily responded to an emailed “Health and Wellness” survey from an internet polling company with whom they had pre-registered. Women reported more likelihood of hearing fat-talk scenarios and greater pressure to participate in them compared to men. Only a subset of participants reported frequent exposure to and pressure to join in fat talk. Demographic predictors of pressure to engage in fat talk were also examined. This was the first survey to examine body talk among older adults.     

Subjective ratings of Cattell's 16 Personality Factors

Summary: The Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF) was administered to 69 subjects. Each subject was asked to rate himself on the 16 personality factors on the 16PF. The 16PF scores and the self-ratings were compared by canonical analysis. Three significant relationships were identified. The relationships primarily involved indices of social interaction from the 16PF and indices of internal traits from the self-ratings.     

Percent body fat is related to body-shape perception and dissatisfaction in students attending an all women's college

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of aerobic fitness, physical activity, percent body fat, and socioeconomic status on body-shape perceptions among 153 Euro-American students attending an all women's college. Using a set of nine female figure silhouette drawings arranged on an ordinal scale from very thin to very heavy, subjects chose the figure that approximated their Current, Ideal, Most Attractive shapes, and the shape they believed men found the most attractive (Male Attractive). Body Shape Dissatisfaction was assessed by the difference between Current and Ideal shapes. Several significant relationships were noted for body-shape perceptions with percent body fat, aerobic fitness, and physical activity. Overall, data indicate these relationships except for Male Attractive were confounded by percent body fat, as participants with a higher percentage of body fat preferred larger shapes and were more dissatisfied with their shape.     

Cardiovascular generalization and differentiation: The relationship between heart rate and blood pressure

The present study was designed to study generalization and differentiation and to check the relation between heart rate and blood pressure in cardiovascular conditioning. Five naive mongrel dogs were presented with 10 sec 1000 cps tone regularly reinforced with 0.5-sec shock to a left foreleg. Four other 10-sec tones (600, 800, 1200, 1400 cps), never reinforced, were administered in a randomized and counterbalanced fashion using a differential reinforcing technique. The response measures were heart rate and three indices of blood pressure,i.e., systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressures.“Initial response” of heart rate showed rapid tachycardia to all tones, with no generalization and differentiation among five tones.“Terminal response” clearly indicated generalization gradients that tachycardia to 800 and 1200 cps tones were higher than those to 600 and 1400 cps tones, respectively. Some differences were noted among systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressures, with pulse pressure showing a trend of generalization and differentiation in the“initial response.” No statistical difference, however, was obtained in blood pressure scores. Beat-by-beat analyses of correlations between heart rate and diastolic blood pressure showed that the correlations successively decreased during the“terminal response.” Overall correlations between heart rate and three indices of blood pressure were obtained, with the highest correlation between heart rate and pulse pressure. Considering the above results in relation to the classical conditioning theory, it was tentatively concluded that“initial response” includes non-conditional factors, while“terminal response” reflects mainly a true conditional response, particularly, at a long CS-US interval. This interpretation leads to the hypothesis that conditional response with a short CS-US interval may attain better conditioning scores in terms of the summation effect between a non-conditional factor and a true conditional factor.     

Objective aerobic fitness level and neuropsychological functioning in healthy adolescents and emerging adults: Unique sex effects

ObjectiveResearch suggests positive relationships between aerobic fitness and cognition in older adults; however, limited research has adequately investigated the relationship between objectively measured aerobic fitness and broad cognitive functioning in healthy adolescents and young adults without psychiatric or physical health disorders. Further, studies to date have disproportionately examined males and failed to examine sex differences. Here we examine the relationship between aerobic fitness and neuropsychological functioning in physically healthy youth and whether sex moderates these findings.DesignSixty-four healthy emerging adults (16-25 years-old; 32 female) underwent measurement of objective aerobic fitness (VO₂ max) and neuropsychological assessment. Exclusion criteria included: left-handedness, prenatal medical issues or alcohol/illicit drug exposure, Axis-I psychiatric disorders, major medical disorders including metabolic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, major neurologic disorders, LOS greater than 2 min, intellectual disability or learning disability, regular substance use (e.g., greater than bi-weekly use of cannabis) or positive drug toxicology testing.MethodMultiple regressions examined VO₂ max, sex, sex*VO₂interaction in relation to neurocognition, controlling for objectively measured body fat percentage.ResultsPrior to including body fat percentage, higher VO₂ max related to improved working memory (Letter-Number Sequencing; p = .03) and selective attention (CPT-II hit response time standard error; p = .03). Aerobic fitness significantly interacted with sex, as higher-fit males had better performance on two sustained attention tasks while females did not demonstrate this pattern (CPT-II variability standard error, p = .047; Ruff 2&7 Total Speed, p = .02). Body fat percentage was positively slower cognitive flexibility (D-KEFS color-word switching/inhibition, p = .046).ConclusionsVO₂ independently predicted better working memory and selective attention. Increased aerobic fitness level related to increased performance on sustained attention tasks in males but not females. Therefore, aerobic fitness may be positively related to better cognitive functioning in physically healthy adolescents and emerging adults without metabolic conditions. Further research into factors (e.g., intensity or type of activity) that may relate to beneficial outcomes by sex are needed.     

Some Relations Between Parental Personality Factors and Childhood Symtomatology

This study hypothesized that parents of children with conduct problems would differ in certain personality factors and in frustration and aggression reactions from parents of children with personality problems. The Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study and the 16PF questionnaire, 1962 edition, were used to test the sample of 66 couples, each of whom had a male child (age range, 6 to 13 years). Some significant differences were found on the 16PF and the Rosenzweig which do not support the long history of essentially negative findings reported in the literature on parent-child interactions.     

Predictive models for understanding body dissatisfaction among young males and females in China

The present study was designed to develop predictive models for understanding body dissatisfaction among young males and females (N=1377) in China. Six factors were assessed, including body mass index (BMI), perception of teasing, social pressure to be thin, appearance comparison, thin-ideal internalization and perceived social support. Variables were examined respectively for males and females. One SEM model, which had good fit indices, was developed for each gender. For both genders, BMI exerted its influence on body image directly and indirectly through perception of teasing. Two sources of sociocultural influence, perception of teasing and social pressure to be thin, also directly predicted body dissatisfaction. Gender differences were found in the relation between mediational mechanisms (social comparison and thin-ideal internalization) and body dissatisfaction. For females but not males, social comparison and internalization acted as weak but significant mediators between sociocultural influence and body image concerns. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

Spouse and parent-offspring similarities in cardiovascular response to mental arithmetic and isometric hand-grip

Thirty spouse pairs were recruited for a stress protocol consisting of alternating stress and relaxation periods. Repeated measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, and blood volume pulse were obtained. Spouse pairs were parents of young adult sibling pairs who had previously participated in a slightly different version of the protocol. Although spouses exhibited some behavioral similarities, there were no significant similarities in cardiovascular response to stress. However, despite the fact that parents and their offspring were tested on different occasions using somewhat different procedures, some similarities in cardiovascular reactivity were observed. Significant parent-offspring similarities in heart-rate response to mental arithmetic and diastolic blood pressure response to isometric hand-grip were observed, as well as several behavioral similarities. Assortative mating and the nature of one's current home environment seem to be less important in the familial aggregation of cardiovascular reactivity to stress than early environmental and/or genetic factors.     

16PF in screening for appropriateness of mentors

The utility of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Fifth Edition (16PF) as an indicator of mentor effectiveness was examined. A random sample of the 16PF scores of 74 mentors was drawn from a population of 837 mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Caseworkers rated mentor's effectiveness using a rubric developed for this purpose. The rubric showed good interrater agreement. Caseworkers' ratings of mentor's effectiveness was used to rate mentors systematically as appropriate or inappropriate. The 16PF scores of mentors were compared at an alpha level of .05 for appropriate and inappropriate groups using independent t tests and multivariate analyses of variance, which reflected significant differences between male and female mentors on Factors E and Q3. Significant differences were also found between "appropriate" and "inappropriate" mentors on Factors L and Q4. These differences reflected only moderate effect sizes and lacked practical significance or meaning. The results suggest that, while the 16PF discriminates statistically between "appropriate" and "inappropriate" mentors, in terms of practical significance, the questionnaire is not particularly useful as an initial screening tool.     

Personality Type Differentiation of Employed Versus Unemployed Clients

The 16 Personality Factors (16 PF) Test was used to determine if personality variables were significantly different for employed and unemployed clients. The results of the study indicate that demographic data failed to demonstrate any significant difference but that four factors on the 16 PF were found to be significant. Results should be of great interest to all professionals concerned with evaluation, adjustment, and/or placement of rehabilitation clients.     

The Association Between Cardiovascular Stress Responsivity and Perceived Stress Among Subjects with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Temporomandibular Joint Disorder: A Preliminary Analysis

This study sought to evaluate the association between perceived and cardiovascular stress responsivity among subjects with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Temporomandibular Disorder (TMJ). Eight participants with IBS, eight participants with TMJ and 16 nonsymptomatic comparison participants took part in the experiment. Participants completed a series of personality and mood questionnaires as well as a laboratory procedure measuring aerobic fitness, cardiovascular responses (i.e., pulse rate and blood pressure), and perceived stress while performing stressful laboratory tasks (i.e., the Stroop Color Naming Test and a speech task). Although IBS and TMJ participants did not vary significantly from comparison participants in blood pressure or heart rate during the laboratory procedures, IBS and TMJ participants reported experiencing the laboratory tasks as more stressful than comparison participants. Although preliminary due to the small sample size, results suggest that IBS and TMJ sufferers may be more sensitive to perceived stress than others.     

Body dissatisfaction,engagement in body change behaviors and sociocultural influences on body image among Chinese adolescents

Body dissatisfaction and body image disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent in developing non-Western countries such as China, but there is a lack of research examining the sociocultural factors that in other contexts have been associated with these problems. The current study investigated body dissatisfaction, engagement in body change behaviors, and sociocultural pressures on body image, and the relationships between these variables among 517 adolescent males (N = 219) and females (N = 298) in China. Females reported greater body dissatisfaction than males, and males reported using strategies to increase their muscle bulk more often than females. Males reported pressure from a variety of sociocultural sources to increase their muscles or weight, while females reported pressure from the media to lose weight. For males body dissatisfaction was predicted by pressure from peers to increase their muscle bulk, while for females pressure to lose weight from peers, adult relatives, and the media was likely to increase body dissatisfaction. Pressure from the media and adult relatives was also predictive of body change behaviors in both males and females. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research in both Western and non-Western contexts.     

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIONS TO TWO DIFFERENT PLACEBO TREATMENTS

Reactions to a placebo introduced either as a depressant or as a stimulant drug were examined in 16 healthy female subjects. Comparisons between pre- and post-placebo measurements showed that the two treatments produced marked effects in opposite directions: (1) the 'depressant' placebo produced a statistically significant decrease in pulse rate, blood pressure, objective and subjective reaction speed, as well as significant effects on subjective mood in the expected directions, and (2) the 'stimulant' placebo produced opposite and significant changes in all variables. The subjective reactions were, on the whole, more pronounced than the effects on performance and physiological functions.     

Physical fitness and self-reported physical exercise among college men and women in 1987 and 1997.

The study examined the relations of self-reported physical activity levels and physical fitness scores for two samples of college students assessed in 1987 (n = 261) and in 1997 (n = 243). Significantly greater exercise was reported by the 1997 women than the 1987 women; amount of exercise reported by men did not differ. For both samples, greater exercise was associated with increased fitness for women and men as assessed by the Hall 1986 Physical Fitness Test Profile, comprised of measures on body fat composition; grip strength; muscle endurance, flexibility, resting heart rate; systolic and diastolic blood pressures; and aerobic power. For the 1987 sample men were more fit than women. For the 1997 sample, women were more fit than men. The 1997 women were more fit than the 1987 women; there was no difference on overall fitness measures of the two samples of men.